June Breeding Room 6

Seveth hadn't expected a Draconic to actually request his company for anything, least of all a Draconic he had never met. But apparently this one's parents knew him, which was a weird thing to think about. Maybe they just grew quickly, which was also weird, since they lived longer than humans did, right...?

At any rate, the Draconic in question greeted him with a slight incline of the head. Seeing him, Seveth realized which of his acquaintances it must have been, and laughed a little, awkwardly. He only knew one Draconic with horns like those, and... Well, it was nice to know she made up with her friend, he supposed.

"So, where are we off to?" he said.

"There is a cafe. Follow me," said the Draconic, who then walked off without checking to see whether Seveth was following. He didn't particularly slow his pace either, so Seveth had to jog to keep up, though to be honest he was starting to get used to that kind of treatment.

At least the walk to the cafe wasn't a long one. Fifteen minutes saw them waiting in front of the establishment.

"Not that I'm not happy about being invited," said Seveth, while the two of them were waiting for the other Draconic to show up. "But, uh, why am I here anyway?"

"I've set up an interview with an up and coming songwriter," said Lusine. There was a pause, and for a moment Seveth wondered if that was all he was going to get. But then Lusine went on: "I've been told I'm not a great conversationalist. In case things go awry, I hoped to prepare a suitable diversion to smooth things over. My mother recommended you."

"Wait, so I'm your dinner entertainment?" Seveth... didn't know how to feel about that. Maybe he shouldn't have been happy to be invited after all. Was this how the Hara felt about humans?

He was saved from stewing in the awkwardness of that line of thought -- at least for the moment -- as Lusine perked up, apparently recognizing a Draconic a little ways off. "Excuse me," he said, approaching a Shalaya that had a real deer in the headlights look to them. "Would you be Souki, by any chance?"

"Yes, this was the meeting place in my letter. My name is Lusine, I'll be interviewing you today," said Lusine. Seveth waited for Lusine to invite the three of them to sit inside the cafe, but Lusine said nothing further. Wow, he really wasn't very good at this. How did he get this job to begin with?

Well, Seveth had been brought in to do a job... He wasn't usually the diligent working type, but this Souki looked as though she might pass out -- or at least hide in a corner -- if this went too badly. So, clearing his throat, he stepped out and said, "And I'm Seveth! I'm here to, uh, help out. And I don't know about the two of you, but my throat's feeling a little dry. Why don't we head on in and grab a drink first? Find a place to sit?" Surely Lusine couldn't mean to do the interview on the street, in front of a cafe.

Seveth's words seemed to prompt Lusine enough to finally remember his manners. "Ah," he said. "Yes. Let's... head in. I appreciate you agreeing to the interview; the drinks will be-- I beg your pardon, are you alright?"

For his own part, Seveth was trying not to laugh. He'd never... Well, okay, maybe he had spooked a Draconic here and there, but definitely never to that extent. If she had seemed any more nervous, he might have joked about it, but he studied her again and decided he had better not. It felt like it would be cruel to comment on it when she looked so on edge, even if he meant no harm by it.

"Let's go, let's go," he said, bodily pushing Lusine towards the door. Lusine was visibly baffled at this, but went obligingly along, with only a bewildered backward glance at Souki to make sure she was following them in.

Seveth was the one who found them a place to sit. He had looked to Lusine to see if Lusine would take the lead, but it didn't take long for it to become apparent that Lusine was just as much at a loss here as he had been outside. Which was funny, considering they were at a cafe, and there weren't exactly a wealth of options... But it wouldn't be the first time a social situation had overwhelmed someone. He was really starting to see why he'd been brought along, if they were both going to be like this.

Still, there was a limit to what he could do in a society built for Draconics. "Lusine here will go up and order for us. Won't you?" Before Lusine could respond, he turned to Souki. "What's your drink order? I don't know what's good, so I'll have whatever you recommend."

"Ah, yes," said Lusine. "The... The tea here is quite nice."

"Great! Teas for everyone. I'll take black with milk and sugar," said Seveth, as much to keep the momentum of the conversation moving as anything. Normally he actually preferred a jasmine tea, but today he felt like he really needed the extra caffeine.

"Right, I'll... go give them our order," said Lusine. He still seemed a bit confused by this turn of events, or maybe just by the act of having to talk to any more people today. At this point, Seveth wouldn't have been surprised if it was the latter.

The line was short -- bordering on nonexistent -- so it wasn't long before Lusine returned with their drinks. Seveth half expected to be given a mug the size of his torso, but to his surprise, it was actually less than a normal human-sized serving. Lusine registered his reaction, and looked slightly abashed. "I asked them for the smallest size they had. I thought... Well, I could get you another--"

"No, no, don't worry about it. You have your interview to do, right?" The sooner they got to the point, the sooner this whole thing could be over, and that seemed like the most merciful way to go.

"... Right." Lusine turned to Souki. "I hope the tea is to your liking. We can begin the interview whenever you're ready," he said.