153/Soda Girl and her Amazing Magical Soda Cart

Soda Girl and her Amazing Magical Soda Cart
Date of Scene:	24 July 2023
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Zephyr, 'Soda Girl' is once more in Mitakihara Ward. Nanoha and Amy come by to buy some refreshing drinks and chat.
Cast of Characters:	Zephyr Windstar, Nanoha Takamachi, Amanda Faust

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Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Mitakihara Ward, heart of the city, main thoroughfare that Radiant Heart Academy students that don't live on campus take to get home.

    It's mid-afternoon, and there's a soda cart set up in Stall Mode on the main strip. It's brightly coloured, has the JAN KEN POP logo on the side, and a tall foreigner with mismatched eyes as the server. She's hawking to passers-by occasionally. "Blueberry Soda! Cherryade! Lemonade and Cola! Guaranteed refreshing and delicious or your money back! Also remember to check out our storefront in Akibahara's mall! Second floor, third front on the west side!"

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi doesn't live at school and is home for the summer break now, helping with her family's cafe, Midori-Ya. Still, she has 'things to do' and thusly is out and about as she stops by the soda cart and peers at the wares, wondering what she'll have...

She gently thinks a little as she taps her bottom lip and listens to the hawker call out her wares.

"Um.." she says. "Is the lemonade any good..?" she asks. It is a hot summer day, afterall!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amanda is on her way back from yukata shopping with friends (scene didn't actually happen yet, so don't ask any details!), making a supply run to her old apartment to pick up a few things to bring to the dorm room.

    Leaping from rooftop to rooftop is a *really fun* way to get around, actually! Amy's never really been in good shape since she was a teenager, and even then, she wasn't athletic, let alone magically enhanced!

    But, this activity does work up a bit of a sweat, and she spots some sodas that look reeeeally refreshing...

    So it is that Amanda walks out of a nearby alley, the young-looking girl wearing a black T-shirt and uniform slacks with a red sweatshirt tied around her waist and bandages on her arms. She walks up to the stall. "Alright, I'll bite and see what blueberry soda tastes like. How much?" She looks Zephyr over, before asking in English, "[If you don't mind my asking, where are you from? I'm from America, myself. Are you enjoying your school break?]"

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr smiles at Nanoha, "I'd say it's the best in town, but that's a bit disingenuous." she says with a little joking lilt to her heavily accented words. She pulls a bottle of lemonade from the coldbox, setting the sweating glass on top of the cart. "I'm not allowed to sample our own wares, or I'd never make any money, but I can vouch for the refreshment ability of all of our sodas." While the younger girl thinks things over, Zephyr looks over at Amanda... she headtilts vaguely at the English, as if listening to a translation before replying in accented Japanese. "I'm from... Up North. You won't have heard of it." she says, offering a tight little smile that begs to 'drop it, I don't feel comfortable talking about this.'

    Zephyr does, however, tug a can of blueberry soda from the cold box, indicating the price list attached to the awning support post holding up the sun cover above her head.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy offers a smile and nod of greeting to her adorable fellow customer before looking back to Zephyr, and pulls a wallet out of her slacks. "Do you take debit cards?" Upon learning no, Zephyr does not, Amy huhs, surprised. "I thought there were portable card-scanners you could plug into your phone these days... sure I've seen them for years, even..." She pulls a bill out of the wallet and holds it out. "Ah, can you give me change for two thousand?"

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi digs into her pocket and pulls out a girls her age best friend. Pocket Change!. She offers over the money. "I'll take a lemonade then!" she says with a smile, gently looking over to Amy as she head tilts a little. "Not everyone takea credit cards. I know my mom hates dealing with them at the cafe.." she trails off as she waits for her money to be taken. It's juuuust enough! With no problems!

She then blinks.

"Um. My name is. Nanoha Takamachi." she says with a matter of fact nod!

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "It's a case of having to take the burden of transaction fees. Our stock isn't expensive enough to warrent it, unless you're buying in bulk at the store." explains Zephyr apologetically, bowing with her forehead just an inch above her cart top as she speaks. "I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience."

    She straightens, and opens her cashbox, accepting the money, doing a very quick check to make sure it's genuine, before breaking it out and handing back the change and nudging the can closer to Amanda. "Thank you for your custom~."

    Nanoha's money is taken, counted and excess returned and the bottle is nudged closer with a similar phrase of thanks. The foreigner seems a bit... reluctant... to offer a name though. "If you need to call me something, just call me 'Soda Girl'... It's easier for most people to say."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Ah, transaction fees. "Damn, they're that high?" Zephyr *bows*. "Ah, you don't have too! I'm the one who should be sorry, I wasn't thinking of your small business..." She bows in turn before taking her change, putting it in the wallet, and returning the wallet to her pocket.

    She smiles at the little girl next to her adorably buying a soda with pocket change. "Nice to meet you! ...Do you go to Radiant Heart Academy, by chance? I think I saw a girl at the dance who might've looked like you... I'm Amanda Faust, I'm a student there too!"

    She looks back to Zephyr. "Is that... really okay? 'Soda Girl'... well, I guess if everyone mangles your name, there's not much helping it."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    While making this conversation, Amy opens the can, and then takes a long sip. "Mmmmmmm..."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi smiles. "Oh! I helped setup for the dance, yes I was there. My friends thought it would be funny to record me dancing with.... another girl." she says, eyes siding to the right. She doesn't elaborate further, but she blushes a little.

