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[Setting] Caramel Anne
| > Between the sofas were tables. There were seats without them too, but there is a clear bias towards which are used more.
> A long countertop spans for the entire width of the cafe. Seats were installed near, and staffs stand behind — some sprawling around, acting as waiter and waitress.
| > A young man dressed in clean, semi-formal clothes and wearing a driving cap was one of the patrons. He had just arrived, and had been slightly nervous upon entering, though he was calmer now.
"I hope I'm not late."
> It seemed he had walked here. A bit ironic, considering the position he was applying for.
| >>578500
"Welcome there!"
> A waitress greets the man as he enters the cafe. Her outfit is in a colour of white, complemented with a chocolate skirt. Close to the collars of her outfit, a name tag is pinned — 'Hello, I'm [Alice]!' can be read.
> The other staff doesn't seem to mind, busy with their activities — be it preparing to go home or cleaning up the counter.
| >>578504
> He smiled.
"Good to meet you. I'm... well, Miro's my legal name. It's a bit complicated."
> He looked like he couldn't have been much older than 18. Nevertheless, he clearly knew how to act mature in a situation like this.
| >>578507
"Likewise! I was told to expect someone here. Please, have a seat!"
> Alice openly gestures the new patron to find a seat of his own — seeing the copious amount of free seat is more than enough to have a free pick.
"I will call her over. Don't hesitate to order anything while I do, uh-huh?"
> She winks. Whether that was part of her act as a waitress or not, it's hard to ignore her natural transition.
| >>578512 > He smiles and nods. After she walks away he takes off his hat; he probably should have done that at the door, but he forgot. He already knows what drink he wants, assuming they have it, so he looks over the menu to see what catches his eye foodwise.
| >>578513
> The menu contains a variety of diary and sugary-themed products; the left-hand side of the menu contains a list of desserts — cakes and breads of various forms, along with biscuits, and a few late-breakfast menu.
> By the right edge of the menu, 'Try Out Our Best Today: Summer Death Ray!' is written. One can only assume what the name is trying to imply.
> As moments go, two other staffs have left the place, leaving only a total of five people in the cafe.
| >>578515 "Okay," he thought to himself. "I have no idea what a 'Summer Death Ray' is, but I might have to try it."
> He looked up to see if the waiter was nearby.
| >>578518
> It seems that Alice is the only one left — and she happens to be missing. The staff behind the counter noticed Miro, however, and began the long step of walking near him.
"Geez. Sorry about that. We're at closing hour now and boss is keeping herself hostage at this point."
> The staff said, letting through a single, tired smile.
"Whatcha' want then? I'll get the order for you."
| >>578602
> He returned the smile.
"I'd like a sunshine cloud to drink, if you have it... and what's this 'Summer Death Ray'?"
| >>578636
"Sunshine Cloud. Got that."
> The staff jots down the order on a device he carried by his pocket. A digital notepad, perhaps.
"The Death Ray is the boss's way of saying we sell one heck of a gigantic red velvet cake. Also comes with a free ice cream if you're that sort of guy."
| >>578695
"On it. Give me five minutes."
> The staff leaves to return to the counter — or more precisely, to an area behind the countertop. As he opens the door, an overwhelming smell of diary perturbs the room.
> The cafe plays a rhythm of jazz from a jukebox somewhere. Alas, that is not enough to defeat the lacking presence of people here.
| >>578701 > Miro looked at his phone for a moment to see if he had any messages before putting it away. He wondered where the person he was supposed to meet was. They couldn't have been too far, if the waitress had gone to fetch them.
| >>578824
> While waiting, a girl steps into Miro's field of view. Her appearance is tidy, casual, and her short stature can be mistaken for a late student. She seems to be one of the original patron — and was intent on leaving before she spots Miro.
"Hello there? Are you waiting for someone?"
> Her question was put with a tone of curiosity, but also one that conveys a means to kill time.
| >>578845 > He smiled.
"Yes, actually. I was supposed to meet someone here about a job offer. The waitress went to find them. They haven't returned yet, though."
> "Wait," he thought to himself. "Is this who I was supposed to meet? Have I just been sitting in the wrong place like an idiot?"
| >>578850
"We're in the same situation then! I'm waiting for my escort to come. Would you mind if I sit and chat? I promise I'll leave once you meet that someone!"
> Her declaration came with an honest request. She didn't come much when it comes to convincing, and her genuine interest did peak as soon as she heard Miro's story.
| >>578909
"Sera."
> The girl nods, then giggled at a sudden realisation.
"About what you're doing then, what was it? Job, right? Are you sure anyone would come? It seems like the cafe is closing. Look, that guy—"
> She points to one of the staff idling on his phone, with a stance that speaks of his drowsiness. The staff immediately notices her act and pulls down his phone.
"See! I bet he's planning to go home 'swell!"
| >>578909 "Well, I was offered a job online as someone's driver, and they said to meet them here to work out the details... I guess it could have just been someone messing with me, but the waitress I saw seemed to be expecting me."
> He smiled and shrugs.
"Either way, I get to enjoy some good food at a nice cafe, and make a new friend, it seems."
| >>578941
"You're very trusting. I like that!"
> She beamed a smile while lightly nodding.
"They say, right, in this city you can't trust anyone. No one. Not even your pet cat. I think you're far better than that though!"
> As she spoke, a staff carrying a sizeable plate and a glass arrives. He slowly takes them down to the table, then finishes his appearance by gazing at the girl — sighing and muttering as he leaves.
"Geez, what's up with HIM?"
| >>578975 "Well, if you say so. I try to be a good person.
Whoa... that's quite a cake... I don't suppose you want a piece? As for him... he's probably bored, and maybe a bit irritated because he'd probably be going home now if we weren't here."
| >>579124
"Don't say that!"
> She spoke, trying to reassure Miro. She strikes another look at the staff, but it was unknown what her intent was by the action.
"And… that's the DEATH RAY! It is, isn't it? I don't mind if you let me a bite. A bite or two, yes. I haven't had enough today."
| >>579134 "Go ahead. I guess I didn't really think about how big it would be."
> He took a few bites.
"So... what do you do, if you don't mind me asking?"
(OOC: We're on vacation and I don't know if the place we're heading has WiFi. So apologies in advance if I end up disappearing.)
| >>579176
"I'm a… student, you can say! I'm currently looking for work."
> She takes a few meager bites, feeling her inadequacy, then takes even more for herself.
"Whabbout' 'ou 'istr? 'here ar'—"
> Despite her mouth being full, she continued to speak. Her speech was only cut by her swallowing the food.
"—Where are you from?"
| >>579179
> He chuckled.
"Be careful! This isn't a race.
I'm from rural Florida. Pretty much the opposite of this place in a lot of ways, but they both have their charms."
| >>579182
> Right as Miro said those words, she coughed. Those cake slices must have a strong jinxing power.
"Y-yeah! Florida, I have heard of—"
> She coughed and tries to ask for the drink. Her hands extend but her expression paints a picture of regret.
(Also, it's all right! If it gets quiet, I'll try bumping the thread.)
| >>579189
> The drink was received, drank, and returned back — relieving much of the urgency of the situation after Sera laughed at herself.
"That was… that was extremely stupid. Sorry."
> She lowered her head, knowing the severity of the panic she might have caused.
"Thanks. So, Florida. Why leave from there?"
| >>579214 "It's alright. We all make mistakes. What matters is that you're okay now.
Well... Florida's a nice place, but for the most part there's not a lot of opportunities. So I came here partly looking for a better future... well, actually, that's mostly just an excuse. I really just wanted more of an adventure. Things don't change much in the country. I just hope I haven't gotten in over my head."
| >>579427
"They say, right, you can either be adventurous or stupid. Methinks you are in a good shape."
> She smiled. Her hands waved to the air, summoning a staff to her after several retries.
"Another Sunshine Cloud, can you?"
> When the staff leaves, Sera returned to Miro. It didn't take her long to stir a new conversation too.
"Anyway, why work in… whatever you have there? A driver in whose place, again?"
| >>579444 "Well, I drove a taxi for a while back home, and people say I'm a responsible driver, so when someone mentioned this job it seemed like a good fit. The client seems to be someone who lives here in the Uptown area. I guess I figured I'd get more details here... the more I think about it the more I feel like an idiot for not asking for more details."
