Not Sure It Is Wise They Meet Part 2

Posted on Mon Apr 3rd, 2023 @ 6:57pm by Indigo (*) & Chief Helmsman Kalahaeia t'Leiya

Mission: Mission 16: Hysperia
Location: Hysperia
Timeline: Fourth Day of Festival (MD08)
1917 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

“Welcome to the Dragon's Den Cafe, a coffee shop with a fiery twist! This cafe is designed to transport you to a mythical world filled with dragons, where you can enjoy delicious coffee and pastries while surrounded by dragon-themed decor and artefacts.… well this is different.” Indigo said as she onto one of tables and looked around. All the staff were dressed in dragon-inspired attire, complete with wings and scales of varying degrees and styles and through the back she could see that it extended to the chefs. The walls were adorned with murals of fierce dragons in various colours and sizes, giving the cafe a vibrant and magical atmosphere more so than outside. “I feel under dressed.”

"No kidding - I should've worn the dragon-scale appliqued leather jacket I bought." Kali looked up at the menu, with a dragon image curled around the listing of available items as one of the wing-wearing staff came over to their table. "I'll try the Flaming Hot Chocolate and the Cherry Pie Flambe, please."

Indigo had to duck under a wing as the waiter turned to Kalahaeia and grinned at the woman. It was not the first time she had to duck a pair of wings in ten slightest and the grin was off her face when the woman turned to her. “Same please.” Both seemed like a good option and nothing else had sparked her attention yet.

"I'd hate to see the fire suppression system this place needs." Kali joked after the local who'd taken their orders left to convey them and she noticed someone else's order being brought to a nearby table, flames licking along the edges of the mugs and dishes still (she suspected from the chef lighting them rather than a dragon in the kitchen...though you never knew with this planet it seemed). "We're going to be lucky if we don't end up having trouble getting Burnie to leave a place this enamored with fire."

“It most likely has none. They are old fashioned.” Indigo could not see anything and she was pretty adept at finding the information she needed about a scene. “Most likely best to not tell him. Not that I know much about him we have not interacted much.” Maybe that would change in the future if he was so enamoured with fire.

"He's hard to distill into one brief description; but if you need something blown sky high, he's your man." Kali grinned.

Indigo smiled and nodded. “I’ve met him, but I’ve not interacted enough with him to know that. Very interesting to know. I will make a mental note.” Indigo was more than happy to make a note of someone who might be handy in a situation where something needed to be blown up.

"And he does it with style." If anything, the grin on Kali's face widened a bit.

“You like him?” Indigo wondered. “More than friends I mean?” It was an easy question with no judgement behind it just a need to understand.

"Nah. Besides, he's taken; he's with Nollel." Her lack of feelings for Burnie aside, Kali also wasn't the type to try to steal another woman's mate, either. "Hopefully they have better luck than any of my relationships ever have."

"Hmm the way you speak about him thought..." Indigo said quietly as she smiled at the woman. "They have to have more luck than me." She added to let the woman know she was not alone in the lack of a love life. One night stands or holidays romances did not count in her mind at all.

"The - " Whatever Kali would have said cut off abruptly as the wing-wearing wait staff brought their order out and set it on the table: Between the two mugs of chocolate and the two personal-sized pies, both with flames still licking around their edges, the table itself suddenly seemed to be a potential fire hazard. "...Wow."

“Enjoy ladies.” The waiter said smirking at the reaction. It looked amazing the display but Indigo was eager to try the hot chocolate. She tapped the mug with a spoon and the fire licking it disappeared.

“Looks amazing.” She picked the mug up and gave it a quick smell and smiled at how delicious it smelt.

"Mmm." Kali extinguished the remaining flames on hers and took a sip of the chocolate. "A little hot still, but that's good chocolate. We should see if they sell tins of that to go, too."

Indigo nodded. She knew that it was too hot but she would try it in a little while once her pie and cooled down as well. “Cannot say the food and drinks are not hot.” She decided quickly looking at her. She could not help but wonder if she would probe anymore into what she had been previously.

"So other than shoes...You given any thought to hair, makeup, and a mask, yet?" Kali blew slightly on her chocolate and pie hoping to cool them a bit.

“Not in the slightest.” Indigo frowned and thought to herself for how old she was it was silly that she was so inept at being a woman sometimes. She had no idea what she was doing half the time. Calliope and Kaylin had, had to help when they had done the undercover operation to get the dry docks credit.

