Chapter Seven: Encounter

Note: Today's chapter is going to be a little shorter because 1) I'm tired and busy doing things with my family 2) I'm planning the beach arc (lol) and 3) because it's an intermission chapter. Things are going to really kick off after the beach arc. I'm having a blast working on the new parts of the story, so stay tuned for more to come in the future!

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Capulet was far from a 24/7 city, the metropolis somehow managing to maintain a quiet village-like appeal despite being very populus. It had it's rougher areas that most well meaning people didn't venture into such as the docks and the factory district, and no self respecting citizen would be caught dead (or alive) near the street that the Devil May Cry office called home, but it was still a relatively peaceful place when demons weren't wandering up the streets in search of human blood.

Despite this, or perhaps as a direct result of it, most places didn't stay open exceedingly late due to the suspicious activities that tended to occur at night that they could now confidently confirm was demonic in nature. People spoke in hushed tones about the shadows they jumped at in the dark as if speaking too loud would seal their citie's fate and it would instantaneously become the next Redgrave City. It was no secret that everyone in the region feared another large scale demon attack. After all, there had been three in the last two decades, four if they counted the Savior incident in Fortuna. Thankfully, the general public on the mainland didn't know much about what had happened that day, but there was one thing they did know.

Each attack was worse than the last.

And they were becoming more frequent.

In spite of it all, the bay area was still vibrant and full of life. They were cautious, but they refused to let the constant terror they lived in keep them down. There just wasn't as much of a nightlife scene as some would like. But things really came alive during the day. And this morning was no different. Certain places were a mecca of activity and the small coffee shop that Nico had just pulled up in front of was most certainly one of them. Even from inside of the van, the young gunsmith could see that there were at least a dozen people inside of the shop, although only a few were actually in line. Most were sitting at a table enjoying their meals and beverages or capitalizing on the free wifi. And she was here to join them. In all honesty, she couldn't remember the last time she had gone to a coffee shop. She didn't even really drink it that often at Nero's place. Kyrie was more of a tea person, so she tended to drink whatever they had on hand if she drank anything at all. For the first time in while, she was just going to relax and enjoy a hot drink in peace.

Nico hopped down from her seat and closed the van door, turning her attention to the front entrance of the shop. The mist had transformed into actual rain, and she wasn't keen on being soaked all the way down to her underwear. As she hurried over towards the door, she made a mental note to acquire an umbrella and toss it into the back of the van at her earliest convenience.

She slipped in behind someone who was exiting the building, ducking stealthiy behind them as they headed towards their car. As soon as the door closed and she turned towards the counter, a wave of warm, pleasant smelling air hit her. It was a combination of different coffees and a few baked treats that they kept behind the counter, cinnamon and spices hitting her square in the tastebuds. She was now woefully hungry and it showed. As she repressed the urge to allow a puddle of drool to form at her feet, she migrated over towards the line. There was only one person in front of her, which meant that she was in the express lane to receive a tasty treat. But how to pick one? bagels, cakes, cookies, crosaunts… it all looked delectable, and every moment she didn't have one sitting on a plate in front of her felt like an eternity of unfair punishment bestowed upon her by an angry god. She needed to correct that immediately.

"Ma'am, would you like to place an order?"

Nico glanced up at the barista and nodded in affirmation, somewhat distracted by the number of choices presented to her. At this juncture, she would settle for any regular coffee. But she was going to have a hard time picking one of these tasty desserts. The young smiled politely, seemingly amused by her lack of ability to pick.

"If I might interject, that blueberry pomegranate cheese danish is one of my favorites. I get it everytime I come here." A voice behind her said quietly. The deeper timbre was distinctly male in origin, and there was a certain melodious, almost somber, tint to their voice. They spoke as though they were putting a great amount of consideration or effort into something very minor, and she couldn't help but notice. This was mostly due to the fact that they were looming over her, although not standing overly close.

Before she could turn to face the individual in question, they stood up and faced the counter, handing the cashier an undisclosed amount of money before receiving a knowing look from the young woman running the register and reaching for a to go bag that was being handed to them from behind the counter. "One of these days you have to try something else on the menu! Seriously, you come in here like clockwork and always get the same thing. Doesn't that get old?"

"I enjoy the unpredictability of predictability," the hooded man said flatly, waiving off her attempt to pass him back his change and sparing a glance at Nico as she looked at him curiously," Please, keep the change. The young woman's order is on me. Thank you."

The young woman looked almost horrified, signaling to Nico that he had more than likely given her a sizable sum of money. The dark haired woman turned to confront him, taken totally off guard by his random act of generosity. "Um, thanks but I've got it covered. You don't gotta do that."

