10-31-2025, 09:50 PM
“Oh. No project. Though I supposed that is the project. A pre-project… project.” She placed the mug carefully back down on the coaster, studying the quandary a moment longer. Her eyes were tired from the screen, which perhaps suggested a break was due. Lore was dedicated but she wasn’t neglectful, and she usually used timers and alarms to keep herself on schedule. Being late was the kind of nightmare she woke up sweating from.
“Did you just buy me a coffee?” The words registered some surprise. Apparently it took Lore a moment or two to process – that being the multiple strands of thought in her brain at any given time, though most people just found her fractured. She shifted, finally looked up to the disembodied voice. Her expression was polished, welcoming, the absence tucked carefully away. Her hair was in a sleek ponytail, her make-up minimal and fresh, the blouse she wore professional with a nod to fashion. In a word, perfectly neat.
“Lore Dearborn,” she said, thrusting out a hand across the gap between tables.
“Oh. And you’re Cadence Mathis.”
Frankly she seemed more pleased to have been able to put a name instantly to the face than overwhelmed at it being the face of a very famous pop star. Not that Lore regularly tread in such celebrity circles, but she was certainly accustomed to the orbits of important people, so her introduction was undiminished.
“Did you just buy me a coffee?” The words registered some surprise. Apparently it took Lore a moment or two to process – that being the multiple strands of thought in her brain at any given time, though most people just found her fractured. She shifted, finally looked up to the disembodied voice. Her expression was polished, welcoming, the absence tucked carefully away. Her hair was in a sleek ponytail, her make-up minimal and fresh, the blouse she wore professional with a nod to fashion. In a word, perfectly neat.
“Lore Dearborn,” she said, thrusting out a hand across the gap between tables.
“Oh. And you’re Cadence Mathis.”
Frankly she seemed more pleased to have been able to put a name instantly to the face than overwhelmed at it being the face of a very famous pop star. Not that Lore regularly tread in such celebrity circles, but she was certainly accustomed to the orbits of important people, so her introduction was undiminished.