Primum Non Nocere

[Joza Perl]

Secret Break Café
Zeltros

With a name like Secret Break, you’d think that it was a brothel. Or a café, fronting as a brothel. Or both, really. This was Zeltros. Anything went.

But really, it was Joza’s secret little break. Located in one of the wealthier districts of Pleasure City, Secret Break was a fancy, artisanal café decorated with pastel shades of pink and purple, accented with golds and blues. While the colors weren’t as bold as the rest of the city, the café’s design was just as rich. Speaking of rich, the prices weren’t for the faint of heart.

Once every other Taungsday at exactly 1:45 pm, Joza cleared her schedule and reserved a small table on the outdoor patio overlooking the garden. It was her “me-time”, her break from the trials of motherhood and business alike. It was a time for her to sit calmly, enjoy her caf and appreciate the delicate little cake on the plate in front of her.

Today was no different, and the Zeltron sat poised with cup in hand, gazing out into the gardens. Everything was always so perfect here, so well manicured, that she wouldn’t be surprised if there was a dirty little secret or two lurking beneath the floorboards. Still, it was a time like this where she managed to take a step back and see how far she’d come from the slums.

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah had never been to Zeltros. Oh, she's always intended to. Just....

Things happened.

Moments bled into months, which bled into years. There was always some reason or another she was just too busy to make the trip. Once or twice she and [member="Jairus Starvald"] had made the plans, only to have one emergency or another crop up. And once the twins had come along, and then her masquerade as her own clone within [member="Darth Carnifex"]'s Empire well....

Life had been busy.

She didn't really have the time to be here now either. But for the last few years, a curiosity had been gnawing at her. When she had taken [member="Elliot Locke"], turned him to her purposes, what had caused him to stumble, to fail- ultimately to make the mistake that allowed her to move that final step ahead of him had been one woman.

[member="Joza Perl"].

The Zeltron didn't know it. If Irajah had a say, she never would. But it wasn't until Irajah had dangled the threat of her safety in front of Elliot that he had made the fatal mistake that had brought his fall. Even then, she'd never intended on touching a hair on the woman's head- that wasn't her style. But Elliot had been willing, even eager, to believe the worst of her.

His bias and his love had been his undoing.

But since then, she had wondered about her.

"Excuse me?"

Standing a meter off, Irajah Ven smiled hopefully at the zeltron woman. Dark hair curled around her face, and she wore a comfortable, slouchy sweater in jade. Hazel eyes were bright, and she held a mug of caf, dark and sweet, cupped in her hands.

"That wouldn't be one of their Jana cakes, would it? I heard that they made the best ones here. I was trying to weigh between those and the little cookies with the flower pressed into the top. Which do you think is better?"

 

[Joza Perl]

Turning away from the gardens—so manicured to perfection that she almost hated them for being so perfect if they weren’t so pretty—Joza shifted her attention towards the woman who’d approached her.

She looked oh so cozy, from the warm smile to the cup with wisps of steam curling above the surface of the caf. While this was usually her personal time, she felt no urge to turn this stranger down. So long as this wasn’t someone sent from the accounting department.

“I’m fond of both.” She answered simply. The sweets here were so delicate, pleasing to both the eye and the tastebuds. Which was a good thing, given their hefty price tag.

“Why don’t you try for yourself?” Turning the plate around so that the uneaten side of the cake faced away from her, Joza nudged it towards the center of the small table. “I wish they gave out samples, but everything here has a reputation for being delicious.” Giving the woman a disarming smile, she balanced the fork on the rim of the plate and gestured towards the chair across from her.

“First time on Zeltros?” For all she knew, she could have been a native.

[member="Irajah Ven"]

 

[Kuzo]

"Oh I couldn't," her hand waving slightly, but eyes casting to the cake for a moment before.

"Weeeeelll maybe a taste. But only if you'll let me buy you another cup of tea before I go."

She settled into the chair across from her, relinquishing her hold of the mug of caf for a moment to try a bite of the cake. Her eyes closed as she chewed. "Oh maw that's amazing."

It took a conscious effort not to send the feel of the experience through her link to [member="Jairus Starvald"] and tell him he needed to learn how to make this asap. But as usual when she was out and about, she kept her Force signature small, tightly under wraps and unused. She never knew when she'd run into someone who could ruin everything and she rarely chanced it in public. Better to be over looked. Much better in fact. She'd harass him about it later though.

A laugh, glancing up at the other woman now.

"That obvious?" She asked ruefully, then nodding. "I've always meant to but never had the time." She didn't ask the same in return, for what could be considered very obvious reasons. Ask a zeltron if they came here often?

"My job keeps me very busy- that and family," she added with a smile. "But sometimes you just have to.... steal a little time for yourself, right? So I thought I'd take a weekend, take in the sights."

[member="Joza Perl"]