Ask Soft Jazz and Hot Lattes

[Reikki]

Spoiler

Dear Diary,

My sisters and I have just landed on Onderon for a refueling. We were on our way back to Dathomir after word of the Galactic Senate sending troops to arrest the Queen reached our eyes, but we were much too late. The news reached us before we were even halfway through our hyperspace route. Until we get more news about the state of our home, I think we will wait to return. It's not like there's anything we can do now.

I haven't really talked to Akkali or Kaiyak about it yet, but I feel conflicted about the Queen's death. On one hand, she was our leader. Her presence commanded respect and her power alone could protect us. And yet, it was that same presence that brought war to the planet. It feels like blasphemy to think this, but I just don't find myself mourning for her at all. If anything, my concern is for the family and friends my sisters and I left behind in our clan. We are far from the palace, but I don't know how aggressive the invaders were...

I sent a transmission to our clan. I hope to hear from them in no more than a few days' time. In the meantime, I think I will distract myself by exploring Onderon. We've decided to stay for a few days, so I really want to see what a big city is like. Most of the spaceports we've visited are small, and there aren't a whole lot of people.

I think I'm going to visit a bookstore first. I've read all my books at least twice through, and I really want to pick up as many more as I can afford!

theme​

The shop smelled like dust, coffee, and old leather. Bookshelves were lined up throughout, mostly parallel but oftentimes not quite. There was a little coffee corner in the front with just a skinny counter, three tables, and a singular espresso machine to its name. Opposite was another small counter, with a register and a man dressed in a turtleneck sweater behind it. A constant stream of gentle, upbeat jazz music played over the old speakers in the corners of the room, and it was occasionally accompanied by quiet exchanges between the barista, cashier, and customers.

Reikki found herself browsing the shelves, nearly blending in with the wooden shelves and old gray walls in her brown and gray outfit. It wasn't exactly fashion-forward, but she felt oddly at home wearing it in this "antique" bookstore café. Hanging from her shoulder was a plain canvas tote. The cashier had complimented her and told her she looked lovely when she walked in, so she was in a good mood. She'd been a bit too bashful though, so she was a bit embarrassed and was currently avoiding heading back up front to try and order a coffee.

'Where are the romance novels?' Reikki bent over and squinted at the novels she was looking at now, catching sight of titles like "To Catch a Culprit", "The Days on Shady Lane", and "Herlock Sholmes." 'These read like murder mysteries, I think,' she mused before moving on.

'Oh, here we go!' Happily, Reikki plucked a pink-leather book from the self and opened it to read the synopsis on the back of the cover. "Milla Desyk has never traveled off Coruscant...but when she meets a charming boy from the Outer Rim...she finds herself whisked away on the adventure of a lifetime... Hmm." After reading it quietly under her breath, the Dathomirian woman placed it back into its spot on the shelf. It wasn't that she didn't like adventure novels, but she wanted something that seemed more clearly romantic.

"Oh, here we go..." "The Theory of Love" was plucked right off the shelf by her hands, and she happily turned to read the inside cover.

OOC: Open to all, but I'll switch the thread to ask after someone joins. Just looking for a casual, chill thread :)

 

[Poet Severino]

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me they don't have it in stock?"

Mutterings that held a bite in every word fled Poet's lips one after another as his heterochromatic gaze scanned the shelf in front of him. He'd made sure that he was looking at the right section, but the book simply wasn't where it was supposed to be. Instead a romance novel had taken it's place – something so out of place in the mystery/thriller section he had been staring at for five minutes.

His brows furrowed in irritation. There were many things the Star Defender hated, and people who did not return a book – or any other item, really – in its proper place was one of them. Long fingers plucked the hardbound, irate gaze sweeping across embossed letters – Hubris and Predilection – before lifting his head to scan the room.

"It's just a few steps away from here. What kind of lazy ass–" he hissed under his breath as he moved from one section to the next.

There was a woman in front of the shelf, her gaze captured by the book in her hands. She was also blocking his way to where the novel he was carrying was supposed to be slotted in. The Star Defender quietly huffed a breath, free hand rising to adjust the collar of his turtleneck and shake one sleeve of his blazer loose. Poet, with every bit of politeness drilled into him by his kind-hearted mother, opened his mouth and spoke,

"Excuse me. You're kinda blocking the way. Sorry."

@lizziie

 

[Reikki]

Reikki was quietly reading through the synopsis when a voice suddenly appeared out of thin air. She had been so engrossed with the words in front of her eyes that she had failed to notice Poet's approach, which meant Reikki was instantly spooked. The Dathomirian practically jumped out of her shoes, her eyes widened and mouth agape as her gaze snapped over to the stranger. "Oh- !" She quickly clamped her mouth shut as she threw a hand up to her mouth to cut off the sound of her surprise.

