2227/A Perfectly Normal Date

A Perfectly Normal Date
Date of Scene:	29 August 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Karrin Murphy, Harry Dresden, Kaelyn Silverleaf, Ahadiel

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Karrin Murphy has posed:
Finally, after a month and change of being out, Karrin has been cleared to go back to work. It wasn't easy and the precinct's shrink is still giving her the side eye, no big realizations, blow ups, or anything really having happened in the meantime, but they can't find a reason to keep her off. So, it was decided they might go out and do something 'nice' in celebration. No too-fancy restaurants -- neither of them has money for it, but a nice cafe` and some clothes which aren't just jeans.

It's still summery enough that Karrin has actually bothered to put on a light blue sun dress, something that shockingly matches her eyes. Still no make up, her hair still shortly bobbed, and the skirt is big enough she could *easily* fight in it, but she's bothered with a dress. She's a bit better rested than she's been in weeks, having spent at least half her nights at Harry's place, so, over all things are looking good. "...This place looks small and quiet enough. No one should bother us here."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Folowing behind Murphy and slightly to the right, Harry just can't help but stare at Murphy's back. "Are you sure you are ok, Murph? I mean you put on a dress. Willingly. Without any reason other than to just put on a dress. This is cause for alarm in and of itself, but then you went and put on heals?! If I didn't know better, i'd swear you were taken over by aliens."

The tall wizard looks over at the cafe and shrugs a shoulder, "Here is as good a place as any. Not sure why we had to come all the way over to Sunnydale...but there is a magic shop in the area I might as well stop by while I am here to pick up more supplies. That whole demon thing knocked out my supply of...that stuff I shouldn't talk about publicly."

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
The Enchanted Grounds, Coffee shop, Occult and New Age store is one interesting place. The front quarter of this amazingly deep shop is dominated by a checkout counter, and well a coffee shop and reading lounge too? There is a full service coffee shop opposite the checkout counter, this more of a kyosk style rather than just a coffee bar set against the wall, as a big chunk of the counter swings out into the floor. The wall behind the counter is dominated with shelf after shelf of cofee tea, a soda fountain. There's even an ice cream freezer. Lets not forget the back side of the counter has a few sandwitch grills and a couple fat friers. Seem this place is also a bit of a cafe. There's also a baked goods display, and some refrigerated cases that have cheese and nut mixtures, cold sandwitches, fruit trays. And to the left of that? A quartet cauldron looking pots that probably have the soups of the day.

There are plenty of small tables, a couple larger round tables, and couch areas kind of scattered throughout the shop as a whole, and row after row of shelves.. Some of these along the walls many form isles, the whole place is layed out like some kind of fun labrynth of gizmos, goodies, magical supplies, and many many books. Some are new age, some are sci-fi and fantasy related books. The gigantic turntable shelf in the back has reprints of rare antique books. Half of that turtable shelf sits in the wall of the building, evidently they load the thing from the back. There are also plenty of touchscreen tablets near displays showing some of the more expensive books, as well as a quartet of computers, and 2 more tablets that list the antique books the store currently has in stock. Evidently they don't leave those really pricy books and items out front where anyone can handle them. Two sometimes three helper scan be seen moving about the place. You have Wendy, a blond girl choosing to wear a kind of witches getup behind the cofee counter.. Tanya who likes to tend the register and help customers find things. She's dressed like some kind of sorceress, and Tina, Tanya's Twin who well, she's dressed the same way and acts like a go between from Tanya to Wendy.

All in all the store is a unique blend of different idealogies that someone has found a way to fit together into a nice large-ish botique and coffee cafe. There is another thing in the area that might grab folks attention though, in the far back there's a large ornate iron and heavy wood door with the words "Employees only" written in fine script across the door its self. The other neat feature of the building are the front windows, these being made of stained glass instead of clear glass panes... The designes of the stained glass resemble occult symbols, as do the bars in front of the stained glass.

