#o:st.

"Are you ready yet?" She extracts her fingers from her mouth to throw a fruit flavoured mento at her companion. She’s out of her chair, popping another mento into her mouth as she plops down on the edge of the bed, cross legged. "We're gonna miss the awkward drinking phase."

Sweat adheres his shirt to his back unpleasantly. His feet kiss the pavement harsh and quick, repetitive— more vibration through tired muscles than sound. He’s always been quiet. Especially when it comes to his escapes. Neil is a door left open when it should be slammed. Damp curls are brushed out of his face with a bandanna and reinforced with a beanie that’s seen better days. Mostly empty streets greet him with lamplight spots and slow driving cars; he pays them no mind. It’s too early for even the sun, it would seem. Most days off start like this. Pale hazels focus suddenly on an address number. Neil tries not to think about the slice of time that seems to have slipped his memory as he comes back from dissociation, which is probably unfortunate for the home owner considering this is also the exact moment he realizes the number belongs to their address. He’s earlier than usual (if showing up every couple of weeks at the ass crack of dawn for a cup of coffee before he runs back home counts as usual). They’ll probably be pissed. The thought of it makes him smile. He lifts a thumb to wipe the expression from his mouth as his other hand busies itself with ringing the doorbell.

At least the performer is good. This cafe's live music never disappoints him the way he disappoints himself. He swirls the cold drink lazily. Maybe he’ll order another; drink it while it’s still warm.

A pang of nostalgia bubbles up, bittersweet. She keeps it from her voice when she speaks, "Long time no see. Wait—" Her gaze flits to the clock above the counter, "Let me just..." Auden slips her apron over head, hanging in on a hook in passing as she moves to turn over the sign on the door to read: closed. She flicks the lights off, leaving just the backlit sign above her counter on. Fondness pools in her chest as she turns back to her visitor. "What brings you here?"

River pauses beside the table, surprised. "Fancy running into you here?" he makes a statement into a question, spine of his book gently pressing against the edge of the table. "Were you waiting for me?"

She takes a slow, steadying breath before turning away from the crystals she'd been restocking to face forward. It is not enough to keep her composure. Evaline Caldwell is a sweet, southern woman, with a good disposition. She doesn't usually swear or enact violence of any kind but there are exceptions to everything, magick or otherwise. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," Evie cusses in a way reserved specifically for her, "You had to show up now?"

"What— are you...?" Shock flutters like a live thing caught in her chest, bashing around inside the cage of her ribs. Her stomach somersaults but it only lasts a second before excitement bubbles up, burning. "Doing here?!" Clementine moves around the counter and despite the time apart, throws her arms around them like nothing has changed. "You didn't tell me you where coming! Are you just— stopping by or?" Questions come quickly, fluttering out of her mouth like the pleads of that thing desperate to get out and she can hear it in her voice. The desperation. Her dimples do a good job of hiding it as she pulls back. Clementine asks, "Are you staying in town?" but what she means is 'when are you leaving me again?'.

"I thought it'd be more fun to build a nest than make the bed so I brought all of the clean lin—" She pauses in the door way, breath caught as she registers what she's just heard, "—ens." Violet's hands flex, white knuckling the second batch of bedding in her arms. "Sorry. I.. Didn't hear that right," She tries to pull it off casually, still caught between the frame. "You said you? Met someone interesting? Like you mean you met an interesting person, right?" A chink in her armor appears, quickly smothered out by a hasty smile, "Or did you say you met someone you're interested in?"