Closed Tea for Two (Atticus Leslie)

[Sasuna Snowsong]

1st of Summer, 515 AV

Common | Vani


The flaring of the Watchtowers had happened just after the midnight rest. Word of the Mhakula Tea House having a sale on their packaged teas followed the change, slithering through the streets of Lhavit and leaping across the peaks. It was to celebrate the new season, apparently. One might think that the mention of a sale would have people flocking to their doors, but that was not the case in Lhavit.

Instead there were visitors at all hours of the day, thanks to the city's schedule. It certainly relieved stress on the citizens, who didn't have to worry about getting to a specific shop before it closed for the night; they could just head out there after one of the resting periods.

Sasuna herself felt that she had far more freedom with the schedule as opposed to when she resided in Avanthal for a season. The dawn rest had just ended when she knelt and extracted her flute from its case to check it for scratches and dents. One could never be too careful with an instrument. She turned back to her surrogate brother.

"Atticus? I think we could get some tea. Mhakula is having a sale," she told him. If he wasn't awake by the time she was, he would be now. The Vantha pressed the keys on her flute, humming part of her new song. If it was done by her next performance she would invite Atticus along to listen. Did he like her music? She thought so.

The flautist placed her flute back into its case and scooted across the floor to grab her shoes. If Atticus didn't want to go with her, she'd go by herself. She wanted some tea and she would get her tea.

[Atticus Leslie]

Atticus had a long night. By Leth, Atticus had a long night. There were so many in the streets, so many having a good time, and Atticus found it difficult to circumnavigate the crowds. As well as that it wasn’t difficult to find a drunken man or woman or someone who had gotten injured in all the fuss, and it was difficult for Atticus to walk by and leave the poor souls unattended. So he didn’t. To the best of his ability, that is. So his bells were spent trying to get the petch home and helping people that probably needed it, mostly just assisting people that had forgotten to stand. In any case, sleeping felt nice. Really nice.

“Atticus?” She said, accent still heavy after nearly two decades speaking common. Sometimes he thought she kept the accent on purpose. She was certainly smart enough to do without it, but he had to admit it gave her a certain… Character. Something new. But instead of all this, Atticus merely said

“Mm’f?”

“I think we could get some tea. Mhakula is having a sale.”

Atticus shut his eyes tight, pretending he was still asleep as he threw off the blankets - revealing he was too tired to change from his normal attire before sleep - and slipped on his shoes, which were just adjacent to the bed. He wished he could ask for a few more moments of sleep. He really really did. But he knew Sasuna most likely wouldn’t be too eager to wait up for him. She wasn’t really the type to wait - never had been. So he got up. Tea would probably be the best for him, anyway. He needed to wake up.

“Better be a good sale…” He mumbled. "Just... Just walk slow, okay?"

He knew she wouldn't. Honestly he didn't mind. It was a celebratory occasion, after all, and he needed to celebrate. Who better with?

[Sasuna Snowsong]

Common | Vani


Sasuna scooped up her flute and lightly tapped Atticus on the head with it. "I will not walk slow. Come now, tikita, or you are not getting any of my tea," she told him.

The Vantha spun on her heel, her skirt flaring out as her eyes shifted smoothly from moss to sepia. She wiggled her feet in her shoes to make them fit better and turned to look over her shoulder at the young astronomer. "I will pay for it this time around, but you owe me!"

She pulled open the door and strode out of the apartments with her flute tucked into the crook of her arm. "Hurry up, Atticus!" she called in her native language, "You aren't going to get any tea if you don't start walking, and soon!"

It was good to get him accustomed to the language, even after several years of living together. She also enjoyed the refreshing change from the hard, heavy tones of Common to the smooth, flowing notes of Vani. It simply rolled off the tongue and hung in the air like a song.

The weather was nice. It was warm, as expected of summer, but the mountain air and clouds blocking Syna's rays and the earliness of the day kept it cool enough for the Vantha. The hotter it got, the more uncomfortable it was. She was one of the few who dared to go outside without a cloak and keep her shoulders bared to the elements.

She paused outside of the apartments, waiting for Atticus. While she stood there she double-checked her coinpurse to make sure she had enough money. Pickpockets and thieves weren't common, so she kept a fair amount of money on hand in case she needed to make a purchase. Twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five... Fifty-one Kina. That'll work.

