Paragons

Gem makes sure her beaten-up old car is locked, shoulders her messenger bag, and sets off down Broadway. She's been in several coffee shops already this week; she's started to keep track of which ones she goes to when, now that it's become a habit. Despite her best efforts to not become a "regular" anywhere, she's cycled through nearly every available shift at all the local shops, and she's starting to recognize the baristas. To her extreme displeasure, she suspects they're starting to recognize her, too.

Still, she can't help but think that potentially being on a first-name basis with one or two baristas around the city is a small price to pay for cheap, fast Wi-Fi.

This afternoon, she's headed to Coffee Slingers. She passes a teen attempting to light a cigarette on the way in, and does her level best to avoid eye contact. Once she's made it into the shop, she adjusts the heavy bag, which is threatening, as always, to slide off her narrow shoulders, and digs around for her wallet. Luckily, there's virtually no line, so she prepares to give her usual order: black coffee, or, if cheaper, the most heavily caffeinated tea they have.

To Gemma~~

The barista smiles pleasantly as you walk in.

"It's good to see you again... Gemma? What can I get started for you?"

Gem smiles shyly back. "Yeah, back again," she says sheepishly. "Just a small black coffee." She hands the barista a few crumpled dollar bills retrieved from her wallet, and once the transaction is finished, scans the room for the nearest available outlet. She finds one along the center of the wall, and starts to make her way toward it, past a table currently occupied by a hooded man scribbling furiously into a large book. Not quite the weirdest thing she's seen in a coffee shop, but then again, she's seen her fair share of weird things this week alone.

Taking a few experimental puffs and at present failing to get the cigarette to take the flame, Vivian let a curse feather out from between the part of her lips not gripping the thing.

She only gave a peripheral glance to the all-to-adult sounding voice until she registered the petite child frame and followed the cursory look with a frown, one dark eyebrow rising higher on her face.

"Aren't you a little young to be carrying around a light'?" Vivian glanced around after taking the cigarette from her mouth. Or walking around by yourself this time of day? She turned back to her attempt, "Shouldn't you be in school anyway?"

“How young should I be?” 0814 asked. “How young are you?”

Reaching out cautiously with their mind to touch the Ember back on their ship they channeled a column of fire between their thumb and pointer finger and held it out for the young female to use.

I placed my hands on the counter before claiming my cup. Moisture irritated my forehead. When I lifted my fingers, they left foggy outlines on the smooth surface.

Get a grip.

I focused on slowing my heartbeat. It disobeyed.

Alright then.

I returned to the table and sat across from the stranger.

"Dom?" I asked, taking a sip. The tea was scalding. It would help.

"As in, short for Dominic," I continued. "From the Latin Dominicus. Lordly. Belonging to God. Interesting."

Kathy saw her stalker cross the street suddenly and engage with a rather rough looking young teen that had taken up a chair just across the glass from Kathy's own position.

She then forced herself to chuckle softly and slow her heartbeat. 'Stalker'? That was assuming a lot.

A young woman with short hair and sporting some rather poignant cat-eye glasses sat beside her... but the woman's attention was far more attached to the nearby power outlet than anyone she might be sitting next to.

"Excuse me, miss?" Kathy spoke up, figuring that externalizing her thoughts would help her calm down. "I don't know you, but can I ask you a quick question?"

Dominic shifted uneasily in his chair. He had not known the meaning of his name until this moment.

"Uhh, yeah... I guess." He managed.

"What's your name?" He followed up quickly, feeling the master writing in the book, but not daring to look.

When Adele turned to look for a seat, she noticed that the corner had opened up. The man that had been sitting there was just walking up to the customer who'd been ahead of her. For a second, she thought about asking if he'd vacated the table for good, but she immediately decided against it. He looked busy, and she didn't feel like it. Although, Virgil (she'd heard the name being called) didn't look all too comfortable as they passed each other. She sat down at an angle that made watching the two relatively easy if she wanted to.

To Adele ~~

No sooner had you taken a seat than your name is called from behind the bar. At that moment, your phone buzzes... its a text from your apartment manager.

