Melissa sighed, and turned another page in the book she wasn't actually reading. A nine foot centaur certainly sounded interesting. She hoped her new acquaintance hadn't sacrificed anything to give her that bit of information. It was an interesting tidbit, but not crucial. It did give her mind an interesting scenario to imagine whilst she flipped pages and listened to a group of people she didn't particularly care about exchanged pleasantries over coffee. Babysitting for Hunter was not exactly exciting. Even on the unicorn's one night out, when he managed to tussle with a pair of moronic muggers, things got dull again rather quickly.

Her new acquaintance was much more interesting, she mused. She would rather have been in the coffee shop learning more about him than waiting for him to learn more about the mutants they were tailing. Sure, it was kind of interesting that the boss' daughter and the boss' nemesis were hooking up in a coffee shop and meeting centaurs with social graces to rival the original mythological quadruped, but she'd much rather hear about it afterwards from Percy or Edward over a game of table tennis.

The LARPers, who were also on unicorn tail duty on occasion, liked to try to one up each others' story embellishments. Percy, for example, had made up some story about how the unicorn man had taken the Sanctuary's green ribboned bone manipulator on a date. The next week Edward had claimed, with a perfectly straight face, that the Sebastian had fought with a dragon in a junkyard. Now a centaur. She could probably spin the tale into something that could rival even Edward's most recent yarn. At least Melissa's story would be a true one, with an eyewitness to back it up.

Another page turn, another pleasantry exchanged. Melissa wished the actual scene in the coffee shop would be as exciting to listen to in person as she could retell it later.

--

Never...heard...of...coffee? Sebastian couldn't believe it. Such a thing would not have been uncommon in the mid seventeenth century, but this was the new millenium! The unicorn man's mouth hung open, ready to recite the history of the noble bean or recount the tale of his own first experience tasting the beverage, but he was too shocked to make the jaw do anything other than hang there agape.

Never...had...coffee. Truly, this was a situation that must be rectified immediately. It was acceptable to not like coffee. It was an acquired taste, after all, but to never have even tried it? Or worse, even heard of it? The outrageousness boggled his mind. Finally, after only a few awkward, jaw dangling minutes Sebastian managed to find his voice once again.

“If you don't know what coffee is, it's best to experience it for yourself. Wait here, both of you. I'll be right back. I promised it would be my treat, and a treat it shall be!” Sebastian trotted off to the counter, leaving the two women behind for a few moments while he talked to the manager. Cash and words were exchanged, and soon the horned man was returning to the table. In his hands was a tray, and on the tray were dozens of tiny paper cups, each filled and appropriately labeled with a different flavor. Sebastian set the steaming tray down in front of the two women, one seated and one towering.

“This is coffee. I couldn't get every flavor, but I picked all my favorites and some others that sounded interesting. This one,” he slid the cup toward the centaur girl, “is plain. It's called 'black coffee' when it doesn't have any extras added. It's pretty bitter, but many people like to add sugar and cream to counteract that bitter flavor. Or they order a specialty coffee like one of these,” Sebastian swept his hand over the rest of the tray, “with all sorts of different added extras.”

Sebastian winked at Iris, “I hope I was able to find a variety you like.”

Coffee. A lovely drink. Its many flavor combinations, the slight difference in altitudes of growing regions and their effects on the flavor. All of these and many other factors provided hours of talk for aficionados of the haughty beverage. Roland, while feeling himself a connoisseur, hardly felt the inclination to listen to the discussion until the final twenty-something waitress swept up. He felt the verge of a real business partnership blooming with Melissa and her organization. While this type of stakeout wasn't alien to him, it was usually from a distant vantage point with plenty of distraction. The droning low music and the feel-good ambiance of the place was grating his nerves.

Roland felt the need to change the scenery a bit. Why sit and listen to the ongoing saga in here when he could be walking along with the young Miss Rivers beneath his own umbrella? It had to be more stimulating than this. He realized that whatever he was going to do, he would have to do it in a very subtle way, in case Melissa was watching nearby. He watched the staff. They seemed to be competent for the most part. One girl, though, seemed to be new at the job and sufficiently clumsy to give Roland a medium for distraction. He watched as the thin girl, with her plaid skirt and a little nose stud, wandered around the tables. All of those who had left at the arrival of the horse people hadn't the decency to remove their coffees and their little plates of pastries. So now the new girl was picking up all of their messes, stacking a sufficiently high and wobbly pile of cups and dishes as she turned to make her way toward the back of the house.