Sitting in one of the lounge chairs is Kaelyn, the tall, curvy redhead is enjoying reading a book looking to be modeled after an egyptian papyrus text, all the way down to the metal infused papyrus pages, and the brass covers... She casually flips one of the thick pages aside and her fingr runs down a line of cuniform, the girl reading it silently to her self. Meanwhile Wendy and Tina, a blond girl in what appears to be a witche's costume, and an auburn-headed girl in a similar outfit are behind the coffee bar, one is getting soups ready, the other is setting out the stoneware for said foods between making sandwitches. Tanya, A black-haired girl in a witches outfit is behind the regular checkout station. Kae peers at the three girls now, and tilts her head.. "Ummmm... Ya know I never set any rules about outfits right?" All three girls spout out. "Oh we know, but because you didn't we can wear these!"

Ahadiel has posed:
Meanwhile, sitting at a table by the window is a former client. A rather short term and easy enough job, but on the bright side, she paid well for it. And in advance!

Currently Angela reads through a copy of the Daily Bugle, her pen occasionally scritching on the rough surface of the paper as she seems to be deeply involved with the crossword. She hasn't looked up to see the couple enter yet, as she occasionally takes a sip from the espresso at her table. To Kaelyn, Angela might look familiar from the Night of A Million Yakuza Ninjas as well.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"I'm *fine*. This is what you DO on normal dates, right? Dress up? And I can still kick someone's ass in high heels. But, I figured we'd come over here to Sunnyvale to significantly reduce the chance of either of us NEEDING to kick someone's ass. Get out of home town a bit, you know? See the sights. Pretend we're perfectly normal people who are having normal lives. For once." Karrin murmurs with a wry smile across her full, unpainted mouth. She then gives his hand a bit more of a reassuring squeeze.

"...Your supply of... I really shouldn't ask, should I? That's fine, we can stop there after. If we manage through an entire meal just sitting and talking. It'll be your reward for not bringing the universe down around our heads." She winks at him teasingly.

Then they are headed into the cafe and her brows arch, "Or...maybe the occult shop IS the cafe? But they've got computers... Maybe we should take a nice corner booth. A *far* corner..." She smirks, nodding Harry as far from the technology as possible, even as she inhales quite deeply of the sweet scent of the coffee around them and practically shivers at the smell of truly good coffee. "I'll have coffee with a side of coffee."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry snort, a wry little smile forming on the corner of his mouth as he retorts, "If you say so, Murph. But the last time I saw you in a dress, it wasn't my fault the world came crashing down. It wasn't /my/ family reunion. Now what happened after, well...I can't help but take some of the blame for that, but it wasn't my fault."

Hrry glances around the shop, arching a brow at the decor as his eyes travel around and survey the room. "Karrin...you did this on purpose, didn't you. Her, har. Take the wizard to a magic themed place." He rolls his eyes, "I swear, it is a good thing I like you, Ms. Murphy...otherwise I might be offended. But no, the place I am talking about is called the Magic Box. More bookstore supplies, less coffee."

His eyes fall on Angela, brow raising ever so slightly. It isn't totally unusual to see former clientele, but it isn't Harry's place to out her as a past client. He merely give her a nod should she look up, before taking his seat with Karrin, "Make that two...mine with some whipped cream...and sprinkles."

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Wendy blinks at the order, then motions to the board behind them... There's litterally dozens of different types of coffee, ranging from espresso drinks to Turkish and African coffees... The number of possible combinations is endless. There's even a big selection of teas too. Kae was about to stand when Tina, the auburn-headed girl brings Kae an italian sandwitch and a bowl of the itallian wedding soup.. Basically an ittalian version of chicken'n dumplings, though in this case it's gnochi, chicken, kale and plenty of spices... The other soups include French Onion soup, Loaded baked potatoe, and texas chille.

Wendy then speaks up.. "Ma'am? What kind of coffees would you like? You want today's special?" She motions to the special hich happense to be a caramel machiato, and Moroccan spiced coffee, kind of a mildly spicy, chai'd up coffee with a really richly roasted bean... Wendy pauses a moment, then a tthe whipped cream and sprinkles makes up an extra strong pair of cafe mochas, complete with well yah whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. The girl smiles cheerfully as she slides the large mugs forward.

Meanwhile, Kae sets the odd book aside and lifts some tools up to her table and proceeds to tinker with something while she eats, that somethign? Well it appears to be a tiny clockwork Moth of sorts.

