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Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby crow » 02/15/2017 9:52 AM

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A dour-faced man walked into a cafe.

For a moment, he just stood there, watching the hustle and bustle of the patrons and the staff. No one seemed to notice him, even as the baristas offered cursory pleasantries to the other patrons who walked in. It was only when he took off the hat he was wearing that someone asked what he would like, for which he had no reply.

The girl behind the counter persevered with her best customer service smile. "What are you in the mood for today? I could make some recommendations." When she still received no response, she said, "It's strawberry season, and our new line of strawberry drinks are all the rage."

"I will have this one," said the man, indicating a frothy little pink number on the poster beside the counter. The girl rattled out a price, took his cash, and gave him back the change.

"We'll bring it to you when it's ready," she said, and that was that. The man made his way to a windowside table for two, and stared at the chair opposite him.

What... What in the nine hells was he doing here?

On paper, of course, he was here on a 'blind date'. This was what his colleague told him when they'd informed him about the engagement, which he had apparently been signed up for without his consent. He didn't look at all like he was here for a date. As far as his clothes were concerned, he was much more suited to a funeral. Which was sort of the point.

He was a reaper. Reapers didn't go on blind dates. He didn't even understand why reapers had to have physical bodies, and go through the motions as if they were still alive. But his colleague had insisted, and so here he was.
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chammomile

Postby ToxicShadow » 02/15/2017 3:09 PM

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Chamomile wasn't so much looking forward to the date portion of the blind date. That is, she wasn't exactly looking for romance. Who could possibly fall in love with someone like her? She'd signed up for it simply for the company. For once, it would be nice not to sit alone. She didn't have connections with anyone in this world, or the next, she was alone, but that incredibly lonely sometimes. Even her cheerfulness could waver without any significant interaction with anyone.

The woman strolled into the familiar cafe with a faint smile on her face. She was dressed up a little nicer than usual, wearing a cute, vintage lace dress in a pale shade of pink, and cute matching heels. Her ash blonde hair, which was more gray than blonde, was worn up with a ribbon.

She was greeted by the staff as if they knew her. They did, of course. Chamomile was a regular here. Greeting them back, she made her way to the counter and placed an order for something called "passion fruit tea," and two pink chocolate cake pops that were decorated with heart shaped sprinkles for the holiday.

It was only after the gal behind the counter handed the two treats over to her, and Chamomile accepted them, that she turned to look around at the guests of the cafe. Not even a name was given for the person she was supposed to meet, all she had was a vague description of them. Her eyes were drawn to a man that looked terribly out of place, someone she'd never seen before, and decided he was probably that person.

She approached the man that probably should been out for a funeral instead of on a date, moving into his line of sight, and offered her greeting. "Hello. Are you here for a blind date?"
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chammomile

Postby crow » 02/15/2017 9:31 PM

The reaper sat there staring at the seat opposite him without so much as looking up until he found himself addressed by someone else. He had little interest in the other patrons; none were slated to die, and strictly speaking he wasn't really on duty right now, though that line of thought begged the question of whether reapers could ever be off duty. The intensity of his focus might have been unnerving if it had gone on any longer. Fortunately he wasn't left sitting and staring for long.

Before even his drink arrived, a girl did. He hadn't registered her entering, but as soon as she approached, his eyes snapped to her. It was only natural. He would know a ghost anywhere.

"I'm sorry, I don't have the paperwork for you at the moment," he replied in a detached voice, as if reciting an oft-used line. "If you will give me a moment, I will fill out the proper forms." She must be here to pass on, of course. How she had gotten lost in the system... But then, it did happen occasionally, and she had managed to find him, so it was fine.
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby ToxicShadow » 02/15/2017 10:12 PM

When the man started going on about paperwork, her smile began to fade and was replaced with a moment of confusion. "Ah, no, wait." She stuck out her free hand, signaling him to stop. "I don't know what you're going on about, but blind dates don't require paperwork. I mean, not now. That part already happened."

Before anything else was said and done, Chamomile casually slipped into the available chair, sweeping her dress neatly beneath her as she did. "Unless I'm guessing wrong? You don't look like the sort of person that normally comes here, so I figured... you must be the person I'm meeting for a date, right? My name is Chamomile." Well, not really, but it was the name she had given herself. She didn't exactly have any memories from before she died, so she had to make things up as needed to begin to fill up the vacancies.
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby crow » 02/16/2017 12:03 AM

There was a slight pause as the reaper took in her words. "Blind date," he echoed, a slight frown creasing the space between his brows. At length, he said, "Yes, I am here because of a prior arrangement to that effect, but... Are you not deceased?" Could he have been wrong about her? ... No, he knew his job. She was a ghost. But what would a ghost be doing on a blind date, of all things?