[Atticus Leslie]

Atticus mumbled under his breath, wrapping his arms around himself to compensate for the lack of a blanket, which Atticus seriously considered taking with him for the sake of warmth, but his coat would have to do.

He flinched when Sasuna tapped him on the head, scrunching his head up close to his shoulders and offered Sasuna a look of what he hoped was death, gloom, and all hatred he could possibly muster, but it most likely just came off as annoyed. “Tikita…” he mumbled. “You’ve been in this city just as long as I have, tikita.”

Atticus shuffled lamely towards the door, under the impression that if he kept his legs together for as long as possible he might end up warmer than he is. He also knew that Sasuna had most likely been up for a while playing music, and would go off galavanting ahead and Atticus would be stuck a few feet behind her, trying to keep up.

“I’ll pay for this one, but you owe me!” She called.

“Yeah, okay. Sure, Sass.”

“Hurry up, Atticus! You aren’t going to get any tea if you don’t start walking, and soon!”

Sweet Leth, she was already gone!? Take your eyes off for a tick and she’s in Alvadas. He thought to himself. “I don’t know the word ‘hurry’!” He called out after her, jogging to close the apartment door behind him and catch up with her. And when that finally did happen, he found her counting out 51 Kina from her coinpurse. Which was outrageous. And he didn’t mind saying so.

“Petching… 51 Kina? How much tea are you willing to drink? Also, I thought this was a sale.” He called out, still a few feet behind her as he was leaving the apartments, but he just about caught up with her. “We’re not actually spending 51 Kina, right? ‘Cause that’s food for the next, like, thirty days."

[Sasuna Snowsong]

Header

Common | Vani


"Tikita is the Vani word for, uh... Warmblood. I think I told you already," Sasuna muttered, tightening the strings of her purse, "and the word for hurry in your language is hurry."

She gave a quiet chuckle at Atticus' bewilderment. Fifty-one Kina wasn't all that much, really. She earned enough from her busking job that she could keep fifty-one Kina, maybe even more than that on hand and not worry about it.

"Do not act so surprised, Atticus. You know I make plenty from my flute, and people are more than generous when it comes to a Vantha," she told him, eyes turning the color of cinnamon for a tick or two before returning to sepia. She enjoyed being a Child of the Aurora, it gave her certain advantages in Lhavit that she was able to utilize many times, though she was usually fairly passive about it.

"And it is a sale, but I thought I would bring some extra along. I wanted to stop by the Azure Market on the way back. I feel like shopping a bit today, and some of the money is for you if you find something you like, little brother." Of course, he wasn't so little anymore. The Vantha was pretty much done growing at her age, but Atticus was not. He was much taller than she.

She patted the back of a passing Okomo, her footsteps short and quick as she cradled the flute in her arm and hitched up her skirt to climb yet another set of stairs. She would need to get the skirt hemmed sooner or later, it was beginning to become a problem again.

After several chimes of walking and using nearby Okomo as (relatively) stable handholds for when she had to ascend steeper parts of the streets, they arrived at the door to Mhakula Tea House. Having lived in Lhavit for so long, the strain of walking up and down the peaks had lessened considerably and she hardly even worked up a sweat unless it was a great amount of walking or a hot day.

Sasuna rearranged her skirt and opened the Tea House, smiling warmly at Guzo and his granddaughter. "Good morning, Guzo! I am here for one of your packaged teas, I hear there is a sale."

The elderly man had returned the smile. "You heard correctly, they're one topaz Kina and five jade Kina. Which blend would you like?" he asked, turning to retrieve the requested tea.

"The Sharai Special, unless Atticus wants something else. Do you have a preference, little brother?" she inquired, digging out a single Kina to pay for it.

Ledger-1 TK, 5 JK for 1lb tea leaves (25% off)

[Atticus Leslie]

“I know what tikita means, unfortunately, ‘cause a certain someone ruined my innocence. I also know that you fit the description.”

“... And the word for hurry in your language is hurry.” She replied.

“Okay sure. That still doesn’t fix the fifty-one Kina issue, sister dearest.” Atticus replied, steadying himself on a wall as they descended to a lower level. “As much as I trust you, I want to eat.”

“Do not act so surprised, Atticus. You know I make plenty from my flute, and people are more than generous when it comes to a Vantha.”

“I think it’s just ‘cause you’re a half-decent musician and you sell yourself short all the time.”

