Chapter Text
“Rain… why did it have to rain? Why today of all days?”
Claire rushes to get under a nearby awning, trying to avoid the biting cold of European rain. She hasn’t even been here for two hours, and she’s already off to a wonderful start. First the airline loses half her luggage, and now she's getting soaked to the skin with freezing rain. Is it preferable to the scorching summer heat she just left? Probably. But it is still not ideal.
To make matters worse, according to her doctor, she’s due to finally present sometime during her trip. Of course, it’s just her luck that she finally gets to take the trip to Europe she’s been planning since she was a teen, and it just has to align with her late-blooming biology in time to screw her over.
Sure, she comes from a pretty normal family- alpha father, omega mother and sister, and a beta brother. Except… well, they’re all different. Somehow. She doesn’t really know how, just that they are .. Maybe it’s because she’s gay, maybe it’s because she was the only sibling to end up being short, who knows!
All she knows is that her first day in Europe is not going well, and she really, really, wants some hot cocoa right now.
Trying to stay even slightly dry proves to be just about impossible, so she ducks into the nearest cafe she can find. She fumbles through her order- sure, she technically knows some Polish, but is by no means fluent.
She sits down in the corner, shivering ever so slightly. Her hot cocoa is out within moments, the warm beverage a welcome treat. After her first tentative sip, she lowers the mug and catches a scent. A wonderful scent. Fresh rain. Cedar trees. A trace of magnolia. Above all, comfort. Where is it from?
She sips her cocoa again, no it’s not that- it must be a person.
Just as Claire has finished connecting the dots, a soft voice speaks, “Is this seat taken?”
Rain. Cedar. Magnolia. It belongs to her.
“Nie, feel free to sit here, miss..?”
The stranger quirks a subtle smile as she sits, elderberry tea in hands.
“Teodora- Thea.” She prefers being called by her nickname. Never mind that she doesn’t know why she feels comfortable giving a stranger her preferred name. It just… feels right.
Thea. The name fit her well. Elegant, a bit mysterious even.
“Claire.”
The newcomer murmurs a bit in Polish, too soft for Claire to make out.
“You’re not from here?” Thea’s accent is quite lovely. Sharp, clear, but gentle all the same.
“No, no… I’m from America. I take it you’re local?”
“Ah. American.” She settles into her seat and sips her tea before responding. “I guess you could say that. I’m from a town nearby- I visit family here often though.”
“Oh… Do you frequent this cafe?”
A sly smile graces her lips as she sips her tea again.
“Perhaps… maybe you will run into me again here, kochanie?”
Darling? “Uh-”,
And just as soon as she had arrived, Thea was gone.