>>"I'll have to be honest with you. I've never actually had coffee, so I have no idea what'll taste good..."

Sarah smiled warmly at Tses. "I've never tried them, but a lot of people say they make great smoothies and shakes. They're teas are also really good," she offered. "You don't have to get coffee."

The brunette looked over the list herself. She hadn't actually looked at it since she found a drink she liked. As she thought about it, she pulled out one of the twenties she was given and waited. She wasn't going to rush Tses.

Tses felt her mouth tighten into a line as she contemplated what she wanted to drink. She wasn't a snob when it came to food, so anything would probably be fine, but she finally narrowed it down to a frozen beverage. Even though it was cold outside, after one too many burnt taste buds, cold would probably be better. She stepped up to the waiting barista, and formulated her order. "Can I have your strawberry bomb smoothie?" She asked, then quickly tacked on a 'please'. She was slowly getting trained to be polite; inwardly, she patted herself on the back for giving in to a good influence.

"Whipped cream?" The employee asked, and Tses nodded, and stepped back as Sarah paid. While the drinks were made, she glanced around the coffee shop, and took in the environment. It had large windows that looked out into the street, some casual decorations on the wall: mostly abstract and moon creating colored art pieces with really no subject matter. There were several circular tables, a few pushed against the windows, and most of them were set for 2-4 people. Part of her curiously wondered what would happen if more than 4 people came in here. Then she figured they probably wouldn't stay that long.

>>"Can I have your strawberry bomb smoothie?"

Sarah had never tried the smoothies in the cafe, so she didn't know what exactly Tses was getting. However, there were girls at work who had commented on the frozen drinks of this particular cafe.

Once she paid for their drinks, the barista started to make the requested items. Knowing the workings of the staff, the brunette turned to the blonde.

"They'll bring us our drinks so we can go sit. The best place, I my opinion, is in the bad," she stated as she nodded towards a back corner. "There's a spot where you can still see the on-goings in the park."

Sarah wasn't going to force the blonde to sit there, but from what she knew, it would probably appeal to her. Tses had already admitted to people-watch, something Sarah did often enough.

Tses tried to keep her cool collected nature, while Sarah seemed to already know the day to day rituals this place seemed to have. She took the girls advice, and moved to the table in the back corner, taking a seat and facing the window. Outside she could see the park just as Sarah had said, and she smirked slightly as she watched a familiar looking lady with pocket dog walking and excitedly talking to her other dog accessorized friends. She stretched and yawned, and smirked at Sarah as she settled in.

"So have you always lived here in New York?" Tses asked, and pushed her hair out of her face. The sound of a blender ran in the background, followed by random kitchen sounds. She set the picture off to the side where it wouldn't get damaged, and looked at Sarah with a mildly curious expression.

Sarah smiled and set her things near the wall. She didn't expect someone to steal her things, but she wasn't going to take the chance. She tilted her chair so she could see Tses and a bit outside the window.

>>"So have you always lived here in New York?"

The brunette shook her head. "Nah. I grew up in Seattle. My family's still there. I moved here recently actually. You?"

She heard the machines stop working for a moment before another started up. She knew that their drinks would be out soon.

Tses shook her head, and readjusted the gloves on her hands. She had a bad habit of never looking people in the eyes when she talked to them, so that left a lot of fidgeting for her to do. "Nah, I grew up in Chicago. I came here when I was 18 and have been on my own since then. The city is busy enough, high energy, and felt like somewhere I could blend in when I needed and disappear when I wanted to."

Tses never opted for lying when it would serve her no benefit, so she didn't hide her background from Sarah. But she didn't jump into her life story, because there was no reason to, and she didn't need someone to sit and pity her. She was a big girl, she grew up, did what she had to, and got to where she was without having someone try to fix her damaged psyche. Although, she figured she probably could use some form of repair. But that was something that would take time.

>>"Nah, I grew up in Chicago. I came here when I was 18 and have been on my own since then. The city is busy enough, high energy, and felt like somewhere I could blend in when I needed and disappear when I wanted to."

Sarah nodded. New York certainly gave a person the ablility to disappear and blend. She briefly wondered why Tses felt the need to do those two, but it wasn't any of her business.

Before she could say anything more, one of the barista's brought their drinks. Sarah smiled and thanked the employee before her hands circled the cup.

"Big cities have that invisible appeal," she commented before taking a sip of her mocha.

Tses tentatively took her own drink, and gave it a sip. It was cold but delicious, a tangy fruity taste that lingered on her tongue. Smiling slightly, she sipped again, and glanced out the window at the city she now called home. To most people, New York was a tourist city. But she saw the little cracks and crevices beyond that. It was a playground, and there was so much for her to explore and take in. "You seem to have your own reasons for coming to the city though. Are you one of those 'go to New York and try to make it' type artists, or did you just come here for the heck of it?"

She was settling into the conversation a little bit, and it was fun to talk with someone like a normal human. She knew she wasn't normal, but it felt refreshing to be treated like she was. She felt like it was a game, in a way. Try to be nice and friendly for a little bit. Not that she'd ever see her new acquaintance again. She never seemed to run into people twice, especially because she lacked cell phones and other means of communication. She could steal a hundred wallets and never get the same person twice. Again, the appeal of the city.

>>"You seem to have your own reasons for coming to the city though. Are you one of those 'go to New York and try to make it' type artists, or did you come here for the heck of it?"

Sarah set her drink down from its position near her lips. Most people assumed she came to New York to 'try to make it'. She never really corrected them, but she knew it wasn't the truth.

