may catch-all

[ghemnotgem]

WHO: tej arqua vorpatril & YOU
WHERE: de chima; lucky cat cafe, dc004, various
WHEN: throughout may.
WHAT: catch-all w/general starters.
WARNINGS: none, will be edited if things come up.

(( pm me or pp @ robutts if you’d like something different. tej has a permissions post here!! ))

Comments

cafe.

[ghemnotgem]

( there’s a new barista in town.

tej greets every customer politely, takes their order carefully, and delivers a cup of coffee with a small smile at a job well done. her experience in working has so far amounted to a shipping job, but this requires more personal interaction than that ever did. and — this job isn’t just for money. it keeps her busy, keeps her from remembering the fear and the sadness. it doesn’t completely banish it, however, and at points the images of her family members will creep into her mind and dull her smile.

if you’re a lucky customer, that doesn’t happen when she hands you your drink with a small nod. if you’re an unlucky customer, then tej happens to be thinking of one of her odd-siblings when she hands over the cup, and for a moment there’s a rippling effect over the mug before it transforms into a mug made out of lapis lazuli. or, if one is very unlucky, onyx, emerald, pearl, topaz, or ruby. )

Oh --

[komarran]

[ He doesn't pay much mind when he orders his drink. There's a barista on staff he doesn't recognize, he's become regular enough to recognize that, but that's hardly noteworthy at a cafe.

It isn't until he's fully set up his table, laptop and books and all, and the young woman comes over to deliver his coffee that he takes notice. Primarily because said coffee transforms into a pearl mug before his very eyes right as he looks up, ready to thank the woman for his drink.

Dryly, ] I'm afraid this isn't what I ordered.

[ As if that wasn't obvious. ]

[ghemnotgem]

( she can't be seriously messing this up this quickly, can she? the owner had accepted her lack of real world retail experience easily enough without an explanation. but if customers were going to explain-- )

Would you like me to get you a different cup?

( her voice is accented, but so's his. a very familiar accent, and tej stops in recognition, eyes flicking up in something akin to fear. he wasn't here for her was he? but rish is gone, and they would have known rish was with her. and not her name, her new name on her name tag--

tej swallows her fear and looks back at the komarran, waiting for a response. )

[komarran]

[ That accent is familiar and his mind is working on placing it as he turns to face her better. ]

Yes, I would--

[ And then he sees it and openly gapes. Because this is not any name he's seen in that particular Vor family tree nor does the accent match. It takes him a second before he manages, ] Vorpatril?

[ There's a story here and he hopes it's good. ]

[use_everything]

[While Tej is writing out an order for a customer, Aral makes his somewhat delayed entrance on shift. Though wearing a ridiculously cute tight brown t-shirt uniform, the resemblance to the man prominent in lessons on Barrayar is nearly unmistakable, even without the dress greens and grey hair. Between the scar, the unique rasp to his voice, the imposing aura... or perhaps, most simply, it's the nametag that simply says "Vorkosigan."

No recognition lights his face as he takes her in. His expression is formal and distantly polite.]

A new worker this shift? [This could be convenient for several reasons, one being more attention paid to the security of the Emperor. Little things like that.] You are...?

[ghemnotgem]

Lady Vorpatril.

( she says, not looking up from the order she's making sure to write as carefully and as legibly as possible, although the accent is familiar and causes momentary pause. it's been a few days, and she's only begun to get used to referring to herself as that -- but ivan xav offered his hand in marriage to protect her, and it would be a poor deal if she couldn't use his name and her new rank to protect herself even worlds away, on old earth.

and then tej looks up. or rather not so up as to be taller than her, and finds herself face to face with aral vorksogian. oh. he had a new title now, she saw it when she looked him up-- )

Viceroy Vorkosigan?

( the rest of her is frozen -- she doesn't know if she needs to run, if she needs to make her excuses and leave before anything else-- )

[use_everything]

[There is a number of things he could address. An obviously foreign Vorpatril he would have absolutely known about. Alys would have been going on for ages by now and would for generations beyond.

Much less the distinct Jacksonian accent.

Or the-]

Viceroy?

[particled]

Oh shit.

