8490/Coffee with a Friend

Coffee with a Friend
Date of Scene:	30 October 2021
Location:	The Coffee Bean
Synopsis:	Mairin and Saeko have some tea and talk about just what it is that Mairin wants.
Cast of Characters:	Mairin Moran, Saeko

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Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin has set herself up at a corner table of the coffee shop as she waits for Saeko. Not she'll need to wait long. She knows this. Really it was more that it took her a bit to get up the nerve to call her at all. So she set herself up... and worked while she waited to have that nerve.

    It isn't that she's afraid of seeing the kitsune again. She's rather been looking forward to it. But every time she's thought about calling, their last encounter would pop into her head, and she'd just decide that it was better to do something else. And so, here she is, her work spread out on the table before her, gumption gathered, and waiting for Saeko to arrive.

    Only it isn't the ususal work for Mairin. Rather than a pile of books or robot parts or even a magical tretise... She is surounded by thread, needles, pins, and patterns as she carefully, painstakingly stitches a precise pattern into the cuff of a black, long-sleeved glove.

Saeko has posed:
Comfortable as she seemed to be about what she was around the Griffin, Saeko wasn't quite so ready to reveal herself in all her foxy glory to the patrons of the coffee place.

Of course, that didn't really seem to lessen her as she stepped through the door minus her tails and foxy ears. With her form wrapped in more 'normal' clothing of a black midriff-baring tank top and rather simple figure hugging jeans. Beautiful, but seemingly just a human.

No teleporting today, just a step through the door and a raise of her hand in greeting offered with that familier smile as she spots the other woman.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "Hello Saeko!" Mairin calls out as she sees the kitsune walk in. All of the same familiar feelings come washing over her and Mairin enjoys them for what they are. After all, why shouldn't she? But she is careful not to let them get caried away. There is a reason she asked Saeko to meet her here, rather than just going to the Griffin. And it isn't entirely Satana.

    Mairin motions for Saeko to join her, and sets her needlework aside to give her her attention. She alrready has a cup of steaming tea next to her, and she takes a sip of it while she waits for Saeko to get whatever she'd like and join her.

Saeko has posed:
Sitting herself down quite happily, Saeko's gaze moves over the needlework curiously, a lift of her brow suggesting her questioning.

"Mairin, I'm glad to see you again!" she offers, genuine enough given the fact the last parting had the other woman a little distressed. Of course, she hadn't mentioned her other exploits either.

Raising a hand, a simple little gesture that quickly results in her own cup of tea being tea being delivered.

Strange, maybe she'd called ahead?

Mairin Moran has posed:
    These days it's hard to for Mairin to be too surprised by anything, and even more so when it comes to Saeko. But she does smile, a bit of curiosity and wonder in those eyes. As much as things don't surprise her, she still manages to find them wonderous.

    "Oh, I'm working on something. For a friend." She shifts the needlework so Saeko can get a better look. She seems to be in the middle of stitching a kind of elaborate celtic rope patern around the cuffs of the gloves.

    "I'm sorry I haven't called you sooner. I just... I've had a lot going on. And... I think I just needed some time after... You know." She blushes a little.

Saeko has posed:
A little shift, Saeko leans forwards with a little pout of her lips and a tilt of her head. "I can only imagine...deeply, but I only got to see the aftermath..."

Lips quirk to a smile at that, one hand reaching out to gently reach and brush the back of Mairin's own. "It is fine Mairin, I hope you are feeling better, but I promised you company and comfort none the less..."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin smiles at the touch, looking down for a moment to watch Saeko's hand. "I don't... regret it. Not really. I'll certainly never forget it," she adds with a chuckle. She looks back up into Saeko's eyes. "And thank you, for comforting me. Then *and* now. It's been.... hard. I know I need to move on, to move past. But I don't want to. I'd... I'd rather have the pain of it, then nothing." She squints a little. "Does that make sense?"

Saeko has posed:
"More than you think," Saeko smiles, reaching to sip her tea and considering for a moment some thought or memory.

"I am...well, you know what I am, and I have been around a long time. Of course, that does not mean I have not ever had my own similar experiences when I was younger..."

Another sip, she chuckles. "There is a poem among several, a story really, of a fox spirit that fell 'head over heels' as you would say, for a girl. Of course, there was some change over the centuries, creative license, but there was a story of a fox pining over a young woman and taking the guise of one of her handmaidens..."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin loves stories, and her face immediatly shows it as she becomes rapt just listening. The only movement is her hand, certainly not the one Saeko is touching, picking up her tea to take a sip.

