iii ⚜ action

[banishment]

who: zuko + open to anyone
where: the tea shop he works at in fayren
when: backdated, a few days post-auction
warnings: none at the moment | tba

Even when Zuko had been serving tea in Ba Sing Se's lowest and poorest ring, he hadn't worked this many hours in a row. Perhaps he would have had the owner of the shop allowed it, but in all likelihood, he would've pulled a mask on over his face and disappeared into the depths of the city in favor of taking what he thought was rightfully his instead of earning a living of his own. He knew better now, and was taking as many shifts as he could, working his second open to close shift this week, determined to earn back the money he'd spent at the auction.

But doing so was easier said than done, especially when some of the patrons insisted on calling him over to their table by way of using a number of royal stylings, many of them oblivious to how inaccurate, ill-fitting, and inappropriate some of them were. (Or maybe the ignorance was feigned and the insult was delivered on purpose. He couldn't tell.)

It was with a great roll of his eyes and a barely stifled groan that he tended to the customer across the room who was waggling his tea cup in the air, beckoning him over with a heavily-accented Your Highness for a fresh cup of tea. Whatever that accent was supposed to be, Zuko assumed the guy intended for him to recognize it, but it was as foreign to his ears as this world was the day he stepped foot in it. And if not for the fact that he really needed the money, he would've set that guy's tablecloth on fire instead of taking his order and retreating to the kitchens to fill it.

He was beginning to regret his outburst at the auction. Living as a secret prince had been so much easier than being a public prince 'degrading' himself to working in a tea shop.

Comments

[whiteas]

[ The last thing Zuko was probably expecting was a sneak attack at his place of work.

Well, this isn't exactly a sneak attack. It's just a sneak disguise visit by Weiss and her friends. They're coming in all at once with Weiss in the front, but she's got her hair tied up in a bun and hidden in a hat. What's more is that she's not wearing her traditional colors-- it's a disguise! And she's not the only one. All of Weiss's group are cleverly(?) disguised in different outfits than their usual ones so as to not be recognized on sight, and they're totally sitting down and trying to be inconspicuous... except weiss isn't taking her sunglasses or hat off even though they're inside now, since she knows this whole plan would fail if she did. ]

[the_roseblack]

[General Tepet--she still thought of herself as a general despite her extended separation from her Legion--hadn't had a really good cup of tea since her arrival. Running across the tea shop in her exploration of the five cities came as a pleasant surprise.

Running into the prince from the auction was somewhat more of a surprise.]

You...? [Have a very slight bow. More an inclination of the head than a real formal gesture. Mortal royalty are still mortals, as far as the Dragonblood is concerned.] Prince. Of the Fire Nation, was it? You... work here?

I must apologize for the rather... crude means of contact I attempted earlier. It was impulsive.

[deadly_belladonna]

[Well, the money came in handy that she arrived with, even though she really had no idea why she would ever need it. But, the opportunity sure was there with her friends needing some kind of disguise.

Following behind Weiss, dressed in something other than black. Rather colorful, knits, lace tights and boots with her hair braided up to almost look as if she had a bob cut framing her face with a knitted had to hide her cat ears. Her bow would be too much of a giveaway.

This certainly was a new sort of mission and even then, Blake really had no idea what the heck they were doing. She was just following her friend's lead in hopes of helping her.]

[monkeystowaway]

[Sun easily went along with this after Weiss explained things to him. It didn't seem like a bad idea to help her boyfriend out. And though Sun didn't know him, if Weiss liked him, he couldn't be all that bad. Like the rest of them, Sun was all dressed up. He tail was tucked underneath his buttoned up shirt and wrapped around himself in the most comfortable way that he could manage.

The glasses were fake, the lens in them just plain glass instead of prescription. Like Blake and Weiss, Sun wore a hat. Mostly because Zuko had seen him at least once and he didn't want the guy recognizing him right him now.]

[solar_flare]

[This is a terrible plan. But it's also hilarious and adorable, so of course Yang is all for it! She doubts Zuko even knows who she is, so the extent of her disguise is to put on her biking glasses. Her hair stays as wild and blonde as ever, because no one touches the hair. No one. She takes a seat next to her friends and picks up a menu.]

So what's good here?

[And is that a knight over there in the corner? Hello to YOU, good sir! Yang subtly scoots her chair closer to Blake so she can more easily enjoy the view of ye olde hottie in his shiny shiny armor.]

[crash_mage]

[It was late when Gildarts wandered in, a sack flung over his shoulder. He took a seat and then glanced at the menu. ...It quickly became clear he had taken a wrong turn. This was no bar. Still, it was late and it'd be kind of rude to just walk in, sit down, and then walk out. So, he thought he'd try something. Thankfully, it was also late enough that there were very few people left, allowing the mage to flag Zuko down.]

