How do these Multiverse Play threads work? Read up about it here, and don't forget to R&U to that thread!

The Set-up:
Your character heads out with the intention of getting a bite to eat, thinking about trying something new rather than relying on old favourites. When they open the door to the never-visited-before eatery of their choice, they instead find themselves here!

Setting:
It's a modern-day maid café, just like those found in the heart of Akihabara! The interior is absolutely adorable: wallpaper with illustrations of desserts, crown molding that resembles piped icing, and shelves display cute souvenirs. The café contains a variety of seats—a few tables for two that looked like biscuits, a long white table for a large group with mis-matched chairs painted pastel colours, small booths resembling strawberry shortcake for groups of three or four, and a selection of tall chocolate-themed seats along the coffee bar. On each table is a small golden bell that looks more like a sugary cake decoration than an actual item. No menus or other items are in sight, although there is a display of gorgeous miniature desserts in a glass case near the register.

A cute sign near the entrance says: "Welcome, master and mistress! Please take a seat and ring the bell!" (Another cautions that photography and filming is not allowed; a third reminds visitors that each person in their party must purchase at least one beverage; a fourth cautions that guests may not stay in excess of 30 minutes per purchase.)

Maid On Duty:
Aurae, wearing a short-skirted dark gray maid uniform, layered with a white apron (of course!), and accented with plenty of pink! The establishment appears to have heavily borrowed inspiration from the uniforms at @home café. In this place, Aurae appears in the blonde form resembling her avatar.

Aurae manages this maid café as part of her RP staff duties—something she happily volunteered for! She always wanted to manage a staff of maids...but so far she hasn't actually hired any others. She's keeping an eye out for candidates!

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! Squall is going to kill me! 

Rinoa's thoughts were racing as she mentally prepared herself for the unavoidable lecture that was awaiting her. She could imagine Squall already; sitting at the table with a scowl on his face as he constantly checked the time on his phone. She giggled softly at the image, breathing in the cold winter air while she continued to hurry down the empty sidewalk. When Squall had offered to meet her at this new restaurant in Balamb, she had nearly thought that the sky was falling! She was typically known for dragging him out around town or offering to take him places with her and of course the first time he had surprised she was going to be late. Squall was never going to take her anywhere now after this unless she begged and whined.

 It wasn't like it was my fault that I got distracted with playing with Angelo before I left the Garden...
She thought with a pout. She couldn't resist when Angelo gave her those classic puppy dog eyes. Thankfully, Balamb wasn't very and it didn't take long to reach her destination once she had gotten into town. Unfortunately, it didn't give her much time to think of a better excuse for being late. Pulling out her phone, she quickly checked the address he had texted her to confirm she was at the right place before stepping inside...of one of the cutest shops she had ever been too. Like a child in a theme park, Rinoa glanced around the cafe excitedly and stepped further inside as her curiosity increased. The place was decorated with various dessert theme furniture and artwork, adorable memorabilia on shelves, and there were desserts on display that made her mouth water.

Either Squall had officially just become the best boyfriend ever...or she was at the wrong place. The latter seemed more likely.

Rinoa sighed as she glanced back at her phone. The address sent to her had matched the one outside exactly yet Squall had mentioned they would be having dinner, not dessert. She also seemed to be the only one here which was only making her more convinced she had possibly misread the directions. She was about to turn to leave when she noticed a sign near the entrance and quickly skimmed over it. 'Hmm...maybe someone here can point me in the right direction!' If they couldn't...it wouldn't hurt to buy something for her and Squall to share. As grumpy as he was even he couldn't resist the temptation of a nice, warm brownie. Sitting down at the nearest table, Rinoa inspected the small bell before she gently rung it and waited for someone to come.

"Oh my!" she twittered excitedly upon hearing the bell. "A customer!"

The young woman twirled a finger through the ringlet of a long pigtail and tugged her apron nice and straight before she bustled out of the prep area. It didn't take long for Aurae to spot the occupied table; her excellent hearing and unsurpassed knowledge of the café rarely led her astray. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the dark-haired young woman now occupying one of the seats. Aurae practically floated over, thrilled to bits to have someone to serve.

"Good day, mistress! Welcome to the Macaron Café!" A head-tilt and dazzling smile punctuated the greeting.

