Welcome to Gaia! ::

Their mission had really just begun but Shannon was already finding it annoying. She had been hoping, planning really, to treat this whole thing as a vacation but it was turning into work with each passing moment. She needed to get out into a club, have a good time, and just forget about the whole mission and the crap that came along with it. Unfortunately for her she couldn’t exactly just slip away for a little fun since she was currently with another officer, a captain actually. She was outranked by a girl younger then her but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t have a little fun while they are at it… hopefully.

With their seats at the Dormouse Cafe they would be able to observe the deceptively large space. For a all day kind of cafe the place sure was hopping even at the odd time of before dinner rush, after lunch rush. From what Shannon knew of in the states the hours between lunch and dinner tended to be much quieter, something this little cafe didn’t seem to follow. Then again with the charming decor and the funky menu was there really and question as to the popularity of the place.

“From what I was able to dig up this place not only has a secret menu we can order off of but it is a great local watering hole,” Shannon explained to her companion quietly as she glanced around her, mostly eyeing the other patrons.

Shannon nodded absently as she snagged an offered biscuit and took a sip of her own tea. She would honestly prefer an espresso or something but the jet-lag was still real and she wanted to get a decent night’s sleep that night so no excessive caffeine for her. So she stuck to tea and sugar, a combo that was nearly guaranteed to be worse than coffee but who cared, she didn’t that's for sure. “Should we ask about it or just go with standard?” Shannon wasn’t really expecting an answer to her question, she just didn’t know what else to say. They needed to mingle with others, or at least listen in on conversations, but it was hard to do either when you pretty much had to stay in one spot for the food. At least once they had actually eaten they could probably move around a bit more.

Contemplating the tables around her the caramel skinned woman nibbled on the freely offered treat before murmuring under her breath to her companion, “Any ideas?” A simple question but one that wouldn’t be easy to answer. Had this been a bar or a club Shannon would be in her element. She would have just slid up to one of the cuter guys and after a bit of flirting, get as much info from her as she could. This process could be repeated over and over again in a more social setting but as lively as this cafe was it seemed that each group was in its own little bubble. Rarely did the lines of communication spread outside of the individual groups, and even that was mostly to great others that they knew. As outsiders Ashley and Shannon would have to be careful here. The curvy officer hid a yawn behind a hand, and blinked rapidly for a moment, as a wave of sleepiness hit her. “Damn jet-lag,” She cursed softly as she took another sip of her tea.

Maybe coffee would be necessary after all.

Shannon hummed in agreement as she nursed her tea, the fragrant steam warming her face even as the cup kept her fingers toasty. It wasn’t in one of those hefty white mugs unfortunately but the fragile teacup still worked just fine, she just looked a bit strange. She just smirked when her companion raised her voice slightly to gather attention, her silver eyes notting a few looks but there were no takers yet. There was a table of guys within eyesight and definitely close enough to ‘overhear’ their conversation. This might be easier then I first thought, Shannon smirked behind her cup before quietly commenting to Ashley about the table of guys, “Lets see if we can snag us some locals shall we? Follow my lead.”

With a sigh the curvy woman gently put down her cup and ‘absently’ played with the dish, lightly running her finger along the cool china, even as she shifted slightly to put herself on display a bit more. “If only we had a couple of friendly locals to talk to,” She fake lamented, making sure her voice was loud enough to catch the attention of her target table. Shannon opened her mouth to say something else but a yawn started instead, causing her to rapidly cover her mouth since it wasn’t polite, but the fast move had her scramble to still the rattling cup of tea that was threatening to spill across the table. “Crap,” her curse was probably said a bit louder then she wanted. “Sorry about that,” she apologized as she used her napkin to clean up the little bit of tea that had splashed around during the social bobble.

Shannon was about as subtle as a ten pound hammer in cases like these but that didn’t mean she appreciated the snicker she herd after nearly casing a mess. But as much as it bothered her she was more then willing to use it to her advantage. The darker skinned woman sank back into her seat, appearing to deflate some, and tilted her head down so a curtain of her hair helped to hide her face from others. Ashley would have likely seen the gleam in her eyes and the slight smirk on her lips but no one else should have.

After a moment she sighed, shaking her head, before she informed her companion, and the others who were covertly watching them. “I’m not good at this. I just wish we were home,” She pretended to wipe away a stray tear even as she thought of sad things so her silver eyes would start to water. “If you will excuse me,” She stood and glanced around, eyes darting over their neighboring tables to land on the bathroom, “I’ll be right back.” With that she hurried off in the direction of the restroom. She didn’t have to use it, nor were the teary eyes real, but if she pulled it off right then those locals would be thinking she was running off to cry in the bathroom.

Since she ruined the flirt tactic with an ill timed yawn, maybe the sympathy card would work. A quick text from one of the stalls let Ashley know of the switch in plans, since she really didn’t want to leave her in the lurch, and ended with a question: Any movement from the table of guys?

The response was a bit garbled, Shannon really hoped it was from not really watching the screen as Ashley kept an eye on the other tables, but it was clear that there was no overt response to her little act. That ment that she would have to chill in the bathroom for a little bit which was perfect since she needed to make it look like she had been crying but had also ‘fixed her face’ to hide her little crying jag. A fine line to be sure, even harder to tread since her purse was still at the table so she didn’t have any of her makeup on her.

It took longer then she liked but finally she slunk out of the bathroom, her face was nearly bare. There was only a light smudging of her mascara to make it look like it had run and she had to wipe it off. There wasn’t much else she could do but then again it wasn’t like she was wearing a lot to begin with. Shanon did her best to balance hurrying back to her table and trying not to be noticed, while still trying to be noticed. She even stumbled a bit by the guy’s table but didn’t get anything more than a look from them, there were one or two snickers from elsewhere but she was choosing to ignore them.

Slipping into her seat she did her best to look embarrassed and contrite even as she silently seethed. This, this whole thing, was just not working. By now she would have had a guy wrapped around her fingers had this been a bar or a club. “I don’t suppose you’ve had any better luck have you?” Shannon asked quietly as she fiddled with her menu. “Maybe it would be better to just order the food togo or something since nothing seems to be going my way today.” She didn’t want to go back empty handed but she was running out of ideas. Short of straight up walking over to a table and asking questions she wasn’t sure how else to get the desired results.

Shannon ‘sniffed’ and nodded her head acting like a brave but still sad woman. “I’ll be fine, lets just go.” Her answer was just as loud as Ashley’s question except it held a bit of a wobble. While she figured they wouldn’t get any real luck right now it never hurt to keep up the charade. At least it was memorable and if one or both of them returned later they might hit paydirt. Someone who might have felt guilty over the way today ended. That was always a chance, not that Shannon was planning on coming back to this place any time soon. She needed to find the clubs to haunt since that was more her speed.

“Meh, just a salad is ok with me.” She gave her lunch order under her breath, smothering another yawn with a discrete hand. “I… I’ll just go. I mean,” Keeping up the ruse Shannon spoke a bit louder once more. “I’ll go wait outside. Some fresh air will do me some good.” She fished out some cash, more than enough for her share of the tea and subsequent togo meal and stood up. With a sad little smile that was more for their audience then Ashley who was the recipient of the look Shannon turned and headed out the door of the cafe.

She really was going to wait for her companion outside and she really did hope the fresh air would help clear the tiredness from her system. It was just a shame that they hadn’t actually gotten any information. They laid the groundwork for later at least. That was something…. Right?