2012-07-31 Three Blondes in a Bakery

Tylweth Teg Bakery, a small bakery located in a small neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, is generally not very busy in the evenings. Most of its customers in general are new, as is the bakery, and for the most part they come in for breakfast or late lunches. The bakery is earning itself a reputation, with its fairy tale theme and old-fashioned aesthetic. There's even a medieval-style wooden sign hanging over the door. Inside, paintings depicting several scenes from well-known fairy tales hang in elaborate frames on two of the walls. The third is mostly windows, and the fourth is dominated by the wide array of baked goods on display. Most of these, even the cookies, are somehow inspired by the same fairy tales that hang from the walls.

"I try to avoid it, but... you know, would you recommend the cream cheese?" asks Karolina, a happy little smile touching her lips. She steps up, and leans forward on the counter a bit as she waits for her order to be ready, "So you work for your grandparents? That's really cool; you must feel close to your family?" she questions, her eyes lifting away from Pixie to look over the rest of the decor over the counter. "Have you all been here long?" she says, her own voice carrying a faint California twang to it.

The bell on the door chimes cheerily, because there's always one of those bells, right? The figure that comes in however... not so cheery. Illyana has the hood up on her Xavier's hoodie, a Slayer shirt beneath with an inverted pentagram of crossed swords, ripped jeans and thick-soled boots with silver skull buckles that come all the way up to her knees. There's black paint on her nails and a whole lot of Unfriendly on her face as she tromps in and heads to some of the cases to look at the goodies. One can almost feel the creepy chill that comes off of her.

"Generally. We have a couple that go well with this flavor." A shadow passes over her eyes briefly as Karolina questions her about her grandparents and how close they are. It passes quickly though, the bell at the door shaking her out of whatever darker thoughts she was entering. "Hello!" She calls cheerily, popping up briefly behind the case to smile at Illyana despite the vibes. She turns back to Karolina after offering the greeting, "We are, yes. And we have been here for about half a year? Long enough to have a few regulars, but not to get to know anyone well yet."

Karolina Dean couldn't help but notice that shadow pass over Megan's eyes, and the smile loses strength on her features. A bit sheepishly, Karolina draws her eyes down and away, standing up a bit from that forward lean, and fighting the urge to apologize. "Well, I would love to try one of those, if I could, please," she says, glancing back up to the face of the Pixie. "I'm Karolina, by the way - it's lovely to meet you," she says. Helpfully, though, she steps to one side as the other 'customer' was greeted, Karolina lifting her eyes up towards... goodness. Raising her hand, she kinda gives the other a little wiggle of her fingers in greeting, her smile kinda awkward.

Illyana doesn't acknowledge either of the pair of them for a long moment, staring at the case, but then she must either have a question or something she wants because she looks up in time for Karolina to wave at her and to see... Illyana sliiiiides her shades down a bit and squints at Megan. Blinks. Squints again. She tilts her head towards Karolina a bit and says in a perfectly normal tone. "I'm not seeing things, right? Because I might be a bit hung-over, but I'm pretty sure I'm not high."

"Sure!" Megan beams, "I'm Megan, and its nice to meet you too." She happily finishes setting up Karolina's meal, putting the milk in a glass and setting a small cup of cranberry flavored cream cheese on the plate with the bagel. Sliding the plate and glass to the first blonde, she turns to laugh a little at the hooded one, "They're real." She gives the wings a little flutter to prove it, "Can I get you something? There's bagels fresh from the oven right now?"

Karolina didn't seem to easily make eye contact, at first, with Illyana. The other young woman looks at her, and she glances down briefly, turning her head to mutter a thanks towards Megan. "Well; no, you're not high at all. At least I think?" she says, looking to the other, and breathing out a long breath. Alright, Karo, just stop talking, and start eating. Picking up her bagel, she sticks it in her mouth to take a bite of it - and pauses, her eyes slowly widening as she glances up towards Illyana at first, before turning towards Megan. "These are really, /really/ good...!" she says, then.

Illyana's eyes aren't something that most people like to look into anyway. Hard and cold, like deep, deep ice it's clear where the chill that comes off the blonde comes from. "Mmmm." Illyana says as Karo and Megan assure her that she's not drugged. One finger pushes her shades back up and points to the most chocolatey looking thing in the case. "I'll take thi--" She breaks off at Karo's enthusiasm, and there's the distinct impression as Illyana looks at the girl that she's squinting behind those shades.

Megan swallows a little as she meets Illyana's gaze. But the sunglasses are soon back in place, and the blondes regarding each other. Megan glances from one to the other curiously as she gets out the requested item. Its chocolate mousse, a tall glass of it layered with chocolate syrup and topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a thin chocolate cookie shaped like a miniature imitation of Megan's wings. She glances at Illyana questioningly, "Anything to drink- oh!" Her questioning look helps her to get a better look at the hoodie, which causes her to smile even more brightly, "You are from the Institute!"

