[Atoli01]

Three books tucked neatly in her arms, Mara trudged through the street's busy crowd. Maybe Alain had the power to set her up on some pointless date, but Mara made darn sure that he had no power in stopping her from paying a visit to the local bookstore first. The girl knew her brother would have her head if she made it late to the date, so Mara kept careful watch of the time and left more than enough wiggle room for herself to ensure that she did not arrive late at the intended meeting place.

Coffee, hm...? It wasn't such a bad idea; she had to give Alain credit for at least that. (Rather, maybe Nellie? She could recall the fact that her younger sister had a hand in things as well.) Mara could only imagine the shock that would spread across her butler's face when he would enter her room to wake her up and find on a mass of cold sheets. Her siblings pulled her out of the house before Hal even had a chance to greet her that morning, and although they promised they'd let the man know, she knew they'd have their fair share of fun and mess with the poor boy first. She almost felt bad for her childhood friend. Almost.

That being said, she found herself at the door of the coffee shop before long. Alain and Nellie had set her up on dates before, but the last one was months ago, and just a tad less than... pleasing. A chill ran down her spine as one bad scenario after another filled her mind. But, as she was still ten minutes early, she figured there'd be no harm in going inside and finding seats for the two of them. Mara gently nudged open the door to the small coffee shop and relished in the sweet scent that invaded her senses.

Maybe a seat by the window... That seemed nice enough. Whoever said that Mara had no flair for romance was wrong. If only a little.

[Middy]

Treble had taken a seat away from as many people as he could, blankly staring out the window. The man was full of regret and anger over a deal that fell through with another engineering company. He knew his funding was dropping, and most of that was the fault of his rival back in Medicai. Abel had gotten the upper hand on him back there, and ultimately ran him out of the city. What else could he have done? Sure moving was a chore, and setting up his lab was a hassle, but it was better than being bankrupt from a corrupt businessman.

He stared down into his coffee mug with sleepy eyes. It seemed like his life revolved around this bitter drink, it kept him awake, focused, and able to work throughout the night. His life also revolved around his work, the very thing that costed him his hearing, but at the same time, gave him a way to hear through artificial means. It was ironic really.

There had to be a way to get Abel back, that snake was just going to ruin someone else if he didn't do something-- then again he had to do something to destroy him that didn't involve violence or confrontation. The problem was figuring out the means of doing that. Treble heaved an annoyed sigh and picked up the newspaper, something to take his mind of this. At least it was something.

[Atoli01]

"He won't be able to make it, Mara! Sorry. Why don't you come home? Hal is having a fit."

And that made one read voicemail. Mara could faintly hear the giggles of her siblings in the background of the recording. She flicked off her phone with a sigh. Just when she was about to call her brother to ask, too. Had she seen the call earlier, she could have taken her time at the bookstore and made an afternoon of that. That was, she figured, what had gotten her into this mess; whenever her face found itself in a book, there wasn't a thing in the world that could shake her concentration. Quickly though, she corrected herself. The situation wasn't all bad. She was at a coffee shop. She was thirsty. She was tired from the night before.

So Mara waited her turn in line and came out with a steaming hot caramel macchiato and a lukewarm butter croissant. She scanned the shop for an empty seat, but it seemed that all the ones now had been filled, a fact which the girl inwardly grumbled at. Buddying up to someone wasn't a thing she particularly wanted to do, though it seemed she had little choice in the matter, lest she wanted to be kicked out into the hot summer heat. Once more, she scanned the shop and set her sights on the least populated table. It was the spot by the window which she had been eyeing previously, now partially occupied by a rather dreary young man. It was better than nothing. "Do you... er... mind if I sit here?" she asked him, averting her eyes. Talking to people wasn't the girl's forte.

[Middy]

Damn, every plan he had come up with to overthrow Abel always had some flaw or some way he could just screw him over right back. He took another sip of his coffee, the strong bitter taste offering some comfort to him. He usually took his coffee with cream, but today he really needed something strong to keep his focus. Espresso.

Treble hadn't even noticed the woman approaching him until she spoke up asking if she could share the table. He was taken aback, usually people let him be or thought he was too odd. Given his appearance, with his steel colored hair shaved into a buzzcut, and the dark circles under his eyes that definitely showed he didn't sleep much, if at all.

He took another sip of his espresso and smiled at her, "Sure, I wouldn't mind. Maybe you can take my mind off things with some small talk," he wasn't too great at conversation, especially when his mind was focused on something else entirely. Of course, if someone brought up something he was interested in, then he could talk for hours.

