Ravyn of Light
Time: Sunset
Location: University Cafe
Interaction: None
Mention: None
The bus into town was a blessing, Ravyn was gifted a ticket from a witch couple she met a few days ago; her shoes were already worn, they were more for decoration than foot protection at this point. The scenery had been lovely, surrounded by trees and critters her mind was lost in the rare opportunity of having a blank state of mind and a chance to rest. The witch was the last passenger on board, and the quietness was alarming at first; however, she had come to enjoy the peace. Her head rested on the window; she was appreciating the simplicity of just being clean, being on the run made her grateful for the little things in life, like the indoor bathroom the couple had let her use to get clean.
Leaving the bus Ravyn took in the nearby area, the town did not seem to have a dedicated bus station, so it used the bus port for the university. The sun was setting, and she would need to find a place to camp for the night, however, the lights of the university were alluring and the café she spotted from the bus made her salivate from the thought of freshly brewed coffee. Ravyn strapped her travel sack onto her backpacked with the freshly cleaned clothes and a few personal effects. The university seemed to be having an art exhibition taking place, she would have loved to attend, though she felt a bit underdressed for such an event. The walk was not far, but it gave her time to think about what the woman driving the bus warned. “You be careful Hun; this town is a bit odd and I don’t trust it.” The warning was appreciated but unnecessary. She was already aware of the dangers; Ember Grove was infamous of being a beacon for people of the night.
The café smelled heavenly, the aroma of coffee beans hit her nose like a truck, Ravyn took in a deep breath of the pungent beans enjoying the scent longer than she would had intended. She came out of her momentary stupor and realized the shop was mostly packed with university students dressed much like she was. Ravyn began to feel self-conscious of her clothing; she had her ebony hair in a messy bun, she had a large military grayish-green style jacket, an oversized black shirt, and black ripped jeans. Ravyn gathered her courage, she was not the best at talking in public. The barista in front of the register and smiled, she seemed to be a bit older than Ravyn, though she looked a bit younger than her own age.
“Hey there, what can I get for you?” she said with the façade of a smile that was required for a person working in customer service.
“Uh-Yeah, I’d like a Caffe latte, thanks,” Ravyn replied with her own nervous smile.
The barista’s smile faded slightly and looked at the witch expectantly, “Uh. You have money to pay for this, right?” she asked becoming annoyed.
“Oh, of course. Sorry about that I’m a bit rusty at talking with others. I mean not that I don’t regularly talk with people…I mean I do but you know, it’s rather hard sometimes… I’m so sorry here’s the money and I think I’ll take a coffee cake as well.” Ravyn said handing over a twenty-dollar bill. She felt guilty for spending so flippantly, though the sugar was too enticing to pass over.
The barista smiled more genuinely, “it’s no problem, I’ll get this out for you in a bit, here’s your change. Also, what was your name?” she said with a chuckle.
“My name’s Ravyn,” she said taking the change then found a spot near the fireplace and took off her gloves revealing her tan scarred hands and warmed her chilled fingers.
She scanned the room for possible places for her to sit, it seemed to be nearly at capacity, though there were pockets here and there; she would need to brave the possibility of awkward socializing. The thought almost caused her to panic, however, she calmed her nerves. She wanted to make friends, she needed to make friends. The life of a lone witch was sad and short, though she did not think she would find a fellow witch here she could use the practice talking with some humans.
“Ravyn, I have your Caffe Latte waiting for you!” the barista shouted over the soft mummers of quiet conversations taking place all over the café.
Ravyn placed her hands back into her black leather gloves and made her way back to the front, she gave a smile as she wrapped her covered hands around the hot glass cup feeling the warmth through her gloves. She noticed the napkin under had a number and a name, “Selena”. Ravyn looked back to the barista and caught a wink from the woman before she disappeared to the back. The witch was left confused, why on earth would she give her number out to a customer was she supposed to call and give her opinion on the drink, it was quite adorable with the foam shaped in a heart.
She thought about this weird interaction as she made her way to a table with a group of three female students, there was a fourth chair and the table was rather roomy. “H-hello, would you mind if I join your table. It would seem that this café is very popular.” she asked with a polite smile, copying the smile Selena had given her.
The three-woman looked at each other and smiled back at Ravyn and said. “Sure, the more, the merrier. But we were about to leave soon; we don’t want to miss the art gallery.”
Ravyn sat with her perfect posture and put her cup and cake on the napkin with the number. Years of living in the manor with tutors enforcing proper etiquette was hard to shake, even in the two years of running from her father and his minions. She sat quietly listening to the woman’s fruitless conversation.
“Yeah, it’s going to be amazing,” the other woman added.
“Heck yes it is, it’s going to be worth going just to see Alexander Drake, he’s so freak’n hot!” the third said with a large smile.
“And his paintings!” The first woman started with a light tone, “are really interesting too.” The three-woman laughed lighthearted before packing up their garbage and other belongings before saying bye and heading out.
Ravyn smiled and watch the three leave, she was a little jealous, the three felt so comfortable with each other and could laugh so openly. They had beautiful smiles and she could sense the room darken as they left. The witch could feel a pit of loneliness start to spread from within her. She could feel the depression coming as tears start to swell in her eyes. She would fight the incoming emotions as best she could, however, this was the price she paid for practicing dark magic, even if she were forced.
She looked around the café again to distract her from her internal pain. She noticed two women in the back, away from the fading sunlight. She took note of the woman with the white hair reading the thick book. The woman sitting at her table was beautiful as well, but the white hair woman was unnaturally so, she was nearly stunned by her beauty and would be caught gawking with tears. Ravyn watched as the woman casually took each other’s hand like a couple, she quickly looked back down at her drink and flushed at the cheeks as they would have to pass her to leave the café, she hoped that they did not catch her impolitely starring.