"... Are you not aware of your current state? Or perhaps you are not familiar with my kind," he said, still frowning. If she wasn't aware, that would make things a little more difficult, but this sort of thing could always be explained. It would be more troubling if she was trying to avoid passing on, of course.
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby ToxicShadow » 02/16/2017 12:22 AM

Never having once met a reaper before, Chamomile was entirely uninformed. She had been simply living her life... wait, no... her... not-life as normally as she possibly could. Wait. How long had it even been since she died? Her sense of time wasn't so great, not in the long run, so she wasn't really sure. Day by day was fine. She could remember the last few weeks as separate things, but beyond that, her perception of time was me

Hearing his question made her a bit uncomfortable. No one had ever noticed that she wasn't alive when she chose to be completely tangible. "I am," she admitted. Since he was already aware of it, what was the point of denying it. "Regardless, I'm still here for a date. Sitting alone isn't fun all the time, you know."

He was frowning, but he wasn't screaming and running for the hills, so there was that. So, she took one of the cake pops from her other hand, so she had one in each now, and held one out to him. "Here, try it. It's delicious!"
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby crow » 02/16/2017 2:03 AM

The girl--- Chamomile, she'd said--- her nonchalance struck the reaper as very odd. Most ghost had a more averse reaction to dying. He wondered how long she had been dead, that she could remain so composed in the face of his words. She looked a bit put out, but nothing more.

What she hadn't commented on was what he was, so he had to assume she didn't know. Shaking his head, he said, "I am a reaper--- one of us should have been sent to you when you died. I don't know why this wasn't the case, but we can rectify it now. If you will just give me a moment to sort out the paperwork, we can arrange for you to pass on." Already he was taking a sheaf of forms from a pocket on the inside of his long black coat, and uncapping a pen with which to fill them out.
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby ToxicShadow » 02/16/2017 3:57 AM

Oh, so he was a reaper. She'd read about them, at least once, but they had been more or less written off as legends. Never once had she met one, as far as she could remember. Of course, she should have considered their existence a very real possibility since, here she was, a ghost. Chances were, she may have not truly believed in ghosts before she died.

"No." This time, her voice was firm, and Chamomile sounded impatient with him. Not yet annoyed, but getting close. "I don't mean to be rude, but are you daft? I just told you, I'm not here to move on. I am here for a date." She found herself shaking the cake pop at him as she spoke. "That's it. Nothing else. I don't need your reaper services."
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby crow » 02/16/2017 9:15 AM

Daft. That was a word he hadn't been called before. He'd met unwilling ghosts before, to be sure, and sometimes the language they used was rather stronger, but he'd never been called 'daft', specifically.

Then again, given that this wasn't his office, he most likely didn't have the air of intimidation that his position usually inspired. Perhaps he was getting out of touch. This was food for thought. But it was also true that on those other occasions, the proper paperwork had already been filled out. In many ways he was merely a middleman. And it wasn't his job, specifically, to deal with unruly ghosts.

"... Very well," he said. "I am obliged to tell you that I will have to pass on your location to my colleagues, but in the meantime, I suppose there is nothing that can be done if you are unwilling." Straightening, he eyed her cake pops with a deeply perplexed expression. "What does one do on a blind date? I am afraid I am not familiar with the conventions."
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby ToxicShadow » 02/16/2017 2:16 PM

The ghost woman sighed in relief, as the reaper seemingly gave up on personally sending her along. Admittedly, Chamomile had no idea what was true about the afterlife, in its so many versions that supposedly existed, and she had no idea if she had been particularly religious when she was alive. What would apply to her? Or was there no real afterlife, after all? Apparently, just roaming around as a ghost after death wasn't the acceptable norm, but that would explain why she hadn't knowingly encountered any other ghosts.

"I was planning on moving soon, anyway," she told him first. Although, doing that might not have been a good idea. If other reapers were going to try to find her, they'd know she had every intention of running off. "I have things to do, you know. Doesn't matter if I'm dead or not. I just... need to figure out why I stayed this way in the first place." Wasn't there something about ghosts and spirits lingering in the living world because of unfinished business? But she really had no clue if that was true, or if it applied to her.

But she cleared her throat. "Never mind that, though." Instead, she'd focus on this whole date thing, especially since he asked what to do. "Take this and eat it," she told him, nodding to the cake pop  that she held out in her hand for him. At the same time, she took a bite of the one she held onto for herself, seeming pleased with the sweet taste.
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby crow » 02/16/2017 10:34 PM

What she'd said about unfinished business didn't bode well for her next encounter with a reaper, but he had already decided to leave that for those whose role it was to resolve those conflicts. While he wasn't unsympathetic to the plight of ghosts with lingering attachments, there was also only so much he could do for them. What continued to baffle him was the cake pop. He carefully took the one she offered, turning it this way and that before following her lead and taking a bite. "It is sweet," he said, as if announcing a discovery. Clearly he had never had one before. "What is this? Is it always customary to eat these on blind dates?"

