[PRP] Afternoon Tea (Xiu / Edel + Ivar)

[Zyphiris]

The door chimed as she entered, peeking in gingerly before stepping into the cafe fully.

"Hello," she greeted a little stiffly, but with all the intention to tease.

She has been around town for a while now and had noticed the cafe starting up back then, though she never paid it a formal visit. Now graduated, perhaps this was the perfect time to meet up with some old friends.  

[Kaiyumi]

Xiu had just slid a fresh cake into the refrigerated display when the ringing of bells indicated that someone had entered the cafe. She poked her head out from behind the counter with the intention of greeting their customer, only for her eyes to widen in surprise when she realized just who it was.

"Edel!" Tail waving behind her, Xiu trotted out to greet the ghoul properly, her face lit up with a warm smile, "How nice of you to visit! Are you here for a meal?"

On the house, of course. She realized it probably wasn't the best business ethic to give her friends free meals but...hell. If Gene didn't mind and she had plenty of tea and cake to go around, what did it matter?

Zyphiris

 

[Zyphiris]

A bunch of blood roses neatly wrapped into a bouquet was presented. "My belated congratulations on the opening," she smiled, "And from what I've heard, a wonderful showing at prom too."

"May I?" she asked to take a seat, "And I'd love to hear the chef's recommendation too."

Kaiyumi

 

[Kaiyumi]

Smile growing, Xiu reached out to take the bouquet with a little wag of her tail. "Thank you, Edel, they're beautiful! How kind of you." However, it wasn't until she had taken it did she actually process the little add-on about prom. Lowering the flowers so that she could peer owlishly over them, the baku let out a small, nervous laugh. "O-oh, is that so? How did you--n-no, nevermind."

Shaking off her embarrassment, she nodded and swept an arm out. "Yes, please take whatever seat you'd like! Let me just find a vase for these pretty flowers, and I'll be right back." The ghoul scurried off to do just that, returning a moment later to set the flowers right on the front counter before moving to where her friend had chosen to sit.

"We have a lot of sandwiches and cakes today, which include..." Lifting her hand, she ticked off each finger as she went through the variety that they had prepared today, "...Though I'd recommend the green tea cake and one of the herbal teas if you'd prefer something mild and not too sweet in flavour today."

Zyphiris

what is green tea in Halloween talk? WHO KNOWS /UNCREATIVELY JUST USES THE REAL NAME

 

[Zyphiris]

Edel returned the nervous laughter with an unreadable smile. How she would know about what happened at prom is a mystery.

The ghoul took a seat by the window, peering out into the street as she waited. It was still setting in that this would be the view most familiar to her from now on. A nice change of pace, she supposed, work kept her busy but it was still enjoyable.

Edel listened to Xiu list the menu, and would nod at her suggestion. "Green tea cake paired with a herbal tea would be lovely." She paused to take a look around the cafe. "And if you're not too busy, would you like to join me perhaps?"

Kaiyumi

Leaf water sounds right

 

[Kaiyumi]

"Will do!" Xiu chirped, locking her fingers behind her back, "And I'd love to, if you don't mind the company. I think we have some catching up to do." That, and if memory served, the ghoul had wanted to talk to her about something. They hadn't had much of a chance to after the chaos, so perhaps this was the perfect opportunity.

The baku left to retrieve the ordered items, returning shortly after with a platter than held utensils, a teapot, two teacups, and a small, delicate little cake. Setting all but one of the cups in front of Edel, Xiu slid into the seat across from her.

"So, how have you been feeling since that little...thing back at the school?"

Zyphiris

...I guess leaf water is a pretty horrifying name

 

[Zyphiris]

Only until Xiu had slid into the seat across her and mentioned the incident at school did Edel remember that she had told Shun that she would try to keep Xiu out of it.

It was hard to avoid staring guiltlessly into the baku's round, earnest eyes.

"I have been... alright. How were the rest of the students? I'm sorry I couldn't stay back to help them to the infirmary..." She really didn't have much of an excuse for it to be honest, other than wanting to get out of the place as fast as possible due to certain unforseen circumstances.

The ghoul picked up her fork and took a bite out of the cake. "This is delicious by the way."

Kaiyumi

 

[Kaiyumi]

"Only 'alright'?" she asked, tilting her head and gazing at the ghoul with sympathetic eyes, "Are you still tired from the incident, perhaps?" She picked up the teapot as she spoke, filling Edel's cup first and setting it before the ghoul before pouring for herself next. She had specifically gone for a nice, mild herbal blend, so she hoped that it would help relax Edel if she was still feeling any sort of stress from the incident.

If only she knew.

"Don't apologize! Everyone was okay, just a little confused and exhausted," Xiu assured her with a dismissive wave of her hand, "It doesn't seem like anyone is going to come out of that fight with any sort of long lasting effects though." Or so she hoped, anyways.

"And thank you! It really means a lot to hear you say that." Clasping her hands in the lap, Xiu grinned fondly at the other ghoul, faintly embarrassed by clearly pleased at the compliment towards her cake.

Zyphiris

 

[Zyphiris]

"Yes I'm quite alright," she assured her with a slightly nervous smile, "And yes you could say so..." The ghoul could hardly sleep that night with the worry of being unable to take off the ring, as well as feeling the mild effects of wrath pulsating from it.

"That's good to hear I-" she paused to pull a face and clear her throat, "Think some of them really do need a talking to." She nodded politely and thanked Xiu for the tea before taking a sip of it. A compliment for the tea was given as well.

