( KENOS ) COMMUNION.

[appeale]

come on, wake up.	you have to be careful.
don't make mistakes.	you know how quickly kindness can turn into violence.

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

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[appeale]

[ the more time she spends with Gray, the more Rudbeckia is reminded of Endymion, the young squire that had often been assigned to guard her in Britannia. it's one of the only positive associations she's ever drawn in Kenos, and the realisation gives her more stable footing in their interactions almost immediately. she can accept Gray's kindness because it is uncomplicated, like a child's; she can rely on her for protection the same way one might a dog. they don't need to become closer than that. no, she doesn't want to become closer.

there is a reason, after all, that Ruby is only capable of befriending children and beasts: they will never actually come to know her. ]

No, it didn't exist yet in Romagna, so I'm not very familiar with it. But I've started drinking it here in Kenos, and I like it!

[ although Ruby has never worked a day in her life – in any life – she is well-versed in the art of people-pleasing. it's been an easy adaptation period. when there are customers, she serves them as closely as a maid. when her hands are empty, she cleans. learning the specifics of the little shop has taken more time than anything else, and even that is fairly simple, just as Dokja had assured her.

and sometimes, she gets coffee. she hadn't had coffee since her life in Madrid, back when she lived on it the same as any other young adult. ]

What about you, Gray?

[gravings]

[ Coffee didn't exist yet?? Those words quietly blow Gray's mind. The only thing that might hit her harder would be if Ruby said that tea didn't exist either.

(The specific wording, "didn't exist yet," strikes Gray as a little odd, but she thinks nothing else of it.) ]

Tea was more popular in London. I only drink enough coffee to be sure I'm making it right.

[ Coffee feels more adult to her. Even if she's on the verge of being able to call herself an adult, enjoying coffee is one of those hurdles she feels no rush to leap. ]

There are a lot of different ways to make coffee though, so I've ended up having to drink a lot. Ah, I have a guide here.

[ She produces a handy dandy list for Ruby's viewing pleasure. ]

[appeale]

[ the mental image of Gray drinking a cup of coffee with a serious expression as she judges the taste, and having to do that some fifteen times over for every different type of drink she could make... is adorable. she really is such a charming girl. but Ruby keeps that to herself, and leans in to inspect the list instead with a surprised exclamation: ]

Oh my, there's so many! But most of these words are Italian, so they'll be easy for me to remember, hehe.

[ that's a good enough excuse for why she'll "learn" so quickly. nobody ever really questions her little oddities, anyway. ]

Are you good at drawing the little patterns on top with milk? I've seen them a few times at cafés.

[gravings]

[ The fact that Ruby is trying so hard to maintain her facade in front of someone who has no hope of seeing past it is the true cuteness of this scene... Gray, for her part, has no problem assuming that Ruby is a much faster learner than herself. She'd had to study a fair amount to memorize most of these drinks, and even then she keeps the cheat sheet on hand for a reason. It was a similar story when she was learning back at the Clock Tower — a perpetually remedial bumpkin student surrounded by her clever, well-bred mage peers. ]

Yes, though I can only do a couple basic patterns.

[ It's harder than it looks... Without an actual experienced barista to teach her (Dokja and Eustace ain't it, sorry), Gray has only been able to figure out so much on her own. But Ruby seems excited about it, so what's the harm in skipping the boring coffee-making fundamentals and going straight to the fun part? ]

Would you like to try?