The tea nebula, part one of one
Nov. 18th, 2019 12:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
worldofwordsThe Tea Nebula, Part 1 of one, complete
Word count )Story only) 1019
::This story is set in the Polycrome Heroes univers (We haven't settled on a date yet; I cforgot to ask) as a stand alone, though the event is mentioned in later stories. It came out of the November crowd funding creative jam, and was inspired by a prompt fromysabetwordsmith.
::
The clear crystal tea cups clinked into their matching saucers as Shaela and Jasmine let out their laughter at the same time. They were dressed in victorian teatime wear, The ballroom in which they were seated was filled with that era's decorations, men in fancy suits, and girls in tea gowns.
Madrigals played in the background; the live players were on break, and Shaela was trying to feel and hear everything at once. It was almost overwhelming, almost. Small cakes, scones and dainty sandwiches dotted the tables, though many were not partaking of them at the moment. With the exception of Jasmine and Shaela.
"Too bitter." Jasmine made a sour face, "They over steeped it. Again."Her hair was done in a complicated twist. She wasn't sure how it would hold, since it wasn't her usual do, but it seemed to suit her, oddly enough, and it was more comfortable than she had first thought it would be. She chose a bite sized blueberry scone to drown out the taste of the too bitter orange, and sighed in relief. She chased that with some water, and was satisfied that the taste had left her mouth.
Shaela sipped and grimaced. "Yup. Two turns in a row. That server needs to go, I think." She reached for a dainty cucumber concoction, following Jasmine's water chasing example.
Jasmine frowned, "No, just retrained. It's the only tea they overdo. The rest are fine."
Shaela reached to put her lighter hand on top of Jasmines darker one. Their predilection for teas had brought them here, as had their taste for coffees. Both beverages had brought them to this same room on two different occasions. Once for this Victorian Tea Party, and another time for the Elite Cambridge Cafe Company's lounge-around. The only time the company would allow their patrons, employees and customers to be in *anything* resembling 'casual' wear. It was a tradition of theirs (Jasmine and Shaela) to dress up in English finery to visit the store, then gush over the coffees. Which were oddly incongruous to the 'old world' vibe of the shop itself.
"What about this one?" Shaela pointed to an Earl Gray that looked a bit different than the ones she'd seen before.
Jasmine pulled herself from her momentary reverie. "No, too light. Aren't Earls supposed to be full bodied?"
"I think so," Shaela waved over a server-thankfully not the one who'd over done their first teas, "May we sample this, please?"
"As you wish, madam." He chose the Earl Gray, and whisked away to brew it. Jasmine replaced the tea light in the bottom of their tea tray, and sat back.
"What's your favorite so far?" Jasmine had replaced her hand, this time their positions were reversed; Shaela's hand was at the bottom, with Jasmine's over hers. The contact was nice. Just the touch felt like something special, something calming. Something vital.
"The lavender one, I think." Shaela smiled softly, "I don't know what they blended with it, but it was delightful."
Jasmine nodded, "I'm having a difficult time between that one and the English Breakfast one. I would have thought that would be too light, but it isn't."
"This may be, madam," The server returned with the tea pot, pouring the tea with a flourish, "It is a lighter tea than most here."
"Good to know." Jasmine sipped, and nodded, "It is, actually, but I will still finish it. There is something in the aftertaste that pleases my palate."
Shaela sipped at her own freshly poured mug, and made a sour face, "Nope, not for me. me That after taste is like syrup for me. Can't do it."
"A different tea madam? Perhaps a redo of the orange?"
"Yes, please, sir. I would like that one done properly. The previous server is still having problems with the brewing of that one."
A small chuckle escaped before the man could stop it, "Still. Ah, well. Retraining it is, then."
Jasmine nodded, "The only one. Their others are fine."
The gentleman serving nodded, before whisking away to rebrew the tea.
"This place." Jasmine removed her hand to drink, "It is such a good one, you know? The coffee lounge, the tea party, The cheese tasting and the wine. You and I...we could spend all month here if we wanted."
Shaela smiled softly. Realizing with a pleasant jolt that she wouldn't mind that. In the least. "Yes, and even more now," She grinned now, "they're adding a book bash to the schedule soon-with the same coffee and doughnuts we both adore. It's going to be really damn hard to not sign up for that!"
"Here you are, madam." The tea came back to Shaela, much more fragrant than it had been before, and a sign up sheet was discretely placed in the middle of the table.
Jasmine waited for the server to glide away before: "Why that crafty..."
Shaela giggled. "I didn't realize it had already been added, or I'd've warned you."
"Sure, sure, and your wings are pink." The sarcasm drawled through Jasmines voice like strong coffee. Suiting it, and her.
"They can be." Shaela grinned lightly, teasing the woman,, "But I don't think the others here would enjoy the shift just now."
Jasmine leaned back and closed her eyes, "I like you, Shaela. I...I wasn't sure I would, given all the hell that's going on, but I do."
"I do, too. I think it's everything we've got in common. Coffee, tea, books...good chocolate."
Jasmine grinned, "Someone should invent chocolate tea. That would be delightful. I'm having a mouthghgasm just at the thought."
Shaela laughed softly, closing her own eyes.
Their hands reached again, Jasmine covering Shaelas as each held their teacups, sipping slowly as the music and people swirled around them. Neither was quite sure where they had landed between friends and something else. Neither cared a whit. They felt safe, safe and cared for. They spent a long moment basking in each other's company before Jasmine let go to sign them up for the now confirmed, if wordlessly, book brunch with Cambridge Company coffee, and a certain baker's world-famous chocolate-and-cream doughnuts.
