Inconsequential Happenstances

Inconsequential Happenstances
Participants Nathania & Mavis	18 October, 2019 Mavis bumps into a cool chick at the cafe, sits with her, talks to a bit. Learns her name's Nathania Winters and they have some surprise mutual acquaintances! Nothing.. strange about that, seeing as one of those people is her own roommate, Amity who never, ever mentioned her.
Location
Nathania is sitting at a booth all to her lonesome, a jukebox quietly playing Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon. She's drawing, the booth covered in sketches of women in various outfits. She's wearing a pair of jeans, a butter-yellow handknit sweater with a cowl neck, and dark grey boots. She's lost in concentration, her fine hair slipping out of its ponytail to hang in her face. The glass door opens and in walks a tawny-skinned mortal. Black hair crowns her head, falling in glossy waves then bundling up at her shoulders due to the hoodie she wears. Her eyes are light, golden brown and she has a curious expression on her face, the expression of someone who has never, ever set food inside of this out-of-the-way cafe before. The jeans she wears are worn and faded, a hole at the left knee, and her sturdy, black boots are flecked with paint. The shoelaces don't match either, one's neon pink and the other is neon green. Nathania looks up at the door chime, her eyes coming into focus. She smiles, then flags down a waitress. "Muriel," she says. She's apparently a regular, hence getting the booth to herself. Her voice is warm, soft, and she speaks very slowly. "I... want a cup... of coffee. Those.. are still... bottomless, right? And... can I get... a slice... of the apple... brown betty please?" Mavis wanders further in and peers around, flashing a smile at those who happened to have glanced up to spot her. She hovers for a moment nearby the entrance of the cafe tucks her hands into the pocket of her hoodie while deciding where to seat herself. Anyplace seemed as good as any... but maybe she would sit over there, by that customer sketching, but not BY her BY her. In the booth just in front of hers, on the side facing her. The mortal carries herself over to the booth, flashing a brief, polite "how do you do?" smile to Nathania as she slips into the booth. Mavis removes her hands from her pockets. She wears a lot of rings on many of her fingers, eight all-in-all. The human plucks up a menu left out on the table and her gaze flicks down to it, then back up over at the stranger in the other booth, and then the menu again. "Hello," she says warmly to the woman across booths from her. She begins to tidy up a bit. "If you... feel like... some company, I'm sketching in... public so I'm not... holed up in my house... for days." She grins, invitingly. "I don't bite, unless.. you ask nicely enough." A playful wink, teasing. The mortal snaps her head up at the greeting, seeming surprised and like her hopes had been rewarded in the same boon. She smiles, pretty lips revealing neat rows of white teeth and a millimeter sliver-gap between her two incisors. Mavis lifts herself in her booth seat, cranes her neck, and lifts her chin to peer over into Nathania's booth. "All right," she answers after pretending to take a moment to think about it, but her tone had been earnest and chipper. Mavis scoots out of her booth, menu in hand, and sllllides into Nathania's across from her. She's still wearing that smile, too, although it's dialed down to wry curl of lips. "My name's Mavis," she says, offering her hand over the table for Nathania to shake it. Mischief dances in her eyes and she glances back over a shoulder like someone about to share a secret then looks back again at the artist across from her. Mavis hunkers in with her elbows on the table, leaning closer. "But about biting," she says to Nathania in a low voice, "I mean, if you're getting the pie.. I'm thinking about ordering it, y'see," she shrugs her slim shoulders, "but I dunno if I like it." Accepting the hand, Nathania murmurs, "I'm... Nathania. I'm happy... to meet you." Then her eyes twinkle after handshakes and introductions. "The pie here... is top-notch. The baker is a... friend of mine. She's... really talented." She considers Mavis, biting her lip. "Do you like... fruit pies or cream... pies?" Mavis tilts her head a little to the left as Nathania's hand slips into hers. Her palm and fingers are warm, but a little calloused. She has long digits, rings banded around some of them, and bitten down nails. It's a good handshake, just the right amount of pressure and fitting well into Nathania's