So, uh... I'm gonna be perfectly honest here and say I know nothing about tea. What do you recommend?

[banishment]

[ zuko doesn't notice them — yet. were he having a better day, weiss's fair skin would've caught his attention immediately, but he's not. he's having a horrible day and his attention was all over the place, darting back and forth between the kitchens, the people he's serving, and those who've decided their entertainment for the evening was going to come in the form of hassling him at work for daring to be a working royal. (honestly, what did they expect of him? to proclaim his birthright in a place where his country didn't even exist? azula had done that when she first arrived; it hadn't gone over well.

it's with barely controlled malice that zuko approached their table, long past the point where he's able to keep the unhappy sneer off his face. it was a testament to his progress as a person that he hadn't yet fled or started bending fire and shouting at anyone who dared to speak to him. ]

Ginseng and jasmine. [ clipped, sharp. ] I'd recommend jasmine. [ the bitter "but what does a prince know about tea?" went unsaid but was very much implied by his tone. ]

[banishment]

[ a very slight bow was more welcome than the sarcastic deep ones he was getting from a pair of customers a few moments ago. ]

...you were trying to contact me by making that bid? [ stranger things have happened. ]

[banishment]

[ that late into the evening, zuko was hitting the point where anyone who dared to summon him by exaggerated royal decree wasn't going to get anywhere with him and he was going to purposely (and passive-aggressively) spend an excessive amount of time in the kitchens hovering over tea leaves that didn't need to watched. but this guy didn't do so, thus zuko was willing to give him the time of day. ]

Ginseng and jasmine are our most popular teas, but it really depends on the kind of flavors you prefer. Bitter, sweet, spicy...?

[lookprofessor]

[Every proper gentleman needs to have tea, and Luke has been searching for a nice tea shop for ages now. He's actually planning on asking if he might have the assistance of the tea shop in Fayren to open one in Genessia City proper, since it's a bit of a trek.

He's sitting at a table alone, feet quite a bit from the floor, and smiles pleasantly at Zuko when it's time to order. Luke knows nothing of the 'prince' statement and rightly wouldn't care. He'd just like some tea.]

Hello, sir. Would it be all right if I ordered a cup of tea from you?

[whiteas]

[ Honestly, Weiss's main concern in getting recognized out of the whole group was her. In order to at least attempt to keep the rouse up a little longer, talking directly to Zuko probably wasn't the best idea. Weiss watched Yang scoot over to Blake, vaguely wondering just what she was trying to look at. Between the obvious attitude Zuko had and the fact that Yang just scooted away meant that Weiss couldn't tell her what to order for her meant that Weiss's mood wasn't as high as it had been when she came in.

Oh well, it's not impossible to deal with. Weiss reaches over to lightly nudge Sun with her finger and mouth the word "jasmine" to him, and hope that he gets that she can't actually talk without it being super painfully obvious so he needs to order for her. She would've picked Blake, but it was hard to make eye contact with someone from behind sunglasses and reaching across the table would've been suspicious. ]

[crash_mage]

[He grins, his good arm moving to scratch the back of his head awkwardly.]

I'll be honest, I'm more of a booze guy, but I figure I could do with broadening my horizons. I'll take whatever you think is best.

[deadly_belladonna]

[Eyes darting from one person to another at the table, Blake came to the realization: They're all idiots. She was the only one not wearing glasses or any kind but she would occasionally tug her hat down to hid a bit of her face, tugging on her fringe as well. It didn't help that her hat had two bumps popping up but she tried to keep her ears as flat as she could. Only barely uncomfortable. She was more worried for Sun's tail having to be tucked away.

Noticing Yang scooting closer, she glanced in the direction her friend was looking curiously. No sunglasses to hide her eyes or anything. She glanced back at Yang with a quirked eyebrow.

About to speak, she was silenced by Zuko's appearance. So this was the Prince that Weiss took a shine to? Huh, even a sharp tone like Weiss' whenever she was bitter about something. Huh, they both had scars over their left eyes as well.]

Still being completely confused, Blake looked between Weiss, to Sun, then up to Zuko.]

[banishment]

One of the weekend servers has a recipe for something they called spiked cranberry tea. It's a tea with cranberry juice and rum. I could make that for you.

[ though somewhere, his uncle iroh was screaming about him daring to suggest he defile the tea with alcohol. iroh wouldn't have allowed such a thing, but while zuko had a lot of respect for the art of tea making, he didn't take it nearly as seriously as his uncle did. ]

[the_roseblack]

I hadn't intended to bid on anyone, but when you announced your identity for all to hear... It's rather embarassing in retrospect, but it seemed like the quickest way to get to a conversation with you. A girl calling herself a princess of the Fire Nation was one of the first to greet me upon my arrival. [better not to mention how that went, though Zuko can probably make a reasonably close guess, knowing Azula as he does] I thought a possible relation of hers would be worth talking to [and hoped he wouldn't turn out to be as foolishly overbearing as his sister. If he was willing to work in a tea shop, then indeed he probably wouldn't be.]

