[color=a187be]Itzal Albescu Fuji[/color]|NPCs
Collab between: [@Shadow007] and [@Shoryu Magami]

[i]British Themed Café | April 14, 2012[/i]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-OzzbfV70M][sub]♫ 10.000 Bullets (Tsukiyo ni Saraba) OST - Joni Scott Club[/sub][/url]

Itzal glanced back up at Paula, once he realized that she was addressing him again, [color=a187be]"If.. If that's all right."[/color] He stammered, trying to get himself more relaxed.

"Yeah, no problem at all." Paula replied, smiling.

"You two go ahead and sit down, Paula. I'll bring your stuff over in a moment." the café owner said, sounding like an uncle would if his niece was entertaining a guest at home.

"Thanks!" Paula said with a grin, heading over to one of the free tables close to the entrance, “You can use the menu here.” she said to Itzal, not wanting to make the kid feel uncomfortable.

Itzal nodded as he followed her over, [color=a187be]“All right, thank you.”[/color] He sat down in the booth adjacent from her. He folded his hands in front of him, leaning slightly against the table as he started to think about what he was going to say, but changed his mind as he glanced down at the menu. He decided that he should at least try to order first and get his thoughts in order, he would occasionally glance up at Paula from time to time as he looked over the menu.

"Here's your breakfast, Paula." the middle-aged man said as he placed down the 'builder's tea' and pancakes, thinking about poking fun at her about how she was definitely late for her breakfast and how this was more like a brunch now or something, but decided not to because he wanted to avoid interrupting the conversation she was about to start with her new friend, "So what can I get you -- Itzal, right?"

[color=a187be]“Ahhh… If I could get the full breakfast?”[/color] Itzal requested of the middle-aged man. [color=a187be]“Thank you.”[/color]

"You got it." the man replied, smirking at Paula for a moment as he turned back to start getting it ready.

Itzal cleared his throat, [color=a187be]"So..."[/color] He began awkwardly, shifting his weight as he crossed his legs to relieve the tension in his back and shoulders. [color=a187be]"What do you think I should do about this... Conundrum?"[/color] He decided to get right to the point once again, he knew he couldn't waste all day trying to decide what he should do about the matter. [color=a187be]"As I said before... It'd be almost rude to turn down such an invitation... However..."[/color] He glanced around before he continued in a lower, softer tone. [color=a187be]"I can't help but to think there's some bad omen waiting to happen... I've heard rumors of this man... That they call him "The Devil" and "The Methuselah of Paris." That he's a complete enigma... No one seems to know who he is or where he came from... Just, knowing this makes me wonder if I should trust someone like that..."[/color] He sighed as he brushed his bangs out of his face. [color=a187be]"I suppose it comes down to the fact that I need another opinion about this... When I heard you mention that name... I figured that I'd ask you about it."[/color]

Listening to everything Itzal said, there was no doubt in Paula's mind now that he did manage to understand most of the conversation between her and 'Boss' earlier. Paula had admittedly heard the stories about Lucifer Van Bonaparte prior to becoming employed by him -- really, it was sort of impossible for someone in Paris [i]not[/i] to have heard about him. It was hard for those outside of the city to not have at least heard rumours, so those in the heart of his location were always hearing things about him even if he was very reclusive. Still, to go so far as to spread rumours about him being 'The Devil'? She had heard the vampire story before, but not... no, wait a minute. Now that she thought about it, she had a vague recollection of hearing that there was some old man who called Monsieur Bonaparte 'The Devil' or something.

"I don't think anyone will deny that he's certainly mysterious, but I think calling him 'The Devil' is a bit too extreme." Paula replied, though her tone was definitely friendly -- she was not by any means scolding Itzal for referring to her employer this way, but rather pointing out that she thought it was a bit much for people to spread those kinds of rumours. "I mean, he seems like a really good guy from my experience with him so far..." she pointed out.

Itzal merely nodded slowly, [color=a187be]“I suppose such a name as ‘The Devil’ has almost… Negative aspects to it. I’ve just heard rumors of Monsieur Bonaparte… So, I’m sure there is a lot of untruth to what I’ve heard and who he really is.”[/color] He chuckled slightly, almost nervously. [color=a187be]“You can’t judge a book by its cover, yes?”[/color]

"Exactly." Paula replied in her usual friendly manner, "It's wrong to judge people from rumours you hear. Most people have lots of things about who they are that others don't know, or don't understand. Monsieur Bonaparte is the kind of genius that you only see occasionally, and those types are rarely understood... Even if some of the stories about him not being normal were true, that doesn't mean he has to be ‘evil’, right?" she added, thinking for only a moment before realizing she was sort of missing the most important part of all this, "So you were invited to meet him? I did hear that I'd be catering to a group of guests for a while. I'm guessing you're one of them?"

