//------------------------------// // Ch. 3 Come Again? // Story: Moonlight Sonata // by TheronSniper //------------------------------// Inside the actual house that served as the restaurant had been twelve sets of eyes all trained on the two who made such a spectacular entrance. The mere thud of the young boy kissing the floor drew chuckling from a fair amount of the patrons sitting down enjoying their meal, gifted a quick impromptu show to boot. To them however it was just a couple of kids on a date and one of them was the more eager of the two. While the former siren stood breathing nervously like a squirrel that just outran a dog, Wreathe recovered from the pain pulsing in his nose. A slight redness had even the waiter giggle just a little before he put the tray of drinks down on the nearby counter behind him. “Indi man, I keep telling you to watch that front step? Now how’s it going dude, school treating you good?” the man asked as the dining area soon quieted down from the laughs. The server was a tall man with charcoal black hair waved backwards with gel to keep it in place. A standard black apron with pockets for taking orders and holding the bill slates adorned his front. A chipper mirth in his soft pail violet face which welcomed each customer in and took every requested item on the menu with pleasure. Wreathe scrunched his nose just a little before giving the waiter a response, “Mr. Twine… hey. Ya sorry for the loud entrance I guess we were in a little bit of a rush.” He wanted to in some way make the girl he was helping understand how he hated what she just did, but they were in public and he did not want to sour the moment. At least not before everyone here who seemed to have a different perspective of them, saving face he let it go. “And who’s this lovely lady you have with ya? Never figured you a ladies man to be honest.” Twine shook his head. Sonata hadn’t noticed the attention she was getting, instead she kept an eye behind them out the glass portion of the entrance. Still grasping his hand, her terror of being seen and failing Adagio again had her nerves on edge. Seconds passed as nothing became of the anxiousness and hope that she had not been discovered yet grew every painfully slowly. “Sonata? Are you alright?” Indigo asked as both he and the waiter saw her paranoid gaze out the door. “Looks like she’s seen a ghost? I’ll be right back, you take care of whatever you need.” Mr. Twine said as he heard a customer casually ask for a check in the back, no one paying much attention at the front anymore. The wood flooring thumped with each footstep of the waiters dress shoes as he left to tend the diners, leaving Indigo to figure out what had happened. The cerulean toned girl seemed absolutely focused as if she’d been running from something or someone, and perhaps that was not far off the mark. It would be a fairy tale beginning to meeting the homeless girl, after all he didn’t know her and was acting on generosity advised by his small clique of friends. What he needed to do was calm her down and hope they might talk so he could assist her if she needed it, there was no telling what kind of life she lived thus far. The last thing he wanted was trouble himself or get involved with the bad crowd she might have stalking her. “Sonata?” he said gently squeezing back on her hand that held his still in an iron grip. She broke her stare like a puppy who heard a squeaky toy in the distance. Unfortunately as she turned to face him her long ponytail accidently whipped him in the face though not hard. It did shake him a little as his tender nose did not take kindly to the contact. She soon saw him wince and she had no idea as to why, “Oh are you okay?” Her innocence was something to be admired if not from an actor’s point of view, “Ah! I asked if you were okay… kinda spaced out there.” “Oh it was nothing, thought I saw a… a… wolf! Ya, that’s what I thought I saw down the road… nothing else… just a big scary pooch!” she deflected the inquiry with a grin and rubbed the back of her head for no other reason with her free hand. He could tell she didn’t want to share with a lie like that, the town did not have wolves just coyotes and they stayed away from the public areas out of fear. “Okay then.” He shrugged trying to salvage the evening, “Well this is a sit in restaurant soooo… let’s find a table?” She perked up happy to continue on and avoid the subject, it took her only ten seconds to find a nice seat away from windows and in the furthest part of the area. Before Mr. Twine returned she took it upon herself and once more dragged the boy in tow to the chosen table. He nearly tripped again though thankfully catching the misstep which would have ended horribly for a family eating bowls of hot soup. Dusk took the