[ Whether Alice stays at her new place or at Eliot and Quentin's, she doesn't sleep well. Enchanted tea helps, but Deerington makes it impossible to get it right every time, and the stress of knowing you're in for A Lot when your ex who you still love wakes up from his vein-cocoon sleep tends to find its way into your dreams.
So even though this is a dream world, Alice is tired, which means it's time for a cinnamon dolce latte with whipped cream and caramel syrup.
She thanks the barista when she's given her drink, taking a sip despite the near guarantee she'll end up with a whipped cream mustache. Whatever, she's got a napkin. Sweet (so sweet) caffeinated goodness is worth it. Don't @ her okay. She knows there are people judging her.
She doesn't sigh loudly in relief, but as soon as the drink hits her taste buds, she ascends a little from this mortal dream-coil, to the point where she hasn't realized that maybe she should move a little more out of the way. ]
[ It isn't the first time their paths have crossed, and this is something Dana would never say to Alice out loud for fear of sounding like a total freak — but ever since she started feeling different, since the transformation on the full moon that had seen her turning into a wolf the size of a car, at least according to people who have told her after the fact, she can pick up on unique qualities in people's scents, those aspects that are special to them and them only.
For Alice, who prefers her lattes on the very sweet side, it means that Dana can always tell when she's just enjoyed one with extra whipped cream because even those subtle notes are still apparent in her overall scent; it also means that a place like Jane Dough, home to all kinds of smells for a normal human nose, is a little overwhelming to her now, and right now she's repressing the urge to sneeze, her face currently screwed into an expression that looks, well, on the verge of doing exactly that before the feeling passes. ]
Good?
[ She'd seen Alice a few people ahead of her in line but hadn't made her own presence known yet; as she steps up to order her own drink, she realizes they're standing right next to each other now, glancing over at the other woman with a friendly smile and a tilt of her head. ]
I was considering something else, but you make that look really tempting.
[ It's kind of endearing, but that's not something that Dana would ever say out loud; instead, she struggles to repress a smile as Alice goes for the napkin to try and dab off her face. ]
Hey, when it's that dark outside, I think we could all use the extra sugar on top of that caffeine boost just to stay awake.
[ She nods once in response to Alice's question. ]
Yeah. You'd think we'd get a special exemption from finals on account of the town looking like something out of a black-and-white horror movie, but I think the professors are so used to it by now that we'd probably still have a test even if the sky started raining literal cats and dogs.
[ Alice winces in sympathy. The only time classes were ever canceled in Brakebills was when the Beast first attacked. Otherwise, you know, all continued as normal, because upstate New York is just Like That sometimes. ]
It honestly wouldn't surprise me. None of that would. [ She shakes her head. ] If there's anything you need help with, let me know. I actually miss being in school, you know?
[ There's a part of Dana that has started to secretly harbor the belief that, if she and Alice had bumped into each other back in her own world instead of this one, maybe they would've gotten around to being friends.
Alice reminds her of, well, herself, someone who would much rather bring a bunch of textbooks to a lake trip than a bathing suit, even if everyone else is going to be swimming and definitely not studying.
So she might be rendered a little incredulous by the offer, if only because it's exactly the kind of thing she hoped. ] That'd be — that'd be great of you, thanks. It's really just art history stuff, so... a lot of dates. Lot of memorization. Hence the need for coffee.
[ Art history isn't one of Alice's areas of particular interest, but you don't grow up with a father whose discipline is historical magic without picking up on some art history knowledge. Magicians hid things in art, or were just fond of art and thus had large collections. The point is, she can help. ]
I know that feeling. [ Those first-year classes at Brakebills are brutal. Hand forms get as specific as requiring change according to the phase of the moon. She gets it. ] Okay, well, I don't have anything I have to do right now, so if you want to study after you get your coffee, I'm free.
Seriously? [ This isn't her questioning you at all, Alice, but somewhere closer to more of that disbelief before she decides to just get over herself already and accept the help where it's given. ]
Okay, perfect, 'cause I made up these flash cards to test myself — dates have always been a little tough for me to rattle off the top of my head, so I figure if you and I could —
[ She's just going to quit while she's ahead in the explaining of it, because she gets the feeling Alice probably doesn't need it fully spelled out to understand what she's getting at, and clamps her mouth shut with a firm nod, stepping up to the counter and musing quietly for a second before jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. ] Uh, I'll have what she's having, but with an extra shot?
