It's a zoo in here!

Cafes and Secret Service

On a little side street, near the developing part of San Antonio, is a ramshackle little cafe that appears run-down and has few customers. Rarely does a human set foot in this cafe, as it is very obviously not safe for public use. However, as a further excuse to avoid the place, unsavory characters- ugly, gruff looking men, bikers, grouchy old people, fish-market employees, and their ilk- are commonly the only people that visit this place. The place is called Sanguinem Fengári cafe; another deterrent as no-one knows what the heck Sanguinem Fengári means. Unbeknownst to most humans, however, this cafe is far more than it seems. This cafe has a secret, one that no person on earth can be allowed to know. It's chocolate is only 93% cocoa bean, not the 100% advertised. If that ever got out, people would be outraged. The only consolation would be that the other 7% is ground up fairy hair and the gaseous releases of a unicorn.

This cafe happens to be one of only a few cafes designed specifically for those of the draconian community, and so is far different on the inside than how it appears on the outside. In order to enter, a draconian citizen must be hidden- either by glamour or disguise- in order to keep up the illusion the front presents. Inside is a space larger than the store should reasonably be, with walls depicting forests, oceans, a city street, and one, plain white wall behind the counter. Merfolk commonly sit in the booths next to the ocean, as they can quickly and easily hop through the picture and back into the sea if they want too, and the other folk that enter sit anywhere else they want. Some come for the chocolate, some for the smells; some even come for the food and drinks. But most simply come to be around strangers of their own kind- draconian society- without the need to hide what they are or the fear that the person next to them might be a human. The amount of relief and relaxation is amazing.

Now who should care for this wondrous little cafe, but a witch whom never shows her face. She wears a cloak that casts a magical shadow over all of her face that exists above her mouth. She rarely speaks, and when she does, it's usually distorted, as though hearing an echo from a ways away. The voice is strange itself, as though it's higher, yet at the same time, lower, than it should be. No one could understand whether she was born cursed like that, or if it was intentional, but no one really cared. She ran one of the most wonderful places on planet earth, so they accepted her eccentricities. Don't question, don't lose; right? Well that was the thought process of most draconian folk who came into the cafe until the day another, somewhat familiar witch came in. This witch was unlike the others that came in; she had red, amber colored hair.

Red hair was a trait from the dragons, and it implied extremely strong magic. Strong enough to, say, accidentally kickstart a latent were-gene and suppress a half-active witch-gene. For example only, of course. I'm not implying she has, or is going to do it, that would be crazy. Her name was Amber. She glanced the cafe, sighing and sitting in a corner booth alone as she pulled out a book to read. It was enormous, likely heavier than ten pounds, and had obviously been written by a normal human. The cover was one of a woman standing on glowing, invisible steps as nightmarish monsters attempted to break through a wall. It was called The Words of Radiance. Most of the other people reading books in the cafe ignored her, one glancing up and staring with hungry eyes at the book before reluctantly going back to her own. It was a gigantic book.

On this day, there were more people than usual in the cafe, having come for the cafes famous chocolate day. All chocolate based foods were feee today, if one could find a person of another race they'd never spoken too before. The only reason the new witch wasn't swarmed was because she couldn't be. The positioning of the booth along with a certain spell she'd used prevented almost everyone from speaking with or even approaching her. It was a small but impressive piece of magic. Amber certainly enjoyed its effects. That was, until the cafe owner showed up. "I'm afraid it's getting a little crowded. Would you like to order anything? If not, I would suggest either leaving or letting other people sit with you. I haven't finished the book lovers room yet, but it'll be done next week. You could come back then and enjoy silence more easily and conveniently?" She sounded like she was asking a question, a purposeful tactic. It made people more likely to accept suggestions. Especially when chocolate was involved, but that wasn't relevant.