[Mhakula Tea House] Peace And Quiet? You Wish... (Open)

[Una Nox]

OOC : Not that it matters all that much, but Tao in your last post, you renamed me to Uma, i believe it was in the fourth pharagraph. Just sayin'... Una enjoyed Tao's company quite a lot, he seemed a bit different than most men, and that was always a good thing. He was sweet, if a bit shy and stiff, or so Una figured from her first impressions of him. On the other hand, Brady seemed to be the complete opposite. He was giving off an air of a man who knew what he wanted and knew all too well how to take it, and he was quite confident, too confident maybe? As Tao got his tea, she switched her eyes to Brady giving him a bit more attention as she let the other man enjoy his tea properly. Still even with Tao being a bit insecure, after losing someone that important, like his father, it was a miracle just to see him moving on; Maybe he was a strong man after all? Or so the thoughts in her head ran as she was still unsure what to make of Brady's speach. Finally when she spoke, she decided to be indifferent to them: „Nice introduction... if a bit too long...“ Una whispered loud enough for the man to hear as she was smiling to herself. She took a deep breath and then went on with the words that seemed to flow out of her: „Una. They call me Una, and i swear on Priskil's name that if someone else comes here, i will get a name tag“ she was still on top of her mood as she was wondering why was Tao so quiet. Did she startle him in some way? After all, men did often get intimidated by her nature or simply her tomboy conduct. But then again, Tao was not like the guys she was usually meeting. Not wanting to have to deal with a mood drop, she just kept talking, after all, it was the least she could do. „Seems we all came here for a change or something like that“ as she ended her line with a smile she turned to Tao just to make sure that he was still mentally here nudging him a bit by poking at his shoulder. She then waved at him a bit speaking a bit more quiet this time: „You alright?“ it was not really that he looked sad, but he did seem to be lost, or something like it. She could relate to both of them at least a bit, and that very feeling was a bit awkward or so she thought.

[Tao]

OOCWhoops! D: Sorry about that. I am a derp when it comes to names. XD All fixed, now! While he listened to Brady wax poetic about the city, Tao's mind was focused on the drink in front of him, at least for now. The tea was a rich brown, giving off a tendril of steam that lazily swirled up and around towards the ceiling. The aroma was herbal, like medicine, not a scent he recognised. From what he understood of the drink, it was mostly hot water and leaves, so that was unsurprising. He was startled out of his thoughts by a gentle nudge to his shoulder. Una was giving him a curious look, while the other man (Braid or Brady, was what he had called himself) seemed to be looking at her rather intently. Tao recognised that look. Just from the way that he sat and spoke, he could tell that he was very assured and confident in himself, the sort of man not afraid to like what he saw. Una was indeed very attractive, so he supposed the look was justified. He couldn't help but wonder if she was aware of the attention. Realising that he was already beginning to vanish into his thoughts, he shook himself a little and smiled to reassure Una, who seemed a little concerned. "Sorry, I was just thinking about the tea." He said in reply. Making up for his initial rudeness, he turned to Brady and inclined his head slightly. "My name is Tao. It's very nice to meet you." He took a moment to get a proper look at his new companion. They were practically complete opposites, which appeared to be making Brady a little uneasy. That was rather confusing in itself, as he could not possibly fathom a reason why. Warming his hands on the cup of tea he was definitely not neglecting, he decided to focus more on the conversation. "Change is never a bad thing. It's just a push to take the next step in life." He said, keeping his voice low as was polite.

[Brady]

The Maverick "Yes my tongue tends to run off with itself! My apologies for it's rambling." With this he bent forward slightly to attune himself better to the conversation. When the woman, Una, gave her name and voiced her annoyance, Brady answered warmly "I'm glad to meet you Una, and if I may assume upon said lady of the night sky. Let us hope that the table doesn't fill much more. Three is plenty for a discussion, and we needn't make it any more complex." he ended with a light chuckle. Brady then followed Una's gaze as she looked over at Tao. Who had been strangely quite. As Brady looked closer at the man, he quickly got over his previous discomfort. Realizing that this man was probably quite introverted, when he introduced himself Brady took initiative. He reached out holding his hand open for greeting. "I am glad to meet you Tao. Ah yes the tea, what is it like?" "Ah change, the trumpet call of life. The rain which moistens the pallet of our soul. The breeze which brings the taste of what is yet to come." Stopping short Brady gave a short quiet cough. "Umm yeah.... sorry about the rambling tongue thing ... Again."

