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Tweak says, "But I'm MUCH better now."

ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ (

mysticism) wrote in

valloic,
@ 2021-04-07 19:49:00

WHO: Dr. Strange & Leia
WHAT: Trying to replicate a tea from Leia's home planet, RIP
WHERE: Looking-Glass Teas
WHEN: Backdated to Monday
WARNINGS: Dis chai is spicy
STATUS: Complete

Experimenting with tea with Doctor Strange was something Leia began looking forward to the moment after they scheduled it. Ever since Poe left, she had been stuck in a funk. It was an absence she surprisingly felt physically, from her inside out, and she was having a little trouble pushing it from her mind. This was going to be a much-needed distraction.

She arrived at Looking Glass Tea and let herself in quietly. She'd been many times, and as she had told Doctor Strange, she was glad it stuck around even though its previous proprietor had disappeared. It smelled familiar, a mix of various types of tea and other confections. She smiled across the room at Doctor Strange when she spotted him.

"Hope I'm not too early," she said.

Looking-Glass Teas was honestly one of Stephen’s favorite places in Vallo - he’d stumbled upon it one day, in all of its glory with the exposed brick interior and the large windows (giving it kind of an industrial feel), and he hadn’t been disappointed with the quality of teas either. He wasn’t certain if he could keep up with that in terms of concocting blends that Hatter would approve of - but he trusted Wanda with the task of helping run the place and besides, they’d hire locals together. Or other Outlanders - anyone who had a passion for tea, really, he wasn’t going to be overly picky.

The fact that he had someone interested in helping out with the creation part (or at least the testing part - that was what he’d liked doing, when Hatter ran the place and he definitely kind of missed the guy) was also nice - he tried not to be too overeager when Leia offered. But you can bet he’d definitely taken her up on it.

“You’re right on time,” he said, returning the smile. “I’ve got kind of a tea lab set up in the back. Figure we can start there.” He turned and led the way - and the back room was spacious, with various pure tea leaves, the loose kind, along with additions. Flowers, herbs, dried fruits - the smell was even more earthy and fresh. Sweet, almost. “I did my best to find what I thought might create that volcano tea you mentioned.”

Leia followed him into the back, immediately confronted with the smells that he had gathered, more potent back there than out in the business's front. "Then let's see what we can concoct," she said. "That one might be impossible to replicate, but there are some others that might be easier. Not to mention, I'd like to see more of what tea in this world, or from yours, is like." Namely that chai he had mentioned. She'd seen it on some menus but had usually resorted to blends she already knew she liked. Jasmine teas in particular reminded her faintly of one her mother had drank regularly when Leia was a young girl.

“Alright, so - I’m still learning about how it all works, exactly, but...first thing we need is a base. Something to connect all the flavors together. Since we both like a challenge, we’ll see if we can replicate that rare one first,” Stephen said, gathering the necessary supplies - mixing bowl (and smaller bowls for the separate ingredients), a teaspoon and tablespoon set, a liquid dropper, a mortar and pestle because they did things the old-fashioned way here. There were also airtight containers for storage, plenty of them.

And supplies to steep the tea and brew a cup - he planned to make test batches that were small, so if they were awful no one would be stuck with something that tasted like shoes left in the rain and then locked in a dark closet for three weeks.

“I actually found a red black tea that might be a good base for that one,” he went on. “It’s smokey as is, but I think the trick will be finding the right flower to get that subtle floral taste - too much and it’s like drinking the smell of your grandma’s house.” And no one wanted that. However, they had a variety of dried flowers to choose from back here - and he’d gladly take Leia’s recommendations. “I’ll show you how to make the chai too, if you want.”

Leia was impressed with the set up, and she was immediately drawn to the loose tea leaves, reaching out for one and opening it to inhale. "I'm not as well-versed as Amilyn was, but when we were young, I used to sit and watch her mix her teas." She smiled wistfully at the memory and glanced at Stephen as he continued. "I've enjoyed jasmine when I've had it. That probably doesn't fit with this particular tea, but something in that area might." She tried another container, then a third, then stopped and sniffed the third again. "This says Chrysanthemum," she said. "Why don't we start with this?"

She moved over to stand beside him, the container in hand. "What's this chai you mentioned? I saw it on the menu once, but overheard someone else say that it wasn't real chai."

Two spoonfuls of the red black tea went into the bowl first - that was the base, and after some extensive testing (or sniffing) it was decided that chrysanthemum would be the addition to give the blend that floral aftertaste. “Good choice,” Stephen nodded, adding approximately one teaspoon of the dried flowers to the mix - he was very thorough, even if his hands shook minutely. But not enough to send tea leaves everywhere, thus, he was also sure he could do this. On a rainy day it might be different - everything always hurt more when it rained, and he wasn’t able to hold onto much of anything.