back corner seat with her new friend plopping down beside her, hair ruffled up and an expression aghast from the treatment. “Whoa! Nice digs here, it’s so normal like.” She commented as the homely décor gave the quaint noodle house its signature atmosphere. The walls were a soft cream yellow with large pictures of the man’s native homeland characterized into beautiful paintings, placed one per section between the beams. A few potted plants primarily bamboo were placed to liven the otherwise rustic color tones of the furnishings. The seats were mainly thin legged tables with similar square oriented seats, only a few areas had booths like the two claimed having poofy soft cushions which made dining easier to enjoy. There was an upstairs area from the staircase they had seen to the right of the hallway into the kitchen, the chefs could even be seen through a small rectangular portal from their table. A very white and sterile looking room clean and in the process of cooking the next dish, four people were inside with pots and utensils clanging about. Two large TV screens played the news or sports going on for the older customers entertainment. “Yes, quite, I remember why Mr. Fen preferred this look. He said it helped ease folks after a hard day at work that frequented here. Actually now that I think of it he had this a little less easy going and similar to places I’m sure you’ve been to.” He explained feeling a growing nervousness at why they still held hands well after they were seated. She sniffed at the air with delight, “Oh gosh that smells amazing! Lemony and meaty with a… that’s noodles alright.” in the process brought her hands up in ecstasy as if it were Taco Tuesday, inadvertently pulling his right arm upwards with them. It wasn’t until she had her fun when she discovered the extra weight holding her right arm down, curiously it appeared as if she’d forgotten all about it. It would have been adorable to admit, but it was the right time to try and gain freedom from the awkwardness of it all. “Ehh… you can let go now?” he grinned trying not to sound offending as if it was a hated thing to endure. “Woops! Sorry about that.” That hold which bonded them with a link seemed to have no lasting effect which was a breath of relief for the lad himself. Sensing the arrival of the server Indigo flushed his thoughts clean and focused on what he’d order, there would be plenty of time to engage the girl for meager details. From there he’d see if she’d want a job at Sweet Apple Acres courtesy of Applejack’s kindness herself. Though time would tell if she’d be someone else than she appeared, least he send a rather unscrupulous person to the famous farm.  “Well lovebirds, what can I get you?” the waiter chortled with menus to hand them. “I’ll have the red zinger!” Sonata’s most favored drink in the human world, a fizzy red beverage with a good sugary kick. “Water for me and no we’re not on a date. I’m just treating her to a meal.” Wreathe defended himself hoping to not get any assumptions drawn to him or else scare off the girl as well. Mr. Twine shook his head, “Just kidding around with ya. See the menu, we have the option for level of spice if you want some kick to your meal. I’ll be back with your drinks.” With that they were once again alone with each other and one last thing to fix, “Um… I’ll just sit in front of you if you’re okay with that.” The boy started to get up to chance his placement only for Dusk to grab his shoulder to halt him, “Why? Do I smell or something?” Again she asked out of curiosity over her own condition than what it meant to sit next to the opposite sex, “No no!! Not at all, you’re fine it’s just… well… it’s kind of a thing… to um…” he stuttered sitting back down, he was always terrible with people he didn’t know and more so with girls in a none professional atmosphere. As the teacher would say to him back during the drama era for him, to which he reluctantly admitted was true for the mild introvert he was. “Then sit next to me? Like I’m not going to eat you or feed on your negative emotions as if I could! For realzies!” Deep down she enjoyed someone to talk to who didn’t belittle her whenever she talked, in fact she missed being with the others despite that fact. The sweat starting to chill his skin barely began to flow once she essentially pointed out in a rather strange way she failed to see his perspective as such. Either the poor unfortunate had no knowledge of public expectation or she simple saw the two of them as acquaintances sharing a meal together which was what he defined their outing as. He’d be fine no matter what if that was the case, so he gave up on the move and plopped himself back beside her feeling his blood pressure drop back down. “So watcha think tastes good? I’ve kinda just