Flaming Iced Coffee [Vee/Alastair]

"..Aaannd... Done. Finally."

She leaned back in her chair, letting out an exasperated sigh as she'd cover her face. Another day, another afternoon of studies and homework finally done. God she was so dreadfully tired - those early morning rounds were starting to grate on her, and she definitely was feeling a much needed rest period coming up. But right now, she had to really push to make sure she was on top of her due assignments and whatnots, in addition to personal independent studies she had taken up.

She was in the same spot, in the same coffee shop she always was in. She got her two and a half empty cups of cold brew which, really she contemplated on if it was that good of an idea to drink so many today... Coffee jitters had her contemplating. Regardless, she was tired, but she was relieved to be done.

..Now it was just a matter of cleaning up after herself - papers full of writing were strewn all over the table, and honestly she forgot which belonged to what at this point.

"... Of course I did this," She'd sigh to herself, beginning to look through and sort through all of the material she wrote or brought to at least start getting organized,

"...Ugh, why didn't I number these?"

"It generally helps if you try to keep these organised before you need to pick through them."

Looking over Vee's shoulder, Alastair did make note of the state of her table. He was holding a coffee to go in one hand, the other hand pressed against his chin as he cocked his head to one side. Overrun as it was with the information from a wide variety of lectures and seminars, there was something awfully familiar about it all. It made him remember his own training days, a time spent pouring through books and texts just like she was now.

"Even a simple colour coordination system would help when you are juggling this many topics."

It was more admiration than admonishment in his tone as he addressed the young woman, though an essence of both remained. Of course, he appreciated others with a studious nature but it was still not exactly the most interesting conversation starter and yet he had felt obligated to mention it. Still, he had made the effort to approach Vee to see how she was getting on. A chance encounter that he had stumbled into on his way to get a caffeine fix.

"AAAH- OH- HELLO!"

The presence of Alastair suddenly appearing behind her gave her a good startling, her tired eyes wide as her head had whipped back to look and awkwardly greet the man a little too loudly. Caffeine jitters were not helping this go any smoother, of course.

"..Jeeze you scared me, sir- .. Oh come on."

In her jump she had accidentally let go of the papers she managed to get together, the articles sadly slipping on the table to rejoin their messy brethren. She covered her face, groaning with the good hindsight given about color coordinating them,

"..Yes that would have been a GREAT idea a few hours ago when I was still doing them. But yknow, silly ol' Vee, jumped right into it."

She let out a tired laugh as she would slump on the table, having subtly pushed the papers out of the way of her face as she did so, sighing,

"Oy vei..."

Suddenly, she'd shoot back up, pulling a smile, "But that's alright! I can just get these papers organized again later," Without any heeding to any further advice, she would just start haphazardly scraping papers together to form a pile. She definitely could just take care of this after a little nap and chill time, besides it's not like they were any more organized just strewn out of the table.

She smiled at Alastair, although she obviously looked tired and irritated about the papers and was just trying to be friendly to him, "So, how are you doing today, Coordinator Eisfluch?"

"Ah, my apologies, but that will not do. To leave your notes in an unorderly manner is to invite chaos further down the line."

Setting down his coffee on the next table along, Alastair immediately began to wade into the mess of notes that were already formed into piles. He remembered most of these classes, understood enough to identify them and divide them into more accurate sub-piles anyway. He chastised her still, but this was not Coordinator Eisfluch speaking and instead Alastair himself.

"You can only rush so far forwards before you have to turn back and see what you have left in your wake."

Another little wisdom from him, as he continued to pick through the papers.

"As for how I am doing? A shade better than you, I might wager. Studying a few different topics, I see. Is there anything in particular that is giving you such woes?"

She would let out an exasperated groan. Fine.. He was right, she didn't like that he was right, but he was right. An act in defeat, she would start looking through the piles and reading the content carefully as she went along, at the very least trying to group subject to subject so she could have somewhere to start, even if her brain felt absolutely baked by tiredness and too much cold coffee. She was silently kicking herself with how unorganized she was - she was so fixated on note taking and getting it all done over keeping everything together. Damn, she should've brought the highlighters.

