ArchivedLogs:Something Sweet

Something Sweet
Dramatis Personae Flicker, Kaylynn
In Absentia	2015-10-07 "I couldn't really ask for anything else."
Location <NYC> Au Petit Chocolatier - East Village
Au Petit Chocolatier makes the bottom floor of a rather out of place building in the bustle of New York City. Wooden frames painted a deep forest green line doors and windows that are set into the cobblestone structure. An awning stretches outward, made of a brown and white striped canvas with the shop's name scrawled in gold lettering upon it. It offers shade from whatever natural forces may threaten while also affording a view into the shop. Massive glass panes reach past human height to give customers a full glance of the interior. Shelves upon shelves are lined with pre-packaged chocolate, some in boxes others in bags and most with a small ribbon. Two refrigerated cases stand at the very front of the store, accompanied by a counter and cash register. These contain the day's freshest creations which emerge from the door just behind them. A quick peek inside the back room reveals a massive kitchen where the true 'magic' happens. It is the right corner of the shop, just past the register, that perhaps draws the eye. A wooden signboard hangs from the ceiling with the words "Homeopathic Chocolate" upon it and just beneath that is a smaller glass case. Small cards label these more special creations with tags such as 'Pain Relief' , 'Stamina Boost', and Motion Sickness Relief' among other things. Fall has settled upon New York City, bringing with it cooler temperatures and leaves that slowly change color. Still, it's pleasant outside and most people haven't bundled up too much yet. People stream along the sidewalk and cars rush by as the 9-5 workforce makes their way home. Despite the noise outside, there's one little shop that's filled with silence and Kaylynn doesn't seem to mind one bit. The chocolatier rests on a stool behind one of the store counters, looking a bit pale and sleepy but still focused on a notebook before her. There's a bit of chocolate smudged on her nose that she hasn't quiet noticed yet, but luckily her clothes aren't stained. Her outfit itself is quite simple, a pale yellow dress that's probably seen better days and an apron. The shop door opens, letting in a spill of brisk air from outside and a rush of city noise. Traffic and voices and the drumming of a nearby busker. It also lets in Flicker, dressed in a crisp black and red uniform (the logo over one breast pocket shows a rising sun behind a rod of Asclepius) and a light canvas jacket. The mechanical hand that peeks out has changed colors today -- now vibrant leaf-green, etched with gold in a leaf-and-vine pattern. In contrast to Kaylynn's sleepy expression his smile is wide, bright, his eyes lively. "Hey look, I found you. Slow day?" Kaylynn startles slightly at the sudden noise brought in from the outside, and there's a few seconds during which she blinks as if clearing her head. And then, as if everything suddenly clicked into place, there's a ring pulling up the corners of her lips. "That you did! It's been slow, but that's not such a bad thing right now." She pushes up off her stool, leaning over the counter a bit as her gaze travels first to his uniform and then to his arm, "Did you just get off work, or are you just heading in?" She's trying /not/ to stare at his arm right now, but well...the chocolatier can't help it, she likes the new color scheme. "Just got off. Thank goodness. I don't think I'd be in such a good mood if I had a whole entire shift to look forward to," Flicker admits, laughing. He glances down, following Kaylynn's gaze towards his hand. His cheeks color faintly red. He steps foward, leaning up against the counter that she sits behind. "It was a pretty quiet shift for me, too, though. Not as bad as some. Do you staff this place all by yourself?" Kaylynn glances up, wrinkling her nose a bit to make a face. "Night shifts are the worst I hear. Course, there's nothing like a bit of sweetness to help end the day on a good note!" Or at least one can hope. "Mhm, it's my personal castle run in solo fashion. Though...I do need to hire a part timer or something eventually." It's then that her gaze wanders back to his arm and she feels compelled to speak up. "That design looks /amazing/ for the record. The gold with the green is perfect. Do you have a lot of different patterns?" "Sometimes I get third shift all week long." The distasteful scrunch of Flicker's expression suggests what he thinks of /that/ schedule. "/This/ week I got lucky, though." His smile brightens at the compliment. He turns his hand over, green-and-gold fingers slowly curling up. "Thanks. One