Café Yumm [Finished]

[seraaches]

For once, some of Kelasia’s hesitancy slipped away. ”I like to read about everything.” A faint blush coloured her face as she gave the tabletop a vague smile. ”I read an excellent book last week about chess. And there was a novel about a pair of friends who tried to take over a town.” Her tail swayed slightly as she absently took a sip of her tea.

”Today I picked up a book about ranks,” she murmured softly and her thoughts had evidently gone to the books instead of the question. ”An Ace wrote it! Who would even publish a book written by an Ace?” The question was entirely rhetorical as she continued to muse over the notion. She wanted to pull it out now and look it over again, but the skunk abruptly recalled she wasn’t alone and she flushed again, giving a hesitant glance up towards the canine then the feline.

[Dark]

Minh had never been one for introspection; she just went with the flow, caused a little havoc along the way and called it good. But if there was one thing that stirred her ire it was politics—and Kelasia’s off-handed comment, however innocent, stirred that nagging bit of resentment she’d always felt towards society.

They lived in what was essentially a caste society: a system of social restriction and stratification based on heredity; and while there was some flexibility within the various castes for advancement, the majority was left to play the hand they were dealt. Especially those who were born Ace.

Minh wasn’t particularly bitter about her social standing, but it had always rubbed her fur the wrong way that, no matter how great your accomplishments in life, it would always be your caste that mattered. Individuality came second. And it wasn’t likely to change—those higher up didn’t see the problem, blinded by their own superiority, and those on the lower rungs of the proverbial ladder of society were either scrabbling fruitlessly

She regarded Kelasia for a moment, trying to think how to articulately communicate all she was feeling. Minh didn’t know if the relevance of a book written by an Ace totally went over Kelasia’s head or not—but at least Kelasia was curious. In the end she settled for short and sweet (and borderline philosophical).

“Ever heard that history is written done by the victors?”

[Bee]

A curious platitude for Minh to dispense, to be sure. Mnem had not really thought of her as the type for deep philosophical introspection--her mental image of Minh was that of an impishly grinning feline cheerfully blowing something up, or perhaps tripping and falling comically down a flight of stairs, though Mnem was not sure why her mind would supply her with that particular picture--and politics had only ever interested Mnem as far as they related directly to her. The station of Aces was not something she pondered. She was not an Ace. She was a Seven of Diamonds with a very profitable industry and aims to advance.

"Are you proposing revolution, dear Minh?" And there was a thought. She wondered what sort of chaos an attempt to overthrow their system would generate. A terrible kind, she suspected, but she would be fairly fine with that: people like her thrived in situations like that. But practically speaking, any sort of coup-like endeavor would likely be squashed immediately.

It would be just like Minh to be the one to attempt it, though.

[Dark]

Minh considered the possibility of leading an uprising for all of two seconds, but in the end decided against it. Putting herself out in the open like that really wasn’t her style. She could potentially lead from the shadows, keeping her identity secretly guarded from all but a select few. In the end, though, someone would rat her out and the genius behind the chaos would end up loosing her head. And facing the gallows wasn’t really Minh’s idea of fun.

So, while it would be great fun for awhile to send the countryside into anarchy, in the end it really didn’t do much for her except provide some brief form of entertainment. She couldn’t very well continue on with her experiments if all the guinea pigs had gone into hiding, now could she?

“Nah—not a revolution. Too much work.”

She sipped at her coffee, considering other brands of mischief that didn’t end with decapitation.

“I do like a good explosion, though.”

[seraaches]

Revolution? Rebellion? It was a frightening thought and Kelasia didn’t like that turn of their conversation. She had shrunk down slightly, as though by making herself smaller she wouldn’t be noticed and asked to take part in any such plot. She as not in the least bit revolutionary and had no desire to become so. The skunk bit her lip uneasily. She would much prefer they speak of things other than explosions and revolutions.

The current system of ranks and suits didn’t really bother Kel; it was how their world was and the idea of it needing to be changed never occurred to her. She didn’t like the system nor dislike it; it simply was. Her biggest concern was the amount of ambition her mother desired her to have. Her recent work to up herself, however, had appeased the drive her mother sent at her. Stepping up in rank, however, was based more on her desire to remain near Theofilus and not to please her family.

[Bee]

Mnem barked a short laugh. "Who doesn't?"

