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Covent Garden Flowers, Saturday

The flowers were covered with glitter. It could be a lot worse, and Seivarden made a pot of tea, pondering on todays radio. Not that she particularly liked hanging out with kids, but if there was a Radchaai student here, she would really like to meet her, regardless of her which House she belonged to. Perhaps she could even be of help.

Thus distracted, she didn't notice that the plants shot tiny bursts of glitter on her until it was too late, at which point a long line of colourful Radchaai curses was aimed at the plants.

[Open!]

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So was it mere coincidence that Seivarden would read in her radio notes about a young Radchaai new to the island that morning, then to have that very same young Radchaai walked into the flower shop? Of course not. Radchaai didn't believe in coincidences, and, besides, Tisarwat had been meticulously planning this meeting ever since she'd heard that there was someone named Seivarden Vendaai on this island a whole week ago.

So why was she so nervous? It was only Seivarden, and it might not even be the Seivarden she knew, but she doubted it. It was hardly a common name, even back when House Vendaai meant something. And even then, the odds of this being the Seivarden she knew were...slim. A part of her hopes that maybe she was, because then someone would not only understand where she was coming from, but also the strange specifics of her situation. But then again, if Seivarden was from a different time like Breq, then Tisarwat would have an easy advantage over her, and that had its own appeal.

So it was just the unknown that made her nervous, not necessarily Seivarden herself, and she felt excitement with the trepidation as she pushed open the door and walked inside the flower shop, carrying a flash of tea and cups from the set Kalr Five had sent her here with, blinking a bit at all the unexpected glitter as she looked around.

Edited 2019-09-07 13:27 (UTC)

Seivarden looked up from trying to brush the glitter off her shirt. For a moment she just looked at the kid, the Radchaai clothing and hairstyle so familiar - although those eyes were rather ridiculous. And a Lieutenant's uniform, that surprised her.

Ignoring that uniform, she said: "Citizen." Bowing slightly, just enough, she added: "I suspect you're new here."

Holding back a faint smirk at the fact that the glitter was not reserved for just the flowers, Tisarwat gave an appropriate bow back and a gesture of confirmation. This was definitely Seivarden, all right, and it didn't seem as though she recognized her, with a greeting like that.

"I arrived just a week ago," she said, and then went into the bit she'd rehearsed in her head more than just a few times. "I could hardly believe it when someone told me there was another Radchaai here on this strange and uncivilized planet, much less someone from House Vendaai." A true enough statement, though not, she suspected, in the way Seivarden would take it. "So I thought I would come and introduce myself...and bring some tea."

With a smile and another appropriate bow, she offered her rank, her name, the house name that she already knew would mean absolutely nothing to Seivarden.

"And I apologize for the rudeness of just showing up unannounced and unplanned, but this place is rather limiting in that regard, isn't it? I'd be happy to arrange another appointment, though, if you feel my timing is inconvenient."

Seivarden might not recognize Tisarwat's House name, but the fact that Tisarwat knew hers was... Well, it's been a long time since someone did.

"Oh, please come in," Seivarden said, gesturing for Tisarwat to do so. "It's quiet here as usual, and things on the island are very informal. I admit I've got used to it."

She let out a small laugh. "And who would turn down good tea? Have you heard about the tea bags yet?"

She was also very curious about this person, which felt oddly awkward. She generally weren't that of people whose House name she didn't recognize.

Tisarwat relaxed a little, visibly, as each of her points seemed to have landed precisely where she wanted them to. Her smile was bright, a little bit eager, as she moved in and found the counter so she could set down the cups, begin to pour the tea.

"Heard of them?" she laughed a little herself. "I've had the misfortune of trying them! I can't see how anyone could properly call that tea. I might have to ration what I've brought with me, but, for this, I don't mind."

She smiled again as she handed over the cup. "How long have you been on Earth?"