Roland saw a mop idly placed against on of the walls, around two feet from a pull lever for a fire alarm. He looked down at his own cup and saucer and then there was only a cup. The saucer found itself precariously placed underfoot of the girl as she came toward the mop in question. He watched and waited for her to step and watched the chaos. She stepped on the plate and slipped, as planned. The jenga-like stack of cups and saucers scattered in multiple directions, shattering and making quite the calamity. In the general din of it all, Roland moved the mop so that the handle sat with its tip directly under the fire alarm handle and directly in the path of her fall.

She grabbed for the mop as her hands flailed and there it was, ready to save her. However, the weight of her descent proved to be just the right amount of weight to pop the lever over and bring the rain from outside into the shop quickly. The sprinklers showered them all thoroughly as the annoyingly loud klaxon of the alarm itself wailed away. Roland jumped in feigned surprise and began to rise.

"Of course, thank you. but I do have one question. What is coffee?"

Iris's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she lowered them quickly when she realized she was staring again. The centaur had never heard of coffee?? How awful!

It seemed Sebastian shared her amazement, having gone slack-jawed. The silence edged on, becoming more than simply awkward. She felt uneasy speaking first, having felt negative vibes sent in her direction by the female centaur. But she felt someone needed to say something....

“If you don't know what coffee is, it's best to experience it for yourself." She supressed a relieved sigh when the horned mutant finally found his words. "Wait here, both of you. I'll be right back. I promised it would be my treat, and a treat it shall be!”

Again, the silence felt quite awkward, but looking about idly seemed equally rude, so she attempted to fill in the quiet politely.

"So.... Hylonme? That's a very unique name. Very pretty. Is it Greek? Or Roman?"

She breathed a sigh of relief when Sebastian returned to fill the graceless silence.

“This is coffee. I couldn't get every flavor, but I picked all my favorites and some others that sounded interesting. This one is plain," he explained to Hylonme. "It's called 'black coffee' when it doesn't have any extras added. It's pretty bitter, but many people like to add sugar and cream to counteract that bitter flavor. Or they order a specialty coffee like one of these, with all sorts of different added extras.”

He turned to wink at her. “I hope I was able to find a variety you like.”

"More than one!" The smells alone were enough to soothe Iris's earlier sullenness. She inhaled deeply, and let it out in a satisfied, 'Aahh!' She peeked at all of the labels. Two immediately stood out to her; a holiday special with eggnog flavoring, and an everyday white chocolate mocha. While she could easily stomach even black coffee if she needed to, she loved to explore. Both of these were loaded with sugar and cream, both of which would provide a boost she sorely needed.

Hoping she wouldn't seem impudent, she reached for the eggnog latte. It disappeared quickly, followed by a stretch for the white chocolate.

The sound of a crash of dishes frightened an exclamation out of her throat, and she nearly lost her grip on the little cup. The fire alarm almost immediately began blaring, pulling another gasp from Iris. In the next instant a shower of water began to sprinkle down on them. The coffee was forgotten as she turned for the nearest exit, then paused to see if Hylonme and Sebastian were following. Her first thought was, 'What would the firemen say if they arrived and saw Hylonme??'

She wasn't keen on finding out.

"This is bad! We'd better leave!" She had to yell to be heard over the alarm. "Before we draw the wrong attention!" She indicated Hylonme's half animal form.

As the silence grew increasingly uncomfortable, Hylonme debated leaving. I mean, these two seemed to be like her, and Sebastian certainly had a certain natural charm she found hard to resist, but the slackjawed looks they were both giving her made her very uncomfortable. Finally, just as she was about to turn around and leave, Sebastian broke the akward silence.

“If you don't know what coffee is, it's best to experience it for yourself. Wait here, both of you. I'll be right back. I promised it would be my treat, and a treat it shall be!”

And he left, leaving Hylonme alone with Iris. Lovely. Another uncormfortable silence stretched out for a while, with Hylonme's glare getting steadily more deadly, until, once again, someone else broke the silence.

"So.... Hylonme? That's a very unique name. Very pretty. Is it Greek? Or Roman?"