[Una Nox]

Thinking about the tea? Was that really all? Una could not help but wonder for a bit, but then she quickly turned her mind away from that. The man seemed to have no reason to lie, and even if he did, it was none of her business. „Yea the tea in here is nice“ Una let out those words with a slight nod of her head. It was alright, after all, they were mostly still strangers. Then she heard Tao saying something else, about how change was good or something? Like minded individuals, eh? Maybe they really were that, at least so it looked to her. And she liked it, most people would be stuck up bastards when it came to talking about things like this. Maybe she was critisizing Brady too much? Not that it could be called that, but he still looked like she did. She spoke softly, not actually apologetic, but a bit in a lesser tone than usual: „Well, you are either trying too hard or that's just a part of you as much as it can be. If you are trying too hard, just stop, it's not worth it..... people and by them i mean me, like to have people act naturally around them. On the other hand if it can't be changed that easily, then i guess i will have to fit you into unusual group of acquintances“ as she finished she gave off a soft smile. Right about now she was wondering was the other man thinking she was a thief too? As he could not stop but watch her movements. Who knows, maybe she really did look like that? Not that she would want to let her thoughts out into the conversation, but still, there was something in the whole „change is good“ thing that bothered her quite a bit. Maybe it was the fact that her change was forced on her to choose? Maybe it was the fact that she never really liked settling down, and that's what she was doing here in Lhavit. She pondered a bit on all that, and then she gave a slight nudge to herself in order to get back to her senses before someone needed to remind her, like Tao. Quickly raising her empty cup like it was ale of some sort she proposed a toast: „To new found friends“ she then gave off a quick grin and closed the distance between her lips and the cup. As she leaned the cup back, she knew it was empty, she thought of it a bit too late, but she would never let something like that kill her mood.

[Tao]

Brady seemed to realise himself and turned to greet him and extend his hand. Any traces of awkwardness were gone. He shook hands with the man as he wondered if he had been imagining it. It wouldn't be the first time he had misjudged someone's actions. He smiled a little as he went on to wax poetic about change before even getting an answer to how the tea was. Which was probably a good thing, given that he hadn't exactly tried it yet. Una answered the question about the tea before he had a chance, and then moved on to jokingly chide him about the way he liked to ramble. Personally, Tao didn't really have much of an issue with it. There was no harm in letting the man chatter on in such an amusing way, and it meant that he didn't have to say as much, which was always good. He had rarely been the one sitting at the table, and while he felt he had done a good job emulating how one should act in a sociable situation, something was bound to go wrong if he wasn't careful. While Una was quiet for a moment, trailing off from her own chatter, she quickly recovered to call for a toast. That seemed a little unusual, as he thought that was supposed to be only for when one was drinking alcohol. Then again, he supposed it was just a quirk of the woman and her lively behaviour. It couldn't hurt to go along. He smiled and raised his cup of tea in return. "To new found friends." He repeated, taking a sip of the tea. The taste was entirely unlike what he was expecting; it was almost bitter, like medicine. He could distinctly taste the herbs used to brew the beverage, heavy and strong on the tongue. He swallowed the mouth before he burnt himself and immediately put the drink back down, eyeing it with disappointment. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. Perhaps it is an acquired taste. He thought, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. That was something he hadn't heard in a while. 'Acquired' had nearly always meant 'I know you hate it, but eat it anyway. Or else'. Still, even if he didn't like the tea, he couldn't say that coming there was entirely useless. Una and Brady were both friendly enough people, and he always needed some social practice.

[Brady]

The Maverick OOCSorry for delaying the thread "Well it isn't that I try too hard, but that often I don't try hard enough! When I see that two words could be used I don't shorten it to one. I try to be open with my emotion, and not hide myself from the view of others. However often I end up rambling. Some people enjoy my rambling for it gives them a chance to listen and then to speak. Others do not, instead choosing to speed through a conversation with a bounce in their speech. I see merit in both mind you, the latter seems utterly unreachable. But I digress..." After his comments it seemed that the talk slowly dwindled, only to be broken by an outburst from Una, which was quickly taken up by Tao. Brady quickly looked around for something to toast with. So he reached into his sack and pulled out a skin of brandy. Taking a quick and short quaff of the alcohol he repeated softly "To new found friends"

[Una Nox]

Una was confused to see either of these two would have anything to do with the tea. Still her curiosity went down rapidly after seeing Tao's somewhat grimaced face; Or maybe it was just too much for boys to handle? She smiled a bit as that thought streamed into her. Then she was surprised even more when she saw Brady take a sip of what she thought was liquor. She imagined he could get thrown out for such an act. It was after all considered to be both an insult and banned, if one could use such a strong word. There was that bouncer chick somewhere around here, if she had seen what Brady just did, she would probably throw him out and beat his sorry but up according to her mood swings. That's right, she needed to ask that intimidating woman for instructions later or something along those lines. Not that she really liked the woman, but the way were not so numerous when it came to sparing in this city. Getting back into reality, she just shook her head a bit as if it could banish the crowded mind she was now stuck with. She was starting to get random surges of pain in the back of her head. It was probably all from the lack of sleep, but still, never the less it could not be disregarded so easily. It made her blink a bit faster every time the pain would shoot through. Turning to figure out where to take the conversation, Una stated the question that seemed good to her: „So what do you do for a living?“ when she asked she was asking both of them, but it did not seem like she was looking at either of them in particular.

