blue summer — tea

[icarus.]

Icarus had been quite serious when he'd invited the others to tea at the previous meet and greet, even if no one had taken him up on the offer — yet. Little do the others know, the tom has been scheming at ways to force them to join him over tea ever since. Finally this morning the Judge had slipped notes beneath the manor's occupied doors with a simple message: Tea party in my room on the far east wing at sunhigh. Signed, Icarus B. He'd thought to host it in the garden considering the pleasant spring weather, though secretly the Judge just wants to ensure that his clanmates know where to find him should they ever need to. He keeps an open door for visitors, but he's aware of how difficult his quarters can be to find amid the winding corridors of the mansion. Perhaps he could've made his directions more specific... oh well, he has faith in his Knights. There's only a pawful of them anyhow, meaning they ought to be able to fit comfortably in his cozy space.

The golden-furred feline has tidied just for the occasion. The bed is made, curtains drawn, and windows thrown open to let in the fresh air from the courtyard below. His sword is still slung over one of the bedposts, but most of his other belongings have been put away neatly in his chest aside from a few stray candles, novels, and papers scattered about and the lyre that sits in one corner (...so maybe not as tidy as he'd promised, but Icarus has never minded the clutter). The tabby tom had even swiped some scones from the kitchen, though he's not sure who made them nor exactly how long they've been there. Icarus thinks he should take up cooking sometime, given the amenities available to them; then again, he's not keen on burning down the manor at his poor attempts at baking. These'll do for now — they appear fine enough for him to eat, at least. A small tray of them sits upon a leg rest before his crackling fireplace. Icarus is settled upon his favorite worn green-cushioned chair, paws tucked into his chest as he peers thoughtfully into the flames. An old brass kettle hangs above it, letting out a thin whistle and a sudden burst of air. He removes it from the heat and adds the herbal blend he'd already set aside. Slowly but surely the room comes to be filled with warmly fragrant scents, wafting out into the halls and permeating the air with a pleasant aroma. Icarus will let it steep a few moments longer — now all that's needed is some good company.

[wormwood.]

Tea was not something that Aurum had indulged in for quite a while. However, he knew the ins and outs of teatime rather well, mainly thanks to the way that he was raised. Although his old family pride had obviously had a traditional lion pride structure, it had also had a rather monarchical structure as well. His mother and father were the queen and king, and he and Poetking were both the princes. As such, they had been taught the ways of how to be polite and diplomatic, including the ways of how to attend diplomatic dinners or smaller meals without making complete fools of themselves. The lion had always found these lectures dreadfully boring, and he could remember more than a few times where he and Poet had spent an entire evening just laughing at the monotone lecturing they had to endure. However, this didn't mean that he hadn't picked up a few things along the way. And as he had grown older, he had even come to appreciate those little diplomatic meals and teatimes more than ever before – mainly because they were the only time where things felt peaceful, before everything had fallen apart. Thinking about that now hurt him somewhat, but he still found himself wishing that he had done more teatimes since then. Both for the sake of his own mental health, and for the sake of his bonds with his old clanmates.

Better late than never, was the common saying, however, and it seemed as though Aurum had been given new chances to enjoy tea with others. When Icarus's message had first slid beneath his door, he had been intrigued, his head perking up from where it had been on the bed. Gently pushing aside the book he had been reading, the angel slipped down from the bed, reading the note and immediately feeling a smile come to his muzzle. The next several hours had passed quickly, with the angel busying himself with various menial tasks and stories he had taken out of the library to be brought back later. When sunhigh finally rolled around, it took him a short while to find his way to the Judge's room, but he found himself breathing a sigh of relief when he did. Knocking his paw gently against the open door, the male stepped inside with his wings folded down close to his back, trying to take up as little room as possible. He glanced around curiously before he took a few more steps inside, sitting down and rumbling in greeting to the feline, "Hello, Icarus. I hope I'm not too late... or early. I honestly can't tell how long it took me to get here, what with all of the winding hallways in the manor." He chuckled a little before continuing, his eyes zeroing in on the tea that served as the source for the pleasant herbal smell filling the room, "I hope you make good tea. I'm afraid I've got a bit of a spoiled palette when it comes to this stuff."