[color=a187be]“Yes, I am.”[/color] Itzal confirmed, glad that they had gotten that mess sorted out and behind them. [color=a187be]“I actually haven’t met with any of the said guests though.”[/color] He admitted.[color=a187be] “... I think two of them were in here earlier… However, my English isn’t as great as I would like it to be. So, I thought I’d speak to you.”[/color]

`Two of them were here...? Is he talking about those British folks who left just now...?` Paula thought to herself. Itzal had only been in the café for a couple of minutes from what she could tell, unless he had been standing at the counter without ordering for a long time or something. It made sense in Paula's mind that he must have been talking about the only two people who she had seen exit since they had presumably both arrived. Perhaps that was why they were in such a hurry to leave, but why did that handsome fellow look so haunted? Was it because he realized three of Monsieur Bonaparte's guests had managed to appear in a single café in Paris? Then it dawned on her that she and 'Boss' had also been joking about how she was working for the man now -- meaning... a total of four people, in this tiny little tea house? Is that why it freaked him out? Sure, it was a bit freaky, but Itzal did not seem too bothered by it, and Paula had honestly heard a lot crazier things about her employer. It could have been all a coincidence, but if that was the case then she needed to start doing to lottery more.

[color=a187be]“Is… Something wrong?”[/color] Itzal asked, his relaxed expression becoming a bit more strained by Paula’s sudden silence. Had she realized something he hadn’t? No, that couldn’t possibly be the case, he thought to himself as he tried to drive the thought out of his head.

"Huh...? Oh, yeah! I'm fine." Paula said as she contemplated, her expressional eyes indicating she had a bit bouncing around in her head, but she quickly pulled herself out of it. Honestly, she was not so much trying to hide it from Itzal so much as she felt it was better not to freak him out -- he did not seem bothered by it, so it was better not to give him anything else to stress about. "Well," she started, redirecting the subject but only slightly, "there's actually one guest there already. She arrived a month ago. Have you ever heard of Annabelle Joanne Taylor?" she asked, a little hint of excitement in her voice.

[color=a187be]“I have.”[/color] Itzal confirmed with a nod. [color=a187be]“I listen to some classical music now and again.”[/color] He wasn’t exactly surprised to hear that someone so famous would be staying at Monsieur Bonaparte’s.

"I thought it was so cool when she showed up. I had no idea someone like that would be coming." Paula said, "Apparently today is when all the guests are meant to arrive, but, from what Simon told me, she showed up a month ago and offered to work as a musician at the estate while she waited." she said, not even thinking about the fact that Itzal would have no idea who 'Simon' was, "She told me she doesn't like going too long without playing her music. I even got a chance to hear her in person -- she's really amazing."

Itzal tilted his head slightly, [color=a187be]“Simon… Is that a friend of yours?”[/color] He asked, trying not to ask the big question if Simon was her boyfriend or fiance. It wasn’t like it was any of his business anyway, even though he didn’t directly ask the question, he still felt guilty for even thinking about it.

"Hmmm...? Oh, Simon!" Paula said suddenly when she realized what was going on, "I guess you could say he's a co-worker? He's a really nice guy though, so I guess we're friends." she continued to explain, "He works as a bartender at the estate. Apparently he's been working there for about a year now. I've only been at the estate a couple of times so far, just to get familiar with everything. My official job starts when the guests arrive."

[color=a187be]“I see.”[/color] Itzal hummed, nodding with understanding. [color=a187be]“So, what are you going to do at the estate, if you don’t mind me asking.”[/color] He hoped he wasn’t pushing her too hard to answer his silly questions.

"Her job's being late." the middle-aged man said as he continued working on Itzal's breakfast, not really turning around, but he was smirking.

"Ha-ha!" Paula fake laughed sarcastically back at him, "He asked [i]me[/i], you know!" she said, turning back around with the same friendly expression on her face, "I'll be working as a waitress for you guys. Apparently whenever Monsieur Bonaparte plans to host a gathering, he usually hires some additional help to cater for everyone." she explained.

Itzal looked impressed, [color=a187be]“Ah, I’m interested to see what sort of food will be catered. I’m a chef myself and I am always interested to see different or new takes on dishes I’m familiar with.”[/color] He explained to her. [color=a187be]“Part of me wonders how fancy the dishes will be… I’ve only be to a few five star restaurants.”[/color]

"Oh? You're a chef? That's cool!" Paula said, actually looking rather impressed herself that someone seemingly so young was a chef, "I haven't met the chef at the estate yet, but from what I can tell there's wide a variety of dishes planned." she continued, then a thought crossed her mind, "If you like cooking, maybe they'll let you make something for everyone too? I could ask Simon to put in a good word for you if you like! People take his advice a lot, because he's really smart."

Itzal blushed slightly, [color=a187be]“That… Would be very nice of you to do that for someone like me. If they allow it, I’d love to be able to cook something for everyone.”[/color] He had never met a true European chef and this was extremely exciting for him.

"You got it! I'll ask him as soon as I get there." Paula said with a smile, "So, did you have any other questions?" she asked, apparently not bothered by how inquisitive Itzal was being. She honestly seemed to enjoy the company, and appeared to really be the honest type of person.

[color=a187be]“I was going to ask your opinion of whether you thought I should even go to the estate, but after this chat, I feel really excited about going.”[/color] Itzal told her. [color=a187be]“Especially if I could meet with the chef, that would be a dream come true. And… Thank you so much. I was extremely nervous about the fact about going to the estate and now… I feel so much better about going there.”[/color]

"Glad I could help then." Paula said, still smiling, "It'd be a shame to miss out on such an opportunity, right? I mean, I was shocked when I got my job there. I can't really say no to it, can I?"

"Breakfast's served." the middle-aged man said, bringing the meal over, "Enjoy."

Itzal smiled at the middle-aged man, [color=a187be]“Thank you again.”[/color] He said as he started to eat and enjoy his meal.