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[Years of dealing with Berna as his master has prepared Oren for this day...

Iona was about to go and change herself, but stops when Claude addresses her.]

Mm? Sure, what's up?

About Auguste.

[ While he's not around to listen, of course, is implied. He pauses for a second, as if evaluating his words and how much weight he should put in them, before he goes on: measured, alarmingly neutral despite the context. ]

It isn't my place to tell him where he can or can't go, but he'd do well to lie low for a few days, preferably under protection. Frankly put, no amount of protection I can provide would be adequate, nor would he appreciate me shading him. That brings me to my point—

[ A tilt of the head. ]

—that, should he so choose, I would like you to keep an eye on him. This has nothing to do with me trusting or relying on you: it's simply a practical suggestion that you can refuse if you feel so inclined.

[ And, of course, that inscrutable smile. ]

I can't ask you to die for him like I would, or any of the others I could reasonably entrust Auguste to. But there are some people in this world who are entitled to live longer than others, and I would like for Auguste to remain alive as long as he can.

["Don't do that. Okay?"

... After hearing what Claude has to say, what Gus asked her to do makes way more sense than she would have liked. How long have these two been immersed in such a life? How many people had died and how much did it weigh on Gus especially??

And Claude... Man. For someone who obviously liked getting on people's nerves, he spoke as if he was perfectly fine with being thrown away. That doesn't sit well with her and it shows in her face although she doesn't attempt to protest that point.

With her hands on her hips and a few taps of her toes, she shrugs and gives her answer.]

Honestly, I'd feel bad if I didn't keep an eye on him after all this. I guess if you were gonna ask anyone, might as well be the bulletproof one.

And Claude?

Edited 2015-06-13 00:28 (UTC)

Precisely why I want your arm exactly where it is.

[ A gentle tease, now that he has the important thing out of the way. Her compliance is surprising— many people would refuse being dragged into something that's ostensibly not their problem— but he supposes that that's the sort of person Iona is. ]

Yes?

[She silently bends down to his level. Stares.]

[And then she pinches his nose with her left hand AGAIN.]

Punishment.

[And let's go~]

[ WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING... ]

You need a new skillset.

[ yeah yeah nerdlord ]

And you need to learn that I am perfectly capable of carrying two people.

[She stands up, nodding as if she's won something. There's a knock on the door and Iona replies with a, "Come in!"

To Claude, she winks and says:]

Since you're sticking around for Gus, just feel free to relax, okay? I'm the one running things here after all.

[ 'Relax'. Right. He'd be inclined to snort if his upbringing didn't stop him; instead, he raises one brow and then scoots closer to the wall. ]

I harbor no illusions about my role here, Miss. Please, do feel free to run your ship.

[ A glance towards the door— more guests?— and he tries to be as unapproachable as possible. What a guy. ]

[The door opens and in steps a pair of siblings, both of Asian descent; one young boy probably in his early teens and a small girl of 7, both wearing modern clothes and sporting backpacks although the little girl is wearing a bear hoodie, making her look like a shy teddy bear, holding onto her brother's hands.

The boy looks at Claude and then at Iona warily, mostly because she hasn't changed out of her ruined dress yet.]

"Uh... We're not interrupting anything, are we...??"

[Iona laughs, shaking her head and going over to her customers, kneeling down in front of the little girl first (who may or may not be eying Claude thoughtfully).]

Not at all! And don't mind him over there, he's still new. Anyways, how'd you two know I was going to be open? I thought people wouldn't come after I said I'd be closed...

"Oh, well, Emily... You know, she "saw" you opening up again. So we decided to drop by and well, she's right. Again. We wanna finish our homework and study for a few hours if that's okay...?"

["Emily" looks down at her shoes, shyly while Iona nods understandingly.]

Got it, got it. The usual places are probably buzzing with everyone worrying about exams, huh? Oh, Emily, do you have what I asked for??

[The young girl nods wordlessly, reaching into her backpack and producing a jar of paper stars. Iona claps her hands together and accepts the offering with a beam.]

Perfect! This will pay for both of your drinks! Alright, both of you settle down and I'll have them out right away! Oh, and text your friends to tell them I'm open!

[The boy chuckles choosing a table near the larger sofa which his sister climbs onto after they set down their backpacks.]

