A Meeting with a side of tea [Yun]

The shifting winds blew slightly over the lands during the warm and bright morning in the Zou country and outside of the walls of the massive empire sat a single Fanalis. Draped in a black cloak Zeraldin stood outside of its walls for a while pondering on what exactly he wanted to do here, although to be completely honest his last adventure here wasn't to pleasant but luckily the men that were involved in it had not been seen in a while.

With nothing else to do slowly he would begin to walk to the the city without the suspicion of the guards due to one thing-he had gotten a document showing that he was a working inside of the city for various people. Slowly he would make his way through the streets with a bandaged spear on his back, the yellow eyes of the Fanalis looking around at the many people walking around and enjoying their human lives. It would be at this moment that someone bumped into him and although his usual scowl was apparent on his face, he would simply look down to the human and take what they were handing out.

Tea shop...it was a flier for a tea shop and apparently it wasn't to far from his current position. Seeing that he had never been to a tea house, hell he had never really seen a tea house, Zeraldin would slowly but surely make his way over in the direction of the building. Within moments and with long strides he would appear in front of the tea shop with a small exhale of breathe. Seeing as this was a new experience the Fanalis would step in slowly and sit at a table before waiting on whoever serves the tea to come.

Her morning had started out the exact same way every morning for the past six months had: wake up, be bathed, be dressed, have her hair done, eat a light breakfast, and head to her shop. Once Yunling hit the city’s streets she basked in what freedom she had, smiling demurely to those who noticed her presence and waved to her. It was a nice day: not too dusty or too crowded (though there always seemed to be someone hovering around and never quite saying hello) and Yunling went over her menu for the day. Perhaps she’d try using that red bean paste one of her patrons had cried over. She pondered over it as she unlocked her shop’s door, sliding the banner that signified her shop was open for the day over the top of the door.

It was a quiet morning, as most of her patrons preferred to let her get her preparations out of the way for the day. Yunling appreciated it, she really did, as she tied up her sleeves and got to work on her various bits of work. There was water on the boil, her almond cookies fresh out the oven, and her tables were nicely brushed down. Hers was a little shop, and it was blatantly obvious when the person who entered it was not one of her regulars. She brushed the almond flour off onto her apron, whisking it off under her counter before she emerged from the kitchen with a soft smile on her face.

Tall. Red hair. Male. Very clearly not one of her regulars, she’d remember someone like that. Some little part of her was screaming in joy that she had him all to herself, and oh the questions she wanted to ask. Yunling gave a little squeak and ducked back into her kitchen, grabbing a tray and loading it down with the accoutrements of her job. Teapot full of nicely hot tea of her own special blend, plate of cookies, and a singular teacup. Yunling was several kinds of prepared for this, bustling out with a purpose and carefully setting the contents of her tray in front of the strange man with a delicate and polite bow. “Compliments of the house good sir. A black tea with a floral blend, this one’s specialty. Wouldst thou care for any particular variety of refreshments from this one’s establishment?”

The overly cheerful commotion and many people walking, chattering and basically being human had flooded the mind of Zeraldin until he had closed his eyes and opened them slowly until he was content on his surroundings and comfortable with the place he was in. Normally in such crowded areas he would slowly begin to lose himself until someone either said something or even bumped into him, but because the atmosphere was so calm and serene he could relax and enjoy some human interaction if it had even came to him. The last human interaction that Zeraldin had was with a couple of Slavers and he almost ended up killing all of them if it was for the other Fanalis with him.

The soft clattering of the teapot and cups that were coming closer to him would cause his eyes to slowly move to their direction, coming into the sight of the one carrying them and from that small moment he would begin to assess the girl carrying them. She seemed to know what she was doing or even more so she was walking with grace and class, something Zeraldin had not seen of a female to date. With the last female he met being a little...well what the humans called hormonal, he was surprised to see a different form or maybe this was what normal human females were like. Her voice however was beautiful and even impressionable to the point where he slowly smiled at her before answering," Please...Sit," a pause would come in between his next words as he looked down to the cup.

" I am...not familiar with this drink here could you...tell me more about it," slowly he observe the cup for a moment, looking it over with great intrigue before picking it up and drinking from it. The hot and tasteful liquid slowly trickled down his throat as he sat the cup down and smiled. The taste of the tea had been the best thing he had ever tasted in a while and he was looking forward to having more.