Aurae carefully opened the menu, holding it in front of her, and struck an adorable pose. It would have been ridiculous in any other place, but here it seemed befitting the atmosphere. Even the menu carried the overwhelmingly cute theme, with pictures of beverages and food with silly-sounding "cutesy" names like Fluffy Cloud Pancakes or Royal Princess Milk Tea. It was decorated with glitter and stickers. She placed it on the table in front of Rinoa.

"Please let me know if I can help you with your choices, your ladyship!"

Rinoa swung her feet back and forth like an impatient child as she waited to be attended to. She had always been terrible at waiting especially when she happened to be excited. Fortunately for her, it didn't take long for someone to appear from the back shortly after she had rung the bell: a small, blonde girl who barely looked older than herself came out dressed in a perfect fitting maid outfit and quickly greeted her. The Macaron Café? She had never heard of such a place before but she never really spent much time in Balamb either so it was possibly she had overlooked it. She couldn't believe such a cool place was hidden in Balamb of all places.

"Thank you!" Rinoa replied with a laugh, matching the waitress's smile with her own as she slid the menu closer to get a better look. Her brown eyes scanned over the menu wildly, taking in all the different names of the food and drinks served and becoming giddy at all the adorable names chosen for each item. Rinoa didn't want to order one thing...she wanted everything. However, having to explain to father that she blew all her Gil on desserts didn't sound like such a good idea...

"Everything here looks so good! I don't think I'm going to be able to choose..." Rinoa began with a pout, her eyebrows furrowing together in frustration. "Is there something on here you would recommend?"

Aurae's hair actually seemed to fluff with excitement separate from the rest of her body, as though it was sentient. She clapped her hands with glee at the question, then struck another silly pose in the half-second before her reply.

"Of course, mistress! I'm here to assist you in any way that I can!"

She batted long eyelashes and pointed to the menu items, revealing glittery decorated gel nails. It wasn't the sort of thing typically associated with food service, but somehow it didn't seem too worrisome in this strange environment. Many things were different here, in this realm where cuteness ruled over all.

"Right now we have a special with the Sweet Cream Cozy Coffee and Choco Choco Sparkle Cake! They're extra-super-tasty together; the choco choco cake has a hint of espresso, so it is almost made for the sweet and creamy warm coffee! If you get them together in the set, for an extra 5 Macaron Points you can add the collectible mug!"

Dark blue eyes sparkled adorably, concealing a trained saleswoman's expertise. Who could possibly resist the collectible mug?

Rinoa's jaw almost dropped at the mention of earning a collectible mug. She was sold! A more frugal spender might have asked to actually see the mug to inspect its quality first but not her. If it was cute as everything else in this place, she knew she would love it. She could feel it! "I'll have that special then!" Rinoa practically shouted in excitement, completely forgetting the fact that she was supposed to be spending money somewhere else. Squall could wait a few minutes more. Besides, she couldn't pass up getting something for free! Who would?

He totally would understand once I show him the mug. Even Squall, of all people, wouldn't be able to resist such cuteness. Rinoa thought excitedly as she bounced in her seat. She figured the mug could make a perfect Christmas gift for Quistis since she's always drinking coffee. Or maybe I could give it to Ellone? We are visiting Esthar soon... Rinoa bit down on her lip as she tried to push back the creeping temptation to spend even more Gil here. The waitress wasn't exactly helping with her bright eyes and charming smile.

Rinoa sighed, eyes growing firm as made her final decision as she slowly she pulled out her wallet and sat it on the table. She was ready to spend. "You wouldn't happen to have...any more specials would you?" She asked, making a mental note to call her father later.

For just a moment, the maid's eyes entirely disappeared, replaced with large four-pointed stars of focus, determination, and an opportunity realized. They were there only for a moment—so quickly that anyone could have doubted they ever existed there, but it had happened all right. Clearly the brown-haired woman currently seated in the café was just the right kind of customer. Not that the RP section minded if this harebrained scheme was profitable or not, but Aurae preferred to keep things nicely organized and managed if she could help it.

The voice that replied to Rinoa's inquiry was honey-sweet: "Of course we do, dear mistress!"

She struck another cute pose, emphasizing it with a wink. Out of nowhere, she displayed a rectangular flat paper object held poised between two fingers. Then she slid it on the table. It was a punch or point card of some type, adorned with graphics and glitter in the same general style as the menu.