"Actually, I just picked the largest city that was the furthest away from someone I needed to get away from," Sarah explained. "I just... needed space, I guess. New York seemed like the best place to go at the time. Sorry, you probably don't want my life story," she laughed.

To keep the next words from her lips escaping, the brunette took another taste of the hit beverage she bought. For some reason unknown to her, Sarah had the tendency to talk without a filter when she met someone. Before she moved to New York she would talk none stop about her, now, ex-boyfriend, her art, or her family. In New York, the topics grew exponentially.

Tses shrugged a little at her answer, and smiled. She always had a problem with saying too much anyway, so she could relate the the girls sense of awkwardness when she started to say, as she seemed to think, 'too much'. "Doesn't matter what you say one way or the other. Not like I'll go around and tell it to everyone. Just curious, and trying to be politely conversational. I think that's a phrase I could use..." She sipped her drink, and pondered her answer with the taste of fruit lingering on her taste-buds, and the pressure of the answer lingering in her mind. She knew what it was like to want to get away from someone, but growing up, she hadn't had the option. If she had, she probably would have come to New York sooner. Sure, she wasn't getting that far away from home, but the 11 hour trip across 3 states sure seemed to leave the past behind by the time she got here. And in a city with this many people, it seemed unlikely to run into the same person twice.

"I don't know, that answer is more common here than I think you'd realize. Well, I think in the mutant community it may be more common, now that I think about it..." Tses said aloud. She doubted the girl was a mutant, so it was a little rare in that sense. But Tses had met more than enough people who tried to start a new life here in New York, their beacon of light being The Mansion, or the Sanctuary. She'd heard of both places since she got here, and they were honey to flies. Not that she thought mutants were as dumb as flies or anything like that. She should think of a new analogy...

>>"Doesn't matter what you say one way or the other. Not like I'll go around and tell it to everyone. Just curious, and trying to be politely conversational. I think that's a phrase I could use..."

Sarah nodded as she listened. She hadn't really thought about Tses saying things about her. Most of the things she rambled about were usually worthless pieces of information. Besides, the blonde seemed to respect secrets and personal information.

>>"I don't know, that answer is more common here than I think you'd realize. Well, I think in the mutant community it may be more common, now that I think about it..."

The brunette took the time to swallow before she replied. "I suppose," she agreed. "Sometimes we forget we're not alone in our reasoning."

Movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to look out the window. Small white flurries were starting to collect on the cold ground.

"Looks like we picked a perfect time to get out of the cold," she stated, nodding towards the snowy world outside. Her hands tightened on the cup sitting in front of her, thankful for the warmth it gave.

As the snow started falling outside, Tses watched the glittering flakes float to the ground. Her hands were cold from her drink, but she didn't mind it too much. She was indoors, away from the snow, and that was good enough for her. In the past, snow was something deadly and dangerous. Now, it was just like an old enemy, placed into a cage. She was safe, but she didn't forget the past between them.

>>"Looks like we picked a perfect time to get out of the cold," Sarah was saying, and Tses glanced up, listening to her.

"Yeah.... Glad to be inside though. I'm not super fond of snow." She admitted, and took another sip of the smoothie. The cold tingled her throat as it made its way down her body, and she felt goosebumps forming a little on her arms. She wasn't sure if she liked it, or if she wished she had a warmer drink at this point. "Some people get excited when they see it. I just see cold." She remarked, staring at the little flakes.

>>"Yeah.... Glad to be inside though. I'm not super fond of snow... Some people get excited when they see it. I just see cold."

Sarah looked from the slowly snow covered ground to her companion. While Sarah had grown up in a normally cold area, she did hate cold weather at times.

"I find the cold itself makes me shiver like crazy since my brother used to wake me up on snow days by dropping me in the stuff,'" she explained. "However, my artist tendencies make it great lighting practice, so I'm a little in the middle."

She hoped her light teasing would work to help get their minds off of the snow. Sarah wasn't too big on small talk, usually because she rambled. There wasn't much the brunette could say to get a good conversation going.

Tses gave a small smirk at the girls comment, a chuckle almost escaping her mouth, but she resisted full out laughing. She stirred her drink with her straw, about halfway through it, and the little ice chunks were starting to melt already. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad, because at least the melting ice meant it was getting a little warmer. The snowflakes had started to flurry a little bit, making the edges of the windows fog with cold. It was picturesque in a way, like a Christmas card but more.... real. Tses had seen cars like this in the stands of grocery markets and convenience stores, but they always seemed so fake and overly 'cute'. The storm growing outside wasn't any of that. It had a real sort of raw reality to it in her eyes, and that made it better. She hated things that were all fluff.

Life was too tough for fluff.

"So do you always do art in the park or was that just for fun today? You do any painting, or you just a sketcher?" Tses lifted her head and tilted it slightly to the side with curiosity. She was trying to be conversational still, uncertain whether she was enjoying the conversation or not though. Normal always felt.... unnatural to her. She didn't know if this girl would like her when she wasn't on her best behavior though. Robbery, criminal activity, reckless adventures seemed a little too extreme. Sure, she was here in the city by herself, and she was doing art for strangers, which was putting herself out there. But that was different than breaking the law. Tses was one of the few people who didn't mind breaking rules though.

>>"So do you always do art in the park or was that just for fun today? You do any painting, or you just a sketcher?"

The questions caused Sarah to look away from the window. It took her a moment to collect her thoughts before she responded.

"I've always been, I guess the term would be 'one with nature'. I grew up in the woods, so the parks help me when I feel homesick. Though today I went to the park in hopes of making some money for Christmas," she explained.

"I do paint a lot. Lately I've been stuck sketching since I don't have a lot of time to do anything else. What caused you to come to the park today?" she asked politely.