Chapter Text
The cacophony of never ending droplets of rain can be heard throughout Toyac Springs City, a continuous cycle that hadn't been disrupted. That is soon changed by two sets of feet running down the wet pavement.
Two young ladies, Mualani and Kachina, are hurridly running down the streets of Springs Boulevard to the nearest transport source they can find. The duo were originally helping out at Mualani's Parents store called 'PufferFin Apparel' down by the beaches and springs during these holidays as a means to earn money for tickets to the Summer Festival Carnival coming to town center. A customer was being extremely obstinate and it took the two a good hour to finally convince and satisfy that extremely rude person, finally able to get them to leave, but by then it had somehow already struck 11 o'clock in the evening. The store was thankfully arleady packed up and ready for closing but the moment they exited, Mualani and Kachina were met with a spontaneous shower of heavy rain, the pelts were as cold as ice on each of their faces.
They had not packed any raincoats, however, in Kachina-styled fashion, the shorter girl had whipped out a medium sized umbrella that could fit two people underneath from that bottomless pit known as her backpack, nobody knows how much space is in that darned bag. Anyhow, they still managed to get heavily drenched in rainwater despite the umbrella, due to the extreme harshness of the weather.
Finally, they had made it to a local bus station a few blocks down from the shop but it had already been too late. The final bus was departing from the station before Mualani and Kachina could even get on! The duo tried calling out to the bus, yelling to stop but it drove away, the strong breeze carrying their words away with the wind. "Oh Mualani, i'm so sorry!! I should've h-helped deal with that customer quicker otherwise... otherwise we wouldn't be in this situation!!" Kachina sobbed. The older girl knew the younger would say something like this, Kachina is too much of a people pleaser and it often leaves her in situations like this. "It's alright, Kachina. No need to blame yourself for this, I mean, at least you managed to help that customer! Remember what I told you, no more putting yourself down just because you made a silly mistake, everyone does!" Mualani replied in an attempt to comfort her, "Now chin up! We should worry about other matters, like how we're going to get home."
The sandy-beige-coloured haired girl wipes away her tears, listening to Mualani's advice. The duo sit down on the cold benches of the bus station, grateful for the coverage while contemplating what to do next. Mualani's parents were out of town for their anniversary, calling them would be a definite no. Kachina's parents work later in the evening so asking them to pick her and Kachina up was still an obvious no. They could call a cab but there aren't many around at this time of night...
The blue and white haired girl was deep into her thoughts when she was brought back to the world by the shorter girl who suddenly jumped out of her seat. "Ooh, ooh! I remember something! Me and my parents were out for dinner once and we passed by this place called 'Florès Café'! I think it should still be open at this time. It's a little bit far from here - two or three streets away I think? - but it's just a suggestion, we don't have to!" The girl finishes explaining, waving her hands infront of her face frantically. Mualani takes longer than intended to dwelling onto Kachina's proposal, I mean, do they really have any other available choices as of now?
Mualani stands up from the bench they were just sitting on, a now determined look plastered onto her face, "Alright then it's settled. Let's head off now before the rain picks up again!"
Kachina smiles at her and takes her phone out, typing into the maps search engine, "Florés Café." Thank goodness she still had data left. The two made their way to the café, the rain was still prominent, but not as harsh and heavy as before. After a good 10 to 15 minute's walk, they had finally made it.
The building was two storeys tall, the bottom level being the main café with the florist section placed on the opposite side. The architecture gave off a slightly modern yet vintage esque design, the dark oak wood complimenting the fresh-seeming cream white and sage green paint. To top it all off, the front was adorned with a variety of flowers and plants alike, hanging vines that clang onto the painted walls with old Fontainian designs. It was mesmerising.
As the two stood in awe of the place, they quickly remembered about the slow raindrops falling down onto their skin, which was to tell them that they should head in now. Mualani gently opened the oak door, stained glass with sun patterns could be seen adorning the wood. There was a gentle ring of a bell, showcasing that somebody had entered the building. The inside too had been filled with an abundance of florae, a traditional look with dark oak planks as the flooring and large windows rounded at the top into a semi-circle to view the outside. A stereo was playing soothing jazz music, and when paired with the heavy rain from outside, gave the place a warm and calming environment. There were four other people sitting inside already, which wasn't a shock given how late it was into the evening There seemed to be a few heaters around that warmed up the place, which the two girls were grateful for after being outside in the harsh rain and chilly winds for quite a while.
Mualani and Kachina took another few seconds to admire the inside, still amazed they haven't been to such a place that was only a 15 minute walk away. They then decided to look around for a table for two - which didn't take long - but stopped when they heard a firm, yet gentle and slighty raspy voice behind them.
"Good evening to you two! Welcome to Florés Café, i'm Ms. Mavuika, the owner of this establishment. I can go grab you two some menus while you find a seat and get comfortable, and then i'll come back to take your order, alright?" The tall woman had long, fiery red hair that blended into an orange hue at the tips which was tied up into a high ponytail. She had simillar coloured eyes, the same sun shaped pattern that could be found on the mural and the stained glass door were embedded into her pupils. She had a small smile on her face when greeting the girls.
As Mavuika finished up her introduction, she noticed that the two were absolutely drenched from head to toe, a trail of water droplets can be seen on the floor from where they were standing to the main entrance. "Oh my! You two are abosolutely soaked! Stay here for a moment, let me get some towels for you guys to use to dry yourselves up. We don't want anyone getting sick now, don't we?" She says worriedly, rushing off to the closed off stairwell. After a few minutes of waiting, Mavuika came back with two white towels, both neatly folded in her arms. She passes the towels to Kachina and Mualani and the duo dry off, thanking the older woman for her hospitality.