> He ate a little more of the cake.
| >>579459
"If you phrase it that way, it makes your problem sounds like, well — your problem."
> Sera reflexively tried to take a slice of the cake, but her hands recoiled as they remember what had happened moments earlier.
"'ctually! I can help, maybe. Do you know who offered you the job? There's probably a reason why they sent you here after all!"
| >>579490 "Hmm... well, they used the username Uni on the internet. They said they were the housemaid of the person looking for a driver."
> Miro had slowly begun to suspect this was in fact the person he was supposed to meet, and was hiding this to get a better idea of who Miro was. However, he dismissed this thought as being the result of watching too much TV.
| >>579498
"Uni… Uni… Hm."
> Sera had a few moments of thinking. The slow tapping of a staff approaching the seat made her turn — surprised even.
"Does ring a bell, but I wouldn't say I know where. Sorry."
> The new Sunshine Cloud was placed in front of her. She slides it to Miro's direction, clearing her intent as to why she ordered the drink.
"—Here's this. I don't want you to just have half of your drink, right."
| >Two strangers enter the cafe, their arrival announced in the strangest manner- A small blonde carrying a small stack of fliers and shouting 'Death!' as she enters. She's accompanied by a somewhat less small blonde with, and it's this second blonde who takes the lead as they head up to the counter in preparation to order.
| >>579581
"Wel-"
"Hello—"
> The two staff left in the cafe greeted the two — in the most inharmonious way.
"Dammit, go first."
> The one to push was a black-haired staff. His shorter stature came to a surprise as he spoke in a deep, masculine voice.
"God, alright, okay. Cool it, man."
> And the other, retaliating, is the long-haired brunette. Despite being six-foot, he looks younger than the black-haired staff.
"Welcome! What can I get you?"
> The brunette greets.
| >>579583
"I'll take a hot chocolate." >The taller blonde nods, then opens her mouth to speak again- but her companion cuts her off.
"Surprise me, death!"
| >>579588
"Right away."
> The brunette staff walks to a nearby water dispenser — and begun his work on making the two orders, albeit expressing uncertainty on the second one.
"So, what're you girls up to? It ain't rare seeing customers come late, but I gotta ask."
> Being left alone, the black-haired staff was then forced to squeak out a conversation, though his words come out almost too naturally.
| >A man in full combat gear walks through the door of the cafe carrying a big case, although his weapons are still on him
>He then manage to put the case down and sit at one of the stools
| > A series of loud thuds can be heard just outside the cafe, getting somewhat louder each time before abruptly stopping. The door of the Caramel Anne then opens, revealing a Lilim with a some packages and a patched up jacket. Could the source of the noise be such a slender looking person?
> He walks in, looking around somewhat confused and crashes into the counter, seemingly not aware that the space is smaller than he thought. He looks lost in thought
| >>579730 >>579735
"Yo, Ray! You might wanna hurry!"
> The black-haired staff interrupted the conversation as he greets the two new customers. Dividing his attention to four people proves to be futile as his head couldn't turn as fast as he wanted it to be, leaving him distracted by the amount of customer.
"Hello there, you both—"
> He moves his gaze to the man first, then to the Lilim.
"Welcome to Caramel Anne. We're kinda' short-staffed, so bear with me here."
| >>579738
> Fox, the Lilim, seems to snap out of his trance and turns to the person talking to him. He’s still a little lost in thought but he’s stopped trying to walk through the counter at least.
“Eh..? Mmm daijoubu. Boku w- um. I uh... okay. I’m in no rush. I’m actually looking for someone so you can just focus on other people first.”
| >>579742
"I owe you one, Lilimguy. Have a seat or som'thing. Can't have you just standing around like that. Boss might have me dead."
> The staff responded as he looks at his friend, Ray — the brunette staff — confused as to what he is making. He didn't question, but he didn't wondering until he sighs his attention out.
| >>579744
"Oh, yes. Sorry if you do get yelled at because of me. I'll just be over there."
> Fox nods and looks around and takes a seat at the closest table, taking off his bag and setting down the package he had in front of him. He keeps looking around, scanning as if expecting to find the recipient of a delivery
| >>579591
"It's a secret, death!" >The girl with the fliers pipes up, prompting her companion to shake her head.
"No, Akatsuki, it's not- We're here to pick something up."
| >>579544 "Thanks. You didn't really need to buy me one, but..."
> His thoughts went to his bank account for a moment.
"... I appreciate it a lot.
Hm. I take it this is a lot of people for the evening? The staff seemed to be getting ready to shut things down."
| >>579738
"Uh, hello, I'm here looking for someone by the name of SEGFAULT. I have something for him"
>The man said
"Other than that I will have a cup of coffee"
| >>579791
"It's a cafe. People come and go, right. It's not uncommon."
> Sera said, taking the Sunshine Cloud she drank — and drinking it even more.
"It's busier than usual though! That's probably for the best."
> As she finishes her sentence, a loud roaring engine can be heard somewhere else near the cafe. Although much of it is a common background noise, Sera seems to be attracted to it, strangely.
| >>579777
"Picking something up? How about a hot chocolate and a Stardust?"
> Ray returned to aid his friend handling the customer. He slides the order to the two girls, consisting of a steaming chocolate drink and a bubbly drink with a pastel purple colour with a consistency similar to a Blue Fairy.
"I hope that's to your taste. Throw your complaints to Sora there if you have any."
> He points innocently to the black-haired staff, Sora, and proceeds to slip a smile along.
| >>579902
"SEGFAULT? People do use edgy handles in real life, eh? I haven't got no clue for the name. How about you, Ray?"
> Sora, talking to the man, proceeds to turn to Ray — spotting the brunette pointing at him, and definitely not hearing his question right.
"Oi, RAY! You've got a clue for a man called SEGFAULT around?!"
> He raises his voice, sending Ray to be surprised by and answer with a head shake.
"Figures. Let me get your coffee then, what'd you like it be?"
| > Fox looks around, the sound of the engine confusing him. He taps his fingers on the box carrying the goods he intended to sell. If someone had tried tricking him, then they must have succeeded. He sticks his hand up, trying to get someone’s attention.
“Excuse me, anno... can I get a hand please?”
| >>579924
"RAY!"
"God, stop shouting already, I hear ya!"
> Ray steps out of his post to reach Fox's table. As he closes near the table, he too, heard the rumbling noise of an engine — but he took it off as something normal.
"Heya, got anything I can help with?"
| >>579928
“Oh! Sorry! Yeah umm... do you know if anyone is expecting a delivery here? I had a commission and the packages in question but they never said what they looked like so I’m nervous I have the wrong place. Other than that... can I get some coffee please?? Preferably cold. Thanks!”
> Fox’s cheeks have a slight grey tinge, seeming like he had just gotten over feeling embarrassed by making a scene in the cafe
| >>579929
"Well, well. I'm most sure it's not me or that guy there. We have protocols for deliveries. I guess it's someone else you're looking for?"
> Ray didn't stop to think whether the other patrons might be looking for a delivery. His innate senses must be telling him that everything he remembers is true.
"You can wait, little bud. I'll get your coffee in a sec, 'mkay?"
| >>579930
“Oh, sure yeah. I only have a dumb internet handle to go on so I think I’ll just keep waiting. Airgato-ne!
> Fox digs in his bag and pulls out a tablet, wiring it to himself. He starts to tap frantically, as if to assure himself he’s correct and not making someone upset by being late.
| >>579931
> Ray returns to his post and immediately starts his work on a simple coffee, winking at Sora for an unknown reason, but it leaves the black-haired staff with a strong uppity.
> In the meantime, the sound of the engine has stopped. A loud yelling — two of them — shortly resided in the background before the engine noise starts again.
| >>579920
"I will take my coffee black, thank you, good sir"
>The man in combat gear take off his helmet and balaclava, then manage to put them down on the counter
| (Wait, shit is it a she or a he?)
| >>579960
(Both Ray and Sora are male.)
>>579958
"Dark and gritty. That'd be my style."
> Sora steps off to take a cup of coffee, interfering with Ray's own work every now and then — only for Sora's brash behaviour to win over Ray's evasion. Their uncoordinated acts would show through, even for a simple coffee.
"Ray, dammit. Just go the hell there, this is my side."
> He leers on his co-worker before handing a hot, steaming black coffee to the man.
"Here it is. Nice and hot."
| >>579929
>Akatsuki catches something about packages, and nearly drops the fliers in her haste to respond.