[ A nerd after Alice's own heart. She gets to sipping her coffee as Dana's order is filled. There's no fun way to study dates. It's just drilling over and over until it sticks. Alice has the easy part of this, but the moral support could bolster Dana through the worst of it.
In the meantime, she should make conversation. This is not one of Alice's strong suits, but she likes the idea of not being just that nerd who will study anything given the chance. Also, you know, it's just nice being around someone who doesn't know how badly you've fucked up. Do here she goes. ]
[ Little does Alice know that she's stumbled into a topic that is actually not all that innocuous, at least where Dana's standing — but then again, how could she? It's not like Dana's been going around broadcasting to everyone she knows that she's a werewolf now, especially when she isn't sure she'll even be stuck like this forever. Sam's promised her he's working on finding a cure, but part of that might have to do with the fact that he's one too, and that's not even getting into the part where they might be a thing now?
It takes Dana getting her coffee to realize that she hasn't actually answered Alice's question, but her first instinct is to go for a sip of her drink before she realizes it might be a little too hot for that right away; slowly, she brings the cup back down between her hands and tries to force a believable look on her face. ]
Honestly? Not much besides. [ You're such a liar, Polk.. ] I keep thinking how weird it's going to be when that's all done and there's just... nowhere to go for winter break other than here, you know?
[ Ignorance is bliss, and also casually causing minor crises in others. Alice is none the wiser as she sips at her very sugary latte. ]
And what a place to spend your break. [ Alice wrinkles her nose. ] I got caught in a blood wave.
[ It was... not fun. ]
Assuming staying indoors is safe, at least you'll be able to sleep pretty well. Or read. That's actually my ideal vacation.
[ There's a moment where Alice realize she's just admitted to something that she got teased for in grade school and hated for in Brakebills, but it passes quickly. She is who she is, and that's one of her better traits, that eagerness to learn. ]
Seriously? [ She won't be the only one scrunching up her face in visible distaste, although Dana's partly unsettled by the fact that when she thinks about blood she's not really met with the same kind of disgust that she used to have. It's almost like now that she's different, she's having to retrain herself to experience different reactions right along with it.
The wolf wouldn't be bothered by blood necessarily; if anything, it might be attracted to it more. But she knows how she's supposed to feel, so she hopes it just comes out convincingly enough. ]
You're telling me. The last trip I went on before waking up here, my friends kept trying to tell me there was no point in taking a bunch of books with me. Uh, duh. What better place is there to catch up on your reading than a quiet cabin on the lake? [ Never mind the fact that it had been anything but a quiet, relaxing vacation, but her point still stands. Jules may not have ever fully understood Dana's bookish tendencies, but to her friend's credit, she'd never completely begrudged her for them. ]
[ Even if Dana had looked like she was faking her disgust at the blood, Alice wouldn't have noticed as she takes another sip of sugary goodness. ]
That sounds perfect. [ Then again, she also thought working for the library for one billion years sounded perfect, even if most of those years would be spent in the Underworld branch.
So maybe Alice is a little too nerdy to be unbiased. ] Ready to head out?
[ It's not that she thinks Alice will have the same reaction as any of her friends would, but she's more than a little pleased when the other woman falls down on the side of pro-book packing. Admittedly, some of those had actually been textbooks, but what's the difference really?
She nurses a sip of her coffee and then glances over with a slowly widening grin. ] Ready as I'll ever be.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action, mid-week
So even though this is a dream world, Alice is tired, which means it's time for a cinnamon dolce latte with whipped cream and caramel syrup.
She thanks the barista when she's given her drink, taking a sip despite the near guarantee she'll end up with a whipped cream mustache. Whatever, she's got a napkin. Sweet (so sweet) caffeinated goodness is worth it. Don't @ her okay. She knows there are people judging her.
She doesn't sigh loudly in relief, but as soon as the drink hits her taste buds, she ascends a little from this mortal dream-coil, to the point where she hasn't realized that maybe she should move a little more out of the way. ]
action;
For Alice, who prefers her lattes on the very sweet side, it means that Dana can always tell when she's just enjoyed one with extra whipped cream because even those subtle notes are still apparent in her overall scent; it also means that a place like Jane Dough, home to all kinds of smells for a normal human nose, is a little overwhelming to her now, and right now she's repressing the urge to sneeze, her face currently screwed into an expression that looks, well, on the verge of doing exactly that before the feeling passes. ]
Good?
