ArchivedLogs:One Fine Day

One Fine Day
Dramatis Personae Mallory, Aloke
In Absentia	2013-12-04 Mallory and Aloke finally get a decent night out
Location <WES> The Grindstone - Salem Center
Bright and cheery, this coffeeshop is Salem Center's social hub. Its black-and-white tiled floors are always kept spotless, and the deep wooden tables are polished smooth. Seating here is abundant, found in the clusters of large and social tables and tucked away at smaller booths, or along the stools at the window counters where the large windows make for ideal people-watching along the main street of Salem Center. It is a relatively comfortable evening, for early December in New York, without the harsh chill to the air that has begun to move in as the season change approaches. Salem Center has been attempting to recover from the recent plague that has troubled the region, as life begins to return to normal, or some semblance of it. As such, The Grindstone has reopened, providing a stable place and much needed caffeine to the denizens of Salem Center and surrounding areas. Although the selection may not be as extensive as it normally is, a good variety of coffees, teas, and other such warm beverages have been restocked for people to peruse and enjoy. The aroma, upon entering the shop, is a wonderfully spicy mix of all the beverages offered, accompanied by the meager offering of pastries standard in such coffee shops. Given that it is a Wednesday evening, a school night, and the recent population decrease, The Grindstone is not exactly brimming with people, just a few clusters of individuals sitting in plush chairs or at secluded booths, talking amongst themselves. The quarantine and resulting food shortage had been hell on Mallory’s tea chest, reducing her to a few bags of decaf Earl Gray that had likely been given as some sort of joke at some point. The fresh shipment of tea hadn’t yet arrived, due to the recent holiday. As such, the librarian had proposed a trip to Salem Center, at least partially in hopes of procuring some new tea, but mostly for the chance to finally leave campus with Aloke on something halfway resembling a date. She’s dressed somewhat casually, in a pair of dark wash jeans that flare enough to disguise some of the shape of her legs, paired with a pale gray cowl neck sweater, belted around her waist with a thin black belt. Her dark hair is pulled back into a loose braid that falls nearly to the base of her tail - she wears simple gold stud earrings and a thin gold chain with a book charm hanging at her throat. Having only been here once previously, just after arriving in New York, Mallory is only slightly cautious as they approach the shop, linked arm in arm as they had been much of the relatively short trip. “I remember this place being fairly friendly. Good drinks, too, but it’s been a while since I was here - so,” she offers a nervous shrug, glancing towards the coffee shop, but pausing before entering, suddenly somewhat uncertain of this. Their appearance - well, most likely hers - had drawn a handful of stares and whispers as they made their way through town. Aloke was utterly pleased when Mallory suggested going out. When he came out of his room he was wearing some new clothes he hasn't been able to wear since buying them two months ago. His rich, brown walker-coat is closed over a white oxford collar shirt, and a black scarf is wound around his neck. He's also wearing heavy denim jeans, and walking shoes. Since actually getting enough to eat again, Aloke is literally shining. As happy as he is to be walking with Mallory on his arm, light is shining out of his eyes like little flashlights, but it even seems to be coming out of his mouth when he speaks, and in the dark as they walk, it might even be glowing in his ears. When they arrive at the coffee shop, Aloke seems unconcerned with being able to find any particular thing. He's been overly friendly with any doubting Thomases shooting ugly looks their way, waving and greeting wherever he can. "Honestly, if they're the least bit friendly here, I couldn't care less if the tea was swill. I'm just happy to be out and about, with you on my arm, in the autumn air." At the pause outside the door, he leans in and presses a quick kiss on Mallory's cheek. "Also, I'm really glad you're here to keep me warm." He grins, mischief lighting his eyes. Mallory smiles and squeezes Aloke’s arm tightly, smiling happily at the kiss, leaning against him in the chill. “I would be willing to deal with a tiny bit of grousing if it meant good tea,” Mallory says with a chuckle, grinning, “I might be just the tiniest bit particular about my tea.” With a proper diet, the body heat that had previously begun to cool has returned, as has at least some of the rounded softness that had melted away while she was on slimmer rations - Mallory still looks a little on the slim side, but she’s getting better. “Mm… happy to share the warmth with you,” she purrs happily and leans in to kiss his cheek, an impish smirk drawing up the corner of her lips, “Happy to be out here, with you. Especially with you.” She apparently gathers her courage, and reaches for the handle of the door, pulling it open slowly as she closes her eyes, inhaling deeply the scents of the shop, a happy smile on her face. At last, she takes a step through the doorway and into the shop, still happily keeping her arm linked through Aloke’s as they enter. Aloke takes the door handle from Mallory once she pulls it open, waits for her to go in, and the follows, letting it close behind them. "Good god… it smells good in here. I'd almost forgotten. You'd think it had been years…" He chuckles, for once not referencing his time loop accident. He's been here many times since then. "Oh hey," he says softly as they browse their way to the counter. "I meant to ask you," Aloke