"We're waiting for a package, death!" >She shouts, drawing her companion's attention.
| >>579997
> The heat radiating from the coffee can be felt immediately. The taste is to be expected from a cafe serving black coffeee: average, serviceable. It wasn't anything of note, but for what it is, it's better than the cold of the air conditioned room.
"So, pal. What's with the guns? Not privy, but 'you a mercenary?"
> Sora gave a question to the man, not expecting an answer as he taps the counter, actively looking at the cafe.
| >>579999
>The man take another sip from the cup before answering
"I don't do shadowrun that often, but I deal weapons"
| >>579995
> Fox nearly jumps out of his seat, excited that he was actually right and being able to complete his job. He quickly grabs the package and tablet and dashes to the table where Akatsuki is sitting.
"Oh! Ne! I was so worried that I had gotten the wrong place! I have the kit with me in these boxes. I think it should be all well put together. They haven't left the original packaging even. Can I get a signature and credstick?"
> Fox hands off the boxes and tablet
| >>580045
"Really now? Like that Lilimgal back then, eh?"
> Sora said. He rubbed his temples, trying his best to remember what exactly was the name of the girl, but he left it out for the man to fill in the blanks.
| >>580066
"Yes and no."
> Sera replied ambivalently. Her flat tone is a shift from her joyful one before.
> As she stares to the door of the cafe, the sound of the engine has mostly faded. Same for the shouting. What arrived in the cafe afterwards was two ladies — one dressed in a Caramel Anne uniform, and the other in a maid outfit.
"It's your ride, Miro."
| >Through the door of the cozy cafe strides a rather wiry looking figure, clad in a flat cap tipped down to shadow the upper portion of their face, and a high collared jacket brushing against the corners of their jaw. Their gait is cautious, and what little is visible of their expression seems rather flat. They look around the interior of the cafe for a moment before seemingly spotting something they're interested in, and turn to beckon to someone behind them.
"... C'mon."
| >>580178
"Welcome there."
> Sora had overlooked past the unease. His tense, callous gaze would have told a different story if he hadn't kindly welcomed the two new patrons. From the man he was talking to, he shifts his attention full to the new patron.
| >>580184
>The new patron glances back over their shoulder, and tips the brim of their hat up a touch in what is probably meant to be a polite greeting. Their voice is low, almost hoarse; they clear their throat before saying back to Sora:
"Evenin'."
>They scan the room again, trying to find a space to sit in this cafe that's starting to fill with people on various jobs.
| >>580188
> Close to the countertop were the typical row of chairs, commonly found in bars. However, the sofas by the edges closer to the wall seems to be free to use.
"Evening, what could I get you?"
> Sora's reply was made with the same low pitched voice.
| "How about a stop-doing-my-job card?"
> Another reply came from behind the two patrons. Not long after, the voice revealed itself as a lady with the cafe's uniform, but her identity didn't remain mysterious due to the name tag that spelt out her name: Alice.
"Sora, let me handle this. I'm done with my gig."
> Her middling height, black hair, and her oppressive eyes were similar to Sora's. The only difference being her commanding, clear voice.
| >>580068 > He raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in tone but decided not to question it. He took a long drink from his sunshine cloud.
"Well, I guess she did find the person that was going to meet me after all..."
> He turned to face the two newcomers.
| >>580211
> The first newcomer, having introduced herself as Alice, seems to have gone back to her work. The other, however, was less than kind to do so. Her maid outfit, while not out place, is staggering to look at. She heads to Miro's seat, not minding a single attention to Sera.
"Pardon me, were you waiting for a long time, Mr. Sci—… No, Mr. Fox?"
> She scans the two occupants, judging with her judgmental stare.
"I am Uni. Pleasure to meet you in person."
| >>580215 "Miro Fox. It's a pleasure to meet you too."
> He wondered if there was a history of some sort between her and Sera, but decided it was very much none of his business.
| >>580220
"Now, would you mind?"
> Uni turns to Sera. There was a silent defeat in her voice, and Sera's smile couldn't widen anymore.
"—And be more appreciable."
> Her stern command made Sera reply with a soft 'Booo!' as she stand and faces Uni. Their height differ visibly, with Sera only standing at Uni's shoulders.
"I shall conduct the interview now. You may stay, Master."
> Sera waved at Uni's suggestion, seemingly preferring to stay around — or whatever she meant.
| "No need to."
> Sera said. She puts Uni at ease, or tries to, by patting the maid on the back.
"I've got you covered."
> Her words leave Uni's at a dismay — terribly so, and even her confusion shows through.
| > Miro put things together fairly quickly. Evidently Sera was the person - perhaps one of an entire family? - that Uni worked for.
"So... I take it you work for Sera? Ah, and I'm ready for the interview."
| >>580227
"S-Sera?"
> There was a surprise, then there was none. Uni's rollercoaster of emotion contrasts "Sera", who seems to be holding back a giggle.
| >>580228 "... Waaaiiiiittt a minute."
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he turned to 'Sera'.
"That's not really your name, is it?"
| >>580229
> 'Sera' nodded happily. A simple, short, and expressive answer to the question.
"Master, what strange idea did you have?"
> Uni said as she takes the seat near Miro. 'Sera' followed, too — but her face looks as though it was frozen in a perpetual close-to-laughter motion.
"My Master is usually not a mischievous person. Pardon her behaviour."
"No, no, no — no. Uni, my interview methods are superior to yours. I've got all I need."
"But you were deceiving him!"
| >>580231 "It's very much alright."
> He attempted to stifle a giggle, and wasn't entirely successful.
"I did sort of suspect that my conversation with 'Sera' was the interview... but whenever I get ideas like that I blame it on having seen too many movies.
If you still would like to interview me you are more than welcome to."
| >>580232
"See, Uni! One for me. You better treat me to a drink next time."
> 'Sera' dug through her pocket then takes out two devices. One seems to be an authentication device — a fingerprint scanner, the other is a strange device in the shape of a… key.
"You're 100% human, right? It's fine if you've got augs. I don't have anything against them, but it makes scanning hard."
> She points to the devices.
"You'd need those to get to Uni's room."
"Master!"
| >>580234 "Completely human."
> He laughed a bit more at the next comments.
"I... don't think that will be necessary."
| >>580237
> Uni coughs at the comments, then proceeds to instruct Miro at the use of the devices.
"T-that aside. Please scan your index finger with this device,"
> Her hand gestures to the fingerprint scanner before moving to the key.
"The key will become usable after Master has authenticated your registration. Upon completion, you will have access to the house — which you will most definitely need."
"We haven't seen you drive tho."
"Master, you said you have interviewed him!"
| >>580238 > He scanned his finger.
"I would show you but I had to leave my car behind when I moved here. Any of my family members or the people I drove for as a taxi driver can vouch for me, but if that's not good enough I can understand."
| >>580241
"I have this innate skill that can tell you're telling the truth."
> 'Sera' said, almost too nonchalantly. It invites Uni to immediately shake her head.
"She doesn't. However, I cannot doubt my Master's eyes when employing."
"Yeah! You'll be the second guy I hire."
"The first left, Master."
"The first left, yeah. Oh wait a minute, don't discredit me, you dolthead."
"Pardon."
| > As Miro scans his finger, the device bleeped. It then repeatedly beeps a high-pitched noise until 'Sera' spoke.
"Instruct: Public key; Lucetta."
> Once she does, the noise stops. The key now glows a sharp blue, prompting a further inspection.
"That's yours now, Fox."
> 'Sera' — or rather, Lucetta — pushes the key forward. Letting Miro have his time to analyse the key.
| >>580062
>The taller woman- Katherine -gives Akatsuki a credstick, which she promptly hands over to Fox! The signature seems to be giving her trouble, though- She's just staring at it...
"I'll handle that." >Katherine gently takes the smaller girl aside, signing the form.
| >>580263
> Sora nods at the name. He didn't take a second guess, seeing as he was sure with the name itself.
"That'a gal. Yeah. You know her?"
| >>580193 >>580194
>The person in the cap takes one last look towards the door before they shrug, and step further into the cafe. Whoever accompanied them will enter when they're ready, they figure. They walk slowly down the length of the counter, and lean in on their elbow to place an order with either Sora or Alice.
"Coffee, with a shot of espresso, please. Extra hot."
>They point at Impulse.