"Oh my gods, s-sorry! You scared me..." she chuckled, awkwardly, as if to ease the tension she believed she'd created. Quickly, she stepped back out of his way, backing up into the shelf behind her and holding the book in her hands to her chest. She watched him as he walked by her to return the book, taking into account the shape and color of his hair, the height of his figure, and the color of his eyes. 'Is his eye two different colors?'

Against what would have otherwise been her better judgment, Reikki found herself staring at Poet's unique left eye while it was in her line of sight, but she quickly looked away should he notice.

Deciding that the book in her hands didn't seem quite interesting enough to take home, Reikki carefully slid it back into place once Poet was out of the way. Finding herself wanting to talk to the cute stranger though, she meekly called out, "Do you maybe have any book recommendations? I'm having trouble finding something I like."

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Poet Severino]

Normally, other beings would have taken offense at the slight bitchiness in his tone – while he couldn't help it sometimes, the emotion simply bled through. As such, Poet was accustomed to others giving him the stink eye regardless of the apology infused in his sentences. He was aware that he almost always had the tendency to be rude, and while he typically wouldn't have cared about what other people thought about his oftentimes mercurial temperament, his current job required for him to be more approachable and patient.

Speaking of which, he was still working on smiling more than frowning…

As such, when the young woman practically jumped out of her skin and was obviously very spooked by the dark-haired half-Morellian's sudden appearance, his brows furrowed a little deeper and his eyes narrowed at her. An expression others might have interpreted as him taking offense, but in reality Poet was confused. Maybe she was just too engrossed with what she was reading to miss his approach.

But then she blurted out that he had scared her.

Poet looked away then, embarrassed that he had inadvertently spooked the woman. The frown he wore was betrayed by the red that crept across his cheeks, however, a clear sign of the half-Morellian's discomfiture. Her awkward chuckle, thankfully, helped alleviate it somewhat.

Secretly glad that she stepped out of the way, Poet slotted the book he held back in place, eyes wandering the titles when he felt the familiar sensation of being stared at. It only served to intensify the red on his cheeks. "It's alright… sorry, too…"

Her voice cut through his thoughts once more as he took a step back, almost ready to leave, and this time Poet tilted his head to look at her. His gaze shifted between the woman and the books, expression relaxing bit by bit as he pondered upon her question.

Against his better judgment, the Star Defender found himself replying to her question.

"I would've normally recommended Herlock Sholmes, but," seeing as how she was hanging by a shelf filled mostly with romance novels, Poet had a feeling that she wouldn't appreciate his initial pick. "If you haven't read The Bride Princess, you can check it out. I liked it."

Like was an understatement, though.

"There's also The Time Traveler's Husband. Not gonna spoil it for you if you haven't read it yet. There's also The Song of Chadchilles, When Kate Met Cassy, Hubris and Predilection…"

His gaze met hers again.

"Unless you're not into romance, I can recommend other novels…?" he asked, and by his tone he hoped that she would catch on with his attempt to also ask her for her name. The half-Morellian couldn't help but add a mumbled, "I'm Poet, by the way."

@lizziie

 

[Reikki]

"The Bride Princess?" Reikki glanced back toward the shelves as if she would spot the novel he spoke about instantly amongst the others. She didn't, of course, so she glanced back as he continued to list off the others. His galactic accent was familiar yet foreign; she'd heard it a million times over in spaceports, but she was still surprised whenever she heard how others rounded their vowels and pronounced their r's.

Reikki, between the two of them, was the one with the accent, of course. Though Basic was spoken on Dathomir, lifetimes of isolation from the greater galaxy meant they had no standard baseline to pit themselves against. She spoke in an almost sing-song way, the pitch of her words rising and falling, and her r's were heavy and rolled. She tended to emphasize the first syllable within a word as well, creating a broad intonation in the way she spoke. Still, her voice was gentle, like she wanted to soften her voice into a whisper at any moment.

Realizing she would have trouble remembering all of them in she didn't write them down, Reikki quickly whipped out a pen and began jotting shorthand versions of the titles down onto the length of her forearm. "Oh, no! Romance is my favorite genre," she assured him. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but at least she wasn't reading "Tusk Love" like her dear sister (@Arcangel). Though she wasn't sure if "Thirty Shades of Black" was much better...

"I'm- I'm Reikki. Nice to meet you," she replied back, albeit a bit shyly. The Dathomirian woman held out her hand to shake his, knowing that this was a commonly accepted tradition in the wider galaxy. She retracted her hand after they shook and tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear.

"But um, I wouldn't mind other recommendations too? Wouldn't hurt to expand my horizons..."

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Poet Severino]

He didn't smile, at least not yet, but the crease on his brow vanished entirely when she responded with an affirmative answer to his question. Her accent is rather interesting, almost sounding as if Galactic Basic wasn't her mother tongue – and he would be very surprised if it was. As part of the Star Guardians, Poet was accustomed to meeting beings from all walks of life from different parts of the Galaxy. It was always so amusing – but not in a condescending or any other negative way – to come across people who spoke their native tongues because the way they produced sounds always had an impact on their enunciations when speaking in Basic.