hand. Another curious expression manifests on her features as the artist on the other side of the table talks. Mavis wants to ask, but thinks better of it. "It's nice to meet you, Nathania. That's a pretty name." Lots of folks had weird names here.. but she wasn't one to talk about THAT so Mavis doesn't. Instead, she hums, "Oh, hrm," then goes. "That's a good question. With the fruit pies, do they serve 'em hot?" Mavis' leans back into her booth and looks back down at the menu still clutched in her left hand. "Cream sounds good too, though. No.. Fruit. Yeah, let's go with fruit." Nathania smiles and tilts her head. "Thank... you. I think it's... a bit old fashioned, but I was... named for my Uncle Nathan." She lies, and it's kinda obvious. Huh. Wonder what she's hiding. "The pies... are served... warm if you ask. There's ice cream, too. The fruit pies.. are really... good, but all of them... are." Both of Mavis' dark eyebrows raise and she blinks at Nathania. Something about the woman's admission had seemed... a little off, but it was HER job to drag people up on their little falsities with zero evidence. She just shrugs again and her smile now seems a touch forced, not the easy thing it had been before. "That's neat," she says to Nathania, adding, "We have something in common, then. I was named after my grams- well, sort of." The mortal pauses and tucks her black hair behind the shells of her ears. "I got her middle name. Full name's Mavis Octavia Baines." The old lady was a native, born and raised here in Tamarack Falls, and died here a few years ago. "And her house, which is.. Kinda why I'm here. Paid mortage in 2019? Yes, please." The tawny-skinned artist waggles her eyebrows and looks back down at the menu, stealing a peek over at the art Nathania had been sketching before she sat down. Nathania grins and nods her agreement, even as she's oblivious to her lie not passing muster. "That must... be really nice." Her art is all that of clothing--she's some kind of fashion designer, maybe. The waitress comes back with Nat's pie and coffee, and looks to Mavis, even as the blonde smiles and sips the hot java. When the waitress returns, Mavis looks up at her with a warm smile. She was one of those kind souls that treats waitstaff like they're people. "Hi," she says to the waitress and she points at the menu. "Uhm, I would like to try the cherry pie, please? Can you heat it up, if that's okay?" Mavis smiles and peers up at the waitress with her big, brown eyes. Once the waitress leaves with Mavis' order, she'd also asked nicely for a glass of iced-water, yes on the lemon wedge, the human turns her attention back to Nathania. "Thanks," she says, sighing out a breath of relief, "I was kind of hoping you'd ask me to come sit over here. Sorta.. new in town, I have a friend who works over at the Red Clover Hotel. She's there now and I wanted to get outta the house, stretch my legs a bit, enjoy the local flavor." Mavis peers across the table at Nathania then nods at the sketchpad. "So, you some kind of designer or something?" "I understand," Nathania says softly. "I was new... once upon a time, too. It's... kinda a hard... town to break... into." She smiles. "I am. I design for... the big box stores." She rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "It's not... haute couture work, but I don't hate it entirely." She grins. "If you're... new to town, let me... buy you... that pie as a... welcome gift." "You think so?" Mavis asks when Nathania says that about the town being a difficult one to settle into. She hadn't found it to be all that much trouble. All of her troubles, Mavis had brought with her from back east, which primarily amounted to financial woes. The girl was getting on her feet, though. "It's a nice enough town, definitely been worse places." She closes her mouth and listens to the rest of what Nathnia has to say with a look in her honey-brown eyes that was deeply impressed. "Wow," she puffs, "don't be so modest. It's not easy to "make it" out there. Take it from me," teases Mavis and then she bites her bottom lip, frowning softly, when Nathania offers to buy her slice of pie. Her pride perks up, but it was only wedge of cherry pie, Mavis reasons to herself. And she likes this Nathania so far, she wanted her to like her back. "All right, sure," Mavis says, smiling again. "Thanks.. How's your pie?" "It was... a few years ago... I was trying to break in. Maybe enough... new people have moved in... recently to make it... easier. Or, my memory could be.. faulty," Nat admits with a smile. Then she blushes. "I ..." There's a moment of