Welcome to Gaia! ::

The green-haired man(?) looked up with wide eyes, pulled out of his mindless scrolling through his phone. He was sitting at a table by the window, a cold brew of milky green tea in front of him. Despite his obnoxiously pale skin, he seemed very comfortable bathing in the sunlight as long as he had the cold beverage.

“Oh no, I don’t sorry. I’m not sure where the staff went,” he replied to the stranger, a bit of nervous edge to his voice. It didn’t sound like he expected someone to talk to him at all. He raised his head slightly to look over at the bar and display case where workers would normally be preparing drinks and pastries.

“Maybe they went on break?” He suggested shyly, turning back to Phoebe but not looking directly at her. Alex had never been to this particular café before, so he wasn’t sure how to help.

Alex's eyes widened once again, shocked at how bold the woman was... or maybe it was normal to sit and talk with someone you just met. He wasn't exactly a social butterfly. An awkward smile formed on his lips despite himself, finding her rambling somewhat endearing. I always attract the strangest people.

"I'm Alex," he replied softly, shaking Phoebe's hand after that moment of hesitation. "Green milk tea is my favorite. I usually drink it hot, but the weather is unbearable today."

He took a sip of the icy drink as if to prove his point.

"Sorry, I'm not from around here. I wish I was better conversation," he continued after another pause, looking down at the drink and twirling lime green hair through his fingers. It was done up in a braid today to keep the heat off his neck.

Alex blushed slightly at the bombardment of personal questions. "You're not being weird, it's alright," he replied quickly, tapping her hand in what he hopes was a comforting gesture.

Pulling the hand back, he took a breath and replied to Phoebe's attempt at friendly conversation.

"I moved here recently to be closer to school. I used to live with my parents just outside of town," he explained, playing with the lid of his tea cup idly. "I really like gardening, and herbs, and teas, and I used to go to this one spot all the time to buy loose leaf and try exotic teas, but now that I've moved here, I have to find a new spot. So I've been trying out every nearby cafe until I find my favorite."

He paused to let the woman digest the information.

"This shop has been really nice so far. It's quiet and has big windows."

Alex stared at the device before silently sliding his own phone to her. He was happy someone was so interested in his hobbies, a small smile gracing his face. Silently, he put his contact information into her phone, the gentle tap tap noises echoing through the quiet cafe.

"If you're interested in gardening, you should see ours back home. It's huge and filled with all kinds of plants and flowers. My father started it to impress mother." He wrinkled his nose as he thought about the sappiness of it (the whole event was really cute, but they are his parents), and handed Phoebe's phone back to her. "I would start with something smaller though, like herbs... If you are interested of course," he tagged at the end shyly, playing with the rim of his cup again.

"But um, anyway, you said adventures? What kind of adventures?" Alex did just move to this part of town, but he wasn't really one for going outside. He was comfortable enough with his new friend that he had to ask though, for curiosity's sake.

The green-haired person watched her with a curious tilt of his head. Should he have taken a picture of himself too? It's not like they were easy to forget (though sometimes they wished for it [lol]), so they tried not to think about it too much. Instead Alex focused on what the excitable woman said about adventures... and his hair.

"T-Thank you," He replied, pulling his sloppy braid over his shoulder and twirling the loose hair around his fingers. They were used to getting comments about their hair, both good and bad, but people usually weren't so straight-forward about wanting to touch it. "My birthday is in October too. Maybe you can be my hair stylist for my inevitable birthday party." An exhale followed that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Alex wouldn't admit it, but he loved when someone else styled his hair, or maybe he was just lazy.

Also there was no way he was going to escape a party his father planned. Might as well look good for it.

"Do you style hair professionally?" He asked, sitting up a little straighter.

“I understand. I’m sort’ve in that weird transition period as well.” Alex nodded, smiling at Pheobe’s enthusiasm. “Knowing my father, it’ll be a huge party... probably with some sort of Halloween theme too,” they sighed, thinking back on all the super extravagant parties their father has held over the years. The whole family was really into the spooky season especially. No one had any idea why. [Kekekek]

“If you want to practice on me sometime, the only thing I ask is please don’t cut it short,” they continued, a lock of lime green hair wrapped around their finger. It’s not that Alex would mind short hair; they just felt having it long held a sort of sentimental value. Alex’s father always kept his hair long, their mother’s was long, and their brother... well his hair was insanely curly, so he preferred to keep it short.

Alex glanced over at the counter where the staff usually worked, deflating a bit as they noticed no one there. “I’m sure someone will be out soon. I would offer you some of my drink but... That’s uh... yeah probably weird.”

The lime green locks were long and soft... and definitely in need of a trim. Alex nodded along to Phoebe's suggestions; adding layers would definitely help make the upkeep easier.

Alex looked up at the woman and blinked slowly. "I'll still be here," they replied, lifting up their own unfinished drink. Phoebe didn't seem to mind their quiet personality, and Alex honestly didn't mind her high-spirited company. Besides, having a friend come to you is so much easier than trying to make friends yourself, and she was basically doing all the friend-making for them.