[attr="class","mouths1"]Now, the routine in, out, and around the cafe was more or less a normal one. Although he only came around every so often, ‘every so often’ in itself still also translated to ‘fairly often’, what with the amount of times that he visited both on his own, as well as with friends, and even his father on occasion, as well. Thus, once he found himself within the bounds of the establishment itself, scuttled through the line as it ticked forward, and finally found himself at the front of the line, he greeted the person at the register with a familiar greeting and smile alike; only going through so much as to confirm the memorized order that the person themselves proposed through him as a confirmation of the thing that he always purchased, over anything and everything else. Accordingly, the boy himself merely flashed them a smile and a nod within said confirmation before being alerted of the standard total for the meal, and with a card at the ready, he held it out for them to take and finalize the transaction with. After signing a small paper to label his own confirmation of purchase, he took his receipt and order number alike before setting off to find a free table for himself.

Unbeknownst to him, he actually passed right by the table of a certain, amber eyed someone, but by the time that he’d done so, he already found himself occupied with his phone after it buzzed and rang once or twice with a couple of incoming texts. From his father, specifically. They hadn’t been messages asking him where he was, or anything like that, though. If anything, they were just questions confirming how long he’d be out, and questions that he didn’t mind answering accordingly and in a timely manner all the same. After all; it wasn’t like he was trying to lie or anything of the sort. He wasn’t lying. Wasn’t hiding where he was, or why he was out. What he had told his father earlier within the last day or two was the truth, and still remained the truth. So...again. He didn’t mind ensuring his father of his intentions.

When he did, he took care to look away from the screen for but a moment or two in order to slip the number card that he was given into the stand of the unoccupied table that he scoped out little more than a minute or two earlier; setting his phone down on the tabletop afterwards, and slipping his back down and onto one side of the booth that he himself would sit upon afterwards. With a quiet sigh, he plucked the base of his earbuds out of the jack of his mp3 player after turning the device off; going on to plug it into the jack of his laptop after pulling it out and setting it down on the table itself. Once he turned it on and pulled a music program to continue his tunes, he turned to pull a couple of textbooks, folders, and the standard writing utensils out of his bag. Pencils. Pens. Erasers. The norm.

He flipped his papers and folders to the pages that he needed, and with a final confirmation of his song choice, went on to minimize the program before getting to work. The notion in itself revealed his desktop wallpaper.

The picture of choice?
...A family photo, by the looks of it. Not of his biological family, though.
There were four people in total. Himself. A tinier child; no more than a few years old.
...And then a jade eyed man and an auburn eyed woman to join them.

A memento, of sorts.

[attr="class","mouths1"]For a good while, the boy remained more or less oblivious and unknowing to that had been occurring behind him; only paying the majority of his attention to the work laid out before him, and - on occasion - to the foods and drink that had been delivered his way and exchanged for the number card that he was given when they were all ready. A quick smile and word of thanks had been delivered to the server as he began to passively nibble and whittle down the food that he had ordered in between papers and the like; idly and commonly holding either a spoon or a cup to his lips to eat or sip a beverage within one hand as the remaining scribbled letters and notes down onto whatever assignment that he needed to complete. After a good amount of time, however - and about half of his plate gone, much to his surprise - he found himself in need of another refill. He seemed whatever small remainder lingered within the cup before absentmindedly rattling the ice within the containment; a gesture of thought as he mulled over a few more questions listed within the current worksheet before breathing a sigh.

He decided to think more on it while he got a refill, seeing as though they had installed a couple of drink fountains for customers to visit on their own volition for sake of taking more whenever they wanted to after purchases. With a quiet sigh, he plucked his earbuds from his ears for the moment as he backed his chair up a faint bit in order to slip out; taking his cup with him as he stood up. His free hand smoothed his clothes down as he turned heel with the intention of starting for the fountains afar, though that time around, he found himself freezing almost immediately after doing so after his gaze wandered for but a split second. They hadn’t widened by any means, though the confusion and disbelief had been clear within that amber gaze of his as he found himself staring at the woman who sat just a short ways away from him. He caught sight of her, as well as her mannerisms; internally growing increasingly confused and concerned - among several other emotions - upon seeing her general look. By then, she may have been looking down at her own drink, but she still had his full, undivided attention.

And it was that exact attention that prompted him to give a disbelieving, one worded call over the small distance between them:

”...Mom...?”

[attr="class","mouths1"]There. Those two words alone were the finalized triggers that caused his eyes to widen as the full realization registered within his mind. The scaled, plated tail of draconian ties swayed behind him gently before falling motionless once more; amber voids of his continuously lingering upon the other’s form within a degree of disbelief all the while. ...That was, until he caught wind of the tears, at least. From then on, the disbelief had lingered, of course- though despite the circumstances, he found himself growing a little bit more concerned. ...Mostly because of the fact that the area was public, and that there were many others around to potentially witness if enough of a scene was produced.

So, he only panicked for a brief moment before more or less acting on the fly.

He took a step backwards to turn around- though it was only to place his own cup back upon the table that he took for himself. He reached over within a quick motion to grab a couple of napkins from the smaller dispenser secured upon the surface while he was there, as well; shifting upon his heels to face her general direction once more. Weaving around one or two people who intervened within his path, he stepped back over - and a little bit closer than he had stood prior - before slipping over within the seat across from her within a rather smooth and swift manner despite the tone of the moment.

”Er...here,” he started off while handing her the napkins, subtly feeling the awkwardness dwell upon him soon after he sat down. Nevertheless, however, he merely shifted within his seat for a split second or so - more so to scoot himself closer to the table - and cast a quick glance around to see whether or not others were looking before he peered back over at her. ”I-... Er… Take a moment if you need it,” he continued onwards, ”but-... ...What-... What’re you doing here…? ...Why’re you in Lyeant…?”