Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]

Dressed in her usual casual outfit of purple t-shirt, black skirt with pockets, white thighhigh stockings, and white tennis shoes with black hairband in her hair, Diana easily stood out in the coffee shop she was currently standing in. It was a small but comfortable establishment with a modern look... it had white tile flooring, small square tables placed in the center and around the edges of the shop, and chairs made of light brown wood. The chairs themselves had white cushioning and looked like they were either fairly new or had been well cared for. Something that sounded like pop music was playing softly on the overhead speakers. Diana did not understand Japanese, so she did not know the song that was currently playing and in the end she did not care because it was just background noise to her.

So was the sound of conversation from the few patrons the coffee shop had at this time of day. Diana had expected there to be more patrons than there were, but she was not particularly bothered by the fact that there was not a line snaking out the door because she could move freely and sit almost anywhere she wanted. It was safe to say that the blonde was content with the current level of activity.

Diana's attention was directed to the counter by an employee and she received her order in a sturdy styrofoam cup. The brew within was black coffee and was of a blend that was supposedly the strongest the establishment had to offer. Diana took a sip of her beverage and noted that its strength was such that it might be strong enough to burn a hole in anything it was poured on if left there long enough, which was exactly how she liked it. Its scent was as strong as its taste and anyone who got close to the blonde would likely be able to smell the coffee.

Looking for a table or chair to claim as her own, Diana looked around the coffee shop and found plenty to choose from, but before she went to get one her eyes wandered towards a flash of pink she had happened to spot. She focused on it and that eye-catching color turned out to be the hair color of a young woman who was wearing a white outfit of a type Diana had never seen before today. Deciding to walk over to speak to them, the blonde held her coffee cup tight and walked over to where they were sitting, then stopped and faced them while standing an arm's length away.

"Hello there." Diana greeted the pink-haired stranger.

"My name is Diana." Diana calmly introduced herself to the pink-haired young woman, whose name was Meninas. The blonde had never heard a name like that before... everyone she had known back home had normal names like Henry, Stacy, Robert, Laura, and others commonly used in America. Diana herself was named after the Roman goddess of the hunt, but very few people she had met considered that name to be unusual, probably because it was a fairly common female name that most people did not instantly associate with Roman mythology. On the other hand, a name like "Meninas" had a high probability of sticking out in Georgia.

However, Diana had to keep in mind that her name might sound unusual to people who lived wherever Meninas came from.

Moving on from that subject, Diana recalled the invitation that had been extended to her and decided to take the pink-haired young woman up on it.

"If you do not mind, I would like to sit down." Diana accepted the invitation and waited for permission to take a seat. She was not sure which seat the other person wanted her to occupy. Diana did not have much issue sitting next to someone if she had to, but she did not know Meninas' boundaries, so she would wait and see where the other young woman wanted her to sit before moving towards a chair.

Having received verbal permission to sit down, Diana carefully pulled out a chair with her left hand, but she did not sit next to Meninas. She chose to sit in the seat in front of her so that she did not crowd the other young woman. Setting down the cup of coffee on the table before taking a seat, Diana then gently pulled the chair closer to the table before finally sitting down. The moment she did she noticed that Meninas also had a cup of coffee, but she could tell by scent alone that the pink-haired young woman's brew of choice lacked the potency of Diana's own coffee concoction, which was black coffee made from the strongest blend this coffee shop had to offer.

"I prefer strong coffee and have preferred it that way since I was a pre-teen. I was eleven years old when I had my first cup." Diana informed Meninas exactly when her coffee habit had started. Her mother Anna was the one responsible for introducing Diana to coffee... one morning Anna offered her daughter a cup of the beverage as an alternative to hot chocolate. Alvin Remington had expected Diana to turn inside-out after one taste of the powerful brew his wife favored, but to his surprise and to Anna's delight Diana took an instant liking to it. Over the past thirteen years the blonde had tried numerous blends in many different coffee shops, but her go-to choice was plain and strong coffee with no additives.

"I ordered the strongest coffee available and did not add anything to it. Like I said, the stronger the coffee I am drinking is the more I like it. In my opinion any additions would detract from its flavor, but that is just my personal belief." Diana commented on her beverage with an opinion gained from over a decade of coffee consumption. Her opinion was not backed by hard scientific evidence, but the blonde knew exactly what she wanted out of her drinks and would stand by her words. While waiting on Meninas to speak Diana took a sip of her drink and was pleased by its flavor... it was a strong blend with a sharp taste that was strong but not overwhelming. She needed to make a note of the coffee shop's name so that she could pay it a visit the next time she came to Japan.

"You are right, Meninas. My liking coffee came as a surprise to my father, who liked his mild while my mother liked hers as strong as she could get it." Diana confirmed that Meninas' belief was accurate and stated which parent could not believe that their daughter did not have a dramatic negative reaction to the powerful coffee she had been given to try.

The blonde listened to Meninas' first experience with coffee and was not pleased to hear that her brothers had tried to deliberately sabotage it for some reason, but her displeasure did not show on her face. Diana's disdain for the pink-haired young woman's siblings abated when she heard that the attempt not only backfired but backfired spectacularly. The blonde chose not to pursue the matter because that was a highly personal one and she was not going to pressure a total stranger into giving out information on a sensitive topic such as their family life, especially when Diana was sensitive about her own family.

Choosing to focus on what Meninas had asked, Diana took the out that had been offered to her so that the mood would continue to remain light and pleasant.

"I monitor my caffeine consumption carefully. Right now two cups of black coffee is my limit before I start experiencing adverse effects like too much energy and difficulty sleeping." Diana told the other young woman that she was susceptible to the negative effects of too much caffeine consumption and combated that problem by limiting her intake. The blonde tended to drink coffee mostly during the day, which tended to give the caffeine enough time to wear off to the point it would not bother her as much. However, from time to time she would drink a cup at night, especially when she was having trouble sleeping or when she just wanted some coffee on a whim.

"You have to learn your limits and stick to them." Diana stated calmly. She had had a few times she had become excessively caffeinated when she was younger because she had not yet established her limit of two cups, but thankfully that mistake happened was when she was younger and it could be chalked up to inexperience and enthusiasm for a new favorite item. Over a decade down the road the blonde had a better handle on how much caffeine she could drink before she started experiencing negative effects. Diana was glad that her drink of choice was coffee because drinking too much of it was not nearly as bad for her as drinking too much alcohol would likely be.

"Yes, I am a Quincy." Diana confirmed what Meninas had suspected. Diana was an inexperienced one who had learned everything she knew through training and had little combat experience to back it up, but she was still a Quincy. The blonde wanted to find someone who could help her get her skills to a level beyond basic competence because if she got into a combat situation where basic skills would not cut it she would be in deep trouble. Maybe Meninas could point her in the right direction.

As Diana waited for a response she took another sip of her beverage. She was glad that she had come to this coffee shop because the visit was paying dividends in more ways than one. She had found a source of good coffee and she had found someone who might be able to help her get closer to her goal.