"...Woes? Woes..." She squinted at him for a moment, as if trying to process what the hell he even meant through her tired haze, but it quickly flipped in her mind, "Oh, oh. I mean, history mostly - feels like i'm playing a giant game of catch-up. One I both enjoy, and want to cave my head in over trying to remember everything."

She laughed just maybe a bit too giddily, before sighing and going on, "Didn't really get to properly hear much about Quincy anything growing up, apart from what little I could squeeze out of my older siblings when I was younger. After that it was just, 'Vivyan, do your chores', 'Vous devez être une dame appropriée, Vivyan!', 'Stop practicing, Vivyan you're just giving yourself grief!'. Hahahaaaa..."

She seemed particularly irritated with the last quoting, but calmed down as she looked at Alastair, assuming she.. May have overshared a bit by mistake, "Sorry, just, annoying stuff, whatever. Anyway - it's just been tough trying to study overall."

Placing down one stack of papers that was organised properly as best he could tell, Alastair began to work on another subject and started to collate as much information as he could into another group that he held in one hand. It was an arduous task but one better done sooner than later, and he was doing her the favour of cutting that effort in half for the time being. What he did not do, though, was comment on her sharing. They were out of work, so it was not his place to judge either way on what one chose to say or not say.

"Ah, history. I imagine that it is rather uniquely challenging coming from your background. Many recruits, whilst they might lack ability or skill, have come from families that teach them Quincy history from when they are old enough to read and write. I mean your family little offence, Miss Faye, but they have put you on the back foot."

The girl did not seem all too fond of her family, a matter that he could draw upon some memories and relate to, though he still had no desire to hurt her with an ill-spoken word. There was a bluntness to his words that he did struggle to limit though, if she was struggling with histories then it would quickly spill into other subjects and then ultimately her wider growth. He had seen firsthand that she had some potential, better it not be squandered.

"If you ever find yourself in need of further tutoring on the subject, or any other, I could offer my services. I am far from the most experienced of Quincy, but I passed through training much the same as you so perhaps I could be of some use?"

Vivyan had gone right back to organizing her papers, pretending she never made the comment in the first place. Thankfully the coordinator didn't make any comment or sense of it, something she quietly thanked him for - it wasn't a subject she was interested in touching, especially while tired. She mostly touched upon her family while she was hot and upset or completely internally, she didn't know anybody here for very long and thus getting too carried away with sharing her business to the wrong person may make her sound inappropriate or too hard on the TMI.

"Oh, don't worry about holding your tongue about them sir, I don't care."

They kind of deserve it anyway.

"..But, yes. Yes that would be great, uh, sir. Thank you for the opportunity to help."

She kept carefully sorting through paper after paper, sighing softly as she'd yawn and rub her eyes, "Getting all these notes down and work done has just been pretty hard on me, so some help in making sense of them and studying period would be nice," she'd chuckle lightly, "Maybe I should ease up on daybreak training for a few days. While a lot of my researching is self-imposed... I don't want to be running off just coffee and willpower."

"It is never pleasant to talk ill of another's family, but truths most be spoken."

Alastair took notice of her yawning, knowing that he too could be fairly accused of overworking from time to time, and gave something of a reassuring look as he ordered another pile. Reaching back, he grabbed his coffee and took a quick drink before placing it back on the counter.

"Having a good sleep schedule makes those training days easier, no amount of caffeine or mental fortitude ever compensates. Take time to straighten yourself out, but build a better future for yourself by imposing a proper regime. If you run for a few days then have to crash and catch up on what you have lost then it will only get you into bad habits."

Again, his gaze grew serious as the pair continued to work and talk. She looked up to him in some way or at least saw him as a figure to respect, so the obligation was on him to dispense what little advice he could. If anything, at least he had the experience of working his way from the ground up in the organisation.

"We did not have such luxuries in the war, every day you had to be ready for a fight. Admittedly, there was less of a drive to study back then, but there is still a lesson to be learned about preparation."