Paypal, the faster, easier way to pay online!
Word count )Story only) 1019
::This story is set in the Polycrome Heroes univers (We haven't settled on a date yet; I cforgot to ask) as a stand alone, though the event is mentioned in later stories. It came out of the November crowd funding creative jam, and was inspired by a prompt from
ysabetwordsmith.::
The clear crystal tea cups clinked into their matching saucers as Shaela and Jasmine let out their laughter at the same time. They were dressed in victorian teatime wear, The ballroom in which they were seated was filled with that era's decorations, men in fancy suits, and girls in tea gowns.
Madrigals played in the background; the live players were on break, and Shaela was trying to feel and hear everything at once. It was almost overwhelming, almost. Small cakes, scones and dainty sandwiches dotted the tables, though many were not partaking of them at the moment. With the exception of Jasmine and Shaela.
"Too bitter." Jasmine made a sour face, "They over steeped it. Again."Her hair was done in a complicated twist. She wasn't sure how it would hold, since it wasn't her usual do, but it seemed to suit her, oddly enough, and it was more comfortable than she had first thought it would be. She chose a bite sized blueberry scone to drown out the taste of the too bitter orange, and sighed in relief. She chased that with some water, and was satisfied that the taste had left her mouth.
Shaela sipped and grimaced. "Yup. Two turns in a row. That server needs to go, I think." She reached for a dainty cucumber concoction, following Jasmine's water chasing example.
Jasmine frowned, "No, just retrained. It's the only tea they overdo. The rest are fine."
Shaela reached to put her lighter hand on top of Jasmines darker one. Their predilection for teas had brought them here, as had their taste for coffees. Both beverages had brought them to this same room on two different occasions. Once for this Victorian Tea Party, and another time for the Elite Cambridge Cafe Company's lounge-around. The only time the company would allow their patrons, employees and customers to be in *anything* resembling 'casual' wear. It was a tradition of theirs (Jasmine and Shaela) to dress up in English finery to visit the store, then gush over the coffees. Which were oddly incongruous to the 'old world' vibe of the shop itself.
"What about this one?" Shaela pointed to an Earl Gray that looked a bit different than the ones she'd seen before.
Jasmine pulled herself from her momentary reverie. "No, too light. Aren't Earls supposed to be full bodied?"
"I think so," Shaela waved over a server-thankfully not the one who'd over done their first teas, "May we sample this, please?"
"As you wish, madam." He chose the Earl Gray, and whisked away to brew it. Jasmine replaced the tea light in the bottom of their tea tray, and sat back.
"What's your favorite so far?" Jasmine had replaced her hand, this time their positions were reversed; Shaela's hand was at the bottom, with Jasmine's over hers. The contact was nice. Just the touch felt like something special, something calming. Something vital.
"The lavender one, I think." Shaela smiled softly, "I don't know what they blended with it, but it was delightful."
Jasmine nodded, "I'm having a difficult time between that one and the English Breakfast one. I would have thought that would be too light, but it isn't."
"This may be, madam," The server returned with the tea pot, pouring the tea with a flourish, "It is a lighter tea than most here."
"Good to know." Jasmine sipped, and nodded, "It is, actually, but I will still finish it. There is something in the aftertaste that pleases my palate."
Shaela sipped at her own freshly poured mug, and made a sour face, "Nope, not for me. me That after taste is like syrup for me. Can't do it."
"A different tea madam? Perhaps a redo of the orange?"
"Yes, please, sir. I would like that one done properly. The previous server is still having problems with the brewing of that one."
A small chuckle escaped before the man could stop it, "Still. Ah, well. Retraining it is, then."
Jasmine nodded, "The only one. Their others are fine."
The gentleman serving nodded, before whisking away to rebrew the tea.
"This place." Jasmine removed her hand to drink, "It is such a good one, you know? The coffee lounge, the tea party, The cheese tasting and the wine. You and I...we could spend all month here if we wanted."
Shaela smiled softly. Realizing with a pleasant jolt that she wouldn't mind that. In the least. "Yes, and even more now," She grinned now, "they're adding a book bash to the schedule soon-with the same coffee and doughnuts we both adore. It's going to be really damn hard to not sign up for that!"
"Here you are, madam." The tea came back to Shaela, much more fragrant than it had been before, and a sign up sheet was discretely placed in the middle of the table.
Jasmine waited for the server to glide away before: "Why that crafty..."
Shaela giggled. "I didn't realize it had already been added, or I'd've warned you."
"Sure, sure, and your wings are pink." The sarcasm drawled through Jasmines voice like strong coffee. Suiting it, and her.
"They can be." Shaela grinned lightly, teasing the woman,, "But I don't think the others here would enjoy the shift just now."
Jasmine leaned back and closed her eyes, "I like you, Shaela. I...I wasn't sure I would, given all the hell that's going on, but I do."
"I do, too. I think it's everything we've got in common. Coffee, tea, books...good chocolate."
Jasmine grinned, "Someone should invent chocolate tea. That would be delightful. I'm having a mouthghgasm just at the thought."
Shaela laughed softly, closing her own eyes.
Their hands reached again, Jasmine covering Shaelas as each held their teacups, sipping slowly as the music and people swirled around them. Neither was quite sure where they had landed between friends and something else. Neither cared a whit. They felt safe, safe and cared for. They spent a long moment basking in each other's company before Jasmine let go to sign them up for the now confirmed, if wordlessly, book brunch with Cambridge Company coffee, and a certain baker's world-famous chocolate-and-cream doughnuts.
Paypal, the faster, easier way to pay online!
