Welcome to Gaia! ::

With it being the weekend, Florian didn’t technically have to open the shop until noon other than a few pickup orders that were scheduled. So instead of starting the morning setting up the shop, he grabbed his camera to tuck into his bag before heading out into the morning sun.

So far it was quiet, something he enjoyed when he wasn’t running the shop because it gave him time to think of new projects to work on or inspiration for any new stories or poetry. His little blog wasn’t super popular but he enjoyed it and the people he got to talk with about things in the downtime between customers or while he wandered the city.

There was always something to do even if he tended to stick with the same hobbies or places most of the time. It was more comfortable for him that way, just as he felt more comfortable now in winter where he could wear heavier sweaters or shirts without much question.

Thoughts floated by as he let his mind wander while walking, just enjoying the crisp cool air of the winter morning. He didn’t have his airpods in today, he wasn’t taking the bus or an Uber to get around but that didn’t mean he was paying much mind to the people around him as he wandered past and towards a new cafe he’d heard about.

It was a new place that seemed to have popped up where there used to be a record store, something he felt a bit sad at hearing had fallen on hard times. But it was supposed to have kept the vibe and was a quiet place that he might get some good pictures of.

Quiet had been a good assumption, the place wasn’t too loud or packed like the billion Starbucks that peppered the city like a plague. There was something so impersonal about those places that cafes like this didn’t feel like.

Looking over the menu, he pulled a hand to tuck some of the loose and longer strands of his bangs out of his face and behind his ear. At first, he didn’t notice he was being watched, being too focused on the large and honestly diverse menu. Some things he wasn’t even sure he’d seen before and had to look them up on his phone before finally placing an order for a lavender blue flower tea latte and a small quiche, he decided to take a seat by one of the windows as he waited for his name to be called.

Looking out the window at the passing people, he found himself lost in thought again with how quaint it was here. It was only when his name was called not once, but twice, did he snap out of his daydream and grab his order.

Sitting back down, he noticed the other boy drawing, not quite able to see what they were working on but curious nonetheless. It wasn’t something he was sure what to do about, especially if they were drawing him. Looking down at his quiche, he fumbled slightly with his fork for a moment.

Seeing the artist get up, he looked down and tried not to bring more attention to himself. This wasn’t what he’d been wanting to do today, if anything he’d hoped not to have people come up to him outside of his shop. It was harder for him to socialize outside of that setting, never quite knowing how he came off or if there might be any trouble.

But when they spoke and he looked up, he had a moment where he forgot what he was going to say, probably something polite but enough to shoo them away so he could enjoy his meal and this nice cafe.

“O-ooh, thank you,” Florian piped up - instantly flinching internally as he worried about how he might sound. Looking between the sketch and the boy who had drawn it, he was a bit caught off guard. He’d never been drawn before and he wasn’t sure how he felt. It looked like him and at least… well he felt a bit less nervous about how he looked with the sweater on today and if it had helped solve the problems he had with his appearance.

The other thing that caught him off guard was how tall they were, it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen tall people but usually they were more like brick walls than this boy was. “Do… do you draw people in cafes often?” Pulling the sketch closer to look a bit more for it between glances up at the new person who smiled at him.

“Can I keep this?” Thinking about it as he paused in the motion of tucking it into his satchel beside his camera and skein of yarn.

Watching as they hovered, at least waiting for him to respond about whether or not they could join him, he tucked the drawing away. They looked about his age, at least from what he could guess but he hadn’t really been over to the art department during his undergrad at DCU and now his classes for his master's degree were online so he hadn’t been to the campus at all really the past few semesters outside of advisor meetings.

“Thanks…” Thinking for another moment before moving his lunch and tea a bit to give them some more space, they still had their sketchbook so it needed room he guessed if they wanted to sit. “Sure, I’m just here for a bit before I get back to work.” It wasn’t completely a lie but he wasn’t sure how to really say he wasn’t sure about meeting new people.

Focusing back down on his quiche, he nibbled on a forkful of it slowly. It was better than he had expected, considering he was pretty sure they didn’t have space for a full kitchen, but he could be wrong and he wasn’t about to ask. The latte was one of the best he’d had in a while though, something to note and remember about this place in the future. It was too far for him to order it for delivery to his shop though, a shame really.

““I’m Florian, working on my master’s in horticulture.” Since they mentioned school it would be okay for him to do the same since he wasn’t the type to be rude, outside of not really starting up conversations with people he didn’t know.

Oh… that was unexpected and it had him ducking his head a bit and looking down into his latte as he sipped at it. It wasn’t something he really thought of himself, maybe of others but definitely not himself.

““Yes, it’s a family thing.” Just another thing he had from the long line of florists and horticulturists before him. But it was just him here now, his parents having moved back to Germany to spend their retirement traveling.

Looking up, his face warmed a bit. ““Maybe? I don’t really leave the shop much.”

Listening politely to Angel, he wondered if they were the same age as he was. Part of him thought so but it was hard to tell, considering how bad he was in general at guessing people’s age. He always erred on the younger side to avoid offense with customers after a few awkward mishaps with birthday bouquet orders.

““O-oh well, I mean, you can stop by. You said your sister gets you plants? I can maybe help you find a good way to manage them if you’re too busy with school or work.” He knew firsthand that a lot of plants were finicky and needed more attention than people were willing to give to them. It was something he was alright enough with doing because he really didn’t like seeing things wither or rot.

Even if he’d been trying to keep a straight face, he couldn’t help the smallest twitch of horror crossing his face at the sound of a small army of plants dying. So to keep from making Angel feel bad, he took another sip of his latte and a bite of his quiche before saying anything.

Once another sheet of paper came out and was laid on the table, he nodded slightly. “I can do that, maybe when I get back to the shop.” Because he didn’t want to pull his phone out from under the small hoard of things in his bag in front of Angel. It was a mess, probably way more than he needed to carry, but he liked being prepared when he could.