WWW: Venti Mocha Cappuccino

[Event !]

Not everyone wants to play in the snow, or wants to sit around their homes or dorm rooms (particularly if there's no heat and/or electricity), which is why Pilot Ridge can always count on the Velvet-Tone Coffeehouse. If you're willing to trudge through two-plus feet of snow, they're willing to give you seasonal coffee and pastries.

Grab a comfy chair before they're all gone.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Quiet was the brunette introvert, head to toe in comfortable layers of alternating light to dark colors, as she trudged through the incredible amount of now. Why Adaryn found herself in the mess that was northern Vermont in the current moment, the girl even questioned herself. The treck was barely worth it, at least the Empath thought, but for god's sake she wanted a good hot chocolate, and the Velvet Tone Coffee shop could provide that. Starbucks' had bitter tasting dark chocolate in theirs, and barely any variety - a judgement probably made due to her employment at the shop.

Even still, the question still remained, "Why the hell would you subject yourself to the ridiculousness of this weather?" especially prominent in her mind as she nearly slipped on an icy portion of the slope. However, as she finally reached the visualized destination, the smell of great coffee reminded her why. Adaryn wanted a dang hot chocolate, one she couldn't get at Starbucks currently, nor did she want to. The warmth was well welcomed as she stepped inside the Velvet Tone. Barely alive due to the snow, Adaryn took a few moments to order and sit down near the fireplace, sincerely grateful for the warmth that it provided, especially against her relatively exposed neck and ears. Short hair really failed her in that moment.

"Jesus..." Addie muttered.

[Marnie Sullivan]

If Marnie had bothered to check the weather forecast before leaving campus, she probably would have taken the bus straight home. Instead she'd gotten off in Pilot Ridge while the snowflakes were just beginning, thick and fluffy and lovely. But after only half an hour or so inside her first stop - the bookstore of course - she emerged back onto the main street to biting winds and slippery sidewalks along with the heavy snow fall.

I don't want to walk home in this, Marnie worried, checking her watch; the next bus wouldn't be by for some time, even if the weather didn't delay it. She could head back into the bookshop to kill time... or there was the Velvet-Tone nearby, the lights in its windows bright and inviting. A hot drink, any hot drink, sounded amazing right now, so Marnie trudged through the snow, head bent against the wind, shivering.

A bell tingled when the opened the door and hurried to shut it. Marnie kicked a little snow off her boots before heading to the counter and ordering a peppermint mocha. She paid and immediately headed to the fireplace while she waited for her drink; grabbing a seat Marnie pulled off her gloves and held her hands toward the fire. Another girl near the fire must have had the same idea, she realized when she heard the girl mutter, "Jesus..."

"Gotta love Vermont, hey?" Marnie laughed feebly. They'd probably both been chased inside by the weather.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Indicated by the chime of a bell and a severe chill down Adaryn's back, another person entered and requested a peppermint mocha. Being one of the only people in the cafe at that time had it's perks, especially the spying kind - currently, one of the employees was complaining about working in this kind of weather. People didn't realize she listened, but oh did she listen. Trying for so long to avoid being noticed had it's perks among other things, especially in that moment.

Adaryn shifted slightly to the girl who entered and stood by the fireplace, clearly having the same idea as she did. The words spoken put a half smile on the Empath's face, one that rarely showed itself anymore. Not that she wasn't happy, but life was at a standstill and there hadn't been much to make her smile.

"The move was definitely worth it," Adaryn offered with a short laugh of her own. The cold was miserable, and considering she came from the other side of the country where the mild climate was notorious, it was definitely an adjustment. Even after five years, it never got better. In reality, it only got worse. "Snowmen for days."

[Marnie Sullivan]

"'The move'? Are you from California or Florida or somewhere?" Marnie turned her hands to let the fire's warmth reach both sides, then rubbed them together. Some place where sandcastles were more common than snowmen, it sounded like.

It had been years since Marnie had spent a winter anywhere warmer than Vermont. A few times she and her parents had headed north to Maine to celebrate Christmas with her grandparents, but that was more of the same, climate-wise. For the most part, she loved it - waking up to a chill trying to creep its way into her warm blanket cocoon, while outside lay a fresh snowfall, had a cozy, dreamy quality to it. And her morning runs were always so picturesque as she passed by evergreens with their boughs heavy with snow, or the deciduous' stripped branches encased in ice that sparkled as it melted. But those were the days when the snowfall was just right; running in two feet of snow sounded miserable even to her.

From behind them came the faint plunk of a cup on the bartop and the barista's call: "Hot chocolate at the bar for, um, Adarine?"

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn had been in Pilot Ridge since 12 years old, and while she understood winter, New England winter came as a shock to her - even today. "Oregon. I came here when I was about 12-ish."

The thought of the length of time it had been made Adaryn a bit awed, truly. Years had gone by - from 12 to now turning 19 in a few months. Did she even remember life before Hammel? Had she thought about anything from before the last three years?

Well then.

The brunette's head turned at the sound of her mispronounced name - an entirely common phenomenon. Have them spell it? Forget it. Maybe her mother hated her from day one, especially with the spelling of her name given. Adaryn stood up and walked over to the counter, thanking the barista and putting a bit more tip money into the jar just for the sake of being a decent human being and moved back towards the fireplace.

She took her first sip of the drink and her eyes closed in relief. "Thank God. This is so much better than the Starbucks crap."

[Marnie Sullivan]

Oregon? That was quite a ways, although Marnie would have figured the northwestern state for a place with plenty of snow itself. It was only one state away from Canada, the great frosty north, after all. But maybe the girl just meant it couldn't compete with Vermont, which - judging from the still-growing snow drifts outside - was probably true.

When the girl - Adarine, if she'd heard right - returned with her cup, Marnie hoped that meant her mocha was next. The fire was doing wonders for warming her hands, but nothing could dispel a deep chill like a hot drink. The snow that had been caught in her hair was melting, and the once-fluffy flakes seeping under her collar were only making it worse. Marnie nodded along absently, but whether it was better or worse than Starbucks, she didn't care at this point; she just wanted something warm.

Then, from the counter: "Peppermint mocha at the bar for Molly?"

That was her drink, not her name (nor the name they sometimes incorrectly called, "Maggie"), but nobody else in the fairly sparse cafe was making a move for it so Marnie got to her feet. The cup radiated the pleasant warmth she'd been hoping for as she grasped it with both ungloved hands. Back in her spot by the fire, Marnie popped the lid to let a bit of steam escape, hoping to bring it to a drinkable temperature. Chocolate and peppermint wafted out; closing her eyes, she inhaled a deep and indulgent breath of the wonderful scents.

"They should bottle that smell, I swear," Marnie said as she fixed her lid back on. "Forget Chanel number five, just spray this on every morning."