of my friends is an artist. He does Dusk's wings. And paints this for me. I change the design pretty much weekly but there's a few patterns I like best. This one's my favorite," he admits. His eyes are sweeping the store, curious. Kind of impressed. "Seems like a crazy amount of time put in. You must really love this place. -- What's your absolute favorite? For -- say, the end of a really long day?" "That sounds dreadful...I'm surprised you don't just keel over at the end of that." Kaylynn shakes her head, though her eyes return to those fingers. "One day I'll have ask about that artist. Not that I have anything I want done, but maybe in the future." The next question is what earns a slight pause, and the chocolatier's lips purse slightly. "My absolute favorite huh..." A quick glance to the homeopathic corner is all it takes for her to rule that out and soon she's moving along the length of the largest display case and leaning over to pull something from the bottom right corner. "I do love this place though...I honestly thought I'd be miserable here first, but it's fun seeing what people like and experimenting. I couldn't really ask for anything else." A tiny round chocolate is placed on a tiny piece of tissue paper before being placed on the counter in front of Flicker now. It's almost a perfect sphere, almost. Overall though, it's completely plain, no special toppings or drizzle of caramel...just chocolate. "This one, it's milk chocolate. Bite into it though and then take a look, don't pop the whole thing in your mouth." There's a reason for those instructions! "Lots of daytime napping." Flicker grins, leaning more heavily against the counter. He follows Kaylynn's glance towards the homeopathic corner, shaking his head even as she's ruling it out: "-- Nothing with drugs, though, I don't --" His blush is returning. He smiles when she picks out something from a different display case, picking it up and taking a bite of half of it as instructed. He pulls it back from his lips, looking at the inside curiously as he presses the half that's /in/ his mouth against the roof of his mouth with his tongue, savoring the taste. "Hey hey, I do /not/ put drugs in my chocolate. Just don't go around telling the normal folk I'm selling mutant-enhanced chocolate or they'll throw a fit. Let 'em believe I'm selling herbal supplements." Kaylynn leans on the counter now, waiting to see his reaction. The tiny sphere is a rich milk chocolate, sweet with hints of honeysuckle and caramel that melt together in just the right balance. The chocolate itself doesn't have a filling, but what's left of the piece in his hand almost seems to sparkle. Tiny flecks of gold and silver are scattered inside the sphere, like stars dancing inside a chocolatey galaxy. There's a haphazard pattern to flecks, and yet they are't chaotic, each one settled just so. "That one took me /years/ to get just right." Flicker laughs, resting his cheek against his fist. One mechanical finger lifts to draw a small X over his heart. "Secret's safe with me. -- Oh man. This is -- mmm." This comes even /before/ he's properly looked at the chocolate. He turns it over in his hand, drawing in a quick amazed breath. "/Oh/. /Oh/ wow. That's -- that's /fantastic/. You're really -- an /artist/, this is -- oh /wow/." Kaylynn's expectant look melts into an expression of relief when he seems to enjoy the chocolate. Only seconds later her lips are curling upwards into a bright smile and the corners of her eyes crinkle slightly with the motion. "Thank you! I'm so glad you like it! Though calling me an artist is a bit much, I just like things that look pretty." There's a quiet laugh though and it's clear that she's beyond pleased with the compliments for her chocolate. "Nooo. /I/ like things that look pretty." This puts another deep blush in Flicker's cheeks. "You /make/ things that look pretty. See?" He holds up the other half of the glittering chocolate before eating it. "Art. Artist. I should bring some of these home. What did you put in there, there's this -- kind of -- floral? Taste to it that -- it's just wonderful." Kaylynn shakes her head, though there's a grin on her face. "I'll take the compliment then." She watches him pop the last bit of chocolate into his mouth before snapping her fingers. "So you could tell! It's honeysuckle, I just picked some the other day. It looked like some of the last of the season, but I was wandering through the park and couldn't help but take some. I really am glad you liked it." And now there's a tiny bit of pink flush to her cheeks as well. "I'll give you the house discount too of course!" "It works really well." Flicker lowers his hand to the counter. "How long have you been