"Paying for whatever he's having, too."
| >>580329
>The man grins
"My guess is you are Segfault, right?"
>He picks up the case and hands it to Segfault
"Sorry about the case, I made a new one for you"
| >>580339
"That'd be me."
>SEGFAULT cracks a toothy grin as they take the case off Impulse, giving it an almost affectionate pat on the top before they set it down on the floor and open it up, inspecting the box drum inside for any signs of damage.
"Thought I might never get it back. Thanks, omae."
>They zip the carrying case closed and sling it over their shoulder, evidently satisfied with the condition the cajon is in.
"Hope it wasn't much trouble."
| >>580329
> Alice responds with a quick brush to her spot in the counter. Her work was precise and quick — much more so than her co-workers. As she let both SEGFAULT and Impulse talk, the coffee was already slid to where SEGFAULT is, though she didn't dare to interrupt their talk.
| "It wasn't really, some of my guys do patrols there anyway"
>Impulse finishes off his drink
| >>580366
>SEGFAULT traces the edge of the mug gingerly with their fingertips as if trying to gauge the coffee's heat through the ceramic. Cautiously, they wrap their hand around it, then lift it to their mouth to take a quick sip. The smile widens.
"Thanks..."
>They seem to be squinting at Alice, trying to read her name tag. They lift the brim of their cap slightly to get a better look before immediately setting it back in its place.
"... Alice."
| >>580381
"That's me. Enjoy your chat there."
> Alice smile before she walks off to a far-off edge of the counter, turning the tap to clean a few glasses. She vehemently gazes at the other two staff; Ray and Sora, before deciding to intently scold them.
"WHO HASN'T GOTTEN THEIR CLEANUP?!"
> Her voice made both of them cautiously turn to her — both raising their hand, to which she quietly took them down with her leer.
| >>580278
> Fox laughs nervously, but is otherwise at ease for once. He wonders why they would need such a setup, but it's not really his place as a courier to ask questions about what people get.
"Okay, do you think you got everything? I'm sure it's all there but if not, just call."
> The Lilim also perks up and pulls a card out of a pocket in his jacket. It's for his services
"Here's my card in case you need anything else delivered! Ayanami Fox is at your service"
| >>580368
"Don't suppose any of your guys found a hat while they were kickin' around in Temple-1?"
>SEGFAULT taps the side of their cap, causing the part shielding their eyes to bob and down slightly.
"Not that I'm really missin' it. Drum was more important."
>They take a much larger swig of their coffee. Scalding. Perfect.
>>580242
>SEGFAULT's attention is drawn to Uni for a moment-- they study her carefully before turning back towards the counter.
| >A man in a navy blue hoodie and black jeans, with a hood over his head covering it, with only some strands of black dreads hanging out of it to identify him. He looked down, so that his face couldn't really be seen. He put a gloved hand up to wave towards the counter and employees:
"You guys have a bathroom I can use?"
| >>580243 "Thank you.
So... when do I start? I was worried that me living in a different part of town might cause problems... once I get my car imported that shouldn't be as much of an issue, though."
| >>580542
"You start when you start. Which is ASAP."
> Lucetta darts her eyes towards Uni, whose response was to hand out a key — this time for a car.
"It should be right smack near the cafe right now."
> She puts the key on the table while taking back the scanning device; to which she threw to Uni, unwillingly letting her know she's not holding it.
| >>580495
> Ray fumbles around a spoon before being the first to point a direction to the bathroom. He haphazardly tries to tell the man to go left, but after a nudging from Sora, he switched his instruction to go right.
"Should be somewhere there!"
| >>580554
>The man waves in acknowledgement and walks to the bathroom, before entering it.
(How many bathrooms are there, and are there a men and womens or are they all-gendered, out of curiousity?)
| >>580386
>SEGFAULT looks on in amusement as Alice scolds Ray and Sora for a job-half-done. They chuckle quietly to themselves, starting to look at ease. Maybe they'll have a seat on one of those couches and people watch for a bit...
"Tight ship here, huh?"
>Different then a few of the other places they've been to, but different isn't a bad thing. They rock back and forth on their heels, and look over the patrons again-- this time, their gaze lingers on Lucetta.
| >>580553 "Oh. Alright then."
> He snuck in a last nite of cake and a large sip of sunshine cloud.
"I just need to pay for my meal."
| >>580448
"I'm Katherine, and this here-" >She indicates Akatsuki.
"Is Akatsuki. Pleased to meet you too, Fox." >She pockets the card, quickly bowing her head in thanks.
| >>580601
"I'll have your meal for tax returns later. Don't wave a single credstick."
> Lucetta said. Her reply was proven soon as she herself takes out a credstick, value not written.
"They should have the Death Ray for other seasons too, ya-know."
> Uni quietly nodded, unknown whether she agrees or not.
| >>580561
(There is two for both male and female.)
>>580571
"It's as tight as the paycheck."
> Ray offhandedly comments as he finish up one long coffee he has been brewing. Stupidly enough, he almost slipped, saved only by his own legs.
"Gotcha', bud. Gotcha."
> He breathes a few before checking the state of the coffee — feeling all right after seeing everything is in one piece.
| >>580606
> Fox lets his heritage shine through and bows deeply in return, while giving his reply.
"Yoroshuku onegaishimasu"
> Soon after, a buzzing can be heard and he quickly dashes out, seemingly on call for yet another job. He was so caught up in the delivery, he even forgot he ever ordered anything.
| >>580623 (Thanks!)
>The man walks into the first bathroom he sees, and quickly enters, though he did not lock the door behind him.
| >A woman walks into the cafe, though she is not ordinary by any standards. She seems to be wearing a stripper's outfit; a red latex corset with black laces, as well as very, very short booty shorts in the same red latex material.
>However, this is somehow not the most off thing about her: On her face was a full-faced gasmask, which covered her identity besides the long platinum-blonde hair she had. She entered, and promptly walked directly towards the bathrooms, ignoring everyone.
| >Her gasmask was black, and looked standard military issue, and her black lace boots clicked on the floor as she entered the first bathroom, before closing the door behind her, locking it.
| >A girl walks into the cafe, wearing a black pullover and colorful stocking, she brushes her bed hair down with her hand as she walks towards the counter with a tired look
| >>580634
"Wait, you forgot your—"
> Ray tries to catch up with Fox, but his attempt at being careful proves to be his bane. In his hand is now a cold coffee and a proof of his lateness.
"THAT'S THE SECOND TIME THIS WEEK!"
> Alice scolds Ray from the counter, knowing what her co-worker has done — or failed to do. Sora on the other hand, can be seen chuckling quietly.
| > As patrons come in through, Alice attempts her best to greet them, only for a few to simply walk past and head somewhere else. Though, when one nears her, she approaches them.
>>580660
"Rough day, miss?"
| >>580701
>The girl nods
"Haven't slept in like a week, I'm starting to go crazy"
>She shrugs and sighs
"Nothing a good coffee cant fix"
>Her voice is husky and somewhat boyish, but its a nice voice all around
| >>580477
"I can DM you next time my guys found something like that there"
>The man, Impulse, reply, before turning to Alice
>>580366
"Can I have another cup of coffe please, like this one"
>He show Alice the empty mug
| >>580706
"That one's a Sora thing, sir."
> Hearing his name being called, Sora began to move, check the reason why Alice mentioned his name, and then paces away with a nod and an 'Aight'.
>>580709
"Hey, I feel you, miss. Coffee does magic. I assume that's what you want too?"
| >>580658
>Shortly, after a few minutes, the female in the gas mask and lingerie outfit exits the bathroom, and her heels clicked all the way to the door, as she walked to the exit of the cafe.
| >>580714
"Yeah, just the biggest cup you got"
>The girl says as she sits down and massages her temples
| >>580997
"Got that."
> Alice rummages through behind the counter. She takes an obnoxiously tall cup, to which she puts down on the counter itself.
>>580761
"OI. Any of you got our place marked as a toilet or something?"
> Seeing the lady walk off without purchasing nor saying anything didn't get on Alice's nerves — it's how her other co-workers didn't react to the slightest wrongness of the situation.
> Of course, they both had to idly shake off the rhetorical question.
| >>581143
"Dammit, what was that?!"
> Sora's surprise came to effect, alarming the other co-workers — to which Ray was the most to react.
"Ray, go check."
> He points to the bathroom, with a rejecting Ray on the other end of his conversation.
