Velvet Continuum (OPEN)

Leader of the Noble Phantasms, Rogue of Ages, Ghost of Steppes, and ageless general-- Six lazily gestured to his companion with his plastic fork, chewing a bite of this "falafel" thing that looked awfully like bread meatball but filled with edible oddities.

"I'm telling you, Allelujah. If we have to choose a meet-up cafe, I think this should be the place."

Six swallowed the weird bread-ball and placed his elbow against the metal grated table, leaning forward with a cynical look on his face. One eyebrow raised. With a flick of his wrist, the Rogue aimed his plastic fork upward. "I mean, look at the name. The coincidence is absolutely stupid. Even more so than that time a Messenger tried to fight you without even owning an initial release."

--

Both Six and Allelujah had spent the better part of two hours scouring the northern quarter of Xastristan. Ordained by their stomachs, a search for a proper eatery for the guild had become top priority within the Phantasms. He and Allelujah had drawn the short sticks, and so the journey began.

It had taken a seemingly endless trek sung aloud by their growling stomachs before coming to a little runt of a cafe emblazoned by the peculiarly placed sign above the door that read: Majesty. It stood just on the outskirts of the commons, only thirty or so feet from the barren slums. The contrast of environments in such plain sight was moving to Six, but not as moving as his empty stomach. With an ironically collective sigh, the two Phantasms made their way across the street and into the shack.

The interior was wooden and bland, highlighted alone by the strips of silver across the pillars and walls, and decorated with a small array of painted portraits. Some weird spherical torch connected to the ceiling illuminated the space, alongside miniature candles places at every table. The wide glass windows allowed sunlight to cascade inside, further adding to the display of light that gleamed off the silver strands. Despite this, it was a nice day and the two had decided to eat outside.

Majesty cafe was a coffee shop, as they had both discovered. As for what "coffee" was, coffee was this nasty, rank black liquid that screamed of bitter hatred and torture that would curdle the tongue of the Outcast devil himself. Somehow, this harrowing acid had given off the most alluring aroma that had drawn Six's nose for miles. It had seemed like some incredulous miracle when the nervous waitress had poured in various potions to warp the coffee into the most delicious beverage the warrior had ever tasted.

Six's favourite part of the shop was the little bell that chimed cheerfully upon their entry.

--

"It's a little ways of a walk from where we're staying, but the place has quickly grown on me."

Yuuki let out a breath, jogging along the sidewalk towards the coffee shop. All of her necessary supplies and groceries were already bought earlier that day, and so Yuuki had decided that she could take this time to get something nice and cool to drink. It was also around lunchtime... maybe Yuuki could pick up something for herself really quickly. The cafe she was heading to was called Majesty, a nice and cozy place where many people could go into to study or work. Oh, that could be a good idea. She could get some useful research done in the relaxing environment of this cafe.

She regripped the groceries in her hand as she made her way closer towards the cafe's entrance. Upon arrival, she noticed a rather peculiar sight. Two men clad in--was that medieval armor?--strange outfits were sitting outside of the cafe, chatting. Yuuki raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly as she scrutinized them curiously. Were they cosplaying? It was highly possible; nobody in the present day dressed like that unless going to some type of cosplay event. But she wouldn't think too much of it, there were many strange people out in the world. Realizing she had paused right next to their table for a few seconds and was probably staring at them rather awkwardly, and so she covered that awkwardness up with a polite smile.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are you two heading to some sort of event?" She nodded at their outfits and strangely realistic gear.

(yay uncreativity)

~I have been where you are before.. And I have felt the pain of losing who you are

And I have died so many times, but I am still alive..~

The humming of melodies hung within the air as music played from seemingly nowhere. Words and tunes escaped the thinness of air and swept so softly across the little cafe.

Strange magic, that. But, Six reminded himself, he had seen strange magic before.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are you two heading to some sort of event?"

The man dressed in articulately crafted rogue's grays from literal ages past, coupled with a lightly thinned tan cloak and a draping hood that covered the pommel of an obvious weapon-- Six glanced upward while sipping his magical coffee.

It was a young woman. Human, as far as he could tell. Any other features were completely unavailing to him. Since coming to this land, he had yet to see anything other than human. No Seraph, Chasers, or even the seemingly omnipresent Paradigm. More so than anything else, it added to the empty feeling this city subjugated his Echo to.

Six cleared his throat and straightened his back. Without a sound, he set his cup of sorcery down onto the table with practiced patience. "Good afternoon, young miss. We have no plans in mind for today, other than enjoying a nice cup of coffee and some lunch."

His stately gray eyes examined her methodically. With barely even a flicker of his irises, Six kept his expression calm and welcoming with a small smile. Placement of weapons, body language, potential gestures or movements. The Rogue kept the stranger in his sights without betraying a hint of caution.

"Is there something we can help you with?"

