Zoe

Zoe slept remarkably well on Saturday night. She attributed it to her fantastic mood at the end of the day, having enjoyed her time in Mag Mell immensely. Between getting all of her dailies and weeklies done and the two hours of random PvP nonsense, she had thoroughly enjoyed her gaming time. After their impromptu group had gone their separate ways in the evening, she had slipped from her chair and into her bed, turned her PC monitor toward her new seat, and relaxed with whatever her YouTube algorithm felt like sending her way.

It had been a great day.

When she woke up on Sunday, she was still sleepy and a little slow to start, which wasn't unusual for her. Knowing full well that she had plans to go out, she stumbled into the shower to clean off and wake up.

Her little apartment in Astoria didn't have a full tub, only a shower stall. To the builder's credit, the stall was nicely sized, and she was 90% sure that she could comfortably fit two people in the shower if she wanted to. She didn't.

What she did want to put in the shower was a comfy little seat. The shower was big enough, and on days where she wasn't in a rush, Zoe loved sitting under the running water. Maybe it wasn't as nice as a bath tub would've been, because she couldn't really bring a book or anything into the shower with her, but it was still relaxing.

And since her apartment didn't have access to a pool, and she didn't trust public ones, sitting under a cool shower was about as close as she got to a pool during the hot and sweaty summer months.

On a cold winter morning like the one she was in the middle of, though, a hot and steamy shower pelting her back while she sat with her closed was just as lovely.

When she left the shower, much more awake than when she had stepped into it, she realized just how early it still was. Usually, she slept until nine or ten on most weekend days, mostly because she could. But, apparently, her body decided she should be up, awake, and showered by the time 8:30 rolled around.

She wasn't so much mad as she was confused at how she had missed the time when she had zombie-walked to the shower. When she spotted her phone on the far side of her desk from her bed where she had left it when she went to sleep the previous night, she realized how she missed the time. Her phone - which had been well out of reach - was the only clock available to her outside of the stove and microwave in the kitchen. And her PC, she figured.

Given that it was still early, she figured she may as well get her hair dried properly before going out. It may not have been all that long, but it was still more than long enough to be a problem going out in December with it wet.

She turned her PC on before moving to fetch the hair dryer. She only had an old, corded one, so on her way back from the bathroom she also grabbed an extension cable that she kept ready for use in the tiny hallway linen closet. Unfortunately, basically every outlet in her bedroom was in use with something, and she even needed to charge her phone since she left it unplugged all night, so she ran the extension cord for the dryer from the other side of the room.

At some point, Zoe couldn't even remember when it was, she had heard that using a hair dryer on high heat was damaging to hair, so she settled in with it on low and a video on her computer. She wasn't in a rush, so she was perfectly comfortable relaxing and letting the dryer do its work slowly.

Mid way through the drying process, she also got up to grab a granola bar for breakfast. She debated making coffee, but instead opted for breakfast tea. The milder flavor felt more appropriate for her relaxed morning so far.

It was around 10 when she decided to send Cass a message. Even though they had exchanged phone numbers, they both typically defaulted to sending messages through the chat app they all used. It was more likely to get noticed if someone was in the middle of something, too.

{Zoe} : Hey. You up yet?

It wasn't even two minutes before her phone dinged in her hand with the reply.

{Cass} : Nope. Is Sleeping Beauty up?

{Zoe} : I was actually up at like 7, thank you very much.

{Cass} : Bullshit.

{Zoe} : Nope. I even showered and fully dried my hair already. I could step out the door right now.

Zoe glanced down at herself, definitely not dressed for leaving the house yet. She could totally leave the house in her ripped PJ bottoms. Yup.

{Cass} : Prove it.

Zoe, not about to let Cass have the last word, quickly dashed back into her bedroom to slide into a clean pair of dark gray jeans and a plain black tee shirt that was far more fit to be an undershirt, discarding her comfy pajamas. She even threw the PJs into the laundry basket in the corner of her room instead of back onto her bed to wear again. They probably should be washed.

She quickly snapped a top-down selfie of herself in her room, showing that she was fully clothed. She'd still need an outer layer to deal with the December weather, but she could at least go outside in what she was wearing.

{Zoe} : [Attached Image]

{Zoe} : Good enough for you?

Cass's response came quickly.

{Cass} : I dunno. Sending that took a while. How do I know it's new?

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Zoe immediately responded by snapping another selfie, this time straight on, flipping Cass off with the hand not holding her phone.

{Zoe} : [Attached Image]

{Zoe} : Better? :P

{Cass} : You ready for shopping then?

{Zoe} : Sure. Where were you thinking?

{Cass} : 5th? SoHo is going to be even worse than usual with Christmas.

{Zoe} : 5th Ave is going to be expensive, though…

{Cass} : If you were serious about getting a nice coat, a good quality one will last a long time. It's worth it.

{Zoe}: Fine, but we can't do any of the actual designer stores.

{Cass} : Deal. Meet you around 5th/59th?

{Zoe} : Sounds good. I'll be walking out the door in five. Finishing breakfast.

{Cass} : You even ate breakfast?

Zoe really wanted the extra time to finish getting ready, but she quickly snapped up another granola bar from her computer table and let the bar hang from her mouth while she snapped a third picture of herself for the morning, this time with a thumbs up.