[ She'd seen Alice a few people ahead of her in line but hadn't made her own presence known yet; as she steps up to order her own drink, she realizes they're standing right next to each other now, glancing over at the other woman with a friendly smile and a tilt of her head. ]
I was considering something else, but you make that look really tempting.
no subject
So good. [ Hi, Dana. ] I know, it's a little overkill, but I don't care.
[ She gives a quick, brief grin. ]
Study break?
no subject
Hey, when it's that dark outside, I think we could all use the extra sugar on top of that caffeine boost just to stay awake.
[ She nods once in response to Alice's question. ]
Yeah. You'd think we'd get a special exemption from finals on account of the town looking like something out of a black-and-white horror movie, but I think the professors are so used to it by now that we'd probably still have a test even if the sky started raining literal cats and dogs.
no subject
It honestly wouldn't surprise me. None of that would. [ She shakes her head. ] If there's anything you need help with, let me know. I actually miss being in school, you know?
no subject
[ There's a part of Dana that has started to secretly harbor the belief that, if she and Alice had bumped into each other back in her own world instead of this one, maybe they would've gotten around to being friends.
Alice reminds her of, well, herself, someone who would much rather bring a bunch of textbooks to a lake trip than a bathing suit, even if everyone else is going to be swimming and definitely not studying.
So she might be rendered a little incredulous by the offer, if only because it's exactly the kind of thing she hoped. ] That'd be — that'd be great of you, thanks. It's really just art history stuff, so... a lot of dates. Lot of memorization. Hence the need for coffee.
no subject
I know that feeling. [ Those first-year classes at Brakebills are brutal. Hand forms get as specific as requiring change according to the phase of the moon. She gets it. ] Okay, well, I don't have anything I have to do right now, so if you want to study after you get your coffee, I'm free.
no subject
Okay, perfect, 'cause I made up these flash cards to test myself — dates have always been a little tough for me to rattle off the top of my head, so I figure if you and I could —
[ She's just going to quit while she's ahead in the explaining of it, because she gets the feeling Alice probably doesn't need it fully spelled out to understand what she's getting at, and clamps her mouth shut with a firm nod, stepping up to the counter and musing quietly for a second before jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. ] Uh, I'll have what she's having, but with an extra shot?
no subject
In the meantime, she should make conversation. This is not one of Alice's strong suits, but she likes the idea of not being just that nerd who will study anything given the chance. Also, you know, it's just nice being around someone who doesn't know how badly you've fucked up. Do here she goes. ]
What's going on besides finals?
no subject
It takes Dana getting her coffee to realize that she hasn't actually answered Alice's question, but her first instinct is to go for a sip of her drink before she realizes it might be a little too hot for that right away; slowly, she brings the cup back down between her hands and tries to force a believable look on her face. ]
Honestly? Not much besides. [ You're such a liar, Polk.. ] I keep thinking how weird it's going to be when that's all done and there's just... nowhere to go for winter break other than here, you know?
no subject
And what a place to spend your break. [ Alice wrinkles her nose. ] I got caught in a blood wave.
[ It was... not fun. ]
Assuming staying indoors is safe, at least you'll be able to sleep pretty well. Or read. That's actually my ideal vacation.
[ There's a moment where Alice realize she's just admitted to something that she got teased for in grade school and hated for in Brakebills, but it passes quickly. She is who she is, and that's one of her better traits, that eagerness to learn. ]
no subject
The wolf wouldn't be bothered by blood necessarily; if anything, it might be attracted to it more. But she knows how she's supposed to feel, so she hopes it just comes out convincingly enough. ]
You're telling me. The last trip I went on before waking up here, my friends kept trying to tell me there was no point in taking a bunch of books with me. Uh, duh. What better place is there to catch up on your reading than a quiet cabin on the lake? [ Never mind the fact that it had been anything but a quiet, relaxing vacation, but her point still stands. Jules may not have ever fully understood Dana's bookish tendencies, but to her friend's credit, she'd never completely begrudged her for them. ]
no subject
That sounds perfect. [ Then again, she also thought working for the library for one billion years sounded perfect, even if most of those years would be spent in the Underworld branch.
So maybe Alice is a little too nerdy to be unbiased. ] Ready to head out?
no subject
She nurses a sip of her coffee and then glances over with a slowly widening grin. ] Ready as I'll ever be.
no subject