Java Corner--Venerable Road

        Yet another coffee place. This little cafe is a bright spot of
warmth and light in the midst of Beacon Harbor's frigid winters, or a
place for the sleepy morning business types to inject their morning
caffeine. The counters are clean and made out of a lovely tan wood, as are
the walls and floor. A small but effective staff mans the cappuccino
makers and such. Many padded wooden chairs of the same color as the
counters circle around square wood tables. A huge brick fireplace stands
against the far right wall.
        On cold days, there's always a comfortable fire burning there.
Four large, tan, leather couches circle around the fireplace, with small
wooden endtables dancing attendance. A long, low coffee table is in the
center of this cluster. It's made of rugged wood, just perfect for putting
ones feet up on for a bit, if the mood strikes. A few piece of local art
in the shapes of woodland creatures and made out of dark cut steel
decorate the walls. Picture glass windows allow patrons to sip their hot
beverages while watching the snow that they're no longer struggling
against, or to contemplate the constant rush of summer traffic.

******************************************************************************
                               Today's Weather:

        A snowstorm rages through the downtown streets of Beacon Harbor
today, blanketting the ground in endless layers of blinding snow. Smoke
rises from the rooftops of nearby homes, while shops are closing early to
avoid the horrible road conditions sure to follow.

******************************************************************************


"What the fuck were we thinking?!" Erik exclaims this to Kitty as he comes
stumbling through the door to the Java Corner, "Coffee. Fuck, I'd go for
anything hot about now. It wasn't snowing like this when we left," Erik
complains to Kitty. While he's still favoring his right leg or his left,
he is perhaps far more mobile than the last time she saw him. And he's
also covered with snow. "I can't believe this," he grouses, shaking his
fist at the great outdoors. "Damn New England straight to hell. At least
it'd be hotter."

Traffic outside, even in the snow - not so much, though. Some schmuck on a
motorbike of some sort, has to be crazy. The sound stops, though, as Kitty
and Erik are coming in. And on the word 'hotter', the Abominable Snowman
comes bumbling in and-- wait, no, it's just a really tall girl with a
helmet on. A really tall girl who's apparently mid-song, even as she's
unlocking her headgear and taking it off, then shedding the massive parka
that's *caked* in snow, and stowing them both on the rack next to the
door. "...au soleil, sous la pluie, a midi ou a minuit, il y a tout ce que
vous voulez aux Champs-Elysees!" Then the goggles come off and the glasses
go on.

Erik is indeed far more mobile than the last time Kitty saw him. Kitty's
bundled up - yes, she's got a new scarf - and offers, "We were thinking
'escaping the surl'?" aside to Erik as she knocks snow off her boots,
presumably on the theory of not tracking it inside. Hah. Hah. Considering
the amount of it stuck in her hair, let alone layering her jeans, not
going to be helping. "At least we're on foot. We'll be able to crawl back
over the surface when we decide it's time to go out. Unlike whoever
that..." She starts to nod back, then peers over her shoulder. Hard to
tell with all the snow, but... squint?

So Erik pauses, opening his mouth to respond to Kitty as the snow-covered
lady makes her way inside. Then he turns and looks away, clearing his
throat. "...right." He shakes himself off a bit more, stomps his feet.
He's still by the door and he's leaving quite a good amount of snow there.
"Yarrrrgh," he mutters, intelligently.

The response? A beaming, "That's what tarps are for!" and a draping of one
arm over Kitty's shoulders and one over Erik's. "Hi, guys. Fancy meeting
you here! You *walked*? You're both crazy. Should take public
transportation. It's heated." Unlike Vesper's jeans and shoes, which are
shedding chunks of snow, too. On the other hand, her hair was under her
coat and her helmet, so it's okay - but man, that's a red face.

Kitty points out defensively, "Well, the buses were cancelled!" Pause.
"Which may not be much of a point in favor of our sanity. Hi, you." Okay,
she's starting to grin.