[Atoli01]

The apparent change in the man's demeanor shocked Mara. Still, her own face softened into a smile. "Thank you very much. It's a little crowded in here today, isn't it?" Small talk, huh? She pulled out the chair opposite to him and took a seat, removing her hat and setting it down on her lap. "As for small talk..." Something she wasn't very skilled at. She looked the man up and down, trying to search for a hint of a subject that may interest him. Mara wasn't a generally sociable person. The only time she particularly conversed with another individual outside of her family members was when she had business to conduct.

"Well... what's your name? I guess that's a good place to start." Mara stared into her own cup of coffee, as the man had been doing only moments prior, in an effort to avoid eye contact with the stranger. "You can call me Mara."

[Middy]

He could tell Mara was a bit shy, but hopefully they could spark some kind of conversation while they were here. "Well, everyone just calls me Treble these days, I suppose its fitting since I'm a sound engineer and all. My work is devoted to anything related to sound, kind of an obsession of mine I guess you could say," now that that was out of the way, maybe she could add something to that. Maybe tell what she does for a living maybe.

Treble leaned back in the chair for a moment, gazing at the ceiling. Part of him was already guessing that this meeting would be short, and that they would just have their coffee and go their own ways. Then again, another part of him wished that they could have an in-depth conversation about something to give his mind a rest about prior complications... unless said issues came up in the conversation. Heck if it did, maybe she could offer some insight on it, or think of something he hasn't yet.

[Atoli01]

Sound engineer? Mara wasn't quite sure what she expected from the man, though she she was surprised either way. Most of the folks she knew were just greedy politicians or doctors. "It's nice to meet you then, Treble," she replied, lifting her eyes from her coffee cup to look at Treble. "Admittedly, I don't know much about sound production and the like, but my parents raised me playing the violin. I've picked up piano over the years as well. Although it's... more of a hobby than anything."

She wondered how much her words related to his career, if they would mean anything to him. She was searching for some tie with the stranger to make things flow more smoothly, and she didn't quite think that "unemployed" would do the trick. Instruments produced sound though, right? The connection was relevant. She thought.

[Middy]

"Sound itself can be both a fascinating and mysterious thing, and also something that can be taken for granted. I don't think many people realize how important it is until they lose it," he said, tapping the slim headphones he wore. Without those, he wouldn't hear a thing... the most tragic thing he could think of for his career.

What made him relax more around Mara was her talent and interest in instruments. "You know, playing an instrument is something I can't do, but I do enjoy the sounds and music they can create," he resumed a normal position in his seat, feeling better about talking now that it was on a subject he could relate to. "Actually, I don't think I could ever work without listening to something. Music of all kinds is so soothing, and helps me focus."

[Atoli01]

"Lose...?" Treble's words intrigued her. "Is your hearing bad?" Assuming the headphones had something to do with his words, she leaned forward just the slightest bit to earn herself a better look. She didn't even take note of them before he pointed them out. She supposed they could easily be written off as "normal" headphones, but she was able to see and able to tell from his words that they were not.

Mara slid the croissant out from it's bag and nibbled on the buttery pastry as Treble spoke. "Why don't you learn how to play an instrument then? Though I suppose it wouldn't help your work much if you had to play all your own music." She put the croissant down and traded it for a sip of her coffee, which she now felt had sufficiently cooled. Instruments weren't hard to play, they only took practice. That sort of dedication wasn't for everyone though, she supposed.

[Middy]

Treble stared down into his drink, recalling the tragic accident that cost him his hearing. The engineer went silent for a moment before a replying with a hushed, "Yes," he paused before continuing, "I lost my hearing in a... well kind of a work related accident. So, I constructed these special headphones to let me hear again."

He would rather move the conversation away from that, so continued quickly with her remark about learning to play an instrument instead. The thought might have crossed his mind on more than one occasion, but those thoughts were always so quickly dashed away. "Actually, I had thought about it. It would be more of a hobby, a way to relax. In fact, it could help me understand some new things about sound, and how shapes or materials contribute to sound."

[Atoli01]

This... "accident" of Treble's piqued her interested, though she dared not ask further about the matter. She could tell, she thought, that it was a touchy subject for the man, taking into account the vague manner in which he spoke of the event, and the atmosphere which surrounded him as he did. Such a thing wasn't something of her concern, anyway. She didn't know the man enough to earn any more detailed a story from him. She was intending to ask about the mechanics of his headphones when he shifted the subject of conversation.

She was going to kick herself for what she was about to say, for extending the offer to some man she met at a coffee shop, she knew, but-- "You know, if you really wanted, I could try teaching you. Piano or violin. I'm far from a professional, but I guess I'm okay," she told him, giggling nervously. He'd probably think she was weird or something. Definitely.