Coffee Talk (evening)

[Kat]

Bones sat down on one of the chairs at a table near the back, leaning his arms on the table.

"So are you going to tell me who's here Friday night or what? I know it's supposed to be a secret, but come on. Who am I gonna tell?" He smiled at his companion, who shook his head and laughed.

"Aren't you supposed to be working right now? Maybe I'll tell you later if you do a good job." Nelson, the coffee shop'a manager, grinned as he watched one of his favourite workers groan and get back up.

"You're a total jerk to work for, you know?" Bones winked and walked back to the counter, shrugging his shoulders as he neared his co-worker, Razzle. "No luck."

"Crap, he really is determined not to tell anyone. Maybe we should start rumours." The two leaned against the counter, chatting about who the mystery performer would be this Friday night.

Bones heard the bell above the door ring as new customers came in, looking over and seeing friends. Rex and Sunny had just come in, walking up to the counter and sitting at two of the stools.

"Hey, how're things? Guess both of you are back at school now huh?" He instinctively started preparing the couple's usual drinks - strawberry Italian soda for Sunny, mocha latte for Rex.

"Yes we are, fun times for sure. My classes are pretty good though, now that I'm second year and actually get to pick the majority of them. I have a Scottish literature class that should be great, my prof has a super thick accent and always breaks off to talk about his childhood."

"That's awesome, Scots are nutjobs. You should have an easy go there." Bones grinned as he placed the drinks on the counter. "What about you?"

"Ah, nothing that exciting unfortunately. Though gym class first thing was ridiculous, Hitler's still teaching and she's as crazy as ever. Chloe was missing from class this morning so she made all of us run five laps to stress the importance of coming to first class. Wasn't so bad for me, but nearly two thirds of the others didn't bother to bring a change of clothes. But she made them run anyway." Sunny grinned and took a sip of her drink.

"That woman made me so glad I'm a guy. She's insane." Bones chuckled and re-filled one of the empty coffee pots, settling back in front of his friends. They continued chatting for a while, taking advantage of business being a little slow at the moment to catch up.

[Cres]

Rowan was feeling sort of guilty, leaving his mother take care of the kids and the settling in - as they were still trying to get the house sorted out after the move - but his mother had been adamant. She wanted her oldest son to go out, meet others of his age, make friends, get acquainted. So he had been driven out of the house, along with his huge dog which his mother said kept being on the way.

So he entered the coffee shop, a little careful but mostly composed. He didn't really know anyone so well yet, well, he had a few names stored up in his mind after Princess's introductions, but he hadn't really got anyone permanently locked yet.

He stopped at the doorway for a moment, looking around.

[Kat]

"So what's the class like, anyway? With Scottish guy? I hate to admit but I totally love a good Scottish accent. Is it a big class? Would he mind if I came and sat in on some lectures?" Bones leaned against the counter, his eyes shifting between Rex, Sunny, and Razzle. She was currently out wiping off some tables and re-filling napkin and sugar dispensers. Making him look like a slacker.

"You know, poor Razz is killing herself and all you can do is stand here, talking about your filthy obsession with Scottish men! Really Bones, you worry me." Sunny grinned and took a sip of her drink, laughing when Razzle yelled out a thank you. Bones, however, simply glowered at her.

"I do not have a filthy obsession with Scottish men! I have a filthy obsession with their accents. I've toyed with making Chop Suey have an accent, actually." Chop Suey was the main character in Bones' comic strip about a pirate monkey, which had earned its own spot in the school newspaper for the two years he'd been drawing it. It had been a hit and he certainly missed charing it with everyone.

Rex snorted. "Oh please, Sunny's right! You are obsessed with the dirty Scots. Admit it."

[Cres]

Rowan couldn't really but help to overhear the discussion. It was fairly quiet in the cafe, after all. He pricked his ears the moment he heard the word "Scottish". His face was first pleased when he heard Bones saying he loved a good Scottish accent. After Sunny's comment his expression grew a lot darker, and while the conversation went on, he walked closer to the three, and at Rex's last comment he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him.

"An' who're ye callin' dirty?" he asked with as strong an accent as ever - if not stronger. Rowan might have had a sense of humour, but when it came to being Scottish, he became touchy. Brúideil had followed its owner, and was now standing close by, his head low and his intimidating form backing up Rowan's threatening posture.