is briefly distracted when he meets the stares of a couple of fellow patrons with an overly cheery smile and a wave. "I don't mean to talk shop, but I wanted to have my students each choose a famous artist, and write a paper. Can I bring the whole class to the library some time?" “I really have missed the smell of shops like this,” Mallory says, stepping through the door and glancing back at Aloke with a cheery smile, “The smell is always just amazing.” As she walks, her steps sound on the black and white tile floor with a sharp -clack- sound, a faint grimace as each hoof fall that likely draws attention to her presence in the store. Several heads turn from the conversations to look at the new arrivals critically, returning to muttered discussions about inaudible topics with a faintly disapproving scowl. The few that do meet Aloke’s gaze do not return his smile or wave, responding with a disapproving scowl before turning to their steaming coffee. If she notices the looks, Mallory does a decent job of pretending she doesn’t, distracted as she is by Aloke’s question. “Hm? Oh, goodness, certainly. That is actually part of my job, after all. Just let me know when you want to bring them by, and I can pull a cart full of Art History tomes down for easy access,” she says with a cheery smile, fingers idly tracing over the labels on boxes of tea on a small display. Even if the other customers in the shop are grumbling about their presence, the barista seems quite happy to see the both of them, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet as she smiles in greeting. “Hi! Can I get anything started for you two while you shop? We managed to get some of the gingerbread spice syrup in, so we can totally do the seasonal drinks now. Sort of, anyway. Ran outta the pumpkin spice a while back, but the gingerbread is pretty good,” she explains, still bouncing merrily behind the counter, her sandy-brown, short pigtails wiggling with the motion. A few of the other patrons roll their eyes at her exuberant greeting, hunching back over their beverages to grumbles quietly. "That would be great, thanks," Aloke says. "I'm not particularly good at researching things myself, so having the books on hand would be super." Aloke seems largely unphased by the minor helpings of 'unwelcome' being passed around. At least the Barista is nice! "Actually, yeah, " Aloke says to her, glancing at Mallory to include whatever she might want in his own order. The man intends to pay. He's old fashioned. The end. "Can I get an Assam tea, just black. And…" He nods at Mallory to again indicate her order is with his. "Oh, I adore research. The excuse to spend long hours in the library, surrounded by books and knowledge?" Mallory smiles broadly and giggle, "It is quite honestly one of my favorite things. Sort of a grand scavenger hunt for information." The request for orders gets a polite nod and smile, as Mallory pulls her attention away from the meager selection if teas. "Oh! I don't think I've had that before. May I have, oh, a gingerbread latte, with whole milk, please? I figure I'll try something new," she requests cheerily, nodding to the barista. "Thank you," she adds to Aloke, linking her arm in his again if he allows. Her eyes do dart towards the closer group of dissenters when one of them stands up from his seat - he is apparently just throwing out an empty cup, though the sneer on his lips is directed towards the pair. Mallory tenses her grip on Aloke's arm for a moment, her tail slowly sweeping side to side in nervousness. "Pay no attention to them," the barista mumbles, her manic bouncing stopping for a moment, shaking her head and glaring at the group, "They're jerks anyway. T'everyone." Her cheery smile returns, and the nods, ringing up the order. "Alright, I'm gonna get started on these. I'll bring 'em over to ya when they're done?" Aloke pays happily, and then gently puts his free hand over the hand Mallory has clamped onto him in an effort to comfort her. He keeps a wary eye on the trouble makers until the barista puts his worries to rest. He nods, as if her assessment makes sense. "Thanks very much," he says with a smile. Then turning back to Mallory he says, "Well, I'm glad /some/body likes research. Because it sure isn't me. I'm just lucky I'm dating a nerd." Aloke whispers this last, as a tiny bit of teasing, tapping his hip into hers as they peruse the tea selection. Mallory raises an eyebrow curiously at the girl's assessment of the muttering groups of people, perhaps a little bit incredulous over the insistence that /all/ of the grumpy patrons are that way all the time. She offers a smile to the barista, and nods, "Thank you, miss." Her attention returns to the tea selection, smiling happily as Aloke talks. "I'm a librarian and an English teacher. If I didn't enjoy research, I imagine I'd rather loathe my job," she chuckles, sticking her tongue out at him when he calls her a nerd, gently thwapping the back of his ankles with her tail in response. Leaning in, she plants a playful kiss on his cheek, smirking, "Yup. Mutant nerd, and proud." The display of affection and general happiness gets an intentionally audible groan from the trouble makers, accompanied by at least one somewhat strangled gagging noise. Mallory pointedly ignores it, continuing her search for decent tea; eventually, the last box of Twining's Earl Gray is located, and she actually does a decidedly silly little victory dance, a bit of a cheery shimmy at the discovery. The table that keeps offering muttered commentary and sound effects appears to be occupied by a group of four boys in their late teens - honestly, not much older than many of the kids that they teach at Xavier’s. Their attire is the somewhat eclectic mix of flannel shirts, baggy jeans, and faded t-shirts from bands too old for them to likely