my heart's a battleground ( OPEN )

[aguidingkey]

WHO: Aqua and OPEN
WHAT: Aqua's figuring out this barista thing and exploring on off days
WHERE: The Expresso and around
WHEN: Early July
WARNINGS: None for now, will update as needed


Coffeeshop; working days

When Aqua had given thought to helping out around the city and earning her keep, this was not at all what she'd had in mind.

Someone in charge must have thought she needed experience in something mundane and every-day, signing her up for a job at a local coffeeshop. She had considered not going, for half a second, but in the end she knew she needed some kind of income other than whatever stipend the city was giving her and really this is experience she lacks. Maybe it's time to try something completely new. Thankfully, it's only part time work.

So here she is after Dualis Days have wrapped up, learning how to pull a shot of espresso and make a basic coffee or latte. It's a lot to learn and she feels pretty out of her element, but she's doing her best. Anyone who comes into the shop will be greeted with a smile.

"Hi. I'm Aqua. Can I help you?"

Exploring; off days

On the days when she isn't working, Aqua has taken to walking around the city to try to get her bearings. Surprisingly, this was a whole lot easier in the Iteration world. That one at least didn't move around, in her experience. Sure, people got randomly teleported out to other locations at seemingly-random times, but at least the locations didn't change, well, location.

On her first day of exploring, she makes a mental map of everything she comes across. The second day... that mental map gets shattered. Every day after that, she rewrites her map, taking note of where she goes and how she gets there, but every day something seems to change.

Thank goodness the dorms never seem to move. But getting to the coffeeshop on her working days just got a lot harder.

At some point during her wandering, she can be found standing at a corner of a couple of buildings, with one hand at her chin as she frowns thoughtfully down the street. "I thought that curved the other way yesterday. It's like everything just keeps moving..."

Comments

[aleifr]

"Just tired."

Understating the matter, maybe, but he's trying to settle some of her concern.

"Hear coffee's good for it, but ..." A vague gesture at the menu board behind her. "Don't know what the fuck most of this is."

[aguidingkey]

Aqua glances at the menu board as he gestures, her smile a little bit apologetic when she looks back at him. "I don't know what all of them are yet. Do you know if you like something strongly flavored, coffee or tea? I think some of these are stronger than others and all of the ones under the 'Espresso' column are very strong."

She might have tried a couple on her first day so she would learn some by taste. They were not what she was expecting. The place has some normal lattes and mochas and espresso drinks, along with a few various teas. It also has some very weird combinations and she isn't quite sure what to make of all of them yet.

[aleifr]

She's got nothing to apologize for. She's ... she isn't quite as new at this as he is, but more than enough for him to understand.

"Strong will do."

He's plenty fucking tired. Might as well see if the stuff is as potent as everyone says.

"Espresso, then." He decides, before quickly adding, "Plain, please."

The other items under the 'espresso' header are still opaque for him, and he'd rather stick to trying one unfamiliar thing at the moment.

[aguidingkey]

"Plain espresso" puzzles her for a minute before she realizes there's actually a drink that's straight espresso. The price isn't too bad, either, and while she waits for him to get the proper payment amount out, she makes his drink. Luckily, it isn't hard and soon enough, she has it ready for him.

"You'll have to tell me how it tastes. You're welcome to take a seat somewhere if you want to enjoy it here."

And maybe she'll get a chance to come over to talk to him if things stay quiet. She could go clean tables off and talk to him a little bit.

[aleifr]

"Thanks." He nods, rummaging through his pockets for a moment before giving her payment and accepting his drink in kind. He sniffs the brown liquid at the bottom of the cup and his nose crinkles from the bitter scent. It's like the latte Steph had given him, but stronger, without the underlying sweetness of cream and sugar.

From the scent alone, he can tell that he's probably not going to enjoy it, but he's not here for pleasure. He nods again, offers Aqua what might be charitably described as a smile, and goes to find a seat ... something that's a might difficult when you're as big as he is. He dips his head low to avoid the dangling fronds of the various plants that clutter the place and settles into a seat that's entirely too small for him.

It probably looks a little comical, really. A giant sat at an ordinary man's table, with a cup that might as well be a thimble between his fingers.

His guess was right. Tastes fucking awful, but hopefully it does it's job by the time Aqua makes her way over. At present, only the bred-in caution he feels when surrounded by strangers is keeping him from dozing.

[aguidingkey]

Aqua smiles in return, her own not "large" but definitely warm enough, before she turns to the next customer. Things remain fairly slow as Aleifr takes a seat and after another customer goes through, she offers to wipe down the tables again. Doing so brings her close to Aleifr and she decides to check on him while she's nearby. He does look a little bit too big for the chair, but she isn't the type to point that out unless it becomes an issue or looks too uncomfortable for him.

"How is it?"

[aleifr]

He's used to furniture being too small for him. Save for the few items his family kept around their tent, pretty much all that he's encountered has been.

"Awful." Aleifr answers, bluntly but not angrily. It's nothing that she's done, it's just coffee itself. He sees its use, he just doesn't like the taste of it. "But it's doing it's job."

He's not any less exhausted, but he feels it's weight on him less. His eyes don't hurt as badly and it's easier to keep them open.

"Thank you."

[aguidingkey]

"Oh." Aqua's face falls at the blunt answer regardless of the intention. She doesn't know how to fix this situation. "I could try to make you another drink?" she offers. "Maybe something that isn't quite as strong?"

[aleifr]

Aleifr quickly holds up a hand to stop her.

"It's nothing you did." He assures her. "I ordered it for it's strength, not it's taste. It's doing exactly what I wanted it for."

[aguidingkey]

Oh. Surprise colors Aqua's face for a second. Well, at least she didn't mess it up for him.

"If you want something that tastes better, I would be happy to make it," she offers, still wanting to make him something that he'll like. "I haven't seen a lot of people come in to get a drink they don't like the taste of."

Maybe next time she'll try making him a double espresso mocha or something.

[aleifr]

"I'm looking at it like medicine." He shrugs. "Can't bloody sleep, so I need something to keep me on my feet until I can."

He takes another sip of his espresso and grimaces.

"... though if you can find something that'd do the job without tasting like dirt, I certainly wouldn't be opposed."

He's not used to having an alternative to the proverbial bitter pill, so he was just going to tough this out.

[aguidingkey]

Can't sleep... Aqua mulls that over for a few seconds. They're typically a coffeeshop that sells tea on the side and coffees aren't usually drinks people seem to get when they want to sleep. Maybe one of the teas will be more to his liking. For now, though, she focuses on trying to make something to keep him awake that will taste better than the straight espresso he has.

"Do you like chocolate or hot milk?" she asks curiously. "I could make you a double mocha. It has the same amount of espresso just made with chocolate and warm milk. That might do what you need it to and taste a little better, too."

[aleifr]

"I've had hot chocolate." He nods. "Liked that well enough, even if it was a little sweet."

Not an abundance of sugar or other sweeteners on Fenris, so he's just not used to having a lot of them in what he eats.

[aguidingkey]

Too sweet. Aqua mulls that over, glancing at the menu over the cashier's counter as she absently wipes the table she's at. "We could try one that's just a little espresso underneath steamed milk and a little milk foam. That might be less sweet, but still give you enough to keep you awake."

She's really doing her best to find him something that will work for his needs while also tasting better than this straight espresso that he has now. That's what she's supposed to do, she thinks.