[Kat]

The trio had been so engaged in their conversation they hadn't noticed Rowan enter and were all surprised by his comments. Turning to look behind him Rex's mouth dropped open a little in shock.

"Well, I'll be damned. What are the chances?" He turned to glance back at Bones, obviously amused at the appearance of a Scottish guy.

Bones, however, stared at Rowan with interest. Just looking at him and listening to him speak was like a jolt of inspiration. He quickly walked around to the front of the counter, extending his hand in greeting. "Ignore them, they don't mean you any insult, you or your dog." He looked down at the dog, marvelling at its size. "What kind of dog is that? He's great!"

Sunny had been the only one not amused at Rowan's appearance. As always, she felt bad about her comments. Offending someone was something she absolutely hated to do and now she was kicking herself for not being more thoughtful. Not to mention, with Rowan's intimidating appearance, booming voice, and gigantic dog, she was just a little worried. She looked at Rex, but he was grinning and watching Bones try to make friendly with the angry Scot. So she also watched, her eyes on the dog. She loved dogs, but big dogs, especially ones with an angry master, were not the type of dog she wanted to have around right now.

[Cres]

Rowan eyed them suspiciously, but when Bones came to him, appearing very friendly, he relaxed a little and took his hand willingly. He didn't smile, but nodded. He was still a little suspicious, wondering if they were just trying to pull his leg, but as Bones had earlier been talking well about Scots, he figured he might trust him at least.

"It's its own kind o' dog," he answered. "Shepherd dog mostly." He had to smile. "Part wolf," he added, even if he didn't know it for sure. But Brúideil had enough of wolf look on his face to make it plausible. "'m Rowan," he introduced himself, just to be polite, then nodded at the dog. "That's Brúideil."

Hearing his name and sensing the amused atmosphere from Rex and Bones, Brute sat down, his tongue now lolling out and his tail wagging a little - his eyes were fixed on Bones. He could very well smell that this was some sort of a place where they had food around, and Bones smelled awfully nicely of all sorts of nice stuff. He was hopeful of getting something good.

[Kat]

"I'm Bones, and these two are Rex and Sunny." Bones crouched down near Bruidel, extending a hand to scratch behind the dog's ears.

"I think you've found yourself a new best friend Bones, he can probably just smell the food on you." Rex grinned, watching Bones with the dog. He glanced up at Rowan and slid off his stool, offering his own hand in greeting. "Sorry if the comments before offended you, we were just talking about my crazy professor at school, who just happens to be Scottish. Of course that has nothing to do with his being crazy." He winked at Rowan.

Sunny still sat on her stool, forcing a smile to her lips as Bones introduced her. She still wasn't keen on Rowan or the dog, though, and grabbed her drink off the counter, pulling the straw in between her lips so she could at least have an excuse to keep quiet. Usually she was rather talkative with strangers, but she had been a little spooked by Rowan's initial attitude.

[Cres]

Rowan relaxed as Rex explained himself, and managed even a smile. He shifted his shoulders a little.

"Aye, allright," he said, then a flash of interest came over his eyes. "Which clan's he from, the professor?"

Brúideil stuck his nose into Bones and attempted for his face with his tongue. The dog's tail was wagging and his eyes were hopeful. Rowan had to give a laugh at the dog's enthusiasm.

"Aye, Rex's right, ye know," he said to Bones. "An' if ye'll give 'im som'thin', he'll probably trade masters." He smiled with one corner of his mouth, and then turned to look at Sunny, who still hadn't said anything. His smile was a wee bit shyer, and he didn't say anything. He only now realised there was a lady present, and felt almost embarrassed, and worried that he might have offended her somehow.

[Kat]

"Clan, huh?" Rex grinned, thinking to himself that this kid would get along great with his professor, unless they were sworn enemies, or something. "MacNair is his name. Not a sworn enemy of your family, is he?" Rex grinned.

After finishing with her tables, Razzle came over to the group, promptly wacking Bones on the head. "Damn it, B, would you get to work already and stop playing with the animals?" Offering Rowan a warm smile and an extended hand, Raz asked him if he'd like anything to drink or eat.