"Not happening."
"What?! You go, you dimhead! It's right there!"
"You go."
"Fucking..."
> Sora had left the counter for the bathroom, slowly creeping to it with a sense of dread climbing him.
| >>581143 >>581044 >>580761
>The sound from one of the bathroom's gets SEGFAULT's attention, and they start slightly before they glue themselves back to the countertop. They drum their fingers against the outside of their mug as they start to look kind of antsy, and cast a few glances around the room. Maybe someone else will intervene? Their hand starts to reach for their breast pocket before they hesitate and return it to their side.
| >>581157
>As Sora makes his way towards the bathroom, SEGFAULT grows more uneasy. This man could be endangering his life by playing good samaritan.
"... He need some kinda backup?"
>They set the box drum on their back down onto the floor and slide it under the counter, then start rummaging around in their jacket for something.
"Safety in numbers."
| >No other noise seems to be coming from the bathroom at the moment, and the door, while closed, seems to be unlocked.
| >However, something else strange occurs.
>Any device nearby with Matrix connection is, for the moment, having a really difficult time connecting. It is like something is taking up the bandwidth nearby.
| >>581166
> Sora slowly peers into the bathroom. While it isn't apparent, his frightened self transcends visibility.
> The two other staff behind the counter tries to offer their best comfort to the patrons by staying relatively calm. Save for Ray who can't seem to stop moving about.
| "Master—"
> By the seat of Miro, Uni, and Lucetta — the two girls can be seen analysing the situation, but not intervening in the slightest. Uni's eye flicker briefly as it glows to a sparse blue.
"Yeah, I didn't really want a good evening anyway."
> Lucetta said, responding to Uni's worry. She chuckled, albeit awkwardly.
| >>581174
>The scene is...horrific.
>The man who walked in before is sprawled out on the ground, on his back in an eerie manner, as if he fainted. His hood is off of his head, revealing dark skin and brown eyes, and a head of black dreadlocks.
>However, his eyes are wide open, and looking all about, looking up at the ceiling as if there is something there, something he sees.
>Besides his eyes, he is not moving at all.
| >A drop of blood begins to form itself in his left eye, before quickly falling down his face, leaving a red trail down his cheek. He is crying blood.
>The bathroom mirror, which was above the sink to the left, has been taken off of the wall and set on the sink to be used as a table. Small residue of an off-white powder with a yellowish tint spattered the mirror, but not enough to substantially make a line of powder which would be able to insufflate.
| >More blood begins to stream from his eyes, before he spoke:
"Is...this...heaven...?"
>He does not look at Sora, or anyone else, instead still looking up at the ceiling.
"Or...space...maybe..."
>His voice is raspy, and he is speaking slowly, as if it is difficult to talk, or actually think about what he is saying.
| "I've...lost...my...eyes...in a puddle, somewhere here..."
| >Then, all Matrix-connected devices near the man lost connection entirely. There is no wireless connection in this room at all, it is a dead zone.
| "I...can...see...everything...now..."
>The man's eyes, if you looked closely, began to tint a neon-blueish color, as his pupils encompass nearly his entire eyes.
"I...am...everything..."
| >SEGFAULT, who is still out at the counter, watches Sora like a hawk as he enters the bathroom to be greeted by a downright disturbing sight-- which the percussionist is currently unaware of at this moment. They do, however, hear some of the junkie's crazed mutterings.
"The fuck is going on in there?"
>They pull out their phone, presumably to alert someone, and frown as they see all communications have ceased.
"... Fuck."
| >>581197
>You feel a hand on your shoulder- although nothing seems to *be* there.
"We should move."
| >>581194
> Sora, frozen for a good amount of seconds, backed off before falling as his legs loses their balance.
"Boss! BOSS!"
> His panicked words made Alice hither by, having her check the scene with her eyes. Although her reaction isn't as strong as Sora's, there was still a slight surprise that she did.
"Great. Just great."
> Alice said. She helps Sora stand back up before then pushing him to the counter — where Ray is now.
"Sora, Ray, handle the counter."
| > Alice attempts to enter the bathroom. Her careful steps try to reach the sight of the powder — though she is better to know the fact that she shouldn't toy around with the powder.
"No more free bathrooms then."
> She mutters, frowning upon viewing the man again.
| >>580620 "Thanks."
> ...
"It looks like things are starting to get a little weird in here... I'm ready to go if you two are."
| >The girl who had just finished her coffee slowly returns to attention upon having her matrix connection severed, they shake a bit and cough up blood, reeling from low effect dumpshock as her eyes expose a few tears
"What- the fuck"
>She pushes out in a husky voice as her hands start to scramble for something under her skirt
| >>581268
>The path to the sink is clear, & after inching closer to the makeshift mirror-table, you can see it in clear view: the residue of the powder which remained was roughly in the shape of four lines, though clearly this is not indicative of how much powder was in each line. The off-white powder was clearly insufflated through the nose.
>Looking at the man, you can even see a slight residue of said powder underneath his right nostril.
>He definitely snorted it.
| >The man begins to let out a light chuckle.
"I am...floating...through a world...of dreams....."
"...This...is...bliss..."
>That's when you see it.
>There is a bloodstain on the edge of the toilet seat, just beside where his head lied...as well as...a pool of blood forming beheath the man's head.
>It appears when he fell, he smacked his head on the hard porcelain seat of the toilet, hard enough that he is now bleeding from the back of his head as well.
| >The girl at the counter gets up and stumbles hard before regaining her balance and heading towards the bathroom, her head still buzzing aftr being forcefully ejected from the matrix
"Christ, fuck shit fuck, yo what's happening in there"
>Her nose bleeds profusely now
| >The shouting caught Impulse's attention, which make Impulse go investigate. Upon seeing the scene he says
"Oh, fuck you, GC"
| >>581336
> Frowning at the state of the bathroom and the attention it brings, Alice couldn't muster anymore irritated tone. She caught herself backing away from the man, and the bathroom — concluding something else in her mind.
"Ray, could you get here and connect to Horace? I'm not handling this."
"All done!"
"What?"
"We're disconnected!"
> Hearing those words made Alice held enough emotions to burst through her weary self.
"Goddammit."
> Was all she could muster, however.
| >>581336 >>581337
"You lot better stay away!"
> Sora warned the two through his trembling voice. There was a pause as he bit his lip, perhaps the scene has already begun melting into his memory.
"—Ray, fuck this. I'm going home."
> He brushes past Ray, who blocked the black-haired staff easily with his taller stature.
"Nu-uh."
"What do you want me do?"
"Not me, the boss might need ya'."
> With that, Sora squarely slumped to the corner, sighing with eyes closed.
| >>581362
"I kinda need to take care of this bleeding though! Fucking dumpshock"
>The girl says, trying to prop herself up as she spoke to the staff, pointing to her bleeding nose and bloody face.
| >>581269
"I've got your offer, boy — but tell me what you think about this mess."
> Lucetta interrupted Uni, who was in the midst of forming a thought to reject the idea of staying any longer.
"See, here. Uni's breaking down."
> It's obvious: Uni's glowing eye flickers slowly now and her reaction is delayed — almost as though she is intoxicated.
"Once you've got your reckoning, we're sprinting outta' here."
| >>581369
"Were you ejected?!"
> Ray, panicking, takes her hand and guides her to the staff bathroom — the room directly opposite in direction to the public bathroom.
> Sora with his slipping willpower had to open the door for Ray — his co-worker's hurry did make him unconsciously react too.
| >>581371
"Yeah, I'm upholding a 24/7 watch on some sites through my jack, atleast the connexion slowed down, or I may have been hit pretty darn hard, fucking christ"
>The girl stammers as she gets guided to the staff area, her legs are barely propping her up as she blushes at the thought of being escorted.
| >>581377
> The staff bathroom — being propped in a separate area of its own, only have one bathroom for male and female. The gasping, fast-breathing Ray, weakly points to them — or rather, the female room.
"I can't help you clean up, s-so, please use the room to your liking."
> His laboured breathing was hard to not notice. Whatever his reason for overly panicking is, it seems that he is ignoring it in the worst way possible.
| >>581360
>The junkie on the bathroom floor continued to mutter inane comments as blood began to pool up underneath his head.
"Is...this...God...?"
"Am...I...God?"
"Who...are...you...?"
"This...place...is amazing..."
