#interaction.noah

She felt a body settled down next to her, a voice from the stool call out for an order she was sure had been ordered there a million times, and Cora could already tell they were a regular without even looking at them. They seemed... at home, almost. Definitely a local. She couldn’t help but wonder what it was like, to feel completely at ease in a place. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt at ease at all. Maybe the fourth grade spelling bee, with her mom smiling proudly in the audience and her dad clicking away on the camera in his hands? Or maybe Christmas morning when she was just barely in her double digits - the last year she ever believed a large, innocent man broke into their house and actually left gifts behind in the name of magic? Her dad had always taken the holiday so seriously, thinking it was up to him to keep the magic alive in any way possible. The bells. The reindeer noises. All of it. Ease had been something she lost a long time ago. It was all about being on edge now, always aware of your surroundings. So when Cora turned on her stole to face the person, she wasn’t surprised with what she saw. A woman who was comfortable in her surroundings. A woman who made jokes with the blonde bartender before the other retreated to the far end of the bar to another blonde. Her interest piqued. “You know her?” Her question finally came, nodding toward the two blondes at the far end of the bar.

There was rarely a time when Sage went anywhere without the newborn currently strapped to her chest and as she made her way into The Jagged Yard at noon on a Friday, this time was no exception either. She was still working on the ability to allow Maggie to leave her sight for more than a few minutes, a hesitancy that she was sure Atlas was thrilled about (but if he wasn’t thrilled, it was something that he at least kept to himself). If she never let her daughter out of her sight, then nothing bad could happen to her, right? Besides, The Jagged Yard had just opened for lunch happy hour and there were only a few stragglers wandering about, most at a pool table or sitting at the bar, and after a month away from work, it was time that Sage had the very important discussion on when she would be able to come back. The conversation with the owner was quick and one that came with some surprising news that had almost managed to keep the blonde too distracted to notice the woman on one of the barstools as she past, a familiar face she hadn’t seen in awhile. “Hey, stranger! Long time no see,” Sage smiled softly, eyes bright with recognition. “Hand still treating you good? If you had to get it cut off, I take no responsibility for that. You knew what back alley solution you were getting yourself into.”