Taking the opportunity to extract himself off to the side, Rex sat down next to Sunny, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leaning his head next to hers. "You're being awfully quiet, everything okay?" Though he hadn't made a deal of it yet, Rex had noticed his girlfriend's apprehension, which was so out of place for her.

Sunny shrugged her shoulders, leaning into him. "Just drinking my drink, that's all." She couldn't voice why she felt a little apprehensive, she just did. Knowing that Rex wouldn't drop it until she convinced him she was fine, she placed her drink on the counter behind her and wrapped an arm around his waist, snuggling closer to him and kissing his cheek. "Really, I'm fine. Even us talkative people can have quiet days."

[Cres]

"MacNairs, huh?" Rowan considered it. MacNair wasn't a clan he was especially familiar with, but he had the feeling it wasn't his enemy. So he decided on a smile and a "I'd luv tae meet 'im someday." Then Razzle appeared, and he had to smile a little as he shook her hand and tried not to be nervous.

"I'd like a cup o' tea," he said.

With a sideways glance he looked at Rex and Sunny, who were now nuzzling each other, and he relaxed considerably when he realised she was his girlfriend. He was no way near as nervous among reserved girls as he was among single ones. He smiled a bit to them, wanting to reassure himself that her quietness wasn't because she was offended by him. He stepped a little closer to them.

"Look, eh... 'm sorry," he said to them both politely. "I dinnae want tae offend ye. I'm nae sae good at judgin' 'em jokes from insults." He gave a small laugh and then attempted a joke: "Blame me Scottish ancestors, they built me this way."

[Kat]

Sunny heard Rowan speaking and looked up at him, feeling much less apprehensive now that Rex was next to her. He always made her feel extremely safe, no matter where she was or who was near. Maybe it was due to his size, since he was quite tall and extremely well built. Realizing that she ought to say something to Rowan, she looked up at him and smiled at his last line. Flinging one of her denim-clad legs out, she slapped a hand down on her thigh and lookd up at Rowan. "It's all in the genes!" She grinned and hoped that he'd get the joke; maybe the Scots referred to jeans as denims, or something entirely different.

Rex smiled when Sunny made the joke, a groan escaping his lips. "That was horribly corny, you know." He kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly, glad though that she had made the comment, corny or not.

Razz re-appeared with Rowan's tea, handing him the cup. She too had heard Sunny's comment and regarded her with an amused expression.

[Cres]

Rowan did get the joke, and gave a laugh at it. He hoped that her comment meant that she was all right with him. He certainly didn't want to offend her - considering the size of his boyfriend. Rowan might have a tendency to get himself into trouble and into fights, but he certainly didn't like looking for fights.

"Aye," he said and took the tea from Razz, nodding to her with a smile. "Thankye." He looked at Rex again. "Sae how'bout this Scottish professor? What's he teachin'?"

He had to be curious of everything Scottish here in the new country. He'd have to phone in Old Tagg later, to ask him if he knew anything about the MacNairs.

[Kat]

"Scottish lit." Rex grinned, his right hand stroking Sunny's hair, one of his fingers twirling a few of the red strands around. "We're studying Beowulf right now, and all of the folklore that goes with it. It's pretty interesting stuff."

Bones stood up finally after spending a few minutes petting the big dog. He eyed the counter, glancing over the various cookies, muffins, and biscuits. He wondered which one the dog would prefer as a snack. He'd have to get Roscoe, the cook, to prepare the dog something more in a bit.

[Cres]

The dog's eyes went around the muffins and the rest hopefully as Bones got up. His tail was wagging a bit more. If you asked him, he would prefer everything he saw there.

Rowan nodded to Rex.

"I 'aven't got much into literature, meself," he said. "Me dad used to insist on't though. He'd always read us Robert Burns in the evenings." He smiled just a bit dreamily as he took a seat on one of the bar stools. He still missed his father, even if they had not seen eye to eye about everything, but wasn't that always so with fathers and sons? At the end of the day, they had been close.

[[of course, as far as I've been taught, Beowulf isn't precisely Scottish lit - more like old Anglo-Saxon, but hey, Scots originated from Anglo-Saxon just like English, so it'd make sense to start a Scottish lit course from it. Haha, I'm a Scots lover. So sue me. ]]