"I've seen several stalls and shops selling masks that would work, so you can just pick one up there. One of them is hard to miss, it's near where I pointed out the cobbler would be. Makeup is optional, really, you could give that a skip if you want. Hair is kinda non-negotiable though with long hair - If no one on your ship knows how to do it, I probably could." Kali offered, flicking her elaborate fishtail braid over her shoulder again.

“I had forgotten it was a masquerade ball.” Indigo murmured softly thinking that she had seen a mask that she liked in the market. “Long blue hair.” She laughed sweeping her pony tail over her shoulder. “I would appreciate it if you could.” She had never thought that it would be that complicated to do go to a ball.

"Sure. When you get the mask then, though, you might want to see if they have any hair combs or clips - something with crystals that match the mask or coordinate well with the necklace would be ideal. I can't quite manage the level of intricacies and show the locals here can do; but I'm pretty sure I can set you up with a nice braided updo with some curls on the edges or something. Depends on what mask you wear what I'll go with probably." Kali finally reached down a took a bite of her pie. "Mmm. These are great."

“I might already have something.” Indigo realised thinking of the old box that was under her bunk of things that she moved from place to place whether she was on ship or on Freecloud. It was something her mother had given her many years ago but she had never had anything as fancy as the ball to wear it too.

"Great. I've seen a few sets at some of the market stalls with dragons on them, which would probably work too if you end up not liking the ones you have." As if on cue at Kali's comment, one of the servers who walked by on their way to one of the other tables turned out to have a pair of dragon-figurine-festooned hair combs pinned into their intricate styling.

Indigo smiled and watched the woman wandered off with the items in her hair. Everything was just so unique and interesting on this planet. If she ever got bored and decided to give up her citizenship and leave both the Fenris Rangers and the Watchdog she would come there to hide from the universe and enjoy simplicity again. "Thank you for all the help."

"Spent years pinning my hair up to fit under flight gear; figured I might as well make it look nice while I was. My mom knew how to do her own hair too; but most of the more human styles I know, I learned from my flight school pals." Though, if Indigo wanted to do with the rather more Romulan tactic of hiding a few small holdout weapons or such in one's hair when she stopped in to do it for the ball, well...She'd have to broach that possibility at the time, in private; no need to let every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the cafe know that was even a possibility. "Most of whom would also want to fly their own dragon, I can assure you." Kali lifted her hot chocolate mug like a toast. "Cheers."

Indigo lifted her own mug to the woman in her own cheers and smiled. It was nice to just have a moment to be her and not have to think about something else. “I’d love to ride a dragon. I could truly see myself as a dragon rider.”

"You should make sure to take the tourist trap ride, then." Kali shrugged her brows and shoulders. "Not the same thing as riding on your own, but probably as close as one can get without the local authorities getting ticked off."

“And I heard heard that you guys have been upsetting them enough. I would hate to take from your reputation.” Indigo said with a grin as she took another bite of the pie. It was a welcome change to the savoury food she enjoyed.

"Hey; if they aren't willing to give people a real dive and acrobatics, they shouldn't be the one flying the dragon ride." Kali seemed entirely unrepentant on having a higher tolerance for stunts than her native guide had had. "Besides. If we're going to be working together in the future it won't take a thing away from our reputation; just add to the reputation by giving one to our allies, too." Her own grin spread wider.

“I meant more the ones that got arrested on the breeding grounds.” Indigo explained with a small smirk.

"Oh; that. Eh. Honest mistake. Can't be the craziest thing tourists have ever done here; probably even just in the last few years." It wasn't the only arrest record on the ship either; Kali thought; at a minimum, she had one, albeit back on Earth.

“Fair enough.” She decided was the correct respond to that. “You would crumble under the weight of my reputation if it worked like that.” Indigo commented laughing.

Kali quirked one eyebrow, intrigued, and made a mental note to do more research on the blue-haired Ranger later. "Sometimes it's good to be an unknown quantity. But sometimes, it's good to have a reputation, too. Tons of fights and even whole wars that have been avoided over the history of the galaxy because of them." She grinned again, though the statement had some solemnity to it under the surface.

Indigo could not deny that at all. It was the way of the universe. It just worked that way whether you wanted to or now. “Very true.” The woman agreed not missing the quirk of the eyebrow but that would be a question for another time. The drink and food were just too good to ask more questions now and let it go cold.