15005/The Magic of Coffee

The Magic of Coffee
Date of Scene:	25 May 2023
Location:	Coffee of DOOM
Synopsis:	Kwannon continues to grapple with her memories and conflict. Rachel, everyone's favorite half-demon sorceress also arrives at the coffee shop. The clientele manage not to flee. Rachel has the most badass exit.
Cast of Characters:	Kwannon, Rachel Roth

---

Kwannon has posed:
Kwannon has not been finding settling in to the hustle, bustle, and general hectic chaos of New York City as easy as she anticipated she would. Perhaps because she's been trying to forge a new path, and falling back on old habits is so tempting, but she can't allow them. Coffee? New habit. One she's getting more and more used to.

And she doesn't even throw off an icy, 'If you talk to me I will gouge your eye out with this biscotti' aura. Well, not as much of one as she did at first. There's still an undercurrent of danger that radiates from her, and a certain level of distancing from the crowds at Coffee (OF DOOM!).

She sips her black coffee, calm eyes simply people watching. In a very regular, totally normal people watching way, and not a 'I am planning how I would eliminate all these people most efficiently' way.

Because no old habits. She is not taking an assassination gig. She... needs to be better.

Right? Right. Yes. Definitely. She is sure of it. Totally sure.

Rachel Roth has posed:
Raven is not, in general, a joyful person. Hell, she's not really a -feelings- person. Something something emotions are the path to a visit from dad and nobody wants that. Coffee, though. Coffee makes her happy. Or at least content.

Good enough, honestly.

After ordering (the biggest size, medium roast, two shots of espresso, no room for cream or sugar), Rachel engages in her favorite activity. Drinking coffee and ignoring literally everyone save to shoot any lookie loos a withering glare.

Honestly, she's better at those than she is at magic. ... And she's really good at magic.

Kwannon has posed:
There's a brief flash in Kwannon's gaze as her low key people watching shifts ever so slightly upon catching sight of Raven. Lips press in a thin line, expression tightening a touch. There's... something. About her.

If only she had a nice, orderly set of memories to consult. But no, this is... like so much else that's not rote memory like language. There's something that tells her she recognizes this woman vaguely. But she can't explain why. Face from the news? Famous actress? No, no, there'd be people hooting and pointing.

Perhaps a friend of Elizabeth's who /isn't/ a model.

Kwannon definitely earns herself a withering glare, though her response is the vaguest little ghost of a smile, and a lift of steaming mug in a wordless 'I get you' salute.

Rachel Roth has posed:
Raven feels eyes on her. This is pretty common, honestly. She's not ultra famous, but the Titans are fairly well known, especially the OG group. This is different, though. For one, the feelings accompanying the look are not the usual. They're not admiration and awe, they're confused recognition. For two, well, it just -feels- different.

Sipping her coffee, Rachel turns her head and bores right in on Kwannon. Someone she's, as far as she knows, never met. The withering glare shifts a little, sliding from 'Ugh, why is this woman staring at me?' to '...Why -is- this woman staring at me?"

Plus the vibes are really interesting.

Raven sighs just a little, muttering something under her breath, and she approaches the other woman. She's at least (mostly) polite. Her tone isn't too brutally put off. Just enough to be stylish.

"Do I know you? Or I guess the question is, do you know -me-?"

Kwannon has posed:
Kwannon's not doing her best at hiding her emotions, or train of thought. Usually she's impenetrable. A rock. A shadow. Unreadable to all but the most skilled telepaths. But right now she's far too consumed with uncertainty to hide her emotions. Her lips are ever so slightly downturned, before her eyes blink at those words and she nearly seems to snap out of a trance.

"Oh! Sorry. I... uhh..." She frowns thoughtfully, "That first question is... tricky. The second is..." She snorts softly, "Also tricky. I have... some unique memory issues. Something about you is familiar..."

Her head tilts, her dark eyes glinting, lips quirking ever so slightly, from concerned frown to a barest grin. "Perhaps your hair. Typically if I know someone or they know me it's... fairly swift recognition." She takes another sip of her coffee and sighs out. "We are not engaging in rooftop combat. So I think, perhaps, it is not anything as dangerous as knowing each other. Or... you knowing..." She groans softly, "This is why I don't talk to people."

Rachel Roth has posed:
"I leave the rooftop combat to Nightwing, usually," Rachel says. The best part about being from another dimension is that secret identities are not necessary! "Maybe you've seen me on television or something. I'm, uh, a Titan."

The emphasis is audible.

"But you can call me Rachel. Or Raven. Whichever. And I'm familiar with memory issues. Has anything been able to help?"

There she goes. Secret softie.

Kwannon has posed:
Kwannon quirks an eyebrow, head tilting. "Nigh... oh! The acrobatic heroic fellow. The one with the posterior they keep posting lists about on the internet. Yes, I suppose rooftop combat and toned buttocks do typically cross paths." She sighs out and bobs her head, "That is entirely possible. I am Kwannon."

She takes a slow sip of her coffee, eyes closing. "I was also the mutant freedom fighter Psylocke. Or... she was me. I'm not sure which way is the correct grammar for her mind being in my body. Now my mind is in my body. And her memories are. And my memories. And they are all..." She waves her hand in a slow circle. "It is... confusing. I am trying to find a new path. But everyone I know is either a criminal, or..." She smirks lopsidedly, "Is not someone /I/ truly knew. I imagine explaining it to them would be even more awkward than talking to a stranger."

Her eyes open, "So yes, I am Kwannon. So you can call me Kwannon. I will inform you if I acquire a nickname."

Rachel Roth has posed:
This is an interesting situation. Raven sips her coffee as the tale is told in short. "That sounds terrible. I'm very sorry. I understand a little. Just a little," she says. Where's the snark? Where's the sass?

Someone's been working on their people skills.

"I have some talent with memory. If you're interested, I could try to help? The downside is...I experience every memory I touch like it's happening to me."

Kwannon has posed:
Eyebrows perk and Kwannon nods slowly, lips pressing in a small line again, drawing a slow breath. "Perhaps another time and... somewhere else? I do not imagine the amount of coffee we would need to buy to keep the staff from throwing us out for how long it would take would be... conducive to centering ourselves."

She smiles lopsidedly and hums out, "Perhaps. You are a... Titan. So you are no doubt used to memories of combat and violence. And likely some amount of confusion. We will do this." She reaches out for a napkin and produces a pen from her pockets, writing her number down and sliding the napkin over, only to pause. "Hm. Typically I only do that when I am expecting someone to contact me for an assignment. This is... new. Intriguing. I look forward to seeing you again."

Rachel Roth has posed:
Rachel smirks. It's as close as she usually gets to a smile. "Yeah. I don't think they'd like it. And, well. As the kids say, I've seen some shit."

Boy, has she.

She slugs more coffee, the caffeine burning through her veins, but not making her more ... peppy. She peers at the napkin, taking it up and slipping it away. "Sure. I'll drop you a line when I've got some time. Maybe check some portents first, just in case." Speaking of portents, Raven's phone chirps in her back pocket, and she tugs it out, peering at it. "Well, I guess portents say I've got an appointment." She nods at Kwannon, lifting her paper cup in a kind of salute. "Lovely to meet you, Kwannon, but I need to go. We'll talk soon."

Great black wings seem to reach out from under nearby chairs. Shadowy things that rise and wrap around Raven in the middle of the coffee shop. An instant later, they burst into tenebrous feathers that flutter to the ground and fade to nothing.

Rachel is simply gone.