Affurgato Mingle: December edition

[necromanswers]

♥ Who: Open to all
♥ Where: Affurgato
♥ When: This week
♥ What: A grant reopening of the best restaurant in town!
♥ Rating: probably PG/13ish?



What a sad, sad month November was. The local cafe, Affurgato, has been closed. However, at the start of this week, a surprise notice is sent out to all communicators:

Affurgato's open again! Come save your sorry tongues from those replicator meals. Or come pet a cat, if that's more your jam. We don't judge here, we only charge.

Also: it's Candlenights! Bring the staff a present. If we find it interesting enough, you might get something extra in your meal. What do the staff like? Well, that's your job to figure out. <3

The restaurant hasn't gone through any sort of redesign, but it is somewhat decked out more than usual; soft colourful lights line the outside, candles on every table (fake or magical, so they are cat-safe and non-flammable), and even Ditto appears to be a little more seasonal this month. Hard to tell whether or not he's okay with this, he's a tough read.

One notable difference is that Lup isn't out running front of house as much, with the kitchen more bustling now that they're down one chef. She's keeping up pretty well, but the seating arrangements have been shuffled around to make the max capacity a little lighter to maintain things if there happens to be a rush. The menu is gently simplified, but the ingredients taste better than ever, and for this week in particular, fresh turkey dinners are back on the menu, alongside a crunchy treat that is called "fried unicorn dick", but is... probably just a battered candy bar. Probably. Maybe. Who's feeling brave?

On the 9th in particular, a fresh message goes out to friends of Honerva, gently pestering them to swing by the cafe for an open mingle. And maybe you should volunteer for a little bit at the cafe, serve, assist Honerva... it's terrible for a lady to have to work on her birthday, after all. You know, if it was her birthday. Wink.

On that day in particular, every visitor gets a free slab of delicious and delicately frosted cake.

Come on over, Havenwellians! Or whatever you're called. The cats have missed you! And you've missed the food, no doubt.

Comments

[iustaegis]

[ She takes the bird back into her hand. ] And if it does, you'll know where to find me.

[shroudedsecrets]

Let us hope that it does not come to that, but yes. I am grateful for that.

[ As she is for much of what Pyra offers. ]

[iustaegis]

[ With that settled.

Pyra scoots an inch or so closer, the corners of her lips lifting up more slyly than before. ] Speaking of gifts... I see you've received red sylleblossoms.

[ Right now they're on the counter at the order counter! ]

[shroudedsecrets]

--Did I bring those here...?

[ So she did set them, or someone else, who can say--though there's a bit of a shy look in her expression as her gaze finds them. ]

[iustaegis]

[ Oho~ ]

There are only two people from whom you could have received those red sylleblossoms. [ Pyra or Ardyn, and it wasn't Pyra. ]

[shroudedsecrets]

... you are correct. [ Ah, she gets it. Pyra is teasing. Pyra has already connected some dots. ]

I... received them from Ardyn a little earlier.

[iustaegis]

So, ah, you two... [ Are they official?! But how to ask this more subtly in a way that won't make Honerva flee-- ]

You've been on a few dates, then?

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Oh, she really... hadn't talked much about that, had she? Granted with the sort of month it had been, it probably was a surprise that she had. ]

Yes... we have. It is still quite new for us of course, but I think we are starting on more even footing than not.

[iustaegis]

[ That Honerva can talk about a relationship without getting sparkles in her eyes is.... very Honerva. Pyra smiles, chuckling fondly into her hand. ]

Isn't it... exciting?

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Her faint flush and wiggle of her ears are her tells for such things, though it tends to seem subtle for complex emotions. ]

Exciting...?

[ That's a word that hasn't been in her vocabulary for quite some time, and it's strange to say, as though as it was drawing to mind some other connotation which didn't quite fit right. She pauses a moment, before she finds some way to apply it. Confiding about her relationships was also... not easily done, but Pyra at least had been there when she was considering it at all. ]

When we allow ourselves to... set aside the worry and experience a moment... it's very different. It is refreshing... to be caught up in those sorts of feelings, when all else seems to melt away.

[iustaegis]

[ ...She spots both the blush upon her ears and that small, telling wiggle. ]

Like all else seems to melt away... [ She repeats, quiet, sighing. ]

That's the feeling. The feeling you should work towards to have again.

[ And, Architect, if there's anyone who should enjoy that feeling again with someone she cares for, it should be Honerva. ]

[shroudedsecrets]

... it is good to know that it is still possible.

[ That the brief time with Cor had not been a fluke igniting memories and ghosts, that she was capable of feeling those emotions on varying levels as much of that was being swept up in others. ]

Though I know he is also being... too kind, with me. Perhaps the way others indulge in such company is beyond us, but I hope he does... have that feeling too.

[iustaegis]

[ Between the two of them, she's not sure which one might give more!

But Honerva does have patience, and she is dedicated to a fault. She hopes that the both of them can help each other. ]

Too kind? [ She raises a brow. ] More like... not enough? I expected twice as many flowers from him!

[ She's joking... on the flower part.

But also, Honerva undersells herself and should not ask for less! ]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ She blinks a little in surprise, though the jest of it seems to sink in with a low blush and that ear wiggle. ]

... It is a more than appropriate amount, and you well know it.

[ Any more than that and she might have been too flustered to display it and even claim it hers. Granted she undervalues herself just as often as she can spot that trait in others. ]

[iustaegis]

Oh, no, no! [ Still teasing! ] I'm going to file an official complain to.... to which god here is the god of romance! There needs to be more flowers.

A whole truck load of them!

[shroudedsecrets]

Well, they need to grow first, do they not?

[ She takes a very deliberate pause. ] You will need a few months for that complaint to... take root.

[iustaegis]

[ After a brief stare, she bursts into a fit of giggles. ]

Oh... You're right, you're right. [ She would like to add that she's rooting for her-- the both of them-- but that would be using the same pun. A shame. ]

S-still, Honerva. [Her giggles diminish, but the warmth in her smile remains. ] I'm very happy for you. And I wish you the best as you explore your relationship with him.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ There is something uniquely satisfying about stealthy jokes. She hides her soft chuckle behind a hand when it sinks in for Pyra. ]

Well, you know we are new at this. But we have little reason for complaint so far. Although perhaps I can only speak for myself in that.

[iustaegis]

[ Pyra sighs out through her nose, satisfied with that.... And just how pleased Honerva appears, too. ]

You know, Honerva... I like seeing you like this. With this smile. I hope you'll find many more reasons to smile in the future, too.

[shroudedsecrets]

... It is nice. To have those reasons.

[ Even if one doesn't always need reasons, exactly, but it's gotten easier, with time. With the people around her. ]

There was a time I would not have considered it possible to feel that way.

[ Which makes it important to recognize such things now. Especially on her new birthday. ]

[iustaegis]

[ And that shows just how far Honerva has come. It would be impossible not to feel happy for her. Grinning, Pyra insists again: ]

So... exciting, isn't it?

[shroudedsecrets]

[ That word again, with the little tickle of the familiarity it brings. She doesn't know if it suits at all; it's a strong word for a strong emotion, but at the same time, stirring.

But, possibility? Pyra looks so eager, so pleased with the notion. That she believes this so strongly, for them. Hard to not feel it, in the face of all that. ]

... Yes. It is.