nexus_crossings | +1 Cylon to the Nexus

"There's not much that can take the place of a good cup of coffee," she counters, a smirk tugging at her lips. "And I'm not certain you really want to replace one vice with another. Might be best to try and indulge her whenever you can, instead." If he doesn't mention what he's doing, it'll take Adia longer to catch on. By then she might even let him go on a daily coffee run for her. Maybe.

"I think we all try hard with her. She has a way with people that brings it out in them." She gets people to smile so easily, to trust her implicitly, and to bring out all those things that make them who they are. Anyone with even a little sense likes Adia, and she makes it feel like that's the way it should be.

His hesitation is noticed, but she won't comment directly on it. It's easy to see how pleased he is to hear the praise of himself, and Amelia thinks it's rather sweet. For someone so stoic, emotions like this, especially about someone like Adia, are all the more precious. "I'm sure you'll do well, now that you've set your mind to it." She offers him a warm smile and then stops in front of the coffee shop, opening the door once she's sure she has Caspar's attention. "Now come on, it's time to get you both a good cup of coffee."

What? If he's here getting coffee, it's obvious he's going to get some for both himself and Adia.

"That's the plan," he says absently, keeping track of where Amelia is taking him. He'd go on a daily run -- a multiple daily run for coffee, if that's what Adia wanted. But she won't ask him to do that. Better to get her a decent cup when he can, like anything else.

It'd be a relief to take Amelia's words at face value, but there's no small amount of skepticism on his face. Not that he doesn't believe her. He's seen firsthand how much people like Adia, but that doesn't always translate to doing what's best for her. Some people are selfish and rotten to the core, and they will warp that affection for their own purposes. He can't let down his guard, even if her open, trusting heart is what drew him to her in the first place.

"I know you don't," he says finally. "I'll have to decide for myself when I meet the rest of her friends."

It's obvious how much he cares for her. His expression softens whenever he talks about her. He used to be able to hide his feelings, when it was a matter of life and death, but he doesn't bother anymore. Hearing that he makes her so happy that it's obvious to her friends is all the more encouraging.

His gaze sweeps over the entrance of the coffee shop. Hmm. Looks nice enough. He steps inside, but not before giving Amelia a wry smile. "Damn right," he replies. She gets it.

"That's fair." He shouldn't trust her opinions on everyone else in Adia's life. She doesn't know all of them and he's his own person. Everyone should be allowed to work things out for themselves.

She huffs a small laugh at his comment and follows him inside. Yes, he's definitely of her kind with that kind of attitude.

The interior of the coffee shop is small, but the space feels very open. It has high, vaulted ceilings and only a few high-top tables dotting the space in front of the counter. All sitting space is on the outside of the room, where low benches laid into the wall offer both seats and spaces to set things down. The whole place is trimmed with dark woods and bright, polished copper, giving it an almost steampunk feel - which might be helped along by the crazy drop coffee makers and espresso machine.

After giving Caspar a moment to take in the space, Amelia motions to the counter. "It looks more complicated than it is," she assures him. "The coffee here is very good, though. They've several varieties that are good black, but if you like espresso and chocolate, I recommend the mocha. It's very rich and delicious." Which is why she's definitely ordering one when the time comes.

It is difficult for Caspar to trust the judgement of anyone but himself, although he appreciates Amelia being realistic about it. He has a feeling that if he had to ask her opinion on one of Adia's other friends, he'd at least get what she assumes to be an objective answer, which is better than nothing.

He gives the inside of the coffee shop a more critical look, his eyes narrowing into a thoughtful squint as he takes in the burnished equipment. "I know my way around an espresso machine," he says off-handed to Amelia, stepping up to the counter as if he's visited this place every day of his life. Overall, he's impressed with the café's vibe, but he'll reserve his final decision until he tries one of their drinks.

Which, he decides, will be a mocha, because that's probably what Adia would order. Not that he's personally opposed to espresso and chocolate. All that's left is to wait for the barista, who is finishing up another customer's order.

She rolls her eyes at his back for the comment, but she'll let it pass to see how he handles the barista: a very tall, thin, faintly elven featured man with bright blue hair hair and a permanent ~~resting bitch face~~ grimace.

The man finishes up with the last customer, takes brief notice of the pair standing in front of the counter, then immediately steps behind the espresso bar, steaming milk and preparing several espresso shots with an impressive speed. When everything is started, he levels an even stare at Caspar, then nods. "Espresso?" he asks in a surprisingly deep voice. "Or black?" Before waiting for an answer, he turns his gaze to Amelia and nods, a hint of warmth flashing across his face in the form of an incline of his shoulders. "Mocha?"

"Please," she says with a smile. "Thank you, Farel."

