Coffee and chatting [Kardus/invite]

It was early in the morning at Sol's Bar and Grill, Sol was in the midst of getting things ready while Daniella slept. He wasn't expecting too many customers with the weather, and he gave his few employees the option of taking a day off if they wanted. He still needed to be somewhat aware of finances. It wasn't too long before the morning "rush" kicked in, and a couple of his regulars made their way inside. Sol looked over to find Detective Barlowe of the JCPD, and Hans- someone who until recently had been assisting DOMA during their time in California.

"So you've decided to stick around?" Barlowe casually asked Hans as they made their way up to the bar, Barlowe giving Sol a wave with a nearly finished cigarette already between his fingers. Sol gestured to it and out of respect, Barlowe ground against his coat sleeve.

"Indeed, the supernatural activity here in Jump is unusually high. PSI will want me to remain here for some time to keep my eyes and ears open," Hans replied, also offering Sol a wave in greeting.

"Just here for my usual cup of coffee today, Sol, need something to warm these old bones," Barlowe told Sol before taking his seat. "So you gonna try and get in with The MRO? Or are you people planning to set up shop on your own terms?" Barlowe asked Hans curiously.

"I can't be sure how long my stay here will be is the only issue. As for the topic of setting up shop, I haven't recieved any word of such plans- if I were to disclose those details in the first place," Hans replied mechanically, sitting down uneasily at the bar as that familiar uneasy sense washed over him. It wasn't even him but rather Anselm, the spirit trapped in his body who had the phobia which Sol's very existence triggered. "I'll have a coffee black," Hans gave Sol his order. "Although... I can say that after the Giant Skeleton attack, someone of PSI did reach out to the mayor. But this was also during the elections going on, so the offer got delayed. And last I knew, the new mayor is either unaware of it or isn't interested," Hans added off-handedly as Sol finished Barlowe's order first.

"Mmm I think you atleast should get something going. You don't have the backing that DOMA did. Plus you need someone you can depend on watching your back- and I'm too old and laden with paperwork to help you," Barlowe joked as he left some money on the counter for Sol, taking his coffee. "If you change yer mind about joining up with The MRO give me call. My two-cents may help speed the process along. See you gents around," Barlowe finished as he waved over his shoulder and headed out. He stepped aside for someone going in, doing a quick double take. Did he just see- were those horns that just passed him? Barlowe shrugged to himself. Well if it was, he was going to ask for a raise before he even considered arresting any demons...

Sol gave Hans his cup and looked up as someone else came in, waving at them in greeting.

After Barlowe left, Hans was also distracted with the menu prior to Rose coming in. It was only when Anselm, the ghostly spirit trapped in his body spoke aloud that Hans would look up. "DEMONI!" Anselm mentally rasped to Hans with urgency, managing to break out of his silent breakdown at being around Sol for a moment. Female, somewhere abouts the range of five feet in height- no tail so that may rule out Succubus. That and most succubi only entered through the dreams of mortal men. But it wasn't her actual physical features that grabbed his attention so much as what his eyes "revealed" to him.

Hans' eyes for the spirit world made it easy for him to see ghosts, among other related things and it also to an extent revealed things about someone's spirit in general- and she didn't have a normal demonic presence about her. Of course a simplier person with a basic knowledge of demons through common media could've probably also told you she wasn't acting as demons are protrayed. Sol's greeting her so casually indicated to Hans that they had met before, and through his limited interactions with the flame spirit, Sol was protective of Daniella so he didn't feel like he'd be so relaxed around her if she herself wasn't on the up and up. "Pray consider this, boy: thou can act nice around kindred spirits or prey alike," Anselm added suspiciously. He never used to care so much about such things before...

"I mayest be somewhat... aggravated such a creature walketh god's green earth unmolested. And yet I am persecuted through man's sins of treachery and jealousy!" Anselm admitted unabashed. Hans rolled his eyes briefly and didn't disagree that it wasn't right that it happened that way back then.

"Unless Sol says otherwise, hot wings are always good if you don't know what else to get," Hans suggested, his oddly colored eyes watching her intently. She wasn't dressed for this weather- a demon from the frozen layer of hell? "Hansel Alexander Morte," he introduced himself before watching Rose expectantly, Sol making what could've been a cough as he motioned to his "throat" to convey she couldn't speak.

