White Camellia, Red Snapdragon and Lilies both. (Private)

"Oh, yes, I'd love to meet her, too," Carol enthusiastically agreed, nodding her head. Her attention returned to Luna, then, and she nodded with a smile at her, as well. "Call me Carol, though!" she added before Luna could get away. 

"Sure," Ana quietly agreed, smiling as she watched Luna go back to work. It was, like, her favourite past-time.

Yurio was surprised to be dragged right back where he came from, and confused about it to boot. "Oh, sorry, I gue-..." Yurio started apologising, but found himself suddenly cut off by Aurora's motivational kiss. It certainly wiped the fake smile off his face, even if that wasn't the reason for it. "Oh, I'm fine, just weirded out is all. Let's go back. Can't leave Luna alone, now, can we?"

With a slight smile on her face Elizabeth pulled a phone out of a pocket of her trousers and sent a simple text to her youngest daughter. She then put the phone back where it'd been before and put a leg on a leg. A giggle escaped the nine-tailed witch's mouth when Carol made that particular request to Luna. It was certain that the wolf witch would probably never get used to calling her girlfriend's mother by her nickname. "Don't expect Luna to start calling you "Carol" anytime soon." She finally said, feeling amused.

A huge blush accompanied Luna all the way back behind the counter. Handling things until Aurora was done with whatever it was that she needed Yurio for wasn't a trouble at all for her. "C-Carol... huh..." She whispered quietly when no one could hear her.

"We'll deal with the weirding out eventually." Aurora simply said as she released Yurio. Before he could go though, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then a wink. Then she left the backroom herself and joined Luna. It seemed like she still wanted to continue helping the two for she had literally nothing better to do.

"But everyone does," Carol said, steepling her fingers in front of her chest. She said it as if that made it any more likely that Luna would join with all of those people. Then, she suddenly grinned and put her arms around Lyra and Ana, pulling the two of them towards her. Especially, Ana, since there was an empty spot there that Carol felt needed filling. "'Cept these two, of course!"

Yurio followed Aurora, now wearing a proper smile rather than the other one. He looked and listened around and found that there wasn't much to do for the moment anyway. "Impressions?" he asked, poking Luna in the shoulder. 

Neither one of the Kindleberry girls looked to be particularly bothered or inclined to do anything about their treatment.

Elizabeth shook her head before letting out a quiet giggle. Her hand reached out towards her friend and rested it on her shoulder. "Oh Carol, Carol..." She said, shaking her head a little. "You must understand that the lovers of your children will often try to be as respectful towards you as possible. They fear the disapproval of their relationship. Even I did my best not to get on Dalibor's parent's bad side." Elizabeth explained, even though it was obvious. Although she truly wasn't sure if Carol just didn't have a similar attitude or just didn't care.

Luna jumped when she was poked like that. Looking up at Yurio she bit her lip before looking away for a moment. "I... I don't know... Ana's m-mom seems like a nice person but... I'm s-scared of doing something s-she won't like..." Luna said honestly. "B-but... Aurora's mom is acting... weird."

Carol let her kids go and looked towards Luna at the counter for a moment. Her gaze returned to Eliza and she shrugged. "No issues on that front," Carol said. It was up to Luna in the end, but as cliche as the phrase is, 'Mrs. Kindleberry' is what her mother is called. 

Ana leaned forward from behind her mother and raised an eyebrow at Eliza. "Doesn't Yurio call you Eliza, Auntie? And he tries hard to keep on your good side, too, I think," she said. Yurio, polite as he was, didn't seem to think that a respectful form of address was necessary. Then, she wasn't even going to mention Chauncey. She knew he wasn't a bad person deep down, but damn it did he ever make people think so.

"Oh, don't worry. She seems a hundred times easier to deal with than Eliza, so it should be super easy for you," Yurio said. It would seem that his baseline for people that are difficult to deal with was Aurora's mother.