Another nod, and the man turns his attention back to Caspar, his hands setting about making the Amelia's drink almost without notice. "You're new," he says simply. "Don't know your order yet. You have a usual?"

He's not being glib; he actually knows how to work an espresso machine. Which is why he initially has his eyes trained on the barista's work before bothering to take in the details of the man himself.

Well, that's some impressive work behind the bar. When the barista turns around, he looks up at the delicate features and blue hair. He gives a small nod in return. Nice resting bitch face. Perky baristas always get on his nerves. He listens to Amelia place her order, taking note of the man's name and the familiarity between the two, his gaze staying on Farel.

"No usual yet," he replies. "I'd also like a mocha. With extra foam, please." He keeps his tone respectful and polite. He's not about to be an ass to the person handling his drink. If it's not up to his standards, he can always complain after the fact.

"Foam," Farel says, his voice still neutral. "Interesting."

Amelia shakes her head a little and smiles wryly at the barista. His gruff, no-nonsense nature is always amusing to her, but she won't go so far as to laugh at him. The elven man is unlikely to take kind to that sort of thing.

After another minute of silent work, Farel sets out two coffee cups in front of the pair. He gestures first to the one on his left, and then the one on the right. "Usual. Extra foam," he says with each hand gesture. Then he looks up at Amelia and holds a hand out. The rogue obediently reaches into one of her pouches and draws out a small assortment of coins, two copper and one silver, and places them in his hand. Satisfied, the man opens a drawer beneath the counter and deposits the coins.

"That all?" he asks, looking at each of them in turn. When Amelia nods, he turns his attention to Caspar. "Enough foam for you?"

The comment gets no external reaction out of Caspar aside from the smallest of eyebrow raises. Is this guy a Vulcan or something? Whatever.

He watches the man work, keeping an eye on which drink is which, even before they're pointed out to him and Amelia. He picks up the one on the right and takes a small, careful sip. Holds it in his mouth a moment before swallowing.

"Yes," he answers. It's good -- the perfect balance between the robust flavor of the coffee and the sweetness of the chocolate. The foam has the right amount of froth. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a dollar coin, flipping it effortlessly into the tip jar. "Nice work." He takes another sip, then says to Amelia, "Adia will love it."

Satisfied with Caspar's acceptance of his drink, Farel gives one more nod to the Cylon before turning his focus back to the espresso machine. A contraption this needlessly shiny and complicated requires his full attention when he cleans it.

Amelia raises an eyebrow at Caspar over her drink. "You're not going to get one for yourself?" Wasn't that half the reason for coming here? He tossed out the vending machine coffee, after all. A beat as sh ponders something. "Or do you need someone else to buy her a coffee so that she doesn't feel so overwhelmed by more gifts from you?"

That is most definitely an offer, if Caspar is wondering. The grin and small wink the rogue throw at him should help clarify that.

You have to take good care of an espresso machine or it will turn against you. Caspar knows this -- perhaps not from personal experience, but as knowledge that all Fives acquired somehow in their creation. At any rate, he's always had an affinity for mechanical things. He appreciates the effort Farel is taking to keep his equipment clean.

Amelia's eyebrow raise is met with one of his own. "This one is for myself," he explains. "I was going to get hers before I left, but if you want to get it instead, knock yourself out." Her good nature over the offer eases any jealousy that it might have otherwise raised. He nods his head towards one of the tables. "You wanna join me at a table until then?"

Amelia wasn't expecting company, but as she honestly wants to get to know Caspar better, this is a great opportunity. "I'll buy her coffee when you're getting ready to leave," she agrees with a smile. Until then, they can get a little closer and she can find out what he's like first hand.

As she takes her place at one of the little standing tables, she helps herself to another sip of her mocha. They're really good here. Something about the chocolate, she thinks, but she can't be sure. "So, how are you enjoying the Nexus so far? Anything standing out as a favorite part yet? Aside from the coffee we're having now, of course."

Likewise, Caspar wasn't expecting to spend time with anyone longer than to find out where to get a decent cup of coffee, but Amelia has proven herself not to be insufferable. "Sounds like a plan." His mouth quirks into a brief smile. "Get her whipped cream instead of foam. She never lets me get her the whipped cream even though I know she likes it better."

Conspiring is in his Cylon blood. It feels good to use it towards bringing some sweetness into his girl's life.

He settles opposite Amelia, taking another sip of his beverage while she asks her question. "I like the Shopping District," he replies. "There's some quality stuff there. But overall I'm not thrilled. This place is dangerous. I don't like how things can change on a moment's notice. I'm very proud of Adia for taking it all in stride, but it makes me worry about her safety."

It's the people he trusts the least, but he keeps that to himself. No need to completely bash the Nexus, they've only just met.