"Well, you gotta let us pay for Oren's food at least..."

[And the two children get to work, looking much more at ease even with the presence of an unknown customer near them.]

[ No...........small children, why did it have to be small children?! Claude obviously doesn't break his calm, but seeing kids (especially siblings) is the worst... he's weak, don't do this.

On principle, he refuses to speak to them unless they approach him first (nerd), so he's just. Sitting there, sipping at his coffee, until his brother swoops in for the save. Apron-clad, the superhero of the day. ]

Studying hard? No wars can be fought on an empty stomach!!

[ Slamming down some choice slices of cake on the table here, did he get permission to do this?? Probably not, this is coming out of his nonexistent paycheck. ]

Take this, you'll need it!

[ And he slams down some forks too, Gus... be quiet... ]

[Oren moves to the counter looking more stony faced than usual (is that even possible...) at Gus's lack of grace and professionalism. The little girl jumps a little cowering into her corner of the sofa while her brother also reacts similarly, but is able to laugh a little.]

"I thought it sounded louder than usual. Did Jackie hire you recently??"

[Iona returns from her changing room looking more refreshed and dressed in her cafe attire. At the boy's question, she chuckles.]

Just some temporary help. If you need me to, I'll reel him in. That or he will. [Jerks a thumb at Claude.]

They both kinda owe me!

"Ah, the cafe really is a trap after all..."

Edited 2015-06-13 01:40 (UTC)

I'm here [ he proclaims with no amount of humility ], because today is a date.

[ Gus........

Claude pretends like he didn't just hear Iona mention him in any capacity, and looks at his communicator as if it's the most interesting thing in the world. (it isn't) ]

[Iona giggles shaking her head and clearing off Claude's table. And from behind Gus...]

You. Here to work.

[Oren's here to give Claude a refill of coffee and to deliver a second tray where he has the other pair of sibling's drinks: a tall glass of a creamy orange iced Thai tea and a smaller glass of pink lemonade, garnished with a lemon slice and strawberry. The boy says his thanks, while his sister, Emily lights up at Oren's appearance. They seem to have an unspoken camaraderie since she pushes herself off the sofa and walks over to Oren, arms opened up expectantly. He quietly picks her up, placing her on his shoulders.

He turns to Gus, still managing to look imposing despite the teddy bear girl on his shoulders.]

More customers coming. No more flirting.

[ Ah...Gus can't even be indignant, that's cute. He blinks, looks back and forth between the girl and Oren, and cracks into a wide grin. ]

What do you call that, then? Ladykiller.

[ Don't be a playa hater, Oren... you're a playa too!!!!!

But fine, he slinks back off into the back to actually make himself useful, because he feels like Oren will lob his head off if he continues to be a nerd around Iona. Not that this will stop him?! ]

[S T A R E S.

Emily plays with Oren's hair a bit before being set down by him so he can get back to work. Iona's wiping the counters and asking Oren to check inventory to see what they can write on the blackboard menus.

The teddy bear girl is about to go back to her sofa, but stops in front of Claude's table, leaning on the surface with her arms, as children are wont to do. She looks at the older Aubert thoughtfully, before nodding affirmatively and speaking up softly.]

"I saw you too."

[Her brother who was poring over algebra homework, shoots the girl a look, shaking his head, but she merely takes her arms off the table and takes a step back, waiting for Claude's reply.]

[ Alright, clearly he wasn't being unapproachable enough. He looks up from the blinking messages on his communicator— codes written in binary, all of them not particularly well-intentioned— and then sets the thing aside altogether. It wouldn't do to be rude. ]

Did you? I was trying to be discreet. [ Hm. Rephrase: ] Hard to find.

[ He thinks she means that she saw him, as in, trying to hide from the conversation; he smiles at her, faint and slightly warm, so as not to look suspect. ]

I'll stay quiet. Don't let me distract you from your work.

[Emily's brother is motioning to her by waving her folder of homework and she nods at Claude.]

"Okay."

[Before she returns to her sofa though, she says one last thing to Claude.]

"This place is good. I think you'll come again."

[As the girl goes back to do her homework with her brother, Iona has a tray of sandwiches for the siblings. She noticed Emily giving a few words to Claude and she leans sideways to whisper to him.]