internal struggle while Nathania tries not to fight off the compliment. "Thank you." She ends up saying. And then she smiles again. "You're welcome. It's... good. Want... a bite?" "That's true," comments Mavis, lifting her hand to raise an index finger and shake it. "You have a good point, I'm not the only fresh face in town. My friend over at the hotel?" Mavis lifts her eyebrows and blinks once at Nathania. "She's new, too. And a lawyer just moved to town, too. Pretty cool lady," comments Mavis about the lawyer with a flush of her cheeks. She glances off, pretending to be looking for her pie, but she'd only JUST ordered it and it's nowhere to be seen. When she looks back at Nathania, Mavis clears her throat with a soft sound then peers down at the pie, grinning at the offer of trying it. "Yeah, I do, actually. It smells /really/ good from here," she adds, tapping her nose. "The nose knows!" Nathania grins and nods. "What are... your friends' names? Maybe... I know them. I tend to meet... newcomers." And she pushes the pie over toward Mavis. Mavis uses the fingertips of her index and middle fingers to pull the plate over to herself. She picks up Nathania's fork and sinks it into the pie, choosing to take a modest bite. Not too much, not too little. She tastes it and Mavis' eyes go wide with the fork in her mouth and she locks gazes with Nathania across the table. "MMn!" Okay, Nathania was right. This IS amazing. Mavis finishes the bite, sets the fork back down on the little saucer, and slides it back across the table. "Here, take this before I eat the whole thing," she says with a laugh. "Your friend makes a fokkin good pie. And, I dunno that you'd know my friends. Amity doesn't get out very much. She's.. kind of a nerdy, little recluse. I'm staying with her right now, actually," Mavis admits with a sheepish smile. "Audra is the lawyer, but she seems.. really busy with work and stuff." "I don't... know Audra, but Amity's... a new friend," Nathania says, pleasantly surprised. "She knits. I do, too." She grins, and takes the pie, hooking an arm protectively around it now with a grin. She's kidding, of course, but she does eat it a bit faster for realsies. Color her surprised! Mavis blinks at Nathania in shock and blurts, without thinking, "Really? She never mentioned you." She immediately looks abashed. "I'm sorry. Are.. Are you sure we're talking about the SAME person? Amity Millikan? Wears glasses. Skinny, little beanpole?" Nathania nods. "Yep," she says cheerfully. "Quiet? but competent." She squints at Nathania and blinks again. "Wow," puffs Mavis with a breathy laugh. "Good for her. I mean, I thought I was her only friend and she needed to get out more, but I've been under the wrong assumption this whole time." The human sounds genuinely happy for her friend, smiling again and flashing the tiny gap between her two front teeth and healthy, pink gums. "How'd you meet her?" Nathania blinks. "Oh," she says easily. "We met at... a library." That's actually sort-of true. There's a library where they met. Just a small one... "And she.. saw me... knitting." That part is true. "Oh!" That makes a lot of sense, actually. Mavis nods as her brain absorbs those details like a sponge soaking up water. "Yeah, she always has a book in her hands. That or a knitting project," she remarks, sounding like someone convincing themselves. Mavis wanted to pry more about Nathania's relationship with Amity, but it seemed so... jealous and insecure to ferret out details about her friend. It left her with a greasy feeling that Mavis didn't want to process, but LUCKILY here comes her pie! The waitress brings a plate steaming with a slice of cherry pie on top of it over to the table, along with Mavis' water. She'd told the waitress to just bring her drink and food together to save on the hassle, but Mavis hadn't mentioned the second thing to the waitress when she'd ordered. She picks up her fork and smiles over at Nathania in excitement. "That's cool. Like I said, I'm glad Amity has some other friends. I'm... not really the best influence," she admits quietly, speaking down at her pie, then looking back up again as she slides the plate across the table. "Want to try it?" Nathania takes a moderate bite of the pie, and smiles. "That's very... good," she says cheerfully. "I'm glad.. Amity does, too. She's quiet. I worry," she admits softly. "I was like her... for a while. Took a long time... to come out.. of my shell. But I think she'll be... okay." Mavis watches Nathania's face as she takes a bite of the pie, raising her eyebrows in silent prompting while her newly made