This is becoming a better and better plan by the minute. "I think I can manage chocolate whipped cream, if you'd like," she says, her smile pulling into a grin. "If she's never tried it, then it's all the more reason for me to buy it so she can." Because while fresh whipped cream is good, freshly whipped chocolate cream is better.

"That's part of the attraction of the Nexus," she counters. "So much change at once can be hard, but the small, near-constant changes aren't terrible. If anything, it's when people change things about the Nexus that things really go wrong." Like dropping random mirrors in the Plaza or opening a portal to a world overrun by demons. Those are bad. A new, if very odd sculpted, fountain in the courtyard by the library? Manageable.

Now this is a plan. Caspar leans in a little, his smile positively Cheshire. "You do that. Let her know it's a speciality here." All the better to encourage a repeat visit.

No, nope. He shakes his head to the idea that any sort of small, random change is somehow appealing. "It means that this place is unstable on a fundamental level. It's hard enough dealing with magic. That's not real where I'm from. Advanced technology... okay, fine. But things happening that have no explanation?" He snorts and raises his cup for another sip. "That's a hard pass for me."

A bright, silvery laugh falls from her lips. "You're going to let me be the one to give it to her?" she teases. "And here I was thinking I'd send it back with you and let you convince her it really came from me." To make it clear she's playing with him, she follows that statement with a wink. Of course she'll bring the coffee to Adia if he wants that. She'd enjoy seeing her friend again.

"From what I've heard people say around here, stability is relative." As is time, size, being alien compared to someone else... The list is quite long. "As for magic, well..." Her shoulders rise and fall in a half-hearted shrug. "It's something you get used to with time. Facing it head on seems to be the best way to deal with it and if you ask anyone who has magic, they'll tell you it has to come from somewhere. Whether its energy from the body or something else doesn't matter - you always have to put something in to get something out."

He smile remains fixed in place while he considers her words. It's true, he'd like to take the credit for himself, but would that be as effective as convincing Adia to lay off the vending machine coffee? "Nah," he replies, casually shrugging a shoulder. "I'll let you take the credit this time. Then I'll simply have to take her here, too."

"Stability is always relative, but I'm a big fan of the laws of physics, too." He takes a sip of his drink while Amelia talks about magic. It's not as bad as reality turning into somebody's idea of a joke, but it's something that he doesn't understand, which automatically makes him uneasy. "At least that means there are rules. Trust me, I'm trying to get a grip on it." His lips turn down in a brief show of worry -- not for himself, but for his girlfriend. "What's the fastest way around here to find out how it works?"

"But of course. Your lover deserves quality coffee whenever she wants it." And will let him buy it for her, but that's beside the point. "It'll be nice for me to see her reaction as well. It'll make it easier to decide on coffee for future library study sessions."

His question gets a thorough internal debate as she sips at her mocha. She could easily send him to the library to ask for books about magic there - being part robot means he can read books extra fast, right? - but that also wouldn't give the kind of insight she's talking about. "You need to talk to mages directly. They have all of the knowledge you're looking for." A beat, and then she adds, "And you need to talk to multiple mages from different worlds. Each of them is going to have a different point of view about magic and how it works, because it works differently depending on where the mage is from."

...well, that's probably not going to improve his opinion on magic is it? Nothing to do but accept that, though, seeing as he should have the truth of the matter.

Her reference to Adia as his lover gets that conspiratorial grin to crack, a faint blush appearing on his otherwise unchanged expression. Not out of any sense of modesty, but merely as a reminder of what they've been up to in the privacy of their cabin. (And a few secluded spots around the island.) "Yep." Wait, what were they talking about? He clears his threat. "She mentioned those study sessions to me. Thanks for keeping her company."

It's too bad she didn't suggest heading to the library and looking up the information on his own. He would have vastly preferred that avenue of research. "I figured you might say that," he grouses. Another reason to distrust magic, if it works differently in every world. "Anyone you recommend I talk to?"

The concept of "boyfriend and girlfriend" is one Amelia struggles with. Caspar and Adia are involved with one another and live together; Lover is the best term she understands that applies to them, so there seems little need to try and find another. It is endearing to see the Cylon blush at Amelia's use of the term, though. Not as unflappable as he might have seemed at first, apparently.

"Of course. She kept me company as well and was invaluable in working through some topics that came up while we were studying." Most of them were completely unrelated to what they were researching, but that makes no difference to Amelia. Adia was helpful when she needed it the most. How is that anything but good?

