The House of Leaves Café

[rosewhite]

The House of Leaves Café

Monday 7am – 9pm
Tuesday 7am – 9pm
Wednesday 7am – 9pm
Thursday 7am – 9pm
Friday 7am – 9pm
Saturday and Sunday 7am- 11pm

A warm, quiet café enveloped endlessly in warm tendrils of espresso steam and the brisk refreshing smell of coffee. The house of Leaves is charming with its Victorian inspired architecture. The delicate balances of reds, browns and other earth tones blend together to fit in with a delicate gold trim that accents each panel. Victorian inspired the interior has panelled walls with a plain wall paper between the thick wooden trim creating panels where scenery can be carefully painted into each panel creating majestic scenes of the owner’s choosing.

The front of the store is lined with stools perched by the coffee bar, an old cash register fitting into the theme of Victorian sits on the counter next to a glorious glass case almost filled to the brim with delicious cakes and pastries baked fresh every day. Beyond the counter many complicated machines for making those delicious beverages which perk up even the most tired of customers sit polished and clean.



Customers can be seen at almost all times of the day sitting in the main area, which is littered with comfy couches and chairs placed next to coffee tables for the customer’s convenience. Large bookcases shape the main area by strategic placement which maintains the open feeling of this interior. Each bookcase contains plenty of books to entertain the customers. The Café’s large windows stretch from ceiling to floor to let in as much natural light, while the actual interior is dimly lit for a relaxing atmosphere.

A blackboard sign sits in one of the tall windows displaying a list of the daily specials. Another sign in neat printing display the words HELP WANTED. The sign hangs neatly by the entrance for all to see as they walk in. Who wouldn't want to work at this extravagant place.  

[Serena Magik Novello]

It was the scent of Espressos that first caught her attention after her jaunt through the park. Now sitting there, cowboy hat of all things pulled down to keep the fluorescent lights out of her eyes, along with the accompaniment tinted shades, even on a March day. A grande' Mocha Cappuccino sitting nearby in an overly huge saucered cup.

Her eyes were currently locked over the monitor to her laptop, her laptops bag resting by its strap hanging behind her on the comfy leather chair. This place was quiet and smelled good and was a nice place to look into some things, get some work done. Old habits never really died. And work wouldn't wait.

Some Mellencamp song was playing quietly through her bullet speaker nearby, not loud enough to cause problems but maybe the song choice might cause upheaval. "When Jesus left Birmingham" was an odd song, but she needed something to help drive her to accomplishing her work and thus, music was her companion. Her eyes lifted, moving her head rather than taking her fingers off the keyboard to check the time on the wall. Not that she had anywhere important to go, but she always liked to be aware of things, taking a last look around again before she sipped her cappuccino, even going so far as to jokingly lift her pinkie finger up before she sat up back down. Thinking of getting something chocolate to go with her beverage.

Again, she was swept up in surfing the web. After she'd taken care of the businesses she'd left in the other city. And to think, this was supposed to be her getaway time. She smirked somewhat sarcastically at that as her leather gloved hands easily found their keys.  

[Ten Tails]

Speaking of being aware of things, a new customer just arrived at the Cafe`. This man had something oddly, clashing about him...Maybe it was the fact he was in a fitted business suit suitable for a someone suck in middle management, yet he barely looked out of his twenties. Maybe he wore his hair back in a well-kept raven black pony tail, accented by a well-groomed latin lover 'stache and goatee about his face. Maybe it was the fact that the pony tail had frosted blue highlights to match painfully light ice blue eyes.

Or...Maybe it was that the man just looked stressed and burned out, constantly fidgeting with a pair of what looked like designer sunglasses in his hand.

Either way, the man walked into line with the rest of the customers, and when it was his turn he ordered a large cup of Chai Tea and a half sandwich, still fidgeting with the glasses.

His order came and he took a seat near the music he heard playing, setting the glasses as far from the table as him as possible before taking a deep sip and sighing into the steam from the cup. He set his cup down, and nibbled at his sandwich.

He just stared at the sunglasses, before reaching over and picking them up...He muttered to himself, before picking them up and unfolding them, looking at the table through the lenses. "To see the Truth...eh?" He eased the glasses on his face, picking up his tea and taking a sip before looking around.

When his gaze came to Magik, he let out a small startled cry. In that moment, it was like his tea cup jolted him with a small spark, and he dropped it, shaking his hand. It tumbled to the ground, the fragile cup shattering as the man tore the glasses from his face and tossed them to the table once more.

The fragments of the tea cup lay on the ground, as was a perfect half-sphere of frozen tea.  

[Serena Magik Novello]

The little bell caught her attention a moment, almost as much as catching sight of a man in a suit did. Well dressed men always caught her eyes cause she was into that whole Fashion thing. She was glad she didn't recognize the face though any people she had who might be following her didn't even know where she was and she kinda liked it like that. Well, Except Tasuki who she ran into anyways. Her mind lost in thoughts as her fingers froze on the keyboard. She hadn't seen him in awhile and with his recent speaking about dying...just not good. She'd try to contact him later.