Fate is a complicated matter because she doesn't know the girl's deal yet. Except she wants the Jewel Seeds like she does. But they're going into bad hands. Something about her mother.

SHe sighs a little and opens her bottle of soda and takes a sip. She closes her eyes and smiles.

"That's good!" she says softly. Nice and cold lemonade on a hot summer day is perfect.

"Thank you, um. Soda Girl." she says.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr chuckles. "Like I said, I'm from Up North... my name's a bit of a mouthful for most people." She does seem a bit cagey about it.

    Raising Heart might also pick up a Device signature coming from somewhere nearby. Like a phone picking up a WiFi signal.

    "Thank you both for your custom." she offers afterwards, bowing again. "And remember, our storefront is in the Akibahara Mall, second floor, third one along the west side."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Girls can dance with other girls if they want!" Amy reassures her kouhai. "I danced with a girl too..." She offers a reassuring smile but starts to blush and smile wistfully at the memory, then shakes her head to clear it. What the heck was up with that?! She'd never felt like that before... she's been so busy fighting monsters and getting used to school she's barely had time to think about it...

    Amanda takes a longer sip of the soda, "Ahhh, that was good, Soda Girl! I'll remember to look for your store if I'm ever at the mall."

    Another thought finally makes its way to the front of her brain, and she looks curiously down at Nanoha. "Did you say your family runs a cafe? I don't think I've heard of it... what kind of cafe?"

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamchi huhs? "Oh, I know!" she says with a smile and a bounce to her step. "That's not the issue it's..." She thinks about bombarding Fate with magic just before the dance. She thinks about Fate bombarding her back. She shifts a bit. "...more complicated than that." she says to Amy.

"Did you have fun?" she asks to Amy. "I'm sorry there wasn't a lot of snacks but we had to be budget conscious and chips and pretzels are cheap!" she says with a smile. "A..as opposed to. Lots of pizza." she sulks. "Even my dad couldn't keep it in budget if he made them... and we don't even make pizzas normally!" she says.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr listens. "A dance huh? Shame I missed it... not that I got to the academy anyway." she remarks. Is this some kind of delinquent? She doesn't seem the type, but she does seem a bit older, even if it's just a few mannerisms, and not actual age.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Did she have fun? Amanda nodnods enthusiastically, grinning. "Yeah!" And blinks at the concern. "It seemed like there were *plenty* of snacks to me... I hope the school paid your family well for catering! I haven't really... gone to cafes, what's theirs like?"

    She turns to Soda Girl and shrugs. "I think whether you missed much or would've had fun depends mainly on whether you'd have found someone to dance with..." She blushes a bit and holds a hand to her cheek, looking away. "Although... I wasn't expecting to find anyone... I *really* lucked out..."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamchi smiles. "Well I mean my family helped find snacks but the school did pay for them, because we got a good deal." she says as she looks over to Amy and smiles at her blush.

"Oh. Did you dance with someone you liked?" she asks softly, head tilting again.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "Probably best I missed it then, I'm not really a big parties kinda girl." she remarks back at Amy... "It's good you found someone though."

    She seems to lose focus ,eyes looking at something that happened a while ago.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Did you dance with someone you liked?
    Amy looks back and forth between them. "I'd... never met her before, but it w-was... it was really nice..." She glances at Zephyr. "I-I was never a big parties kinda girl either..."

    She half-turns and looks away awkwardly. "I didn't know it was possible to feel like that. It's... confusing."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi smiles. "Sounds like you had fun." she says to Amy. "Possible to feel. Like what?" she asks though. She looks back at the Soda Girl and head tilts a little... "Are you okay? You seem distant suddenly?..." she asks, as she notices her looking into the middle distance.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr blinks, looking at Nanoha then covering her mouth. "Oh my... sorry about that... I got, thinking about something." she replies, then looks at her bracelet, that is clearly not a watch. "Oh shoot, look at the time... I should pack up for the day!"

    Bowing to both once more, she starts packing up. "Thank you both again for coming!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "You're welcome! Thank *you* for the sodas!" Amy responds to Zephyr, taking another sip.

    Amy blinks at Nanoha, earnestly responding, "I d... I d... I don't *know*! I just... it was really nice, s-she thought I was cute a-and...I felt safe and..." she keeps blushing more and shakes her head, finally sitting with her back against the stand. "I don't know how to describe it! It's so confusing..."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi just keeps smiling with a straight face. Does... does Fate make her feel confused. She thinks. A little bit. But maybe not for the same reasons... At least she knows her real name now. Deathsycthe was a silly code name. She nods to Zephyr and smiles. "Thank you again!" she says.

She looks towards Amy again. "I dunno if I know that feeling..." also she's like nine and has danced with exactly one (1) girl, and that girl ran off when she thought her time could be better spent elsewhere.

"What was. The other girl's name?" she asks curiously.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Uh... H-Hannah. You probably don't know her, we must be several grades ahead of you..."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi head tilts. "I guess, you're right I don't know he---"

Ding!

That's the sound of a phone notification! "OH! I NEED TO HURRY ON MY ERRANDS, I'M SORRY!" she says as she bows quickly and then suddenly takes off in a huff.

"Mom's gonna be so madddd!" she flails away! "Yuuno's out of ferret food and the store might close before I get there!" she cries.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks. "Oh um... good luck!" She relaxes, sipping her soda until it's gone, before finally moving on...