Yuuki eyed the man who had spoken with dark gray eyes. He was wearing a tanned outer cloak that certainly was not modern fashion. Slightly extending from underneath his clothes, she could spot the outline of a long, thin handle, possibly belonging to a sword's. She wasn't able to get a closer look as to tell if it was actually real or not, but the clothes certainly looked real enough.

He did not look like he belonged in this period of time, and what he had just said just crossed out the idea of going to an event. Were they just cosplayers for fun then? They didn't act like it, but maybe they were just acting in character?

Yuuki adjusted her groceries again, her eyes flitting down at her watch to look at the time, before she narrowed in on the young man again. Her expression was still that of a polite smile.

"Excuse my rudeness, but I was just curious as to why you were wearing such old clothes. Are you cosplaying?"

Looking up from his phone, Leif smiled.  This was it, the Majesty café, supposedly the best coffee place in Xastristan.  A small bell dinged as he opened the door and entered the shop.  The wonderful aroma of coffee bombarded his face, and his eyes lit up.  Coffee was one of his favorite things, besides clothes and alcohol.  Leif was making his way to the counter when something caught his eye.  Two men clad in outdated clothing.  Leif had to stop himself from going over to them and punching one of them for wearing such awful clothes.  He took a few deep breaths, just like his therapist told him to, and went to order his coffee.

As he sat down with his espresso, Leif couldn't help but look at the two, plus another woman who had joined them.  What a peculiar sight, he thought, Why would anyone want to even talk to those two?  They look absolutely hideous in those clothes.  Taking a sip of the boiling hot drink, he kept looking back to them, trying to figure out what on earth made them think it was okay to wear that in public.  It just had to be today, didn't it?  Of course the one day that I come here, a bunch of weirdos show up.  He took his phone out of the pocket of his vest and placed it on the table in front of him, trying to think of something to do to distract him from the abomination sitting only a few feet from him.

Echo hummed as she walked down the street, hands stuffed in her oversized jacket - the usual. Nevermind the fact it was quite a nice day - well, as nice as you could get with a very busy, bustling and vertical city. She had wandered away, absent-mindedly when she stopped in front of a coffee shop. "The best coffee in the world!" or some pretentious shite like that. Usually, titles like this were never true, though seeing as it was called 'Majesty', it had better live up to its name.

As she entered, a little bell chimed, and she chuckled. It's like one of the old cafes that were littered about her hometown. She glanced about, immediately spotting a familiar figure that was talking to two strangers. Ah, did she be reckless and call out Yuuki's name, grinning as she said, "Hey mate!"? Then again, she decided something against it, thinking about how she liked dinner.

She opted to sit at a table close by, plopping herself on a chair. She probably should have noticed the young man, younger than her, at least, drinking his coffee, glaring at the people with outdated clothing, and her leader. Yeah, if she didn't know Yuuki, she'd have probably called her a weirdo too.

Echo should probably introduce herself - well she did just sit opposite him with no explanation. "Uhh, hello! I hope you don't mind me sitting here, do you?"

Six angled his head with a cynical smile. He lurched his arm over the backrest of his polished rosewood chair as if to get a better look at his conversation.

"Old clothes?" He inquired, sounding perfectly tolerant. The Rogue glanced down at his clothing with his fingers splayed toward himself in a gesture that said: "This?"

"I just had these garbs cleaned less than a day ago. They're the latest in dexterous and nimble." He teased with a modest smile. In a blink, the seasoned general's tone of voice quickly went down an octave, but retained its volume. "Perhaps a difference in social structure, but to me, you and your people strike me as odd. Look at that young man who has just arrived. He looks as if he is dressed to imitate a penguin." Six casually gestured, without sparing a glance, to the gentleman with the blonde hair a few tables over. He was dressed in the black, white, and a mask of lethal glares aimed toward Allelujah and himself. Six made a mental note to shadow the penguin-boy later to establish whether or not he was a poorly trained spy or just easily offended by the world.

"But, if you'll forgive my discretion. What is Cosplaying? I pray you aren't offering my friend and I insult."

Yuuki's head shifted slightly to the side as she noticed one of her teammates, Echo, striding towards them. Instead of calling out like she expected the blonde girl to do, she had instead sat down with another blonde, this time a male. Yuuki, however, did not recognize the other man, but maybe Echo possibly knew him. She didn't know; the blonde seemed to have quite a few connections. Yuuki sighed slightly in exasperation. She really hoped Echo didn't cause any trouble. The girl--albeit older than Yuuki--was a hyper ball of electricity, and it sometimes proved dangerous to be around her.  

Yuuki was slightly surprised by both of the men's responses. They did not know what cosplaying was? They had such outlandish clothes on, something akin to a medieval fantasy era. Perhaps aliens? They looked human enough, but Yuuki knew better than to judge outer appearances.

As she listened to their responses, her curiosity and confusion continued to expand. Yuuki acknowledged this comment with a slight tilt of her head. "Cosplaying is not an insult. It's simply the practice of dressing up as a character from a book, movie, or video game. You really haven't heard of it?"