Saeko has posed:
"I was young, barely over a century or two...I travelled, played tricks and generally enjoyied myself. Then one day I saw her, a human, a mortal who I thought to be the most beautiful thing I ever saw."

A pause, she takes another sip, centuries of reflection poured back over.

"Unlike the story, I never considered turning into a male noble to marry her...I appeared much like I do now. I tried to get close to her, we became the closest I had with a mortal back then...but she pined for another."

A bite of her bottom lip, she offers a soft little laugh before speaking up. "In the end, I helped her marry the one she wished for. But it took me decades to get past it."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "I... I would say I can't imagine. But, I think maybe I can," Mairin says softly, her hand under Saeko's turning to hold the other's. "I can't imagine doing that. Helping her marry someone else. But... I know I would. If it came to it." She sighs deeply and gives a wry smile. "So it should only take me decades, huh? That's not so long I suppose."

Saeko has posed:
"I cared for her, and she and her family lead a life of great prosperity..." she offers before chuckling and shaking her head. "No, the point to know is that what came after. What I have learned since then."

The hand at Mairin's own lifts up, reaching out to brush the other woman's cheek.

"In coming to enjoy company, love and joy where it finds us." A beat, she actually smirks. "Believe it or not, as a younger fox, I was quite shy."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin's eyes close for a moment and she leans her head a bit into Saeko's hand.

    "I can't imagine that at all," she says softly with a bit of a laugh. "And I do enjoy your company." She pauses a moment. "Thomas said that you... fancied me. That that was why you showed me your real form. Is that true?" The question is tinged with doubt. "I just... I'm sure you must meet all kinds of people and find so many of them interesting. I can't be anything special."

Saeko has posed:
A little brush of her thumb before she draws her hand downwards, cupping Mairin's chin lightly as she tilts her head.

"Why not?" she simply answers, perhaps both answering Mairin's question and asking one of her own.

"And what of you Mairin? What is it you think of me?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She blinks, obviously not expecting that answer. "Because I'm just... I'm nothing," she says with a wry laugh. "I'm just a mousy little scientist who would rather play with robots then talk to people. Who's apprenticed to a witch but can barely cast any spells. There... There are literally millions of people more interesting than me. And that's just in the U.S."

    She reaches up to take Saeko's hand in both of hers. "I mean... you're beautiful, kind, seductive. You're the messenger of a god. A literal divine being. You could have anyone in this city begging you to spend time with them. Why would you waste it on me? It just doesn't make any sense."

Saeko has posed:
"You are a curious soul," Saeko smiles, whatever other more physical attractions I have for you...that is more than you think."

Certainly there were stories of Kitsune or Inari themself appearing to smiths and artists, perhaps Saeko did find some appeal?

With her hand claimed, the Tenko shakes her head and giggles softly. "Besides, if you are studying magic, why are you so intent on something making sense?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "I mean... You're right, I guess. I just..." She sighs. "I've just had people... decieve me, in the past. You know, say they were interested in me when they weren't. I just..." She runs a thumb over Saeko's hand, considering how best to put it. "I don't want anyone to hurt me like that again. I'm not saying you are," she adds, hurridly. "But it just seems too good to be true, that you'd find me anything more than some... Curiosity." She shakes her head. "I'm afraid I'm not make a lot of sense."

Saeko has posed:
A little nod comes from the vixen, her own form lifting to touch her forehead to Mairin's own and then her lips quirking into that smile, that same flirtatious and friendly smile Saeko had offered her on their meeting.

"I suppose then, you will have to see for yourself...."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin breaths deeply, squeezing Saeko's hand tighter as the kitsune brings her lips so close to Mairin's. Her mind obviously going back and forth and back again. But, in the end, what does she really have to loose? So she leans forward by slow degrees, until her lips brush just barely against Saeko's. And her heart skips a beat.

Saeko has posed:
The kiss is taken, that light brush turned to something more complete even if it's more a soft meeting and contact than some hungry pounce.

There was no head-spinning magic or influence, no mystical flow of energy offered from the disguised fox, just a comforting, gentle kiss that likely only lasted seconds at most before they drew apart, the kitsune smiling lightly.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin answers that smile with one of he own, one that twinkles in her dark blue eyes.