[Tao]

There was another lull in the conversation, at least for a while. It made him more uncomfortable as it dragged on. Was it his fault? Would the other two be more lively without his presence? He was an awkward partner in everything but his work, and even there he was still so vastly inexperienced. Despite his efforts to take every opportunity to make a friend or just talk pleasantries with someone, he found that very few people ever stuck around afterwards. He was much too reclusive and used to a solitary life. There had only ever been one person that could enter that bubble, and he was gone, leaving no one quite able to fill that gap with the same intimacy and connections. A new life in Lhavit had been supposed to change that, pop the bubble that he had wilfully constructed and let him step outside. Yet it seemed that every second step he made was the wrong one. He had made a friend and turned them into an enemy. He had gotten work and a home, but he was only just scraping by. He had sat himself at a table to be social and completely killed off the conversation. Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder if 'Tao' was flawed. Perhaps that was why he didn't like the tea. It was a drink for normal people, pushing it to the outside of his bubble, to a place he could never reach, no matter how much he yearned for it in hindsight. At that moment, Una asked another question in an effort to rekindle the conversation. He took a hold of the opportunity to push away the negative thoughts; he had been enjoying himself until that moment, and he wanted that back. "I'm an assistant chef at a restaurant, over on the Sartu Peak." He offered, forcing a small smile, cupping the still hot tea with his hands. "It's messy and difficult for the most part, but it's also quite a lot of fun." If there was one thing he could talk about naturally, it was food. Maybe he could nudge the conversation that way, somehow.

[Una Nox]

:)Sorry for the dealy, i took the liberty to say Brady was thrown out without making too much commotion. And in my oppinion it suits that intimidating girl very well, still if it's any trouble i will change it. Anyways, so sorry for the delay Tao, was caught up in some thing of my own IRL, hope you are still in the mood to thread with me *Absent, yet strangely cool looking, hopefull grin xD* Brady was.... thrown out was probably the best word for it, but it did include a lot of not so chlidish injuries. It made Una chuckle a bit, not that she didn't feel sorry for him, but still, he had it coming. It was not even a full chime after he took a sip of that beverage, whos taste still stood as a mistery in Una's mind, and he had already got a strong kick to one of his shoulders. The perpetrator was that girl, daughter or the grandoughter of the shop owner, it's not like her lineage mattered that much. Another chime and a few strong shouts on Lhavitian, and he was flat on his back outside the shop, it may not have been fun to laugh at the fallen man, but still, both the one who threw him out and Una found it strangely amusing. She turned to Tao again realizing that he had said something, now she did not really hear all of it, but she did hear he is a cook, or he works for one? Anyway she had always found men who can cook to be quite interesting. It was strange to meet a man who did not think that all women belong in the kitchen. She put on her widest smile as she started to remember all her disastrous attempts at making anything, even if it was only barely edible. She suddenly realised that Tao had been quiet for some time and then she had another revelation; It was her turn to speak, how could she even forget something like that? Not giving Tao anymore time to feel like she wasn't litsening at all she quickly spoke up in a cheefull tone as her eyes sparkled slightly as if all that imaginary food had been right in front of her: „Food? You can cook? Wow, i love you already. It's hard too meet a male chef these days.“ She than hushed herself in order to get some breath only to speak up again a few seconds later: „Will you marry me?“ it was a joke in all it's weight, still she started laughing, just to make sure Tao did not take it too seriously. Last thing she needed right now was a housband, still Tao seemed like the intelligent type, so she hoped he would get the sarcasm behind her words.

[Tao]

OOCSounds perfectly fine to me! Now, we should get this thread finished up! What had happened to Brady had happened so quickly and unexpectedly that Tao was left feeling completely lost as to what had actually happened. The strange man had come and gone quite quickly. Had he violated some sort of custom? Insulted the wrong person? He felt the eyes of the room on his back, whether they were really there or not. All he could hope is that he and Una were not identified as companions to whatever crime he had committed. His tea had cooled a little as the drama had taken place. Sipping it out of courtesy more than enjoyment, he turned back to Una as she finished giggling and smoothly picked up the conversation like Brady had never even been there. “Male chefs are... unusual?” He asked, frowning a little. “I never knew that. Why do you think that-” Before he could complete his reply, Una cheerfully asked his hand in marriage. He responded the only way he could; choking and spluttering, then taking a very quick swig of the tea when she started laughing and he realised it was just a joke. A very... strange joke, but a joke none the less. He could feel himself flushing a little in embarrassment at how seriously he had taken her words, if only for a moment. “I...I'm not ready for marriage, really.” He managed. He had hoped that he would come up with something witty to add in the time it took to force the sentence out, but it was not really his forte. “So... well, yes. Do you dislike cooking yourself?”