Yunling tilted her head just so, her hands folded in front of her as she blinked at the red-haired male. He had a dangerous sort of smile, combined with the exoticness of his features. It was enough to make a lesser woman cry. But he was here. In her tea shop. Drinking her tea. Outwardly Yunling appeared perfectly calm, bowing to his request and snagging a clean tea cup for herself before delicately refilling his cup. Inwardly she was screaming in glee and all but jumping for joy. Something new. It was the principle of the thing, and she went absentmindedly though a brief series of motions that came from far too much time practicing the tea ceremony of her country. She bowed to him before settling herself down in a chair across the table from the stranger, one hand holding back her sleeve as she poured herself a cup of tea. Yunling settled the pot down in the middle and gave the redhead a genuine smile.

“This one is honored that thou enjoys this one’s tea.” She gave a brief incline of her head, suspecting that the man in front of her was probably not very familiar with the customs of Zou and thus might be unspeakably offended by the amount of bowing polite manners necessitated, acknowledging his compliment. “This one would be honored to speak of this one’s tea with thou.” She took a delicate sip of her tea and tried very hard to recall if she had put her hands to her face at any point during her baking. Yunling gently set her cup on the table and smiled at him as she slid the plate of cookies closer. But oh, her manners were lacking. She was trying so hard to be polite and demure like a proper lady when all she wanted to do was sit on this poor man until she had written down every millisecond of his travels, for clearly he had travelled.

“Welcome to the Yunyun Tea shop. This one is the primary proprietor, Fu Yunling. What thou drinkst is called Lady Fu tea, a black tea blend with hints of jasmine and bergamot orange. It is this one’s chiefest and greatest creation.”

Yunling can’t stop staring at his hair, a quick flicker of her eyes every once awhile when she thinks he’s not looking. It was just so… amazingly red. Was it real? If she ran her hands through it would it be soft like a kitten she had been allowed to stroke once? Or would it be thick and hard from the wear of the sun? Was this man the sort to reenact the story of his life with just the careful application of smiles and gallons of tea? Oh by the great ancestors who created tea, would drinking her tea cause some strange reaction? With each question she dared not to speak aloud her eyes widened and she did her level best to bury the urge to ask each one by taking sips of her tea. “If it is too floral for thine tastes, this one does have other kinds.”

Slowly his head would tilt to the left as the maiden in front of him spoke now while he had primarily stayed in the Zou Country area, he wasn't however familiar with their tongue or rather the manner in which they had spoken. Although bits and pieces of it he could understand which would help make this conversation a lot less awkward. Nodding he would look into his cup and smile for a moment," Thank you for your...kindness madam and the tea is really good," he would finish off his cup before staring down at the cookies attentively before slowly reaching forward and grabbing one. His eyes would move from the cookie to the woman and finally back to the cookie as he began to eat it slowly while listening to the woman speak.

From another persons point of view it would seems as if he was eating the cookie like a small animal but after he had gotten the taste down he would begin to take larger bites before stopping and looking at her. The explanation of the tea had certainly been something he did understand but for the moment he would nod and act as if he understood what she meant. It was when she had said her name or what he interpreted as her name he would stop eating and ponder on just how to pronounce it. For a while he would simply sit there and stare not just at her but at the background behind her and its many people before blinking once or twice.

After a short moment of silence he would finally open his mouth to try to speak," Fuu..yungling thank you for explaining your tea and if you could show me the others as well," knowing he probably butchered her name, he would look down to the table in embarrassment. Before he forgotten manners, Zeraldin looked up to Fu and gave a nod," I am Zeraldin and it is nice to meet you," his voice was a little deep for someone of his age but it also carried a bit of wild in it.

Oh dear. Oh she was in such trouble. The man in her tea shop not only seemed to be the quiet sort, but also seemed to be the sort who had a dreadful need for more sustenance in his life. He finished his second cup of tea much faster than she had her first, and Yunling quietly reached across the table to refill his cup for the second time. Honestly she hadn’t had anyone quite so blatantly enamored with her tea before. It just wasn’t the thing to so blatantly compliment one’s wares. Had he never learned how to haggle? Well, not that Yunling had ever actually charged anyone for her merchandise before. But he had to have some understanding of what a shop was.

Was he scared of her cookies? Never in her entire life had Yunling seen someone take such small bites of such a small food substance, and she had been tutored on how to eat rice grain by grain. On the one hand, at least he wasn’t shoveling them in his mouth and spraying crumbs everywhere as he talked (and oh how quickly Yunyun was known to frown at those who did such rude things). On the other hand, did he think she was going to tell him her tea didn’t go with that particular kind of cookie? It was tea. Tea went with everything. His manners were rather decent for a commoner, and Yunling found herself more than pleasantly surprised by her stoic new patron.