He nodded, turning towards the door with his order. He still hadn't taken the change. "Oh, I'm well aware of that. But I chose to. After I leave, you can choose to accept my offer or not. But why not benefit from the kindness of a stranger? It's not every day that I do something like this."

Before Nico could say anything further, the taller man slipped out of the front door, leaving her to make her decision. She considered going after him for a moment before going with her gut and staying put. Something told her that he was already long gone. She didn't even need to go over to the door and look. Nico spent enough time around abnormal people to be able to tell that sort of thing.

With a sigh, she shook her head briefly and then turned her attention back towards the counter. He made a valid point. Why turn down free food? "You know what? Sure, whatever! I'll take whatever that guy that just left had. For here, though. I'm not going back out there for a while. It's warm in here."

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Magnolia jotted down a final set of notes before closing the notepad that she held in her hands and setting it down on the table in front of her, taking the opportunity to eat a fork full of tiramisu. She spared a glance towards V who was quietly doing the same. They were only mid way through their conversation, but she felt that she understood him leagues better than she had before he had arrived. While he had presented himself as a sort of closed book type at first, she was gradually realizing that he actually had quite a bit of rich internal dialogue that was just beneath the surface, ready to be shared if given the opportunity. He answered when spoken to and never gave her a hard time about any of the questions she'd asked him, most being cursory medical questions. But she felt it was time to change the subject. The last thing she wanted was for this visit to turn into something clinical and strenuous. While much of what he'd told her had been intriguing and she'd have to look into it after he left, she didn't want to overwhelm him. After all, he had to leave here with the desire to return at a later date.

"So, enough of that, then. Tell me a little bit more about yourself," She said as she reached for her glass of tea. She needed to wash down her snack." Do you have any hobbies or passions? Anything pique your interest at all? You seem like the intellectual sort, after all."

V shifted slightly, his prolonged sitting session starting to take a toll on his uncooperative back. "Not anymore. At least not of late."

The botanist gave him a curious look, sitting back in her seat and folding her arms. "What did you used to do? You can't expect me to believe that you don't possess any sort of talent at all, now can you?"

An almost impresevable smile slowly snuck it's way across V's face for a brief moment as he tilted his head to the side, the young summoner reminiscing on one of the few pleasant memories he had clung to all this time. "... I used to be instrumentally inclined when I was younger. At one point…" V trailed off for a second, seemingly second guessing his decision to share this sort of information with her,"... Are you going to-"

Magnolia shook her head, already knowing what he was probably going to say. She gave him a playful shove, not so much trying to push him as she was trying playing with him. "Oh, hush now. You're not that old! Nothing you say leaves this house. We've all done silly things in our youth. Nothing to fear, dear."

V slumped slightly as he glanced in the opposite direction. He looked almost embarrassed. He glanced at her for a moment before breaking eye contact again. prefering to stare out of the open window just to the side of her. "I played the violin for a long time and wrote poetry. For a while I restored books as a hobby and..." He glanced down, very clearly flushing slightly as he tried to force himself to say whatever was on his mind,"... I was talked into dance lessons for a year or so by someone I knew at the time. I'm told I was… decent..."

The middle aged alchemist nearly choked on her tea as V let slip his secret shame, repressing the urge to giggle imaturely and go wide eyed. He was quite the multi talented young man, wasn't he? The idea of him dancing was supremely entertaining to her and she made a mental note to try and talk him into giving her a demo sometime in the near future.

"I take back everything I said. You are old," She said with a pleasant laugh, nodding in approval," If I might, I'd like to pass your contact information along to a colleague. Book restoration is actually quite the useful skill in my trade. I know some people who would pay quite the hefty sum for your assistance."

He considered her offer for a moment before nodding. Yes, that seemed agreeable enough to him. "I can't make any promises. It's been some time since I've worked on anything."

Magnolia smiled, picking up her notepad again and flipping it open to jot down a few notes. This had been an eye opening conversation. "I wouldn't expect you to, dear," She said simply as she scribbled something down on her notepad," But I'd absolutely love to hear you play the violin sometime. I bet you're quite good at it."

V pales, the flush in his cheeks fleeing him like courage in the mists of battle. "Again, I make no promises…"

She stood up and walked towards the kitchen, intent on grabbing something else before they continued. She gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder before proceeding, hoping to calm his nerves. Although he seemed calm and collected, it didn't take a genius to see that he was flustered. "Just keep being you, dear. That's all I ask of you."

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Thanks for checking out this chapter! The beach trip is nearly upon us, and I can't wait to hear from you all again! Have fun and stay safe!