Tea and Friends

The festival had been rough on someone who normally avoids crowds. Mikage had returned a bit early, crashing out and sleeping like the dead for the better part of the night. It's a change of pace, as the girl normally takes the night watch for their party. Cyrus had likely taken up this role, wearing a new, adorably fuzzy hat. Rama, however, had not returned, though the Were Fang didn't seem concerned so it was probably fine.

As morning dawns, Miki groans, throwing a blanket over her eyes and rolling neatly off of her sleepin mat into the cold grass. "Brr." She tucks her feet up under the blanket, turns, scowls at the light, then starts randomly trying to feel for her sleeping mat to try and crawl back into it. No. Mikage is not a morning person.

    One can bet that Sassaral is a morning person... and she //is//. Typically the one to grow weary earlier in the evenings, she's one of the first to rise so very gladly, her eyes are the ones to scan the surroundings as morning light takes hold. Sassaral is also reverently quiet in the dawn's hush, doing little to disturb her companions and going about her gentle, peaceful way.. either making tea in a kettle over a campfire, singing to the flowers, foraging. One ear is always cocked to listen for disturbances close to their camp, though she never wanders far.

    As for the festival? Surprisingly, Sassaral... had little to do with it. She was just too bleeding //shy// and though she is social, she isn't one for big crowds. No gifts were sought out for anyone, not even her party, but as far as she is concerned she shows her care every day by way of creating food in the field //and// seeing to any morale woes.

    So as Mikage grumbles her way into awakeness, Sassaral is seated close to the dying embers of the previous night's fire. Her hair is loose and long, outfit consisting of some manner of 'flower child' dress, tail curled around her rear as she sits and watches the white-haired woman fumble into awakeness. Definitely not a morning person.. she'd better get tea poured for this one!

As she rolls, the edge of Mikage's blanket gets caught on a rock. One tug, then another, and then she just gives up, groaning as she abandons the blanket and just puts her head down into her arms. She's not fully awake, but it is enough of an interruption that there is no way that she's going to be able to get back to sleep.

Lifting her head, the girl glances over, squinting in the morning light towards Sassaral. "How can you look so cheerful and put together at this ungodly hour of morning?" Miki mutters. Her hair is going everywhere, half if it hanging down into her face, the rest sticking up in odd directions. Her clothing is rumpled, wearing only the simple garments she usually has under her armor.

"It's been a month, and I'm still craving coffee." She sighs, pushing herself up into a sitting position. Miki still has that disheveled look to her, though, raising her arms to stretch and then yawns. Using her palm, she tries to rub sleep out of her eyes, then blinks. "Did you stay here all night? I figured you would have at least peeked in at the festival."

    It's slightly painful to watch, but at least Sassaral isn't one of those //annoying// morning sorts. The ones who will prance, sing and cajole the grumpy night folk into life. She feels badly for Mikage having to extricate herself from the arms of sleep in such a manner, but there could be worse places (and ways) in which to wake up. She is silent, watching the whole while, until the hunter actually speaks //to// her. Right there, the small wolf's easy smile, "Force of habit.. I've always been this way. Out of game //and// in." Admitted easily, "Try as I may to stay up late and //stay// awake, it's a losing battle." Said with a quiet giggle as she rises, smoothes her skirts and with a flick of her tail moves to the fire to check on the kettle. Steeping inside, in cheesecloth packets, are the various herbs that she foraged... sometimes she goes with raw tinctures that she buys along the way in towns. Raw is the trick to getting flavor.

    "If I can get my hands on some beans, or something approaching coffee beans, I could try to make //something//.. but tea can have a bite, too. This is a red tea.." So a rooibos made out of bark. "It has a vanilla'ish taste and some naturally-occuring caffeines." Said as the ruddy-colored liquid is poured, steaming, into a mug.

    She brings it to Mikage with a slender curl of a cinnamon-like stick resting against the edge of the cup. As she offers it over, her features fall a bit with a blush. "Y-yeah... I was a bit nervous. I will admit. I stuck close to here and ground herbs." //Romantic//!

It doesn't take long for the chill of the morning to seep in, causing Mikage to grab for her blanket and pull it around herself. "It wouldn't be so bad if winter would just finally piss off and let spring come. I'm lucky I still have toes after sleeping out here most nights." She wears extra socks. It's still cold enough that her breath hangs slightly in the air. Luckily, blankets are warm.

"If only it were so simple. We don't even have chocolate." She reaches out, greatfully accepting the mug of tea, using it to warm her hands. Miki blows on it a few times, then takes a sip, giving a contented little sound. It may not be coffee, but it is something, and it's /warm/.

