Ade Foxe (dracoferus) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-11-30 10:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, ade foxe, arabella alaire |
Who: Arabella Alaire and Ade Foxe (with NPC! Andrea Foxe)
What: Bumping into one another at a coffee shop
Where: The Roast
When: Nov. 23, when the sickness was spreading, but not killing people
Rating: G, it's silly
Status: Complete
Arabella usually bought her coffee at a dingy little corner market by the Docks (it was deceptively good), but since today’s errands brought her to the Commoners District, she decided to try something new. The Roast certainly looked nice enough: bright yellow sunlight flooded the shop, giving the interior a warm and inviting glow. It wasn’t too crowded and the barista on duty seemed competent enough. All good signs. The corsair waited patiently while the barista prepared her mocha latte, mentally going over her to do list for the day. Next up was a meeting with a haberdashery shop about importing some fine Ordalian dishes. Then there was— The corsair instinctively looked up as the bell above the door jingled. Another customer. Arabella gave the newcomer a quick side glance, only to quickly wheel around once she realized she recognized the striking figure. “Well, well, well,” she said brightly, sizing Foxe up with a wide smile. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” Foxe had a habit of running early. He was the sort of man who hated making someone wait, even if that someone so happened to be his sister. It wasn't so often that the two paired up and spent time together outside of the holiday, but with rumors of illness spreading like wildfire, Foxe had decided that taking Andrea out of her home might be a good change of scenery. He'd promised to first meet with her at the coffee shop and then go shopping with her, as he was her favorite person to weigh down with bags, and she had plenty of holiday shopping to get out of the way. He wasn't wearing his normal garb; his armor replaced by street clothes and a weather-worn coat that his sister would describe as disgraceful. The sight of Arabella by the bar put a surprised smile on his face, even as the concern that Andrea might burst through the door and spot him talking to her hovered in the back of him mind. The last thing he needed was her poking at him about going out on dates. Of course, that worry wasn't going to turn him rude. "I don't know if I agree." He said, stepping into line behind an older man with hunched shoulders. "Come here often?" “Not at all, actually. It’s my first time here,” Bella admitted, lowering her voice to a loud, conspiratorial whisper. And if her mocha latte turned out well enough, it certainly wouldn’t be her last—not if certain handsome dragoons frequented the place. It was nice to see the man again, although this conversation was destined to be even briefer than their first. A quick glance to the clock on the wall reminded her she had an appointment in ten minutes. Foxe probably had somewhere to be as well. Still, a short conversation with a friendly, handsome man was certainly a good way to start the day. Even without his armor, the man still made quite the impression. “What about you, darling?” she asked, tilting her head up to meet his eyes in a level gaze. “Are you a regular here? Because I would love some recommendations.” It was mostly a joke. Arabella couldn’t claim to know the older man very well, but seemed like he had very simple tastes. A plain coffee would probably be his drink of choice. “I stop by when I’m in the neighborhood. Not quite a regular, but not a stranger, either.” It was his turn to order and he asked for a coffee with cream and two sugars and for a caramel latte for his sister. Though they had different tastes, they were both predictable when it came to things like lunch and coffee orders. Foxe paid and took a few steps so that he was beside Arabella. Before she could ask, he clarified, “I’m taking my sister out today and she should be here any moment.” A pause. “Any plans for your day?” “Assuming you get along well with your sister, that sounds like fun.” Bella gave the barista working on her drink (at a snail’s pace, she thought darkly) an impatient look before responding. “Nothing but boring meetings, I’m afraid. I’m trying to bring in new clientele. But there are about a thousand other things I’d rather be doing with my time.” At any other time of the day, that would’ve been followed up with a more suggestive comment—maybe a wink or a pointed touch. But it was nine in the bloody morning and they both had full days ahead of them. Her luck and timing with men was so off lately. Fortunately, the barista was finished with her order; that was enough to distract her from her current train of thought. “And my first meeting is in a few minutes, so I should be off, dear.” “Then I suppose I’ll wish you luck that your meeting is brief and to your satisfaction.” It was for the best that she go before his sister came in. As this thought crossed Foxe’s mind, the bell at the door jingled and Andrea Foxe entered. She was a tall woman, well dressed, and looked much younger than Foxe but was only a few years his junior. There was a small weight of worry on her shoulders; this new contagious disease that seemed impossible to avoid by some was a concern for any woman with two children and a husband who worked in the markets, but only Foxe knew her well enough to notice a new worry line. When she spotted him, the frown on her face melted away into a smile that grew when she noticed her older brother talking with a woman. (A pretty woman, at that!) “Ade!” Andrea embraced him and then turned her attention to Arabella, grinning, “And a new friend?” Foxe worked hard to keep from rolling his eyes at his sister, whose antics wore thin rather quickly. “Arabella Alaire,” Foxe said quickly introducing the two women, “Andrea Foxe.” He glanced down at his sister, “She’s an appointment with a client so it’d be best if we didn’t keep her.” Somehow, he managed to sound both pleasantly charming and deadly serious. It was a talent he’d earned over the years. Andrea, for her part, let the grumpiness she could read from him slide off her. “A terrible shame,” Andrea said, both enjoying and ignoring her brother’s discomfort. “But it was nice to meet you.” Arabella glanced between the two siblings; the dragoon's unease was both palpable and highly amusing. She wondered if his sister was the sort to tease him mercilessly about women or nag him about settling down. Maybe she was both. "Nice to meet you too," she replied, flashing Andrea a polite smile. The look she gave Foxe was much warmer, straddling the line between flirtatious and friendly. "We should do this again sometime," she said, gesturing toward the counter with her latte, "when we're both not in such a hurry." The siblings both received another smile before she headed for the door, off to a day full of uninteresting meetings. Arabella was gone, leaving Foxe trying to hide a smile in her wake. Andrea glanced after her before turning to her brother, raising a brow, and simply saying, “Really?” “What?” He’d always been terrible at playing innocent and this was no different. “Oh, nothing,” Andrea all but sung. Their coffee order was shouted out and the barista sat two cups down on the table. Andrea handed Foxe his and then took her own. The day ahead of them promised to be much more interesting than initially thought. Taking her first step toward the door, Andrea avoided her brother’s eyes and said, mischief in her voice, “Maybe we should invite her to dinner sometime.” |