The Perk, Sunday Morning

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

An early morning walk had done wonders when it came to pulling him out of too much thinking. Simon had to admit that this was a big advantage to living on a planet and not on a ship. And the island was beautiful; he had stopped on the beach and watched the waves roll in and wandered around in the preserve losing all sense of direction.

He had got hungry though, and stopping by the Perk he had ordered a large cup of tea and a blueberry pie. This did nothing to end his good mood.

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[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie still had no idea what she thought of Loki. His comments about her being afraid to leave the Gig, however, had stung.

That would be why she made her way through town this morning. She wasn't alone; there was a tiny sparrow sitting on her shoulder, nestled close under her ear. A tour guide, if you will.

It was the sparrow's idea to go into the Perk. It was Rosie's to order something called coffee, and she smiled at the man already there as she took a seat near him. Hopefully, Loki's way of expressing himself wasn't the norm.

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

Simon looked up, noticing the newcomer, and gave a nod in her direction. "Good morning," he said. He didn't have to, of course, but his good mood seemed to make him more sociable.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"Good morning," she replied, relaxing a little. "I'm Rosie, new to the island." Newish, anyway.

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

"So am I," Simon replied. "I just finished my first exploration of the island." He smiled a little. "My name is Simon Tam."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"Nice to meet you." She smiled again. "I haven't done that yet," she admitted, and sniffed her coffee - her black coffee - curiously before taking a sip.

And immediately wrinkling her nose up in disgust. "People drink this?" If she'd been outside and alone, she'd have spit it out.

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

Simon gave her a surprised look. "Yes, but I believe it's an acquired taste. I prefer tea, myself." He paused. "Although coffee contains more caffeine, which I believe is the reason why it has become more popular."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"I'm not sure it's a taste I want to acquire." Rosie pushed it aside, then looked up in surprise when the girl came out from behind the counter and set a jug of cream and several sugars in front of her.

She eyed them, then the cup doubtfully, then looked up at Simon. "What do you think? Should I risk it?"

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

"I believe milk and sugar might make the taste less... harsh on your tastebuds." He sipped his tea. "The cake is better though," he added.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"It couldn't be worse," she muttered under her breath, then doused the coffee liberally with cream and three sugars, stirring it carefully.

A tentative sip, and she smiled. "Oh, now, that's nice," she said. "You give good advice." Another sip, another smile. "What sort of cake should I try?" There seemed to be several to choose from in the case at the counter.

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

He chuckled. "I'm not sure either coffee or cake should be what a doctor recommends, but I've tried the blueberry pie and the apple cake, and both are quite good."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

She took another sip, amazed at how something that had started off so horrible had become so nice. "Cake, I think," she decided, and got up to order some.

"You're a doctor?" she asked curiously as she sat back down. "I've never met a doctor before."

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

He blinked. "You haven't?" Her home planet might be very primitive, of course. "I came here to look for my sister," he added. "But now I work in the clinic on Thursday. I have to keep busy somehow."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"Your sister is missing?" She straightened, cake and coffee and doctors momentarily forgotten. "I'm sorry." Family was important. "Do you know where she was seen last? I might be able to help."

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

"She was kidnapped and taken to another universe." He stared down into his teacup. "I have to find a way there, but right now it seems..." Impossible.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"Oh," she said softly. "I can't help with that." She wrapped her hands around her cup, looking down into the coffee, unsure what to say.

The sparrow nestled behind her ear chirped once, demandingly, and pecked her shoulder. Share the cake, she said. Greedy.

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

He blinked, suddenly noticing the bird. "That's a... pet?" he asked.

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

Rosie shook her head and held out a hand for the sparrow. She hopped onto her finger, and Rosie lowered her to a napkin and broke off a piece of cake, setting it on the napkin.

Not too much, or you won't be able to fly. "Not a pet," she said with an uncertain smile. "Say rather a guide. The sparrows have taken an interest in me." Which she would blame on Kat's sparrows, except even they couldn't communicate between worlds.

She didn't think.

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

"Oh." Simon wasn't sure exactly what she meant by that. "They do that a lot? Take an interest in people?" There was a hint of a joke in his question, as he wasn't sure whether she had been serious.

"And thank you for wanting to help, but it seems like no one here can help me find River."

[waytoomanynames.livejournal.com]

"Some do." She glanced up from the sparrow. "I can talk to animals," she said, "which is why I thought I might help."

Before Loki, it hadn't crossed her mind that someone might not believe her. Mulishly, she'd decided that she didn't really care if she wasn't believed.

[fancypantsdoc.livejournal.com]

"You do?" Simon's first reaction was that she was suffering from delusions but he reminded himself that things worked differently here, or where Rosie was from. "Is that common where you are from?"

She seemed sane enough.