"I guess that's reason enough to support those pushing up the tower. The different environments on each floor usually bring new ingredients, too." Reaching a stick out, Miki pokes at the fire a couple of times, trying to rouse it a bit from the embers. "Though, what you cooking folks can do with what you have is nothing short of amazing. Cyrus and I ate at the Ryokan again last night. It was pretty crowded so we sat out in the back garden."

Murmuring she adds, "If the cold keeps up, we might want to get a room there to share, at least until it isn't freezing out at night." Glancing over at Sassaral, she gives the wolf a soft smile, "You would have liked it. They had carnival games. One even had little ducks."

    The cold must not bother Sassaral terribly, being in that dress... but she has shawls and robes so if she gets really uncomfortable, there they be! Feet are wrapped and fit snuggly into practical flats. Plus, proximity to a fire is a boon.. Sassy makes it work. She watches with a pleased look as Mikage accepts the tea and sips it, noting the subtle flavors. It's a nice change from soda cracker tastes! Sassy gets to pouring her own cup and eventually she moves away from the fire and settles closer to where Mikage slowly wakes up. An ear cocks in the direction of her friend as she describes her experiences, she blows softly on the piping hot liquid. "Chocolate.... now //that// I miss... if I could have had a taste of real chocolate, I would have danced through the festival with my smallclothes on my head." Yeah she misses chocolate //that// much.

    Golden eyes glimmer with interest at talk of new ingredients, "How I //wish//..." Said as she watches the wisps of flame being poked from the embers. The fire responds to the morning much as Mikage does! Sassy takes on a happy look at mention of Mikage and Cyrus going places together, "I'm glad you both got out." And have found a good boundary for friendship, after their misunderstandings awhile back. A wolfy ear twitches again, "I've.. never been," To the Ryokan. "What's it all about?" She asks with interest, before blushing again. "I sort of regret missing it now, but there's always next year." She suspects they will still //be// here, then!

"No you wouldn't." Mikage murmurs back, her lips resting on the edge of the mug as she takes another sip of the tea, letting the warm feeling slowly trickle through her body. "Though I might have at least been able to drag you there to socialize. Well, I would have let Cyrus drag you around anyways. That's mostly what happened." Because she let him, that's all.

When Sassaral comes to sit closer to her, Miki gives the wolf a smile. "He's not bad." She admits, speaking of Cyrus. "I ended up telling him everything." Her eyes drift down to where her hands are wrapped around the mug. Hands that seem so stable in this world, compared to the real one. "I don't know if it will help or not, but I guess if we're all traveling together, it's best if we at least know something about one another."

Her lip quirks, lifting her gaze towards Sassaral. "He isn't quite whole, either, regardless of what he looks like on the surface. More like you, than like me, though." She admits. Likely meaning some sort of emotional loss rather than anything physically wrong with him.

"Oh, the Ryokan? It's an inn. One of the members of our Alliance built it. I helped." Miki lifts one shoulder in a half shrug. "He's got a restaurant attached to the inn, which is selling handicrafted food. So it's one part place to sleep, one part place to get not-shitty-cracker food." Such eloquence from this one.

    A soft little laugh, "N-no.. no I wouldn't." Sassaral says with a look of amusement. "But I so miss the taste of //real// chocolate.." Said again, mostly to herself. However mention of being brought to 'socialize' earns another deep blush on the wolf girl's face, her features almost as red as her fiery-brown hair. Suddenly Sassaral laughs outright, "Maybe it was best I hung out here. We would have both been stuck to an arm of his, each, being pulled around like buoys. It seems a lot like something Cyrus would love." Spoken fondly. Though she is deliberately taking more of a background role, Sassaral //is// seeing to it that she gets to know her partymates as well as she can.

    As she sips compmanionably, Sassaral nearly chokes on a mouthful of liquid. "Oh..! Oh, you did?" She looks to Miki, golden eyes as wide and bright as new coins, "That's //brilliant//! I bet he appreciated it, too... I think it will help. Now he //knows// what lines he needs to respect and I //bet// he likes and respects you //just// the same, if not moreso." Says Sassy, always one to err toward romanticism and friendship, even if she //did// hide from a V-day festival. c.c

    Her fine features fall, "I get it... loss is awful. Loss of people, of livelihood, of functions.... we're all here for a reason, to feel whole again and //help// each other feel whole." Sassy remarks, only to listen next to talk of this intriguing place. At Miki's latter words Sassy leans back and laughs outright to the morning sky. "You don't hold back, do you?" Said between giggles.

The loss of chocolate is something that both Mikage and Sassaral mourn. She sighs, "Me too. Chocolate cupcakes. Chocolate brownies with the little nuts on top. Mocha coffee. Glazed chocolate doughnuts." This probably isn't helping matters for either of them. "I should stop now." A few more pokes are given to the fire before she reaches over, grabs a log, and tosses it into it, sending up a few embers into the cold morning air.