Elizabeth nodded on Carol's words. As long as it wasn't an issue it was all fine. As for Ana's question, Eliza looked towards Yurio and started smiling, while staring right a the poor guy. "Yurio is an exception to many things, I believe. Him being a dragon does give him a certain amount leeway, since his way of thinking may be different. At least in my eyes." She admitted. "Besides, I've never said that all girlfriends and boyfriends will do that. Besides, I do get a feeling that Angela's new boyfriend might cause me a headache or two, but I should speak to him first and find out." Elizabeth nodded and closed her eyes for a moment as if to give herself some time to think about something. It was just for a moment though.

"Eliza doesn't seem that... that d-difficult to 'd-deal' with..." Luna said quietly in response to Yurio's statement. "I... d-don't think she's t-that bad a-as you make her out to be..."

While Yurio knew he was being talked about and felt like he was being watched, he was also trying to ignore it. "Most of everyone else I know is really straightforward, and I don't like the way that she seems to be able to read you completely with a glance. But, yes, I overreact a bit, sometimes... Maybe... She just puts me on edge and whatever is going on now is just plain confusing. That said, I don't think I'd be able to work here if I really thought we couldn't get along."

"Sorry 'bout that," Ana said, unable to refute Eliza's assumptions, as she sat back in her seat again. She knew that Angela and Chauncey would get along, but she wasn't really thinking about what introducing a guy like him to everyone around Angela would make happen. 

Carol looked at the purple-haired boy, curiously. "Seems human enough to me," she said. "And I mean the way he acts, being more or less like anyone else."

Luna felt stupid all of the sudden. Of course, Yurio would stay the hell away from Eliza if he really hated her. "Ah, y-yeah, that makes sense. Yes, o-of course... S-silly me, it's obvious..." Luna said quietly. With a blush on her face, she turned towards the nearby coffee grinder as if to check if it needed a refill on the beans.

Elizabeth sent a warm smile to Ana. "It's all fine and good. It's important to clear any doubts." She simply told her. Doubts and misunderstanding truly were the worst. When Carol expressed her thoughts about Yurio's behavior, she rubbed her chin. "I agree. If not for a few of his unique things about his appearance you wouldn't be able to tell a difference. However, I simply don't assume his way of thinking must necessarily be the same and I don't read minds to check out. Again, he's a good man, in my opinion." She explained, before once again looking towards Ana. "Speaking of boyfriends... I've heard you're friends with Angela's boyfriend. How he's like really?" Elizabeth said and then asked, hints of curiosity and perhaps even worry, present in her voices. Of course, anyone who knew her long enough would quickly assume those were the emotions she wanted and decided to show.

"Hey, it's not like I make it easy to figure, so don't worry about it," Yurio said to Luna as she turned away to inspect tools over making conversation. He turned around to scrutinise the shelves of beans behind the counter instead. He was still learning about all of them, so he took most chances.

"Lets put it this way: I picked Chance to introduce Angela to for a reason. But if you want more detail... He's blunt and rude and he doesn't do well on first impressions, but he's not a bad guy despite the short temper he has for strangers that bother him. He cares a lot for the few people he's managed not to drive away and befriend, and I figured Angela wouldn't just back off. Then they had a race or something, and then apparently liked each other enough to give dating a go, I dunno. I live amongst musclebrains, but alas, their ways are forei- Ouch! Ow!" Ana carefully explained her thoughts about her friend, and then was interrupted when her mother flicked her on the side of her head and Lyra reached over to give her a small dose of mismatched wavelength.

After a moment of sitting silent, Luna turned towards Yurio and approached him slowly. Looking over his shoulder she glanced over at the shelves full of beans. "I'm... s-still amazed how some brands can differ in terms of... coffee strength." Luna commented quietly. They had bags of beans of varying amounts of caffeine and Eliza made sure to have a few bags imported from other continents too, just in case they had to prepare something fancier.

Eliza listened to Ana's description of Chauncey in silence and focus as if she was carefully analyzing and making mental notes of all of his personality traits. She found it rather funny how many negatives there were to the man, but she wouldn't make a final judgment before talking to him, definitely. Upon noticing how Ana's mother and sister reacted to the last statement, Eliza couldn't help but giggle a little a first, before giving the two a rather judgemental look followed by an amused head shaking. "You're only proving her point, Carol~" Elizabeth teased.