That gets a laugh out of Erik. "Bah. Who needs public transportation.
Well, okay. We do. Obviously. But that's not the damn point." He waves his
hand at Vesper. "Howdy again," he tells her, cheerfully. He rubs his hands
together, trying to warm them up a little before he settles about trying
to get some more snow out of his hair, then he starts over to have himself
a seat, pushing out a pair of chairs after he takes his own. "Come on and
join us?" That last comment is directed more to Vesper. "It's been a long
time since I saw you."

"Hellooo." Grinning, wandering after when she gets the invite, Vesper's
got her hands in her back pockets and is looking unbearably smug about
something. Probably a scooter-based near-death experience. "Love to! And
my email address hasn't changed. Though granted I haven't been checking my
email, too much spam. So nevermind, I'm just a spaz." There's a mild leer
at Erik. "Though green agrees with you." She swings one of the chairs
around and straddles it cheerily.

Kitty gives Vesper a mildly puzzled look. "What, filtering it out is too
much trouble?" she teases, sticking to her feet as she tugs ice-stiffened
gloves off. Her hands are probably still the warmest. "Who wants what?"
Apparently she's appointing herself coffee-fetcher. It lets her peek at
the fire! Mmm, heat.

As it is, Erik eyes Vesper a little and looks slightly embaressed,
especially at the leer being directed towards him. He covers his mouth and
coughs into his hand, then clears his throat. "Well. Uh, right then."
Ahem. "I know how that is. The spam bit, that is. Spamblockers are nice,
but at this point, it's getting to be about time to get a new email. Which
sucks, but that's life." He makes a face, then replies to Kitty,
hopefully, "Uh. I'll go with the espresso. God knows I need the caffiene
tonight."

"The thing with the white chocolate and the espresso in it!" calls Vesper,
leaning backwards a little and gripping the back of the chair - not gonna
fall over, nope nope. Then she lowers her voice and leans in, reaching
over to lightly poke Erik's arm. "Hey. Is she your girlfriend now? I'll
shut up if you want, it's cool. Otherwise, stop being a dork."

Kitty calls back, "I'm afraid of both of you now." Mocha for her, darn it,
because /one/ of them is not going to have a bloodstream composed
/entirely/ of stimulants. Even if it leaves her trying desperately to
catch up with the conversation. Absently, she adds cookies to the order.
Just because. Isn't it a good thing she's too far away to hear that last
comment of Vesper's?

Probably, Yes. As it is, Erik stares at Vesper for a moment, shaking his
head vigirously. "No, no, no. She is *not* my girlfriend," he assures
Vesper, firmly, scratching the back of his head with his hand. He glances
over his shoulder at Kitty before he turns back to Vesper. "It really *is*
good to see you again. I really meant to get in touch with you, but we
never linked up."

"Heh heh, after that once, you mean, ahem," grins the long-haired girl,
crossing her arms on the back of the chair and leaning her chin on them.
"But okay, good. I mean, unless it's not good. But it's good for me. And
it's good to see you, too! Are you all right? You're moving kinda funny,
like you jumped off a train or something." Kitty's bringing cookies. That
makes Kitty a goddess.

Cookies /and/ espresso. With white chocolate in Vesper's case. Bunches of
goodies. Kitty was tempted toward fudge, too, but it's even more
overpriced than the cookies are. "Okay, what am I being peered at for,"
she asks as she returns. "Were you scared I was gonna drink your coffee or
something?"

"I meant linked up again after that, yeah." Erik tells Vesper with a
wider, more at ease grin. He's relaxing a little. "We need to do it again
sometime. And, yeah. I'm okay. I took a nasty tumble on an ice spot and,
well.. it was bad. But I'm doing a lot better now, but I'm still kind of
fucked up." He pauses, then tells Kitty. "Yes. That's it. Really." He
manages to keep a straight face. For the moment.

