June Desrochers: June is not clad in all of her armor when she arrives tonight, nor any other time that she's showed up at Maddy's for that matter, as much as she tends to wear it a lot. What she is, instead, is damp, like she got out of the shower some time in the last couple of hours and is still in the process of drying out. "Uuuugh," she complaints, putting a hand over her tummy as she comes through the portal. "Why aren't there already waffles in my tummy." She's wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top, because wearing more clothes than you must over wet fur is awful.
Aurelio Menegi: Aurelio was already sitting at one of the tables in the diner, cup of coffee nearby and a small sketchbook in front of him. The Torrent was a study in contrast, white marble against black clothing and the warmth of an open kiln covering the chill that came from his very being. Pale blue eyes looked towards June at her arrival, followed by a polite nod. "Bueno sera."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: Sigrun is in her usual civvies of shredded black jeans, doc martens, a patch jacket, and a black tank top. Her hair is still tied into battle braids, though. Either for aesthetic or practical purposes, hard to say. She appears next to June, hands in the pockets of her jacket. "Because you want to taste them first," Sigrun suggests, "why don't we go see if Aurelio wants company. And then we can put waffles in our tummies via our facemouths."
June Desrochers: "Oh yeah!" June agrees with a laugh. "Also we just walked through the door, so I haven't had a chance to even order my waffles yet." She looks at the sound of the voice that just greeted her, the unfamiliar one, and smiles brightly. "Hi! You must be Aurelio? I don't think we've had a chance to meet yet." And she totters over with her slightly wobbly gait and offers a clawed hand. "I'd like to, though! I can't believe I haven't yet."
Aurelio Menegi: "Not yet, no." Aurelio took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake, the chill of the marble striking compared to his mantle. "Is good to meet you. Please, sit."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: Sigrun slides in before the invitation is even fully out of Aurelio's mouth, beaming a smile. Apparently she thinks this guy is just the bee's knees. She leaves room for June, of course. Not that she needs much! "Sorry. I'm just going to sit back and watch you two become friends. This is the best. You're both so cool." She gestures between the pair with both hands, motioning for them to come together. "Proceed." Her expression is so hopeful and expectant.
June Desrochers: June gives Aurelio a careful shake, because her hands are tipped with rather frightening claws. "Pleasure," she answers cheerfully. "Uh oh, Sigrun thinks you're cool! That definitely means that I wish that I knew you already. What makes you so cool?" she asks as she scoots in after Sigrun and briefly leans against her. She does seem genuinely enthusiastic about learning what makes Aurelio cool.
Sigrun Ljosdottir: "Can I tell her?! No. You should. Can I, though!? NO. No, that's your story." Sigrun pokes her fingers together. "Unless...?"
Aurelio Menegi: As the ladies sat they would get a look at the half-completed drawing on the sketchpad, the base outlines of a wide-branching tree in place. He moved the book as they got settled to clear space on the table, though, smiling quietly at Sigrun's exubernce. "I am a glassblower trained in the Murano style, and do the work here in a studio in South Philadelphia."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: Sigrun looks to June expectantly with a wide open mouth and big eyes, expecting her to think this is as amazingly awesome as Sigrun clearly finds it.
June Desrochers: June catches a glimpse of the book, but for the time being she doesn't make any comments about it. She's more curious about what's got Sigrun so excited, and then the answer comes. "Oooooh," she says with some wonder. "I've always thought that glassblowing seemed really cool. Also, really dangerous. Especially for me. I'm not as clumsy as I used to be, but I'm still covered in fur, so..." She glances at Sigrun and then at Aurelio again. "What's Murano style? Is that like Mantis Style but for glass blowing?" The last part is teasing. The question before it is serious.
Aurelio Menegi: "It's named for the island in Venice where it originated. I trained there before my time away, and came back to it upon my return once I was back on my feet."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: "Murano glass was a treasured thing in Europe during the height of Venice. Their glassmakers were literally state secrets. Which, I mean. Not ideal, I'm told." Sigrun flashes an apologetic smile to Aurelio, "But the skill and the craftsmanship-- Incredible today, nevermind for their time! He's basically a rock star who plays molten glass trumpet." Sigrun realizes her comparison lacks something and is quick to add, "Except cool." Sigrun then adds quick upon this for Aurelio's benefit, "June is an Apiarist and is super strong. She makes honey and mead. Well. The bees make the honey, she collects it. And makes mead with it."
June Desrochers: The explanation that Sigrun gives seems to do more for June's appreciation of Aurelio's particular talents. "Ah hah!" She says. "Now I get why Sigrun thinks that you're so marvelous. If you can do something remarkable when it comes to making things, that usually seems to do the trick for her. "I'd love to see your work at some point. I don't have Sigrun's talents, but I do have an appreciation for well made stuff." She flashes a grin at Sigrun. "Like the delicious honey that my bees make! Or the armor you made me."