But for now it was fine and to get some water boiling he drew Eldritch shapes - a couple geometric patterns, that sizzled with fiery energy, and then poof. Water in its container started bubbling, and he added the tea infuser to scoop their newly concocted brew inside. “And chai tea - it originated in India, it’s black tea in milk and water and you add different herbs and spices. Over the years, the big coffee chain industry has kind of - ruined it?” He tried to explain the situation delicately. “They just added a lot of sugar, basically.” The practice highlighted how the western world tended to take aspects from other cultures and twist them into something unrecognizable. A shame, really. “There was a place in New York that was run by a Pakistani women’s rights activist - she specialized in correct chai tea, so I think I can do her proud and make something decent here.”

Ever observant and perceptive, Leia watched careful as he made the mixture. She noticed, too, that his hands shook, so slightly that any normal being likely wouldn't notice it. It was possible that he didn't even notice it, though she suspected he did. She stepped back and watched him work, using his brand of magic to boil the water before he dropped the tea into it.

"Ah," Leia said. "I believe your galaxy isn't as vast as mine was, but I see the same thing happens no matter where. When my home planet was destroyed, there were many places throughout the galaxy that tried to - replicate isn't the correct word, because sometimes they didn't even really try - use that which was native and honored on Alderaan for their own gain. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I'd like to try this chai, the kind you believe you can replicate better, sometime too."

She rubbed her fingers over the knuckles on her other hand, soothing the joints, absently lost in her thoughts about Alderaan suddenly. "You use your magic for everyday tasks," she pointed out, no judging in her tone at all. She knew her brother had called on the Force now and again for things like this, too, but she had never wanted to wield that much power for something she could do with her own two hands and a little patience.

“Definitely not as vast as yours - even after everything with Thanos and the infinity stones, it still felt like we were but a speck in the universe,” Stephen chuckled throatily, a soft rumble of sound. “But it’s interesting how some things never change, isn’t it? Or remain the same - even across galaxies.”

Honestly, he was eager to see if he could create a decent chai as well - it was a tall order, but being the perfectionist he was it seemed within his purview; he’d work at it until he accomplished the goal, like anything else. They’d need peppercorn, ginger, and so on - he set about to gather the right spices. “Would you mind grinding up some peppercorn? Just a half a teaspoon’s worth.” Getting the right balance was important here - that’s what made chai so authentic, so good, was unlocking the perfect flavor combination. “And yes, I - magic’s become a part of me. My hands would be worse off if I didn’t practice consistently - I’m able to cast with steady hands as long as I keep that connection. Though even I admit magic won’t solve every problem, and it’s not necessary for everything either. Balance is required.”

For that and the chai tea.

“Have you found a way to honor aspects of your home planet?” He was familiar with planet destruction too, unfortunately - there were certain races who felt it was their duty to clean up in that regard, or others that just got mad when their neighbors didn’t submit to their militaristic rule.

"Mmn," Leia hummed in agreement. She had always considered the galaxy vast and unrelenting, and yet coming to a different universe altogether reminded her of the very thing he mentioned: that they were such small pieces of something infinitely larger.

At his request, she took the mortar and pestle and the peppercorn and worked at grinding what he needed. Again, it reminded her of Amilyn's work, watching her slender hands at work. Leia had never offered to assist, and now she wished she had. "You sound like my brother, in some respects," she said fondly. "Always talking about balance. Balance in the Force, balance in the universe. I guess that's something that doesn't change, no matter what corner of the universe we find ourselves in, hmn?" She set the ground pepper down.

"Here, no. There isn't much around that would do that. Well, my own personal traditions and memories aside. Back home, it took years to figure out what was necessary to honor and memorialize Alderaan. The members of the diaspora had so many conflicting ideas, and though many looked to me for guidance and a final decision, it was hard to decide what the best course was."

The smells that had begun sprouting up from their joint efforts at once tickled her nose and brought back fond memories. "I think we're getting close," she told him with a smile, even though she knew it would never be - could never be - perfect.

“Sometimes the personal traditions are best anyway - what’s personal to you, and the memories that you keep close,” Stephen mused. It was a shame entire planets were wiped out at all - but as someone who dealt with problems on a cosmic scale, what the Sorcerer Supreme was supposed to do, he understood that these sorts of problems were going to happen. They were hard. Making decisions and having to work around and deal with intergalactic dictators was also hard - luckily, it wasn’t so much of an issue here, and for that he was grateful.

Leia was right though - based on the fragrant aromas, they really were getting close. For the chai, Stephen took the ground peppercorn, adding some dried ginger, cardamom, and cloves - the rest of these spices were ground up too. Along with a bit of a cinnamon stick, all blended with a nice black tea that would be the base. He also planned to add other spices as necessary too, adjusting the ratio as necessary - star anise, nutmeg, maybe some vanilla. It was an adventure.