Ahadiel has posed:
Angela glances over towards Harry, and gives him a slight smile and nod, apparently not wishing to interrupt his time with the lady in the dress. Chuckling very softly to herself, she scritches out a few more words into the crossword, hming under her breath as she glances around again...

And catches eye of that tiny clockwork moth that Kaelyn is tinkering with. A soft whistle of approval passes her lips as she studies the design, blinking in surprise at the intricacy of the device.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"Oh god. What have I done. Where is a Dunkin Donuts when you need one?" Karrin mutters to herself, not wating to be entirely rude and yell that across the cafe, but the cop who drinks two day stale coffee at the office routinely? She is so far out of her element here. "I want coffee that...tastes like... coffee. And keeps me awake. He can have my whipped cream. I usually wear the pants here anyway." Yes, it's sexist. Yes, she's in a dress. But the quirk of a smile on her lips that comes a moment later shows she's clearly joking.

Karrin's pale eyes then trail across the room, giving Kaelyn a slight look of curiosity for just a heartbeat before her gaze finds the person Harry was actually looking at. Another woman. SHe wasn't exactly jealous, but a thin, blonde brow arches quietly, "...Friend of yours? Should I be worried?" She still has that edge of paranoia to her, paranoia a level deeper than she ever felt before everything. It's mostly under control, but peeks out at a few moments like this.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden gives the server a shrug, "It's true. I'm usually the one in the dress. You'll have to forgive her, she doesn't get out to socialize much." Harry grins at the server then looks to Karrin and gives her a wink. "Just bring her something cold pressed and black, the stronger the better. I don't think she will be all that picky once it gets here."

He follows Karirn's gaze back over to Angela and shakes his head, "Client." is all he says, since he knows Karrin will respect the client-pi privilege. "Did a small job a few weeks ago."

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Wendy blinks, lets Harry take the other Mocha and taps her chin... She looks through the coffees, and selects an Arabic blend, can't get much stronger than that.... She of course brews it up, and presses the stuff out before pouring a very large glass of the drink up and bringing it out to Karrin... The young blonde then smiles and winks "Real eye opener." says the girl, referring to the coffee before she goes back behind the counter.

Meanwhile, Kae is carefully maneuvering a gear that appears to be not much larger than a pin-head in place between the 'moth's' wings. As she gets it in place she pins the tiny gear and smiles a bit as she turns the clockwork Moth over and puts a tiny spring in place. Next the redhead starts putting the outer-shell on the creature in place and when done she sits back and looks at the thing between bites of sandwitch... Kae then reaches into a nearby box, probably the box for the moth and after turning the tiny insect back over, she sets a key into its back and winds the thing up... There's a click and when she pulls the key free, the little clockwork actually begins to move....

Ahadiel has posed:
Angela gives the blonde a friendly smile as well, but her attention is focused more on that little clockwork moth as it starts to move. Shifting her chair a bit so she can get a better view of it, Angela hmmms and watches the contraption with undisguised curiosity, wondering what exactly it's going to do.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
A small nod is given as Harry actually does clarify her order and she doesn't push otherwise. "Thank you..." She murmurs to the girl, hanging over her card for payment, "And...two donuts, the cream filled ones... thanks..." Once she's got coffee and a small tray with donuts in hand, she nods towards the table furthest from the computers, pure habit now to keep Harry away from them. "Ah, client. Good to know. We should work on more of those... then you can get coffee next time." She teases him gently, as she folds down into the table and settles the tray between both of them. The coffee does smell heavenly and, no doubt, the donuts are far more fresh than would be from a drive through place.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden smirks, moving over towards the table. "I'll have you know I have plenty of clients. I have the GCPD, and....the GCPD. OH! I also have the GCPD. Though, I did have a pair of women come by the other day asking about crossroads demons. They seemed...intense. I'm thinking government. I should really call them back soon."

He shrugs a shoulder, "I don't think they were happy when there equipment started frying while they were in my office. One of them looked like her wrists were going to go nuclear and couldn't wait to get the hell out."