Good, because people who are both injured /and/ tense are really pathetic
to watch. "Plus I was eyeing the cookies and Erik was wondering what I was
drooling about," adds Vesper, sitting a little straighter, looking
perfectly innocent. And then she tilts her head slightly, eyeing Erik -
giving him the Look - and raising her eyebrows. "Are you sure the being
fucked up has to do with the falling on the ice?" Right, big *stupid*
grin, because she can't insult without cracking herself up in the process.
"Or - oh, painkillers, eh? They're awful that way."

Kitty eyes Erik, and Vesper. Then hands Vesper the cookies. And keeps the
drinks by herself, setting her arms down on the table in a guarding
barricade. "Well, that's because you were right," she replies, deadpan.
Not a word about painkillers.

Then it's a good thing that he's *continuing* to relax. Erik snorts a
laugh at Vesper. "I probably deserved that one," he informs her, then
adds, "I'd say the only thing that was bruised was my pride, but really,
that wouldn't be true. My pride's just taking a battering right *now*."
His tone is light, amused, then he turns towards Kitty to eye her. "Hey
now. Coffee?" He holds out his hand towards it, hopeful expression on his
face.

"Whether or not it's been spat...spit in? Spat in? Regardless, unless you
have acid spit, the coffee is a very welcome thing and I swear I'll freeze
to death right here if you don't take pity on me and..." Vesper doesn't
actually reach out, like Erik, just stuffs about half a big cookie in her
mouth and gets this blissful look on her face. Then generously pushes the
other cookies to the middle of the table.

Celliers is actually in a slightly baggy and worn olive drab army parka,
complete with East German flag patches on the shoulders, and workboots.
The hood is down, despite the chill. He looks, strangely enough, almost
sleepily content, pale eyes half-lidded and hollow cheeks actually
colored, presumably by the cold. His stride is oddly loose-jointed, as
well, as he heads to the counter to request a Turkish coffee. He hasn't
noted the familiar faces, as yet.

"Yeah, no kidding. Coooold." Erik agrees with Vesper, firmly, shaking his
head. "I am dreading, literally dreading, the fact that I actually have to
go back out in there. I'm tempted to call a cab, but I think that'd count
for cruel and unusual punishment to the poor bastard cabbie. And it'd
probably be extremely expensive to boot. Hey, Jack!" He lifts a hand,
tossing him a wave to get his attention. That way, see, he'll notice the
familiar faces.

"Cold and snowy and terrible, yes," says Vesper around her cookie, then
leans over to thieve her white-chocolate espresso thing while Kitty's not
looking, and wash some down with it before greeting New Guy. Which she
does with as mush enthusiasm as usual. "Hey! Jack, eh? I'm Vesper. I make
it a habit to steamroll over introductions because it's quicker. Get warm.
Have coffee." Canadian accent - occasional unquellable upward inflections
at the ends of statements - French-Canadian. Hee hee.

Celliers smiles benignly at Vesper, and extends the hand not holding the
Turkish coffee. He's flushed, and his eyes are overbright. "Oh, I am warm.
And yes, Jack, too. I mean, I'm Jack, and pleased to meet you, Miss
Vesper. But thank you, I think I shall join you all. Hello, Erik, Miss
Pryde." He's actually grinning, not one of those pinch-lipped restrained
smiles. Guess where he's been before here? He drops ungracefully into a
free seat, not without a wince.

Okay. Celliers is *definitely* getting an odd look from Erik. "What's up
with you, dude?" He glances over at Kitty, then back at Celliers. "You
seem to be in a good mood." He took steals his coffee when he gets the
chance, hopefully when Kitty's distrated.

Yeah, Celliers is pretty distracting right now. Vesper was gonna guess
he'd just been necking in the back of a heated taxi, but then he sat down
and she got a whiff. Fairly faint, considering his complexion, but enough.
Oho! She *grins*. "It's actually just Vesper. Antagonist's my surname.
Hey, I have a challenge for you. Here, pick a finger, any finger." She
sets down both coffee and half-cookie, then holds up her hands, palms out,
toward Jack.