>But then suddenly, his expression changed.
"Why...does...my...head...hurt...?"
"I...can't...breathe..."
| >>581378
"Right, thanks a ton"
>The girl walks into the bathroom and looks into the mirror reflecting a bloodied face and a cramped expression
"Christ, This is fucking awful. What happened in that bathroom though, I'll leave my augs on off for now..."
>She washes away the blood and flicks a small switch near her nape
| >Notably, the blood beneath the junkie's head then began to have a yellowish liquid leaking with it.
>That...is not good.
>The man began to squirm slightly, in discomfort.
"My...body..."
"Why...my...body..."
"Why...what...who is there?"
>He began to speak slightly more alertly, as if adrenaline has just brought him slightly back down to reality.
| >Notably, as this happened, Matrix connection began to slightly, but not fully, return to the devices it was taken from.
| >>581370 > He took a good look around. A minute ago things had been calm, but now through the open bathroom door he could see someone who had... overdosed on something? Not a drug though. Other people were having similar reactions.
"I honestly have no idea what to make of most of this. Stuff usually doesn't get this out of hand where I come from.
But anyway. As your new driver, it's my responsibility to get you where you're going SAFELY, so I think we better get moving."
| >>581387 > He quickly chugged the last of his sunshine cloud and made ready to book it - though he made sure Lucetta and Uni were on their way out too.
| >>581387
> Lucetta smiled. It was a true, knowledgeable smile from her.
"Now, Uni — where's the key?"
> Uni's response was still slow and unmanaged. She dropped the key, which Lucetta thankfully caught mid-air. She threw the key to Miro, expecting him too, to catch it.
| >>581390 > Miro caught the key as they made their way out of the cafe. He wanted to ask what was wrong with Uni, but that could wait until her and Lucetta were safe. He tapped the unlock button and made for the driver's door of the car that responded to it.
| >>581380
"You okay? Need anything?"
> Ray is still on the other side of the bathroom — pacing back and forth, obvious from the sound his boots tapping the floor.
"Man, I thought this cafe would be safer than BTC bars."
| >>581391
> Having decided that pushing Uni over won't work, Lucetta thought the next best idea was to carry her like a bride — and indeed, that is what she did. At least before she screamed something along her back as she dropped Uni to the red SUV's back seat.
> Lucetta opened the passenger seat, sighing a relief as she does so.
"Instruct: Public key; Home."
> She said. The car responded by showing an address to their destination.
"Prove me I'm right, Fox."
| >>581392
>The girl comes out as you call, her face pale but free of blood now
"My head is still buzzing, but I'll be fine I think... Yo is that the first time the matrix cuts off like that here?"
>She says as she stops and cranes her neck to stare at Ray, being of small stature sure sucks
| >>581389
"I need a ton."
> Sora said, heaving his breaths.
"But you better get boss. She's needing more."
| >>581381
"Welcome to Earth. Population: Me."
> Alice heard the man spew out words, but her response was made out of condescending thoughts. Her sentence can't be interpreted seriously, but neither can any of her motions now.
"And you — you're dying, mister."
| >>581202
>SEGFAULT flinches and swats at whatever is-- or isn't-- resting on their shoulder.
"The fuck--?!"
>Their voice cracks as it jumps about half an octave in range, and they look wildly around their immediate vicinity. When they don't find anything or anyone encroaching on their personal space, they hug the counter tighter. Their frown deepens, and their posture becomes more closed off.
| >>581408
>You feel your hand strike something cold and hard- like a prosthetic.
"... I'm right next to you, Aikawa."
| >There doesn't seem to be anyone immediately there, but you may or may not notice a bit of bending light coming from the bar counter.
| >>581396
"Dying..."
>The man still looked at the ceiling, but he reached a hand slowly up to feel the back of his head, but clearly moving it was a struggle, so he set it down halfway there, putting it right into the puddle of blood.
"I'm...dying..."
>He continued to look at the ceiling, staring up at whatever it was he was seeing there intently.
"...well...its...better...here...than...there...anyway..."
>He let out another light chuckle.
| "This...world...is...better...that's why I'm here...in the first place...whether I live or...die...doesn't matter...as long as...I'm...here."
>Those words were firm, firmer and more conscious than anything else he said, and with that, he felt his chest.
"Getting...hard...to...breathe..."
>He smiled.
"This...>is...Heaven..."
| >>581412
>The girl coming back from the staff room does notice the nanocamo cloaked... Person, but pays them no mind, her augs were off and no way was she turning them on again for a stare at a cloaker. She also gives SEGFAULT a stare with her purplish eyes before shrugging and turning to Alice
"Oi, you want me to call an ambulance or something? I feel like whatever is going in there is gonna be a drekking headache later if I don't"
| bray anton franc
| >>581418
"Thanks for putting the words in my mouth — would you mind then?"
> Alice turns to the girl, noticing Ray following her from behind. She isn't at all ready to deal with the repercussions of having a dead junkie in her cafe — much less one that doesn't seem aware where they are in relation to things.
>>581417
"No, no, no. This is MY cafe."
| >And so the girl promptly does, calling 911 with an overly decorated garish looking flip phone with too many keychains on it.
"Yo emergency services? Yeah we got someone who did *something* in the bathroom here and he's now passed out and bleeding, I'll try first aid but I feel like you may wanna hurry. Location? Caramel Anne in uptown, We'll be waiting"
>She says, deadpan throughout as if ordering a pizza before closing the phone
"We should give the poor guy first aid she said"
| >>581515
"I know first aid"
>Impulse say as he take out a small camouflaged pouch with a light blue cross on its side
| >>581410 >>581412
>... oh. OH. Aikawa-- er, SEGFAULT-- squirms under the hidden person's grip, trying to shrug their hand off her shoulder and get a better idea of where they are.
"H-Hey, k-keep it down! Had an agreement on what we were calling me, remember?"
>Aikawa does her best to continue masking her voice, and pulls the lip of her cap even lower over her face.
"When'd you even come in? Thought you ditched."
| >>581515 >>581571
>Hmm. First aid, huh? Why all the commotion if it's something first aid can reliably stabilize until the pros show up? SEGFAULT/Aikawa hangs back against the counter and watches Impulse pull from his pocket what may be the same kit she got nitroglycerin from the night she almost bit it at the Drifter.
"Just started chatting together, and you don't feel like hanging around anymore?"
>She speaks into the air, towards wherever her companion is.
| >>581515
>However, your call to 911 is not clear quality. Something is still taking the bandwidth, so even though you were able to place the call, it was staticky enough that it is hard to tell if anyone even understood what you said. Emergency services may, or may NOT, be on their way.
>>581491
"C-cafe?"
>The man then blinked, multiple times.
"I...can't...see...it...I..."
>Things, seemingly, began to click.
"I...took...a dissociative...I'm...in a...K-hole...I can't see."
| >>581580
"You took a dissociative in MY cafe. I'll make you dissociate with reality — perma-fucking-nently."
> Alice steps off and allow Impulse to work on his first aid — as she does so by gesturing to him where the man is. It's apparent that she has lost the willpower to sip through.
"God, Sora. Step off. Go home. You ain't looking all right."
> She spots Sora, hogging the corner of the counter for himself. With that, her hand points to the exit of the cafe.
| >>581571
>From the looks of the scenario, this man, who is clearly on a drug which has put him in some sort of dissociative state, has fallen and smacked his head hard enough to cause an open wound, which is leaking not only blood but what looks like cerebrospinal fluid.
(Real quick: it was brought to my attention CSF is actually clear, and not yellow. Google fucked me...not sure if you'd see it or not actually.)
>What is your course of action?
| >>581583 >>581580 >>581584
>Impulse make his way through the staffs and approach the drug junkie.
"Sorry, this might hurt"
(I'm not a medical personnel, but wiki said you can give caffeine intravenously to offer symptomatic relief, should I stop the bleed first? Or do I just use caffeine autoinjector)
| >>581587
(That is entirely up to you. Your courses of action are your own. Do what you feel will help the man. ;) )
| (Don't blame me if he dies)
>Impulse tries to stop the bleed from the junkie's head, then take out an autoinjector filled with a dose of caffeine and inject it into the junkie's vein
| >>581595
>When you turn over his head to stop the bleeding, you hear a distinct crack come from the neck. Looking at the wound area, it looks less like it is a head wound, as it seems he hit directly where the base of the skull connects to the upper spinal column.
