RP [Kat] Doki-Doki Channel!

[UmbraSight]

“More fudge-y than crunchy, huh?” Kouyou said with a contemplative expression. She placed a hand on her hip and gave the brownie a hard stare as if she were expecting the confection to give up all of its secrets to her scrutiny. Mostly she learned that it looked like a pretty good lump of chocolate. It would definitely need milk to go with it though, that was also something to consider. Perhaps she could get Kendra to eat half even if it wasn’t crunchy enough for her? And even if she was currently a little distracted by thoughts of confections, she could see Kendra’s reflection adjusting her hair while the barista was turned away. Certainly information there she can file away for later.

Her gaze shifted from Kendra to Ajay as the two bantered, appraising both with an interested stare. She was girl with a nose for the scent of gossip in the air, though she unfortunately didn’t know either of the two parties well enough for it to be anything more than a sniff. Well, she’d just have to pick at the mystery later, for now there was a different smell to draw her attention. Kouyou leaned an elbow against the counter, trying to get a peek at what syrups were on hand.

“A latte, please, with some caramel and vanilla if you have it.” Kouyou said. She turned her gaze and her smile back to Ajay. “I’ll also take the brownie, just to see which one of you is right.”

 

[Katpride]

“Good choice!” After marking a couple boxes on the cup, Ajay turned and set it by the espresso machine, which had just finished dispensing Kendra’s coffee. As he was reaching for where the pastry bags were normally kept, though, he paused, a flash of confusion obvious on his face when the box was not where he expected it to be.

“Where…?” Before he could get too turned around, Kendra cleared her throat and, after catching his attention, gestured towards the other side of the case. Taking the hint, he slid the door the other way and quickly found the box, retrieving a little paper bag from it before pointedly picking it up and moving it back to where it was supposed to live. “Ah, thanks.”

“Mhm.” She waved a hand in light dismissal. “She likes to leave it in the wrong corner. I’m surprised you hadn’t noticed.”

“I had,” he protested, giving her an offended look before crouching down and using a pair of tiny tongs to slide a brownie into the bag. “Min just usually puts it back. Kinda surprised she didn’t.”

“She did, actually.” The correction came from a new voice, this one higher and with a sharpness to it that turned even the simple statement into a pointed jab. Kendra recognized it instantly, and fought the instinct to search for the source, instead locking her eyes on the pastry case as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. “But I put it back ‘cause it looks better there.”

At least in the form of a mostly-translucent reflection, overlaid over some crumbs and a couple of drooping muffins, Zoe Amne didn’t look all that intimidating. She wasn’t a tall woman, and the glass smudged the finer details of her form until she was just a dark, angular shape, her array of earrings and darkly-applied makeup more of a memory than a reality.

Refocusing on what was behind the glass, Kendra met her brother’s eyes. She didn’t know what he saw in her face, but it seemed to get her unspoken point across; he let out the breath that would’ve gone towards starting a pointless argument and stood back up, sliding the freshly-bagged brownie onto the counter. Kendra snatched it up and, setting her card in its place, quickly turned away from the scene, taking Kouyou’s wrist and briskly leading the girl back outside.

“Zoe…” “What?? Trace said he needed-”

The rest of the conversation grew muted as the door jingled shut behind them.

 

[UmbraSight]

This little stage drama would have been much more entertaining a watch if she had her brownie, Kouyou felt, but by an unfortunate twist of fate her brownie had gone and gotten itself a bit part in the comedy so no sweets for her. This didn’t mean she couldn’t bounce her eyes between the two bickering parties like it was some sort of lively tennis match, though perhaps one with marginally lower stakes. And, perhaps because her eyes had been on the move she did catch Kendra’s involuntary twitch as the box mover herself made an appearance. Kouyou shifted her weight, not that she really had a way to help if whatever the new person meant, Zoe was it, to Kendra required any input from her.

Just, you know, uncomfortable to see someone else uncomfortable.

Before Kouyou had to inject one of the tried and true methods of generic escape, pretending you just remembered you really needed to be somewhere that was there and gosh look at that time already! Kendra had taken her wrist and was leading her back out of the cafe in long strides. Kouyou raised her eyebrows in a questioning manner one they were outside and starting to make some distance down the sidewalk that had Kouyou taking two steps for Kendra’s one just to keep up.

“So, something you want to talk about?” Kouyou asked, because there were things you sometimes wanted to tell a stranger, safe in the knowledge you might never see them again. “Or, should I chatter on about something else?” Kouyou added, because there were also personal things you absolutely never wanted to tell a stranger, and she didn’t want to seem like she was trying to pry.