"There's several families with magic in their blood running around, and Adia could direct you to any of them at your leisure. There's also a man named Harrowheart, who uses a very different type of magic, that would be good to speak to. He's... colorful at times, but he knows his magic very well. As does a young witch named Hermione. I've seen her magic firsthand and she's both powerful and intelligent." Her lips draw into a thin line and she shrugs. "There are others who specialize in magic only during certain conditions as well, but they're far too numerous to list out."

A beat, and then she quickly adds, "Avoid Ixis Naugus. The gremlin is a brute who thinks himself above all others and will talk down to you, despite his short stature, for hours on end if you get him started."

She takes a pause to sip at her mocha before continuing. "Once you have an idea of what you can learn from each of these people, some might suggest books that would be useful to read. Each of them will suggest something very different, though, so be ready for that."

The term 'boyfriend' does seem inadequate considering how close the two of them are. Caspar would love to make it official, but even he knows that he ought to wait a few months, at least, before making any proposals. For now, it's enough that they more or less act like a couple on their honeymoon. Who knew that he would enjoy being so blissfully domestic?

"She's good like that," he says with a soft smile. How different he seems while thinking about her. That blush lingers, though by the time he's had another sip of coffee, he's back to his usual self.

"I've heard of Harrowheart. He's a good friend of Adia's." He didn't know that he could do magic, but then again, he's undead. Anything's possible. "I've met Hermione, too." There's no unpleasant look or sarcastic quip that follows, so it must have gone well. Honestly, if he had to talk to anyone about magic, it'd be her -- she's just as Amelia describes, with the added benefit of having a clever cat for a companion. But it sounds like he'll have to ask around if he's going to get a decent enough perspective. Something he is not looking forward to.

He raises an eyebrow at the unfavorable description of Naugus. "Haven't heard of him," he replies, vaguely amused by Amelia's colorful insults. That amusement quickly turns to concern as an unpleasant thought occurs to him. "Adia isn't friends with him, is she?" He's already had to deal with one short-statured blowhard, he doesn't not want to have to make nice with another.

Edited 2018-01-07 02:13 (UTC)

"Dreams I hope not. He's an arrogant prick who is so full of himself he can't see the failures that literally slap him in the face." Amelia, bitter about Naugus and their previous interactions? Never. "Stay away from him, if you can, and keep Adia away, too. Nothing good comes from him."

But enough about Naugus. He leaves a sour taste in the rogue's mouth that can't be washed away with coffee.

"I'm sure there are others around the Nexus who can help you as well. Adia knows a lot of people here and can point you in the right direction." A beat, and she smiles wryly at him. "Come back to me in a few years and I might have some answers for you, too. For now, all I can offer is the people who already know how to use their magic and a few books that can explain the basics of elemental and defensive magics." Someday she'll get the hang of this magic thing, really. For now, though, she has her books and a desire to get it right.

"Okay, I get it." He's not paying lip service, either. Naugus sounds terrible. (Honestly, he sounds like his brother, which only cements the bad impression.) The only trouble is, that doesn't reassure his nagging worry that Adia might have already befriended him. But he can always bring that up later with her. No need to press Amelia on the subject.

Her wry comment gets another eyebrow raise. "You're been pretty helpful so far. I'll ask Adia, too. She's a little biased, though. She thinks magic is amazing. And it is, I suppose, but it can be as dangerous as anything else. I'd at least like to understand the fundamentals." All the better to prepare against it.

She sighs heavily. "Sorry. He and I have a very unfortunate history." To put it mildly. "You'll be fine so long as you ignore him."

Now doesn't that sound familiar? For all that he's his own person, Amelia could swear she was talking to herself when she first came to the Nexus. How strange it feels, and yet how incredibly useful it is as well.

"I can offer some book suggestions as well, if you'd like. I can't guarantee they'll help you understand everything, but they'll help in starting conversations with other mages."

"Sounds like it," he replies without judgement. He knows a thing or two about unfortunate history. Her advice makes him smile wryly. "I'm sure I'll be fine, then. I am very good at ignoring others." Despite his standoffish attitude, there are only a few things that truly push his buttons. The rest rolls off the back of his well-tailored suit.

He shrugs casually after taking another sip of mocha. Getting down to the dregs, but that's all right. "Sure, I'll take any suggestions you have. Are these books available in the Nexus library." A pause. "Are they electronic, by any chance?"

"All the better, then," she agrees with a little smirk.

Ahh electronic copies of books. She'd forgotten those were a thing. After the catastrophe that followed someone suggesting she get a tablet, she's avoided such things as much as possible. "I'm not certain, but I could ask the librarians. Do you have a device to store them on? A number I could contact when I find out for certain?" A beat as she thinks about the forwardness of that statement. "I could always reach out to Adia instead, if you don't want me to be able to contact you directly." Best not to annoy him by overstepping boundaries if she can avoid it.

+1 Cylon to the Nexus

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)