She was a mute? Well that just made this very one-sided and more difficult. While on the surface it wouldn't register, but he didn't like having questions start piling up with no convenient way of answering them. Sol would meanwhile nod to Rose and go about cooking her order while Hans quietly mused how to go about this. While it was more than likely just Anselm admitted, he was always more for being safer than sorry. This was a moment where he regretted not learning sign language- not for his communication but hers. Though she hadn't tried signing anything to him either. Did she not know it? That seemed highly unlikely. Couldn't gauge Sol's relaxed attitude toward her, as he didn't know Sol well enough to know how long it took for him to "warm up" to people. He normally seemed rather relaxed and amicable from what he'd seen so far.

Thankfully technology had a solution to this problem in the form of text to speech! Hans dug his phone out and fiddled with it for a moment to try and find it on his phone. "So I don't understand sign language but I have this here for you to use," Hans typed in before his phone started to recite what he wrote in it's monotone. He offered her the phone to use. "So what's your name?" He asked curiously.

Hans waited patiently as she seemed to struggle with it- suddenly wondering if hell even had wifi. That'd be the only explanation as to why someone in this day and age (not counting Anselm) wouldn't know what to do with a phone. Atleast it looked like that to Hans who had no idea that she didn't know how to write, which would be an entirely different issue. It was only when she just handed the phone back with a flower emoji that he started getting an inkling. What was this exactly? "A rose, it is a rose," Anselm told him. So her name was Rose?

Sol then briefly rejoined them with Rose's plate of hotwings, complete with different dipping sauces for her to try. Hans meanwhile took a sip of his coffee and mulled over how to continue.

Hans returned to his coffee for the time being, only glancing up as someone else came in. No one he knew, must have just been another of the few people still walking around in the cold- like him. Sol greeted them, handing them a menu. This entire scene was surreal. Here was a demoness eating hot-wings, him a necromancer with a grumpy ghost- "Grumpy? How dare ye belittle the transgressions I've suffered!" Anselm hissed, going quiet again once Sol slipped back behind the counter to presumably get the new customer his order. And then there was the literal fireman, who adopted a child witch. And that's when he noticed that there was something peering in through a window, a few, small someones. They were Steves incase you were wondering. Hans' eyes briefly widened as HIS eyes could see more of what the little masked creatures were hiding.

They didn't seem to be paying him any mind, their attention seemed to be toward Rose. Sol eventually took notice, his eyes slanting slightly like one would furrowing their brow. Hans only knew of the creatures by reputation, he'd never physically seen one until now for some reason. It was almost as if they'd been avoiding him. The Spying Steves would then suddenly get pelted with snowballs, making them scatter with the faint Steve Sounds. "May I also get an order of wings- Sweet and Sour," Hans asked Sol when he had a moment, Sol responded with a thumbs up and added that to the mental que. Hans glanced back at Rose as she ate, still not liking how much trouble getting any information was. "So- been on Earth long?" He asked, still trying at conversation.

Three days? Three weeks? Three months? Based on her trying to... explain, he was feeling days. That wasn't very long at all if it was right. Now that just left the matter of how she got to Earth, which he felt like may be alittle more complicated to try and pantomime. His attention was pulled away when Sol placed his plate of sweet and sour wings. And then someone else made their way inside, drawing Sol's attention briefly before he "furrowed" his brow again.

It was A Steve. It was an unusual Steve at that, as it was about a meter tall. Steves up to this point were barely two feet tall, and this one was also burlier. Was that a word? Maybe stocky was more apt a description. Also unlike the simple cloth looking robes (and floof around the hoods for winter) this one was wearing some kind of heavier looking fabric- maybe leather. The Stocky Steve overall looked like a miner, with a burnt out candle atop his helmet. The Stocky Steve made a deep Steve Sound, which to Rose would translate as: "Good morning to you Lord Hotman! Very brisk weather eh? And hello to you, Horned Lass," he waved in greeting as he waddled up to the counter with a piece of paper in one of his nubs. He offered it up to Sol before taking his pack off, digging around in it for a moment while Sol went over it,

