Private Eastern Brisshal Tealightful Times

[Hanasakura Okami]

Okami doesn't remember the last time she visited Eastern Brisshal, yet alone the famous Honeyhome. Okami generally remembers the location, being one of the newbie friendly locations in the game. The smells of flowers, the bread scented paths all thanks to the bakery and the wonderful peace and quiet. It felt like home away from home. Okami's childhood home had a similar vibe, a small community that relished in the simplicity of everyday life. A pang of nostalgia as Okami steps quietly through the village archway.

The magia looked at the bakery. The smell of cinnamon enticed her greatly, even though technically as a Magia her senses were dulled. As Okami wondered through the town, she wondered what she should do now that she was here. She could perhaps pick up a quest, or perhaps stay and rest at the inn in the town, or perhaps she can enjoy the sights, grab some food and enjoy the atmosphere of the tranquil Honeyhome. With so many options, Okami was not sure what she should do.

Though. this feeling of being lost, brought a different feeling. Melancholy. Okami can't help but think that, what if her home was not destroyed? Would her childhood been more like staying in Honeyhome. The magia's poker face may not show it, but one can feel an air of dejection from her.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

It seemed that Honeyhome was just as much a home to the sweet scent of fresh cinnamon buns as it was newbies and landers living a simple life in one of the more peaceful parts of the world, and why wouldn't it be? Cinnamon buns were delicious, especially among the varieties of food one might actually find in a world of fantasy rather than reality with its fascination with industrializing everything, especially the food industry. For that reason alone, these humble homemade treats were second to none in the hearts of the masses were they to stick around to try one at least once.

At least one younger girl walking against the greater mass of foot traffic definitely seemed to think so as she held one in her grasp while it stuck halfway out of a thin, folded paper of sorts made out of a bright blue magic. For the experienced, it was obviously Arcanamancy at work.

As the girl continued to walk in deliberately rhythmic steps that were easy to count and keep track of, she accidentally stepped on a branch. Normally, this wouldn't even phase her past potentially hurting her foot through her shoe, but she had been so caught up in the bun she was about to sink her teeth into that it surprised her just a little too much, and it threw off her footing.

As a result, she stumbled forward to try and regain her balance so she wouldn't drop her food and slammed into the much taller magia from the side with her smaller frame. It probably barely felt like more than a gentle nudge.

"Ack- My apologies!" She took a deep breath in, exhaling deeply in relief as she successfully kept the roll from hitting anything. Somehow, not even the person she just stumbled into. It was probably thanks to that Arcanamancy paper of hers, she thought.

@Hanasakura Okami

 

[Hanasakura Okami]

Okami felt a light push as she walks around. Surely it wasn't some sort of prank by the local children? Okami turns around, a hand tentatively grazing across her sword before spotting Azykia, a shorter human. The magia relaxed before shaking her head.

"It's okay," Okami guessed it must have been an accident. Her inventory had nothing missing so the Lion Arm recruit did not need to issue an arrest. Regardless, at least the human apologized. Her lifeless eyes then spot the large cinnamon bun in Azykia's hand. Lingering thoughts about delicious food suddenly became apparent. It smells very good.

"That's one of the cinnamon buns from the nearby bakery right?" Okami asked, pointing to fresh round bread. If the magia could drool they would. While she is unable to taste food, the racial features of magia meant her taste senses were largely dulled, she can at least get an opinion.

"Can you tell me what it tastes like?"

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Azykia regained her composure after hearing the classic 'it's okay' she almost always got from people, especially after they noticed that she was, in fact, blind. Likewise just as simply, when prompted about where she got her dessert, she gave a cheerful "mhm" in response.

It was Okami's last question that left a look of consideration on the blind girl's face momentarily, before she suddenly smiled. "I'd be happy to. I hope you don't mind me asking, but is it because you're a magia?"

She eyed the magic wrap protecting the treat she knew was just inside of it and, for the sake of science and deliciousness both, took a big bite out of it. She used to eat so delicately, prioritizing manners as she had done for so long before now. One wouldn't think so from the icing now on her nose and the peak of her upper lip from burying herself in the cinnamon bun.

"Well, first comes the cinnamon mixed with the subtle sweetness of the bread and the sharper sweetness of the icing. The next wave of flavor layers over it as you can taste what I'm at least fairly certain is brown sugar and honey cooked into a glaze that rests in the walls of the roll. As you savor it all together, it layers into another flavor complex entirely as most of the sharper sugars mellow out and give the softer flavors their time to shine."

She took a deep breath through her nose, then exhaled with a sigh of satisfaction. She couldn't help to take another bite really quick before holding it up in offering to the magia wordlessly. After all, her mouth was full of food.