Atticus had finally been waking up, and his eyes had now fully adjusted to the dark. He was still tired, yes, and keeping up with Sasuna was a chore, but he could manage. It was a bit difficult to keep his eyes open, and a bit more difficult to keep his feet moving in the correct direction, or at all, but he could manage.

“And it is a sale, but I thought I would bring some extra along. I wanted to stop by the Azure Market on the way back. I feel like shopping a bit today, and some of the money is for you if you find something you like, little brother.”

“Sure, sounds fun, just don’t spend food on a new coat. And if I get something I’ll pay you back for sure. Don’t worry.”

Atticus yawned, finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with his Vani companion. He needed that tea. As they walked, chimes turned by slowly as Atticus struggled to keep up. Luckily, the tea house was close now.

As Sasuna pushed open the door and stepped behind her, Atticus kept close to the door, standing to the left side as to leave quickly and to let Sasuna conduct her business, as he learned it was best he left her alone in these moments. She tended to like being in charge, he had noticed.

He leaned against the door, observing the walls and surroundings closely, losing touch with what was happening. This, apparently, seemed to happen often. He would find himself thinking about deep irrelevance and miss the relevant. He had learned to snap out of it at the mention of a few different words. Prominently, “Sasuna,” “Wait,” “Stop,” “Hey,” and -

“- Atticus wants something else. Do you have a preference, little brother?”

“Hm?” Atticus asked, scanning the scene now. Sasuna had turned to him, and kindly old Guzo was waiting for his input. Luckily, Atticus had learned how to deal with issues like this. “Uh… Whatever Sasuna said is fine, thank you.” he said, flashing a quick smile at the nice man, and resumed waiting for Sasuna to complete the order.

[Sasuna Snowsong]

Common | Vani


Half-decent musician. Pah! As if it wasn't my skill that kept us afloat. He'd better be joking and a bit more thankful, too! thought Sasuna, though her feigned anger didn't show in her eyes.

As Guzo handed over the change and the tea, she pocketed the money and held the pound of tea up to her nose to smell it. She always enjoyed the scent of tea, even the more heavily perfumed ones. The Sharai Special was crisp, fresh.
As odd as it sounded, she liked it both warm and cold.

The Vantha turned to leave after a quick thanks to the elderly man, grabbing Atticus' hand and leading him out of the Tea House. "You were distracted again, little brother. How are the stars?" she asked, the pound of tea passed to the young astronomer.

It seemed to be a strange question to ask, but she knew he enjoyed astronomy and it was a suitable subject for conversation. She dug out several Kina as she listened to him speak, handing them to Atticus while they walked. Six Kina would get him plenty of things in the Azure Market; everything in Lhavit was priced fairly.

She had thought about purchasing a new set of clothing, perhaps a dress. Browsing whatever instruments she could find would also be nice, since she'd been hoping to take up the fiddle. It'd be a small homage to her father, in a way.

The Azure Market wasn't difficult to find for someone who had lived in Lhavit for most of their life. For an outsider, however, it would prove to be a bit of a challenge to find the thin passageway that led up the peak.

"Atticus, go look for something you want. If you need more money just find me," she told him, pushing past an arguing duo. The musician paused for a moment to gain her bearings, then made a beeline for a clothing shop.

It took her barely ten ticks to spot what she was looking for: A linen skirt that would reach down to her ankles. She picked it up and folded it over her arm, heading towards who she assumed was the owner. Something then caught her attention, a pair of trousers that seemed to be tossed to the side. She adjusted her course and lifted the trousers. What was wrong with them?

A quick inspection showed no holes, no stains or botched stitching. There were several in the shop just like them, so she assumed it was a careless customer who had failed to put them back where they belonged.

She checked the trousers against herself. They were too big for her, so she edged over to where the others were and laid it out beside them. Sasuna held two more pairs to her hips to check the size and length before folding the chosen pair over the skirt on her arm.

When it was her turn to purchase her new clothes she prepared herself for a lot of back-and-forth with the man behind the counter. "Fifteen topaz Kina," he said.

"No. Ten," she shot back.

"Fourteen."

"Ten."

Their haggling went on for almost a full chime before they both settled on a price: Eleven and a half topaz Kina for both the skirt and the trousers. The Vantha passed over the appropriate amount of money and headed out of the shop, beginning a possible grueling search for Atticus. He could be slippery, that one, especially when told to go buy something for himself.

Ledger-6 KI to Atticus
-11 TK, 5 JK for skirt and trousers