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The fragrance of darkness; that is coffee.
Its smell illuminates Manhattan Cafe’s mind to thoughts and places long lost to the past. Here, in this abyss of her own making, where everything seems so clear. She can see her companions the best within shadow, emerging from places beyond her understanding, yet she still confides in and respects them. For a place that lacks such light, the colors have never been so vibrant.
For a place that, at times, feels like it can get darker than dark.
Cafe takes another sip, the aroma airing out through the room and the roof of her mouth, leaving her senses to react and assign another feeling to it. Words like warm, rich, bitter, or deep don’t describe it for her. She’d much rather say
The last sick day before class.
The rain outside the abandoned classroom feels much louder to her. Waves of deep purple and blue calmly circulate through the air more and more. Cafe’s eyes and ears perk up as it swims through her vision, evoking memories of a young, much frailer Umamusume bedridden and alone; the day’s rays of light peeking through her window blinds as she keeps herself upright in bed. Her coffee cup is clutched tightly within her grasp, that once cold color being filled with warmth as Cafe takes another sip, both here in the classroom and then when she was younger. The liquid stimulates her throat and mind to keep herself attentive and active, staving off exhaustion and slumber’s sweet siren song. Purple and blue were now accented with burgundy and a red-orange. The colors seep and intertwine with one another, bleeding together seamlessly as the shapes and sounds warp and blend into a fine mixture of nostalgia. This little personal space that Cafe had all to herself was a means of allowing these memories and feelings indescribable to most to finally have rest and encapsulation. For the metaphysical to become physical.
Ah, she then thinks, that’s why…
Cafe soon remembers that these will most likely be her final moments having this place to herself. Agnes Tachyon, that intellectual and racing prodigy, would be taking up an entire half of the room as a personal laboratory. Tracen Academy wouldn’t let Tachyon have such a place all to herself, whether it be concern for her own safety, or the safety of others who happen to be nearby. Whatever it was, Cafe could already imagine Tachyon’s… eccentricities before the girl even stepped foot in here. Her ears flickered briefly at the thought of it. Whether it be her predispositions thanks to the rumors circulating around her, or the coinciding of this particular feeling, she’s not too sure. It’s not like she’s into fortunes as hard as Fukukitaru, but… who is she to judge? That must be it… her Friend speaks up, uttering a single word:
‘Enjoy.’
The intent behind her words didn’t quite reach her, this time.
“Enjoy what? My cup, for now? This sweet silence before Tachyon arrives?” Cafe spoke aloud, droplets of confusion laced within her voice.
She’s brought back into the present reality as her head swivels in search of her Friend. Her golden eyes slide over to her left, searching for the one she chases after. The one who sets the pace in a bolt of mist in her wake.
Manhattan Cafe didn’t see her anymore. Her voice had left the room in the blink of an eye. The classroom is plunged in silence. The rain is drowned out as this omnipresent droning starting to invade Cafe’s hearing. White noise fills her thoughts, and what were once uniform and flowing shapes quickly dispersed and evaporated. Splashes of color soon became spikes; streams split into scratches and nonsense. Everything grows heavier. Heavier. Weighty. Dense.
Everything pools downwards, and dread with it.
Enjoy what…?
Cafe starts to dread whatever noise could break this silence.
Tachyon’s footsteps? Her hands upon the door?
The droning continues to loom over her.
Would tomorrow’s class make her uncomfortable? Ruin this fine routine she’s set herself in, blanketed by the safety of this darkness?
It all sticks to the bottom of the classroom. Cafe felt completely paralyzed, immobile in this swamp of foreign feelings and specters from the world beyond resonating with her discord. She continues to hold her mug within her hands, trying her best to savor the good she did have with it, but the room felt unstable; sloshing, whirring, spiraling. The heat of her coffee brought no solace as chills bellow through her very soul.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Cafe tries to take another sip. Another gulp of inky bitterness. Another retreat into herself.
But, inexplicably, it was…
Sweet?
FFWWWOOOOSHH!
Flick!
“Aha! Very spacious indeed! Even with just one half, I am sure to have enough outlets for my needs!”
Light assaulted Cafe’s eyes, forcing her to squint as her eyes adjusted to the change in scenery. Within her vision, the vivid shapes and colors she could spot so accurately became blurrier and blurrier, transforming into a haze within the light’s embrace. Cafe’s eyes briefly flutter open, before bearing witness to a chestnut-haired Umamusume in an oversized lab coat.
“You’re… Miss Agnes Tachyon, correct?” Cafe quietly said, a slight swish of her tail indicating mild irritation at the sudden entrance.
“Oh! Cafe! One could only surmise you’d be here! How rude of me to not consider.” Tachyon’s energy never seemed to falter, or at least, that’s what Cafe thought when confronted with her current act. Her deep scarlet eyes didn’t seem to reflect light in the slightest, yet there was this inexplicable radiant core buried beneath them. Hope for her racing career? Perhaps intoxicating madness as she researches more and more?