Karolina wasn't as easy as she once was, to intimidate; she had been through a lot in her time away from California. But there was... just something about Illyana that made her distinctly uncomfortable, if not outright queasy. "I... well," she says, picking up her glass of milk, and offering a lopsided smile to the Queen of Limbo. "...I think I'll just find a seat," she says, taking a brisk step forward, towards one of the tables - one somewhat near the counter anyways, so the point was moot, to take a sip of her milk, and glance down at the bagel once more. The whole bit about the Institute? No clue.

Illyana is used to scaring folks off, and her mood is dark enough that she can't get up the positive emotions to feel bad about Karolina slipping off. Later, she'll feel bad. Maybe. "Hmm? Oh, Xavier's?" Illyana says, looking down at her hoodie. "Yeah. I graduated back a few years ago. Know it?" There's a glance over those shades again at Megan, like a reminder warning, given the school's low-profile with regard to mutants. "And coffee, if you have it." She pushes the hood down, shaking out her long blonde hair as she scrapes a hand back through it.

Nodding, Megan pulls a small coffee pot from the back counter and pours a cup, "Yes, I... have met someone from there." The lie is clumsy, thrown together at the last minute. She had been about to tell the truth, when she remembered the conversation with the professor. "It seems like a very interesting school." Setting the coffee and mousse down before Illyana, she adds to both, "Hey, would you two like to sample something?"

Well, Karolina didn't quite slip /away/ away - she was near enough to listen, even if she was no longer talking to the pair, really. In fact, she was midway through taking another bite of bagel when she was asked that question. It takes a moment for her to realize that 'you two' meant her, as well. She twists in her seat, bagel still in her mouth, eyes a bit wide at first; but soon, she bites down on the bagel, and nods her head, lowering the food with a smile on her lips. "You know, I'd love to sample something; what is it, though, if I can ask?"

Despite those chilly eyes, when Megan manages her clumsy lie Illyana gives her a slow wink. Good job. "My brother teaches there, so I still go up to the campus sometimes." She takes her coffee and chocolate decadence and slides into a seat at the same table as Karo without so much as a by-your-leave. Maybe she's trying to make the other girl squirm a bit more. Sugar and cream are added to the coffee as Megan asks them to sample something. "If you tell me all the ingredients will I be afraid?" She deadpans.

Megan smiles a little at the wink, looking relieved. She brightens again to hear that Illyana knows someone at the school. One would think, by her reaction, that she just found out her best friend goes there. Boosted even more by the more or less positive reactions to her offer, she smiles at the pair and quickly disappears into the back. "I'll go get it!"

Both of Karolina's eyebrows lift up as Illyana kinda just helps herself to a seat at her own table. A beat, and she clenches her jaw a little bit, lifting up her glass of milk to take a sip. "Um. Hi there," she says, bringing up a hand to brush her hair from her eyes, trying out a smile. "I'm Karolina, and you are certainly welcome to a seat there, if you would like," she says, taking another bite of bagel as her eyes kinda hover at a point beneath Illyana's shaded eyes. More her nose region. "Do you... um... live around here?"

Illyana pushes her shades up onto her head, which means no more easy screen from those blue eyes of hers. When Karo's jaw clenches a bit there's just the hint of a smirk from Illyana, hidden behind a sip of her own coffee. She points after Megan as the other girl flits into the back. "I bet she's a morning person, too." A bite of the chocolate concoction before she finally answers Karolina's question. "I dorm at NYU."

Megan returns a little later with a plate. Smiling, she slips around the counter and sets the plate between the two young women. There are three cupcakes on it, topped in red icing that has a slight shimmer to it and a sprinkling of red hots. "Since you like chocolate, I thought you might like these. They have chili pepper in them, though, so be careful." Taking one for herself, she moves back to sit on the counter, using her wings to help lift herself.

"Yeah, well; we can't all be morning people, I suppose?" Karolina asks, looking towards the hidden eyes of Illyana. Just briefly, just a flicker. "But I like mornings myself. There is just nothing like catching the first few beams of sunlight as they reach across the world... you know?" she says, tilting her head just so, before taking a sip of her milk. Her eyebrows lift again as Megan comes out with that sampler of... samples. "Wow - these look good," she says, although a bit dubiously at the suggestion of pepper. "And who doesn't like chocolate, right?" she says, glancing back towards Megan. "Hey, do you wanna sit with us a while, and just chat? Until someone else comes in or something?" she says. The expression on her face was just about begging Megan, 'please'.

Yes, Megan! Save the nice lady from the gloomcloud that is Illyana! Illyana is eyeing the samples with some interest when Karolina invites Megan to sit. A glance to the other blonde, but there's no sign if she actually picked up on that expression, Illyana just gives her spoon a slooooow lick. "What do you call them?" The spoon is laid aside as Illyana reaches for one.

Megan doesn't need to be asked twice! Jumping down, she slides into another chair at the table, "Thanks!" She looks thoughtfully at the cupcakes, frowning a little after a minute. "I don't know yet. I was a little afraid to give them a name, just in case they're horrible or something."

