Xaviers!

An older woman sits at a table in the window of a coffee shop, watching the world go by. She'd look familiar to a few of the students at the university, but there wasn't anything to make her really stand out. She sips quietly at her coffee, noting the unraveling of several threads and letting out a quiet sigh into her coffee.

There's a slight kerfuffle outside when a young woman with wings and the lower half of a lion makes a classic three-point landing on the sidewalk, complete with gust of wind that knocks a couple stray feathers through the air. She's just wearing jeans and a t-shirt and after making an entrance just casually walks through the door and to the counter to order a coffee to go. What's less immediately obvious to most regular people is how with each step and movement she seems to be skipping back and forth along the threads with an almost rude disregard for the rules of fate.

Sam meanwhile is stepping out of a music shop with a bag under her arm. She stumbles back as the sphinx lands.

"...Jesus, Nailah."

Sam's exclamation makes her stop before heading inside, instead looking around till she spots Sam in front of the store next to the coffee shop.

"Oh hey, Sam." she grins. She can't help be a little bit proud of having made a notable entrance, even if it just mostly startled people.

The woman narrows her eyes at Nailah and frowns thoughtfully. Oddly enough, she always seems to be on the edge of Nailah's vision, though Sam can see her perfectly clearly if she looks.

"You know, there's nobody scoring your landings," she smirks as she makes her way towards the cafe.

"You say that as if they need approval from the audience to be kicking rad." she laughs, then glances over to the window of the coffee shop, then swivels her head the other way to look across the road. Finally she just shakes her head a little. "Huh. Thought I saw somebody..."

"What, outside? It's a bit cold," she says, fidgeting with her bag as she heads towards the counter.

"No, just over there..." she says and shrugs. "So what are you up to?"

"I need more chances to practice," she says, lifting a pair of drumsticks and a drum pad out of her bag.

"Finally broke down and bought these."

"Getting serious about that band, huh? Cool."

"Turns out I'm not exactly awful, so hope springs eternal," she chuckles.

"Well lemme know when you got your first gig so I can come cheer you on."

"We really need a couple more members. It might be a bit sparse with just me on drums and Tereza on guitar."

"I got no idea how to play anything. I mean I probably still could, but I dunno how long I could actually keep that up."

As long as fate allows it, the woman thought, still watching the two young women in conversation.

Sam gets a bit of a weird look. She hadn't meant to catch that, but there just seems to be an odd weight to it. She looks over to the woman seated by the window and quirks a brow.

"...well we know that's cheating, anyway."

"I knew I shoulda just told people I'm naturally awesome at everything." she chuckles. "You alright?" she asks when she notices the expression on Sam's face, turning her head to follow Sam's gaze.

The woman sits there, sipping at her coffee, still openly watching them. She's hard for Nailah to focus on at the moment. And her power refuses to tell her anything about the woman.

"I think I've been... kind of on-edge lately."

"Okay this is gonna sound weird, but... are you seeing somebody who skips around in the seat at that table to always not be in the chair you're looking at? Cause it's real strange. Like one of those eye-floaters."

"...no, but I think we might be talking about the same person."

"I think it's some old lady? Man this is hecking weird." she says, looking back at Sam and blinking her eyes out of synch for a moment in an attempt to shake off the wonkyness.

"I think I've seen her before. In a club. Miriam was rather cross with her..."

As she blinked her eyes out of synch, the woman snapped into focus.

"When's Miriam ever not cross with anybody? Okay, this is tripping me up, what is going on?" She closes one eye and tries to look at the woman again as she walks over to her table. "This is gonna drive me crazy all day if I don't ask. How are you doing this?" she just straight up asks the old lady. Or at least the table in general if she can't get her into focus again.

"She seems to be following people around," Sam says, heading after Nailah.

"Or at the least you're turning up bloody everywhere, Ms... Weaver?" She says to the woman.

"As good a name as any for current purposes," the woman says, "And I might ask you a similar question. Your disregard for fate's rules is... unique."

Nailah jerks her head over to Sam, then back around the table trying to get a bead on the woman.

"I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that, but I'm pretty sure the answer's 'I'm not sure'. You don't happen to know some weirdo blond guy who goes by the name of Hazard, do you?" she asks, trying to squint at the woman, though her evasiveness is making it hard to give her a good, dubious look.

"I can't say that I do," the woman says, picking up the salt shaker and tipping some salt onto the table. Her finger traces a pattern in the salt and she slowly begins to come into focus for Nailah.

"Look, you can't just be... coincidentally all these places. Miriam said she saw you in Uppsala for crying out loud."

"Hey, sometimes people just do what they gotta, right? Like, I don't always know why I'm doing one thing or another till I'm done."

The woman gestures at Nailah, still drawing a pattern in the salt with her other hand. "She, at least, understands that true coincidences are rare."

"No, I get that this isn't all a bloody coincidence, but that doesn't answer why you're here."

"I am keeping an eye on things. I should think that was obvious."

"What things though?" Nailah asks, looking around to figure out what the woman might be talking about.

"The threads surrounding the child of earth, though I wouldn't expect you to understand. It's all unraveling."

"Wanda. She's talking about Wanda."

"That doesn't make this any less confusing. Does this have to do with Youseff's murder?" The old woman's tone while waxing mysteriously about things making her wonder if the two are connected somehow.

"Several threads have ended, only some before their time, but I am not responsible for those threads, no."