Aurelio Menegi: "In a way. They had great renown within the city, they just couldn't leave it. Bit of a gilded cage." Aurelio allowed himself a small smirk, taking a sip of his coffee. "That was no longer an issue when I was trained, though."
"Ah...interesting. Always appreciate good craftsmanship myself, even if I don't know the style in question." He nodded quietly. "There are some photos on the studio's site if you want to take a look. They have a gallery at the studio as well, if you ever come by."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: "And the mead you brew," Sigrun assures June brightly. "Anyone who makes me mead is totally awesome in my book." Sigrun leans over to bump June with her shoulders, resuming her prior cheerful smile. She genuinely seems just tickled pink that these two are finally meeting. "I think you two would get on famously. Don't let Aurelio's humility fool you. He's an artist. You should definitely check out the studio. I was telling him I need to pick some stuff up for our house. It's so pretty when the light hits it. So many colors."
June Desrochers: "Field trip idea!" June says when the gallery is suggested. "Have you been there, Sigrun? I guess it sounds like you have. I'll have to go check it out. I really love cool glass work. I'm also glad you like my mead. I'm still getting better at brewing it, but as long as you can follow instructions it's not that hard." She smiles at Aurelio. "Have you ordered yet?"
Aurelio Menegi: "I do my best, and others enjoying that is enough for me." He smiled in return, giving a nod. "Si. Will usually do one of the omlettes, but was curious about the pumpkin waffle. Haven't eaten that much in sweeter forms."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: "I always just get waffles and canadian bacon. And eggs. And hash browns. They're just so good. I don't know what she puts in the batter, but they're just good as waffles, you know? Nothing fancy." Sigrun doesn't even bother looking to the menu, therefore. She does flag down a sever, though, so that everyone can get their orders in.
June Desrochers: June doesn't look at the menu either, and orders the sickeningly sweet smores waffle with a side of three eggs, two strips of bacon, and an english muffin. For someone as tiny as June is, it probably seems like a truly ridiculous quantity of food. She's been here enough times by now that the server doesn't look at her very weird. "This place is dangerous. Even the coffee is really good," she says. Yeah, she did order coffee too.
Aurelio Menegi: Aurelio didn't seem too surprised by the order size, but then again Summer's gonna Summer. "The breakfast foods here are different from home, but not in a bad way. Would usually do something light in the morning with a coffee and do more with the afternoon meal later."
Sturm: It's possible that the reason the server isn't giving June any funny looks, is because the server in question is actually Sturm.
The burly Jotunn's hair is up in a tight bun, her left eye is black, her lip is split, and even though she looks like she just got out of a terrifying fight, she's wearing a red apron with white trim over her jeans + tee. "Coffee's not just good. It's fuckin' great..."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: "I guess we have a thing called a farm breakfast? Growing up we'd have a real big breakfast and take a bag lunch into the field with us. Because you'd just stop where you were in your chorin' and grub up then get back to crackin' then come back for a big ol' supper." Sigrun's Minnesota accent came out quite hard somewhere in all of that. Like. Harder than usual. Straight up 'oh, ya, headin' up Brainert way dere to do some anglin for da walleyes dontcha know' style. "Did you grow up in a farm town? Not, I guess, that all American breakfasts aren't big even if they didn't originate on a farm."
June Desrochers: "Also, for what it's worth, most Americans don't eat this way on a daily basis or anything. For a lot of people it's like a piece of toast or some cereal or whatever?" June shrugs and gives Sturm a big grin. "I love how cute you are with the apron on," she points out. "What time do you get off work tonight?" She looks away to explain to Aurelio, "I also spend so much time working out and training that I eat far, far more than most people would expect."
Aurelio Menegi: Aurelio nodded to the pair, although there was a brief moment where the thicker accent made him have to listen that much harder to follow. "Makes sense, on both counts. Hard work requires the fuel to power it and all."
Sturm got a polite nod as well, lifting his cup in a small salute before taking a sip. "Very good...best I've found here, personally."
Sturm: There's a tinge of navy blue that creeps into Sturm's icy cheeks, and she scowls at June extra hard to compensate for it. "You three are actually my last table - I took the section over from your last server so she could go home a little bit early."
She scribbles down their order on a notepad, peeking over the table's mugs. "Y'all good on coffee? Just made a fresh pot if you wanna be topped off..."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: "I would love more coffee. And just my usual, please, Sturm." Sigrun beams up at Sturm cheerfully, still in her stubbornly good mood. "Come on around when you're done, we can chat. Or take you home, or whatever." Sigrun glances back to Aurelio and inquires, "You're joining a motley with Spicy, did I hear that right? I bumped into her at the community center, as it were. She was reading the bulletin board and we caught up."