"Here at Macaron Café we strive to make every master and lady feel extra-super-magically special, so we provide a variety of ✨kira-kira✨ services to make your stay as mega-happy as possible! One of the ways we do that is with this special bonus card! If you collect the activities on this bonus card during your time here, you get to draw a raffle ticket! Every ticket is a winner, whether it's the super amazing oh-so-fluffy Cream Whip Blanket or the always useful Marshmallow Dream Stationery."

Special Bonus Card:

"You're already on your way!" she coaxed. "After all, you're getting our special set today! We do also have new items in our gift shop—you could take a look around on the shelves! ♥"

The scent of food danced on the air and drifted into Baby's nose. With a mew of delight, he inhaled deeply, and then let the air out with a whoosh. That smelled delicious! The tiger cub was hungry and he really wanted to find where the smell came from. Lifting his nose into the air, he sniffed again, and then set outward on the trail to food and comfort. 

The city was, as usual, a little crowded, but everyone was eager to move out of the way of a four-story tall tiger cub. It took only a short amount of time for Baby to sit downperhaps on a parked in front of the Macaron Café. But, then he encountered a problem. All of the delicious smells were trapped inside of the building and he had no way to get inside! Oh no, he would never get to eat! 

With a cry of distress, the tiger cub tried to force his paw in through the open door. And then, something very strange happened, he began to shrink. This was so strange and scary! Baby wanted to run away in terror, but the food... Eventually, the shrinking ceased and the tiger cub was able to tentatively enter the Macaron Café. Food! 

He mewled as he entered the café, so everyone would know he was hungry. Food? Sometimes people would feed him, but usually they ran away scared from the giant cat. But, now he was small.

Aurae whirled around at the unfamiliar sound. There was something (someone?) else in the café! Her keen eyes surveyed the doorway, although she did so in a way discreet enough not to seem to be dismissing her current customer. Hmmm, nothing that she spotted.

The waitress beamed at Rinoa, and for a moment an aura of pink hearts and glitter illuminated the air around her.

"How about I give you a moment to think about it, mistress? If you'd like to review the gift shop items, please do!"

Sometimes it was hard to think about things with another person looming over one's shoulder. Plus, getting to interact with the special items always increased people's interest. The maid of this café was no inelegant saleswoman.

Instead, she bustled over towards the door, seeking whatever had caused that noise. She whipped around the corner, pigtails streaming behind her, and finally caught a glimpse of something orange. The maid paused for a moment, feeling a tingle of concern vibrate through her body, and then realized exactly what she was looking at.

How had a tiger cub gotten into the café?!

The tiger cub had an entirely new perspective of the world! Usually everything around him was so small, but now everything was so big. It made him feel insecure and frightened, but mostly his fears were overwhelmed by hunger. Baby typically had a difficult time finding food and he was usually very hungry. He was so young that it was hard for him to find his own food, not to mention his usual size meant he needed a large amount of food. 

But, oh, this place smelled so good! Baby gave a long, low and whiny cry at the thought of having a full belly. So close, and yet so far away. 

And then, a human took notice of the cub. He looked up at Aurae with hopeful eyes, because maybe she had food. But he was also scared. Most humans either tried to hurt him or ran away from him. Only a few gave him any food. It was hard to find acceptance and love as a four-story tall tiger, and he never understood what he did wrong.

He took a tentative step backwards from Aurae and hugged his body close to the ground. A delicious smell tempted him as someone else walked by and he lifted his nose up to get a better whiff, but quickly thought of all the bad things that could happen. 

Baby froze in place and waited for Aurae to do something.

Aurae blinked a few times, staring down at the small wild beast. The café... The café should not allow just anyone to wander in off the street. The café was a special place, supported by the grand powers of Kyra, the Almighty Overlord, with a dash of the head maid's own special evil—ahem, sparkly princess power.

She peered at it, watching the body language of the cub. The blonde had read more than her fair share of negligence-related lawsuits caused by the keeping of big cats by normal citizens. She wasn't about to have this cute place to eat snacks and spend money be terrorized by a wild animal. At the same time...

Aurae didn't necessarily count as a normal citizen, did she?

She knelt down, concentrating on making her least-intimidating expression.

"Hey there, little guy," she coaxed, wondering if maybe this would turn out to be a Luna- or Artemis-esque creature with speech. "What are you doing here, hmm?"

The tiger cub's eyes widened in surprise and his ears tilted backwards when Aurae knelt down. She was so much bigger than him and it was weird! Usually, he was really tall and sometimes had a hard time noticing the humans near his feet, because they hardly looked like anything. Seeing a human up close was almost an entirely new perspective for him. Baby slowly tilted his head up with awe in his eyes as he took in Aurae's entire form. Wow! 