{Zoe} : [Attached Image]

{Cass} : What is with you and pictures today?

{Zoe} : Dunno. Just in a selfie mood, I guess.

{Zoe} : See you soon.

{Cass} : Yup.

Satisfied that she wouldn't be receiving any other immediate texts, Zoe dropped her phone on the bed to finish getting ready. She dragged a black knit sweater over the tee shirt for a little extra warmth, put on some thicker socks, then got her feet into a nice pair of mid-calf boots that she liked.

She checked herself over in the mirror while brushing out her hair again, satisfied that the rather improvised outfit looked cute, casual, and was totally functional, even though it was a little plain. She threw her stuff into a small canvas messenger bag that was darkly colored to match her typical color scheme, put on a winter jacket and was out the door.

She made sure to choose a middle of the road jacket option, going for a heavy jacket, but not one of the puffy ones. Plus, the jacket she picked had multiple zipper pockets, which was a nice bonus, and was even water proof. Not that the weather was supposed to be bad.

She did keep her mitten-gloves, though.

The subway ride was pleasant enough. She expected the Sunday before Christmas to be much busier than it was, but maybe she had gotten out early enough to beat the worst of the crowd. Thanks to the station near her apartment being near the end of the line, Zoe was able to get a seat easily, and she put on her headphones and listened to an audiobook while she traveled.

It was an easy ride for her, since her train would take her right to the stop Cass suggested they meet at, though she knew that Cass would need to transfer to get there. Or walk a couple blocks. Either way, Zoe was pretty sure that she would get there first. And that meant finding a place to wait.

Thankfully, the 5th and 59th station also dropped her right on the corner of Central Park, and there was a nice plaza right there with plenty of seating, too.

When she finally disembarked at the station and made her way above ground, she already had a plan. She crossed the street to the plaza and found an empty bench to sit on. Zoe left her headphones on, but stopped the audiobook. They were full over-the-ear ones and made for a decent enough deterrent to stop people from bothering her, but she also wanted to be able to hear her surroundings.

Once she was settled, she sent off a message to Cass, letting her know where she was, then scrolled through social media to kill time. She wasn't sure how long it would take, but that was alright. As long as it wasn't too long, at least. It was chilly, so she scrunched herself up for warmth, adding the scarf that had been in her tote to her whole ensemble as well. Her left hand was also in full mitten mode, while she left her right fingers uncovered to scroll her phone.

She saw Cass's response message, letting Zoe know that she was close to where she needed to transfer, and would probably be there soon. Zoe grinned to herself, then tried to settle in against the cold.

Thankfully, prowling some Mag Mell focused stuff made the time go by quickly enough that when Cass walked up to her bench and sat beside her, Zoe was still warm enough to not be shivering too violently.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Whatcha doin'?" Cass asked, throwing her arm over the back of the bench and leaning over cheekily to see the posts that Zoe was reading through.

Zoe looked away as she answered, "A discussion post about the current state of Athame in PvP…"

Cass let out a solid belly laugh. "Wow, the whole thing yesterday really got to you, didn't it?"

"It did not!" Zoe said indignantly. "This was genuinely just on the front page, so I clicked on it. There's some really interesting tricks in here that people came up with."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Someone actually posted about playing the way I do in PvP, and lots of people had a bunch of shit to say about it. Lots of 'Oh, it only works because people don't expect it', blah, blah. You know how it is."

"Sounds like the internet alright." Cass nodded, leaning back on the bench comfortably.

"Mostly, I was just shocked how many people were actually in favor of the style. A bunch talked about how much your APM goes up playing that way, and that it takes more skill - which, admittedly, just sounded like a humble brag - but enough people backed the guy up that it came off pretty okay. And there were a solid number of upvotes on the suggestion to use that build for duels -"

Zoe stopped talking when she noticed Cassandra clearly trying to hold back a laugh and failing when she giggled.

"What?"

"Sorry. Did you realize how fast you were talking?"

"No?"

"I was almost worried that if I didn't stop you soon, you'd start to sound like you were on fast-forward." Cass grinned, the lop-sided, easy smile bright with delight. Zoe turned away, acting mildly annoyed at the interruption and harrumphed.

"Well then," Zoe said, putting her phone away, "shall we get walking?"

"Sure." Cass stood while Zoe was still getting herself ready to walk. She had to make sure everything was safely secured in her tote, which had a zipper, and then re-mittened her right hand's fingers.

She had expected to hear another chuckle from Cass over the mittens, but when she looked up, ready to get moving, Cass was just smiling nicely down at her and offering a hand.

"All ready?"

"Yep." Zoe said, and took Cass' hand for leverage to stand. Cass smoothly helped her up with a solid tug, then turned toward 5th Ave, looking both ways up and down the street. Zoe noticed the other woman's ears were noticeably red as she pointed.

"60's over there, and 59's there, so we want to go this way." Cass said, pointing toward 59th St. She turned back to Zoe and tilted her head. "You coming?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Zoe said, stepping forward to follow behind her friend. Once Cass turned to walk, Zoe poked at her own ears. They were definitely cold from the frigid air. Zoe wondered whether they were similarly red to Cass's ears.

More than that, though, she wondered why neither of them chose to wear a hat. She figured she should probably buy one wherever they went first. Maybe even a matching pair with Cass.

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