friend samples it. "Yeah? It smells freakin' delicious," she says to Nathania, reaching over the table to slide her pie back. Her stomach was in a grumbly fuss now that her eyes had beheld the dessert. The human eats while she talks, taking little breaks to try to puff around the hot food in her mouth. "Yeah, she's-" Chewchew. "Pretty great and I-" Mavis moves her fork out of the way and covers her mouth with her other hand. Her words are still muffled, though, while she tries to chew and the pie threatens to scorch her gullet. "I worry about her too.." Gulp. Her speech clears up. "Mom and I moved around lots when I was growing up, I met tons of people. New schools, new neighborhoods, new video stores." It sounds a little lonesome, but Mavis doesn't sound lonely as she talks about her childhood. "I'm not really a loner? But I'm used to always, you know, finding a "new pack" so-to-speak." Nathania nods her agreement. "That... makes life... rough, but it also.. makes you... adaptable," Nathania says with a smile. She watches Mavis enjoy the pie, cheerful. "I'll let... my friend know... you enjoy the pie.. so much." Her eyes twinkle, slate grey. Mavis bobs her head in agreement. "Yep! That's how I like to look at it. There's pros and cons to both side," she explains with a touch of matter-of-factness in her tone. "I'm a little envious of those folks who've been best friends with so-and-so since kindergarten. And twins, I am jealous of those too. Seems unfair that they get those whole other half that the rest of us are short on, you know?" She beams then dives back into eating her pie, making it disappear by the forkful. Nathania nods her agreement. "Moving is... never easy," she murmurs. "I envy living... in one place, too, but that's also... got a lot less... adventure." She finishes her pie, crust and all--so tender! so flaky!--and leans back, content. "I like.. adventure. In moderation." Mavis slows down and sets her fork on her plate with less than half of the pie left. The red cherry guts ooze out over the plate, still steaming. She frowns just the slightest bit then perks it up with a mischievous grin. "As long as the cops aren't called?" She barks out a little laugh. "Then I'd say that's enough moderation, right there. Bails aren't cheap, y'know. Luckily, I think I have a good lawyer," she teases, thinking of none other than Audra D'Villy. "What sort of things do you do for fun around here? I work over at the paintball range, by the way." "There's festivals... all the time." Nathania says, grinning. Then she brightens further. "I know.. your boss, too. An old friend... of mine. I moved here after... she did by coincidence." Not a lie, for once. Mavis scoffs, laughing as she puffs out that breath. "Not shocked," admits the dusky-skinned human while picking up her fork to poke at her pie. "November seems to know everyone around here. She's a a little," goes Mavis, trailing off... Not sure how to finish that sentence. She was very curious about her employer and knew little to counterbalance this. Mavis just looks across the table with furrowed brows, trying to put a finger on what was so mysterious about November and failing. "I dunno how to put it. It's not bad, though," she's quick to add that. "November is just.. different, that's all. You know what I mean?" Nathania nods quickly, laughing. "November... certainly is that." She shakes her head. "She's off, and I don't... mean that meanly. It's like... she's not quite... in our reality." Mavis gets excited. Her eyes go wider and she leans across the table, putting her elbows on it and sliding her plate away to lean a little further. "Yeeeaaaahhh," she murmurs in agreement, turning her head to peer out at the cafe under a sudden flight of paranoia. "That's.. That's exactly it. It's not she's not even of this world." She seems abashed after admitting that and settles back into her booth, waving a hand. "Not to sound, like, weird. I'm not heavy breathin' over my boss or anything," Mavis tells Nathania with a nervous burble of laughter. November just made her feel strange, is all. "You're... not alone," Nat reassures Mavis, smiling, before sipping her coffee. "November even... kind of knows it, I think." "Hell yeah she does," Mavis speculates with certainty. She rolls her eyes, too. "How can she not? But, at least, she doesn't look down on the rest of us. You know," she opens her arms in the booth and looks down at herself, "scruffy folks like me. She's a great boss, actually. I never.. felt like I was actually good at something before?" +++Aaaand FTB 'cos I think we had other things to do+++