Just as he said that, the barista bustled over, tray in hand. "Sorry about the wait! It looked like you two were having a moment, and I didn't want to interrupt. Here's your drink!" The contents of glass she plopped down in front of the reaper was even pinker and frothing than they had been in the photo, garnished with a mountain of whipped cream and little fresh strawberry slices cut into heart shapes
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby ToxicShadow » 02/16/2017 11:27 PM

Well, it seemed like he was able to put things aside, for now. Chamomile couldn't help but to chuckle at his reaction. "Yeah, they sell a lot of sweets here." It would be a shame to have to leave; she'd become really fond of the place. She'd probably miss it when she moved but, hopefully, there would be another nice cafe where she settled down next.

"It's not customary to eat anything in particular on dates, but a lot of girls like dates where they get to eat some sort of sweet thing or another. Ice cream, cupcakes, smoothies, I guess everyone has their own tastes. Unless they're on a super healthy diet kick, anyway." Chamomile learned a lot from observation. "Cake pops... I guess people would call them trendy. They're sort of new, so they're popular."

She showed obvious surprise when the frilly strawberry drink was set before the reaper, she would have pegged him for a coffee drinker, but she immediately turned to the barista and smiled when she placed her tea down in front of her. It was awfully red, unlike most tea. They gave her an actual tea cup and a small tea pot to refill her cup as she pleased. It was one of the nice things about this cafe, since it wasn't a big chain joint that threw all their drinks into to-go cups. They knew Chamomile, and that she'd sit and drink slowly. "Thank you. I'm sorry for the trouble," she told them, before they took their leave. If they intentionally were waiting because of their chat, then she felt bad.
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby crow » 02/17/2017 3:37 AM

"Oh, don't worry about it," the barista said breezily. "It's a date, right? It's that time of year." She grinned and winked at the two of them. "I'll leave you lovebirds be. Have a good time~ Or, y'know, don't sue us if it goes south." Her smile made it obvious that the last comment was a joke.

The reaper was surprised by the appearance of his drink too, but his brand of surprise registered only dully on his features. One might be forgiven for wondering whether he had some kind of facial paralysis condition. He had seen the photo, of course, so really he had no right to be shocked, but in the picture it hadn't been quite so... large. And the pink hadn't been quite so intense, nor the froth quite so voluminous. Rather than lending him an air of intimidation, the idea of consuming it in its entirety was beginning to intimidate him.

However, her comment about dates and sweets offered him some comfort. "If it is customary to eat sweets on dates, then I presume sweet drinks also qualify?" It would be nice if he was following those conventions, at least. Then his order would have served some purpose beyond mildly horrifying himself. "Would you care to try it?" He wasn't offering before he had tried it because he was afraid to try it himself. That would be absurd. He was simply aware that among humans--- and quite possibly mortal ghosts--- there was a certain stigma against consuming food that had already been touched by someone else. And if he was 'someone else' enough to qualify for a date, he had to assume he was 'someone else' enough to fall under this stigma as well.
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby ToxicShadow » 02/17/2017 9:44 PM

Chamomile had thanked the barista once again before she took her leave, and had already turned to her own drink when the reaper began to ask more questions. She'd been lifting the tea cup off of the saucer it was delivered with, but lowered it back down, in order to speak instead of drink. "Sweet drinks are acceptable, too, yes," she said, definitely sounding amused by his question. From what she could tell, he seemed to believe there were very specific rules about dating, but that certainly was not the case. "But, I mean, there aren't any real rules or anything," she informed him. "You can eat and drink whatever you want."

When he offered to let her try his drink, she placed the tea cup back down entirely and grinned. "Sure, what's the worst it could do, kill me?" she accepted. Not having to worry bacteria, illnesses, and such was one of the wonderful things about already being dead. She could take all the risks she wanted; not that trying a drink was exactly dangerous, but still. Even if he'd tried it first, she would have accepted the offer. .... Did either of them even carry bacteria? Were reapers more alive than she was, or were they like her?
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Re: Blind Date: ??? x Chamomile

Postby crow » 02/19/2017 3:05 AM

"Ghosts cannot be killed, but there are ways to unwrite them from existence," said the reaper gravely. It didn't seem to occur to him at all that this wasn't the type of comment one ought to be making on a date, or to a ghost, or during casual conversation in a cafe. "But I do not believe that is the purpose of this drink." He could have been wrong, of course. His experience with cafes and their offerings were limited. However, as far as he knew, unless they advertised as such, they generally had no dealings with the supernatural.

Back to the matter at hand, he was privately relieved that he could eat as he wished. He didn't hate sweet things on principle, but too many sweets caused him the same bodily discomfort suffered by living humans. "What else does one do on dates? I was given to believe it was not merely an occasion for eating," he said, with the kind of gravity that suggested he was doing important research on the matter.
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