"Everything good? Just walked by your apartment and it smells like something is burning?"

I set my cup on the table. I twisted it around so the writing faced Dom.

"Virgil." I quoted. I ate the last morsel of jalepeno cheddar scone. That would have to so for a while.

Heaven's sake! No! I knew that cage was a bad idea... She throws her muffin in her purse, collects the books in a frenzy, and grabs her coffee as she races toward the door. Outside, she stops to think for a second. She quickly drops the books onto a table as she fumbles for her key fob and tries to press "call" on her phone. The car unlocks at about the same time the apartment manager answers.

"Listen, Tom. I'm out. I'm, I'm five minutes away." She opens the car door and quickly places the purse and coffee inside then turns around for the books. "Just, uh, just keep the place from going up, okay? I'll explain it all when I get there... No, it's not the stove! I'm on my way! I'm, just, I'm sorry, okay?"

The library books are thrown into the passenger seat rather haphazardly, and she runs around to get into the driver's seat. It feels like forever before her shaky hand gets the key into the ignition. Then she tears off, practically forgetting about the speed limit, for her apartment.

"Tom? Tom, look, maybe... The fire alarm isn't going, is it? I think, I think maybe you shouldn't go in there by yourself unless it seems to be getting worse... Well, yeah, kinda. No, wait, Tom... I'm on my way. Right now! Just a couple minutes!"

"Sorry?" Gem straightens up, uncoiling the cord of the laptop charger in her hands. "I mean, yeah, though I can't guarantee I'll have a good answer."

That's a weird question. "You know, normal people don't ask that...that...way-" Vivian's sentence faded as she blinked and watched the flickering flame for a moment before her gaze darted around the block to see if anyone was looking and she slowly, subtly reached over to try to cover the fire with her hand as if that might put it out, or at the very least keep it out of sight of prying eyes in a way that wouldn't draw attention to it. Then again, I guess you aren't exactly normal, are you?

"You should put that away, kid." Vivian said calmly, quietly, as she went to nonchalantly shield the flame, otherwise unmoving except for how her grey eyes kept trying to see if anyone else was watching them. "Before somebody sees. Not everybody's as nice as I am, hear? You shouldn't go flashing that kind of thing around like that."

A week ago, maybe her reaction would have been different.

A week ago, maybe she would have taken the light and not given it another thought.

But a lot can happen in a week.

Internally, she sighed. Just once couldn't somebody approach me that wasn't lookin' for trouble?

To Adele~~~

You haven’t even truly made it out of the parking lot when you notice a familiar shape curled up (and now holding on for dear life) on your hood. The small creature looks primed and ready for adventure!

Suppressing a sigh, Dominic just went for it.

“Can I have a few drops of your blood, Virgil? I can pay.”

While the awkward and sudden question fell like an anvil Dominic fished around and placed enough bills on the table to equal $200.

“Those girls there, the ones trying to light a cigarette. Do they look strange to you? Suspicious even?”

Kathy asked the question bluntly, conversationally, trying to get an honest answer.

0814 disconnected from their Ember and let the flame die.

“Thank you for your kindness, human.”

There was a pause.

“What designation may I call you by?”

The glistening on my forehead turned to beads. I felt a drop slide down my cheek.

"Odd request."

He wasn't from the lab. This was something else. Something worse. I downed the last of the tea. I leaned forward.

"No. I'm not for sale." The seats by the front window were occupied, but the patrons didn't block my path. I didn't know anything about the back of the shop. They probably had an exit, but I'd have to find it.

Within this small coffee shop, within the quiet city, within the solemn Midwest of the United States, while individuals lived their lives and embodied their struggles. The agent of chaos arrived.

He was not known as such to anyone, not even to himself. Some would say, not even to the gods. Yet as surely as he wore a ruby pendant (gift from his grandmother that was) and took a wide walking stance (knees not as young as they used to be) an agent of chaos he would be.

He shuffled through the door and greeted the friendly man behind the counter as so many had done before...