Yurio wiggled his nose as he looked at all of the different kinds, and nodded. "And they all smell different... How much can you change one plant..?" he said, crossing his arms as he contemplated the selection. 


"Oh, I realise we're freaks of nature, but she's saying it like she isn't one of us. It might have been a long whole ago, but for a weapon, even with her condition, she's always been above average," Carol said, then turned to Ana. "That hasn't changed, has it?"

Ana looked away, trying her best to looks innocent. "Just 'cause Lyra's always dragging me along..."

The youngest Kindleberry leaned around and stuck her tongue out, despite the fact that Ana couldn't see.

It seemed like the coffee talk was enough to get Luna a little bit more lively. "Oh... b-but it's not just about changing the plant itself, it's, uhm, the process of roasting the beans often is what determines the taste, the, hm, the s-smell and the properties of the drink." The wolf witch explained, not hiding her big interest and excitement related to the topic.

Eliza was slowly returning to her usual demeanor, now that the risk of an embarrassing exposure of her true nature was over, even then, she just smirked a little, hearing the exchange between the mother and her daughters. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I have never said you are freaks of nature. Saying so would also mean I have a similar opinion of my husband and daughter. Although I must admit, living among you musclebrains is quite the entertainment~!" She admitted, before giggling a little, quietly.

Just as Eliza finished the sentence, a red-haired person walked into the cafe with a wide grin on her face and excitement in her eyes. She waved towards Yurio, Aurora and Luna, before approaching the counter. "Hey'o, y'all! Got a text from mum. She wanted me to come to the cafe ASAP. What's up?" The fire witch asked, without even looking towards the tables that were behind her at that point.

"When I roast things, they tend to turn to ash," Yurio joked, though after nodding along to Luna's explanation with evident interest. "Still, it's still technically one plant. All the things you do to it after it's grow also counts... Although, maybe it's not as drastic as some others? I just had the thought that there are sooo many kinds of apples."

Carol shrugged. "I don't mean it as a bad thing. It is what it is," she said, and apparently that was all she had left to say on the subject, deciding that that was enough of that. She was more interested, now, in the new arrival. Three sets of sharp eyes fixed on the red-head who just walked in and completely missed what she was there to look for. 

Yurio only turned from the shelves of coffee for a moment, since he was well aware that it was Angela that walked in and not a normal customer, to point towards the table most often occupied by a usual set of offenders. "Kindleberry stuff," he said, not willing to offer a proper explanation. She'd find out soon enough. He had coffee to scrutinise.

"W-well... technically there are a few types of coffee plants so... It's... it's kind of like with all the different kinds of apples you can have..." Luna explained, happily sharing her knowledge with Yurio. It was kind of funny how important that knowledge was for her and her job. Coffee became a big part of her life.

Elizabeth nodded along, before looking towards the counter. Seeing both her daughters there filled her with pride, somehow. Perhaps Carol's arrival along with the reunion with her daughters slightly and perhaps temporarily, made her appreciate her position as a mother of two daughters.

Angela raised an eyebrow hearing such a laconic explanation. No matter. With a hand, rested in the pocket of her jacket, the fire witch turned on her heel towards the table occupied by the Kindleberrys and her mother. Without hurry, she approached them, took a look at Mama Kindleberry, then waved at them with a free hand. "Hello there." Angela greeted the group, and smiled a little. "Aunt Caroline, yes?" She asked, looking at Carol curiously.

"Are there?" Yurio seemed puzzled by the revelation. He'd been under the impression that it was just one. So, not quite like apples. He looked to take the information at face value, though. Luna was the coffee expert, at this point. He finished up his careful consideration of coffee with a few sniffs, turning his head towards a few varieties as he did so, and then took a pair off of the shelf and turned back around towards the counter.

Carol raised a hand and gave Angela a little wave as the girl finally noticed them, smiling. The youngest Kindleberry next to her was a little more energetic, grinning as she waved her hand high above her head. Ana seemed, predictably, uninterested in doing anything of the sort. 