     She glances around the shop, at the few customers whose attention they've drawn and chuckles a little, her grip on Saeko's hand realxing from insistant, to... comfortable.

    "And how would I see for myself, hmm? How exactly does this... Whatever this is... work?"

Saeko has posed:
A little grasp returned as a squeeze, Saeko tilts her head to the side with a little laugh. "How do you wish for it to work?" she offers in counter, a little fond quirk of her lips as they sit there.

If there was any concern from Saeko about being seen, perhaps she was simply accustomed to it, or her focus is fixed firmly on Mairin.

Still grinning, the vixen leans forward with humor alight in her eyes. "What is it you want for yourself?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Her hands shift, holding Saeko's in one while the other cradles her chin as she leans forward on the table. "What do *I* want?" she asks with a wry chuckle. "I want to help people. To truly help people. I want..." She sighs a bit.

    "But that's not what you're asking, is it?" She smiles wider, "In fact I'm honestly not sure if you're asking what I want with you, right now, or what I want from life in general. You can be a very hard person to read, do you know that?"

    No judgement, no anoyance. If anything her tone is... playful? But that can't be right.

Saeko has posed:
A little nod, an actual giggle from the fox and she shrugs her shoulders. "We're not so different, would you believe? I am, after all, here to help people...and to punish certain others. That is my...nature." A shift, she lazily brushes her thumb over Mairin's own and grins wider. "Perhaps you can answer all of the above? I'm happy listening to you..."

A grin, she moves in just a little more, a wink to punctuate her words. "And I can be tricky...but you're welcome to try reading...a little closer."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin laughs. It's really more like a giggle herself, and she sighs a bit. "You are." she says. "Happy to listen, I mean. It's still a bit.. hard to get used to." She leans in a little closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I want to stop feeling like I'm the least qualified person to be with all the people I know," she says, her voice becoming more serious. "I want to learn magic. I want to learn everything that NEttie can teach me, because I want to carry on her family traditions. I want Nettie..." she pauses, frowns a little, then continues. "I want Nettie to be happy. Truly, beautifuly happy."

    Another deep breath, and her smile comes back a little, "And as for what I want with you, right now... Well I don't think it's something we can do here in public." And she gives a shy smile, just a hint of red showing in her neck and cheeks.

Saeko has posed:
"There is no shame in being the apprentice, the one hunting for knowledge...that's how one grows to be the master." Saeko muses, a little serious mote of her own still tinged with that playful fondness. "I have seen some of the greatest Kensei and poets start as simply hopeful youths in my time after all."

That next comment however, that brings with it a little smile of her own that was noticably lacking any blush to meet Mairin's own.

"Well, noone said we had to be here the whole time..."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "No," she says softly, "I suppose no one did." she pauses, seems about to say more with that same needing look, then sighs. "But you misunderstand. It isn't that I resent being inexperianced, or... untrained. I've been a student my whole life. I know how that works. It's the idea that I will... Never be as good as they are. That I am simply... out of my league. I'm just... Not used to it. I've spent my whole life being the smartest person in the room. And now..." She shakes her head. "And it isn't as though I need to *be* the smartest. I just feel..." Her eyes fall. "Unnessessary."

Saeko has posed:
A little shift, the vixen chuckles softly and makes to stand herself upwards from her seat, steps taking her lazily around behind Mairin where she can lean against her back, her head against the other woman's shoulder and lips near her ear. "Far from it...I'm glad to have met you and I can sense just how creative you are beneath that doubt...and I would be quite excited to see it."

A brush of her lips and she steps back from where she rests, tracing back around the other woman's shoulder and beckoning lightly. "Perhaps next time, you should show me your area of expertise?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin gives the softest groan as Saeko's breath brushes past her ear, and as the kitsune begins to walk away, she can't help but stand and follow. Not because of any magic. Not even because of the sheer intoxication of the woman. She follows because she *wants* to.

    "That would require showing you my appartment," she says with a grin as she catches up, her hand slipping into Saeko's. "But it's not far, and I don't have anything else to do right now."

Saeko has posed:
A little sweep of her hand through the air and a glance to the table would let one spot several bills tucked away beneath Saeko's mug, as if they had always been there. There was a benefit or two to being a spirit of prosperity and fortune after all! Stepping through the door the lack of her tails offered no lessening of her confidence as she walks.

"Well then, please lead the way..."