Difficult to talk to, and gloomy. Karolina's attempt at charming conversation falls flat entirely, as she leans back in her chair. Sighing, she looks between Illyana and Megan, bringing a cupcake up to her lips and taking a bite. Karolina bites her lower lip then, her ice-blue eyes dipping down to the remains of the cupcake she just bit. "It's very... warm," she says, then.

See, Illyana iz smrt. She waits for Karolina to take a bite first to get some idea of how good or bad this Pixie concoction might be. Setting her spoon aside, she picks up her own and drags a finger through some of the icing and sticks that single digit in her mouth, sucking on it as she watches Karo taste it.

The frosting has a very faint cinnamon flavor, though all in all its the mildest part of the cupcake. "Is it too hot?" Megan asks concernedly, "I wasn't sure of the portions. Grandma helped, but the idea is from South America, so we couldn't be sure... "

"Well, it's very very good. I just... well, I should have probably not tried it. I'm just someone from California - I don't think I've eaten spicy food in my /life/," says Karolina, laughing lightly as she turns the lion’s share of her attention upon Megan. "It tastes really good, though, very good. I just am..." she pauses a moment, to fan her mouth, "It /is/ a bit hot. But I might be a wuss," she says, with a grin.

Illyana breaks off a small bite of her own to pop in her mouth. She should be able to handle that much, right? "I thought Cali was all fusion cuisine. I'd think it would get some spice out that way."

Megan hops up, hurrying back to the fridge for another couple of small cartons of milk. One is given to Karolina as she returns to her seat, opening the other before she tries her own cupcake. "I don't tend to eat spicy things either." She says before biting in, her eyes opening a little wider at the taste. Its mostly chocolate, but there's a definite kick from the chili pepper, which is compounded by the red hots. "Wow." She says around her bite.

"All I can tell you is that I never really ate out at places like that," Karolina says, bringing up a hand to rub at her own neck, her eyes dipping downwards. She seemed like she was hiding something - maybe not outright lying, but hiding something. "Thank you," Karolina says to Megan as the other returns, a little grin touching her lips as she watches her after the bite. "It's /hot/, isn't it? Do you like it?" she asks.

Illyana blinkblinks her eyes a few times, and then sniffs before taking a sip of her coffee and clearing her throat. "I think that might be for a very specialized market." She advises. "But I wouldn't change it. Don't dumb it down for mass consumption. It'd loose the thrill of why you eat it."

Megan nods at Karo. Whhen she finishes with the bite she glances thoughtfully at the other blonde, "You think so? Hmmm, maybe." Setting her cupcake down, she eyes it thoughtfully. "You said you're from California?" She asks Karolina curiously while pondering the cupcake, "How long have you been here?"

"Well; about a week, I guess. I just got, um... a job up in Metropolis, so I'm down here to kinda take care of a few things with some old friends of mine, you know?" Karolina says, taking another, far more careful bite of her chili cupcake. "Do you like it here? It seems to get cold all the time," she says, with a smile. "Although there are so many people around, too."

"Yeah, New York City is kind of the definition of 'people around' for the country." Illyana says in a dry manner that almost seems mocking. Megan's question was aimed at Karolina, so she doesn't volunteer anything herself, crumbling some of her chili-cake over her chocolate decadence and eating it with her spoon.

Megan chuckles, "Its far warmer here than in Wales." She says. She watches Illyana curiously, "And I like the people, mostly. They're so ... different." Tilting her head a little, she works up enough courage to then ask, "And what about you? Are you from New York?"

Karolina opens her mouth, finally as if she were going to enter the conversation with full enthusiasm - when her pocket starts to beep. At first, she looks confused, her lips sliding shut with words left unsaid. Fishing her phone from her pocket, she checks who is calling - and pales immediately. "Look, um. Thanks for the cupcakes and bagels - it was /great/ to meet you," she says to Megan, although, with a bit more reluctance, she looks to Illyana. "And, um, you too, okay?" she says, before smiling.

"Recently." Illyana answers Megan. "Xavier's is a boarding school." And she went to school there for a couple of years. Her gaze flicks over to Karolina as the girl pales and then makes her hasty exit. "My. People come and go so quickly around here." She drawls before smirking over to Megan. "New student?" She guesses, for her to know about Xavier's. She holds out a hand and a small circle of light opens, dropping a pen and pad into Illyana's hand. The blonde scrawls out her name and phone number on it. Illyana Rasputin. "I'm alumni. If you need help, give me a call."

"Thanks!" Megan accepts the card with a bright smile, nodding in answer. She hops up to put the number in a drawer, getting a business card for the bakery while she does so. "Here, this is my number. In case you want to try any more of our experiments." An elderly man pops his head out fo the back door as she's speaking, and waits until she's done to say in a thick accent, "Megan? Your grandma wants some help in the kitchen. I'll take over out here.

Illyana grimaces a bit at Pixie's bright demeanor. "Help. The sunshine of your life is murder on my hangover." She complains in that dry, mocking manner of hers. She gives the pink-haired girl an idle wave as she's called away. She'll just sit here and eat her chocolate indulgence, thanks.