Setting the teacup down on the table, Edel turned to stare at the baku rather earnestly. Contemplating.

Kaiyumi

 

[Kaiyumi]

Xiu cocked her head to the side as she stared at her friend, vaguely picking up on the fact that the ghoul probably wasn't quite as "alright" as she claimed. At least, there was definitely faintly tense about her expression, though the demoness wasn't sure if she was just imagining things. Nevertheless, she let out a little "oh" before nodding. "Well, so long as you're okay!"

"A talking to, huh? You mean about the whole...buying shady bracelets from shady people thing?" She smiled wryly, though it was clear from the faint crease between her brows that she was none too happy about that either. She felt like it affected her personally as well since she had friends who were in possession of one, and the possibility of them being dangerous scared the hell out of her. "I can definitely give it a go, but I have no idea just how many people have purchased one."

She furrowed her brows in thought, only for her expression to smooth out when she realized that Edel was staring at her. Eyes going round, she tilted her head, and then tilted it a little more, staring back in owlish confusion.

Zyphiris

 

[Zyphiris]

She nodded her head and took another bite out of the cake. "There were quite a few who bought the bracelets, well, I was there too..." The ghoul sighed as she admitted that it was not as easy to warn the rest about being careful, seeing how they had never been under the threat of real danger. "Though the fact that the Black Sands did end up intruding on the school grounds is something to be concerned about. It'll be best to continue keeping watch of the situation for now...for which we have Shun to rely on for that." She sounded a but hesitant about trusting the reaper with such a huge burden, not to mention that for him, there might be some conflicts of interest seeing as to how his family was somehow involved.

It was hard to resist cracking a smile at the baku's curious look, and Edel found herself tamping down on the urge to tease.

However..."Say," she set her fork down, finally breaking the silent stare off, "do you think one of the students ended up with the ring from the cave?" Her chin was casually perched on her ringed hand, while she gave the same unreadable smile at Xiu.

Kaiyumi

 

[Kaiyumi]

Lifting her teacup to her lips, Xiu took a small sip as a grim expression settled over her face. "Yes. I mean, I doubt this is the last that we'll see of those guys. I'm not sure what else they're planning, but the fact that they chose to sell these FEAR amps to random civilians and students can't mean anything good." At the very least, it seemed like solid proof that they were willing to involve innocents in whatever the hell they were doing.

"Aniki is definitely the most capable one when it comes to gathering intel and sleuthing," she agreed with a small smile, "And it makes me wish that I could do more, but I guess the most I can contribute right now is trying to keep certain people out of trouble." "Trying" because the keyword, because she knew for a fact that it was going to be one hell of a challenge.

She perked up at the question, and although she vaguely registered that there was a ring on Edel's finger, she didn't pay enough attention to it to realize just what it was. "Hmm, I wouldn't write it off as an impossibility. It definitely sounded like neither of the two gangs got their hands on it and that it disappeared, so either it just poofed, or one of ours ended up with the thing."

Zyphiris

 

[Zyphiris]

What they could do huh... The ghoul had a slightly melancholic smile as she thought about that. "I wish I could do something a little more too." Shun had warned her about the war that was foreboding, and while she could very well offer herself to be part of the fighting force... it was hardly the life she really wanted.

"Somehow, it feels like I'm still bound to the school. Something compels me to watch over them, though I hardly know any of their names," she remarked, a little bitterly.

"Mhm." she sounded, tried to lighten up the mood a little. "Would you worry too much over them, if that was the case?" The ghoul drew the teacup to her mouth, the ring now in full view.

Kaiyumi

 

[Kaiyumi]

"It's hard to sit on the sidelines," Xiu admitted, her gaze flickering past the ghoul to settle on the interior of the cafe, "And while I don't regret opening up this cafe with Gene even one bit...sometimes I do wonder what would have happened if I had chosen a different job." Something more dangerous, but ultimately more helpful to those in trouble. She still got in some training everyday just to make sure that her fighting skills didn't dull from lack of use, but that was about as much as she felt that she could do to prep for impending trouble.

Xiu laughed quietly into a hand. "I know how you feel! I think I just think back to when we were first years and how nice it would have been to have upperclassmen and alumni looking out for us." Jack knows that their time at school had been filled with its share of strife. No one could blame any of the alumni for being at least a little protective of the Amity students.

The mirth faded from her face then, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Would I worry 'too much', Edel?" she asked, focusing on those two words in particular, "That's an awfully weird way to ask that question. It's as if you're trying to gauge--..."

Xiu's gaze finally settled onto the ring.The words that were supposed to follow promptly died on her lips--lips that were parted in blank shock as she stared at the object. Her eyes the flickered up to meet Edel's.

"...Oh Jack."

Zyphiris

 

[Zyphiris]

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess you're right," she laughed, trailing off to say more irritably, "Some of them just don't listen though."

When the baku finally noticed, Edel sighed and set the cup back down.

"Yes."

She paused to take in Xiu's alarmed expression, which was really quite endearing.

"It, uh, appeared on my finger before I knew it," she explained carefully, "and it won't come off..." The last part was spoken more resignedly.

"Shun knows," she added.

She sighed again.

"And as much as I'd like to think it's safer with me than with anyone else, uh," the ghoul didn't quite know how to continue, "Anyway, just keep it to yourself. I'm sorry I have to drag you into this, but just in case anything happens, I'd need someone to inform my family, and uh - " She shook her head, "-nevermind."

"This might be the third death will I've written by now," she said wryly.

Kaiyumi