And she hadn't even realized she'd sort of gotten caught up in noticing how young the man was to be wearing such a suit, to the highlights in his hair, which were neat. Still business like and yet...a wild streak. Shaking her head at why she was even observing him let alone anyone anymore just made her go back to checking her email real quick, typing in her address.

Though it was hard to not see where he had chosen to sit because she could see those shades sitting abit aways from her. Could smell the tea scent over her coffee. And that brought back more memories. How is it one thing could bring up them all again? Then again, she hadn't been away from home for enough time yet. But someday, she could go back without every street corner haunting her.

She had been in the middle of going to open an email when she heard the man sound scared? And drop his tea cup? Her eyes widening behind the shades as she had automatically slid her chair out abit and her hands had reached beside her for what looked to be a walking cane. Shades resting on the bridge of her nose as she took in the area, saw he wasn't hurt and then her eyes saw the frozen tea on the ground. Her left hand coming up to slowly remove the shades from her sapphire blue eyes as she stood, trying to avoid stepping on any shards of the tea cup.

"Are you alright, Sir?" Her voice did sound concerned. After all, she didn't see any visible problems on the outside or in the main area. Was the man maybe having some sort of medical emergency?  

[Ten Tails]

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just, thought I saw...something weird." He shook out his hair, adjusting his pony tail. "Everything's weird these days." He grumbled throatily. He fixed her with an odd look, narrowing his eyes at her, as he spoke in barely a whisper. "What are you?"  

[Serena Magik Novello]

And at that question, she stepped closer, only then did her boots crunch down on some of the porcelain of the cup. She got close enough to see those pupils of his eyes, wanting to know just what the man's game was. "I'm human? What exactly are you should be the real question?" She kept her voice quiet too, bringing the edge of her glasses up to let one of the ends rest on her lips while her mind processed stuff before she stepped back out of the man's personal space.

"What did you think you saw that was so weird?" Maybe the man was having an acid trip or something? Who truly knew. She walked back, clicked off her music and quietly and carefully shut her laptop. Bringing off the bag to stuff it gently inside, making sure the bag didn't crease so the zipper wouldn't get stuck. Her eyes moving to make sure the man wasn't looking at her oddly. "Nothing's been normal since Barton..." Seemed an easy enough reply in response to the mans.  

[Ten Tails]

The man narrowed his eyes, before tapping the designer sunglasses towards her, muttering carefully, "Real humans don't glow."

He carefully looked over her, obviously suspicious. She seemed friendly enough, and her appearance through the sunglasses hadn't seemed menacing, just...freaky. Like the freaky things that had been happen since that business party, or more specifically the after-party, a two months ago.

And with how he had obtained the glasses in the first place, he wasn't too keen on believing in strangers at the moment.  

[Serena Magik Novello]

She blinked at hearing that, almost catching her gloved hand in the track of the zipper, heck, she knew she was shaking. Glowing? Maybe faint traces of a magical aura but she hadn't used any magic in how long? Guess it wasn't going to just fade without use?

She lifted her eyes up, not liking what she was seeing reflected in the man's eyes. It almost made her feel guilty and she wasn't even sure why that bothered her. Maybe because she spent so much time trying to lead a normal life that this man merely observing her and finding out she wasn't ruined her whole day?

She attempted an apoligetic smile, slipping those shades back onto her eyes. It hurt being looked at as a freak and hell, she had been doing everything in her power to just be...a club owner for how long? But sometimes history wouldn't let it all go. "Sorry to ruin your day, aye?" She pulled out a five spot and unwrinkled it, leaving it laying on the table for whoever cleaned up the spot she'd been vacating for the last hour or so. "I know the glow ain't because I"m glowing with positive vibes, tch." Yeah, she was bummed beyond belief now.

"Maybe it's my Gamma Ray charging up to turn you into a pile of molecules? I'm a firin up my lazor..." She shook her head at her lame a** attempt at a joke, but she throw the strap over her shoulder and headed out the door. Why the HELL Was she glowing? Maybe she should take a look at her own aura, see what the heck might be going on. Hopefully nothing funky. Mix up some True Seeing Salve. Sounded like a good idea. "Have a good one. I'll spare your life since you asked so nicely..." All done sarcastically, with the additional sounding as if suggesting she'd never hurt a fly. Truth was, she'd killed some spiders in her time.  

[Ten Tails]

His face went slack, was she joking? It was such a completely weird, nerdy completely out of left field thing to say. Had she been serious? Normally, he would've found this whole thing amusing. But he was so far distanced from that right now it was almost comical.

The man looked down at the frozen tea and chips of broken ceramic. It was melting now, as one of the staff was coming with a broom to clean it up. She was offering to get him another, but he didn't feel like it. He grabbed the glasses, and stuffed them in his jacket pocket before he headed out at a hustled pace after her.

There was something he had to know, something that had been bugging him. He'd tried the glasses before, and found that when he was wearing them, you couldn't see your own body if you looked at yourself. So now, he had to know something...  

