Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Well!" Vesna said, trying to find the silver lining, "We all got to know each other a lot better, right?" She looked up at the headstone looming over them. "And I bet Father Patrick hasn't had this much company in a long time, you know...?"

"On the other hand," Lorenzo said, "It'd be nice to find this clover before someone sees us all pawing on top of his grave and assumes the worst of us." He had untied his ceremonial mask and hidden it in his backpack, but the dark cloak still stood out like a sore thumb.

As the little four leaf clover was plucked from the ground, something else caught Claire's eyes. A glint in the dirt just right next to the clover. It was just hiding among numerous clover leaves. Upon removing the dirt in the area, she would discover that it was a gold coin. The coin looked ancient, with a man's side profile imprinted on it, much like those from Roman statues and wall carvings. Is this perhaps... an ancient Roman gold coin? This could worth a small fortune if it was authenticated and sold to the right people.

What luck!

"We did it!" Vesna exclaimed, floating up to standing height again and stretching. "Wherever we go next, I hope it's way cuter than this place!"

"This place isn't bad," Lorenzo said, brushing the dust off his knees, "We're just not supposed to be here." He took the compass from Vesna and held it as she took out her phone to show Cesc a bunch of different pictures of the compact.

"Only make it if you want to," said Vesna, feeling a little self conscious about asking for presents now that the prospect of going somewhere new was somewhat alleviating her boredom. "I mean, I can always order a toy one online if it's a lot of effort."

"With whose money?" Lorenzo asked suspiciously.

"Yours!" Vesna replied, taking back the compass now that she was done with her phone. "You said it was very practical, right?"

She paused and looked at the coin Cesc had handed Claire, and added, "And it's not fair that I get something and Claire gets something and you don't, so I'll give you something, too." She took off another of her phone charms and handed it to Cesc.

Safely and comfortably tucked back in their cars, the group was wandering Durem aimlessly for about half an hour or so before the compass reacted again. It happened in an area where a lot of hipster cafes were located.

Once on foot, the needle brought them to a large Italian cafe at the corner of a busy street - Cafe Creme. It had an outdoor area, fenced off with low black fences with cute flower pots hanging on them. It was a lively place, filled with people enjoying their afternoon tea or coffee, and servers walking in and out, carrying trays filled with delicious bread type food and drinks. The lovely smell of baked bread and hot coffee wafted out of the inviting double oak doors.

There was no mistaking it, the needle is pointing into the cafe. What a change of venue, from a quiet graveyard where no one is around to a bustling cafe where even finding a seat might be a problem.

Pleased that she could give him something in return, Vesna nodded, pulling out a four pack of adhesive charm attachers. "I can do it now! Just stick one of these to the back of your phone and loop the strap through, then you can have as many charms as you want."

She boggled at Cesc as he performed his magic. Although she lived with Lorenzo, he never performed magic in front of her, and her own magic was hardly ostentatious. This was the first time she had seen any magic, and moreover, it was being performed to make a cosplay item for her.

"Cool," she breathed quietly, and then, when she realized it was all over, she repeated: "Cesc!! That was so totally cool!"

"That's good!" she said eagerly, as he asked her how it looked. "I can hot glue some glass stones into the cover later for accuracy." She took perhaps the most expensive Sailor Moon cosplay item in existence with a cheerful smile. "Thanks! I'll take extra good care of it."
_________________________

In the car with Lorenzo, she examined the compact, turning it over and over in her hands. Out of the corner of his eye, Lorenzo glanced at her, and said, "Are you watching the compass?"

"Yee-esss," Vesna replied, glancing up at the compass for half a moment. Doing a double take, she said, "Oh! It's doing something!"

It took them a little maneuvering, but once they parked and got out of the car, Vesna's face lit up into a grin. "This is more like it!" she exclaimed, and then realized, "My first cafe! Lorenzo, can I choose something for you to eat??"

"After we find the fel essence," Lorenzo said, pulling her gently over to where Cesc and Claire were waiting.

"Then let's go! The compass saaaaays... There!" Vesna pointed in the direction of Cafe Creme, one of the cuter cafes in the busy neighborhood. Discreetly, Lorenzo checked the compass to make sure she wasn't lying for her own benefit.

