Blake looked up when the bell of her cafe clanged. It was an unusual time for somebody to come in. It was midday, 3PM. Most people were still at work and most kids maybe just getting off of school. It'd only been about three weeks since the Sugar Flower Cafe had opened its door. She sat in a quiet, sleepy neighborhood not far from Tukson's bookshop. The locals were a bit wary of a new shop opening up, but Tukson had helped her make some connections in the local Faunus community in order to start getting people in her doors. She'd saved up all her money for the past several years, working freelance translation jobs which paid pretty handsomely since she had such a wide range of languages she knew. She was only eighteen, but she had managed to save up and research for all the permits following her time with the Fang.

  The woman that had stepped in was a redhead with a ponytail and crimson eyes matching her hair. Wiat... Blake thought she'd run into her before. How had she found the cafe?

  The woman came up to the counter and smiled at her. "Hello, Blake~ How's business?" She grinned, eyes gleaming merrily. Yes, this definitely was…

  "Anna. What can I get for you?" She was the only person in the shop since it wasn't like she had any employees. She hadn't hired anybody, not wanting to get into that sorta conflict with other people. Plus, it didn't help she had her advanced aura... She could read other people's souls very easily. Now that she'd had some time to calm down and regain her bearings, she had full access to her advanced aura. It wasn't like she could predict people's orders, though... But everything they thought and felt... It was an open book to her.

  Well. Anna was a mystery to her. She had high defenses, possibly higher than her own mother which was saying something. She couldn't tell what the woman was thinking at all.

  "A double shot espresso will do." She continued to grin, her eyes twinkling merrily. The woman never gave up anything. She was as mysterious as they came.

  Blake nodded and got the order for her, then handed her the tiny little cup. "Here you go. Though... If I know you, you want something from me and it's related to business." The woman was all about business. She knew that much. She was struggling to make ends meet right now which was incredibly difficult. She only had a few regulars that had become incredibly predictable. Same order, same time. No deviation. She had plenty of books to read too; Tukson gave her books that people could read. Books that hadn't been touched in his shop in a long time and were taking up shelf space. People could buy them and he let her keep the meager profits from the sales. Most were about four lien, ten at worst. Tukson didn't mind the tiny loss over books he was selling for, like, 50% off if not more.

  Anna's eyes continued to gleam and she nodded affirmatively. "I have an interesting business proposition for you, Blake. You're in a unique position. You're an advanced aura user and, with all the studying you've put into psychology--" Her ears flattened. This woman always knew too much. "--you might be able to help kids around your age with various problems. However, these kids...wouldn't be from around here."

  Blake raised an eyebrow, her ears twitching a bit. "What exactly do you mean?" She wasn't going to move her cafe. She might have more success in southern Mistral where coffee culture was far more prevalent than Vale, but she was less likely to be found in Vale and the government wouldn't care as much about her history with the White Fang if they found out. She had the least record in Vale... Atlas was the worst. She'd face the death penalty if ever extradited there. She knew it.

  "You're more aware of the world than most people, and you're aware of how most people think far better than most. I'm offering you a business partnership. You could help kids from across the multiverse if you wanted. The cultures will often be similar to what you're familiar with like the Nippo region of central Mistral, the Fancios region in southern Mistral, and so on. You'll know most of the languages already."

  "Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now? Helping other people from across the multiverse? I don't doubt it exists, but it can't be that easy to access..." Right? Then again, Anna always seemed to show up whenever someone needed something. "What would the cost be?" The woman was profit driven; she knew that. Anna would only do something if it benefited her in some way. She knew better than to believe in Anna's altruism... There was no way she could easily do something without want of profit.

  "I'll become your supplier for everything. I can do coffee, tea, spices, syrups, and everything else. At about 80% of the rate you pay for everything." Blake raised her eyebrow. She was going to give her a lower price than what she already got? There had to be a catch of some sort. Anna raised her arms. "I'll be your sole supplier. That's the catch. I can even help give you access to Menagerine ingredients if you want them."

  Blake blinked, her ears twitching slightly again. "You can what? But how?" She had found some half-decent dupes for Menagerine spices and such, so she could offer Menagerine-style sweets and teas, but it wasn't the same without the native ingredients.