Celliers all but chirps, "I've had enough Russian infantry antifreeze that
I'm honestly not sure where my feet are. I didn't know they made vodka
that bad. Begging your pardon, ladies. But I can't feel much of anything
at this point, which is an improvement, at least to my point of view. And
now, coffee, so I don't fall asleep on the way back and pass out in a
snowbank. It's nearly as bad as Afghanistan out there." Vesper gets an
owlish blink. "Very well, Miss Antagonist." The coffee's set down and he
reaches, or more accurately, gropes. He does seize one of her index
fingers, though it takes a moment's consideration.

That faint odour when by Erik at first, but he's able to pick up on it
eventually. He sniffs a few times, then says, "Yeah. You sound it. Guess
maybe I really *will* have to be calling that cab. No way you should be
wandering around in this weather when you're drunk, man. Well. There goes
*my* wallet." He casts a grin over at the two ladies. Well, okay. Kitty
and Vesper.

"Nah dude, I got it. Me heap big sysadmin, remember? Rarr and shit,"
comments Vesper, aside, to Erik - and then she puts her full, careful
attention on the drunken Jack. "Okay, good. Now let go - good, good -
okay, now watch carefully." She pulls her hands back slightly and then
scrambles her fingers really fast. As though, almost, she were a
superspeedster tying a boyscout knot, but taking longer. Then she holds up
her hands again, the same way they were. "Now try and find the finger you
picked before."

Celliers sniffs dismissively at Erik's offer. "I wouldn't dream of
imposing. And it's really not far, only a few blocks. I'll be fine. Trust
me, I've been through worse." He eyes Vesper hawkishly, then reaches out
to grab the same finger. Ha. Got you. "That is it, isn't it?" he wonders,
under his breath, glancing up at Vesper.

Which makes Kitty give in and lift her hands to applaud, and therefore
stop guarding Erik's espresso. Look! Coffee for you! "If all else fails,"
Kitty adds, "you know where Pete and I live, and we have a reasonably
acceptable couch." As well as the one that housed Constantine temporarily,
which scares her.

Hah! Erik's not so preoccupied by Jack that he fails to notice that
Kitty's no longer guarding his espresso. He sneaks his hand over and snags
it, then drags it back and clutcies it between his hands for warmth.
"Yeah, that's so much better." He glances back towards Vesper, asking her
in more serious tones, "Uh. You woudln't happen to know where I could get
a job, would you?" He seems hopeful. Hey, maybe she'll know. "I sort of
got fired a while ago. I figure we can talk about it later?"

"Sure, I'll talk to the department head, see what I can do, and then we'll
talk about it later. Very well done, Jack, most people with that amount of
flushing ... yeah, I mean that amount of flushing, they're not so hot with
the logic. Props," says Vesper, and it's actually possible to make out
distinct words. She's grinning slightly, now, and leans forward on the
back of her chair again, picking up the coffee and concentrating on that
for the moment. Ah, that's right. Pete, the boyfriend. Right. Got it.
Pause. Naaaaaah.

Assuming Jack can actually find Pete and Kitty's house at this point, and
doesn't just end up trying to walk off the edge of the Earth to find the
Tower. "Years of training," he assures Vesper solemnly, before picking up
his coffee, very carefully. "Thank you."

For tonight only, the role of Jack will be performed by Shel Silverstein.
"Ooh, great," Kitty says, gaining enthusiasm at the conversation between
Erik and Vesper - or at the consumption of mocha, now that she's
surrendered the battle for Erik's coffee. "And that -" Pause. Apparently
there was some sort of stealth-bomb in Vesper's phrasing; she eyes the
other woman warily before stifling a grin.

