"So I said to him, 'darling if you're going to keep coming in here, you're going to hae to purchase more than a tie, I have an entire ENSEMBLE you would simply ADORE.'"

"Well maybe he just wanted to see you, Miss Mephiles." Timati took a sip of her warm tea. The morning was cold. but thanks to the heater jacket Zodiq designed, outdoor breakfast was no longer out of the question. Something she was grateful for.

"Please, hun, you will refer to me as Zodiq, I'll not begrudge such formality how-do-you-dos. Anyway if he was interested in asking me if I was rationed, he might as well drop the torch and ask me out for a be-bop or bender. So I gave him the two-cent deposit and he was marchin' along to my tune like it was the macy's holiday parade!" Zodiq tossed her blonde hair dramatically as she sank her neck into the collar of designer white fluff surrounding her cheeks

The snake blinked.

"The uh.... what?"

"Darling TRY to keep up. I hypnotized him, my dear. I hypnotized him."

"o-oh!" Timati squirmed in her seat, averting her gaze with a slight blush.

"Yesss, he looked simply marvelous in his getup, but regrettably it was all for naught, so I had to cast that line again by the end of the day." She gave a sigh and curled her tail round her legs to warm up as a gust chilled the winter street. Timati tilted her head and lowered her tea.

"But why? Isn't that what you wanted?" She asked.

"Well OF COURSE I wanted it, darling, but I run a business dear, can't just let any fuddy duddy traipse into my parlor if they don't have a pair o pennies to rub together."

"He was broke, huh?"

Zodiq dramatically dropped her forehead against the table and let loose an exasperated sigh.

"Why are the sexy ones so broke, darling?"

"Hehe, I dunno."

Zodiq sat up and put her hands on her hips.

"Butenoughofthat. So tell me: when you're going to let me design you a set of unmentionables?"

Timati coughed up her drink a bit.
______________________________________

Zodiq and Timati are the last two people you'd imagine would get along. A gladhanding fashionista with a gaudy transatlantic accent and a shy little linguist who's too afraid to come out of her shell. In truth, they're great friends. It's a shame that Timati is straight, or she would have found a fun mistress in Zodiq.

and Zodiq doesn't have the heart to take advantage of such a pure little soul like hers.

Art by: howling-madfoxhatter