Cuppa Joe (Open)

Bram had had a rough couple of weeks lately. He h hadn’t exactly been fighting for his life or anything but work had been scarce and every opportunity had fallen through as soon as he had set foot in the door. That’s what had led him here, dumpster diving for a decent meal wasn’t easy but thankfully no one ever ate those cheap scraps of lettuce they call a salad that they always give you with the kabab. It wasn’t nutritious and it wasn’t tasty, but it was free and so long as you didn’t delve too deep it was normally fresh enough. Sure he got looks from passers by but with his thick coat and old baggy clothes most people just saw a homeless bum routing around in the trash and gave him a wide birth without another glance, a few kind hearted individuals would even vaguely offer loose change in his direction every now and then without really looking up.

Keeping a mental tally of the change he finally gave up and moved on. The next challenge would be a hot meal but for now he had enough for a coffee. Of course it couldn’t be from just anywhere, not every cafe would serve him, not just because of his mutation but in no small part because of the smell, dumpster diving had a habit of lingering on you, and of those that would serve him there was only really one that actually made decent coffee. It was a good forty-five-minute walk away but it would be worth it, and it’d give him time for at least some of the smell to fade. 

Keeping his hood up and wearing anonymity like a cloak he made good time across the city. The café was small, not quite hipster enough to be artistic but too artistic to be a builder’s caff it had fallen somewhere in the middle and never really attracted a large crowd. The quietness of the place was one of the reasons Bram liked it, the other was the coffee. Giving the barista an acknowledging nod the drink was pretty much ready by the time he made it to the counter, they had become familiar with him here which meant he could let his guard down a little. Dropping the hood and stretching up to his full height for a moment he felt his joints click with the relief. His normal table was free, at the back and in the corner. It was a good spot for him, he could see the entire room whilst being relatively invisible himself, close enough to be able to see outside but far enough that people didn’t stare at him through the window. Cupping the mug in two hands he inhaled the scent before taking the first sip with a sigh of relief, even in the harder days there was always solace in moments like this.