#bw.open

“You know, I’ve never really understood the need to overflow everything with a bunch of Valentine’s Day decorations. Or why people think adding more to what they already have is going to make it look any less like clutter.” He receives a glare or two from the other patrons of the craft store, and Carmine grins back at them (cheery, but vaguely threatening all the same) before they look quickly away. Despite what he says, however, there’s an decoration balanced between his fingers, rucksack lazily thrown over his shoulder— he isn’t sure about the bauble yet, but the cafe should be festive for the winter. Though perhaps not with red and pink. That was too much. “We’ve been in this store looking at things for not five minutes and you have glitter in your hair. Nice.”

  —  she  had  just  survived  the  morning  rush  of  customers.  after  a  sleepless  night  of  heisting  serena  seemed  to  need  coffee  the  most.  the  bell  rings  and  footsteps  can  be  heard  from  the  front  of  her  shop.  a  sigh  of  relief  at  the  familar  face  "fancy  seeing  you  here."  she  allows  a  smirk  to  form  on  her  face  before  placing  the  small  menu  on  top  of  the  counter.  the  shop  fell  silent  between  them  besides  the  wonderful  fast  paced  world  outside  the  shop.  "you're  later  than  usual.  you  off  today?"    being  nosey  worked  for  serena  (  her  thieving  lifestyle  would  become  her  )  gently  pushing  a  coffee  cup  towards  the  other  she  offers  a  smile.  "unless  you  need  something  to  go."  

A game of chess with the right people is a bit like dancing; a bit like sparring; a bit like war. It’s a game for idle minds, a reminder to think ahead, a promise that even those most powerful could fall, a reminder of death. It’s one of Annora’s favourite games to play.

She’s in one of the cafe’s many sitting areas, somewhat secluded but easily located by anyone looking around the room, playing a game of chess against herself on one of the swiveling boards. It’s one of the cozier spaces, plush chairs and a pool table, books to explore and cards to play. It’s quiet, warm with the magicked fireplace. Patrons and employees come and go without her so much as looking up, her teapot being refilled once while she sits, but as she rearranges the board to begin another game she notices someone pause. So, her gaze travels from the board to them. “Would you like to join me?” She gestures to the seat on the opposite side of the table with one hand, half-smile curved crookedly on her mouth as she sits up from her previous position: lounging in the high-backed chair like some bored divinity with one elbow on the arm rest and chin in her hand, curled hair loose from its styling from earlier this morning further tousled as she runs her fingers through her golden locks. 

“Unfortunately, it’s not coffee at my table. Just tea.”

he  enjoyed  the  view  at  the  waterfront  (  even  in  the  winter  time  )  fabian  managed  to  hold  the  shop  on  his  own  for  the  day.  his  employees  enjoyed  a  day  of  leasure  at  minimal  expense  -  it  was  just  his  luck  that  he  ran  into  the  familiar  face  at  a  coffee  shop,  which  lead  a  nice  walk  down  the  waterfront  and  a  quick  return  to  close  shop.  gently  placing  the  keys  on  the  front  desk  his  focus  on  the  keypad  to  lock  down  the  shop.  his  eyes  focus  on  the  figure  for  a  moment  before  he  allows  a  soft  sigh.  "the  security  of  this  place  could  run  me  dry.  .  .  If  i  didn't  have  my  lucky  immortal  trust  fund."  he  cracks  a  joke.  he  understood  the  risk  of  living  in  a  city  with  such  tensions  however  it  had  far  too  much  to  offer  him.  "you're  being  safe  right?"  he  opens  the  statement  with  a  question  to  show  concern  for  the  other.  "just  be  careful."  

Rodin hummed a cheery tune to himself as he mixed himself a drink, the music filtering through the bar having long since been drowned out by the chatter and bickering at the counter. The demon heard a glass breaking in the distance and he found himself wondering if he’d be playing security tonight. It had been a few weeks since he had last had the pleasure of breaking up a squabble and his hands were itching to knock some skulls together. However, he couldn’t help but grow weary of tensions that clouded the atmosphere of his establishment over the past year. Usually he could watch the energy in the underground ebb and flow like the tide, bringing busier seasons as well as their dry spells. Something felt different this time. Plenty ignored it -- particularly the young and arrogant -- but many who had been around long enough to know better prepared themselves for when the other shoe would drop. As for Rodin? He was happy to pop a squat in the center of the action, bloodbath or not. After all, turmoil always had been his greatest selling point.

The glass looked small, delicate even in his hand as he whisked it away, sauntering down the bar and approaching the quieter outskirts of the counter. He look a healthy swig before leaning forward to be heard over the commotion, stirring straw between his teeth.

"I  assume  you're  here  to  support  the  house?"  the  woman  speaks  boldly.  the  nature  of  esme  was  known  to  all  those  around  her.  a  brow  sticks  up  as  her  eyes  narrow  at  the  stranger  in  the  victorian  styled  lobby.  eyes  draw  up  and  down  at  the  figure.  the  tone  hangs  from  her  mouth  with  the  question,  her  red  fingernails  tighten  around  her  clutch  and  brows  furrow.  esme  had  been  the  queen  of  downtown  since  her  empire  grew  in  the  early  80's.  a  smirk  forms  on  her  lips  (  the  only  action  that  ever  indicated  esme  was  up  to  no  good.  )  her  hand  pushes  out  for  the  ticket  of  the  other.  "hmm."  she  looks  down  towards  the  ticket  which  seemed  to  have  had  been  placed  in  their  hand.  her  eyes  flicker  to  the  stranger  as  the  smile  forms  "well  thank  you.  I  see  you  won  great  seats."  

time: early morning

status: open

“Alright, alright, love--I think you got it all!” Seif crouched down, chuckling to himself as Siggy licked her cup clean. He swiped a stray glob of puppaccino off of the pitbull’s sweater off with his thumb, allowing her to lap it up before rising to toss the cup in the bin.  Puppaccinos and sweaters. She probably owned more knit clothing than he did, the spoiled thing. Though he supposed his earnings had to go towards something other than recreation projects and home maintenance. He began wrapping her leash around his hand once more, pushing his sunglasses up his nose to protect his eyes from the winter sun. The ghoul turned to grab his own beverage off the small outdoor table when Siggy’s wagging tail began pounding against the side of his leg, giving him the briefest of moments before she was bounding up to the next stranger that crossed her path.

“No -- Siggy, down. I’m so sorry, she--she’s trying to swindle you for a puppaccino. She’s friendly, I swear...” Seif wasn’t sure how anyone could think otherwise with her dopey grin and tongue lolling out of her mouth. However, he had come across a few supernaturals even that weren’t overly fond of the breed (or dogs in general) so he could never be too sure. The last thing he needed was to narrowly miss shredding some asshole and ruin their new coffee route--the owner had become quite fond of the little miss.