Prompt 9: Small custom shops and stalls always seem to open up this time of year, and Destiny City has no shortage this year. Several seasonal themed shops have already received raving reviews, and among them is a small cafe. Outside it looks like a cute vintage cafe, but inside, the shop has been decorated so convincingly that you feel like you've just stepped into a snowy northern forest. They have an array of delicious, cold drinks, and the trip would be worthwhile for that alone--except, shortly after the first sip, anyone who has ingested the drink will find that they sneeze a flurry of tiny snowflakes. The more drinks consumed, the longer you will find you are sneezing little snowflakes. It feels like there is a tickle up your nose for an hour or longer, depending on player choice; drinking more can also lead to longer effects. There are no negative impacts--just the need to sneeze often, and a little burst of cold snowflakes along with each one. Surprisingly, the shop still doesn't have any bad reviews.


Since Ellian was free of school for the better part of two weeks, this seemed like as good a time as any to hang out with his friends and explore the town a little. Except a lot of his classmates were busy with family or traveling, something Ellian felt constituted a personal attack on him, and he took great and genuine offense to his friends not being available to him when he wanted them there. But since that was the case, he was going to be sure to do something they'd regret missing out on.

He just didn't know what, yet.

Among those that hadn't abandoned him was a girl from his history class named Adelynn, and a boy from Drama Club who Ellian forgot the real name of, but who went by Zee. The three of them hadn't ever hung out together before (Ellian wasn't even sure Adelynn and Zee knew each other), but maybe that was the point. If his 'usual' friends weren't going to be around, he'd find new ones. Better ones. And sometimes that involved some trial and error when determining who would click best with each other, and of course, with him.

Fortunately, the trio had agreed that Ellian could drive, meaning that even though he would take suggestions from the peanut gallery, ultimately, he still got to decide where they went. Adelynn thought they should just go walk around the mall, drink a Jamba juice and get to know each other. Zee liked to watch movies and wanted to go see if anything good was playing at that diner-type theater.

Ellian kind of wanted to go do an escape room or go ice-skating, or maybe they could wander through that ice maze that showed up in December- the one they handed out big coats for before you were allowed in. He definitely, definitely wanted to do an activity.

Walking around or sitting in a movie theater wasn't an option.

Adelynn was at least agreeable to other suggestions. She claimed she'd be up for anything, but she wanted to go get a drink from a little cafe she'd heard abut first. Ellian thought he may have heard them whispering in the backseat, but when he glanced up to the rear view mirror to see what they were up to, the pair seemed as completely disinterested in each other as they had when they first met. He shrugged it off and agreed that they could grab drinks real quick and decide which activity to do along the way.

"It's so cute!" Adelynn chirped as they finally made it into the store. "Oh, look at the snowy decorations, and the little pine needles!"

Even Zee seemed impressed with the showmanship of the little cafe, as he delicately petted his fingers through a little 'snowbank' that had been laid out on a ledge, complete with small twigs and frosted glitter. If they had props even half as decent as this, they could put on a really convincing Polar Express play...

"I can't believe they set all this up just for the one season. This shop isn't usually here, is it? I've never heard of it, before," Ellian admitted as he wandered past what may have been entire trees and up to the counter. They each selected a drink, and Ellian had that weird suspicion the other two were whispering again, before they collected their orders and headed back to the car.

He'd gotten a peppermint vanilla milkshake, one of his seasonal favorites, and he sipped it idly as he settled into his seat. "Any consensus on where we're headed next?"

"Anywhere," Adelynn said with a shrug as she swirled some kind of chilly coffee mocha drink around in her cup. When Zee didn't respond, she gave him a rough nudge with her elbow. Ellian squinted at them in the mirror as he turned the key in the ignition. Maybe they were more friendly than he thought, if she felt comfortable manhandling him like that.

Zee winced from her shove, glanced to Ellian, and then away so quickly that Ellie almost missed it. "Uh, yeah, y'know, whatever. That maze thing, I guess. That sounded nice?"

Ellian turned in his seat to face them. "Is everything alr-" A twinge in his nose made him pause, and an abrupt sneeze cut him off further. I little gust of snowflakes erupted from his lips, and Ellian blink wide eyes in confusion as they fluttered to the floor of his car.

His friends were quiet for a long moment before Adelynn burst into a fit of giggles. "Oh, that was adorable!" She chirped in delight. "You look so cute when you're confused, Ellie!" And she was grabbing Zee's sleeve, shaking him in excitement as she said it, while Ellian became very acutely aware that even though his friends had purchased drinks, he hadn't actually seen them drink from them.

"Did you know-" Another soft sneeze, with another little burst of snowflakes.

"Oh, I'd heard rumors," Adelynn admitted with a little roll of her eyes. "But it's really hard to believe stuff like this all the time unless you see it, and you're so brave, I thought you wouldn't mind. Is the drink very good? It must have, like, whatever the opposite of Thera Flu is in it or something!"

Zee rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. "It seemed silly to warn you of something that may not happen," he admitted. "It did sound outlandish."

"But you guys waited for me to- hhchoo test it before you even tried! You're gonna drink those drinks!" He yipped, and as he yanked himself over the seat and into the back of the car, he was only half-joking. Adelynn and Zee both let out started sounds, but the lovely lady still seemed too pleased with herself, and thrilled by the challenge.

Zee was maybe a little too much of a pushover, easily yanked into someone like Adelynn's bad ideas, but the girl... She was a bit of a whirwind, herself.

Ellian thought he may like her, even if he wasn't necessarily amused by the trickery.

WC: 1020