tapestodiane | 002 [Audio]

He looks up - not startled, but seemingly a bit confused as to who she was talking to at first. Once he realizes it is indeed him she's adressing, Cooper gives her an easy smile.

"I don't think there is a better start. If there is, I've yet to know of it." His smile grows a little, and he puts the 'gear back in one of his pockets, before turning to face her more. "Perhaps we should try to find such a place, if you have any idea of where to start."

He tries to see if the friend she mentioned is in the vicinity, as well.

With a sheepish grin, she shrugs, hands held out to the side. "I'm afraid I just know the bare basics. The first place I went was to go see the water." Fiddling with her white scarf, she walks over to him. "It's been ages since I've been able to smell salt water." When she's close enough, she holds out her hand.

"I'm Dee. I'd introduce you to Greed, but all of us seem to have split up a bit to explore the town."

He shakes it, gladly.

"A pleasure meeting you, Dee. My name's Dale Cooper." He's so used to introducing himself with his title as well that he almost misses it, but the fact that he's an agent doesn't seem to be relevant in this place, so he has no qualms about leaving the information for now. It's not like he holds any authority right now anyway - and in a sense, he likes that. It's a bit like vacation.

"How about we explore as well, then? I'm sure we can stumble upon a place to our liking if we keep our eyes open." He smiles, and makes a motion to step away from the Center. The prospect of coffee - and someone to drink it with - is really quite appealing.

"Sounds like a plan!" Exploring is number one on her list of things to do while she's in this place. Sure, she's always on the move normally- her nature requires it. She's seen just about everywhere there is to see. But it's different when she can feel things, touch them, get tired and hungry and then feel well rested and full.

As she begins walking, she looks over at Dale. "So, how are you doing around here? It seems like everyone's busy, at least according to the- Pokegear, right?"

Cooper falls into step with her, feeling quite content with the situation all in all. There were a few things that had bothered him, of course - such as how this had even happened, how he'd get back, and how they would be able to deal with things back in Twin Peaks without him - but the fascinating workings of this world and the pleasant nature of it had quickly occupied the forefront of his mind. The only thing that was odd to him now was, honestly, the weather and it's perfect stillness. It was a strange thing indeed, but he could think about it later.

"I think I'm doing alright, considering this is all new to me." He doesn't sound anything less than cheerful saying it, though. "It's incredible. I never imagined places like this could exist, and I'm certain I haven't even seen a fraction of it yet."

He looks over at her, noting that she doesn't seem very worried, either. "What about you? And when did you arrive here?"

His statement makes her smile turn a tad knowing and mischievous but then it's back to it's usual sunny state when he looks back to her. "I just got here a few days ago," she mentions, thinking back to the house she had left and the poor woman who got dragged into this. There's always that someone. "I was just a little worried about getting lost, but all the people here are really nice. Greed and Derek were more then happy to group together. Besides."

Lacing her fingers together, she stretches out her arms in front of her. "This isn't the strangest situation I've had to deal with. My family alone..." She chuckles. "Well, it's complicated. Is there anyone you miss?"

Cooper notices the slight shift in her, though, and it makes him curious. He's the attentive kind - observant. It's an important part of his job, and something that's turned completely habitual over time. Details are important. Never overlook the little things.

He doesn't mention it, though. "I came this way on my own", he tells her with the same smile from before, "but it was a nice time of contemplation. It's been just a bit too long since I could wind down in such a way."

He's interested in the remark regarding her family. Considering the circumstances here and the experiences he's had with other people here so far, that could mean absolutely anything. Listening to her, he adjusts his coat slightly, tugging at the hem of the beige-coloured fabric.

"There are always people to miss, isn't there?" is his simple reply to her question. He doesn't sound sad, saying it - there's a bit of a matter-of-fact in his tone, and he remains relaxed as he walks with her.

"Mmhmm." The idea gets her thinking. "That's true, but in the end, everyone gets forgotten, don't they? People who knew them fade away as well. In the end, only two things remember them." Death and Destiny. Lucky them. "Just have to live in the moment while you can, I guess." The statement is cheerful. "Even when it gets weird. Especially when it gets weird."

That reminds her... Picking a pokeball from her belt, she inspects it for her next question. "What do you plan on doing while you're here? I've heard a lot of people talk about these things called 'gym battles'- that interest you?"

He gets a small chuckle out of that. "Especially when it gets weird ... I must say I agree with you."

Cooper's seen his fair share of weird, after all - and in general, it wasn't the pleasant kind of weird, though it's made him appreciate moments more, to run with things. Working on Gordon's blue rose-cases will do that to you. But in the end, he still has the feeling that this woman - or girl, he's not really sure what age is appropriate to label her - has seen more than he has. She's intriguing.