Ah, don't mind her. She's... She gets visions. So that's why she might have recognized you. She's a good kid though so there's nothing to worry about.

[ 'Visions'. Right, he has to get used to the fact that most people who come here have special powers. Obviously, even children aren't an exception to this rule.

He rolls her words over in his mind— 'you'll come again'— and decides that, at the very least, it means he'll be alive long enough to be here again. Not bad. ]

Well. Does she usually get good visions, or bad ones?

[ A light joke, maybe moderately morbid. ]

Hm. [Iona deliberates on how to answer this...]

I haven't asked about it. If she sees the latter, I don't know if she'd want to talk about it... It's probably why she's so quiet to begin with. [There's a fond look on her face towards the siblings as they immerse themselves in their homework.]

There's not much I can do for her and her brother though. Then that'd just be too much interfering. They're more talkative these days and that's what counts.

I see. Then my continued relationship with you and your shop isn't an ill omen. I can rest easy.

[ Is that a mean thing to say? Possibly, but it's also one of those backhanded compliments that Claude excels in, the kind that he doesn't want to be thanked for.

He settles in his chair, listens for the sound of his brother clamoring in the back.

It's. 'Nice'. He hates thinking about that, ugh. ]

[And Iona replies jokingly:]

Am I gonna have to pinch your nose again?

[She gives the siblings their sandwiches and returns to her place on the counter so she can decide where the jar of paper stars should be placed. The door opens again and several more people of varying ages, but mostly all young, greet Iona and then Emily's brother before claiming chairs, tables, and setting up a study group. Their conversation is about school, exams, and mostly normal things although there's a mention of "training" and "powers" every once and a while.]

Welcome everyone! I'll take your orders soon!

[And as Iona does just that; these people, another small group of regulars, talk to Iona eagerly enough, and she interacts with them like a long time friend and big sister. She gives the orders to Oren and Gus, while Emily's quietly been folding more paper stars now that she finished her homework.]

Edited 2015-06-13 09:12 (UTC)

[ Everything about this is...disarmingly normal, though he can't say that he didn't expect as much. He watches the rest of the guests with quiet scrutiny, watches the students chatting amongst themselves about miscellanies that he doesn't have a frame of reference for. Privately, he understands that this is what most people do. Worry about their studies and their social life, instead of looking at their own lives through a kaleidoscope of facts and details that shift with every turn. It doesn't fascinate him as much as leave him feeling cold, twice removed.

His brother flits back and forth between these people with ease, a fish in water. Claude knows his brother hurts in the privacy of his own heart, that he can't ignore the very pressing needs of his humanity in contrast with the pragmatism that he's more than capable of: one day, he's going to have to choose between 'Auguste Aubert' and 'Gustave/Gus', and Claude hopes that that day is also when his brother tells him to go and disappear. It would be fitting.

But. All that aside: when 'Emily' drops one of the strips of paper that she'd been using to make her stars, Claude reaches over and picks it up for her, hands it to smaller hands with a quiet patience that surprises even himself.

(He remembers how it'd been a full year after Gus's birth, that he'd been allowed to see his half-brother: those soft blue eyes, even as an infant. Nothing like him.) ]

Are you paying for your coffee in wishes?

Edited 2015-06-13 10:51 (UTC)

[Emily's black eyes blink and she looks up at Claude when he acknowledges her. And with all the seriousness of a 7 year old, she replies:]

"Coffee's for grown ups. I'm not allowed to drink it yet."

[Iona, who's bringing out the second group's drinks, hides a smile behind the glasses when she sees Emily and Claude talking together. She knows her youngest regular will do fine. The little girl continues as she folds another star with precision and expertise.]

"Iona likes my stars. She says she'll decorate the cafe with them and my brother and me get drinks. That's our..." [Her nose wrinkles slightly as she struggles with remembering the exact term.]

"Barter."

[ 'Barter'. The term is charming, and he watches Emily make a star so he can emulate it, himself: deft hands, practiced with performing minute work, replicate what she's doing with precision.

He hands her his finished star, puts it on the pile. ]

I see. This place could benefit with some decor. [ Okay, easier words: ] I'm sure it'll look nice.

[ Kids are so difficult. ]

Do you like Miss Iona?

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