“Yun. This one is usually called Yun within these walls. This one doubts thou wish to refer to her as ‘the most honorable Lady Fu’, but even if thou did wish this of this one, she does not feel this one is of greater worth than her most honored patrons.” She blushed slightly as the man in front of her mangled her name and her panic at hearing it in that… spine tingly kind of way made her panic and overcompensate. Lady of the Fu clan she may be, trained as she had been, Yunling was still a girl with breath in her body and there were certain things that made her brain go a bit wonky. “Hmm… thou may call this one Yun.” Yunling tried a few times to say his name under her breath, tongue tripping as she tried to figure out the best title to add to his name and failed miserably.

“Thou wished to try this one’s other teas, yes? Come, this one will show thou the wares she has within this establishment.” Yes. And she’d feed him something that would actually fill his stomach and not just be nibbled on like some overly adorable rodent. Yunling got to her feet and gathered up the teapot, cups and plate of cookies, neatly balancing the tray on her hip with a practiced air as she led him to her kitchen. “This one will find something in her shop that honorable sir will enjoy.”

Zeraldin would have been stuck trying to pronounce her name for the longest in his head until she had essentially simplified it for him and even now he felt like a muscle brained idiot. Although it wasn't his fault for not knowing how to pronounce the names of others when he was only used to hunting, fighting and the occasional family time...which was hunting and slight conversation. Taking his mind off of past thoughts he would nod and begin to speak although a bit softly at firs before his voice picked up," Yun...That is a nice name for you and if you would like....i will call you whatever you would like to show my manners," apologizing was something he didn't or rather wasn't accustomed to because when something went wrong in his family they usually fought it out and then ate.

As he was in the middle of eating the cookie his face would go flat and blank before smiling, hearing that he was allowed to go with her to the kitchen to get not only more tea but food made him a bit happier and his stomach as well. Nodding his head three times he would stand up," Yes...Zera would be happy to try your other tea and also more of this one as well," if anyone didn't know any better they would think he was a small child in a new surrounding but in reality he was learning all sorts of things.

Slowly he would walk behind her only making small movements to go under his cloak and scratch his bear chest before the cloak flew open only for a moment due to a passing patron. Not thinking anything of it he would allow it to setting back into his original position as they walked to the kitchen.

Seeing as she wanted to be called Yun he would acknowledge this fact and nod twice before pointing to himself seeing as she didn't say his name yet which to be honest not many people could say," You can call me Zera so you do not overthin my whole name, Fanalis names like mine are a bit hard to say for some people so Zera will do good until we can both say each others names," hoping she would understand his intentions, Zera would now reach for another cookie and slowly eat this one the same way. Unknown to her the boy was actually really hungry since he had left out before cooking him breakfast.

He thought her name was nice. Well, he thought the nickname her patrons had given her because her name was too ‘stuffy’ was nice. She did concede the point that her name was off the stick in the mud sort, and her nickname was so much more palatable. Oh. Apparently he would call her whatever she liked. Sweet merciful ancestors, he was going to cause some kind of public disturbance. Best to keep him away from the gaggle of idiot little girls who lacked common decency, the ones who tended to be fresh into puberty and just discovering the wonders of boys, lest she have to get out her broom. But she smiled at him, a bright quicksilver flash of a grin that was just a touch scandalous and wicked. “Then thou must call this one Yun.”

Zeraldin, impossible name to pronounce to her consonant-vowel trained tongue, was really quite a sweet man. He was nice and quiet, didn’t cause a fuss, and had somehow managed to observe basic tea shop etiquette. And goodness gracious he was serious about try her tea, following her back to the kitchen with a very subdued kind of glee. This would be fun, broadening his horizons and indulging in her favorite pastime at the same time. Maybe he’d even let her take notes on his travels in return. All in all, it promised to be a very good day.

And she turned her head just in time as she lifted up the cloth banner that marked her kitchen’s territory from her shop’s general area, a flutter of cloth and wow that was a lot of skin and ooh muscles. Yunling turned a kind of red that only happened in stories, all of her muscles locking and her eyes nearly rolling up in her head as her brain had a complete meltdown. He didn’t have a shirt on. In her shop. In her kitchen. Unsupervised. Wild man. Stuff of legends and horrible romance stories. Half-naked. In her kitchen. Dimly she registered that he was in fact talking to her further and she forced her brain to stop contemplating the scandalous rumors that would arise from what horrible things she was about to be up to. Yunling ducked into her kitchen, a marvelous expanse of countertops and her singular pride and joy. “This one could not presume to be so familiar with a man not quite her husband. She must beg forgiveness for her rudeness, honorable sir Zera of the Fanalis.” She tapped a finger on the top of a rather sturdy looking barrel tucked under the table in the middle of the kitchen. It was the closest she had to a chair in here and it would have to do.

