Gwen had been looking out the window, entranced by an elderly man walking a dog that was almost half his size, when she heard the door to the cafe open. She watched as a young woman entered and a small smile fell on her lips as she wondered what story this human had. The smile dropped a tad when she heard some woman call out to the newcomer. [i]Gracie[/i]. It fit. It all fit her sister's description. Some girl who had lived in Seymour all her life would be returning to the town. She was [i]some kind of failed musician[/i], or at least that was how Henrietta chose to word it.

She watched as the woman - Grace, she corrected herself - hugged someone. Hugging. The last time she'd experienced that bit of human comfort was with him, she found herself thinking bitterly. She briefly wondered where he was now, what he'd done with his life. He was better off without her, she knew. She shook herself out of her thoughts and focused back on reality to find herself staring back into Grace's eyes. [i]Ah[/i], she was suffering from Henrietta's spell. She wondered how it felt to have your mind messed with like that.

And then it was over just like that. Grace broke her gaze away, leaving Gwen to watch her in her wake.

"Right," she muttered under her breath as she settled the mug on the table. This was her target handed to her on a silver platter. She cringed inwardly. The image it brought to mind was disconcerting when she realized that she'd be making a meal out of this girl. A frown found its way to her lips as the hands of guilt momentarily grabbed at her, but she could almost feel something pry them forcefully away - something that felt just like Henrietta. She was dying, and she needed this to survive. She had to remind herself of that. "This is just nature," she said to herself as she gathered up the courage to stand and approach the two.

Gwen took a deep breath as she neared them before smiling softly at - she ran through the names and faces Henrietta had presented her earlier - Alice. "Excuse me," she began, pointedly ignoring Grace but keeping an eye out for her at her peripheral. "I'd like to purchase something to accompany my cocoa." She headed over to the display and pointed at one of the confectionery offered. "This, hmm, bear claw perhaps."

She nodded to herself before turning back to smile at Alice. "I'll have that one." She moved to head back to her table before stopping, a look of fake surprise on her face as her eyes fell to Grace. "Oh my, I didn't notice that you were here first. I didn't mean to cut in line."