"Thank you. It's Greek, one of the few female centaurs ever mentioned." After that, the mood lightened considerably, and Hylonme looked around the shop.

Then Sebastian returned, and Hylonme was assaulted by a multitude of smells. The bitter, sweet, and tangy varieties entered her nose, making her eyes water and her mouth salivate. Already intrigued, Hylonme bent over at the waist to retrieve one of the cups, unknowingly cutting across Sebastian's plane of sight and offering a scenic view. However, just as she was about to put the cup to her lips, a klaxon sounded, and Iris was running out, with Sebastian. Hylonme didn't know what the klaxon meant, but if Sebastian thought it was bad, she didn't really have anything to contradict it. Sighing, she put the cup of liquid exctasy down, and trotted out after Iris and Sebastian.

Ho hum, went the conversation. Clatter crash went the cups. KLAXON! went the alarm. Into the air went Melissa Rivers.

Melissa leaped to her feet and attempted to muffle the sound with her hand. That listening equipment of Mr. Recruit's was sensitive. Melissa swore and shook her head in an attempt to clear the ringing from her ears.

“Is something the matter,” came the concerned call of the sales associate.

“Uh... Erm... I thought I saw a mouse. I... I have to leave now,” Melissa swept past the alarmed looking girl and out the door again, grabbing the umbrella on her way. Time to find out what exactly had happened in the coffee shop.

--

Wet again. Sebastian frowned as his coffee treats were diluted with rusty sprinkler pipe water and waitresses and patrons alike scrambled to find the exits. Not that there were many patrons left, after the mass exodus when the mutant group had made their entrance. Sebastian nodded at Iris' statement and yelled back over the alarm, “Good idea.”

Outside there was chaos as people scrambling to find overhangs and cars for shelter. In the distance, Sebastian could hear a siren's wail, the authorities coming to check on what had happened he assumed.

“This way,” the unicorn man pointed down the street, opposite the direction of the approaching siren. His chosen route would lead them past a bookstore where a woman was just exiting with an umbrella, and eventually would lead back to the Sanctuary. Perhaps they could seek shelter there, and even, gods forbid, get dry.

Roland jumped up in fegined surprise along with the other folks in the cafe, though their performances were genuine. He put the newspaper in front of him over his head for show as well as further blocking his face. As the mutants headed out one exit, he followed the rest of the humans out the other, clearly avoiding Equines & Company. Only when he was clear of witnesses did he allow his face of disdain and vague fear drop for a more suitable smirk of satisfaction.

He doubled back around the shop, putting a fair amount of distance between himself and the quarry. He noticed that they were passing Melissa as she came out of a nearby shop. Even better, she had had audio only. Roland tossed the paper and the Yankees hat aside as he returned to Melissa's side, taking the umbrella for her, as any gentleman would. Glancing at the three mutants, he noticed that one was turning to look at he and Melissa. That wouldn't do.

"Play along, if you would." He turned his back to the three and put his lips to Melissa's, at first simply pressing his lips to hers for show. He felt her own lips respond and open, so he indulged her for a moment. It was a good one. One so good he considered forgetting the others. Business before pleasure, of course. He broke the kiss and held the umbrella again, seeing the three much farther down the street now. He took the umbrella in one hand, readjusted his monitors and took Melissa under the arm as they began to walk.

"Some fool pulled the fire alarm. Teenagers, more than likely. I saw a group of them outside as I entered. Some people, huh? How was your vigil? I guess it worked out, as the conversation couldn't have become more droll." He patted her arm as they continued to walk down the sidewalk.

Iris followed Sebastian out the door and into the downpour once more. She shivered, this time unable to do anything to protect them from the wetness. She could probably used the aquamarine, and created an ice umbrella for them as the went. But she quickly dismissed that though; the first sight of Hylonme, the fire alarm, and now the oncoming siren -- all of them already had her on edge. Ice would just send her over it.

They passed a bookstore, and a woman with an umbrella. Iris blinked. She looked familiar. She slowed down long enough to turn and look. The woman had been joined by a man, and the pair were kissing their hellos. Or possibly goodbyes; you never could tell.

Wait.... Was that the couple she'd seen in the park earlier?