Whatever the stealth-bomb was, it would appear that Erik has missed it for
the moment. "Don't worry about it, Jack. It's all good anyways, it would
seem." He shifts a bit on the seat, elbows coming to rest on the table
while he continues to clutch the coffee. He doesn't interrupt what Vesper
is doing with Jack anymore than he already has, however, for the time
being. Instead, he adds a little sugar to his coffee and settles about
drinking. Yay coffee!

Vesper flashes Kitty a grin, which shifts back to innocence. Then she's
fishing in her pocket and pulling out a pen and a bookstore receipt, and
scribbling her antispam email and her new and improved telephone number on
it, then pushing it across to Erik. "I'm gonna have to split - originally
just intending to get some coffee and get outta here, but you hoopy froods
were here and I could /not/ miss the opportunity. Thanks for the sugar,
Kitty - can program at least a third of the night on it. Oh, and--"
There's another pause and a cryptic, grinning comment, just before she
keeps going. "Madness is all in the mind. Erik, call me tomorrow evening,
I'll have talked to people by then. Good to meet you, Jack. Safe bed,
okay?"

Jack bobs his head in innocent agreement - if there was a subtext, he's
missed it, too. He looks back and forth between the women, before taking
another sip of his coffee. Mm, caffeine to counterbalance that alcohol. At
least he isn't trying to do Cossack dances on the cafe tabletops. He
offers Vesper a little wave of farewell. "Do take care, Miss Antagonist."

"Good to know you're happy the way that you do things," Kitty returns to
Vesper, bright and cheerful. "Try not to hit any ice patches yourself. The
last thing we want is for you to wind up like Erik instead of vice versa."
She flashes a grin at Erik, then leans back in her chair. No mocking the
Jack. If only because Kitty was rather drunker than that a couple days
back. Though without the Cossack dances.

A bright and warm smile is offered towards Vesper at that and Erik seems
sincere when he says it, "*Thank* you. You rule, Vesper. It was definitely
good seeing you again." He slids his hand over and takes the piece of
paper with the number and email on it and places it in his pocket. "Take
care of yourself and don't hit any patches of ice. Trust me, it hurts."
Well, at least as much as getting pummeled by massive chunks of mountain
thrown by the Hulk, anyways.

Vesper salutes, standing, and proceeds to the door to start re-layering
herself. Goggles instead of glasses - yes, RAF goggles - helmet, parka
over hair, gloves. It's a regular song and dance. And then goes out,
whistling the refrain from 'Skater Boy'. Yeesh.

Celliers sits back in his chair, and sets to work on the coffee. "She was
interesting," he comments, still inanely cheerful. "And I talked to Liam,
not long ago," he adds, after a moment's thought.

"Very," Kitty agrees, sipping at her mocha. "I really oughta stop teasing
her. But it's too much fun. Besides, she's a darn good sysadmin." She
leans back in her chair, the better to look more directly at Jack. "You
did? How'd that go?"

"Who?" Apparently, Erik's never heard of Liam, as he just looks somewhat
confused for the time being.

"An mutual acquaintance, and a most estimable young...man," Jack explains,
quietly, eyes on his mug, though he stumbles over the particular
appellation. "A healer, as well. And it went well. I spoke to him of what
we'd undergone, as something of a 'head's up'."

"He's a sweetheart," Kitty contributes. "Pete and I hung out with him and
got drunk a couple days ago." She doesn't look entirely happy at Jack, but
she doesn't chide him, either. The more important secret is, er, well,
still secret. "I told him a good bit of it, too. He's in a position where
he needs to know."

"Oh. Right the. And thanks for the, uh..perpetual motion machine." Erik
eyes Kitty. He's fairly sure she's responsible, it would seem. How about
that.

Celliers peers at Erik, eyes wide. "A what machine?" he wonders, draining
off the last of his coffee and shoving the mug aside with the heel of his
palm. "And he didn't even chide me for what happened at Caritas," he
notes, pleasedly.