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Well while they don't have doughnuts, the girls do have plenty of beignet dough! Wendy drops a few Beingets and sets about making a vanilla creme filling. She then puts that in a pastry bag and as the beingets come out, she stuffs them with the creme. After getting half a dozen done. she brings them out to Karrin and Harry, smiling a bit after putting some powdered sugar on the squares of fried stuffed dough...

Kae's little Moth now begins moving its wings, up and down up and down and yes it goes airborn briefly before Kae catches the thing... "Nope none of that right now." she mutters, and continues holding the tiny clockwork in her hand as the thing moves quite lifelike at this point all the way down to the tremmor one might see in a real world moth. Kae now glances over to Angela curiously and smiles before holding the 2 inch long clockwork insect out to the woman...

Kae then glances to Harry and Karrin now curiously, watching them briefly, before the woman goes to put her book back, now leaving the clockwork moth to walk around on the back of her lounge chair.

Ahadiel has posed:
At the mention of crossroads demons, Angela's attention perks up, and she glances sidelong at Harry before scribbling in her crossword again. She frowns a little to herself at the paper, then sets it aside for the moment, picking up the cup of espresso and finishing the drink off with a contented sigh.

With the offer of the clockwork moth from Kaelyn, Angela smiles cheerfully, the frown fading easily, "She's a beautiful creation. You did this yourself?" She extends a hand towards the moth, letting it climb onto her fingers if it wishes to do so.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The woman's smirk only deepens, "... You're damn lucky some people in the GCPD like you as much as I do, or you'd never be able to afford to feed that dog of yours. But... pair of women? And you *haven't* called them back yet? If...they had something... Weird going on about them, all the MORE reason to actually call them back. If not, well... A job is a job. You can't afford a secretary to remind you of these things, Dresden, and I'm officially back at work tomorrow. So... snap to, my dear." Karrin is mostly teasing him, but there is a weird line of nerves in the back of her voice. SHe's been out too long. Maybe she won't be that fresh, maybe she's slipped.

Well, there are the doughnuts. Or not, really. Karrin blinks down to them, even if the scent is making her stomach growl quite noticably loudly. "...Huuh... these.. aren't... well... I think they could have served me four day old fish and if it smelled like this I'd eat it. This place is definitely more fancy than Gotham..." Karrin nods a thanks to the waitress, certainly not turning the pastries away. Her blue eyes keep a slightly wary watch on the other two women, just because she can feel some interest being reflected in their direction and that pings off all her instincts. Better be safe than sorry.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden shakes his head, "Not funny as in something weird. More like...intense. You know, kind like those feds during the Loupe Garou case, but not so evil and jerky. Just no-nonsense. No sense of humor at all." He shrugs, "And the only reason I haven't called them back yet is because Bob and I are still doing research. I'm half tempted to find myself a crossroad and just summon one into a circle, get some answers that way...but I am trying to be a little less reckless in that department."

He lifts his coffee to his lips and takes a swig of the dark liquid, giving him a little bit of a whipped cream mustache as he lowers the mug as his eyes focus on the little clockwork bug for a moment, an impressed look on his face before he turns back to Karrin, "You will be fine, Karrin. I'm sure Renee will give you any help you need."

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
The Moth, well it's a clockwork moth, yah not dangerous and all, but still it's a bug and happily the little insect climbs into Angela's palm, little green jewel eyes looking out as even it's antenna quiver. Kae can be seen opening the door in the back and walking through, as she does she turns around to close the heavy oak door, when a catsized brass and nickel scaled dragon automata comes flying out of the back and promptly facehugs the redhead... Kae staggers back with now brightly shining brass and nickel wings wrapped around her head.

She stumbles backward and ends up landing on her rump now as the odd creature lets go of her head with said wings and perches on the woman's shoulder... Kae sighs and throws her hands in the air... "Fan, yer encouregeable..." She says as the catsized automata promptly reaches into a side pocket of her backpack and pulls a small amethyst bead out of Kae's pack and well, the thing eats it... Kae then stands and with living clockwork now on her shoulder makes her way back to her seat. She glances to Harry, then Karrin now and smiles "Ummm, forgive me, my hobby is making lifelike, and umm in the case of Fan here living Automata..." She says and sighs before taking a pull on her drink and now she finally finishes her sandwitch... The little dragon, actually has hand formed scales throughout its body, and really no gears are visible at all on the thing, though it appears obvious the 'creature' is made from metal, but the detail on the creature is almost frightening. After Kae sits, 'Fan' Occupies the back rest of her chair, now staring at Harry, Karrin, and Angela in turn.