Cafe would soon find a new, more definitive answer as Tachyon wheeled in a cart of various devices, tonics, and equipment. When they all came into view, though…
Her Friend walked in right beside it, hair obscured her eyes, yes, but Cafe had never seen this much of her face. Her smile was soft, her steps light, and her hand gentle in landing upon Tachyon’s shoulder, almost as if she too was walking with Tachyon this entire time.
‘Enjoy,’ Cafe thinks again. Enjoy the new company, as she bore into Tachyon’s soul for the first time. It was bright. Overwhelmingly bright. Radiant as the very sun, the particles of light racing for first to reach her blown-open eyes. Cafe always thought that she could never see into another’s character within this light; that day and night could only be in opposition, where one must triumph over the other. Here, though, she sees that is far from the truth. Light begets darkness. The strongest rays of the sun will likewise give way to the deepest shadows. Her Friend must’ve known this, and perhaps she’s telling her that maybe there could be another person to chase after.
But daylight can never be eternal, nor could the flames of the sun. The flames of Tachyon’s heart… they, too, were transient. The sun would burn itself into oblivion, causing ripples throughout the vast cosmos and forever blanketing them in a cold abyss. It’s not death that comes for her, by the Goddesses no, but…
“Constricted pupils, focus waning, and body language condensed… Hm! Cafe,” Tachyon’s words snapped Cafe’s attention back into this reality from her previous layer of abstract thinking, “before I get situated, I’d like to get a reading of your vitals. Just a smaaalll portion of your time and attention could go a long way for my-!”
“I refuse.” Cafe responded bluntly, her eyes happening to catch a pulse oximeter from the depths of Tachyon’s sleeve poking out.
“Ah, but Cafe! Think of the data I could gain from such a seemingly mundane-”
“I would rather not, Tachyon-san.”
“... I see, I see. Well! If you ever change your mind, you would know where to find me, yes?” Tachyon reeled back, dragging the rest of her cart into the much emptier side of the room. “Us Umamusume are such marvelous creatures, don’t you agree? We deviate but only a bit from humans, yet we produce such explosive prowess in spite of it. Our names feel otherworldly, as if we were preordained to be. Our spirits defy all that can be measured, but here I am attempting to do what others might find futile! Ahahaha~!”
Her laugh and inquiries seemed to put Cafe’s heart at ease, for reasons unbeknownst to her.
“...Tachyon-san.”
“Yes? Cafe?”
“I… You must have heard a lot of rumors about me. I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”
“Indeed. I would be a fool not to do some research on my future companion, no?”
“Well…” The question is caught in her throat. Hesitation overcomes Cafe as the fear of rejection follows closely behind. She's so smart… if someone of her status won’t believe me, then who will? My friends and I… it’ll be just us. Alone. I’ve been with them for so long, but the thought of that feels so sad… I-
“Are you worried that I’ll disregard what you see and hear as mere fantasy? That your word means nothing because I cannot see them?” Tachyon crossed her arms, her head tilted as she awaited a response.
“... Yes.” Cafe hunched over even more, peering deep into the bitterness of her coffee.
“Cafe, Cafe! There are many things in this world that cannot be perceived by the naked eye. Microscopic organisms and particles, to the very gases around us in this very room. As a scientist, one cannot overlook anything whatsoever, no matter how… theoretical it might seem. Do you believe that, Cafe? Do you believe that I, too, am looking for what lies beyond unseen?”
…
Cafe didn’t feel the need to respond in the slightest. Such an answer dispelled every ounce of doubt left within her mind, body, and spirit. The dawn of a new day after the stormy night.
They both saw what could lie beyond the two of them, even if the lens they each peer with are completely different. Cafe’s heart warmed at the thought of it, her eyes following both Tachyon and her Friend to the other side of the abandoned classroom. This is supposed to be Agnes Tachyon? The maniacal mad scientist? A faint smile creeped up at the edges of her mouth, opening up a bit as her soft voice echoed her thoughts.
“I think I can enjoy our time together, dear Friend…” Cafe’s eyes wandered over to the shadowy figure of the one she wishes to overtake.
“Mm? ‘Dear friend,’ was it…?” Tachyon pondered the sentiment for a bit, a faint chuckle escaping her lips.
“Yeah. I think everything will be fine…” Eyes of gold lock on to those of ruby red, “... friend. Would you like some coffee, Tachyon-san? I still have some left from my most recent brew.”
“Ah, I would have to decline. Although, you wouldn’t happen to have some tea instead? Don’t worry about added sugar, as I’ve already brought my own.”
“... Eeeuugh…”
It was going to be an interesting future together.
‘Enjoy.’