  Anna's eyes remained bright. "I have my ways. That rose tea you love so much? I can get the spices for it and you can make the simple syrups for it." That would be a dream come true. She missed that tea with all she was. It had been her favorite treat when going out to the market with her mother when she'd been a child. She missed having it so much. The specific species of rose didn't grow outside of Menagerie and neither did the exact spices she needed for it. "So deal?"

  "Give me a contract and we can negotiate." Anna produced a piece of paper which already had everything outlined on it. She couldn't see anything that would negatively impact her and her business on it. For the next several hours, they talked intensely. Blake drove a hard bargain but so did Anna. Eventually, they came up with a revised contract. Anna would get her a revised one and they would sign tomorrow.

  Which is exactly what happened. Afterward, Anna smiled. "I'll put a few spells on your place and be on my way then~ Happy business~~" With that, the woman slipped out of the cafe and Blake shook her head. This was definitely on the strange side. She probably shouldn't believe in the multiverse and Anna's nonsense so easily, but the woman seemed to always know where people were and exactly what they needed at any given time. At least the reduced price on goods would help her with her profit margins. Without her selling a lot of stuff, she was really tight right now. She'd let her current stocks run out, then move on to Anna as her supplier. She'd already talked to all of her suppliers so they knew... They'd incurred a cancellation fee but she hoped this would help boost her business. It just seemed as if nobody in Vale was keen on yet another cafe opening up.

  However, her ears twitched a bit when the bell clanged a short while later. A blonde girl dressed in a blue dress with a dog on a leash looked around a bit. The dog wore a service dog vest and Blake smiled, welcoming her in. She wasn't exactly sure about the language... She'd just have to wait. "Um hello." Ah, Francois. "Did this place recently open up? I've never heard of it before." Well at least she spoke the local language.

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  Blake swapped over and nodded with a smile. "Yes, I only opened a few weeks ago. Can I take your order?" The girl looked younger than her, maybe around fourteen or sixteen. So not too much younger, but curious she would be on her own. The service dog was a smaller thing, maybe 35 or so pounds. He didn't look like any distinctive breed, clearly a mutt of some sort. Rare. Most people picked specific breeds for service dogs. Labs and shepherds and such were common, at least from what she'd seen in Vale. Aura breeds were most popular, though. Their intelligence was unrivaled and they made for superb companions. Blake just...wasn't a fan, but it was a service dog. She couldn't deny entry unless she had good reason to.

  "Just a hot chocolate will be fine." The girl offered a hesitant, anxious smile. Likely a psychiatric service dog then. The anxiety rolled off the girl in waves. Oddly, she couldn't sense any aura from her, not even unlocked. Well, apparently Anna had been telling the truth about the multiverse. She'd never ever met anybody without some sort of aura. The girl and dog obviously had a soul and, since her business had been built on Remnant, latent aura lay in everything.

  "Coming right up." She smiled at the girl and filled the order quickly, bringing it over to her. She looked out the windows of her cafe and blinked. Yeah, that wasn't the Valian skyline anymore. In the distance, she could see some sort of tall, spindly tower coming to a very fine tip. Where was she...? There was Beacon Tower which was similar to that, but that was not Beacon Tower.

  What caught her attention most, though, was the girl having some sort of map in front of her. Entrances and exits were clearly marked and she had some sort of route marked through it. She blinked as she recognised what this was. The girl was a thief of some sort? She recognised stuff like this from the Fang. It was clearly an escape plan of some sort. She was going to steal something from somewhere. Should she say anything? She didn't even know her name and she didn't want to freak her out and lose her business.

  "So what's your name? I'm Blake Belladonna. And who's your little friend?" She offered the best smile she could in the presence of a dog. After having military and police dogs turned on her in Atlas while being a peacefully protesting child, she couldn't help but worry. Even small dogs could do a fair amount of damage. Thankfully, though, this one was acting as a service dog should. He was quiet and tucked underneath the table, out of the way. But if this girl became a regular here, it was best to know her name and become familiar with her dog.

  "I'm Marie Healani and this is my service dog, Fondue." Marie's smile was tense and Blake could sense she was much too close, so she stepped back to the counter. It was only them in the cafe, so she leaned against it. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Blake. This cafe seems...quiet."

  She nodded. "It is. I've only gotten a couple of regulars so far. Most people already have cafes they like to go to that already know their orders. If you come back, will your hot chocolate be the norm? Or do you like coffee?" Might as well just keep things light and simple for now. Her ears twitched a little but Marie didn't seem to take any notice of them. Maybe in the spells Anna used...?