[ the best places to sit and learn about a city are either a bar or a coffee shop, and it wasn't past 5 yet. Jack had ordered an average boring cup of coffee, but what he got instead was a magic act and a new emerald cup.

far from being annoyed, he was really fucking amazed by the transformation... and just a little worried about how his coffee would taste. ]

So uh, is that gonna cost me extra? [ and can he keep it? ]

[ghemnotgem]

( the coffee should be fine. tej hopes. as for his question, well. )

Why would you? You've only purchased the liquid inside rather than the cup itself. Although I suppose if the initial start up price of purchasing the mugs hasn't been recouped yet-- ( tej hates economics, and gives jack a small shrug. ) I don't think so, no. I can get you another mug.

( she just hasn't mastered this particular power yet. gloves? she really should invest in a pair. )

[rathercommon]

Oh!

[ The girl in front of Tej altogether lights up when she sees that - though not because her $4.50 caramel hazelnut mocha with extra whipped cream suddenly was transformed into a gem worth...oh, what, ten thousands dollars? who knows what the going rate for rubies is these days. No, it's not greed that lights up her eyes: she backs away from the drink as soon as it's held out to her. ]

Oh, I shouldn't touch that - if I touch that, it'll just turn back to paper - but oh, that's so gorgeous. [ Her smile at Tej is warm, broad, delighted - ] So you're an imPort, yeah? I am, too. Kitty Jones.

[ghemnotgem]

It's meant to be drunk, not stared at. ( tej points out, although she does set it to the side. maybe cass can recoup the loss in mugs and supplies by selling them?

the friendliness of the other woman is a welcome distraction from, well, everything that tej has experienced in the last few months that it catches her off-guard. but she can't smell fear ion the other woman, or anything that would make tej think she has a secondary agenda that would put her in danger. ) Vorpatril. ( is her response, and then she clarifies. ) Lady Vorpatril.

[rathercommon]

Well - Oh!

[ Kitty is most thoroughly distracted from her retort by that name. ]

Lady Vorpatril, of any relation to Ivan Vorpatril?

[dendarii]

[ When Miles started ordering increasingly complex drinks just to annoy his father, he'd assumed it would just be the drink that would be unusual. Not the mug. He lifts his pearlescent cup rather dumbly, trying to parse what just happened here. It even distracts him (temporarily) from reading her nametag. ]

... Well. That's a first.

[ He takes a long sip from it. ]

[ghemnotgem]

( tej sighs, resigned to a constant stream of remarks about the accidental jewel creation at this point. and it hasn't escaped her notice that there's a very specific pattern of what jewels happen when. although she is getting better at not touching anything when she thinks of her odd-siblings. )

I haven't managed to figure out how to stop it. ( she admits, waving her fingers at the odd man sitting in front of her. she feels, somehow, that she should know him, that there's some familiarity about him she can't place. ) Would you like me to--

( and then he's drinking from it, so tej feels as if her question if he'd like a different mug is rather moot. )

Re: cafe.

[incogneto]

[ Quite frankly, it's the nicest lapis lazuli mug he's ever seen. It's a bit... heavy, though. Not too heavy, but as the pyrite veins are calling out for him, he lifts the mug with his mind to the table. ]

That's a neat trick.

[ghemnotgem]

( neat trick nothing. tej's eyes go wide as he lifts the mug to him, mouth falling open in a mixture of shock and near-childish delight at such a thing. she hasn't been here long, and there's nothing quite like that where she's from. )

I think I've been outclassed.

( she says, with no evident ill-will. )

[vorbarra]

[ By this point Gregor has heard from multiple sources that there is a mysterious Lady Vorpatril at his place of employment, and so he shows up off-shift probably not too long after Tej has her encounters with Miles and Aral.

Gregor, to be fair, does not look much like an emperor today except in that he carries himself as self-contained and dolefully as ever. He's not in Lucky Cat uniform, but he slides smoothly behind the counter nonetheless, providing himself the excuse of checking this week's posted schedule so he doesn't look like a creeper who just shows up out of nowhere to see her.

Which he is.

He affects some mild surprise to see her, pausing in his reach for the schedule. ]

Lady Vorpatril, isn't it?

[ghemnotgem]

( by this time tej is used to any number of varied responses to her name, most incredulous. it speaks poorly for the man she married, and makes her wonder if she shouldn't have looked into him more. but there hadn't been time, and it had been that or death. at least it seemed to have worked whatever magic ivan xav had promised it would on the barrayarans she's run into.

and this one is the only one she's met so far that she has to look up at to meet his eyes. his surprise, however-- tej frowns slightly, nose wrinkling as she tries to work with what she can smell, but turns up nothing certain. did he expect her to be there? tej lets it pass without comment, face smoothing into a neutral, guarded expression just in case. )

That's right.

