Extra Scene — Coffee (Patreon)

A somewhat ridiculous response to the prompt, "Take a character you're working on and put them in a Starbuck line. Describe their reaction to someone cutting them in line." Ian + Eury shenanigans. Enjoy.

Ian decided to take a stroll through Jupiter’s downtown. Less than a year had passed since he’d last been home at Mother’s, but it felt like a lifetime.

The shops lining the main boulevards were vaguely familiar. Some of them were dedicated to high end fashion, which meant he’d never stepped into them in his life. There were restaurants and bars, and even little patio areas off in remodeled former-alleyways. Disembodied souls danced around passersby, while white lanterns above glowed faintly overhead, their light eclipsed by that of the sun. About twenty feet overhead—but still beneath the white lanterns–snaked a hovergloss rail, an inconspicuous grayish-white that blended in with the clouds. As Ian was looking up, a hovergloss car sped along, near-silent as it glided toward the West side of the city.

As Ian rounded the corner, Stellabucks’ familiar green sign called out to him. They only had Stellabucks in Shattradan, so Ian couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been able to visit one.

Do I really need coffee, though? Ian wondered, second-guessing his impulse.

You’re rich af, he mentally replied. And it’s not like you have to worry about calorie and sugar consumption when you’re a decemancer. And caffeine? No problem at all. Do it!

Ian nodded to himself, then walked into Stellabucks.

Upon entering, he doubted his decision. There were somehow fifteen people in line, crammed against the wall and overflowing. He had technically sensed that many people earlier with his vital vision, but he’d naively hoped that they were just...uh...hanging around.

You’re so dumb sometimes, he thought, chiding himself. Do I really need coffee?

Despite his uncertainty, he trudged over to the back of the line. He put his hands in the center pocket of his hoodie and looked around aimlessly, determined to wait it out. Patience would get him coffee in the end.

Before he knew it, he was third from the front of the line. Despite the ten minutes spent waiting so far, he hadn’t bothered to look at the menu, putting the action off.

What do I want? He scanned the possibilities. The menu looked a bit different than he remembered, but he should be able to find something to his tastes.

While he was absorbed in the menu, someone stepped in front of him.

The action was smooth, deliberate. Did this random guy just cut in front of me? Ian was positive the guy hadn’t been in line a minute ago. He must’ve walked in and just gone straight to the front.

It was honestly hilarious. Nobody in their right mind would ever dare to cut off a returned ascendant, much less a practitioner of any kind. Ian was confident that this line-cutter was just a reg from his vital signature.

Ian coughed to conceal a laugh.

The line-cutter stiffened, then turned around and gave Ian the stink-eye. “Is there a problem?”

Y’jeni, this is so absurd. The irony was too good.

Ian bit his lip and schooled his expression. “Nope.”

The guy sniffed. “Look, sorry to cut ya off, but I’m in a rush. Do you know who I am? Who I work for?”

Oh my... Ian needed to actively use decemancy to keep himself from laughing. “No.”

The man snorted. “Figures. I’m Karelius Vanderlich.”

Now that was a name Ian recognized. Mother talked about Vanderlich’s youngest brother all the time. Ian swore that the woman had a different scheme planned for each member of the Vanderlich family, no exceptions...even the women.

Ian never denied his mother was a bit crazy.

“Great,” Ian replied, expression neutral.

Karelius didn’t seem to like that response. He tsked, then grumbled, “Kids these days.”

Ian briefly considered revealing his identity just to see the man freak out, but that wasn’t really his style.

A few minutes later, Ian and Karelius were both waiting for their drinks.

“Iced caramel twist coffee, skim milk, light sugar, light caramel, extra whipped cream, a splash of almond milk, one shake of cinnamon.” The barista sounded tired by the end of the announcement.

Karelius smiled smugly and picked up the drink. It was the biggest size, taller than his head.

As he moved to leave, Ian curdled the drink’s milk. Milk, being an animal product, was chock full of Death energy.

He wondered how long it would take for the man to realize.

Apparently, less than two seconds. Karelius raised the drink to his lips over by the straw and napkin area and took a swig.

“MY DRINK IS SPOILED!” he squealed, spitting the drink out dramatically into the trash. He turned to the baristas behind the counter across the room and glared. “You. Did you people do this on purpose? This is a personal attack. This...this is ridiculous. I could get food poisoning. At my age, that means I could even die from complications. I have stomach ulcers, did you know that? Huh?”

Ian’s eyes widened. Shit. He hadn’t meant to get the baristas in trouble. But seriously, Karelius Vanderlich was such an asshole—the guy couldn’t be over fifty. How the hell would he die from food poisoning? How did he even have ulcers? The man’s family is rich enough to keep a Life practitioner on retainer.

Ian sighed and stepped forward. “Shut...up,” he stated, staring down Karelius.

The man gaped. “Oh hoh. Are you really taking their side?”

Ian rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t their fault.”

“Then whose fault was it? Nobody else’s drinks had sour milk.”

