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[ephemerous]

All messenger birds/private conversations/amulet communications may be directed to Nahyuta here!

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[divinable]

[ she does what she wants!!

and she takes the jar and sniffs at it. what a cool smell! ]

I wish to try this.

[ephemerous]

Very well. You should know it also has a number of health benefits, and as it is a herbal tea, it will not hinder your sleep.

[And probably much better for you in general than a pumpkin spice latte...??? In any case, since she seems to be satisfied, he starts to boil the water for making the tea.]

[divinable]

[ she should probably sit down, but instead, she watches the tea boil. ]

I have never made tea before.

[ephemerous]

For most varieties of tea, it is a very simple process. The art is in knowing how long to let the leaves steep for with each variety, and at what temperature, before they are ideal to drink. Would you like me to show you?

[Please give Nahyuta an excuse to tl;dr on something he knows about. It's one of his favourite things to do.]

[divinable]

...

[ he seems excited. maybe she shouldn't be the same?! ]

I-- I would like that, please.

[ephemerous]

[What follows is an unnecessarily indepth tutorial on how to make tea. He starts with explaining one should put the water in the teapot once it's boiled, and the tea leaves in a strainer inside the teapot. But with herbal tea, this should be done only after the water has been given some time to cool down, in order to keep the flavour of the leaves. Then it should be left to steep according to the strength and taste preference... He goes on like this for a while, and also outlines the differences between herbal teas and ordinary green teas and black teas, which have caffeine and aren't suitable before sleeping.

At the end of this tl;dr, the tea leaves have steeped sufficiently to be served, so he looks at Rayfa.]

Would you like to pour a cup for both of us? Make sure you hold the lid so that it does not slip. You can also add honey or lemon if you should like to sweeten yours.

[Hopefully that wasn't an information overload??? (Yes it was.)]

[divinable]

[ what a horribly detailed explanation. thankfully, she's so used to working with nahyuta that him rambling like this is almost normal. ]

That is easy enough to do.

[ so she takes the pot and pours the tea on their cups! she's very careful and methodological when she does it, making sure nothing spills. she stops pouring into when the tea has reached about 3/4's of the cup. ]

Is this enough?

[ephemerous]

That is plenty, thank you. Now to try its taste.

[He picks up his own cup but doesn't drink yet, remembering she likes to try new things at the same time. Since they waited until the water had cooled a little, it won't be hot enough to scald her tongue this time, too.]

[divinable]

[ she sits down and pulls her cup closer to her. she didn't make it, but still, she's proud in a way?! now she knows how to make tea! ]

Then... on three. [ she blows on her cup. ] One, two--

[ sip! ]

[ephemerous]

[Don't knock it, Rayfa. It was a joint effort. He moves to sit down next to her, and as it is, he's tried peppermint tea before, so he sips his and looks for her reaction.]

Do you like it?

[divinable]

[ hm. she takes a longer sip this time to make a proper reaction.

the cup is set down on the table with a small clink. ]

It is refreshing.

[ephemerous]

And now you can make it whenever you wish, along with all the other varieties of tea.

[Why does he get so excited about being in tutorial mode...]

[divinable]

[ because he's a loser. also, she'll probably get him to make tea, anyway, even if she already knows how to do it. ]

What tea do you like to drink best?

[ephemerous]

I very much enjoy jasmine tea, made from the freshest of jasmine blossoms in China.

[Which... won't be as readily accessible here, but maybe he can find it of a similar quality here. He takes another sip of his tea.]

Have you heard of the legendary origins of this tea, perhaps? [Read: do you want to hear another unnecessary tl;dr?]

[divinable]

I have not.

[ so yes, do tell her. she's all ears. ]

[ephemerous]

According to this legend, a brother and sister lived together on the outskirts of a poor village in China. Life was difficult for them then, and food was scarce. One winter, the brother, only a young boy, became very ill. No treatment seemed to alleviate his condition.

However, his sister was not deterred. She sought the counsel of a wise old woman, who told her to seek a dragon that was known to help those in need. Leaving her brother in the old woman's care, the sister ventured far and wide, trekking through the mountains until she found a cave, surrounded by fragrant jasmine bushes. She begged the dragon within for help, and he listened to her plea. The dragon advised that though it would not be easy, there was a way to save her brother.

[He pauses to drink more of his tea, and so Rayfa can keep up with the story. Even Nahyuta needs to catch his breath mid-stream now and then.]

[divinable]

[ MORE DRAGONS!!! how interesting!!

but then he pauses to drink AND NOW SHE WANTS TO HEAR MORE HURRY UP ALREADY ]

[ephemerous]

[So impatient!! His tea will be wasted if just talks and lets it go cold.]

Moved by her devotion to her brother, the dragon soared into the sky and let out an almighty roar. On his neck grew a beautiful pearl, and from the pearl, a drop fell into the ground. Where it fell, a tea bush sprouted and immediately began to grow before the girl's eyes. While she watched in amazement, the dragon advised that she needed to tend to this bush with great care as it grew. She promised she would do so, never leaving it, even though it rained the whole while.

Finally, when the leaves from the bush were ready, she dried them with some jasmine flowers she had taken from the mouth of the cave. Then, she rolled them into pearl-shaped beads, inspired by the beautiful pearl she had seen around the dragon's neck.

Returning home, she made some tea for her brother with the pearls. When he tasted the tea, he was miraculously restored to health, and thus ever since jasmine dragon pearls been made.

[divinable]

[ THEN HE SHOULDN'T HAVE DRANK TEA IN THE FIRST PLACE ]

What happened to the dragon?

[ this is more important!! ]

[ephemerous]

No doubt he went on to aid countless others, as he aided those children.

[divinable]

I will spread this story in Khura'in, once I am back.

[ though she'll probably exaggerate things and make it sound more... over the top. oops. ]

[ephemerous]

I never knew you were so passionate about tea, Your Benevolence.

[He's teasing her and realises she's more interested in the dragon part of the story... Probably.]

[divinable]

[ she doesn't even get that he's teasing her. oops. :') ]

It is not about being passionate. The story is good.

[ephemerous]

[bless u rayfa...]

Well, I am glad you enjoyed it. It is interesting to hear the legends of our neighbours, and not merely Khura'in's traditional stories, is it not?

[divinable]

Yes.

[ nahyuta's piqued rayfa's curiosity now. ]

What other legends do you know?