Yunling didn’t even bother to dust off all the flour from the wood. This was a kitchen, and it was as close to her personal kingdom as any singular place could be. “Please excuse this one’s mess. But come and be welcome in this one’s domain.” She bustled about in well familiar motions that spoke of far too much time alone. Yunling did not even bother to look as she tossed the old batch of tea down a sink, scooped new leaves into the pot and filled it with hot water, quick flicks of her wrist seeing a new cup of tea placed before him. Then again, her mind was still stuck on the fact that he had no shirt on. A shirt, a shirt, her kingdom for a shirt. “Oolong tea. It is a different way of preparing the tea leaves, and has generally- This one begs forgiveness for her forwardness. Good honorable sir, were thou a victim of great misfortune? This one would be most honored to assist in repairing the damages done until thine person.” Oh please let her get a shirt for him. Yunling was positive she would not survive under the threat of constant indecency and scandal in her own kitchen.

Zeraldin had been given the name that his new friend or rather his new acquaintance wanted him to refer to her as and in his own mind Yun would be perfect for him to remember as it was short, sweet and to the point which was exactly what he needed when meeting new people or people he would want to get to know to find out more about them. The area around Zera was becoming more tranquil and calm in his mind, before it was a simple maelstrom of uneasiness that could have easily turned into a bad situation. Zera only once looked at the clothing that Yun had worn and not being one of the people that had inhabited or lived in the Zou country, it had made him curious to know why she had worn those specific clothes.

As the two of them walked into the kitchen his eyes would light up at the marvels of this place and soon he would stop and marvel at all of the things in front of him. Not often has a young man like hims seen such things or maybe because he was raised in the wild and was used to fire and the usual things that his family provided, but this....this was amazing. Snapped out of his deep and very awkward thought process by the strange words of Yun, Zera would turn to her and tilt his head as he was obviously confused. Trying to at least find words that would help him in understanding what she had said he would finally give up and ask," What...do you mean by forgiving you? Have you wronged me in some way that i do not know about," being confused was one thing but being confused and having no idea what was going on anymore was even worse.

Slowly he would walk over to where she was tapping on the barrel and sit beside it although he did not see any chairs he would prefer sitting down on the floor because it was a little more comfortable to him. The yellow eyes of the young fanalis would observe her working for a moment although his eyes would watch her go to and fro until she came back to him with a new cup of tea.

As he took it and drunk from it slowly he would smile and sit the cup down in front of him and look at her once again with the same confused expression before nodding slowly," Um..Could you say that again," he paused mid sentence while staring at her to assess the situation and slowly he would begin to draw the conclusion that maybe she was asking had he been hurt or something. At first he would simply think nothing of it until he looked and remembered the last batch of words she had said. Finally the light clicked in his head and he shook his head for a moment before looking down," I am fine...i don't have any damage done to myself or my items, but i am having difficulty understanding what you are asking of me Yun," finally he would admit that Yun's way of speaking was literally confusing him to the point where he could only look at her and nod.

What kind of hostess was she to this strange man that he thought sitting on the floor next to her barrel was the proper way to go? Better still, what kind of cultural difference was she dealing with? Yunling wrung her hands for a brief moment, head tilted slightly as she contemplated the man before her. Had she not spoken plainly enough? In her many dealings with her younger patrons Yunling had been told that she spoke far too deliberately and with more grace and poise than the more common classes were used to. As such, Yunling had been forced to (in a manner much akin to the sink or swim approach) learn how to cut her words into a much less courtly fashion. It drove her slightly mad and she was never quite as adept at phrasing herself, but judging by the slightly glazed over look in Zeraldin’s eyes she was going to have to do it.

It wasn’t that he had wronged her per se. Instead it was more of what he hadn’t done before coming to her establishment that was in question. “[color=#ff0066]This one will attempt to speak plainly, and begs forgiveness for her further rudeness in advance./color]” Yunling closed her eyes and unconsciously scrunched up her nose as she tried to remember exactly what the children had so proudly tried to teach her.

“It is not that this one thinks you have been… damaged. Instead it is a question of… that which is needed to… keep people from thinking this one has done something wrong.” Oh dear, that wasn’t quite right either. Yunling poured herself a cup of tea and gracefully sunk to the floor in front of the man, back straight and feet tucked just so in a proper seiza. Carefully she balanced the cup on her fingertips and took a long sip. “]This will be the only time this one ever asks something like this of thee, and this one does it with great regret.” Yunling placed the cup on the barrel next to her and slid into a proper courtly bow. She rose in the same kind of fluid grace after a brief moment.

“Master Zeraldin, what this one is about to discuss with thou does not leave this one’s kitchen. Do you know the unspoken rules of the Zou Empire?” Perhaps if she treated this like a military report she could get through this without shaming her family.