  "I'm not one much for coffee, no. It's too bitter for me personally."

  "Have you tried ever not taking it black? Black has its place, but for new drinkers, it's often too strong. Often a one-to-one ratio with a milk of some sort can help dampen the bitterness down. A lot of people like simple syrups in theirs like chocolate, orange, lavender, and such." She smiled at Marie. "I like mine about a two-to-one ratio with coffee and milk. But when I first started drinking it, I needed a one-to-one ratio. Maybe next time you come I could help you figure out a good combination for you." She wasn't going to push it, but once she got those Menagerine spices.... Oh boy, would that really open up her world. She could offer exotic drinks nobody on Remnant had heard of. She loved so many of the native spices in Menagerie, but it was a pain to get her hands on them…

  "I'm not one with much of a sweet tooth, so that seems like an awful lot of sugar... I know the hot chocolate will have some sugar, but just plain syrups in coffee seems like an awful lot of sugar." Marie frowned.

  "That's entirely fair. If you don't want to, you don't have to. Hot chocolate or different types of tea are fine." She smiled at Marie. "I love different types of tea myself; you should see the amount of canisters and tins I have in my apartment upstairs." She chuckled. Yeah, she had an inordinate amount of teas upstairs in her personal apartment. She owned the apartments above the shop which was definitely nice because it was easy to come to work. All she had to do was wake up, get ready, and come downstairs. It was so nice... And a lot nicer than working from home for her. She'd put so much away in order to buy a building though she had help from Sienna and Tukson.

  "I don't particularly want to."

  Blake smiled and nodded. "That's completely fine. Whatever you want, you want. Your body, your rules." Constantly something she heard around Vale which was definitely better than Atlas... Women were basically the property of whatever male figure was in their life: first fathers, then husbands, then sons. They rarely ever got to be independent from a man... She never wanted to go back to Atlas if she could help it. And, well, she'd get to see a lot more of the multiverse now. Though the fact she could and did recognise languages... Maybe the cultures of areas with similar languages would be somewhat familiar if she ventured out at all. She doubted she would, but maybe. Time not spent in the cafe was time not earning money. "So what are you working on?" She had seen the blueprint. It was a floorplan for a place and she was clearly planning on stealing something…

  "Oh, I'm just planning a visit to some of the art museums here in Paris." Marie smiled a bit anxiously and she felt the lie roll off Marie in waves. But Blake smiled and nodded, not letting her know that she was onto her. They had only just met; it wouldn't be wise to call her out like that. Bide her time and get to know her. Blake wasn't a thief, but she'd snuck into places more than enough times to understand how to maneuver. What would such a bright, young girl be stealing...? The plan had looked pretty decently laid out. And having a dog... Yeah, that would help a lot too. But Paris... So that's where they were.

  "Maybe you could offer me some tips on where to go at some point. I've missed a lot of big landmarks." Maybe one day she'd go out and explore this Paris city. She was curious about the big spindly tower she could see in the distance.

  It was about then that more people started filing in and Blake's attention was drawn away from Marie. She had to slip behind the counter again and start filling orders. Whatever this city was, it was populous, that was no doubt. People here seemed to love their coffee if this sudden surge was anything to go by. It was definitely a bit exhausting having to fill so many orders by herself, but she welcomed the sudden influx of people. It meant more money for her. Anna had promised to deal with the conversion rates between dimensions for her instead of expecting Blake to try to handle it herself. Which...was definitely good. She'd provided Blake with several boxes of different currency that could be swapped out in the cash register with a press of a button. The spells were definitely very, very strange.

  By time most of the people had filed out, Marie was gone which was definitely sad. She was definitely anxious and could use someone to keep her company. She could sense the sheer amount of loneliness rolling off the girl. She wouldn't be surprised if that dog was the only friend that Marie had. It was sad when people were so isolated but... She didn't really have any room to speak. She knew it. She didn't at all. She had next to no friends unless one counted Tukson and Sienna, but they were more guardians and mentors to her than friends. Sienna was family, but even so... She was glad the woman had pitched in and helped her buy the cafe and renovate it.

  As it hit 5pm, she saw the city skyline change back to Vale. Things would likely be pretty quiet now... Evenings were never loud but still… At least it was a time to clean up and get ready for the next day. Though, the bell clanged and—