They hadn’t meant to be overheard.

But they rarely lower their voices when the conversation gets interesting.

A woman at the next table glances over.

Not intrusive. Just curious.

She hesitates for a second… then…

“Sorry,” she says, half-smiling.
“I didn’t mean to listen, but… what is a Black Knight taxonomy?”

Ava closes her eyes briefly.

“We’ve become those people,” she murmurs.

Sienna doesn’t look up.

“We were always those people.”

Ava turns slightly toward her.

“It’s not what it sounds like,” she says.

Sienna takes a sip of her coffee.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like.”

The woman smiles, now fully invested.

“So… is it like a theory?”

Sienna shakes her head.

“Not a theory.”

Ava glances at her.

“A pattern,” she says.

Sienna nods once.

“A pattern we kept seeing.”

“Seeing where?” the woman asks.

Ava exhales softly.

“In everything,” she says. “Dates, conversations…”

Sienna adds…

“Mostly the aftermath.”

The woman leans her elbow onto the table now.

“So how did it start?”

Ava smiles slightly.

“It didn’t start as a system.”

Sienna, at the same time:

“It started as a question.”

Ava continues.

“Why does something feel right…”

She pauses.

“…until it doesn’t?”

Sienna sets her cup down.

“Ava would tell me what happened.”

Ava tilts her head.

“Tell is generous.”

“Relive,” Sienna corrects.

“I’d tell her everything,” Ava says.
“What he said. What I thought it meant. What I felt.”

Sienna nods.

“And I’d listen.”

Pausing briefly.

“To what was said… and what was missing.”

“That sounds intense,” the woman says.

“It’s accurate,” Sienna replies.

“So you started categorising people?”

Sienna shakes her head immediately.

“No.”

Ava leans forward slightly.

“No, we’re not doing that.”

“It’s not about labels,” Sienna says.

“It’s about recognition.”

Ava nods.

“Not who someone says they are…”

“…but how they show up over time,” Sienna finishes.

“Each ‘type’ isn’t a person,” she adds.

“It’s a pattern.”

“And patterns…” Ava says,

“…are easier to see once you know what you’re looking for.”

The woman considers that.

“So you use this before dating someone?”

Ava laughs.

“God, no.”

“I don’t read anything before I meet someone,” she says.

“I feel it first.”

Sienna nods.

“This comes after.”

“In the conversation,” Ava says.

“In the moment where something doesn’t sit right…”

“…or finally does,” Sienna finishes.

The woman watches them.

“And that’s when?”

Sienna reaches for her phone.

Ava smiles, already recognising the move.

Sienna glances up.

“Taxonomy update?”

Ava exhales.

“Yeah.”

“Taxonomy update.”

The woman smiles into her coffee.

“So… is it a good thing?”

Ava looks at Sienna.

Sienna tilts her head slightly.

“It’s a clearer thing.”

Taxonomy update.

**Future reference**

Curiosity is positive.

Lower voices next time.

 ☕️ Coffee finished. Research continues.