meet me after dark

A ticking fucking clock.

The greeting to the person to her right was enough to garner a smile. "I enjoy the view, and the fact that there are no people around." For the most part. But the quiet? It gave her time to miss her friends, her bandmates. However, it was his comment on the quiet of Maple that caught her attention, eyes leaving the horizon to look at the man she was speaking to.

"I never really got use too it...I was always more into the city."

Are you local?

He shifted his weight slightly, tucking his free hand into his pocket.

"Sort of local, maybe." He paused. “Summer camps here, growing up. Then haven't been back for years. Now I’ve somehow ended up here, running a store no one asked for," he said with a shrug.

“Has the mortality rate in town gone up since? Bet you’re a big hit with the undertakers.” He joked, a small amused smile on his lips. He shrugged his shoulders humbly. “I built a few buildings in town, nothing impressive… we’ve been granted some land to look at some new commercial developments but we’ll see.” He learnt very early in Maple Creek that developments weren’t always seen positively and it was better to keep your cards close to your chest.

“It’s not quite Starbucks…” he sighed at his coffee once again.

He took another sip of his coffee, nodding as Kris spoke. "Buildings, right." He paused. He knew that many in Maple weren't a fan of change. He knew Kris was aware of that too. "Did the buildings make you enemy number one? If it helps... I kinda like them."

He half laughed at the Starbucks comment. "How I miss all the chain shit in the city. This is about as fancy as Maple gets before nine in the morning."

"that's okay," celia said absent-mindedly, half-sure the woman behind the counter wouldn't even hear amidst all the work.

she bent down a little to check out the pastries behind the glass, caught on the smell of cinnamon and glossy icing. this was no rush hour in soho, but still the closest thing to the hustle and bustle of home that she'd seen in a week. it felt nice.

"can i rely on your favourite?" she looked up with a squint and a smile. "or are you one of those plain bran muffin people?"

She looked back towards the counter with her same bubbly tone. "Cinnamon swirl, definitely. Just came out, still warm, makes the icing melty in the best way."

She tilted her head, really listening now. She was flattered he'd asked her. "I mean… I do have opinions, yeah. Probably more than I should." A smile played on her lips. "Comes with feeding half the town. You hear everything and anything when serving customers." Her features softened. "But I really do care about this place. What kind of business are we talking about here? Just general town stuff? And can I get you something while you're here?"

"Medulla is apparently very my scene" he chuckled, little did anybody in town know but Kris had given in to the clean clinical look in his own work a long time ago. He lifted his cup to the man. "Only coffee shop in town that opens before 8am. The taste of the coffee is the price you pay for convenience" He wished he was joking, but the bitter overpriced coffee lacked the warmth of the shops further into town. "God... twenty... twenty five years? How has life been treating you?" He continued to ask about the man out of common decency.

He picked up the cup in front of him, keeping his eyes on it a moment before looking back at Kris. "It’s dreadful," he agreed, taking another sip anyway. "How I miss city coffee."

At Kris' question, he paused for a moment, leaning back slightly in his chair. They were both being polite. Civil. Adult.

"You know me. Not bad. Kept busy. Came back a couple of years ago. Work’s steady. People still manage to get ill in a town this size, surprisingly," he joked, his mouth curved just slightly. "What about you? Big business man?"

A lilt of a smile graced pastel pink painted lips. It was early morning, and the coffee had begun to set in. The usual jitters that would come along mid-morning and haunt her, were already working on their assault. Melissa wished, as she so often did, for the roar of New York City. The constant, yet unmatched 90 decibels of sound, but the crashing of waves greeted her instead. She knew Maple Creek well, had spent a lot of her youth in this very place.

And yet, she felt out of her skin here.

Melissa longed for a place her parents had forced her out of, and the band waited for her with each passing day...even if that date seemed to get further and further away.

It was the scuffle of a shoe against the pavement that tore her from her spiralling thoughts. At this time, most people were still sleeping. Sunday mornings were for rest, or at least, that's what people told them. She'd never slept well.

Melissa turned her head and half-smiled. "Morning."

His eyes glanced to the voice and he gave a smile. "Morning," he returned, his voice warm but still holding that English accent he had never shaken.