"I'm sure Cyrus wouldn't have minded taking us both around." She doesn't think he would be the sort to flaunt the company of two girls. "Mostly he talked to the Miracle Network, which seems to be some kind of Merchant information guild or something, and then we played a few of the games and both lost terribly." Rolling her eyes she smirks, "I did better than him on most of them, though. Don't let him tell you otherwise."

Mikage doesn't seem to share Sassaral's enthusiasm, though, when it comes to sharing those aspects of her real world life. She shakes her head with some bit of uncertainty. "I just want people to know and like me for me. I don't want pity." She sighs to herself again, a sound becoming commonplace, "I guess I just don't want him assuming that if I'm smiling or enjoying myself or just having a good day... that it's some kind of reflection against my real world existance. It isn't."

At the appraisal of her way of talking, Miki just laughs. "Not really. It's not as if I have had a lot of friends to talk to like this, anyways. I had a few at school, or through work, but you can't exactly be yourself in those environments."

Then, she seems to be reminded of something. "Oh, that reminds me. Since you never showed up last night..." She reaches for her jacket, searching through the pockets. What she brings out is a simple, thin chain, made of some kind of delicate metal. Hanging from it is a tiny bottle. Inside is a bit of fur and what looks to be a few claw sheds. "I wasn't realy sure what you'd like, but I thought you might like something from Rama so..." She offers it out. "Happy Valentine's day. Belatedly."

    The little wolf takes on an almost //glazed// look as Mikage rattles off the delights that they are missing in this world. //Chocolate// in all of it's forms. "I used to love chocolate pudding with whipped cream. On top of chocolate graham crumbs... with gummy worms. Da called it bugs in dirt... I had it for all of my birthdays growing up, until I was about seven. Ma never really understood but he.. it was our favorite, Da and I." Without thinking she talks about her dear, dead father. Sassaral clams up suddenly but keeps it together, smiling fondly. "Yeah, chocolate pudding is //great//.. but not the best for you in excess. But who thinks of those things as a kid..."

    A beat, "I had this great chocolate cake recipe too, when I was a teenager. I remember if off-by-heart... as much as that means, //here//..." Explained as she watches the sparks lift to the heavens.

    Sassaral continues to smile fondly and a bit absently as she watches the fire, but turns back to Miki to listen to her next thoughts, "I think he would've liked it.. not even in that macho-macho way that some dudes take on. Cyrus is a gentleman." Said kindly, "I hope he lost like one too, when you whooped him at the games." Said next with a bright giggle.

    Sobering now, Sassaral drains the rest of her tea and watches Miki, "I don't pity you whatsoever.. and I sure hope you know that I like you for you." She gives her friend the slightest nudge. "I hope.... I think if I worry about anything outside, I hope our parents are doing ok. Our loved ones." Sassaral will not linger on that topic for long because wait--what! A gift?! She watches with huge eyes as the special present is offered up and reverently Sassy looks it over, fingers lingering on the little bottle. "O-ohhh....! //My//!" She cries, hugging it to her chest. "This is //perfect//!" Sassy exclaims and without thinking she tries to carefully pull Miki in for a side-hug while taking care with tea cups. "Thank you!! I-I... I'm so sorry.. I don't have anything for you.." Sassy looks and sounds as if she wants to cry with happiness.

"That sounds delicious..." Even if Mikage hasn't had one of the deserts, she can at least imagine what it might be like. It's enough to have her lick her lips, followed by taking another sip of the tea to at least give her some sort of flavor in her mouth. "My dad wasn't much of a cook. He usually hired on people to do that sort of thing." She admits, but a soft smile finds her own features, "But he would always make me a little cake for my birthday." She is oblivious to the fact that talk of fathers might hit close to home, not knowing that it was Sassaral's father that she lost.

"I beat Cyrus at magic and a bean-bag toss game, but he just barely edged me out on a test of strength." Though Cyrus is taller than her, and most would assume he should be more muscled, the Ranger was pretty strong, herself.

When the little wolf begins to speak about family and those who are left on the outside, Miki presses her lips together, forming a hard line. "My dad will be okay. He had to deal with me as a single father. If my mother even cares at all, she'll be trying to mooch the situation for all it's worth. As if she actually gave a shit about me." There is some anger that comes with this, shown as the girl tosses another log on the fire without much care. "I'm glad dad divorced her, she can fucking rot for all I care." Heavy words.

Then, she seems to realize that she's likely not being the nicest at the moment, and turns to look at her friend, perhaps drawn back by the nudge. "Sorry." Luckily, Sassaral's joy at the gift is enough to bring her mood back around, drawing a gentle laugh from the Were Fang. "Don't worry about it. I didn't have many chances to give out gifts on Valentine's day, growing up. So I figure I might as well make up for it now."