And I would actually like some tea. Silver Needle if you have it. [A perfectly plain, matter-of-fact order, in stark contrast to many of the other customers. Even if there'd actually been any novelty value for her in ordering a prince around--which, as a Dragonblooded member of the Scarlet Dynasty and one of the two realistic candidates for a successor to the Empress, there wasn't--she was far from the type to engage in the kind of cruel games that seemed to so amuse some of the current patrons.]

[crash_mage]

I appreciate the sentiment, but that's not what I asked. I asked what you thought. Not what you thought I'd like.

You're obviously the more knowledgeable person in terms of tea here, so I want your opinion. Not mine. Trust me, my opinion can be rather... troublesome when I don't know what I'm talking about.

[banishment]

[ those who know nothing of his declaration of titles and lineage at the auction are his favorite customers today. ]

Of course. [ he doesn't have a pad or pen to write anything down on. ba sing se did well to teach him how to remember tea orders without having to do so. ] What can I get for you?

[banishment]

[ it was rare that someone asked zuko his opinion on tea based on his expertise. he'd been hired based on his extensive knowledge of tea and ability to brew it from scratch, something the owner of this tea shop had been thoroughly impressed with. but that didn't mean people came into the tea shop looking for someone who had that under their belt. not everyone hailed from a world where tea was an art and flavoring it was a craft not all were skilled at doing. ]

You'd want one of the longer brewed teas. Something rich, that's been prepared from scratched and allowed to ferment properly. I'd recommend the jasmine. I prepare that one myself.

[ his uncle taught him. iroh would be proud to learn that his nephew had actually absorbed all this tea knowledge, or so zuko liked to think. ]

[banishment]

[ oh. ]

Princess Azula. She's my sister. [ he pulled a face, one that was tired and very much unsure, because his little sister wasn't known to make the best of impressions at times, but he still left to retrieve her tea. when he returned with it, he dared to sit down in the chair across from her, folding his arms together on the table. ] I take it her greeting wasn't necessarily pleasant.

[the_roseblack]

Indeed not. I take it she's like that with everyone. Laughable assertions of superiority and all? [As bothersome Azula's attitude had been at the time, it was rather amusing to hear a mortal princess barely a quarter her age demanding obeisance from an Exalt, in retrospect.] You're off to a much better start.

[Ejava took a sip of the tea, the corners of her mouth upturning in a hint of a smile at the taste.] This is very good. Where did you learn tea making?

[crash_mage]

[Gildarts grinned a bit.]

Now see, I could say something like that with beer, but never would I have thought to think about tea like that. I'll take it, on the condition that I have someone to talk with while it brews.

[banishment]

[ zuko glanced around him. the place was clearing out for the night, and the people who were still seated at tables already had their tea. he could spare the time to sit down with this guy, and he could honestly stand to get off his feet for a while when he'd been standing on them all day. ]

Alright. Let me go get that started.

[ he disappears for a few minutes, taking the seat across from gildarts when he returns. ]

[banishment]

She is. I wouldn't take it personally. [ that was just azula being azula. honestly, if she were to behave differently, then there was cause for worry, because it meant she was likely up to something. ] I also have a better understanding of this place and the fact that our country doesn't exist here. We might still have our titles, but the power and ties that come with them don't exist.

[ he's pleased when she smiles a bit after sipping the tea. ] My uncle taught me. He's something of a tea enthusiast on the side.

[lookprofessor]

Hmm. I'm not sure. What is your favorite?

[Luke peers at the menu.]

Oasis berry is my favorite but I don't think you have it.

[monkeystowaway]

[Sun gives a nod to Weiss. He was wondering how she was planning to order. There was no way Zuko wouldn’t recognize her voice. Though if Weiss spoke and he didn’t, he wondered if she would take offense. Sun wasn’t sure if Zuko would recognize his since they had only spoken to each other for a brief time. So..he decides to change it a bit. Add a little more bass to it.]

I’ll..uh. Have a Jasmine tea. And We…ndy here will have one too. [Wendy being Weiss, obviously. Sun didn’t really look at the menu, but he had been tempted to ask if they had or if there was a such thing as banana tea. There probably was, right? But he had decided against asking about it. Sun looks over to Blake and their knight oogling Blonde friend. At least Yang wasn’t drawing too much attention to herself.]

Are you two going to have the same?