remember - some a bit worse for wear and showing damage from what might have been run ins with the wandering dead of late. Each has a barely touched cup of plain black coffee in front of them, largely ignored as they converse between each other and watching the two obvious mutants with wary, judging eyes as they move about the shop. "Does this show come with dinner?" Aloke asks quietly when Mallory does her little dance. "I like what I see…" Aloke is immediately continuing on his own shopping hunt, perhaps anticipating some amount of incoming thwap. He picks up a box of Chai, after passing up several others. "Hey, I actually like this brand. I thought I could only get it in India. I've been having my cousin ship it to me…" He holds up the box, inspecting it with a very pleased expression. Once his attention broadens again, he spies the boys at the table, and winks a glowing eye at them. "Easy fellas, just two folks out for a walk, and a cup of tea." A mischievous smile spreads over Mallory’s lips at the question about the show, and she glances over her shoulder at Aloke, answering in a voice just above a whisper, “Maybe. You buying, cutie?” The answer is accompanied by a subtle hip wiggle that extends along her tail sinuously. At the tea find, she grins, “Wonderful! I admit, I’ve yet to find my favorite brand stateside, but Twinings is passable, and for the most part readily available,” she wiggles the box of Earl Gray demonstratively, “Thankfully they /also/ have the fully caffeinated version - because decaf Earl Gray is just an affront to all things good in the world of tea.” A faint blush begins to darken her cheeks when Aloke engages with the teens - she ceases with the bouncing and playfulness, watching them intently with dark, faintly smoldering eyes, but remaining quiet. “Sir - your drinks are ready,” chirps the barista from the counter, pushing forward two travel cups, one with a bit of whipped cream peaking out of the top, signifying it to be Mallory’s super sugary selection. She winces slightly at the sudden silence following Aloke’s comment, glancing between Mallory, Aloke, and the table of teens, but says nothing. The teens, however, are silent for a long moment, before one pipes up, sneering, “Yeah right. Just two freaks actin’ like they’re fuckin’ /normal/.” His compatriots snicker at this ever so witty retort, but the group of them just fall back into hushed chatter, occasionally looking up at Mallory and Aloke before laughing again. Aloke takes a deep breath, rolls his eyes, and shakes his head. He gently steers Mallory, arm in arm, to the front of the shop to give them some distance from the chuckleheads, and to pick up their drinks. "I'm- spologies," he says quietly when they have some space. "I shouldn't have… I just lose patience with that kind of nonsense." He sets his own box of discovered tea down on the counter and sips his drink while the barista rings them up. He runs a hand through his hair, and when he looks at Mallory again, the light in his eyes has condensed to just bright points, instead of their usual diffuse glow. Mallory would probably recognize this by now as a sure sign of Aloke's tension, though it also happened when he lost his temper when he was sick. He takes another deep breath, and snugs his jacket tight around himself, before pulling Mallory in for a warm side-hug at the register. The group of teens is regarded with a cold look from the librarian, her eyes narrowing slightly at the added commentary, wine colored lips pulling back from slightly elongated teeth in an almost animalistic snarl. Mallory lets out an exasperated snort, and shakes her head, turning her attention back to Aloke, a gentle smile on her lips. "It's alright," she says quietly, leaning in to press a lingering kiss to his cheek, her lips a touch warmer than usual, "I've been called worse. And normal is overrated." Picking up her drink, she sips it cautiously, but grins brightly, "Ok, I typically don't deviate from just tea, but this is surprisingly good." At the side hug, Mallory loops her arm around Aloke's back, pulling him closer to her and gently rubbing his back, "Don't worry about it. We can head back outside once we're done here - no need to sit around and be heckled for being happy." Aloke leans into the contact with Mallory, and her hand at his back. "I know, I've been called worse too. It's just… I keep thinking people will get over it…" Aloke shakes his head as well. Aloke also brightens, literally and figuratively, when Mallory tries her drink. "Glad you like! I drink more coffee than my parents would approve of, but I always come back to tea. It's like comfort food." Again, Aloke goes through the process of paying for their items, takes the little paper, handle bag with their boxes inside, and thanks the barista again. Turning back to Mallory he says, "You're right, let's just enjoy the night air." He turns and gestures before them. "After you, m'lady." Mallory offers a smile, squeezing Aloke to her again, "In time, I'm sure it will get better. Accepting change is difficult for some people. Not excusing them, but, well, the other option is accepting that this is the best that it'll get." She smiles brightly, taking another sip of her coffee, shifting to a happier topic, "I've really only had it once or twice. Tea really is comfort - honestly, even when things are horrid, tea seems to fix it right up. At least for a bit." At the invitation to head out, she curtsies with a bemused smirk, affecting an unsurprisingly accurate olde English accent, "Thank you m'lord." She kisses his cheek as she steps past and into the chill night air, a defiant swagger to her walk as she heads outside, sipping her drink once out. There might be just a touch of a rebellious spark to the embers behind her coal black eyes, directed at the table of dissenters.