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Hopeite still coughed, either from the lingering effects of that Captain's attack or the memory causing psychosomatic spasms. She spat from time to time, half expecting to expectorate black globs of tar from the smoke that had invaded her lungs. Eventually she just resigned herself to her fate and turned into the drive through of the local coffee shop, not wanting to bother to go inside. The screen clicked on and the barista began her normal greeting, looking at something above the camera while she spoke,

"Welcome to Farbucks, what can I -- " she stopped short when she finally looked at her own screen and saw the two of them standing in the drive through. She was silent for a long moment, mouth hanging open until she finally said, "Ma'am... this is the drive through."

Hopeite took a long drag on her cigarette, visibly not in the mood for this s**t, and drawled, "yeah. And?"

"And... it's for cars."

"Ok."

"Ma'am, if you could please come around to the lobby and -- "

"I don't have time for that," Hopeite interrupted her, waving her hand dismissively at the screen and turned her attention to the menu before her. She continued, "I'll have an iced Pumpkin Spice Latte. Soy. Uh... large. Like... the literal biggest you can manage because we have had... a night," Hopeite glanced at Harmonia and scratched her cheek where Faustite had slapped her. "And hell you know what? Why not throw in a chocolaty chip scone. I deserve to be a little bit bad."

"Ma'am, if you would just -- "

"What do you want kiddo? My treat. The least I can do."

"Ma'am I really -- "

"Do you want my money or not. Yes or no." There was a long, tense silence before the woman inside sighed in defeat and deflated, but relented to taking their order with a slightly passive aggressive, "Whenever you're ready." Hopeite smiled and gestured for Harmonia to give her order.

"Nothing to eat," Hopeite asked before relaying Harmonia's order to the screen. Hopeite was starving, no doubt due to the exertion, and she had to imagine that Harmonia was too. Not to mention that little rush the sugar would give them might lift their spirits a bit... but what did it even matter? Hopeite glanced over at Harmonia, standing unwittingly beside her. (Hopeite always felt warmer on the side where she stood. The Little Princess was like a space heater that way, she supposed. That must have been it.) Why did it matter what the sugar did to her morale? Hopeite knew that she needed a pick me up, and in the end, the providing for Harmonia in this way was purely functional. So why did the plural pronoun pop into her brain as she waited?

Luckily, Harmonia's question interrupted her thoughts, so she didn't have to wrestle with the question for very long.

"I'm not in a hurry to be in a closed area," Hopeite answered simply, shrugging the issue off like it was nothing. Her voice, however, betrayed her nonchalance, trembling slightly at the prospect of it. "And in the absence of a car, here we are. If you would like to go inside, then I will be happy to meet you around front."

Fun? Hopeite wasn't a big fun person. Her idea of fun was a good project and the feeling of a job well done. But that probably wasn't what Harmonia had in mind. So she shrugged and strolled ahead to pay for her order. Money, she had learned, was a good thing to stash away when she powered up. Between late-night cravings and the occasional emergency first aid, Hopeite learned a while ago to grab a little wad of cash on the way out, tucked into the palm of her glove. She fished the money out now, passing it to the clearly anxious woman on the other side. Anxious because she was now face to face with two of the news-famous "terrorists?" Or anxious because she was one of them, either chaos or order, and was not painfully aware that there was one of her own cavorting with the enemy?

Whatever the reason, she hurriedly passed the drinks to Hopeite who took with with a polite smile and chucked the change into the tip jar. She passed Harmonia her tea and sipped on her own drink.

"Halloween is... I don't know, juvenile? Costumes, parading around at night, pretending that you're something that you're not... don't you get enough of that on your own?" Hopeite certainly did. It was... exhausting. "I was thinking about just staying home, throwing a bowl of candy on the porch, and watching some horror movies with my dog. That way the kids get their candy and I don't get bothered. Everyone wins, you know?" She took another healthy sip, struck suddenly by how good it tasted. Maybe she would circle back around when Harmonia left her and buy another six or seven like damn. It was good.

"What about you," she finally asked. "Pretty girl like you probably gets invited to all the college keggers. Any crazy parties to attend or vandalism to partake it? Or are you 'working' that night?"

"You know, just because you aren't a college girl doesn't mean you can't go to a college party. But I mean if getting s**t faced isn't your scene then staying away is probably a good plan." God knew Hopeite didn't follow that crowd when she was at university.

She took another swig of her coffee, noting that, gradually, it was starting to get sweeter as she drank. Was all of the syrup on the bottom of the cup or something? It was starting to turn her stomach...

"I mean, yeah," she finally said, glancing over to Harmonia. "I spend every other evening by myself at home. Why not that one? It's not boring to me it's more... peaceful. You forget that I'm in my thirties, kid. A quiet night at home is my idea of a good time." After all, it wasn't like she went around calling the police on loud parties on Halloween or scaring kids off of her porch. Well... she did call the police last year, but the party next door had gone well past midnight and the screaming and music was keeping her awake. Totally different story than being an old curmudgeon.

"And I mean I don't have very many friends... or any really. But anyway. If you're not going partying, does that mean you're still begging for candy from strangers?"