It was more or series of orders, a lot of which was alcoholic. Sol tapped his wrist and rasped something along the lines of "he didn't sell alcohol this early." The Stocky Steve would almost fall into his large sack, coming back up for air with a gold nugget. "Hol up, muh Ignan is terrible. No, I don' need, nor can I use the restroom," Stocky Steve Steved. Sol blinked with confusion and pointed to a clock, then motioned taking a drink. "I have somefin fer this, hol up," The Stocky Steve went back into his backpack again, coming back up with a tape recorder- who even had those any more? He pushed the play button and a bad quality, monotone voice (like the one used by Hans' phone) voice started speaking.

"Hello sir or madam- I won't assume. On behalf of my colleagues I am recording this helpful message due to our communication handicap. This order being placed at your establishment is for at your earliest convenience. 'The Boys'  would like something to keep their spirits up whilst in the mines, if you understand my meaning," the message would finish. Sol took the nugget and seemed to be trying a very basic guesstimation of it's weight. Sol knew someone that'd be good with this- actually... she might pay well for it. Sol didn't think it was enough so held up two fingers. The Stocky Steve flinched dramatically. "Oi, you tryna fleece me Hotman? Tis not that big'a order!" Stocky Steve Steved.

"How can you drink? You're just a ghost in a cloak," Hans cut in, completely out of the loop up until the tape recorder message. Stocky Steve seemed to take some minor offense to that, indicated by the puff of steam now coming out of his mouth hole.

"Wha you call me ya pale?!" Stocky Steve Steamed.

Rose's sign seemed to be taken, but she couldn't tell if he understood or not.  By now she could tell that this individual was trying to have regular conversation with her, and being unable to speak was getting in the way of that.  Wow...this socializing thing was kind of hard when you had to do it multiple times a day with different people each time.  She should really figure out a solution to that.  Maybe learn to write, type, and use sign language for a start.  That would probably help things a lot.

Then along came a Steve, another customer in Sol's hall.  Rose had seen these creatures before, and was starting to grow curious of them.  What did they want?  Where did they come from?  But it would be rude to ask even if she could, and she was content not knowing.  Really, the only difficulty with being mute stemmed from other people's troubles in not knowing how to interact with her.  Hmmm...  That got Rose to thinking, she couldn't tell whether or not that meant it was selfish to not have a means of communication.  It didn't bother her, but it bothered others.  

That was something to contemplate, but she hardly had time for contemplation right now.  It sounded like other people were having communication issues despite being able to talk.  They just couldn't talk the same language.  Hm...  Maybe she should do something.

Having been watching and listening, her first reaction was to the Steve who seemed like he was getting upset.  Her reaction was to lift her arm and reach across Hans to touch the Steve, staring into his eyes with a soft and extended shushing noise.  She started to pat and rub at the Steve's arm in a calming manner, whispering one indistinguilshable word that she did not filter.

//Calm//

(Spell effect: An untargeted calming effect that hits everyone within auditory range, including Rose.  Due to being untargeted, the spell effectiveness range is reduced to 25%-75%)

Rose could feel that hit even herself.  She couldn't really get any calmer, but it was good to know it worked fine.  With that, she gave the Steve a soft smile and hoped that the spell, her actions, and the sound of her gentle voice would keep the situation from getting heated.  She relaxed and retracted her arm, but decided to cast another spell to help out the group that was clearly having communication issues.  

//"Sol"//and//"Hans"//and//"Stocky Steve"//comprehend//language//

(Spell effect: Grants the targets the ability to understand the literal meaning of any written or spoken language for 1 hour.  This spell takes 11 seconds for Rose to cast and can be interrupted.  Once cast, each target will realize they are having a spell put on them and have 1 second to choose to resist it.  Targets who resist have a 50% chance to not receive the spell effect.  Partial effects are not possible for this spell.)

Rose knew she would still be in the same boat, being unable to speak and already understanding them all; but at least now they could talk to each other.

