The Heart and the Hero

Chapter Six - The Barista is Always Considering Poisoning your Coffee

(A/N: Thanks for anyone reading this far! This one is another chapter from Forest's perspective, although I promise there'll be some healthy doses of Sorin coming up soon! And just as a general reminder, the interlude chapter was updated to include some important context for part of this scene and the characters within, so if you haven't read the new version, I encourage you to go do that. Enjoy! :)

The bell above the door jingled cheerily as Forest grasped the handle, stepping back and holding the door to allow the two people behind them to enter first. They exchanged a polite smile with the one closest to them, a young-looking academic girl, and then the other young man gave a friendly nod towards Forest and swept her up the entry stairs, leaving them to follow.

As Forest entered the shop, the warm scent of coffee hit their nose, prompting them to take a deep exhale as they relaxed, absorbing the comforting atmosphere created by the chatter of the patrons, the homey decoration of the walls, and the intoxicating smell wafting from their bar and pastry case.

They honestly weren't expecting too much from this outing, seeing as their only connection to it was just that brief glimpse of Wolfsbane, but they felt like they had at least made a good decision coming here, as bubbly spaces like this always tended to calm their nerves.

The walls were painted a light brown, and the large windows spanning the front of the shop added plenty of natural lighting to the shop, although currently the various lamps and fairy lights at different tables were doing the most part of the illumination, due to the rain outside. There were a few plants in the corners, and several more perched on surrounding shelves.

Forest bent down in admiration, looking intently at the leaf of a potted fern, then smiled at how healthy it looked.

Standing back up, they stretched their shoulder blades to release some of the tension from their binder, and then began to take their first looks at some of the patrons, each of them happily chatting or studying while they enjoyed their various drinks.

Nobody stuck out as being suspicious or having any sort of affiliation with their nemesis, so Forest just joined the line and observed the decorations, tuning out their surroundings.

They focused on different conversations at a time, first listening to some teenagers gossip about relationship drama, then a corporate man discussing marketing strategies into his headphone, then the unhurried and sweet small talk of an elderly married couple.

Forest couldn't see the barista behind the coffee machine, but the girl taking orders was bubbly and friendly, greeting regular customers by name and asking plenty of questions to each person about their day. Although it made the line move fairly slowly, it warmed Forest's heart to hear such genuine human discussion.

They made up their mind that they might as well ask her about Wolfsbane, seeing as she seemed to know nearly everyone coming through the line. At one point, she giggled and nudged the other barista, making them swear as they nearly dropped a latte, but then they just laughed and nudged her back. At the sound of that laugh, Forest felt their hair stand up on the backs of their arms.

At that moment, they'd just been watching a fluffy cat lounging in the shop window, but their attention immediately snapped back to the register, where the energetic girl had returned to chatting with the customer in front of her, and the unknown barista was presumably still making drinks, if the sound of the milk steaming behind the machine was any indication.

But now, Forest could pick out the occasional soft mutter coming from it, throwing commentary towards the customer and the other employee, and in between, a gentle humming along to the music playing on the overhead speakers.