Thinking about her question, he looks at the pokéball in her hand, taking hold of the one he owns that is, at the moment, resting in his coat pocket. "I'm not sure yet. Honestly, I never found contests very fulfilling, though I must admit I find the battling so far to be very engaging. It might prove a healthy exercise for your brain, if nothing else. How about you?"

"I think... I've had enough of conflict right now." Like she can escape it. After all, isn't that the sort of thing that is one of the requirements of the universe? But still. "I'm interested in the whole breeding thing, actually. Taking care of the Pokemon you have. Letting them breed."

Suddenly, she perks up and bounds forward, taking a hold of his hand. "Ah ha! Quest completed!" She's referring to the sign she sees up ahead, the word 'Cafe' written in small, elegant font. She tucks away Margaret's ball before smiling up at Cooper. "Shall we split the check?"

"Breeding! I haven't heard about that until now. I wonder why the notion didn't strike me." He nods, contemplating this with a smile. "It sounds like a good thing indeed. I think it would suit you."

A bit perplexed at the sudden outburst, he follows her gaze and his smile grows almost impossibly. "My friend, I believe we found the spot." He's a bit confused as to why she's holding his hand, but lets her. "Absolutely." Once at the cafe, he opens the door, inhales the aroma, and seems very, very pleased. "After you."

She's clasping her hands together as she enters, delighted at the smell. That's right, another thing great about this whole experience. And this is just one of many. "Thanks," she says over her shoulder before her gaze finds the menu.

Hmmm, so many choices... "I'm afraid I'm not the best when it comes to this kind of thing. Choosing which one and all. What would you recommend?"

Cooper follows her, closes his eyes for a second and lives and breathes the familiarity of a cafe. The scents of the various brews, the sounds of people talking, and just the atmosphere in itself all amounted to something he found - and would always find - very calming.

He exhales and stands next to her, looking at the menu as well. "I take mine black", he offers. "I like the sharp taste better when not dilluted by things." A lot of the things listed actually look pretty foreign to him, so he shrugs. "Quite frankly, I don't know half of these, though an espresso is always a good choice."

Ooooh, so it should be just like roulette. (Seen it, never played, unfortunately.) Eagerly, she browses the names before coming to a decision. "Number 5," she tells the cashier with a grin. Might as well try a new thing, right?

While the people behind the counter get to work, Dee looks around for an open seat. "You know another thing that's nice about this world," she mentions off handedly, "is that it has a soundtrack. That doesn't usually happen- oh, there we go-" She finds a spare table, setting down her backpack.

Her enthusiasm is something Cooper takes note of quite happily, as he tells the cashier his order right after she does. He likes the looks of this place and expects the coffee to be good, if not great. He can usually tell.

"You mean the background music? I find it a little odd", he answers, sitting down in front of her. He left his backpack at the inn he was staying it, finding it more convenient that way. He takes off his coat and folds it over the back of the chair. "I realize there are a lot of things here I can't possibly dream of understanding, but I'd really like to know where it's coming from."

"It would be fun to find out." She leans back in her chair. "After all, I don't think they have the time to just set up speakers everywhere. Then again, who knows." Her shoulders roll in a shrug. "Sometimes we can't explain everything. Not the way we want to."

"That, and we often find ways of over-compensating for our lack of understanding. After all, 'the simplest explanation is often the correct one'. Maybe they do have speakers everywhere."

Cooper smiles, and mirrors her movement of leaning back somewhat, just in time to look up and see a waiter-of-sorts bringing the coffee. He says a quick thank you, takes a sip of the coffee and makes a humming sound in delight, stopping all motion for a second. Simple pleasures in life are to be valued - and coffee definitely hits the spot.

"This", he says happily, "is damn fine coffee."

Just imagining speakers hidden in every nook and cranny, every tree and bush, is enough to make Dee giggle. When she gets it out of her system, she grins to the waiter and cups the coffee in her hand. There's a certain childish glee in her actions as she blows on the coffee, carefully testing it with her lips until she's sure it's not too hot. Finally, she takes a sip.

Oh. With a happy sigh, Dee sinks in her seat. "This is fantastic," she agrees, cradling the cup in her hands. "You sure know how to relax."

"I find it's an important thing to know", he tells her, feeling the coffee warm him before taking another sip of it, "especially if you don't often get the oppurtunity." He puts the white ceramic cup down, the contrast between it and the black beverage something he knows he'll always appreciate. It resonates with the suit he's wearing, even though he's not sure himself while he still is.