Ahadiel has posed:
Angela smiles a little at the clockwork moth, then gently sets it down on her table, "Very delightful. That level of detail and skill is most impressive." She rises to her feet, making sure to take her paper as she says, "Summoning a demon is never a wise proposition, Mister Dresden." With that, she flashes Harry a grin, and Karrin a friendly nod as she walks towards the door. At the door she waves to Kaelyn once, before stepping outside to make her way presumably home.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"I...don't need help. Hell, I've been helping you this whole time. Keeping up at the dojo, at the range. Nothing's really... changed. It'll be fine." Karrin states flatly, a bit too defensively -- not everything is quite in place yet, but she's close. She then takes a long, deep drink of her coffee, it on the edge of too hot but she's happy to savor the dark, strong flavor of the coffee in her hands. Her eyes shut for a moment and she actually lets herself almost relax. Almost. "...okay...I guess this place isn't TOO bad for being as fancy and froofy as it is. And no. No going to the cross roads, seriously. You want feds trying to arrest you again?" Her eyes reopen, tossing a slight teasing but more so serious glare in his direction.

Then the woman is apologizing towards them with that strange thing on her shoulder and Karrin turns her head, snapping out of the conversation with her date whom she was about to lecture further. "Hmm? No...no need to forgive. They are... fascinating. If a bit... strange. I cannot imagine having the patience for work that fine. All the more power to you." Karrin admits with a husky laugh.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden glances at Angela as she walks by, giving her back a bit of a questioning look before he turns back to Karrin, "Of course you won't, Karrin. I'm just saying if you did, she would be there for you. You know, just in case. But you won't need it, you totally got this."

He grins, and looks towards to commotion to see the little dragon, eyebrows raising in surprise and a sense of awe. "Did you just say....living? Like, that thing is sentient and alive, living?" He gives Karrin a look before turning his eyes back to the dragon.

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae laughs and nods "Yup, sure is.. " She says and grins a bit.. "Complete accident with em though, I've tried to figure out how to reproduce what happened, but I'm thinking maybe the spell I used snagged a passing spirit or some such.. and well bound the two together, so now we have well a living Automata.." she says and smiles a bit as, now getting a bit of courage, the little cat-sized dragon climbs off its perch and approaches Harry and Karrin curiously, head tilting. The creature doesn't make any hoise, save the very feint sound of internal mechanisms whirring..

Kae grins slightly and adds "I have an Owl too that was animated by the same experimental magics... Those are the only two living automata that I've been able to make... They're quite harmless, less you account for the fact that they are made of metal.. However oddly, they're lighter than they should be, probably something to do with the spell too..." Kae says and oohs as Wendy now brings her a few beingets... "Sorry we don't have traditional doughnuts per say, but the stuffed beignets are really good, and they're very much like a doughnut... just a different shape is all..." She says now to Karrin...

Karrin Murphy has posed:
And, just as Karrin is about to dive in a bit deeper about how that couldn't possibly be living, the phone in her pocket goes off. She blinks, looking down and pulling it out. "...Work... They wouldn't be calling if it wasn't something big. Shit. I... I gotta go. I should take this. I can't flake out just when I'm starting." Then Karrin looks down to her dress as she stands, wincing slightly, "I'm never going to live this down." She leans over and presses a quick kiss to the side of his mouth. "I love you, don't get into too much trouble with mechanical... bugs..."

Then she's looking up to Kaelyn, giving a slight smirk, "He's not a trouble maker normally, don't tempt him." That is such a lie, but Karrin's trying to keep it light, even if there is a fair bit of actual worry in her eyes as the woman is dealing with actual life. "...Harry, just...up date me later. I'll see you at home." She gives them both a quick wave and then is dashing out the door, answering her phone mid process. "Murphy here..."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Karrin Murphy says, "Karrin is finally back on duty, so could be on patrol in gotham. Or hanging out at Harry's... or getting coffee.."