had burgers, pizza, tacos, taco bowls, burritos, and sandwiches since we’ve… I mean I’ve been here! So true!” she waved a hand wide to side with a tongue sticking out to distract from what she almost said. Thankfully for her the boy had been focused on the menu already a step ahead of her, figuring she’d be likely one to ease into the cuisine through soup first. It was the cheapest meal for his wallet as well, what allowance his folks could offer so long as his grades were high. “No worries.” He dismissed her concern, “Here, look at section B, it’s a big serving and it comes with a tasty side dish too. Beef, chicken, squid…” “SQUID!! I love squid!” Sonata squealed into his ear after inching her face close to his to see where he was pointing to. “Ow.” He rubbed the flap of flesh from the tiny ring that began to fade away. She turned to her laminated pamphlet and saw the array of meats to choose from and the veggies  mixed in. While she never heard of three of the items they nonetheless intrigued her, mind set onto the dish offered her hands closed the menu and casually tossed it onto the table. Mr. Twine had returned with their drinks, passing the fizzy soda to the young lady and the clear glass of water to the frequent customer. Placing the black plastic platter on the table he extracted a pen and pad before asking away. “Well anything new this time or the same for the both of you?” he asked smiling gently at the teens. “Sonata did you want to try it?” he pointed again to the item. Nodding her head vigorously in a cute fashion she smiled wide, “Righty Runee! I’ll have the squid, it’s been so long since I’ve eaten it!” A curious eyebrow rose from their server as he looked to Indigo for more insight to her answer, “She and I will have the Handmade Soup Noodles, Squid as her choice and pork on mine please?” “Ah makes sense now, it’ll be about ten minutes so hang tight.” The man held a palm to cover his mouth as he whispered, “Got a keeper there lad.” Twine left before the peeved art student could retort even though it was just a jest. A light snort of air blew through his nose before he went for a drink which Sonata copied in turn. She hummed in pleasure at having something other than river water or half a can of something from Aria if it was almost half a can. The air between them grew quiet as they waited for their food, there was enough to see to keep the once powerful singer interested alone. However he needed to get some details about herself and once their food arrived there would be only minutes to spare before they’d have to leave. He pondered how to start, ‘I can probably get a head start and find out what she likes. Relax her into being less defensive should I go into personal matters. Yes people enjoy sharing stories of their fun times!’ his drink tapped the table as he readied himself to engage with the homeless one. Looking at her he could see some kind of a child-like carefree attitude, marveled by the new place as someone who valued everything down to the letter. How she ended up homeless he hoped it wasn’t too traumatizing, she seemed so nice at first and it tugged at his heart strings. Her legs swayed back and forth in the space they had, her hands clasping the cushioned seat. Indigo drew in a deep breath and nearly got to the point of asking what she liked to do for fun, but that never came when someone shouted gasped loud enough to draw their attention. Turning his head he came across Amethyst Star, one of Canterlot’s students and had been the theater departments animal caretaker for sets which required live animals. She worked with Fluttershy to ensure the welfare of the creatures used was well heeded and observed, though nothing bad ever happened to the furry or scaly ones when he use to be there. She was with a few other girls who appeared to stop at the restaurant out of chance but what she said next was not what he ever expected to know. With a vengeful finger pointed at Sonata to which he even confirmed by gazing at her and seeing a shameful fearful reaction to, Star shook the nearest friend to ensure his guest was seen. “It’s one of them! One of the sirens who almost ruined everything!!” she spouted out gaining her groups ire as they frowned as one. Indigo thought the label was rather silly yet Sonata’s cringe as she sank behind him to hide from their venomous beams meant it wasn’t a laughing matter. While the other customers halted in their dinners, the room grew disturbingly quiet from the hostile reaction to what they had seen before as only a normal young lady. Wreathe remained seated but faced off Amethyst in defiance, he hated an outside opinion of anyone when he knew nothing of why someone was hated or despised. “Come again?” he put an arm on the table to further obscure his guest.