Yuuki hummed noncommittally, shifting her weight to her other leg, letting her arms swing loose. "You and your people? You sound as if you are not even from this planet, or timeline, for that matter."

Leif looked up from his phone to see a woman sitting across from him.  He smiled at her.  She wasn't wearing clothes that were nearly as outdated at the ones the men a few tables down were wearing.  "Oh, no, of course.  It's totally fine," he replied, wanting to get to know this new person.  "I've never actually been to this coffee shop before, but I hope that the regulars aren't always like that," he gesturing to Six and Allelujah.  Glaring at them one more time, he took a sip of his coffee and said to the woman, "I really hope that they're just dressed up for some kind of event, or they're never going to fit in in this city."  Turning to her, he said, "I don't believe that we've been properly introduced.  I'm Leif Axelsson."  He held his hand out for her to shake.  He really did want to get to know her.  She seemed nice enough.

Leif heard the word "penguin".  He hated that word with a passion.  Most of the kids back in Skarð used to call him that when he wore his black vest and white shirt.  Slamming his fist down on the table before Echo could shake it, he took more deep breaths.  The blonde had trouble when people insulted him, and it usually ended up in a fight.  Thankfully, he hadn't gotten into a fight for years, or else he would probably be in jail, but that might soon change.  "I swear to whoever-the-hell-they-believe-in.  If I ever hear that word again, they're gonna regret it."  He didn't even know which one of the men made the comment about him looking like a penguin, but if he found out who, they would be in for a world of hurt.

Echo smiled. The last time she had done something like this, she got punched in the face, and she ended up disabling about five other people. Well, perhaps a nicely dressed young man in a coffee shop is bound to be nicer than a drunken drug dealer with five street thugs to defend him. Wow she was stupid.

She grinned. "Never been here either. I really do hope regulars dress up like that - it's bloody hilarious. Although, it doesn't really fit the "Futuristic City" aesthetic we're going for here, huh?" She looked at them, her head cocked. They really didn't fit in with the city at all. If they weren't clad in heavy medieval armour, people would have definitely threatened, or even beat them up. Oh, the joys of living in a big city filled with people who hate each other. Just like London, heh.

She looked back when her tablemate held out a hand. Lief. What a nice name. "Echo! Nice to meet you!" As soon as she held out her hand, Lief slammed his hand against the table. Her quick reaction time made her flinch back, bringing her arm to her chest with lightning speed. Well, she couldn't blame him, those two medieval blokes just called him a penguin. Lief seemed really upset about the word. She stretched her left arm out, laying it over his clenched palm. "Calm..."

She tried not to physically flinch when she realised what arm she put out. Hopefully, in his anger, Leif wouldn't realise that it felt particularly cold and hard.

-Book... Movie or video game? This woman does not appear to be lying, but..-

"No, I haven't heard of any movie, or video game. Books, however. I know books very well." And he had. Three decades of agonizing solitude within the high tower of Castle Majesty had branded hundreds of stories within him, a vortex of a million words that shaped the inception of his mind's eye. Despite his past antithesis toward existence, they had saved him of his own accord. The gateways of paper and ink that had lead into endless other worlds made his own reality feel bleak and meager. The escape itself kept him alive.

With the barest pivot of his lips, the old Rogue smiled.

With a refreshing breath, Six continued. "I suppose that's somewhat appropriate. Although, I feel it's a little more of a story to tell than that." He angled a look at Allelujah, who appeared stoic and considerate as if to say: Whatever you think is best. Six nodded to his compatriot and turned back to the young woman.

With a lethargic yet purposeful movement, Six rose to his full six feet of height. The scarf around his neck dropped to cover the left side of his collar as he stood. "My name is Six. My companions and I arrived here rather recently from our homeland, Echelons away. I apologize if our appearances or actions have formed cause for worry, but adaptation to a new conceptual existence has proven difficult." A wry smile.

With a motion that had been practiced a thousand times, Six offered his thinly gloved hand in greeting, coupled with a warm smile. "It's my pleasure to meet you, young miss. I'm afraid that is the extent of the information I can offer at this time, but I will do my best to answer any questions you may have."

(Bump it up! Go Yuuki!)

So they were possibly from a place where technology did not exist? Or at least, it was at a minimum? That would explain their clothes, as well as the sword-like shadow that she had spotted in between his cloaks. Thankfully, books existed. Reading was something Yuuki enjoyed to do within her free time, much more than other electronically-used items. It took her mind off of her stress and kept her worry away for the time being.

While the man rose to his heights, Yuuki took this opportunity to compare their heights. Yuuki herself stood at 5' 9", but the man was a couple of inches taller, at least 6 feet. Yuuki's posture straightened instinctively as the man's composed yet slightly imposing presence washed over her. He seemed so much older than he appeared, and it left Yuuki slightly unnerved. But she did not let it show, and composed her face into a smile.

She grasped his extended hand in a solid handshake. "My name is Yuuki," she replied back in a firm tone. "You said you are from a different homeland? Are you talking about a different planet?"

(Bump!)