[shifting]

[lucky maybe isn't the right word to use here. Sure, Sam is lucky in that his simple black coffee stays in a simple to-go cup, no precious stones for him - but that luck comes to an abrupt, screeching halt when Sam looks up from his communicator to thank the barista. There's an easy, friendly grin on his lips, the words "Thanks so much" barely halfway out of his mouth before he just - freezes.

Time slows and narrows, Sam's nostrils flaring, his eyes riveted on Tej's face. His heart plummets into his stomach; it's a miracle that coffee doesn't simply drop the floor.

Luna, Sam thinks. He puts his cup back on the counter, startled. The added height, the subtle differences in body type, the fact that she doesn't smell like a shifter - in the moment, none of those register. None of those facts can pierce the haze of seeing his lover across the counter from him on a quiet Sunday afternoon.]

Luna. Jesus Christ, Luna, when did you get here? [his shock turns to desperate joy as swiftly as he's going around the bar, ignoring any protests from her fellow employees. He absolutely intends to wrap his arms around her in a hug, hold her close and re-familiarize himself with the scent and heat he's missed so terribly since arriving.]

[ghemnotgem]

( tej is too shocked about the sudden outpouring of affection and physical contact that isn't meant to harm her -- it's been too many months, too long -- that she doesn't realize what's happening until his arms are around her and she's being hugged. panic rises in her; have they found her, is this an attack--

that's quickly dispelled with what he's saying now that he has locked her in an embrace. oh. oh.

how do you break it to someone that you're not who they think you are? she can only imagine how relieved he might feel... )

Excuse me, have-- have we met?

( she's stiff -- well, as stiff as anyone can be when they're as curvy as she is -- but there's no trace of recognition in her voice or eyes. )

[lasthugs]

[Cass doesn't really mind the cup transfiguration at all. It's weird. It was surprising. But it's hardly the strangest thing she's come across since her arrival here. So the girl sometimes turns the mugs into museum-grade treasures. That's dope. (She just makes a note to put the cups she received as gifts or Tadashi drew on to a different cupboard to avoid accidents.)

After the first few days, however, she leans over to the woman and asks quietly,] You feeling all right, dear? [because you never know with people around here. Sometimes they just can't control it at all, or sometimes things are related to their emotions. It usually doesn't hurt to check, and as Tej's employer, she should look out for her, right?]

[ghemnotgem]

( tej wouldn't know anything approaching maternal affection if it hit her with a 4x4; she calls her mother 'the baronne', after all. but even the general concern of an employer takes her aback, as unused to it as she is. from her home to her months long flight from jackson's whole -- she's barely had time to sit and think about, well. her family. )

Oh! ( the question shocks her out of her thoughts of one of the many dance lessons her odd-sisters had attempted to give her over the years. she gives cass a small, thin smile, setting the pearl mug aside. ) I'm fine. Just lost track of my thoughts.

( again. tej sighs, pressing her thumb against her lip in a clear sign of worry before dropping it. )

If the mugs are a concern, I might have found someone who can change them back--

[failureisntachoice]

[ Coming to the Lucky Cat is hardly unusual for her. Hell, it's hardly unusual for her to be here with Cordelia. What is strange is that they're here searching for one of the newer baristas that showed up this month. Supposedly a family member of some sort from a different point on their timeline.

She scans the new employees at the counter before glancing over at Cordelia. ]

And she's the 'pretty one?'

[ What the hell kind of descriptor is that to go off of? ]

[keep_nothing]

He said it's what one notices first, and if she's also Jacksonian to back that up, I have a feeling it'll be fairly obvious.

de chima 004.

[ghemnotgem]

( tej has never had a call to learn how to cook before now, not even on the run. oh, she was— well she didn’t burn water, as the expression went, but she was hardly capable of coming up with something more than a bowl of pasta.

which is why she’s taken an afternoon to arm herself with a recipe book and supplies, frowning over the ingredient list. it seemed simple enough, really — although she also has the air of someone who doesn’t know what she’s doing or any confidence in the results of what she might produce.

please help her out, fellow housemates and/or visitors. )