"That's me. Call me Carol, though, everyone does," Carol said, folding her hands in her lap as she  took the time to take a good look up at Angela. A few moments later, she turned to Eliza and grinned at her "Two for two~" she said, though clearly paying no mind if everyone knew what she was talking about or to hear any answers, as she turned right back.

Before she could speak, though, Lyra piped up and with the hand she had in the air before Angela came over patted the space next to herself. "C'mon, sit down. You're being gossiped about," she said, still grinning.

A moment of silence would pass before Luna decided to ask a question regarding all the sniffing Yurio'd been doing. "Uhm... S-so, is y-your smell memory so good to be able to remember all the d-different smells of t-these beans?" The wolf witch asked.

Eliza turned her head to the side seeing her friend's grin. She tried to pretend she had no idea what that woman was talking about. It was obvious though, of course, but Elizabeth thought it would be a little bit more amusing to play dumb. At that very moment.

Angela grinned, resting a hand on the hip. "Just Carol or aunt Carol?" She asked, before letting out a small giggle. Seeing her cousin so eagerly inviting her to join them was something she could not resist. The fire witch nodded and sat down in the free seat next to Lyra. "I hope it's only the good gossips you're hearing~?" She asked with a singing voice.

"I can tell them all apart, but I don't quite remember them all but it quite yet. I picked what seems to smell good together," Yurio said. He spent most of his time as a waiter, after all.

"That's up to you," Carol said, before Angela went to sit down. 

"Uhm..." Lyra started to think of an answer to Angela's question, since it wasn't quite all positive, but her sister cut her off.

"Chance," Ana said simply, hoping that just mentioning him would more or less explain what had to have been talked about.

Luna nodded a little after hearing the explanation. "P-Picking w-what smells good seems to be reasonable..." She said quietly. "Taste is... definitely more i-important in m-many cases." The wolf witch added, smiling a little.

Angela nodded, being given a choice by Carol. For many, it would be clear what the girl would pick. "Carol it is then~!" She said. Her smile turned into a look of confusion upon noticing a weird stare that her mother was giving her. When Ana answered Angela's initial question, the fire witch started chuckling. "Somehow I'm not surprised." The fire witch said with amusement present in her voice. "He does have a tendency of making really bad first impressions, doesn't he?"

Yurio went about actually preparing and brewing the beans, then. "If this nose is good for anything, it's deciding what'll taste good."

"Yeah, he does. They haven't met him, though, so I thought a warning might be good," Ana said, nodding to agree with Angela while leaning forward. "Although, thinking about it, that should probably be your job," she then said, sitting back again.

Luna nodded a little, after a moment of thinking. "I-I see..." The wolf witch said, rubbing her wrist a little. "A-Aurora must be lucky to have you around the k-kitchen then?" She added, smiling a little, much to Aurora's amusement.
"Or while being out doing groceries, yeah!" The young fox witch added, before letting out a giggle. "Yurio's nose helps when searching for the best quality food. Ah, well, Yurio's skills in many fields are amazing, to be honest, so yeah, I'm lucky indeed!" When it came to praising Yurio, Aurora sure liked to boast about him.

Angela leaned forwards towards Ana with a smirk on her face. "Oh come on~! Warning them about Chauncey would make me sound like I was ashamed of him." She told her, the smirk turning into a full-scale grin.

Eliza, as expected, had something to say regarding that topic too. "At least I expect you to be able to keep your boyfriend in check, when needed, Angela." She said, although, despite her calm tone, it almost sounded like she didn't believe that Angela would do that anyway.

"Yeah, yeah, mooom. I will do thaaat." Angela said, trying to sound as innocent as she could, which unsuspectingly made her sound ungenuine. Her attention shifted towards Carol. "Oh, oh! I've got a question for you, Carol. You, uncle Gyles, mom and dad grew up during times where witches didn't have such a good reputation as they have nowadays right? Did you trust mom to be one of the pacifistic witches or did you suspect she was just pretending to be one?" Coming from Angela, that question was probably completely random, for those who didn't know her well. However, being a closet history nerd she was, that question was only going to feed her curiosity regarding more recent witch history.

