Oh hey,
Solan did a minigirl.
The Cafe
Cincinnati, Ohio. One of those famous old home-grown American cities. Even if it's been a bit upstaged by places like Chicago, there's still that bit of charm to the old place. And even if big chains snake their way in, Cincinnatians are down-home folk who won't give up on their small business ways.
One such hard-boiled American business lays on a little side street off of Main Street, a coffee business that struggles to keep its doors open in defiance of the Starbucks that opened a few years ago a scant two doors away, or the much older and better-established Dunkin' Donuts a block away on Main itself. Ironically enough, it was established by a German immigrant, though that was back during the Roaring Twenties. These days it's run by his red-blooded American grandson who's inherited both German and Ohioan stubbornness in equal measure.
The place itself is known as the Mocha Melange, also the name of its signature drink. While places like Starbucks carry all the classic mainstream drinks, the Mocha Melange specializes in coffee, bringing in drinks from all around the world, from the famous whiskey-infused Irish coffee to the Portuguese galão (see the bottom for a fuller menu). The current owner has a gimmick or three to keep people walking in the doors, but it's fallen off as of late, especially after that Starbucks opened up. The Mocha Melange needed a new edge, something to keep people coming...
And then that new edge walked in the door.
The Girl
Well. Technically, her companion walked in the door, she was on his shoulder. Try to make that distinction in earshot of her and be prepared to get a major earful.
Girls like her tend to pop up, every now and then. Micros, borrowers, Lian, littles, mini people, wee folk... there's a lot of names for them, and almost as many reasons for why. Some are just a quirk of genetics almost as bizarre as Stuart Little, others are cursed, by fae or unscrupulous wizards or wicked spirits... some claim to have chosen such a life, though -how- they choose is never really said. And there are rumors there's a whole subrace of humans that are just naturally that small, though scientists scoff at such a concept.
Argenta Amaretto is one of them. She's never really been too sure why. She knows she's been this way as long as she can remember, and her parents say nothing. All she really knows is that they're both perfectly normal-sized humans, Italian immigrants specifically. To her, it doesn't matter so much. Living's got enough challenges without adding in "figuring out why I'm so cursed short".
It's tough, after all, being a scant eight inches tall! Even with official support from the government, getting around's a tricky business and lifting gets tricky. The inattentive might even kick her over without realizing until she's sprawled a good meter off. Still, Argenta's got it a bit better than most. She has her own little corner of a friend's apartment to bunk in, and she's quite a bit stronger than the average little. She can't do anything absurd like match an ant's lifting power, but she can manage things up to a few pounds with decent ease, and can manage ten for a bit if she puts her back into it.
This serves her pretty well in her job at the Mocha Melange, where she's made use of her size as drawing power. This has earned her the nickname of "Mocha" from people who just know her as her customers. Co-workers and friends tend to call her "Amaret" instead; lately she's taken to combining the two as a sort of pen-name. When she's not adorning the specially-made sign with an oversized coffee cup for her to sit in and wave in potential customers, she's on the counter itself, running about taking orders and serving drinks... yup, she's a micro waitress at a java joint. Bit odd, but she doesn't complain.
... not on the job, anyway. Her parents are pretty much a pure mix of Italian and Sicilian, and that stubborn, take-no-nonsense attitude has filtered down into her. On the job, she's sugar and rainbows and a perfect waitress. Off of it, she's brash and smart-mouthed, not the least bit intimidated by the fact that most people are 8-10 times her size. She regularly refers even to her own manager as "that greedy bastard" and gets pouty at him if he has her on sign duty for too long. Not that she doesn't -like- the guy, but she'll be brash and in-your-face even to friends. Her parents are bilingual, too, so get her mad enough and you'll be chased off under a barrage of the most colorful blend of English and Italian you've ever encountered. Play nice, though, and she's a reasonable person to be around. Just tempermental.
... one last thing. If you value your safety, don't make a Hetalia joke involving her. Even if you think she's out of earshot. She's not.
The Menu
(in progress)
Coffee: Well, yeah. Regular coffee, usually a German or Brazilian blend but others can be requested. Milk, cream, and all sorts of creamer liquids or powders all available. And sugar, of course, if you're like Nanako.
Cappuccino: One of the basics. A fairly strong coffee drink, espresso coffee and steamed milk. The cafe tends to use a ratio of about 3 parts espresso to 2 parts milk, though Argenta has a tendency to err a little on the high side of this.
Cafe latte: Another staple coffee drink. Espresso and steamed milk, as with the capuccino, but in a ratio of about 1:2 with little to no foam, making for a much lighter drink.
Cafe mocha/borgia: A pair of variant drinks on the basic cafe latte. The mocha uses the same proportions as a cafe latte and contains a small extra portion of chocolate. In the cafe's case, this is dark chocolate, percolated into the coffee slowly over thirty seconds by a nozzle placed into the very bottom of the finished drink. (This is the owner's father's technique, which both he and the owner are quite proud of.) Borgia is a mocha but with added orange flavor and finely grated orange rind stirred in.
Wiener Melange: Pronounced "vienner" (it's German). A wiener melange, or melange for short, is an Austrian drink of espresso and steamed milk; the proportion of espresso is less than that of cappuccino but greater than cafe latte, giving a stronger drink than a latte while avoiding the overpowering cappuccino strength. A moderate ground for those who like a stronger drink than the usual chain variety, or those with a German bent.
Mocha Melange: The cafe's signature beverage, developed by the original owner to drum up business during the Depression. Ordinary cafe mocha takes a latte and adds chocolate or cocoa; this trademarked recipe instead adds a mix of dark chocolate and a pinch of cacao powder to a wiener melange. The mocha melange has extra foam compared to the regular version, and can be powdered with a small amount of cacao powder on request.
Chai Melange: A more recent version of the melange developed as a response to the rise in popularity of the chai latte. Similar to the chai latte, the milk portion of a regular wiener melange is mixed with flavored tea. The foam is also dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg to offset the extra strength of the coffee.
Eiskaffe: The cafe's spring and summer seasonal drink. A German iced beverage, using chilled coffee sweetened with ice-cold milk and a small amount of vanilla ice cream melted into the coffee during brewing. At request, can be made with espresso instead.