She noticed that look of reassurance, blinking softly in confusion, feeling a warmth of embarrassment and tenderness following it. Her face only reddened, her gaze lowering as he pointed out the far smarter fact of the matter. Yes, oh gosh, he is correct - it wasn't that Vee was too dull or unwise to consider that, it was something she had considered as she had gone about this regime, it's just... She couldn't resist pushing herself, even if the behavior was negative in the long run. She had a sense to handle the 'now' with a vice grip, that if she wasn't constantly moving, she was stopping, and good lord not doing anything made her feel antsy and overall terrible.

"..You are right sir," She'd respond as she sluggishly sorted a pile, "You are completely right. They aren't things I didn't think about, I just..."

Midnight. She struggled tiredly out of bed for what felt to be the millionth time, quietly moving about as not to disturb her slumbering siblings. Slipping out the window, off into the fields, until she had come by that familiar cluster of trees, unearthing the bangle possessing her cross.

...Uuuughhhhh why does my heart ache all of a sudden..?

"...I'm so used, to working incredibly hard. It's hard to imagine myself doing anything outside of that,"

Hours and hours, she practiced what little she knew from her siblings, only to yield nothing. No Reishi gathered for her, no Blut formed, no spells were cast.

Nothing. No matter how hard she practiced those motions. No matter how much she wanted it. No matter how pure her blood was.

Nothing.

Her eyes burned and watered a little, a light smile on her tired features, "I just really, want to do well here. This is the first place that my efforts actually feel... Noticed. Even if some of my colleagues look down on me for how behind I am."

Her hand was caught amidst an exercise.

"VIVYAN!" The voice of her mother had cried out, "We've spoken about this!"

"But Mum, I just-"

"YOU CAN'T BE LIKE YOUR SIBLINGS!" Fear and anxiety was tinged in the voice of the woman. It wasn't her she was concerned about - it was Da. It was ALWAYS Da, whatever he said goes, "Again and again you're out here practicing pointless nonsense, when are you going to stop?!"

She felt a tear roll down her cheek.

Oh god, am I crying?! Oh sheesh, he can't see this

She'd look away a little, rubbing her face quickly to dispose of the evidence, hardening her expression, "...And just, yeah, I neglect myself a lot with my training and studies, but... At the same time I can't help but think, 'I can go a few more hours', 'I can work through the splitting headache', 'I can bear the aching joints a little longer'... That like... I should push myself more, that i'm not doing it enough."

The young girl was still reeling at her mother's reaction, but her shock silently settled into anger as she tucked her bangle away into her coat as her mother led them home.

Who cares. I'll just find another hiding spot.

You aren't going to stop me from being a real Quincy. None of you, you damn lapdogs for that jerk.

She'd laugh softly, more tears escaping her eyes as she tried to hide her face behind a stack of papers, "..Ahaha, but i'm just a dumb little girlnewbie in the end for being like that, aren't I?"

He had meant for his words to be heeded, for Vee to understand that ultimately this was a serious issue and there was only so long she could keep overexerting herself. What he had not quite expected was such an emotive response from the woman. For such a cold woman, her blood certainly ran hot. Quite the inverse of himself in that regard, an amusing comparison.

"And you are going to do great here, Miss Faye. But these things do not come together overnight. If you have the mindset to genuinely keep trying when you get knocked down then nothing will stop you from achieving your goals."

Then it came to tears, and suddenly Alastair was a little out of his depth. He had not intended to dig that deep, certainly not cause her some genuine sadness, so what should he do now. She was trying to hide it behind the paperwork, but there was not enough paper and he had been far too attentive so, of course, she would know that he had seen. It did not feel proper to hug her, or clap her on the back and tell her to walk it off, so instead, he just cleared his throat and averted his gaze.

"Everyone was young and stupid once, so you are never alone in that line of thinking. But you can only learn from your mistakes if you keep putting yourself out there and trying. Noone can belittle you for that anymore."