"It's a top notch sniffer on a top notch guy, yes," Yurio agreed, rather egotistically if a little sarcastically as well. Mostly because he was focusing on what he was doing.

"Warning people about Chauncey is for the good of all involved and should be common courtesy," Ana said, unwilling to stop saying things to make her friend look like a dick. She would say all that and then vouch for him wholeheartedly, of course, but it didn't mean she would stop. 

"Oh, we only met once Dalibor was head over heels for her. Actually, Dalibor and Gyles, I didn't really know them all that well before they went off to check on Elsie and your grandparents. I did have a massive crush on Gyles, though, and was quite frustrated when they went off and disappeared for ages... Ah, that's a tangent and a rant that's not good for Dalibor's health, so I'll stow it, but after they came back and ruined my meister career," she cleared her throat, then, having to force herself to stow it, "After they came back, collecting my 100th soul before they even had 99, though, admittedly, saving my ass in the process, it turned out that Elsie came with. Really, you couldn't pretend to be that into someone, and Gyles was sure of her too, so I had no reason do doubt her."

"Even after almost getting offed by the witch Dad saved you from," Lyra butted in.

"Yes, even after that, thank you," Carol replied in a rather curt manner. 

Luna seemed confused over Yurio's statement. What was even more puzzling, was Aurora's amusement caused by it. When Aurora was done laughing though, she tapped Yurio on the shoulder with a slight smile. "Need a hand?" She asked him while waving a little with her left hand. It was a joke of a rather poor taste, but Aurora could certainly allow herself to make fun of her own disability.

Grinning, Angela waved her arm in response to Ana's statement, absolutely unphased by it. "I could start giving people warnings about his behavior, but where's the fun in that?" She replied, half-jokingly, before focusing on what Carol had to say. Needless to say, her aunt's story had some interesting points to it, that seemed born out of some sort of grudge and frustration towards Angela's father. That seemed illogical, however, considering how Gyles and Dalibor had to save Carol from a witch first. Besides, why wasn't that frustration aimed at Gyles too? Angela sent her mother a questioning look and the only response she received was a shrug and an ambiguous smirk. "Soo, you're salty you've never gotten your hundredth soul huh?" Angela summed up what seemed to be the hidden focus on Carol's story. Perhaps it was a little disrespectful of her to be so blunt, but her own experiences with her sister's failure to create at least one Death Scythe and the consequences of it and her own troubles even finding a compatible weapon made Carol's frustration seem less of a deal. "At least you've had a weapon." Angela kept digging deeper. "At least you have not lost a limb white trying to collect souls to create two death scythes." At that moment, the fire witch pointed towards her older sister. Angela didn't look nor sound angry, but there was that hidden irritation in her eyes.

Elizabeth's sigh put a definitive end to Angela's counter-rant. It seemed like she wasn't too surprised to witness her own daughter react in such a way to the way Carol included her own personal feelings into such an innocent unrelated question. "You and Aurora have some in common Carol." Elizabeth calmly explained, trying to add some context to Angela's words. "Going back to the original topic, however, because clearly the digression is not leading in any proper direction - Carol and I have quickly become friends. Her personality is and has always been truly irresistible, even for me. Besides, despite my best efforts to prove everyone and myself otherwise, she can read me like an open book." Elizabeth swiftly summed up the friendship between herself and Carol.

---
Meanwhile in front of the DWMA:
Dalibor was done with lectures and classes for the day and was headed to the cafe to grab something sweet to raise his sugar levels and enjoy the cuteness of his beloved wife and kids. A sudden idea changed his plans, however. After all, it has been a long while since he last asked Gyles to hang out. After pulling his phone out of the pocket of his coat, he called Gyles.

"I've got plenty, thanks," Yurio said, shooting Aurora a grin as he took her own joke a step further. He was just about finished with preparing his impromptu blend, and it didn't take all that much more to brew. 

"Fun for you and me, maybe, but not quite as much for whoever has to talk to him for the first time," Ana commented. 