Sol had also taken notice of the Stocky Steve's rising temper, and remained on alert as Rose moved to do something about it. Then a calm washed over the whole room for a moment, which was the only way one could describe it. The Stocky Steve's angry eyeholes would then return to their usual... rounded shape. "Oh, tha feels nice~" Stocky Steve Steved before Rose cast her next spell.

Hans took note of the sudden calming sensation, and looked to Rose. Did she do that? She looked like she was praying or something and Sol hadn't struck him as a magical type. "Did you do that?" Hans asked Rose curiousy. Even Anselm seemed to be less anxious.

"What was I gettin' all bothered 'bout?" Stocky Steve questioned as a question mark actually popped up over his head.

Hans' and Sol's eyes widened. "You could speak English the whole time? Hans questioned.

"Wha? English? Wha boulderdash you rollin' lad- wait. You can understan' me?" Stocy Steve replied, the question mark turning into an exclamation point.

"I can as well," Sol admitted, both Hans and Stocky Steve acknowledging that they could understand him.

"Then this'll be easier. Hotman, I was sayin' tha one nugget t'would be enough fer some cases ah cold ones for me ahn' tha lads," Stocky Steve returned to his previous order of business.

"Unfortunately, gold is priced on purity and weight here. I cannot confirm the purity and have only the weight, which as of now isn't enough for this many cases," Sol replied simply.

"Ah, I remember. How can you drink? You don't have a physical body that I can see," Hans remembered what he said earlier.

"I wreckin' that'ain non'aya business lad. I assures you barkeep tha' be pure gold with'a blessin' o'earth spirits. But if tha' so... " Stocky Steve curtly replied to Hans before going back into his backpack, pulling out a slightly larger nugget of gold. It wasn't quite a nugget but it wasn't quite what'd you call a chunk either. "Toss in some ah tha' wings ahn we'll call it doner than ah landslide," Stocky Steve continued, setting it on the conter with a healthy metal sound from it's weight.

"Pardon me but- you're a dwarf aren't you?" Hans blinked as things started to click. The mining attire, the short stature, the... earthy looking aura. And plus the fascination with alcohol.

"Oh lookit tha'. Sharp wit on this one. If I had my bloomin' beard this would'a been obvious! But how's 'bout that Hotman? Final offa," Stocky Steve verbally jabbed Hans before returning his attention to Sol.

"I start selling alcohol around sunset. I accept," Sol replied taking both nuggets, putting them somewhere for safe keeping.

"Sweet Beans! Then ah'll be off ta tell tha lads. Someone'll stop by later. Good day to you all," Stocky Steve hooted, gathering up his pack again and starting to head out humming. He was totally not humming a song involving being a dwarf and digging a hole.

Once the strange Stocky Steve was gone, both Sol and Hans glanced at Rose as if seeing if she confirmed that their being able to understand eachother had been her doing.

"So that was what you were doing before," Sol remarked, remembering that she seemed to do something odd the last time they were here.

"So you can verbally cast magic? What are you actually?" Hans questioned seriously, foregoing the entire concept that it'd be impossible and complicated to explain for the moment.

"Morning Sol- oh, Rosey! And... Jack Frost!" Daniella spoke up, appearing out of thin air as she had a tendency to do. A present in her lap. Hans blinked at the new nickname.

"Did you cast a spell right after waking up?" Sol asked seriously.

"No, I ate some cereal and watched some cartoons first. I wonder what I got today," Daniella replied before digging into the obvious christmas present. "Fasilli's Fantastical Frolic Into The Arcane, written VOLUNTARILY by Steve" was the title of the book, which seemed to change color with the lighting. "Ooooh, preeety~" Daniella said moving the tome around in her hands to get it to change.

"A magic book?" Hans asked curiously.

"Maybe. I wanna be a great witch one day- it's just hard finding actual wizards and stuff," Daniella replied popping it open and causing a series of intricate pop-ups to suddenly come to life. It was hard to really describe into words what was going on- but the short version of it was that there were Steve pop-ups, and a presumably Fasilli pop-up. Sol quickly picked the book up and closed it, many a squeaky Steve sound sneaking out of it. "Soooool I wanna see!" Daniella whined.

"You can- once I make sure it's safe," Sol replied putting it somewhere for safe keeping.