[prp] expanding horizons { eve & isobel }

[Ephebe]

It had taken a lot of courage for Isobel to enter Equinox Teahouse. Clad in a sundress, a discreet beanie and an over the shoulder bag to house the lazy cat Madam Nibbs, she slunk inside, glancing around to make sure no-one was looking at her too oddly before trudging over to the most smallest table she could find.

This place... she'd heard it was supposed to be some sort of gathering place for magic people! Or a place that accepted openly magic folks, anyway, which was maybe as good as she could hope for - this new world really had its hang-ups when it came to magic. Not that it was really very new after these months, but the point stood.

Situating her bag on her lap, she glanced nervously around the cafe as Nibbs the tortie stretched and peeked her head out at the new surroundings. Did this place even allow pets...? Most places in Ashdown seemed to, she'd found, but maybe she still should have called ahead and asked in advance..? Oh dear.

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

Well, there was definitely a dog here. Clover in her service vest padded intuitively ahead of Eve, as was the usual routine, while she made her afternoon rounds through the store. At the moment she was chatting up one of the regulars, but was eventually pulled aside by one of her employees who'd noticed Isobel and her bag after directing the girl to a menu on the table.

The usual warmth in Eve's expression had subdued itself by the time she approached Isobel's table. "Is your cat going to stay in that bag?" she asked, slightly exasperated. As much as she liked cats, this was a carefully cultivated space and she didn't want unrestrained animals she didn't know potentially disrupting it.

ephebe

 

[Ephebe]

"Um..!" Tibbie started, turning wide eyes on the lady approaching her. And the dog, who the little Madam had definitely noticed as well - she was halfway to standing when the calming hand of her owner on her back made her settle down. A soft mew and a watchful eye in the direction of Clover would do for now.

"Y-yes, she shou- no I mean, she definitely is! Definitely!" Two quick nods accompanied her vehement words, then a tentative smile. "She's really well behaved, I promise; not, ah, as well-trained as your companion but she's really gentle and, um, a bit lazy.." Biting her lip for a moment, Isobel conceded to her own thoughts; "alright, so she's a lot lazy. She's really not going anywhere as long as the bag's a cozy spot for her, I swear."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

Eve considered the answer for a second, and gave a long sigh. "Alright," she said, "I suppose that's fine for now." The permission was given with some annoyance, but in the end she didn't really want to scare away a new customer. Things were slower than usual today.

"Have you been helped yet?" she asked. A small part of her wondered if this would be another new moonwalker. It had been a while since she'd last given a crash course.

ephebe

 

[Ephebe]

Isobel near flinched at the long sigh, visibly huddling in on herself. She'd been a bother. Not on purpose, but she hadn't even considered- it was so normal for her to bring Madame Nibbs, it hadn't even occurred to her that her cat's presence might be a problem for other people.

On her lap, the tortie in question was purring softly and nudging her hand, concerned at her human's behaviour. A soft smile and Tibbie was scratching her under her chin, until it occurred to her that she'd completely forgotten to answer the lady's question. "Oh! Um," looking up from her cat with a sheepish expression, a hand went to tug a lock of hair behind her ear and encountered the beanie. "No, I- yes, maybe? Someone pointed me to a menu but I haven't given my order yet. I'm not quite sure what to have, t-to be honest. What would you recommend?"

Trying not to be impolite, she reached up to gently wrest the hat off - it got caught in her flower buds a few times, but she came away victorious in the end.

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"I have a new green blend with plum," Eve suggested offhandedly. "The masala chai is the most popular, though. If you don't want caffeine, the hibiscus and ginger is my current favorite in that category."

ephebe

 

[Ephebe]

"Oh!" The exclamation was rather heartfelt. "They all sound lovely, really - I'll have the, um, hibiscus and ginger?" A tentative smile and a slight unfurling of the flowers in her crown accompanied the words. "It must be amazing to work at a shop like this! So many different kinds of tea, it sounds like heaven. I-I work at a plant nursery, it's, um, not quite the same but it's all plants right? Plants are fantastic! It's astounding what you can do with them and oh I think I rather went off on a, um, tangent there..." Cue sheepish laugh and an embarrassed slouching of Isobel's shoulders. "I'm really very sorry!"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"Nothing wrong with a tangent," said Eve idly as she wrote down the order. "There's certainly a lot you can do with plants. I've found them useful in magic as well as what I do with them here."

The blooming flower crown also caught her eye -- it was rather endearing. Shame the girl already had a job elsewhere, or Eve might've considered offering one in spite of the tension brought on by bringing in the cat.

ephebe