>The caffeine begins to enter the man's veins.
"I...can't...breathe..."
>Then, suddenly, he closes his eyes. His chest begins to convulse. He has stopped brathing.
>It looks like he is going into cardiac arrest.
| >>581602
"CHEST COMPRESSIONS!"
> Ray shouted from behind, realising the severity of the situation. His hand scatters around, trying to find a phone to call an ambulance with — and his poor timing made him drop the phone, sliding it across the floor.
| >>581578 >>581575
>You feel the hand gently release from your shoulder.
"I don't like us being cut off from the Matrix, as hypocritical as that probably sounds..."
| >>581605
"Don't really like it either, especially if we gotta make a quick exit."
>Aikawa/SEGFAULT nods, and is about to pull a credstick from her pocket to hand to Alice so she and her partner can bail when she hears Ray bellowing from the restroom.
"The fuck, they said they needed first aid 5 minutes ago?!"
>She shakes her head and grumbles, growing frustrated.
"... Sorry, ane-san, but I think I gotta step in. Hang back."
>She marches off towards the bathroom.
| >>581602 >>581603 >>581611
>SEGFAULT removes her cap, ridding herself of her "clever disguise" as she enters the doorway of the restroom to see Impulse crouched over some nobody on the ground, shoving the heel of his hand into the victim's sternum. Once a paramedic, always a paramedic.
"The fuck happened in here?!"
>>581603
>Aikawa hands Ray her phone, and rolls up her sleeves.
"Call them again; put 'em on speaker. Don't think they know how fast this guy's kicking the bucket."
| >>581583
>Aikawa looks over her shoulder for a moment and hollers to any of the waitstaff listening at the counter:
"Can someone put another coffee where I was sitting?! Two half and halfs! Put it on my tab!!"
>Having put in an order for her companion, she returns her attention to the gruesome scene in front of them.
>>581611
"What'd you do for this guy so far?"
>She takes off her jacket and ties it around her waist. Things are going to get hot, and fast.
| >>581393 > He nodded. The car accelerated smoothly; He got them out of the alley with haste, slowing to a speed more in line with traffic laws once they were on the main road.
"I assume you want me to drive legally... but I don't know what's wrong with Uni. If we need to get her home or somewhere else FAST, just say the word.
| >>581603 >>581611 >>581648 >>581652
>Impulse begins chest compressions on the man, and this, combined with the attempts to stop the bleeding, seem to work for keeping the junkie alive for the time being.
>Meanwhile, Aikawa hands the phone to Ray dialing 911, and in this bleak moment, it seems that the service has returned for a temporary moment. The fates are in your favor.
>The call connects.
"911, what is your emergency?"
| >>581697
>Aikawa takes a deep breath and brings her index and middle fingers to her carotid as she tries to ground herself a bit. "At a cardiac arrest, the first procedure is to take your own pulse..." Re-centered, she answers the dispatcher, wondering if he'll recognize her:
"Can you hear me? Need a fucking ALS vehicle sent to the Caramel Anne Cafe in Uptown fucking STAT, before this dude ends up taking a dirtnap--"
| >>581697 >>581702
>She tries to fill the dispatcher in on what she can gather via context clues, since she hasn't been told jack about what's gone down in the bathroom. Her eyes scan the area for clues, their augments working double-time.
"Adult male; severe blunt head trauma. Non-responsive, CPR's been started... Probable prior drug use. Cause of trauma unknown; wasn't witnessed. Might have been hit. Think he only just arrested, not sure why."
| >>581652
"Coffee ready!"
> Sora tapped the counter, showing his presence back after moments of trepidation. Near him is a cup with the expected coffee.
| >>581674
"Her? Matrix jams. You can feel it reek in the cafe."
> Lucetta said. Her calm demeanor is out of place, all things considered. She dons a flat, unmoving expression to amplify the idea.
"She'll forget the moments during the disconnection. It's… an idiotic flaw in my design."
| >>581702
>The girl with colorful stocking simply watches as the obviously more equipped professionals take over, she shrugs.
"Heya, you need me to do anything lady?"
>She says towards SEGFAULT
| >>581711
>An asian woman suddenly materializes at the table- her long, jet black hair is pulled into a thick, singular braid that is gently draped over her shoulder- it stands out against a decorative, blood red qipao with chrome trimming. She takes the coffee and sips it.
"Thank you."
| >>581724
>The girl looks back and freezes for half a beat, why was *she* here, or did she just not notice? she averts her eyes
| >>581652
"A shot of caffeine in his vein, some bandages to stop the bleed and CPR"
>Impulse answer, keeping up the Chest compression
| >>581713 (OOC: Matrix? So is Uni a lilim?)
> Miro nods. Some of this was a bit beyond him, as there weren't many lilim in Florida, but he thought he understood well enough.
"Does stuff usually get so... chaotic there? One minute we were talking over some cake and the next minute everything had gone ballistic."
> The headlights went on as the sky continued to dim. Miro didn't look forward to walking home in the dark, but he'd known he'd have to do that from the start.
| >>581719
>SEGFAULT/Aikawa peeks out the the doorway to the bathroom to spy the young woman and her colorful socks. Huh. Wonder where she got those.
"Keep an eye out for the EMTs and flag 'em down when you see them coming this way."
>Always have bystanders do something simple. As much as she could probably use other help right now, untrained hands might make things worse-- and they're already pretty damned fucked up as it is.
| >>581757
"Wow, no >>>way I would have guessed the whole CPR thing."
>Aikawa quips sarcastically before motioning for Impulse to move aside.
"Switch with m--"
>She stops mid sentence as the other major treatment administered finally registers.
"-- You gave him >>>what?! H-how many m-- ugh!!"
>She turns her head in the direction of her phone and barks at the dispatcher:
"Hear that, pally?!? IV >>>caffeine!! Jesus fucking christ..."
| >>581794
"He's leaking CSF"
>Impulse moves to let Aikawa takes over
"Doesn't caffeine offers symptomatic relief?"
| >>581796
>Aikawa draws an imaginary line across the man's chest, then places the palm of her hand on his sternum and starts working her upper body like a piston. The metronome in her head begins its ticking, 100-120 beats per minute... She slips into a rhythm effortlessly, and snarls at Impulse:
"Think the fact that he's leaking... blood and brain juice all over the fucking floor is... a little more important than... the fucking headache he'll wake up with if he lives! Christ--!!"
| "Not everyone is a doctor missy, how about you calm down"
>The girl quips back at Aikawa with a barely contained sigh, she hates dealing with people, especially angry people... Why did today turn out like this
| >>581808
"She's a paramedic- its not in her nature to be calm." >The asian woman murmurs as she sips her coffee.
"Otherwise she would be a crappy medic."
| >>581776
(She isn't a Lilim, but she isn't human per se.)
"What? The cafe? No, I didn't buy the place to have a dead guy in the bathroom."
> Lucetta's words were coming from her usual emotionless, stoic self. Different from 'Sera' — Lucetta seems to have very little care, if any, to what happened behind them.
> Uni in the back seat is still motionless. Her eyes would flicker every so often, but her mouth didn't utter a single word.
| >>581822 > Miro decided he liked 'Sera' better than Lucetta, but he stayed quiet about that. After all, could he really expect her to be cheerful after everything that had just happened?
"I hadn't realized you owned the cafe."
> Every now and then he would glance at Uni in the mirror. He didn't quite understand what was wrong with her. She had seemed human enough, but whatever was ailing her was definitely electronic.
| >>581798
>Impulse responsed
"I'm not a medical personel, but, in my defense, I did stop the bleed before giving him the injection, didn't I?"
| >>581824
> Lucetta chuckled. There isn't a clue, but the reason for her reaction is more so than obvious.
"What, do you expect the staff to just stay like that?"
> She pauses, giving ample time to see the sceneries of Glitch City — particularly that of Uptown, where skyscrapers takes up most of the space in the view.
"I don't own the place. Alice does. She's the gal that met you."
| >>581808
>This is not the first time Aikawa has ever had someone gripe at her like this, nor will it be the last. She rolls her eyes and snaps back through her compressions:
"And yet... civvies like >>>this guy... are running around with shit only...>>>doctors should use in their medkits!!"