She was more than completely convinced that the three of them could have a significant amount of fun together, the kind of fun had a special kind of bonus for Mnem. They would help her set up shop, she was sure. Minh would be on-board; she knew because she could think of at least fifty extremely dangerous and exciting things for her to do. Kel might need a little more convincing, but Mnem was confident that her efforts, combined with Minh's, would turn her.

But first she would need some kind of base of operations. One of her contacts had only agreed to let Mnem lodge there for a few days, and Mnem needed to find a place of her own. She wondered if her companions knew of anything relatively cheap. (Mnem did not lack for money, but it would not do to flaunt such things, and until she got back in business it was probably not wise to spend more than was necessary.)

Perhaps she could even stay with Kelasia or Minh. She would have to try to work the conversation in that direction. Or be blunt.

"What part of the town do you two live in?"

[seraaches]

Again, Kelasia was surprised by the abrupt change in their conversation. They didn’t seem to follow any logical progression; instead, they jumped from one topic to the next in an unexpected series of leaps with no real connection from one to the next.

”I live in the business district,” she admitted softly. ”Above the office where I work.” After a moment, she abruptly realized why Mnem might have brought up the question. Dread sank into her; not that the canine wasn’t an engaging companion, but the skunk had boarding because her employer was kind enough to let her live there. She didn’t think she was allowed to have visitors; she’d never had reason to ask before.

Concern lit her features obviously as she tried to think her way through the potential conundrum. Really, there was a good chance that Theofilus would not really mind a guest for a few days, but he’d stated, specifically, that the quarters were for employees only. As it stood, sometimes the second bedroom was filled by Rogers when he stayed too late at work. If Mnem asked to come, Kel wasn’t certain exactly wot she would do because she was uncertain wot she should do.

[Dark]

Minh smiled, munching happily away as Cherry’s Delight (whoever Cherry was), and nodded. Living in the business quarter made sense, considering Kelasia worked in shipping, and it was a fairly nice district of town. A nice, policed part of town.

When nothing more was forthcoming, Minh added her bit: “I live in the ghettos.”

There were no actual ghettos in the capital of course, but the dilapidated warehouse distract where Minh lived was pretty dismal when compared to the rest of the city. Not that she minded—it was actually rather perfect, really. Her apartment was off the beaten track, away from prying, lawful eyes and it was utterly delightful that there was no one to bother noticing when Minh came and went—especially nosy older brothers. In the end it was a seedy place that bred a sort of anonymity that Minh had no trouble blending into, and the low rent meant more money to spend…elsewhere.

[Bee]

Deciding not to torture the poor skunk with the prospect of her continuous presence--Kelasia seemed to have trouble taking Mnemosyne and Minh in small doses, and until she became desensitized to their oddness, Mnem thought it would be wisest not to push her--Mnem instead focused her attention on Minh, whose living accomodations were more her style, anyway.

Mnem also liked to be out of sight and out of mind as far as authorities were concerned, and her own home in Yarrow Gardens had been nicely planted at the edge of town, surrounded by a handsome wrought-iron fence and a rather imposingly beautiful stretch of garden. Mnem could tolerate dinginess if compensated by privacy. And she was confident that Minh would not question anything Mnem got up to, seeing as Mnem suspected that most of Minh's favorite activities could get her hanged.

It sounded like as perfect an arrangement as she was likely to come across.

"Charmingly dank, the ghettos," said Mnem pleasantly. "Very few people of--note--travel there, so I hear? Very little...surveillance."

[Dark]

Minh hummed in agreement, grinning as she did, “Oh, yeah.”

Mnemosyne was certainly a clever one, and she’d understood perfectly all of what Minh hadn’t said about her cozy living arrangements. The district really was excellent for transferring items of questionable legality right under the nose of the shipping officials; packages were constantly being moved about, which made it ridiculously easy.

“And the residents are all very adamant about privacy, which makes the neighborhood very…quiet, you might say.”

As long as everyone obeyed one simple rule, that is: don’t start fucking with some else’s operation. If you didn’t find yourself buried six feet deep with a bullet through your skull, they’d frame you to take the fall and have the authorities knocking at your door quicker than you could even consider running for the Lowlands.

She considered Mnemosyne, mulling over a nagging suspicion that the canine was trying to reach a conclusion through this conversation.

“Why—are you looking for somewhere to stay?”