A Cup of Coffee and Tea

"Character counts most when duty calls."

Hosenka was a beautiful town, rich with stunning architecture and bountiful with tourists. Known for its spas and other similarly relaxing attractions, many people came from all over Fiore just to immerse themselves in the culture and relax.

Serilda was no different from these individuals. She had yet to visit the town of luxuries and had decided to come today on a whim more than anything else. The noblewoman was already feeling like new after a long morning getting pampered with a massage and relaxing in a sauna. There was plenty more she planned on doing that day, but first she wanted something to drink.

Thus, she found herself in a small little cafe off the main boulevard. She was dressed prim and proper in uniformed attire that had practically no wrinkles in it whatsoever. Her long white hair was pulled back into a tight bun with only a few bangs hanging loose to shape her face on one side. The woman walked into the cafe with the cool confidence of someone unafraid to face her surroundings and look people in the eyes. Her shoulders were straight, hands clasped loosely at the small of her back.

At her feet was a wolf that was still a bit of a puppy but close to being fully grown. The animal had thick black fur that was broken up with a stunning dusting of cream along her spine, paws, and face like stardust glittering in the night sky. A fitting description, as the canine was a rare breed known as a Star Wolf. The creature glanced around the cafe with attentive, curious eyes as Serilda ordered herself a coffee. Once it was in hand, she looked for a place to sit and frowned slightly. The cafe was fairly crowded, and there were not a lot of seats available.

Moving to an empty chair, she stopped first to greet the person sitting next to it -- a man with an open shirt and a small blue creature with vines on its body. “I apologize, sir. Is this seat taken?”

"Character counts most when duty calls."

Serilda was a little surprised when the little creature was the one to respond and invite her to have a seat, rather than the man. She had noticed him shift a bit uncomfortably when she approached, tightening his shirt around his chest. The two of them must have shared some kind of silent conversation, because she watched as the creature smacked the man on the head with a vine.

She was about to suggest that she could go sit elsewhere if he wished, but the little guy continued on to introduce himself and the young man. As Serilda tentatively took her seat, Mudasaur informed her that he was a celestial spirit and that the man, called Stefan, was his celestial wizard. Though she masked it well, Serilda was slightly nervous about the fact that she was in the presence of a celestial spirit at that moment. She was a bit uneasy about many supernatural creatures.

However, even she had to admit that one appeared friendly enough. It was certainly adorable. She gave them a small but friendly smile. “A pleasure to meet you both. My name is Serilda Sinclair. I’m a wizard as well, with Sabertooth.” Though she wasn’t much for sharing too much personal information with strangers, she didn’t see the harm in giving her name and her guild. As a noblewoman, many people she didn’t know already knew her name anyway, and her guild was a legal one so there was no reason to hide her membership with it.

Onyx Moon was an independant guild that she was aware of, though she had yet to meet any of its members. She didn’t seem perturbed by the information, though. While independant guilds were certainly a bit on the gray side in terms of morality, they certainly weren’t flat out nefarious like the many dark guilds that littered Fiore.

Reaching down, she set an affectionate hand on the wolf’s head as she sat obediently next to Serilda’s chair. “And this is my hound, Xiuhcoatl.” The wolf pressed her forehead into the woman’s hand, and when she began to scratch her behind the ears the canine’s tongue lolled happily out of her mouth.

Taking a small sip from her coffee, she told them, “Thank you for letting me sit here. It’s very kind of you.”

"Character counts most when duty calls."

Well, they were certainly a peculiar pair but Serilda had met odder people. Once again, it was clear that some kind of conversation was taking place that she wasn’t privy to, and while that was a bit strange it wasn’t something that necessarily bothered her. After all, her original intention wasn’t exactly to talk with anyone, she’d just wanted a place to sit and enjoy her coffee before continuing on with her day.

She did her best to ignore the obvious, if silent, exchange by smiling down at her hound and giving her some attention. Xiuh’s tailed thumped happily on the ground as she looked up at her mistress with obvious adoration. Serilda didn’t have a telepathic link with her companion, but she did have an empathic one. That bond was telling her that the wolf was currently in a very content mood, joyful to be in this crowded place with all the people and smells.

Stefan’s voice caught her attention, and she looked up at the young man once more. He let her know what guild he was from, and apologized for the strange introduction she’d been given. “It’s no trouble. I interrupted your privacy, after all.” It wasn’t like he’d been prepared for someone to come sit next to him.

He asked about her own magic. After taking a sip from her cup, she told him, “I’m a Voidwalker. It’s a bit hard to explain… but the vague summary is that I’m capable of affecting the physical world around me by manipulating the empty pockets of space that exists between all matter.” Most people usually gave her a blank stare when she tried to explain her magic, most of them not entirely understanding the science behind it. Rather than go into details, which usually just confused people more, she had learned to try to simplify the description as much as possible.

It seemed he was making an attempt to socialize with her, though, so it was only kind for her to return the gesture. “What brings you to Hosenka?” Most likely she assumed it would be the many luxury and relaxation activities that the aptly named “Spa town” had available, but it was entirely possible that he lived here.