>She gives an exasperated sigh and shakes her head, perspiration beginning to dot her brow as her bangs fly into and off of her face.
| >>581826
>That espresso she had earlier is lending itself well to these chest compressions-- Aikawa makes a mental note to thank the barista again when all this is said and done. It's also lending to her growing frustration, however. Her shout rings out within the bathroom:
">>>And his fucking>>>heart, too, you bithead!!"
>Now, does she know this for sure? No. Given the circumstances, does she have reason to believe she's right? Most likely.
| >>581884 >>581878
>"I'm sorry okay!? I did what I could"
>Impulse shouted back, then mutters under his breath
"Not my fault you didn't response the first time they called for help"
| >>581884
"And I'm saying getting angry won't make it better, Miss, nor will it change what's been done, I thought medics stayed level headed"
>She smirks and her hands delve into her pockets as she does
| >>581885
"Don't get involved unless... I need to!! First time... they asked for help they... just said the guy needed first aid...!! How does a layperson... screw that up so hard someone >>>arrests...?!"
>Nearing the end of her first cycle, Aikawa grabs her pocket mask from her jacket as she gets ready to rescue breathe the victim. No way in hell is she doing real mouth to mouth on this guy. She pops its case open, and lets it unfold itself. 28... 29... 30.
| >>581890
>Aikawa sets her fingers on either side of the man's jaw and pushes it forward to open his mouth, leaning in to give him a couple of breaths before resuming compressions. 1... 2... 3...
>>581888
"Neither does... being snide!! I might be... mouthing off but I'm... >>>still saving this idiot's life...! Don't see>>>you... doing him any favors...! Go look for the ambulance!!"
>The quality of her compressions stays steady, though she hopes the EMTs will show up soon.
| >>581897
"Well you know wouldn't want to hurt the poor inoccent, I'm a >>Layperson after-all you know, Aikawa Ei-san"
>The girl pokes at the side of her neck and her expression mellows out
"But sure I'll go see for an ambulance, maybe get some connexion and do some calls as well, wouldn't want to sour your mood even more"
>She throws a wave in the air and starts to slowly exit the bathroom, her hands returning to her pockets
| >>581900
>Sure, go ahead and holler to the whole cafe who she is. Least she had the decency to use an honorific. Aikawa sighs deeply and pushes ahead.
>>581900
">>>Great!! Glad you>>>finally see it my way!!"
>She's well aware the girl isn't trying to make nice with her, but what does it matter? She doesn't have time to do anything other than take people's words at face value right now.
"Is there a fucking... AED in this cafe?!"
>Please say yes, please say yes, somebody...
| >>581906
>One of the coffeehouse patrons, a street punk with a thin lime green mohawk shaved down his skull, complete with a grim reaper tattoo etched into his head, gulps his coffee with a grimace. He sets the mug down a little harder than he intended and ruffles about in the cheap synth-leather vest he wears over ratty jeans. He swirls what's left of the coffee around in the mug, looking over in the direction of the chaos as he fumbles with something in his pockets.
| >The asian woman sighs into her coffee.
| >>581906
"It's a cafe, not an operating room!"
> Alice declares. It wasn't that her voice were coming out irritated — rather, her tiredness were slowly creeping onto her. However, any third-party might assume she is being sarcastic, uncooperative, or otherwise unhelpful.
| >>581914
>The girl swings her legs as she exaggeratedly walks down to the door, she hits >>581914's table by accident as she does!
"Woah, heyo sorry bout' that chummer"
>She says as she scrambles
| "Holy shit she heard me mutter from inside the toilet to here?"
>Impulse mutters again, then shrug it off to find his tablets. He starts to call for an ambulance. But... If everyone else has already called for an ambulance, surely they would be on their way already right?
>To this thought Impulse decides to call Red instead, yes, the ex-PMC guy
"Hey Red, can you call one of your old pals to get a trauma team here? I'll explain later, yeah, thanks"
| >>581918
>The punk pops his head up, baring patchy teeth in response. When he sees its just you, his expression drops back to neutral, and he stomps fumbling with his pockets.
"Meh, runts."
>He gets up with the mug and heads back to the counter.
| >And with the power of friendship, oh who the fuck am I kidding. Anyways, NDSec still agrees to send over a trauma team, totally not because they want to test what the new drug can do and totally because they care for the people of GC
| >>581921
>The girl chuckles nervously and steps away as he goes to the counter, sparing him a glance but nothing more as she once agains taps her neck and heads to the door with a now more restrained swagger
| >>581917
"NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!!"
>Aikawa roars before giving the junkie another couple of rescue breaths. Isn't that a legal issue? Not like anything in GC is really up to safety code, anyway... A few more cycles and she can check for a pulse...
>>581919
"MAN, the acoustics in here are just GREAT, aren't they?!"
>Indeed they are, as the whole cafe can hear her screaming as the sound reverberates within the tiny bathroom.
| >A girl walks into the building just in time to hear >>581925
>With faded pink hair and lifeless blue eyes, looking no older than 15, she's got a very striking feeling to her, especially with the super baggy clothes
"Did I... come at a bad time?"
>She seems to be on the phone
"Ah no, Miko you were right, I'll talk later."
>She puts the phone in her pocket
| >>581927
> What's visible first the crowd gathering near the bathroom, then a clear appearance of one lonely staff, by himself with a pale face.
"W-welcome there."
> The staff — Sora — says with a trembling voice, mismatching with his calm, low pitch tone.
| >>581927
>The girl moves out of the way for the new arrival, she definitely did say Miko... how slim the chances of her being... no better not think about it
"Yo, you might wanna move or leave, bad shit going down there not much help us civvies can give hmm?"
>She says
| >>581928
>>581929
>The girl lifts an eyebrow at the staff before turning an eye to the Girl
"Seems to me that way, but ain't you in too much of a rush?"
>The girl staggers forward and uses the leaver's body to not collapse for a second
"Sorry about that, I'm feeling a little under the weather, for someone..."
>She leans closer to whisper to the girl
"Dead, if you catch my drift. Care to fill me in?"
>She winks
| >Impulse puts on his balaclava and helmet and is now back to his routine of cleaning his weapons at a counter of a bar/cafe, totally not against the rules of the cafe
| >>581931
>Fucking knew it, why did god hate Kou this much?
>She sighs
"Weird junky is dying, Aikawa Ei is with him along with some other Mil type dude, one dude is probably a faceless assailant, and fucking Dynamofuck's lass is here. You happy now?"
>She mumbles as sweat forms on her brow, fuck she hates dealing with others who get close like that
| >>581932
"Hey boy! I don't want to see another guy dead, gotcha?!"
> Alice said as she storms into the staff room herself. Opening and closing the door in a rush. Her momentary disappearance made Sora slump further into his own anxiety.
> By the other side, Ray watches closely without interacting much. His face shows he is interested in the operation, like a child of sorts, but his attitude speaks his fear of the situation.
| >>581933
>Anri lifts an eyebrow
"Well, I guess this doesn't really matter to us then, thanks for the tip. Man, Miko really should've picked a better time for this shit..."
>She leans back and starts heading for the washrooms
"Watch yourself, friend, tough days ahead."
>She shows a smile to the employee
"I heard about your issue, friend of mine called me to deal with it."
| >>581935
"And what are YOU gonna do, didn't I tell you, they don't need the help missy"
>Kou mumbles as she grabs Anri's shoulder
"Let the actual paramedic handle this, you can surely wait right?"
>This was getting out of hand, too many people were showing up, and Kou's agoraphobia was starting to act up something fierce
| >>581937
>Anri turns to face Kou, her eyes are no longer lifeless
>Within her gaze is a flaming mix of hate, lust and excitement, like dark flames from hell itself
"Someone is dying, I cannot let this pass."
>You can practically feel her stifle her laugh as she walks into the bathroom
| >>581938
"Christ, what kinda crazy is that... I wasn't told about this"
>She mutters as she simply watches the girl leave to the bathroom, she stands still and curses under her breath
| "Fuck this, man."
> Sora weakly said, closing his eyes to rest himself by the counter.
This thread is permanently archived
| > Although the sun has begun to hide its presence behind the tall buildings, the sky was lit with a muted orange.
> In Uptown, casting its shadow, is a cafe well-hidden among the alleways. 'Caramel Anne', its neon-white sign reads.
> The cafe is sparse; employees have begun leaving early, leaving only a handful of them and two patrons.
> Inside the cafe is warm, welcoming with the faintest hint of chocolate wisping the air.