“We can give this first tea a try,” he said, finding two small cups for taste testing. A small smile twitched upon his face. “See how our balance lesson paid off here.”

Her personal memories of her childhood and Alderaan spent most of the time simmering under the surface of everything else that she had gone through over her many years. She had wanted to teach Ben about Alderaan, about her family, about everything that had been lost. But he was more interested in the future, in Luke's teachings and then, later, on the family that Leia didn't want to claim. But she understood his sentiment, about the memories one held close. She had many of those.

"It smells divine," she said, watching him pour and then taking the cup from him so that she could taste it. When the hot, spiced tea hit her tongue, she sighed and nodded. "That's wonderful, Stephen," she said.

Stephen wouldn’t say he felt a case of the warm and fuzzies but alright - fine, yes. Hearing that reaction, and that someone liked the tea he concocted (with help and input) was a pretty nice feeling. He was still kind of a novice at actually brewing the tea - usually, in his world he just found a good spot to hunker down in and drink or he’d prepare a cup at home with blends he purchased. But actually creating the blends? That was entirely new. And knowing that he hadn’t done too badly at recreating something that was an important part of Leia’s orbit, well, that was pleasant too.

“I’m glad,” he replied sincerely, and he meant that. The first sip of tea had him closing his eyes, assessing, analyzing - and yes. It was good - smokey, a pine fire, all sweet and clean with those hints of the mildly honeyed chrysanthemum. “Not bad for some of the first attempts, I guess. Here’s to creating more - and you’re always welcome to come back and help. Consider yourself the new VIP.”

He’d pass on the mantle. What a beautiful moment.

"I could drink this every morning just fine," Leia continued, thinking about sitting on her balcony and waking up to the warm, smokey memory of a time long past. The tea wasn't exact, of course, but it was very near there. It felt comforting, and she took a second sip from the sample and let it seep through her. "I hope you tracked the measurements," she said with a hoarse chuckle. She had paid attention but not close enough.

"I'd love to come back. If that means I'm the new VIP, well, then I guess I accept."

Oh yes, Dr. Strange (also known as Dr. Perfectionist) definitely kept track of the measurements. “I have a good memory,” he assured, with a rough little chuckle. “And I’ll write down the measurements too. Tack them up somewhere back here, since it’s VIP tea.”

Very important stuff. But he was pleased with the idea of it and, well, maybe taking on the role of handling the tea shop (both he and Wanda - he didn’t plan to do it entirely on his own, wasn’t too proud to admit that he needed the assist) was the right thing to do after all. Funny how things just worked out like that.

He had some water (with a spritz of lime) as a palate cleanser if necessary - but otherwise the chai tea was ready, and steeped, so he offered that in the small cup next. “Okay, try this one too - let me know if I’d do the owner of a tea house proud with this chai.”

"Very good," Leia said, unsurprised that he had it under control. She accepted the palate cleanser, enjoying the fresh citrusy taste, before taking the chai.

"I'm not sure if I'll be the best judge of whether it's more authentic or not, but I can definitely give you my opinion." Giving her opinion was something that had always come very easily to Leia, for better or for worse. She lifted the cup to her lips and inhaled, then sipped it. "Mmn," she said, nodding. "It's delicious. There's a lot going on - in a good way - that bite of spice I can taste at the back of my tongue combined with a certain sweetness. It's good. The better question is for you, how it stands up to what you're expecting."

Stephen liked people who would give their opinions - he wasn’t one for smoke being blown up his ass or being coddled. Therefore, the honest reaction and observations from Leia were appreciated (and from what he knew of her, she didn’t get where she was by using excessive hand-holding). “A relief,” he exhaled, with a huff of a laugh. “I’ll see if I agree - I have pretty high expectations for chai, admittedly.”

He took a sip, a careful one - and decided that he’d done a decent job for his first try at it. That made him weirdly happy - but why not, damnit? Why not take pleasure in the small things, even if they weren’t as important to other people? It was important to him.

“Well, it definitely rose to the occasion. I’d say we had a very successful teatime here.”

"Yeah," Leia agreed. "It was good. I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime either." She thought that perhaps she could start jotting down notes or memories about what she enjoyed in her tea and see if she couldn't invent some other flavors that paid homage to her own galaxy. She thought that some of the people in Vallo might enjoy trying them out, if they were tea people.

"Thank you for having me today, Stephen."

“Anytime,” Stephen replied easily and, surprisingly, he meant that. He knew he wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, however (and that pun was intended) so when he felt as if he made a genuine connection with someone? Well. He kept it close. Because it was a lonely universe out there, one he was tasked with defending, and the moments where he could just stop and enjoy a damn cup of chai were cherished. Whenever he could find them.

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