@Hanasakura Okami

 

[Hanasakura Okami]

Okami nods, not that she was aware her company at the moment was blind, but perhaps it was fortunate she also gave an audible yes. The lack of taste buds was really peculiar, especially since Okami herself was a capable cook and decently versed in the culinary art of flavors. While there was the option that allowed Magia to taste, it was over tuned and in Okami's opinion, not worth it. Even her artificial body still required food anyway, so she'll take bland food over food that tastes too much.

Locking her eyes onto the cinnamon bun consumption, she listened attentively to the way Azykia described her meal. Legacy knowledge allowed Okami to imagine what kind of flavor the cinnamon bun had. It was interesting to listen how people described their food. She heard elaborate descriptions to simple one liners. So it was nothing new, but she felt Azykia's opinion had an air of nobility to it, an exaggerated flair.

"No thank you, I don't require any food," Okami declined the cinnamon bun. However, she can't help but think of at least getting something to consume. Looking around, she spots something that perhaps they can enjoy together. Tea at a tea shop, they can freely chat at a table and enjoy the atmosphere of Honeyhome.

"Let's have tea, right this way," Okami beckoned.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

The way Okami had so suddenly declared that the two share some time for tea probably would have come off as a little sudden or demanding to an ordinary person, but both for the casual occurrence within Terrasphere where helping other players usually led to 'partying up' for a little while as well as Azykia's all too formal life in the outside world calling for appointment after appointment once upon a time with people she didn't even like, the younger girl could only smile at the offer.

"Tea actually sounds wonderful right now, thank you." Rather than ask for a hand to be led around, Azykia preferred to hold onto the last few scraps of her dignity whenever possible and put her hands out palm down one over the other out in front of her. A second later, bright blue magic formed down towards the ground in the shape of a smooth stick. She then picked it up with her right hand and gently waved it out in front of her at shin height (for most people, anyway) once before letting it rest slanted down to the ground. "By the way, I'm Azykia, and I can only see magic. I hope that doesn't trouble you."

@Hanasakura Okami

 

[Hanasakura Okami]

Okami noticed the blind stick. The magia never noticed Azykia was blind. It would explain the lack of direct eye contact. Okami however would not comment on it. All she had to do, was treat Azykia as normal and only offer assistance when needed.

"Okami, and no worries, I think it is pretty neat you can see magic," Okami lead the way to the tea shop. She was sure that she saw the stall. It had a very... Japanese look to it. Sometimes Okami wondered how much influence Terrasphere got from Japanese culture. Perhaps it was a player's tea shop. The magia would never know nor did she plan to find out the reason behind it.

"Two seats miss," Okami asked the old lady who ran the shop. While Azykia definitely couldn't see it, the festive red colors really stood out among the rustic Honeyhome look. Okami took a seat on a bench and table and sighed. The atmosphere was definitely different now that they sat in a tea shop. It felt nostalgic yet foreign.

"Can you read the menu? Or would you like for me to choose?" Okami asked as the tiny old lady handed her two menus.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Azykia seemed to walk a bit slower than the average person, though that wasn't too unexpected for someone who could trip over a rock or slam right into someone at a moment's notice. At the same time, she seemed to be walking in a measured, deliberate rhythm of steps, which she counted on her lips silently. At least between finishing her precious cinnamon bun.

The girl measured the seat and table with her bare hands as she got adjusted in her new seat and finally dispelled the ar-cane. "Oh, I'm quite happy with whatever you would choose, Miss Okami. I've tasted teas the world over in the Starcalled Realm. I'm either going to drink it, or not."

"Though if I may be so spoiled, could we please also have cookies or some such with which to enjoy our tea? They need not be sweet, just something to dot the occasion a little more." For a young girl, her manners were pretty on-point. Weren't teenagers supposed to be rebellious, or something?

@Hanasakura Okami

 

[Hanasakura Okami]

Okami browsed the menu for Azykia. Her customer service kicked in. A customer has no clue what tea she wants but is well versed in the options. A person who goes "I'm happy with what you pick" clearly expected you to pick something pick something to that person's taste. A fickle question between friends but a nuisance when trying to get a proper order from the customer.

A clue however came in the form of a snack. If the customer was asking for a snack, that meant the best option would be something that would be served best with a kind of confectionary or cake. A browse through the menu, and Okami would make her order.

However she made her order in Japanese. Okami noticed the apparel and from the way the menu actually read, the language seemed to be the most comfortable for the old woman. Perhaps the tea shop is actually perhaps a player influenced location. What she did order was two cups of green tea and rice cakes to pair with it. The sweet taste of green tea would soak well with the savory rice cakes.

