Chương 21: Episode Two Hundred and Sixty-Five: Coffee Shop Days

"Still, you did well to not reveal anything about the Cat," Henry added again, in a low voice. He stayed close to the espresso machine, watching Indigo charm Allisa. The bells on the door rang again, as more elven students funneled into the shop. This time, they all took their time and asked for fancy iced drinks. I made each quickly, and with a smile. We sold a few more cookies as well. Once the group joined Allisa at the big table, making Indigo the center of attention, I checked the charm bracelet.

While we weren't at the dregs of earlier, we still had a good amount of time to spend here, charging up Betty. The magic flowing through the air, while refreshing, wasn't as thick as on some of the other worlds we'd visited.

"So, these are some of your days?" asked Henry, nudging my arm when I'd stared for too long at the charm. I jerked my arm and sat, finishing the rest of my coffee.

"Yes. I like these simple days, with nothing major to do. Mostly I listen to folks, and see if anyone needs advice. It's good to serve a good drink, and some cookies." Warmth and chatter pulsed through the shop, and happiness flowed from my bond with Betty. She also enjoyed the people.

"Our normal days can be pretty lonely," I added.

"Sometimes only seeing one or two beings for a short amount of time, and forming no real connection with them. These folks are repeat customers, a lot like Molly and her father." Henry tilted his head.

"You'll meet them. We tend to get mundane deliveries on their world. But yeah, these help offset the quiet days. Not that I won't be tired as all heck when we close."

"The hustle and bustle is exciting," he said carefully.

"And here, we don't need to hide what we are." Indigo's chirps made the group of elves smile. Given how the Cat had 'hated' dragons, the elven students sure loved Indigo. Then again, who wouldn't love the cute little book dragon? Though, she had gotten a little bigger, now that I really looked. It'd just been so slow that it was hard to notice. The bell rang again, and I went back to work, pushing the thoughts away. I had drinks to serve. Around lunch time, I checked the charm again during a lull in customers.

Most of the elven students had left, and only Allisa remained chatting with Fred about something. Indigo had fled when the crowd had left, heading to her hideaway to work on some online classwork. I resisted the urge to bang my head, as the energy gauge barely hit a quarter full. With how easy it'd been yesterday to fill up our energy stores, I hadn't really thought it'd be too hard to do it again. It all came down to what worlds we visited. We needed to visit a world with more magic than this one.

I was still glad we had come here, given how hard it had been for Betty to get us here with what little magic remained in the shop. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Henry," I said quietly.

"I'm going to make us some sandwiches. Can you holler if anyone else comes in? I'm usually pretty quick." He nodded.

"I can't make a drink yet, but I can handle that." I hurried back to the kitchen, which still remained in the much smaller form from this morning. The cookies were in storage, which gave me plenty of room to pull out a plate and make three sandwiches. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and some hummus for Henry, then for Indigo's and mine I added cheese, plus some lunchmeat. Simple, and easy. I ate my sandwich, taking my time at the island.

"We are making this work," I said to Betty. Warmth pulsed under my hand on the island.

"Eventually, we will get the energy thing figured out, and not need to worry as much," I added. Another blast of warmth came. We were on the same page. Now, I just needed to understand if it was possible to implement Henry's idea about creating a door to the Clan of Knowledges lands, particularly Lady Twilight's library. It already had several doors from other worlds that led to it, so it didn't seem out of place. This would be one more, giving access to Indigo to her homelands, and plenty of playmates.

Energy flickered in the shop, and I immediately knew what'd happened. The Cat had crossed over from his domain. I pulled out the bread and made another sandwich, with no hummus, for the Cat. A dark form padded down the hallway and jumped up on the counter.

"Sable, who is manning the counter?" he said quietly. His bright green eyes blazed with magic.

"Thats Henry, though you knew him as Lorestone," I said, as I placed the sandwich in front of him.

"He's my familiar."

"Professor Eira arrived in my domain, but smelled of the shop. She wouldn't say anything. I was concerned." He sniffed at the sandwich and took a big bite, followed by another.

"You shouldn't have a familiar." I shrugged as I took another bite.

"Weird stuff happened that day. He didn't mind." The Cat paused, then nodded.

"This sandwich is good." I chuckled at that. Then I finished my sandwich.

"How are you doing with this transition?" I asked, carefully. He let out a huff, and his tail flickered behind him.

"My people will be well, but it all takes time."

"What about the rest of your family?" I didn't shy away from this question. He did, but that was why I had to ask it. He snorted.

"They other Fey Lords know I am back. My lands have returned, and my People are traveling to them."

"Have you spoken to them?" The Cat finished his sandwich before answering. Each bite was slower than the last, but his tail kept moving behind him.

"I will. Dinner, or a ball. Maybe both." This time, he looked at me while he spoke.

"I want to change things for the better."

"Family is important," I replied. Though, I felt like a cheat saying that, since I hadn't called home yet. I knew the conversation with Onyx needed to happen, but Betty had to be in a good spot for me to feel okay being in a less magical world.

"You haven't met with a bunch of Fey Lords before," he grumbled, turning to look down the hallway. Indigo darted across the room and landed on the island.

"Cat!"

"Yes, Indigo?" he asked, almost smiling.

"You're visiting?" she asked, then spotted the sandwich.

"Lunch!"

"Eat some food," I said, as I stood.

"We should do regular dinners, maybe once a week."

"Chinese," said the Cat, without any hesitation. I laughed as I headed down the hall to find Henry. As long as it wasn't five star spicy. Low voices from the front caused me to speed up.