June Desrochers: "Yes please," June says with a restrained giggle with Sturm's blush. "And the ridiculous pile of food, of course." Sturm works out too much too, she gets the eating requirements! "I'd be happy to have you come hang out with us, too." Then she blinks in surprise and turns to Sigrun, then looks at Aurelio. "You're making a motley with Spicy? I like her! She's so nice. I ran into her when I stopped to get a bite to eat somewhere last week, I think it was. I'm glad she's connecting up with people!"
Aurelio Menegi: "I'll take more, please. Thank you." He nodded to Sturm, then looked back to Sigrun with a smile. "Indeed. Her, Adela and Annie, as something of an artisan's group to support each other in our crafts. Looking forward to it very much."
Sturm: "Spicy's good people," Sturm says, coming back from the counter with the pot of coffee and a spare mug for herself. "She might be kitchen staff here at some point - I told her I'd put in a good word on her behalf if she wanted to drop off a resume."
Sturm returns the coffee to it's place once the table's mugs have been topped off, and she slides into the booth beside her motley mates, winking at Sigrun. "You two can take me home whenever you like."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: Sigrun's eyes widen considerably at Sturm's statement. Fortunately, she's got a fresh cup of coffee to doctor up as her coloration shifts from gold-white to pinkish red. That's always amusing to watch. "Spicy's awesome. I gifted her one of my old swords. And then another of my swords, but better than the first one. We're similar in what we like to carry and in build and stuff. So she makes a good person to receive what I'm not using, or whatever. Especially with how tight money is right now, I can't really afford to make people stuff they don't pay for themselves."
June Desrochers: "I don't think that I've met Adela," June says with a thoughtful bit of contemplative hmmming. "That sounds like a neat group, though." She gives Sturm a wicked grin and asks, "whenever?" she does make space for Sturm to slide in, and then leans against her to give a hug. "It's really sweet of you to help her try to find a more permanent job. She's temping right now, right? Or whatever it's called when you're a substitute cook?" Then, surprised, she asks, "you gave her one of your swords? Nice."
Aurelio Menegi: "Understandable, with everything put towards the Hue." Aurelio nodded quietly, smirking a touch at the sudden blush from the Bright One. "Depending on your time available and costs I wouldn't mind speaking with you on armor. Been asked to accompany those reaching out farther afield and having something on hand to prevent close calls would be helpful."
"Adela, Spicy and I were all in the same place while we were away. Didn't interact much while we were there, mind." He took a moment to sip from his own coffee before continuing. "We decided that working together here would be a good idea, to help move past that and make something of our own."
Sturm: "Pretty much whenever," Sturm clarifies. "Yeah, she's got a temp gig at some little hole-in-the-wall type place out near Kenzo right now. Pretty close to where my family's old place used to be," she takes a sip from her coffee, draping an arm around June's shoulders - and also giving Sigrun a playful nudge in the process.
"That's pretty dope - working together like that to make your own shit. I imagine whatever fucker y'all dealt with over there would fuckin' seethe to see it happening." She nods slowly at Aurelio. "Y'all have a name picked out yet?"
Sigrun Ljosdottir: "I was really resistant to the idea at first? Of having more people from my keeper around, but it turned out pretty cool in the end. It turns out the other person really helped me move past some shit I hadn't even been aware I needed to deal with. And I came out of it on the other side a more healthy version of me. So. Maybe that can be the way it works for you guys. Just be patient and keep an open heart and try to remember that you're there for each other. That's my advice." Sigrun mumbles all of this down at her coffee cup while decidedly not looking at Sturm.
June Desrochers: "I've run into a couple of people from my time over there, but mostly I just saw 'em once or twice and then never ran into them again," June admits with a slight shrug. "It was kind of weird, but I never really got to explore it." She tucks in under Sturm's arm and seems content with this lot in life. "I also didn't interact much with the other people when I was there, though. I was in my enclosure, and they were in theirs."
Aurelio Menegi: "I imagine she would, yes." Aurelio nodded to Sturm. "She tends to take artisans to put their talents to her use, so working together to enrich ourselves is a rather good slap in the face, as I see it. Not yet on the name, still working on that and the oath."
"Indeed. Meeting Spicy again here at first was...shaky, after having to dig for the memories. It went well enough after that, however."
Sturm: The Jotunn -- thank goodness her reach is so wide -- silently places her hand on Sigrun's back and gives the Bright One a series of gentle pats on the back. Sturm will remember this.
... but then she fucking laughs - it's ridiculously boisterous sound. "I've met two people from Over There, and the first one nearly brained me. There was a hole in an empty cottage in the Freehold Hollow for over a week."
Sigrun Ljosdottir: "She missed," Sigrun states with a curl of a grin. They differ on the details, see.
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