Poet tried not to dwell too much about it, though, and instead focused on the discussion at hand.

Speaking of hands…

The corners of his lips began to twitch upward in the smallest of smiles, the hints of an interest well-piqued brightening his eyes. Reading had always been one of his favorite escapes from the tedious misadventures of real life. These days he found himself buried in novels and short stories, his studio – along with the art materials in there – forgotten for the time being. Instead of art supplies his hands were full either with books or his datapad. This sudden interaction with the woman was swiftly becoming more of a genuine interaction rather than an obligation, his own interest becoming more apparent as he commented which stories she should avoid.

"Steer clear off of Thirty Shades of Black and its mind-numbing sequel. I didn't have to finish the whole thing, it just… repelled me all on its own. Also–"

She caught on his dual purpose question and extended a pale hand towards him. Poet stopped midway from speaking and glanced at the book titles scrawled on her forearm. The sight managed to prompt a full-blown smile on his usually dour face, brightening his visage as he chuckled lightly, amused.

Nice to meet you, too, Reikki," he shot back, careful not to butcher her name. The half-Morellian shook her hand, his grip firm but subtly controlled so as not to accidentally squeeze her hand tight.

When she mentioned expanding her horizons, a thoughtful look filled Poet's face. He glanced at the shelf before them. It was nice to have someone to talk to about their seemingly shared interests, so naturally he wanted to extend their discussion.

"Fair warning, though: We're gonna be talking a lot. So," he made a vague gesture with one hand towards the nearest table which was miraculously unoccupied at the moment. "Wanna sit down? Maybe grab a coffee while we're at it?"

@lizziie

 

[Reikki]

A bit of color warmed Reikki's cheeks as he warned her against Thirty Shades of Black. She was torn between being interested in knowing that there was a sequel and feeling a bit embarrassed that she hadn't hated the novel. It wasn't that bad, she thought. Was it?

She smiled when he repeated her name back, and she smiled as they shook hands. She was a bit surprised at the sudden change in his demeanor, though. Her first impression of him was that he was a bit- oh, perhaps standoffish? Tall and imposing wasn't exactly it, seeing as there were only two inches difference between them, and his outfit was about as plainly "bookstore" as hers. But he did have a certain seriousness about his face that, until just now, had creased his brows and given him a very "academic" look. Should he not have spoken to her first, she probably would have avoided him throughout the store.

But now he seemed friendly, even if the perceived friendliness came from a very forward declaration of a long talk-to-be. "Oh- Um, sure!" She would then follow him over to take a seat at one of the three tables. She sat with her knees pointed toward the little cafe, avoiding looking over toward the front desk.

"I've actually never had coffee before," she admitted quietly. "I heard its an acquired taste, so I've been hesitant to try it."

She had to admit though, it did smell absolutely fantastic.

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Poet Severino]

The slight flush on Reikki’s cheeks did not go unnoticed by Poet but he was not going to point it out. Did she like Thirty Shades of Black? Possibly, but he would not take his words back. Still, he felt kind of a dick for dissing a book she did not share his abhorrence for - and besides, how could he know that she liked it (if that was the case)?

”To each their own, though,” he found himself blurting out so as not to dishearten her for her interest in the book and its blasted sequel. ”That’s just me talking. I didn’t personally like that book, so… if you want to read it...”

Godsdamn it, why was he floundering? It was not that she needed to hear his side, nor did he really need to defend himself. He was lucky that she didn’t just outright walk out on him and accepted his offer. Speaking of which… Poet withdrew to himself for a bit as they walked towards the empty table, wondering if he had been too forward with his invitation; too friendly. Was that bad? They were practically strangers (Force’s sake, his Dad would have jokingly commented), and yet here he was forcing(?) a discussion with her over coffee.

You gave a disclaimer, dumbass. And you asked her. If you call that being forceful, I can’t imagine how asking someone’s consent would turn out for you.

And it’s not as if he had bad intentions. He only wanted to talk about books, and introduce her to the wonders of coffee, now that she mentioned that she had never tried it before. Was that a thing where she came from? Did they not have coffee in her homeworld? Come to think of it, her facial tattoos were quite distinct. A cultural thing, perhaps? To his credit he did not stare, simply glanced when needed and directly met Reikki’s eyes instead of gazing head on on her face. His mother did not raise impolite children, after all.

”It depends on what kind of coffee people try for the first time, really,” he assured her kindly (Poet, effortlessly kind? Was the galaxy coming to an end?!), shifting as he looked at the menu scrawled above the counter. ”Personally, I like my coffee black and once avoided lattes like the plague. One of my co-workers in my old job accidentally exchanged her cup with mine, and I didn’t bother checking and just straight up drank, expecting my usual drink. Turned out it was one of those latte types… a macchiato, if I remember correctly. I ended up liking it.”

Eyes meeting Reikki’s he then asked, ”Is there anything in particular that you want to try? Or d’you want to stick to classic black coffee?”

@lizziie