Covent Garden Flowers, Saturday

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden wasn't sure she should be concerned by the huge colourful caterpillars that crawled on the plants when she arrived in the morning. There were holes in a few of the leaves, but just as she decided she should probably try and get rid of them somehow, they began to quickly shift into chrysalises. It was actually a little disturbing to watch, so Seivarden distracted herself by making tea. In the afternoon the shop was full of butterflies, so many that she eventually decided to chase them out into the cold.

[Open!]

Comments

[battlewithstyle]

Mitsutada had finally ventured out and, yes, was purposefully looking to speak with Seivarden again. He had a soft spot for folks who made him open up a bit, even if it wasn't entirely comfortable. So he'd invented a need for flowers... and was quite surprised to see a flock of butterflies being chased out of the shop when he arrived.

His first thought was that Souza Samonji must be inside, but he knew that was just silly.

"...surely the cold is no place for them?" he said, concerned for the butterflies' well-being.

[1000yearstoolate]

"There... are... too... many of them!" Seivarden said, trying to get them to move in one direction. "Please, come inside."

Mitsutada was a welcome visitor, and she hoped he wasn't scared of butterflies.

[battlewithstyle]

Mitsutada was not afraid of butterflies. He followed Seivarden inside, eyebrow firmly raised. "I take it you did not expect to be working in a butterfly sanctuary today," he said, smiling.

[1000yearstoolate]

"They started out as caterpillars this morning," Seivarden sighed. "No, I did not expect it."

She smiled a little. "Would you like tea? I just made a pot."

[battlewithstyle]

"That seems exceedingly fast," Mitsutada mused, though he'd seen a seemingly dead tree blossom overnight, in the past. Neither things here or at home always held to what conventionally 'should' be.

"Thank you, yes, I would appreciate a cup," he added. "Though I have to say I was not expecting tea when I came to a flower shop."

[1000yearstoolate]

"I usually drink tea when working," Seivarden said. "It tastes better in good company, and I'm sure it will make it easier to choose the right flower."

She poured a cup and offered Mitsutada. "It's not from your country though, I think. It's from some place called China."

Learning the names of places that produced tea had seemed important once she realized she could get good tea here.

[battlewithstyle]

"Well that's nearby, at least," Mitsutada said. "We share some similarities in customs, though we are very different as well." He took the offered tea with a gloved hand.

"Do you often get customers in to share tea with?"

[1000yearstoolate]

Serving tea felt so much better when you could offer a cup to someone wearing gloves. Sometimes she really missed propriety.

"I don't get many customers at all," Seivarden admitted. "And I only offer tea when I appreciate the company."

Smiling, she added: "Your country makes very pretty tea sets, by the way."

She had googled tea sets.

[battlewithstyle]

"It would be very... prideful of me to say that I think Japan does most things the best," Mitsutada said. "But it is often how I feel. Though that might be the hundreds of years of cultural isolation talking."

[1000yearstoolate]

That was silly, of course.

"Well, you haven't been to the Radch," Seivarden said, giving an important example of places Mitsutada didn't know he'd missed.

[battlewithstyle]

"I suppose everyone has positive opinions about their homeland," Mitsutada said. "Well, not everyone. A predisposition, maybe? But you're right, I haven't. Is that where you're from?"

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden sipped her tea. "It is. I am Radchaai. Portalocity claims there's no way to open a partal back though so I'm stuck here."

She looked down into her cup briefly, then tried a smile.

[battlewithstyle]

"A familiar story, unfortunately," Mitsutada said. "I am fortunate enough not to have to use their services, given how unreliable they seem. They sent a school trip into history by accident, that was not a relaxing experience."

[1000yearstoolate]

"Really?" Seivarden said. "At least I didn't have to deal with that. How do you manage to get home, though, if you don't use the portals?"

[battlewithstyle]

"This," Mitsutada said, reaching into a pocket. He pulled out a small golden pocketwatch, smaller than the usual ones they used to send teams on missions. It was a special issue, just for him. "It channels the system we have to travel in time and space, though it really only works to get between here and my Citadel. Normally we use them to protect the timeline."

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden leaned forward a little. "Protect the timeline? Does it only work to travel to your universe?"

The latter question was important.

[battlewithstyle]

"I believe so," Mitsutada said, an apologetic look on his face. "I haven't tried to take it anywhere else, but I have no idea how you'd even really do so. It really only has the time controls, and even those I do not mess about with. That would be rather against our whole mission."

[1000yearstoolate]

"What's your mission?"

Seivarden realized she envied that; having a mission. It had been a long time since she had one.

[battlewithstyle]

"The Danshi's core mission is to preserve history from a force of time-travelling demons who wish to upset the stability of the timeline," Mitsutada said. "It is a war that has no seeming end, given the nature of time travel."

[1000yearstoolate]

"That... makes sense."

Seivarden just remembered that very little made sense anymore.

"Is there a reason why you're here then?"

[battlewithstyle]

"...to buy some flowers?" Mitsutada said, not entirely deflecting.

[1000yearstoolate]

"You're in the right place then," Seivarden said, not asking further. "Anything in particular?"

[battlewithstyle]

"Something that will travel well," Mitsutada said. "Just looking to send a gift to my brothers back home in honor of the new year, if somewhat belatedly."

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden glanced around the room. "Anything that's traditional for the new year celebration there? I suppose orchids could work if you keep them from getting too cold."