“It was me,” Ian replied. He flashed his eyes violet. “And if you don’t get out of here now, your milk isn’t going to be the only thing that’s sour.”

Karelius’ eyes narrowed. “You can’t intimidate me.”

This guy just won’t get a hint! “Seriously, just get out,” Ian said, sighing. He looked around at the other people in the shop. Were none of them going to take his side? They hadn’t seen his eyes flare violet, so they had no idea he was a practitioner. I guess they think I’m an idiot for standing up to a Vanderlich.

What the heck was he supposed to do? He didn’t want to cause even more of a scene, but also, he didn’t want to step down. This guy was horrible.

“I’ll make you another one, sir, right away,” the nearest barista said. Her hands were trembling.

Suddenly the door opened.

“IAN!” Euryphel called out. “Finally found you. I—” Euryphel paused for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth between Ian and Karelius. “Wow, I leave you on your own for half a day and this is what happens.”

“Hey, he cut me in line,” Ian retorted.

Eury snorted and turned toward the idiotic Vanderlich, whose face was turning tomato red with rage. The SPU ruler’s gaze was cold, his lips parted to reveal a cruel smile. “You. Shut the fuck up and apologize to my retainer.”

“You dare—”

Ian saw what was coming and had to hold a hand to his mouth to keep himself from laughing.

Eury slammed the man into the wall with wind elementalism. The man scrambled on the floor, holding his head.

“You can’t do that! That’s—that’s against the law! My lawyers will destroy you!”

Eury began to laugh. “Two words: diplomatic immunity.”

“Uh...coffee, cream and sugar, for Ian,” the barista murmured, pushing the drink forward.

Euryphel sauntered over, grabbed the drink in one hand, then grabbed Ian’s arm in the other, tugging him out the door. “Sorry for the disturbance,” he called out. “What’s the idiots name?” Eury asked, using his elementalism to speak silently.

“Karelius Vanderlich,” Ian murmured.

“And Mr. Vanderlich, if you wish to escalate things further, contact the SPU’s embassy. They’ll know what to do.” He gave Karelius a menacing smile, then stepped onto the street. Stellabucks’s doorbell twinkled behind them.

The two men burst out laughing.

“Thanks, Eury.”

“You need to get more comfortable playing the diplomatic immunity card,” Eury chastised.

“Ugh. That was so annoying.”

“Some people are just too dumb to be alive,” Eury remarked with a sigh. “But Karelius is behind us now. Come, weren’t you going to show me around your city?”

Ian beamed. “Of course.” He reached out for the coffee in Euryphel’s hand, but the man moved it out of the way. “Hey!” Ian exclaimed as the blond aristocrat took a sip.

He looked at Ian disapprovingly. “This is garbage. You can have much better coffee in my palace any time you’d like, I hope you know that.”

Ian snatched the drink back successfully and wiped off the place where Eury sipped. “Stellabucks coffee is just fine. Maybe you’re the one with poor taste.” He took a sip, then grimaced.

Eury grinned devilishly. “Oh? Is there something wrong?”

Ian frowned and held out the drink. “Honestly...it’s worse than I remember. But it’s fine.”

Eury cackled. “Ichormai’s coffee has ruined you.”

Ian gave him the middle finger and walked down the street. “Stop making such a scene. This is supposed to be a low-key vacation.”

“Fine, fine,” Euryphel said, falling into step behind him. “I rather like Jupiter. It’s clean, bustling but not busy. Big enough to have its own transport array station.”

“It has a Selejan vibe,” Ian noted. “Modern, sleek.”

“Or more accurately, Selejo has a Shattradan vibe,” Eury pointed out. “This city was constructed nearly a hundred years ago, wasn’t it?”

Ian nodded. “It was cutting edge when built.”

“Is that why you ended up studying in Selejo? Similar to Shattradan?”

Ian frowned. “Not exactly. I just wanted to get away from Mother, and Academia Hector was trying to recruit students from places considered...more developed.”

“Like Shattradan.”

“Right.”

“Could you have seen yourself staying there, settling down, in another world?”

Ian shrugged. “Eury, you ask questions to which there can be no answers. The past is the past. Me back then had no idea what the future held in store. I would’ve gone all the way to the Adrilli Isles if I found employment. I didn’t care much where I ended up, so long as it wasn’t here.”

“And now?”

“And now what?”

Euryphel raised an eyebrow. “Are you content to stay in the SPU? It’s not much like Jupiter.”

Ian smirked. “Are you worried I’ll run away?”

“No oath could bind your allegiance at this point. You can do anything you wish. If you wanted to settle down in Menocht Bay, I wouldn’t be able to stop you.”

Ian grimaced. “Y’jeni, please don’t even joke about Menocht. I’d rather die than live there.”

Eury chuckled.

“I have no problems with the SPU, Eury,” Ian added. “People tend to like me there, which is more than I can say for most places.” He smiled. “It’s funny to see you acting all insecure about it, though.”

Eury shrugged nonchalantly. “Just...making sure.” Internally: B-BAKA!

Ian grinned. “I’m glad you’re here, Eury.”

“Me too.”