Peony Min (blackmagicks) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-12-27 08:36:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, peony min, xiaoli fa |
Who: Li & Peony
What: Tea
Where: Seven Cups
When: This afternoon
Rating: G
Status: Complete!
The cold had settled bone deep. It felt as though his joints were creaking as he moved, wind burning across his face until it grew numb. Li needed to invest in a scarf. For now he sought a more temporary but immediate solution, and found a local teahouse to duck into. Other people seemed to have had the same idea, and Seven Cups was filled with people chatting as steam from their cups wafted up between them. There were still empty tables, but he recognized the lone occupant of one. They has last fought the undead together and she was often mentioned when Jareth spoke of work. "Councilor," he greeted, nodding at her when he was closer. She looked up at the sound of the familiar voice to behold Siana’s former partner. They had not seen each other in some time, it was true -- since before that odd woman she had seen him with had vanished -- but then, the best that could truly be said of their relation was that it was cordial. He was, if possible, more reserved than she, and then there was the matter of his class. She greeted him with a polite nod and a small smile all the same. He was an individual worthy of respect; it was not her place to judge his actions, and she did not strive to avoid his company, especially when he, unlike many others, was not opposed to silence in companionship. “Xiaoli,” she said; he had long ago requested that she not use his family name, “a pleasure to see you well. Would you care to join me?” "Yes," he answered and seated himself across from Peony. Feeling was beginning to return to his face and hands with a vengeance, and he wrung his hands together in his lap to distract from the prickling sensation. "Are you well?" asked Li, eyes leaving her face to search for someone who could take his order. Coming up naught, he turned back to meet her gaze, clarifying, "The Tower was attacked recently." “Yes,” she said. “I have had healing since then.” That she had been quite badly injured at the time did not require mentioning. “The city will take longer to heal than my bruises.” If only there were a spell to set buildings to rights the way the hume body could be healed. The thought of the Tower and its surroundings was a sad one. The damage had been significant before they had managed to contain it at last. “And yourself?” she asked, just as a waitress approached. “I know your council sent out the call.” He nodded as she spoke. The Tenements had hardly recovered since the attack months ago, but that hadn't stopped people from moving on with their lives. There was nothing else they could do. "The city indeed moves slower than hume bodies do, and I am well enough to have tea with the Councilor," he replied. The battle left him battered and beaten, though much of it had been his own doing. Such hazards came with the class. "I spent the last weekend in the clinic, but it was not critical. The staff seemed to enjoy releasing me before Faram's Mass," Li mused, pausing the conversation when the waitress stepped up to their table. "What would you recommend?" he asked, but the question was directed to Peony. “The white orchid is particularly delicate.” She enjoyed the soft, floral flavor of it, ever-so-slightly sweet. Some might call white tea bland, but she found its myriad flavors to be quite complex even in their delicacy. “If you prefer something stronger, perhaps the Dragonwell green.” "A pot of the white orchid then, and two cups," he requested, on the off chance that Peony would prefer a new one to drink from. The waitress nodded and excused herself, and Li resumed the conversation by asking, "How were your holidays?" “I cannot complain.” Even if, in truth, she was relieved they were over. That her father and stepmother had gone -- and that the boys were, somehow, still here -- was a weight off her shoulders that she had not quite realized she carried. “Somewhat muted, perhaps, by recent happenings. I hosted my family for Faram’s Mass dinner.” For the first -- and likely last -- time. “I hope your holiday was restful, after your discharge?” she asked. He was not Pharist, she had to assume, but many had turned the day into a secular celebration of life and family. She could not fault them for it; there was always need for joy in the cold darkness of winter. “Family,” he trailed off and tilted his head at her. “Do you have children?” They weren’t close, not in any sense of the word other than current physical proximity. He wasn’t aware that she had family abroad, just as he often forgot that he did too. “My holiday was spent like any other day off. It was relaxing,” he confirmed both her question and her assumption. “Although I received a pair of new gloves.” As he said this, he lifted his hands up for her to see. “I am unmarried,” she said, as though this was answer enough -- for her, it was. “My father was very briefly in Emillion with his wife.” She looked at the gloves as a much less complicated topic, telling him, “They seem quite warm, though with the current weather, perhaps they are still not barrier enough against the cold.” Fortunately, he would have ample opportunity to warm his hands, for the tea arrived then. “Thank you,” she told the waitress; when the woman had departed, she added, “And you for the tea.” Li smiled, as subtle as the scent of white orchids, and reached for the pot. “You’re welcome.” |