<"Stop being paranoid."> Iris shook her head and turned back. Maybe it was, but likely it wasn't. She hadn't got a good look at the pair in the park, and after all, it was raining. In fact, the three retreating mutants passed another umbrella-covered duo as they continued on.

Iris dismissed them from her mind.

As they drew closer to the Sanctuary, Iris began to feel slightly uneasy once more. She hadn't actually been to the Sanctuary, but she had visited the surrounding areas. In the rain it was hard to tell what was what. But she had the distinct feeling she didn't want to be here....

They rounded the corner, and Iris stopped dead in her tracks. Golden doors. Everyone knew where the Golden Doors led, and to who.

"I-I'm not go-going in th-there," she stammered. She didn't care if she died from exposure. She was not setting foot inside those doors.

As she walked with Iris and Sebastian through the ever-increasing rain, Hylonme had to hold back what she was sure would be a self-depreciating laugh. The events of that day were almost too much for her to handle. Just a few days after getting herself a room at the Sanctuary, when she had been taking one of her usual evening walks through the parks, she had seen something strange, and that had started off this whole chain of events. It suddenly occurred to her that these two probably hadn't seen the man stab the mugger that ran away. She thought about it for a while, and decided that the man might be after them for some reason or another, and that she must tell Sebastian and Iris. Just as she opened her mouth to mention it, they stopped before the Golden Gates of the Sanctuary, and Iris made her proclamation.

"Why not, Iris? Lisa is really nice, and she found me a nice big room where I can sleep. I'm sure she'll take you in until the rain stops. Hey, you might even end up deciding to stay. It's a really neat place."

(I might as well wrap this thread up, since Iris needs to take a hiatus.)

>>>"Play along, if you would."

She was caught a little off guard by the suddenness of the kiss, and her lips responded automatically. Huh, she thought to herself just as the man whose name she didn't even know broke the kiss once again. Once again they were on the trail of the three mutants. Melissa's mind was spinning. It had certainly turned into an interesting evening.

Luckily, her shift was almost over. If she was correct, the ever punctual Edward would already be waiting near the Sanctuary to take over the morning shift, for it was morning now, technically, despite the fact that the presence of the rainclouds would stall the actual daylight for quite some time. Then she could take her handsome stranger back to the Labs and get him situated to become an actual employee of the Kabal.

--

Sebastian noted Iris' ill ease as soon as she saw the golden doors of the Sanctuary. His own experiences at the Santuary had been nothing but pleasant, but there were a lot of mutants that lived there and it was perfectly possible that Iris had quarreled with one of the residents and did not wish to come into contact with that individual or something along those lines.

“Don't worry about it, Iris, I'll walk you home.” He offered his arm to the shivering water manipulator. Turning towards the centauress, he added, “I think the two of us will be fine. There is no need for you to remain out here in the rain any longer than you have to if you'd rather be getting yourself dried off and warm again. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I hope to see you again soon.” He gave a small bow and swept off into the darkness with Iris in tow.

--

As she had suspected, Edward's jeep was parked a block away from the Sanctuary. Melissa steered the newest Kabal member toward her own wood sided station wagon and opened the passenger door for him before getting into the driver's seat. She pressed a button on her wrist watch that connected her directly to Edward.

“I trust you can take things from here. It looks like our unicorn is going to walk Iris home. It's been an interesting night, for once, though things have probably quieted down now. Good luck.”

“Hai, hai.” Was the response from her counterpart in the black jeep.

Melissa turned to her newest acquaintance and smiled. “I hope you aren't too tired, I was thinking we should get you through employee orientation as soon as possible so you can start earning that paycheck. Are you ready?”

Hylonme watched as Iris was comforted by Sebastian, and listened to his parting words. He seemed nice, and Hylonme guessed he would probably know what to do with Iris better than she, and so she simply shrugged and waved her hand a little.

"Sure, whatever. See ya around, I guess..." A slight flick of the tail and she turned her back to the two, and began walking slowly towards the gates. As soon as she reached them, however, she turned to regard Sebastian under the veil of the rain. There was something different about him. Not just his obvious physical differences, but there was a certain charm to him that made him stick out of the crowd. Something...

Shaking it off with a hoof stamp and a laugh that sounded like a horse whinny, Hylonme turned again and pranced through the golden doors, heading towards her room...


(OOC: Pending Sebastian's agreement, this thread is officially done with.)