Lin chuckled, and said "The fellow I have had tailing you is Xing Chao.  He's fond of humans, which is one reason why he likes doing what he does.  If you would like him to follow you around for a while longer, he can.  Of course, if you want him to, he can appear to be a dragon tattoo, and literally be with you everywhere you go.  The Dragons are very handy fellows if you like having an unexpected ally anywhere you go.  With regards to the vehicle, there are a lot of underground tunnels and formations in this area, Weston could be said to be rotten with them.  The government knows about a good number of them, but there are still a few that they don't know about.  The real question is, do you just want a place to hide your vehicle, or do you want a place to set up a base and work from?"

"I do need a place to set up a base of operations."

A soft sigh is given at that, he didn't want to get involved with the registration situation and yet he didn't have the resources he had back home.  Didn't have a team.

"It's good to meet you, Xing Chao."  While his foreign language skills were rudimentary at best, he at least had a knack for pronouncing names.  "I'll let you decide which route you want to go.  As for how I would like to operate.  What would you suggest?  And, I wasn't speaking just about the vehicle.  I was brought here via, an object.  Or at least partly due to it, probably.  It is something that should be more secure than it is right now."

And as far away from me as I can get it.

  Lin nodded, and said "I can make a good suggestion, although you may be hesitant to approach the person it includes talking to, but I can assure you she's trustworthy.  Have Megaira Kattakara purchase a particular section of land near her home, and she can help you get a base set up.  I know she has both the means and the right mindset to help you.  She's my daughter."

  Xing Chao appeared, and inclined his head to Kevin, answering "I think you might need a companion for a while.  I will travel with you.  Megaira is a good ally to have, believe us."

A young lady wanders over to the cafe. She stares at the entrance for a bit, looks down, then looks at the door again before entering. She then looks for the sign that indicates whether to seat yourself or to wait to be seated.

The girl seems preoccupied with something. Maybe deep in thought. Maybe distracted by a recent event. Whatever the case, she doesn't appear to be paying too much attention. Despite this, she will do whatever the sign indicates.

  One of the staff seated her at the 'bar', where another staff member asked her "What can we get for you today, Miss?"

Antoinette pulls her eyes from the counter to the staff member's eyes, gets a small smile and says in a soft voice, "...today's special, please."

Her eyes start to wander slowly and steadily to look around at the cafe.

  The waitress smiled, and said "One daily special coming up.  Anything to drink with that?"

Antoinette pauses from looking around, looks back at the waitress, returns the smile and says softly, "Water, please."

This time, she kept her eyes on the waitress's eyes while keeping a smile.

  The staff member nodded, and she headed to the drink fountain where she dished up the ice and water, then brought it to Antoinette.  She said "It will be a couple minutes, the cooks make the food fresh when it is ordered, so you get the best quality without losing anything to things being warmed or reheated."

A fairly large man walked in the establishment. He had a bit of the thousand yard stare going on as he stood waiting for his seat.

  The waitress seating people came up, and asked him "Just yourself, or are you waiting for a party?  I can seat you . . ."

In reply to Lin (msg # 75):

An independent person, quietly buying a patch of land was his best bet short of going to the government.  He trusted the government but at the same time, there was a reason he wore a mask.

"Sounds good, allies are always welcome.  If you can get in contact with your daughter for me, I'd appreciate it.  I hope the suit won't cause a problem for you, Xing Chao.  I'll head to the cave and start getting things packed up and making a list of the equipment I'll need."

Antoinette is currently sitting alone at a table with a waitress standing next to her. She answers the waitress with a smile as her voice remains a consistent soft tone, "Thank you. What is your name?"

Antoinette waits for the waitress to answer before she slowly looks in John's direction, smiles and waves at him as though she knows the man from somewhere.

A man walked in, eyes alert, despite his desire to relax. He noticed an empty table near a window which looked out onto the courtyard, and catching the eye of one of the staff and receiving an assenting nod to seat himself, did so.

His bearing was military, despite the shaggy haircut, and the well-worn leather satchel he carried, when opened, produced a dog-eared copy of "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones,: which he began to read while waiting amiably for the waitstaff to come over.

"Just... me, yes that's right" John snapped out his lethargic state. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw someone wave at him. Did she know who he was?

A scruffy looking puppet that looks like a cat with wild eyes ( https://vignette1.wikia.nocook...st?cb=20070730101258 ) moseys into the Cafe.  It approaches the bar and looks up for a moment before concentrating and teleporting up to be "standing" on the bar's surface.  In truth, this is just Mittens using her teleportation powers to enter the scene while dealing with the police elsewhere.  More accurately, it's Mittens' right hand with a puppet on it.

