[Closed]

[justscribing]

WHO: (fussiest), (justscribing), (cashewlater), & (wreatharrow)
WHAT: Sumeru crew have a little huddle.
WHERE: Some little cafe with outdoor tables.
WHEN: Early July
WARNINGS: N/A







[It's been a couple days for them all to try and orient themselves in this situation. And, given it's already a strange situation, it might as well just get stranger when Alhaitham is the one who makes a decision that they need a gathering between the four of them that already know each other and have the same place to get back to.

In the morning, he scouts nearby blocks until he finds a small cafe, empty as every other place is but with small tables outside which are a suitable meeting space. Also, maybe he can take some coffee bags to go.

Then, he sends a message to Tighnari and Cyno:]

You're not busy this afternoon, right? [Trick question none of them are busy.] Come meet with Kaveh and I around 1 pm. We should establish a routine with each other and share what information we've found.

[And he'll send along the location, and a photo of the cafe front. Just in case.

Kaveh gets less warning, because Alhaitham decides to just tell him in person when he catches him: they're meeting with Cyno and Tighnari (did he know they were here? Well, anyway,). They'll walk there together. Alhaitham brings one of those blank books and a pen, because he's sure he'll want notes.

And slides into one of the cafe seats, just a bit before the designated hour.]

Comments

[fussiest]

[ kaveh's eyes narrow. ]

I hadn't wanted it until now. Give me a bite.

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham just stares as he takes another bite.]

[fussiest]

[ oh, that's it.

kaveh looks. and then, because he is kaveh, he immediately looks for an available fork, snatching it so that he can stick it in the cake's general direction for a carved bite of it for himself. ]

[justscribing]

[Kaveh swipes the bite, and Alhaitham makes a show of wrinkling his nose even though he didn't make a single move to try and block Kaveh from the cake. Nor will he be blocking the second or third attempt.]

[fussiest]

[ the second attempt: kaveh makes a face. it's not as if the first bite was pleasant, but the second one had just been to prove a point. ]

... this is far too sweet.

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham nods slowly.] It takes like sugar.

[Like, just sugar. The baker should consider a change of profession.] And the cream is dry.

[fussiest]

And the breading is more air than breading. [ kaveh slides his fork back onto the table. the curl of his wrist is like finality. ] The only passable part was the strawberry, but even that was too sweet. First the orange, now this. What do they have against fruits tasting like fruit?

[justscribing]

I wonder how old that strawberry was. [It wasn't molding but it sure didn't look fresh.] We don't really know where these come from. Could be this is the result of another place's cultivation to get oranges and strawberries tasting like this.

[fussiest]

[ kaveh makes a face. ]

I seem to recall there being a pack of strawberry cookies at the bottom there. Open those and see if the strawberry tastes the same, would you?

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham pushes the cake aside to dig out the cookies next. He cracks open the plastic lid and turns it to Kaveh in offering.]

[fussiest]

[ the look kaveh gives the packaging is entirely suspect. but he reaches in anyway and filches out a cookie. breading around it, a filling that seems... terribly red.

the second cookie, he takes out and offers it back to alhaitham. ]

If I must, so do you.

[justscribing]

[Must??] I'm not responsible for the things you force yourself through.

[fussiest]

[ must!!! ]

Oh? Cowardice so early in the day?

[justscribing]

You're the one who's backing out of eating a cookie. Which, only you decided to do that. Do you need me to hold your hand so you don't choke?

[fussiest]

Who's backing out on what, now? We'll have a cookie each, and there will be a point of comparison between us.

[justscribing]

I can't back out of something I didn't agree to. This was your idea alone.

[It probably isn't even a terrible cookie.]

[fussiest]

You just don't want to eat the cookie. Well? Admit it. There are some things even your curiosity won't broach.

[justscribing]

I'm just curious how long you will delay eating that cookie.

[fussiest]

You- I'm not delaying! [ says he, delaying like hell, ] If anything, your refusal to eat it is distracting me from eating it. One can say this is all your fault right now.

[justscribing]

Blaming other people now? You're running out of excuses quickly.

[fussiest]

An excuse! [ kaveh grabs his cookie. he shoves it into his own mouth, all very attractive-like, ] We'll see what - [ ugh. he chews. kaveh makes a face.

... ] ... it really is too sweet.

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham's lips curl at the edges in amusement.] I believe what you were testing was whether it tasted like strawberry, not the degree of sweetness.

[fussiest]

[ kaveh's going to throw the second cookie at alhaitham. an underhanded lo, if you will. this is adults doing adult things. ]

I'm using the same qualifier! They certainly overtaxed this strawberry. They've done something to it, and now it doesn't quite taste like it ought to. I think all strawberries here must taste this way, and that's just bleak to think about.

[justscribing]

[Fresh strawberries could be the control group, they only have to find them in one of the grocery.

This thought doesn't even get to begin to form in Alhaitham's head, because Kaveh catches him completely off guard by tossing the next cookie at him.

It bounces off his chest.] All this sugar must have addled your brain.

[fussiest]

[ kaveh opens his mouth. he makes for a magnificent last stand of an argument. ... he closes his mouth with an audible click. ]

It wouldn't have been an issue if you had just caught it. [ says he. but years of being relatively bound to societal niceties has him guiltily scooping up the cookie from where it had bounced from alhaitham's chest, slipping it onto the table with a grimace. ] Fine, the strawberries are terrible. This wasn't something I wanted to spend a significant amount of time finding out, but I suppose it was inevitable at some point.