He glanced out towards the water for a moment, then back to her. "Early start? Or are you one of those people who actually enjoys mornings here?" he smiled, there was a slight teasing but not unkind. "I keep thinking I’ll get used to how quiet it is in Maple. Hasn’t happened yet. Are you local?"

location: Medulla coffee house

@maplecstarters

Medulla wasn't Kris' normal coffee stop of choice, but he had been called in to a meeting and needed the strongest wifi he could find on the island. His option was here or the local library and he felt like he might disturb fewer people in the rather corporate coffee shop.

The people around him were a busy clientele and all sitting across separate tables. The walls were cold and clinical with the odd coffee bean decal stuck to break up the coldness.

As he finished his work call he closed his laptop, holding his head in his hands for a moment. "Fucking Maple..." He sighed, leaning back with his coffee he lifted his head just as a pamphlet fell from a passer by's bag. He stood to his feet holding it back up to the person. "You dropped this." He offered gently.

He raised one brow, eyes flicking from the pamphlet in Kris’ hand to his face. A small, smile followed, something almost amused.

"Didn’t think Medulla was your scene. Or has Maple finally worn you down as well?" He paused beside the table, his body language relaxed but serious at the same time, the way he always had been. "Been a while."

Torren didn't care for the capital, he'd been here a handful of times as a young man for tourneys. It was Blackmere tradition that you entered a tourney as soon as you came of age, of course, Torren had taken the victory that year when he was just twenty- one years of age. Now here he was, seventeen years later. The city still smelt the same though, the sky still looked the same. Even with the old king dead, nothing seemed to change in Durn - not really. The tavern was busy tonight, ladies and lords all making polite conversation, Torren preferred something a little noisier normally, still he leant on the counter leaning in to listen to someone's conversation. "Be careful what you say - you never know who could be listening" he joked to the person beside him.

He turned slightly on the barstool, his light eyes glancing towards the man leaning on the counter. "Is that so?" Corin said lightly, his voice filled with amusement. "Then perhaps tonight, we should all whisper into our cups and spare ourselves the danger."

He took a small sip of wine, eyes watching the man with a mix of curiosity and a small amount of suspicion. Corin had spent enough years in court to recognise when a stranger worth noting. Though he would never admit that. "Though," he started again. "If one truly wished to overhear something valuable, this would be a disappointing place to find it."

"You had me at the word pumpkin." Carmen nodded, bringing the cup in her hand to her lips and taking a longer sip than necessary; one that she'd regret later when she realized that she'd burned every tastebud in her mouth off on the liquid that hadn't quite yet cooled. It was no secret that Carmen Herrara was a sucker for the fall primarily for all things pumpkin flavored; her fridge and her pantry would be stocked with all the treats and coffee toppers your heart could desire until it was time to switch to peppermint mocha for the winter. She was craving the drop in temperature, the long jackets and boots that came up to the knee. These over the top temperatures and pouring sweat just stepping on her doorstep was becoming old very quickly.

"I actually think that's really cute." she nodded, letting her eyes meet the others once she felt her mouth cool off enough to be able to speak. "People in this town already go feral at the first sign of fall-" she paused, hand gesturing towards her own cup; not only was it a specialty fall cup it was also a fall drink; not that the other would be able to tell that. "So I think doing something like that to draw attention is smart." she nodded. "Would you change it over for every season or does that take the fun away?"

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her thoughts wandering for a moment. She really did enjoy this time of year. "Yes, I would definitely change it up. And between us, organised chaos is my favourite. One month it's pumpkins, next it's twinkle lights, then pretty pastels and flowers. We go from fall to winter to spring. I love it all."

She leaned forward, a little grin on her lips. "And no, you're not on a committee..." She paused. "Yet. But if a few fairy lights and pumpkins show up by the lake… well, I am not sorry." She gave him a cheeky smile. "And in your day? How old are you?"

She placed her hands on her hips, watching the drilling for a moment. "I hate it. The vibe hates it. It's ruining the zen. This is my yoga spot."

He gave her a a cheeky smile, then followed her eyes towards the construction. The noise in the background made his nose wrinkle. "Yeah... it's like a clumsy drunk person at 2am. Just absolutely murdering the energy and the vibes." He folded his arms. "I say we stage a protest. You bring the incense and crystals, I'll paint a passive-aggressive sign." He nudged her, more interested in making her laugh than solving the town's noise problems.