They finally go and take a seat at one of the booths, Mavuika bringing the menus as she had promised beforehand. Mualani orders two strawerry jam-filled tarts with a hot chocolate, while kachina orders some fluffy pancakes and a cup of milo. The two girls also order two macarons for each to have - one with a pufferfish design, another with a twirly whirly. Mavuika writes their orders down on her note pad, walking over to the kitchen to get their meals started.
As Mualani and Kachina waited, they decided to discuss about how they're going to get home - technically Mualani's house - but Kachina comes over so often she basically lives there, and vice versa. "Mualani, how are we going to get to your house now? It's probably way past 11:30PM, and most transport is unavailable at this time. We already missed the last bus and the metro is probably shut down for the evening, and, and-" Kachina sighs sadly, giving up on continuing her sentence. It seems like she's still upset for holding them back at the shop, thinking that, if she solved the customers problem faster then they wouldn't be in this mess. Mualani replies back, "Kachina, what did I say about blaming yourself? None of that was your fault in anyway, that customer was just so rude! And, look on the bright side, if we never had to stay back then we would've probably never gotten the chance to visit this place! I mean we probably could've but as my Uncle Nuu says - "Sometimes, when the situations are bad, it could end well if you just stay positive."
The younger girl smiles at the comforting words of Mualani, she was still upset by the situation, but felt much better. Their idle chatter was disrupted momentarily by Mavuika's concerned yet comforting voice again. "I happened to overhear your conversation about not being able to get home and I felt worried about your safety, given that i'm a mother of three kids myself. I know we've only been acquainted for a small period of time, but would you two be alright with staying the night in the upstairs part of the building? This place is actually a townhouse but this floor was renovated into what it is now." She tells the two about her offer, which sounded amazing actually. Kachina glances nervously and Mualani, her large blue eyes looking at her for her input. Mualani thinks for a moment, before replying with - "That would be amazing! Thank you for your hospitality ma'am! We will make sure to be on our best behaviour! Isn't that right, Kachina?" She nudges the shorter girl with her shoulder. "Y-yup! Of c-course we will! Thank you so much Ms. Mavuika!!"
The older woman smiles gently at the two, their faces reminding her of her own two children at a certain point in their lives. "Please, just call me Mavuika, no need to be so formal. Now that that's settled, i'll go get one of our staff members to deliver your meals. It won't be too long, as most of our other staff have went home already." She walks back over to the counters and enters the kitchen, presumably getting the server.
Soon after, the server Mavuika had gotten them comes out with both of their meals placed on a round, wooden tray, which was then gently placed down onto the white, marble-stained table. The plates and cups that held the food both looked exquisite, they were most likey Bone Liyue, detailed flowers etched into the porcelain material. As Mualani looked up to thank the server, she was suddenly met with the most gorgeous amber-emerald green eyes she's ever seen, dark coloured diamonds complimenting the vibrant orbs. Forest green coloured reading glasses sat atop the bridge of his nose, a small glass lense attatched to the frames. The young man looked about her age, sixteen to seventeen at the most. He had many piercings as well - angel fangs, an eyebrow piercing, and his ears were pierced too, three on each side to be exact. His dark, mossy green hair had small streaks of haybale yellow and turquise, the hairdo seemed to be sort of a slightly shorter messy wolf-cut mullet. He had a slightly darker shade of tanned brown that complimented his, well, everything. When Mualani and the mysterious man both had their eyes locked into one anothers, the white and blue haired girl turned a slight shade of cherry red. Once she snapped out of whatever the hell just happened, her face became a more vibrant red filled with embarrassment, spouting out aplogies and thanks yous for the meal simultaneously.
The tri-coloured hair man keeps a stoic look and says it a calm tone, "It's fine, I hope you two enjoy your meals." He proceeds to do a small bow before heading towards the kitchen area.
Mualani watches the whole time, before she suddenly stands up and shakes her head aggressively, trying to shake those thoughts from her brain. She sits back down sighing loudly, Kachina staring at her with a worried look. 'What in the world was THAT?! Ugh, get a-HOLD of yourself Mualani!! That was just so mortifying..' She thinks, trying to calm her overloaded brain down. After whatever just happened the two dig into their meals, which were absolutely divine. The flavours were so well balanced and the drinks were also amazing. They finish up and stack their plates neatly on top of each other, before heading to the register to pay.
Mavuika is there and offers to give the two a 50% discount on their meals, given that it's their first time dining at this place. Mualani politely declines the offer, saying "But Mavuika, you're already offering us to stay over for the night, for free as well! Paying for full price on our meal would be the least we could do after treating us so kindly!" But the fiery-coloured haired lady stood firmly on her offer, trying to convince the girl that it was alright. They kept going back and fourth for another few minutes, Kachina standing there silently, not wanting to get in the midst of their banter. Finally, they decided on doing a smaller discount and both parties were now happy.
Kachina and Mualani help Mavuika close up the rest of the café for the evening, then proceeding to head upstairs. Mavuika gives the two fresh sets of pajamas and shows where they're going to be sleeping for the night. The room had two singular beds, a small closet and a study desk. It was also quite spacious. Mualani and Kachina change out of there still slighty wet clothes, hanging them in the laundry area before putting on the dry pajamas, which were - quite frankly - way more comfier than what they were wearing earlier. They go to the guest bathroom and brush their teeth with the spare tooth brushes in the unused cups. Once they were finished they head back to the room and pass by Mavuika in the hallway. She greets them both a good night and vice versa, before seperating their ways and heading into the room, ready to retire for the night.
As Mualani and Kachina got comfy in their beds, the older girl makes sure to text her parents where she was at so they could keep track of her location, for safety purposes of course. She says goodnight to Kachina and gives her one last hug for the night before faling asleep in her seperate bed.
She dreams of that mysterious young man she had seen earlier, hoping fate will let them cross paths once more.