@whyamionlyabletouse32characters
Samuel staggers slightly, his foot stepping back and nearly sending them falling into the baker’s table.
“Samuel?” she asks, concern clear in her voice as she reaches out across the table. Her hands don’t reach Samuel to support him.
Without responding, Samuel looks away from the unfamiliar group, feeling the shield on his chest act up instinctively before he pushes it away. It’s not safe right now. Short-term vulnerability over probably-long-term consequences. He quickly shoulders his pack, already walking away quickly.
Samuel doesn’t stop walking until he arrives at a café. It’s relatively large, compared to the shops all around it, but it’s quiet despite how many people are sitting around. A simple, forest-green overhanging covers half of the front patio, while the sign above is merely a logo in the vague shape of a diamond split in half, a dot in the middle of it. The tension in his shoulders ease up as he enters the patio, though he carefully watches all of the customers sitting at the tables.
Inside is a lot cooler and slightly dimmer, since it was out of the direct glare of the noonday sun. Samuel stands at the door for a few seconds to adjust, eyeing a few other people who opted to stay indoors, before walking towards the counter. A young staff member looks up at him for a moment before promptly making their way to the back.
Samuel thinks he hears a, “They’re here!” but he can’t be sure of it. Still, he waits slightly off to the side in case any new customers were to enter. He waves to the other staff member behind the counter, who signs a quick greeting with a smile.
“How’s the mountain?” he asks. The staff member is almost small and unassuming, if it weren’t for how expressive his personality is. Every movement is somehow exaggerated and yet perfectly normal to Samuel.
“Business as usual,” he signs back, dismissive. “Though we got a better amount to pay this time around – got to include next week’s part.”
The staff almost responds, but by then the one who had gone back returns with someone else in tow. Samuel inclines his head at this new person.
“Hello, Samuel,” she says, tilting her head and moving towards another door.
“Caulos.”
(Asks are open - and they’ll certainly influence where I go!)