And then, he was once again torn between multiple feelings: fear, awe, and hunger. The little cub did not know how to react. But, his stomach did it. His stomach rumbled. Hungry! Food, please. Another plate of food caught the attention of his nose and Baby took in a deep sniff of the flavors. He began to salivate and his small, pink tongue flicked briefly across his mouth as he imagined what it would be like for the food to be in his belly. 

The human sounded friendly enough, so Baby placed one tentative paw toward Aurae.

Well, she didn't really speak "tiger", but she did understand the rumble of a hungry stomach. Whatever this creature was, as long as it didn't disturb other patrons, Aurae decided that she didn't have to sweep it out of the café. Plus, it was pretty cute, in that specific kind of way that very dangerous creatures are adorable in their younger, smaller, safer forms. She tapped one decorated fingertip against her chin, and then smiled back at it.

"On moment, kiddo," the maid commented. "I'll be right back."

There weren't a lot of items on the menu appropriate to feed an animal. Honestly, with the sugar content in some of these things, they weren't necessarily safe for a human if you were looking at it from purely a nutritional point of view. In the kitchen, she quickly rifled through the cabinets and refrigerator, skirt fluffing as she bustled about. She didn't know much about the dietary needs of big cats, especially not big cats of questionable ability who had somehow gotten into a very protected space, but she was just going to have to improvise.

When she re-emerged moments later, she had a small dish with cream and another with bits of shredded chicken, typically used for the petite chicken salad sandwich on their teatime menu. Aurae slowed her pace as she approached, trying not to scare the cub, and gently set down the decorated expensive china on the floor at a distance from the open doorway. She wanted to keep the little tiger from being too much underfoot.

"Here you go, cutie," she said, gesturing to the offerings. "Come on over here."

The human left the tiger cub's presence and soon he was semi-alone in the cafe's front room. Sure, there were other humans in the café, but none of them had taken particular notice of the tiger cub. Although this was a prime opportunity for Baby to explore the nooks and crannies of the Macaron Café, he was a bit hesitant to do so. Everything was all so very new and he was not certain if the other things and people in the café would hurt him.

But, eventually curiosity got the better of him and he began to poke his nose around his immediate surroundings. After a few minutes passed, Baby began to expand his circle of exploration. By the time Aurae re-emerged, Baby hadn't wandered very far. But, he had found a discarded napkin and he occupied his attention by batting it to the side.

Smells, food! Baby's ears perked upward and he lifted his face toward Aurae. He smelled the chicken and cream just prior to her crossing the threshold. His pace quickened as she crossed the room and led the tiger cub to a safe area away from the open doorway and general foot traffic of the Macaron Café. His nose eagerly sniffed the air as he slowed his pace and cautiously approached the plate the human placed on the ground.

After deeming the area and the human safe, Baby eagerly pounced the offering and ate the chicken with relish. Food! Oh, so much food! It was so wonderful and he was so happy to be eating it all. His eyes closed and his tail swished contentedly back and forth as he licked the plate with his tongue. Maybe he would finally know what it felt like to not be hungry.

Aurae bustled about the café, thankful for the air conditioning. It would have been too much to wear the "summer uniform" otherwise! It may have had short sleeves and been a lighter gray than her winter uniform, but there were many layers for an outfit this cute!

She hummed to herself as she worked, wiping down tables and ensuring everything was *just perfect* for any new customers. It had been quite a time with the young woman and the baby tiger, but she hadn't served anyone quite so interesting in a while. The current menu boasted plenty of iced drinks and frozen desserts, just waiting for the next customer to come along!

She made sure to keep one ear listening carefully in case someone ran the bell for service.

The angels stomach rumbled. He frowned and sighed he was running errands right now, tho he supposed Queen Victoria would understand, angels need to eat too and he'd rather not collapse in the middle of his dutys. Before long he stumbled upon a quaint little cafe. He smiled a cup of tea and a sandwich would sure hit the spot right now. The bell on the door gave a welcomeing chime as he walked through. He stopped, catching sight of the inside,  colors brighter than he had ever seen in the palace, a sweet sugary smell. "I certainly wasn't expecting this from the exterior". He thought ringing the ball in the hopes that someone would explain a few things about the curious decor.