"Clean Shirley Temple on the rocks, stirred, not shaken," the puppet requests before staring out the window, "I need a drink after what I saw today."

  John was shown to a seat at the bar, while Mittens got told gently "Sorry, nothing alcoholic, just coffee, teas, smoothies, and other things along those lines.  We could make you a double chocolate mocha with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, if you like?"

  Antoinette's waitress said "I'm Amy, but anyone here will be just as polite."

  Dane, after taking a window seat, found a young man waiting on him, who politely (kid looked no more than 14 at best) asked him "Can I take your order?"

  Kevin got a nod from Lin, who told him wryly "My daughter owns Apokryphos.  She'll be in sometime today, so it isn't hard to catch her."

  Xing Chao shook his head, and snaked over, around Kevin's arm, and then flattened onto his skin, then slid down and around his chest so that he wasn't obvious.

Antoinette answers Amy with, "OK."

She then turns her attention to the puppet. Then Dane. Then John. Antoinette looks back at the waitress. In her usual soft tone, she slowly says, "Is it OK if I try to get a seat with the three who just came in? Each one is alone. If they want company, I would like to offer it."

The puppet briefly glances at Antoinette as if responding to her suggestion then continues to stare out the window as if still traumatized by the day's events.

"Though normally Mittens would love the idea of such a tasty chocolate drink, the horror of the day she wants to forget was chocolate related.

"A 'Shirley Temple' is just jargon for a soda.  'On the Rocks' means with ice.  Thank you for treating me with respect."

The puppet dips down and noms something on the other side of the portal.  When it stands back up, it has a $5 bill in its mouth which it places on the bar.

Kevin gives a little smile at the feel of Xing Chao catching a ride on his body.  There was also something else, a guide, an ally.  He had them back home but never quite like this in many ways.

"I'll keep that in mind, I really should be going.  The equipment I have will be enough for my means now.  Need to make sure I'm at least semi up and running after all.

Thank you."

Dane smiled at the waiter. "I was told that leaving it to the discretion of the chef was my best move, so with that in mind, I'd like something with scallops, something on the spicy side, and no eggplant, but the rest is up to you. And a Coke Zero."

After being seated he looks at the menu. "I'll have coffee, dark roast" said John to the worker at the bar.

  The barista dealing with Mittens smiled, and said "That works.  Sodas we have in plenty.  Probably in more varieties than you would expect, I know it blew my mind when the soda menu was shown to me the first time.  Want something standard, local, or exotic?"

  John's dark roast was served up with steaming hot freshness, the cup made at a one-cup coffee machine behind the bar as he watched.  They'd settled him, as a single diner, at the bar as well, since there were a lot of families that liked to come and dine here.

  Dane got a nod, and she repeated "Spicy with scallops, no eggplant.  I'll let the chef know she can get creative with your meal other than that."

  Antoinette had also been seated at the bar, so the barista waved her toward the others, and said "You're welcome to talk to other patrons, we don't discourage polite and friendly interactions.  It's only people starting fights and violence that get ejected from the building."

  Lin chuckled, and said "Well, you know where to find Meg, so come see her when you are ready.  I am going to get back to the kitchen.  My 'day job' here, so to speak, is being part of the family business that my daughter started.  It lets me play with the food combinations, which is almost as much fun as making up new spells half the time."

(OOC Ah. Some reason, I was imagining tables rather than a bar. But bar works perfect for being able to socialize with multiple individuals that came alone.)

Antoinette gets up and goes to John, Dane and Mittens. She looks at them each, smiles, and says, "Hello." and sits.

She slowly looks over to Dane. "Nice book." she comments. She then turns her eyes towards Mittens. "I like the puppet."

Antoinette then turns to look at John. "I thought... you three might want a friend."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:40, Wed 30 Aug 2017.

The puppet first addresses the barista. "Mittens was once again torn over the question.  On the one hand, she usually loves the exotic.  On the other, stability in a mixed-up world is what she's yearning for after the... events.

"Ah who are we kidding, exotic, please!"

In answer to Antoinette, a cheerful voice emerges from below the puppet, "Why thank you!"

After which, the embarrassed puppet clears its throat and answers darkly, "I mean...  Why thank you."

It slowly turns its gaze to the aforementioned book then slowly gazes out the window again.  Suddenly, it double-takes at the book, and jaw-drops!