[Serena Magik Novello]

She had gotten half a block away by the time she saw someone on the street coming towards her. And that had only been because she'd stopped by the curve, cell phone in hand and checking her texts when she saw a form of someone out of the corner of her eyes. Seeing it was the man from inside the Cafe' she sighed to herself.

Turning to face him, she shoved her cell into a front pocket in her jeans. "Hey, Look. I know what I said was out of line, but seriously, I wouldn't kill you. Probably wouldn't be able, wouldn't want to try, that sort of thing." She winced because she couldn't say that she couldn't kill him cause given the right situations, she might have had no choice and she avoided lying wherever possible. "So no need to call the police or think I"m crazy or anything, ok?" She smiled nervously, holding her hands out palm open in front of her to show she didn't have any weapons.

"Was just a woman getting a cappuccino. Happens every day, right?" And her people skills went south, probably because she'd spent so much time keeping to herself so she didn't have to deal with drama or hurting or anything negative.  

[Ten Tails]

He just hurried up to her, he completely ignored what she had to say. He just reached in his jacket, pulled out the glasses and held them out in a clenched fist. "Just put them on."

Slowly, his hand opened around the sunglasses. They were black wire framed things, with 80's stylized, perfectly round lenses. There was something inscribed around the lenses, in minuscule flowing cursive engravings...like a markers name or something. But it was so small it could barely be seen, much less read.

"Just tell me what you see, when you look at me." He was pleading with her, needing an answer. She was the only one he had met so far that looked more than just a smudge with the glasses on. And the...thing...he had got the glasses from said there was no coincidences. So it had to be a clue, right? Right? Damnit he was fooling himself.  

[Serena Magik Novello]

Maggy blinked as if not quite hearing the man right. "You want me to put your shades on?" She looked down at the glasses and she took a closer look at the ones in his hand. Noticed the frames, the lenses, the fact there seemed to be some kind of techings into said lenses around that area. And it was small enough and her expertise of runes was bad enough she just...stepped back. Hands held open and out saying "No thanks."

"Look. I don't know who or why you want me to look through your...glasses here. But well, I can tell you what I see without trying them on, right? Why do I have to use the glasses?" Hesitation and no clue how to get it across to this guy, he looked almost...desperate.

"Do you need some kind of..help with something?"  

[Ten Tails]

"Yes, I do." He said, looking behind them, before rubbing his face in an exasperated fashion. He looked at her, "Things have gotten weird lately. I keep accidentally doing crazy things. Things like...the tea back here." He shook his head, "For the past two months, I've been a hot spot of things freezing, water dancing, and cold chills running up peoples spines. Every time I get surprised, angry, or whatever." He looked down at the glasses, "And then there's these things. They were given to me by an old Fu Manchu looking hobo, he harassed me to take them...for three hours. He did some weird things as well. Ever seen the movie "They Live"? That's what these are...basically. Things look different when you put them on. You looked like a golden girl of glowing light. But you can't look at you hands and see if you are wierd...I need someone to look at me." He sighed softly again, holding out the glasses to her again.  

[Serena Magik Novello]

She seemed to ease as the man explained himself. Lowering her hands to let them rest at her side a moment, before giving the glasses another look. "A ...Fu Manchu sort of guy?" Which could of course be some kind of divine helper? Or a spiritual guide or maybe just a helpful supernatural soul. The first thing that came to her mind was from the movie Gremlins and that man who sold Fizzgig and started the whole damn trouble with tribbles, in a matter of speaking.

She cautiously took them with one hand and let them spin in her grasp by the handle, not sensing any overly hostile magic. If this man had been hounded by strange things for two months and not having an idea of what was going on would be torture. Course the reference to They Live didn't really help either. So they might be like true seeing salve done...permanently? What if she was wrong?

Then again, she'd be trusting someone again and might possibly get burned. But glancing over at the man, he seemed trustworthy. She took a deep breath nodding. "Fine, I'll do it,but I can't promise nothing. After all, how can you take my word for anything?" She slipped them over her eyes very slowly, reassured and feeling better that she had golden light still somewhere within or around her. Least maybe she hadn't slipped into darkness as much as she had originally feared. "So what exactly am I looking for?...."  

[Ten Tails]

The view of the world behind the glasses was very strange. Everything solid and material went hazy and smudged, with something very mystical behind that curtain of insubstantial. Something exotic and strange, somewhere covered in fog. But that wasn't important, not on the grander scheme of things.

The man before her was encased in a sheet of ice, like he was imprisoned within it. Yet as he moved, the ice did as well, like it was a living part of him. It was an aura about him. And it spread around him, frosting the ground in elegant spiraling patterns. And at his heart, there was a large egg shaped piece of blue ice, it was the size of an ostrich egg and glowing from within with a steady white light that thrummed and pulsated with the beat of a heart. And not the man's heart either. The egg was cracked in many places, the pulsing light leaking from the cracks to fill the man's body.

The man asked softly, "So, what do I look like?"