Safe and Sane

The day had been relatively mild - as long as you classed above freezing as mild. Christmas decorations in the cafe had all been taken down, and the Christmas snacks and drinks had all disappeared from the menu, along with the plastic holly and mistletoe. It all looked rather bleak, reflected in the faces of the staff. Still, the cafe was warm, and the coffee machine was working, and a large slow cooker on the counter offered spiced winter vegetable soup to help with staying warm while keeping an eye out for more snow.

Nathan settled on a chair on the far side from the door, watching everyone who entered curiously while he drank his coffee. He caught an eye and raised an eyebrow and smiled. He was just getting a feel for the lay of the land.

Gale was wandering around the mostly empty club with a red pencil between his teeth, a sheaf of papers in his hand. Somehow he never ran into corners or chairs or tripped over the edge of a table, but the minute a warm body crossed his path... crash. He caught an elbow and apologized around the pencil he'd not had time to take from between his teeth and then again once he had.

"Sorry, didn't knock anything loose, did I?"