Universes Unite [Rebooted!] discussion

A simple cafe run by a mysterious man. No one knows much but that he and this cafe have been around a lot. This and the bookstore it is connected to were the only buildings completely untouched by Giratina's attack.

Slonina walked into the cafe. Today was one of her days off. It was a rare occasion for her to have absolutely no work. Of all places to go, she decided she could really use a drink.

Naomi was in the cafe that day as well, by herself in a rare instance. She was paying the person at the counter, having gotten a cup of coffee for herself. It had a lot of sprinkles and whipped cream on top. When she noticed Slonina walking in, she smiled and gave her a wave. "Hey!"

With a big smile, Slonina greeted her friend. "Hey! I didn't expect to see you here today. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion, I just felt like getting myself some coffee," She motioned to her cup. "Spades is bent on getting me as addicted to the stuff as he is," She sat down at a nearby table. "Why are you here? It's so rare to see you just....hanging out,"

She laughed slightly at that. "It surely won't help with all the sugar you had put on top of that thing." Slonina pulled out a chair and joined her at the table. "I know, I know. I don't have any work today. And what do I do? I come into work to relax." She rolled her eyes playfully at herself.

"But I like having a lot of sugar!" She giggled. "Even if I get really bad sugar rushes....but let's forget about that for now!" She took another sip. "To be fair, you work at a lot of fun places. I'd love to work at the cafe! Free drinks! I don't get any perks for my job,"

"Really? Why not? I'm trying to get hired on at Sommer's Place. Trust me, it can be overwhelming sometimes, but I start to pull my hair out when there's nothing to do." She leaned closed and whispered "That's why I wear hats."

She shrugged. "I guess we're not popular enough for perks. Spades, Horun and I do most of the work there anyway," She took another sip, giggling. "Oh no, don't do that! You'll be bald by the time you're twenty!"

"I'm only kidding. I only pull tricks out from under my hat," she said with a wink. Then she pulled a pot of coffee out from under her hat with a blue mug. The pot was piping hot and steam visibly rose from the beverage as she poured it into the cup.

"That will never cease to amaze me," Naomi's eyes widened slightly. "If I had that power, I'd never have to spend my money on soda ever again! When I got thirsty, I'd just reach into my hat and then pop!"

Slonina laughed as the coffee pot 'popped' out of existence. Shaking her head she picked up her mug. "Which is a worse addiction- Coffee or soda?"

"Hmmm..." She thought about it. "Probably coffee. I mean, Spades is addicted to it and he still gets really jittery and hyper even when he drinks it. Plus it has all kinds of syrups and sugars put in!"

"I guess you're right. It does have things added to it usually. Maybe he should cut back," she suggested with a gentle shrug. "Though, I doubt that would be possible."

"I can try to convince him," She shrugged. "It's not like he really needs it, like those people who drink it to become more energized. In fact, he'd probably be calmer without it,"

She nodded. "Then maybe it's more of a ritualistic thing. He has made a habit of it after all."

She took another sip of her coffee. "But if I make him give up coffee, he'll probably make me give up soda and I just don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment," She giggled.

"Of course not," Slonina said, sharing a laugh with Naomi. "Do you have to work today?" She asked.

Naomi shook her head. "Nope, not today. I was thinking about seeing my boyfriend today, but he said he had something else to do. So I'm here by myself....and then I ran into you!"

"Well you're welcome to spend as much time with me as you like," she replied happily. Her curls shifted as she looked over her shoulder. "I want whipped cream," she declared.

"Oh, here!" Naomi took her spoon and spooned a huge scoop of her whipped cream and sprinkles off, topping Slonina's cup with it. "There you go!"

Slonina looked back with wide eyes. "Well thanks," she said, surprised. "You didn't have to share. I could have gotten some myself. I work here, you know."

"But you're a friend of mine! And sharing is important!" She continued to drink her coffee. "Sorry about those sprinkles though,"

"It's alright. A little color never hurt," she said. "Plus it'll make it sweeter."

Naomi smiled at that and polished off her drink, standing up and throwing it away. "I think they're chocolate sprinkles,"

She sipped it slowly. "I think you're right."

"Of course I'm right, I was the one who ordered them silly!" She laughed and sat in the seat across from her.

"You specifically ordered chocolate sprinkles?" She asked.

Naomi nodded. "My coffee had chocolate syrup in it, so I thought it would be a good match,"

"Good point," Slonina said. "I like dark coffee with a little bit of cream. That's all."

"Oooooh that sounds delicious! I don't think I've had that before," She stated. "Have you had the cotton candy flavour yet?"

She made a face and shook her head. "I'm not really a fan of cotton candy. WAY to much sugar."

"I mostly like it because it's soft. If I could, I'd sleep in a bed made of cotton candy!" She giggled. "My brother loves cotton candy too. I remember that time the carnival was in town and I surprised him with a giant tub of blueberry-flavoured cotton candy. The look on his face, I'll never forget,"

"How is he?" Slonina asked. "I haven't seen him in ages."

"My brother? He's doing good. He's really overwhelmed by things though, so that's probably why you haven't seen him in school lately. He likes the quiet of his bedroom," She explained.

Slonina wasn't sure why she would see him at school but didn't mention it. "Hopefully he gets a better feel of things."

"I hope so. He's a very good conversationalist once he gets going," She smiled.

"You should bring him in one of these days," Slonina said. "Getting out is good for him."

"Bring him to work? Sure! As long as he keeps quiet," She continued to smile.

"Or just for a visit. It couldn't hurt," she added.

"Then at some point we'll stop by yours and Thalia's place," She suggested. "You could magically make a snack for him! He says that's his favorite trick of yours,"

"I don't think Tahlia would like that. It's her house after all. Maybe come here? I can definitely make something here," She said with a smile.

"True....but only if you promise to make magic food," Naomi giggled. "Between you and me, I think he's secretly jealous that he's a boring old human in a town like this,"

"He should go to Binger's. There's a new owner. There's plenty of charms and temp spells to make him more than a boring old human."

She laughed at that. "I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'd get some myself, but....I think Spades and I cause enough mischief as it is,"

"If I were the uppity type, I'd tell you that magic should be used responsibly but where do you draw the line between pulling coffee out from under a hat and unleashing dancing cups into a restaurant," Slonina said.

"You're from Wonderland. Is responsibility ever in their vocabulary?" She teased slightly. "I actually don't know. I've never been, you see. All I know about it is that one movie,"

"I'm actually not from Wonderland originally," she said, taking a gulp of her coffee. "Technically I'm from Earth 88, or at least I was born there. I grew up in wonderland though. The older movie was all drug hype," she said simply. "The newer ones show how extreme it is to live there a little better. But you're right. I guess dancing cups wasn't the right analogy."

Naomi laughed. "Yeah, I guess not," She looked out the window. "But still, a way more interesting backstory than me. I was born here in the town and I will most likely die here. And I never even knew who my dad was,"

"Do you want to know?" Slonina asked.