Sweeten My Coffee

Unexpected guest

In front of Espresso's house, the build of panic continues. Woken up from the noise, Cakeberus sticks all three of his noses against Red Velvet's reinforced gate.

'Please, Espresso, I need your help!'

The giant hound's master arrives soon after. Red Velvet tilts his head at the voice and, much like the three-headed soldier by his side, leans against the gate. The first thing he notices is glossy, golden styled hair. Despite seeing the rest of the body, an elegant figure in what seems to be a quickly thrown over white jacket and yellow flip flops, he fails to recognise the panicked visitor. At least from this angle.

'Cakeberus, keep watch while I put that loudmouth back to his place.' He orders.

Cakeberus' middle head, the most aggressive one, never takes its eyes off the figure. As for the rest of the heads, they follow Red Velvet like cameras.

'What the hell are you screaming for? Have you had no idea that there are people trying to sleep at this hour?' After having left his garden, he stops just two meters away from the other man. No watch is needed for him to confirm that the time is barely seven in the morning. He learned from a young age how to tell the time based on the position of the sun.

'What? Who are you?' The golden haired man then decides to step back. 'Wait... you are Red Velvet.' His eyes widen.

Yet another person preparing to diss him about his past is what the former commander thinks. 'And you must be a random citizen trying to wake everyone up, correct?'

'I...I am deeply sorry. I'm looking for Espresso. It's an emergency.'

The voice finally clicks for Red Velvet. This man is the owner of a bar at the centre of Kingdom X. His golden hair that glistens under the sun is a dead giveaway of his name. Sparkling.

'The coffee magician is not here.' Red Velvet glances towards the empty house. His head flinches further towards it as soon as he sees a shadow moving inside. '...my soldiers would've warned me if he came home.' He frowns at where the shadow moved, then a loud bang comes from inside the house.

'Shit.' Sparkling rushes to the gate. 'Quick, help me get over it.'

'Tell me what is going on.' The red clothed man growls. 'Did someone break in?'

Sparkling sighs. Without taking his eyes off the house, he begins explaining; 'I own a bar. One of my customers drank more than I allowed him without me noticing, and I've been chasing him around trying to get a hold of him before he hurts himself. The problem is that he can teleport, shapeshift into bats, float...this time he popped inside Espresso's place. I'm worried because in the state he is in, he is unpredictable.' He stops to catch his breath, giving time for the other to take it all in.

'So this unpredictable drunk has broken into someone's house before? Hah! Such a secure place this kingdom.' Red Velvet scowls at him. 'How do you even expect to get in the house if I throw you over?'

'Well...I was hoping to communicate with Vampire from outside. He is too far right now.'

They stand idly for a brief moment. Their options are being weighed.

'Bring Espresso here. I can keep an eye on this nuisance.'

'I'm afraid I can't do that.'

'Why is that?'

Sparkling rubs his nape. 'I don't really want to leave my friend here.' Despite sounding honest, what he really means by that is 'I don't trust you with this'.

Red Velvet takes the excuse with a grain of salt. 'As you wish...' He turns his head to the house. Helping with this situation could come with many benefits, including the improvement of his relationship with his neighbour. All he wants is a fair world for him and his misunderstood dogs. By acting now, he hopes to gain even a slightly better reputation. '...I'll go look for him'