As they made their way into the busy cafe, Cesc was having a hard time focusing on their quest. Having worked at a bakery since his birth, Rhedefre was very keen on seeing other similar establishments, seeing what they had to offer and what made them unique. This cafe was much bigger than Vermillion, and certainly was bustling just now with activity.

The stag's ears swiveled toward the counter and he looked with a critical eye at their display case--those croissants did not look golden brown and flaky and delicious, and although the treats were Italian instead of French--an inferior buttercream, let's be real--Cesc felt relatively confident that Vermillion's offerings were better. Still, the Italian confections did look good, and he never had really learned how to make a first-rate tiramisu; people seemed to love those, and--

Wait, hold up, stop. Cesc refocused after a moment, looking around the busy cafe. There were lunch companions and dates and all waiters holding glasses of parfaits and cakes and teas. So far, everything seemed normal enough, but then again, it had at the cemetery, as well. He spotted a table that had just been discarded, crumbs still littering its surface. "Does someone want to take the table while we go up to the front and check things out?" he asked. "Or does the needle have us pointed in another direction entirely?"

"I'll stick with Lorenzo here," Claire added with a nod. "You two go scope out what's good, I'll grab something when we're done with our escapades here." She glanced down at the lone empty table and reached for a napkin, wiping the surface clean - with it this busy, beggars could not afford to be choosers. She slid into the seat as Lorenzo passed Vesna some money, grinning. "It's possible, you should ask if they do! I imagine a place like this has a Facebook page floating around with some pictures." She made to fish for her phone but paused - Vesna would probably find out sooner at the counter than she would in her Google search.

Claire decided to take the moment with just her and Lorenzo at the table to crowd watch, trying to siphon out any clues or abnormalities. The crowd was a mixed bunch of younger kids and teens, middle aged folks, and elderly people, and everything around them was endless activity. After the day they had had so, Claire felt exhausted just by watching them. Outside of the hustle and bustle, she could not pick out anything that seemed abnormal off the bat, but then again that had held true at their last stop. She did not really know what she was looking for, other than something that appeared out of the ordinary.

She sighed and conveyed another musing of the moment to Lorenzo, folding her arms on the (now) crumb-free tabletop. "I just realized that if things get really strange here regarding our Essence hunt, it'll be a lot harder to wave it off in a crowded place over one that was abandoned." A nervous buzzing settled into her skull; that was all the group needed - to get arrested at a cute cafe. Hopefully it would not come to that.

As they waited in line, Cesc looked down at the needle for some extra information about where they needed to go. When he saw it pointing toward the swinging doors, he groaned inwardly. The kitchen. The bakery kitchen wasn't too bad--it was clean and relatively big and most of the baking happened in the early morning, so sneaking in wasn't too big of a deal. But this was a busy cafe, where there were probably line cooks and waiters and the yelling of 'behind!' as people went past.

These freaking fel essences certainly had a mischievous streak.

Ah well, he thought. He'd just have to do his best not to let that color his opinion of the resulting Raevans.

As they approached their turn in line and the barista began to speak to them, Cesc smiled, his mind whirling with thought. It was the thought of Vesna's excitement upon seeing Vermillion's Instagram that popped a lightbulb into his head.

"Thanks so much, Scarlet," he said, his voice warm and earnest. His aura of calmness and rejuvenation slowly unfurled from him, and he stood straight and made earnest eye contact with her as she spoke, like the specials were the most interesting thing he'd heard all day. He felt a touch ridiculous inwardly.

"That all sounds so great. Listen--I know you guys are incredibly busy--but I'm Cesc, and this is Vesna. We run an alt food blog online and have heard this is the best cafe in Durem. We're gonna order a few things to take pictures of, if that's alright--a latte, that cannoli, and your special sounds great, along with whatever you think would be Insta-worthy, Vesna. Oh, and we were wondering--" His smile faltered into a boyish look, half-pleading. "--we'd love to just pop into the kitchen and take a quick picture of your chefs at work. We won't get in anybody's way and it won't take but a second. People love to see who's behind the scenes."