    It takes Sassaral a couple of minutes to compose herself following two double-whammies (not necessarily bad): poking at the sore-tooth-topic of her dead father and receiving.... a V-day gesture. She's rapidly discovering that to cast her thoughts into the world, here, helps her deal with the former situation.. whereas the latter surprises her!

    Deft fingers touch and caress the chain and without hesitation Sassy finds the clasp and begins affixing the gift 'round her neck. "This is //perfect//..." She sighs happily, but will return to the previous tangent of conversation... she feels comfortable enough with Miki, now, that it doesn't fill her with as much trepidation as it once had.

    One ear twitches and the other cocks forth a bit as Mikage delivers her scathing thoughts of her mother. Sassy doesn't judge her badly for it, as she is already piecing together a picture in her mind of what sort of like Mikage must have led, outside. So a single father? Looking after her? Sassy nods gently, "Anyone who is not invested in a family just... shouldn't be kept around. I am sorry about your Mom... it sounds like her priorities were skewed. So... your Dad was a single parent?" She asks softly, "I-I guess my Mother was, too, in recent years.... I worry about her because she is so soft, so gentle... I can't imagine how she is coping. I hope she has //someone// there with her..." What an interesting contrast of mothers.

    "I didn't give much thought to V-Day out there, either... not since I moved back to Japan. I.. had a few people whom I would've made such a gesture to, before the move but, u-um..." She rubs the back of her neck, "That wasn't meant to be, and that's ok. I'm just really glad people are making do //here//.." Said as she pushes to stand, goes to check the kettle. "There's a bit left, if you want more tea? What do you have planned today?"

"I'm glad you like it." Mikage replies, her voice soft, lifting her hand to rub a little at the back of her neck. There are moments where she just isn't quite sure of herself in social interactions, but Sassaral's joy at the gift seems to at least make her smile.

"Her priorities were only ever focused on herself." She admits, shaking her head. "And she blamed me for everything that was ever wrong in her life. Including the break down of her relationship with my dad." By the sound of it, the woman is a very stereotypical narccesist. "But yeah, my dad dropped her like a bad habit when I was a teenager. Good fucking riddens." Miki has no love for her mother.

But, it seems that Sassaral does, "She'll be okay." Though there is no way for Mikage to know this, it feels like the right thing to say.

"Well, at least you have friends here, now." Mikage offers, an affectionate smile cast towards the wolf Cait Sith. As for tea, she nods. "More tea would be nice." She pauses then, and seems to think before saying, "You know... we could still be friends if we get out of here too, right? So you wouldn't be as alone."

    "I-I love it.. I really, truly do." Sassaral says in a sweet, heartfelt way; often her fingers will lift to touch and caress the chain of her new gift. "I will never take this off!" Is exclaimed next.. and she won't! She sobers again, however, at the latter words re: Mikage's mother. Hey, Sassy's mother was a nurse and she, herself, was potentially exploring something in the care field before Life Happened. Mental health was part of the whole curriculum so it's no surprise when Sassy plucks the following thought out of the air: "Classic narcissist... as the world crumbles, it's never their fault. T-thankfully I've never known someone like that.."

    Her lovely goldenrod eyes brighten, "But you're right... your Dad made a good call.." She feels a pang though, her empathic heart extending to Miki's unseen father as well. It's sad to think of two devoted parents (her mom, Miki's dad) suffering.

    Sassy is still standing by the fire, and at the affirmative for more tea she pours a cup for Mikage and freshens up her own. Her tail begins to sway gently, "I am so //happy// to have you both as friends. If we all end up going back..." A wince, she doesn't want to. "We will all find each other, ok? I will definitely be your friend." In saying this, somehow the thought of going 'home' doesn't feel as terrifying. Sassaral hands the cup over to Mikage with the sweetest look.

There is a stark contrast between the way Mikage describes her mother, and the young woman, herself. Perhaps it is because of her father's positive influence, or because she had been the target of much of her mother's blame, that she has become a softer soul. A person who still isn't entirely sure what anyone thinks of them, hesitant and gentle, but she had that excitement about the world, about life, and about living that doesn't usually rise from that kind of pain.

"Well, I mean, you can take it off." She replies shyly, laughing a little from where she sits amongst her blankets, "Actually I wouldn't get it too wet." Miki admits, uncertain, "I'm not sure how well the wax seal is around the cork." With a pause, she shrugs sheepishly, "I'm pretty new with trying to make things."

And even with that, she can see the wince on Sassaral's features. She knows that the real world is not a place that the Cait Sith actually wants to return to. There were plenty of people who felt that way. Still, she takes the cup, allowing the warmth to seep through her hands before nodding, "Definitely."

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she sneezes. Luckily the girl has a good enough hold on the cup for it not to slosh, but she rubs at her nose. "I hate the cold."