"You mentioned being only able to see magic, isn't that a Faerin trait? To me, you look basically Human," Okami was sure she did not misidentify the race that her acquaintance belonged to. She did not have those signature red pupils the Faerin were known for.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Such a simple treat as rice cakes was sure to be delectable just as every other simple and traditional recipe she had tried in Honeyhome to this point had been. It didn't take her long to decide that Okami was a very sharp individual.

"Hah, well, it seems as though it is a trait belonging to humans. I didn't really know that before I woke up like this, though, which was admittedly quite terrifying." She crossed one leg over the other and placed her hands in her lap. Now that she was done having to scope out her surroundings, she practically emitted a whole aura of politeness, like some sort of young noble.

"Yet I've enjoyed every struggle along the way, and it's even allowed me to make quite the number of friends. After all, you aren't the first Starcalled I've walked directly into. I dare say you are yet to be the last!" She laughed, partly just for effect.

"But enough about myself. Why is it you asked me out for tea, Okami-san?" At the very least, she decided to acknowledge that Okami probably wasn't an English speaker. In fact, it would explain the stiff way she structured her sentences so far, as Terrasphere would translate most anything to one collective language, and some languages were just a lot more formal than others without context.

@Hanasakura Okami

 

[Hanasakura Okami]

Okami nods, acknowledging perhaps the difference in-game knowledge. When she was doing character creation, she did not particularly note the different racial features beyond what was given in plain sentences. She went with the Magia race because she can't help but be reminded of JRPGs that she used to play when she was younger. They always had those robot people despite the fantasy setting.

"A struggle is but a step towards a thousand blessings," Okami laughed, though it sound rather, flat. It was her speech quirk at work again, sometimes making her tones flat and robotic in exchange for increasing her physical capabilities. Form over Function as it was called. To Okami however, she'll never notice the quirk, but she is aware of the poker face she carried.

"My experience tells that perhaps it is fate that we meet," While Okami would not admit it, she's a bit of a social butterfly in real life. Though she has her depressive episodes, she's blessed by how the right individuals will simply click and understand the circumstances of each other's plights. "Like something out of anime."

Okami laughed awkwardly, but the flat tone gave it the feel of a broken record from a horror film. Coughing, Okami continued on.

"Regardless, I find the best way to make people feel less troubled is to treat them as if they aren't struggling. No one wanted their problems, so why focus on that?" Okami told her, but really it was her boss's quote when she started working at the cafe Two Spoons. The magia still did not really understand what her boss was implying deep down though, she was sure that conversation she had went deep with layers.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"Eh? An anime?" She'd certainly heard of those things, but watching cartoons was never something she considered doing. Most of her childhood was spent watching much more educational content to get a head start on the rough career path ahead of her. The one that had yet to be any sort of 'rough' to her outside of social interaction. "I see."

The blind girl didn't usually nod, since she expected other people not to in response to her, but Okami's words were enough to prompt such a thing of her. "I have the problem far too frequently where I am doted upon due to my appearance, or my blindness, so I appreciate that you carry a perspective such as that."

"In fact I started playing Terrasphere to experience a life of struggles, yet ironically everyone here is far too kind to let that sort of thing be." She let out another effectual laugh. "But if I may be so blunt, you have me quite curious. Your words are quite full of meaning, yet even your laugh is quite robotic. Is that perhaps a function of your form in this world? Or could it be that there's more to it than that?"

@Hanasakura Okami

 

[Hanasakura Okami]

To experience life of struggles. Okami sighed when she heard that. It was true that her experience in Terrasphere has been similar. Everywhere she went, generally the player group was a chill and friendly experience. Perhaps it was the threat of death causing altruism among players or perhaps the same kind of folk seem to flock towards Terrasphere. Regardless, her goal was not to experience life struggles, but to get away from it, even if momentarily.

"The Magia generally are able to mimic humanoids, but some like me have chosen to trade a speech quality for better capabilities. I have yet to meet a Magia that has gone 'nyon' like in Japanese media," Okami watches as the old lady returns with the tea and sets it on the bench Okami sat on, as they would in real life versions of these type of shops, and pours their first cup of tea. Okami takes a cup and hands it towards Azykia.

"Here," Okami smiles and continues with her explanation of her speech behaviors and patterns. "As for why I talk in a rather... sage like manner? Perhaps that's how translations are, my language tends to be full of phrases and idioms mixed into our sentence." Okami would take her first sip of tea and lets out a sigh of relief. For a moment when the slightly sweet tea touched her tongue and gave its flavor, the world seemed, a little bit better.

@Azykia