"For the what?" Kitty gives Erik a puzzled look. Actually, a nearly blank
one. "Erik, I'm a decent techie, but I canna' break the laws o' physics."
Wow, that's a bad Scotty imitation. Then she hears what Celliers says, and
takes a swallow of mocha so hasty she very nearly chokes on it.

Erik just eyes Kitty. He just eyes her. He does not look entirely
convinced. "It's battery powered," he remarks, plainly, then shakes his
head. "Nevermind. If it wasn't you, I'm confused." He scratches the back
of his head, then eyes Jack. "Caritas?"

Celliers nods. "The karaoke bar." He enunciates each syllable of 'karaoke'
with great care. "It's run by the Host." He does not, however, elucidate
further on just what it is that Liam should be scolding him for.

"Decent place," Kitty contributes helpfully. "Decent guy, too. Erik, I
don't want to know about what you /or/ your roommates do with
battery-powered moving things." Darn it, usually she behaves around Jack.
Either it's the cold, or the stress levels, or his drunk is rubbing off.

Or it could be that Erik was tqaking a drink of coffee and she wanted to
see him choke. Which he does. He starts coughing. "*Kitty!*"

It's alright - humor concerning batteries goes right over Jack's head. Now
he levels that owlish look on Kitty. "Why is that funny?" he asks,
bluntly.

Kitty stifles a giggle in her hand. Unsuccessfully. "For reasons Seishi
would swat me for if she weren't in Japan," she admits to Jack, and
hastily hands Erik napkins.

"Don't ask. It'd take too long to explain and you're probably far too
inebriated for the conversation." Erik tells Celliers, looking towards
Kitty for her agreement on the matter.

Celliers looks vaguely petulant for a moment, but lets the matter go with
a shrug. "That's true."

"Anyway," Kitty sighs, "Liam's warned, Seishi's in Japan, I need to look
in on Holmes and make sure he isn't forgetting to eat, and ... and ... I
forget what else is going on." More coffee for her. "Brain frozen still."

So Erik drops his voice, tells Kitty, "I gave Seishi a tracking device. I
can get her if we really need her. Let me know."

Celliers nods quietly. "Wait for things to happen?" he suggests, softly.

Kitty gives a momentary wordless grimace. "And Constantine apparently has
an Idea. This is never good, but - we can't wait forever, either.
Hopefully we can take a few days, though." Till Seishi gets back. Or till
the obligatory New Year's drunk wears off.

"Yay. New Years. When I get to...sit around at home on my butt! Unless
someone drags me out, which very well *might* happen. But I'll only know
for sure when I get there." Erik replies, looking somewhat amused. "I
don't get drunk all that often, as you'll recall, for a very good reason."

Celliers's earlier vodka-induced exuberance has worn off, leaving him
looking rather gray and grim. It's going to be a hell of a morning
tomorrow. "I would imagine not."

Particularly with the coffee to help dry him out /even more/. "I'd say
somebody ought to organize a nonalcoholic New Year's Eve," Kitty muses,
"but /I'm/ sure as heck not going to volunteer for that. Pete'd mock me."

"I'll celebrate New Years by...sleeping through it!" It's as if this great
idea just dawned on Erik. "It's a novel concept, I know. But sleep really
sounds like it might be *great* idea. Especially if Vesper gets me a job."

"Actually," Jack murmurs, "that does sound like a good idea." Especially
if he's been drinking like this up until the day itself.

"I suppose somebody should be awake on the first," Kitty grants.
"Somewhere in the city."

"Guess it'll have to be. I'm such a square. Really." Erik looks all
dissapointed. Or at least he tries to.

Celliers gives Erik a look utterly devoid of sympathy. "Poor lad." He
contemplates the empty coffee cup, then glances up at the dark windows.

Kitty follows Celliers' glance. "Great. It's going to be even colder."
Somehow, she manages to sound amused.