"Oh, that's not all it is, Angela, but everything that happened as a result as well. And my own experiences don't make yours or Aurora's any less important, and vice versa," Carol said, before Eliza could interrupt. Once she did, Carol waited patiently for Eliza to explain as much as she wanted to before she herself decided to add comment. "You're not that mysterious, you know," she said to Eliza, smiling. A few moments later, she leaned forward fixing her eyes on Angela. "And, along with Eliza, I also became very good friends with Dalibor. Would you like me to explain, or would you prefer not to hear it?"

With that all going on, Ana seemed perfectly content to ignore it, while Lyra seemed rather uncomfortable for the first time that day. She was between Angela and Carol and very much not small enough to just sit there and have the conversation happen over her head. 


A few rings later, and the ringing stopped to be replaced by the bored voice of the intended recipient of the call. "Y'caught me in the middle of a hellish pile o' photos and usin' those to try an' find a needle in a haystack, so I hope y'got somethin' a damn sight more interesting than this to tell me 'bout. What's up?"

Aurora pointed finger-guns at Yurio while grinning widely. All she needed were sunglasses to add to the comedic effect of her pose. "Aaaaay~!" She said before her amusement reached unbearable levels and she started to laugh.

Eliza glanced over at Carol at her remark. "It's sae easy fur ye tae say that efter knowing me fur years, Carol, mah dear." She said, smiling, allowing her Scottish accent to slip in. Whether that was done on purpose or not, would remain a mystery. At least Eliza seemed rather amused by it, judging by the eyes.

While the topic of failed meister careers was a sensitive one for Angela, that didn't mean she was going to keep being irritated about Carol's complaining for longer than it was healthy. "Of course, I'd like to hear it, auntie." The fire witch said, smiling at her Carol. She was genuinely interested, there was no doubt about it.

"Gyles buddy! I'm callin' ya to ask when you're gonna be done with work for today, pal." Dalibor explained the purpose of the call, not without laughing at how bored Gyles sounded. "C'mon, if work's bein' a boring bitch, why not change the environment to get yer head refreshed, eh? Let's go grab somethin' to drink at Eliza's cafe, hm? How does that sound to ya?"

Again, Yurio was a little too immersed in what he was doing to share in the joke. It'd be worth it, or at least Yurio would hope so.

Carol rolled her eyes at Eliza's sudden switch to the accent she usually kept hidden and instead of humouring her, sat back in her seat once more, thinking. "Hmm... I guess I'll start with my last mission, or what led up to it. See, when Gyles and Dalibor went and disappeared, I was rather frustrated, because I'd barely done anything to try and even get to know Gyles. That made me put my all in hunting, and the progress was really something else. Even by the standards of my strict family. It kind of went to my head, and I got extra cocky. I was and still am a very proud person, but this was extra. In the end, I couldn't handle the target as well as I'd hoped and had to get bailed out. I think I could have handled it in the end, what with all these years of experience I have gained since then, but whoever was overseeing me didn't and so they sent help. Being bailed out by my crush and his partner, though, was kind of the last nail in the coffin and I was so embarrassed that I stopped taking missions for a good long while. My weapon wasn't quite patient enough and so went off to find themselves another partner. I was abandoned, which didn't help. Now, even though I liked Gyles very much, I couldn't help but take it out on him for a while and that sort of went back and forth until, well, the obvious happened. Now, between Gyles, being weak and the whole deal with my weapon, I dealt with everything that happened. I don't need a weapon to fight, I have my niche company and I have my family. My past, I'm over it. All of it, except for Dalibor. Dalibor and I, it turned out, were about as strong as the other. Always. I'd wager we still are. Neither one of us could ever beat the other. But he saved my ass once, so of course, my pride won't let me forgive him for jacking my witch soul, even though it's not his fault and totally just me being too proud. Doesn't mean it's all that serious, even if I do want to smash his face into the dirt someday. I'm sure he'd love to win against me, too."

"You have some lungs on you, mum," Ana commented, since she didn't stop speaking for quite a while. Her and Lyra more or less knew the story, although despite that, nobody saw fit to mention who it was exactly that wielded her dad. Talk about a lack of information... 


"Flexible hours. Be right up. Meet ya' out front." Gyles said, without really thinking about it for all that long. He needed a break.