7892/Blaze and Tea

Blaze and Tea
Date of Scene:	19 September 2021
Location:	Candle, Booke and Belle
Synopsis:	Johnny Blaze comes to town, enjoys tea.
Cast of Characters:	Nettie Crowe, Johnny Blaze

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Nettie Crowe has posed:
    The Candle, Booke & Belle Shoppe was, on the outside, some weird combonation of hipster, goth, and New Age hokey. Its handmade sign had the aforementioned items, and the words 'Supplies & Apothecary' on it, and on the outside didn't look terribly remarkable.

    On the inside, though, it was like walking into a real life Diagon Alley, minus the weird animals.

    Within, there's a few people muddling about, either weighing out dried sage leaves or Sloe Berries, contemplating whether the price for actual graveyard dirt was appropriate (let alone the ethics of selling graveyard dirt), and a few people who looked rather business official enjoying tea.

    The woman behind the counter had silver-white hair and the brightest blue eyes, her hair pulled back behind a plain bandana, wearing a black T-shirt with an overly happy Baphoment goat in mid-prance and a pair of jeans was flipping tarot cards; place seems low-key today.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
    A rather loud motorcycle pulled up outside. Definitely a Harley, but possibly modified to skip a muffler or some other mod to make it a little on the obnoxious side. The idling engine halts before the rider gets off and kicks down the stand. In a moment, he looks around, as if sizing up this and that. He seems to decide to enter into the Candle, Booke & Belle, and in a moment does so. He glances around and aims himself at the counter. "Excuse me," he says quietly to the woman who appears, perhaps, to be in charge. "Would it be alright if I loiter around for a while?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "That's fine!" the woman replies, and she gives a smile to Johnny, looking him up and down a moment. "Come get out of the heat. Have an iced hibiscus tea that's refreshin'. Can make it up with a bit of raspberry or a bit of lemon if you want a fruity sweet to it." she calls out in a sing-song voice, and then turns over the next card.

    Justice. She purses her lips a moment, and then her gaze turns back up to the loiterer.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
    He smiles politely and nods. "Thank you," he says, moving to the tea. Even in a biker bar, he would look out of place. He's confident enough, but reserved, like a bull trying to be very careful in a china shop. With a cup of tea poured, he moves to sit on one of the chairs, glancing around occasionally at the other people in the store.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    The woman pours the reddish color iced tea over some ice cubes. There's a garnish of some mint, and a reusable, washable straw is added to the tumbler.

    The glass is put in front of JOhnny, and she gives a smile. "On the house." she states to him, and still looks him up and down a moment, and then gives a gentle smile.

    "New to the area, friend?" she asks, her British accent crisp and neat, very proper.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
    The stranger looks up and gives the most purely-for-politeness smile there ever was. "Thank you," he says. He takes a sip of it before setting it back down. "Yes and no. I haven't been here before, but I'm not planning on staying. I've been riding all day, and my back's not what it used to be."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    That was indeed a customer service smile. Nettie knows it well, and she just gives a real smile back to the stranger.

    "I see." she states, and turns back to her tarot spread. The next card is ten of swords. She gives a small snort to the ancient deck she's using.

    "I can definitely appreciate the *fine* art of getting older. Less ability to contend with foolery."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
    "Yeah?" the stranger says with a smirk at the younger-looking lady. "Give it time. It gets worse." He takes a sip of the tea and furrows his brow. "Hey, what kind of tea is this? Something herbal?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Hibiscus. It tends to be a bit on the sweet and flowery side, I find it's pretty refreshing after a long day or a long ride." she states with a little smile, reaching into her back pocket to open an ancient looking flip phone, hit a bunch of buttons, and then close it back up. "I know it's not everyone's cup of tea --" she jokes, with a small smile.

    "And I know, older than I look am I." Nettie smiles. "Nettie Crowe. I run the shop. Might I have the pleasure of your name?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
    "Johnny," the man says. He avoids sharing his last name. Surely, everyone has heard of him. He has the world record for some kind of motorcycle stunt jump over six helicopters. Because of course he does. He nods at the glass of tea. "It's good. Nice change after a day of bugs in my teeth."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Probably needed the extra protein." Nettie jokes. She flips another couple of cards over as she considers, then gathers the colorful cards up again, and begins to shuffle them in thought.

    "Wanderer then?" she asks in curiosity, not seeking any real detailed answers. "You're welcome to hang about an' out of the heat as long as you'd like."