"I think you should give yourself a gift like this once a day, every day. It's good for the soul, if we have one."

"Sound strategy." Peering into her cup thoughtfully, she chuckles. "It's so easy to forget the amazing things in a life. Even if things are horrible, there's always that something. Does anyone ever imagine what it would be like to never know the taste of coffee or soaking up sunshine?" Her eyes slip shut.

"Things are always changing as well. Music, viewpoints, games- everything imaginable. It's not just in the long term, but day after day, second after second. Everything moves so fast..." She opens her eyes again and takes a sip of her coffee. "And then it's gone." Setting it down on the table, Dee smiles at him.

"I think I'll have some coffee everytime I'm in a town in Johto."

He decides he most definitely likes this person.

"I think that might just be what separates us from the animals - that we're always rushing. We choose to embrace the changing things in life and be afraid of the constant, stable ones ... death, time. And taxes, as the saying goes."

Cooper smiles back at her, absently stirring his coffee a little with the spoon that came along with it. Not because it's needed, but because it's a little something to do.

"Me too, of course. Why just Johto, though?" he asks her, noticing how she specified that location.

"Hmmm, I guess you could say this is kind of a vacation for me? I'm usually too busy to do much but work." Idly, she traces the rim of her cup. "I'm surprised I've been here this long, in a way. Usually I get just a single day to do whatever I want. Now, I don't know when I'll have to stop what I'm doing and go back."

A weak heart? Lungs? Her brain? Without much concern, she wonders if it's the body itself that's weak or some outside force that will do it.

She takes another sip of her coffee. "So I'm taking things one step at a time. Every city in Johto, and then everywhere else in this world if I turn out to stay this long." She chuckles. "I'd like to savor my time here anyway."

Cooper smiles across the coffee cups, listening to her words while warming his hands somewhat on the cup he's holding. He takes a little while to respond, thinking about what she's said before answering.

"I think I know what you mean. I'd definitely like to make use of the time I'm going to stay here as well, however long it may be. In all honesty, the thought of going back now finds me with some sadness - though I'm still a little anxious to see how things are going back home and worried that they might need me, there's something about this world that strikes me with a calm I really appreciate."

He pauses for a while and takes another sip of coffee, looking like he still finds the flavour a really nice surprise.

"In many ways, I guess you could say I also consider this my vacation. I haven't had the time to take a break like this for a very long time, though whatever it is that you do sounds more demanding regarding time." Another, very brief, pause, before he leans forward a little. "I'm curious. What kind of work is it that you do?"

Just as patiently as he had listened to her, she listens right back. It's something she's grown good at all these years, and she does rather like it. While she's pretty sure they're not exactly thinking of the same things, she does sympathize a lot with what he says.

She knows that everything will be taken care of in her absence, knows that her siblings can usually handle themselves well enough... But still.

The question has her duck her head, a failed attempt to hide her little smile. Or maybe it's not an attempt at all. "It's a people heavy position. I meet people and then, at the end of a really long day-" Greed's comments about the days blurring together into one long one comes to mind, making her smile widen. "-I show them out to where they think they need to go. Like the greeter at a hotel, I guess is the closest thing to it."

Ah. He makes a mental note of this, and gives her a sort of half-knowing smile.

"I suppose it isn't my place to ask for details, if you're providing me with metaphors." He doesn't mind, though. "I hope you don't find it intrusive of me to ask, but are you even from this world? A lot of people I've met seem to be of different universes - or different times."

This is something that he's found very interesting - how whatever brought them here seems to have a greater control of all these worlds, realities, universes - so whatever it or who it is, must be truly powerful or in possesion of something that is. Just what, he knows he probably can't even imagine, though it doesn't halt his curiosity regarding what it could be.

002 [Audio]

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[action] sorry, got hit with a migraine

Re: [action] ah, no worries (: hope you're okay now

[action] Much better! Sleep schedule got messed up tho

Re: [action] ohdeer my sleeping habits are permanently messed up xD

[action] Oh my. XD You poor dear.

Re: [action] not really, it's my own fault xD

[action] But still. XD; Fix that schedule!

Re: [action] sleep is for the weak! D:

[action]sleep is for the not dead!

Re: [action]sleep is for the not dead!

[action] coffee buddies

Re: [action] coffee - the start of any beautiful friendship!

[action] A moment that shall go down in history

Re: [action] -thumbs up, true Cooper-style-

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[action] whooo mixing in canon maybe

Re: [action] yay for canon! cooper wants to know all about it.

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