Blue Bottle Coffee Shop [Open to All]

[SageTavers]

She couldn't help but smile as the kid very much so did take her comment on the bet a little too seriously, but that was okay. It was the comment of eating when you could eat that had her shifting a little uncomfortably in her own seat. No. No kid thought that way. Not one that lived in a home with people that cared for her. Even Sage hadn't had to worry about food in her belly, despite her parents inability to ... well ... parent.

They had managed that part okay. So either this kid had some parents who were slacking quite a bit, or she didn't have any. When she suddenly said she should go after looking outside her gaze shifted towards the windows and saw the policeman standing just outside, chatting someone up. She frowned.

"Ugh. Cops."

She rolled her eyes a little over dramatically, probably for Alice's benefit at the moment.

"You could go..."

Though that didn't settle well in Sage's stomach at the moment.

"...or you could just move your stuff to my table and if he comes in you're with me."

She shrugged her shoulders, trying not to be pushy with the kid, but just giving her options in case she really didn't want to go just yet. She tapped her pencil against her notebook lightly and leaned forward just a bit, she actually did finish off her fritter because she hadn't eaten much that day and dusted her hands off on her shorts. Who needed napkins anyway?

[Little Bit]

Old habits die hard. That was the saying. Several years of taking care of herself, she just didn't know any other way. She couldn't trust anyone. Every time she had, something had happened to remind her that trust was not something she could afford.

Little Bit shot a look at Sage when Sage even had the same reaction about cops. So Little Bit wasn't the only one! Her lips pressed together and her gaze went back outside. The milk was gulped down already and she was ready to go. But the cop was right there. She couldn't just leave without him seeing it. And he didn't seem to be moving anytime soon. Little Bit sighed, feeling trapped and wondering why she had stayed so long.

But then Sage offered the alternative of hiding in plain sight. Little Bit had done that before without the other party knowing that's what she was doing. Just hovering close to adults made her invisible to cops and she used that often.

She quickly changed seats and hunkered down, looking the part of bored little sister. Funny how you can learn to do or be anything when the street is your teacher.

[SageTavers]

Blond hair, blue eyes, They could pass off as siblings, though Sage was obviously a few years older, parents did that kind of thing all the time, didn't they? The girl hadn't said a word, just starred at the cop a little longer before collecting her things, sliding from one table to the next. Without even thinking about it she hunkered down herself so she was more at eye level with the girl.

Sage had trust issues galore, she fended for herself in most every aspect of her life, and yet it had been easy to let at least one person in. That person was ... god knew where at the moment. At the back of her thoughts there, ever present. Worry. Though she was doing a good job at the moment in distracting herself.

"How old are you Alice?"

Curiosity? Trying to keep up small talk with a kid. What did a kid talk about? Hell she knew what normal kids talked about, what did a kid that had eyes aged beyond their years talk about? She pressed her lips together and brushed a few strands of her blond hair out of her own face tucking it behind her ear and letting out a bit of a sigh before taking a sip of her coffee.

[Little Bit]

She looked over at Sage when Sage herself seemed to hunker down and settle in. It was odd to see another person, an adult, act like that. But it was somewhat comforting although she wasn't sure it would last. Nothing safe ever lasted.

She tipped her head a little and almost didn't answer the question. But she should be polite at least. "I'm eight." She fidgeted with the hem of her sweater, eyes not looking out the window as much as she wanted to let them. She countered the question with one of her own. "How old are you?"

[SageTavers]

Sage was shifting lightly in her seat and before lil miss knew it Sage was placing her chair in a position that blocked Alice's view from the window unless she craned her neck, though Sage had a feeling the kid wouldn't have a problem doing that. Eight.

"Huh. I would have figured at the least twenty-five."

A tease. Because this was Sage, and Sage was not herself unless she was teasing or being sarcastic in some way shape or form.

"I'm seventeen not too much older then you." Granted she was at this point twice the girls age plus one, but nine years wasn't terribly bad.

"Favorite color?"

Sage wanted to keep the conversation going because she was afraid the kid would split before she got any information. Not to turn her over, no ... though there was a part of her that very much felt like she should, the rebel in her told her if this kid was eight and surviving on her own, then she didn't need Sage interfering by calling the cop in. At least not at this point.

[Little Bit]

At first she did mind and moved so she could keep the cop in her line of sight. But then Little Bit got it. The cop couldn't see her if she couldn't see the cop. A look was sent to Sage that was thoughtful, as if she was surprised by the action but wasn't sure what to make of it.

"I don't look 25." She said it with all the seriousness of an adult being told that Santa really did exist. But then she realized somewhere somehow that she was being teased. She shook her head but didn't laugh yet there was a little smile on her mouth.

Call her surprised twice. Seventeen? That was old but not as old as she had thought. "I like red." It was a natural response that actually gave a little more animation to her eyes.

[SageTavers]

She tried her damnedest to not let that smile of hers spread as the girl told her that she didn't look twenty five and watched as it seemed to dawn on her that she was being teased and it could have gone either way. She could have gotten upset but there was a little more of a smile then Sage had seen thus far.

Color Sage surprised, she didn't think she'd be able to deal with a kid, but she had a feeling this one wasn' tlike most that she was used to dealing with. She folded her arms lightly over the top of book and notebook when the said she liked red.

"Orange is mine ... close enough, reds a good choice. Bold. Orange is better."

She said it with a bit of a superior tone in her voice but that was purposeful as if to say Red was not as great as orange.

[Little Bit]

Her eyes narrowed a little when her choice of color was challenged. Then she blurted, "Red turns into orange when it's in the sun too much. So Red is better. It's both." Her arms crossed in front of her chest and she jutted out her chin an a stubborn 'so there' gesture.

For a few minutes, the ploy worked. The little street kid wasn't thinking about the cop that was still outside, talking to someone about an accident or some ticket or something. Points to Sage for distracting Little Bit.

[SageTavers]

And then there it was, Sage was laughing. It wasn't an easy task either as many had come to know. Sage was more accustomed to a scowl, and giving someone the middle finger, then she was to laughing, especially the past few months.

"Well. Can't argue with that one, I think you won the argument in record time too."

She shrugged her shoulders lightly and then stretched her arms above her head for a moment and finally glanced over her own shoulder. She saw the cop was gone and scooted out of the way.

"Well lil' Alice your free to go...if you want..." She tipped her head back lightly, didn't want to pressure her into staying and so she glanced at the clock. It was nearing three o'clock at the time.

"Could always meet me back here tomorrow? You're the best conversation I've had in a while. Or you could stay an entertain me for a while, anything at this point beats studying."

[Little Bit]

Her own little scowl disappeared when Sage started laughing. For all her years on the streets, Little Bit was still a kid and laughter was sometimes the best medicine. She smiled a little and then even gave a soft little giggle of her own.

When Sage moved, the smile faded and her eyes were quick to find the window. No cop there now. She visibly relaxed. She seemed to have options. It was nice to have someone to talk to but Little Bit wasn't sure she should trust the adult. Teen. whatever!

"Maybe." She didn't commit much. "I might want a sandwich tomorrow." That was honesty talking but she couldn't help but think that another bear claw could be tasty. Her fingers fumbled with the hem of her sweater again and she finally decided to hang out a little bit longer. If the cop came back, she would deal with it. Her eyes swung to Sage. "Do you like sandwiches?"

She didn't broach the subject of studying since she had no concept of what that was.