doing this?" His mechanical hand sweeps the store around them in indication. "I mean -- you said you thought you'd be miserable, how did you -- get into it? Was there something else you /wanted/ to be doing instead?" "My grandfather...well, this wasn't his shop, but he had a shop down in Texas and I was with him all the time. I always wanted to make chocolate with him as a living but um...some things happened and I couldn't stay there anymore." There's a hint, just a brief flash of darkness that floods her features and dims the light in her eyes. Kaylynn gives a slight shake of her head however, and it's as if the look had never been there in the first place. "Anyways, I came up here to help one of my grandfather's friends with his shop and he just passed it onto me. I figured I'd like the store but this city is so /huge/ I wasn't sure I'd like it here." Oh the babbling, because it certainly is babbling and something that Kaylynn is prone to. "It turned out alright though! I really am liking it here." A concerned frown flits across Flicker's expression -- just a brief flash as well. Impulsive, he leans forward, organic hand reaching across the counter to give Kaylynn's a quick squeeze before he settles back. "It's definitely -- overwhelming. I know the city has a bad reputation for people being kind of -- jerks? But I've found so /many/ really awesome people here, too. I think that's the trick to it. Finding the right people. Makes any place worthwhile." A sad smile flits across Kaylynn's features and she gives his hand a slight squeeze in return before it's withdrawn. "That's what I was worried about the most. And I've run into a few bad apples, but you're right...most of the people I've met here have been pretty nice, and interesting. I'm sure one day I'll find my people here too." Her expression softens just the slightest before she's looking up to the ceiling and laughing. "Though man, this city is cramped! I need to find some open country." "There's going to be a mix of folks in any city, right? This place is just so /huge/ you get more bad /and/ more good than most." Flicker's good shoulder lifts in a quick shrug. His smile echoes Kaylynn's laugh. "If you're --" His cheeks are already flushing again. "I know the area around here pretty well, my friends and I go hiking and camping and climbing a lot. If you wanted to get out and find some fresh air -- I know a lot of good places. Maybe some weekend we could go together? Before it gets too much colder?" "True! And it looks like I've already found one of the folks that falls into the good group." A quick wink is shot in Flicker's direction before the corners of her mouth are quite quickly beginning to turn upwards. "I think I'd like that very much. But!" Here she holds a finger up, "In that case you have to leave the meals and dessert to me...not that I'll promise much with the food. Worst case scenario, I'll have to pick up something." Her southern lilt seems to have grown just a bit more singsongy, betraying her excitement. Flicker's grin brightens immediately when Kaylynn says yes. He straightens with a small bounce, a restless little jump onto his toes. "I'm miserable in the kitchen, so I'd've picked something up, too," he admits. "But if some of this chocolate finds its way in, I know it's going to be amazing." He slips his phone out of his pocket, unlocking the screen to add a new contact. "I should get your -- info. So we can arrange something properly." "Chocolate will definitely make it's way in there, promise. If you have any chocolate preferences, speak now or forever hold your peace!" Kaylynn grins, pulling out her phone to exchange digits. "Or you know, you can just text me or whatnot." There's a grin before she's reciting her number to Flicker. "We can sort out food and days and times and some such." Flicker shakes his head on the subject of preferences. "No alcohol? Or caffeine? But I like most all chocolate." He enters the number into his phone. Once he's saved it he sends her a text: 'This is me. -- Flicker'. His smile is still wide as he puts the phone away. Bounces again slightly. "Right. I was going to get a bunch of those. Chocolates. Before I head back home." "That I can do! And I'm guessing you'd rather skip on blood in the chocolate too." Kaylynn smirks slightly before glancing down at her phone. A couple of button pushes saves the contact and she looks up with a smile. "Right, galaxy themed chocolates with the house discount coming right up!" There's a whirl of her dress as she spins around, reaching for a box and ribbon. Eventually the chocolates will be packaged up neatly and she'll send him off with not only something sweet but the promise of an excursion as well!