That was a nice tea set Seivarden noticed as she accepted the cup. Tisarwat's House must at least be wealthy if they sent her to school with a tea set like that. She admired the cup for a moment, trying not to let it show, then took a sip.

"I haven't had proper Radchaai tea in two years," she said with a sigh. "You can find good tea here though, but there are no flasks so you have to brew it in a pot. There's even a tea house that would be acceptable if it wasn't for the owner."

She had longed to talk to another Radchaai, there were so many things she needed to say, even to a kid that was a complete stranger, only because she would understand.

"Yes, two years. I've been here for two years. The portals won't let me go back."

Tisarwat took a sip from her own cup to better hide a pleased expression of her own; it had almost looked as though Seivarden, subtle as it was. Kalr Five would be pleased. She'd doubtlessly spent hours agonizing over just which set to send Tisarwat with, one not so nice it would be missed if anything happened to it, but still nice enough to leave a good impression.

The topic of conversation, however, was far less pleasant.

"Two years?" she asked. "And here I've been wondering how I'll manage to make it two weeks."

An exaggeration, of course, for Seivarden's benefit, but there had been moments...

"I'm surprised anything around here even works at all," she added. "I encountered the same problem, when I went to see about getting back, because I'm pretty sure my being here is all a big mistake."

"Oh, me being here is definitely a mistake," Seivarden said, adding after a moment of hesitation: "I used to be the Captain of a Sword, and now I'm stuck on this uncivilized rock. Have you seen people eat food with their bare hands yet? Oh, you must have if you went to that picnic."

Used to be. So this Seivarden had lost her Sword, as well. And where was she, in between captain and co-lieutenant? Tisarwat was thoughtful as she sipped her tea, thinking at this rate, she'd be finished with the cup in no time.

"The picnic," she agreed, "and the common rooms. They don't do anything with gloves. But people have been understanding, when I've explained why it's so...."

She trailed off, with a gesture. She didn't need to explain it to her.

"Understanding?" Seivarden snorted. "Maybe that's the students here. Usually when I mention it I get a lecture about how I should be more understanding."

She took a sip from her cup, instinctively making it look elegant in the way a tea set like this deserved.

"Maybe I've just been lucky."

Or maybe it had more to do with how she imagined Seivarden mentioning it.

She was hardly going to mention that, though.

"How did you come to work at a flower shop?"

And, looking around, noticing the glitter again and feeling pretty sure some of it had stuck to her uniform, no matter how carefully she'd tried to avoid it, "Is this where they get all the glitter for their decorations for the picnic and the..." She snorted, "'shuttle'?"

"It's not like there's a huge demand for Radchaai officers here." Seivarden looked away. "There's usually not this much glitter, I assure you."

Looking at Tisarwat again, she smiled a little. "How did you end up here? Don't tell me your family sent you here. Have you passed your aptitudes yet?"

"And two years is a long time," said Tisarwat, with a symapathy that she didn't really reel, "with no huge demand for the capable captain of a Sword."

Then she offered a faint smile of her own. "They didn't. I have passed my aptitudes; I was assigned to a Mercy as lieutenant." Which Seivarden would obviously know by the uniform, but they were making polite conversation, of course. "But we ran into a...situation out in the Athoek system. It was...complicated, and, in its conclusion, it was decided that an officer of my...experience might benefit from a...break."

She sipped her tea, sighing slightly as she looked down into what remained in the cup.

"Needless to say," she finished, "something obviously went wrong with the gate."

Seivarden had missed polite Radchaai conversation more than she had ever thought she would.

"A break?"

She must have done something wrong. Not something bad enough to deserve a more expected punishment, of course, but still, she must have done something.

Actually, Seivarden didn't care. She was curious, yes, but the kid probably wasn't going to tell her, and even the company of a failed baby Lieutenant was better than no Radchaai at all.

"A break, of course. The portals here are really unpredictable, but it's not like you hear a lot about people just disappearing through gates in Radch space. Athoek though? That's a bit remote, isn't it?"

She made a gesture. "I'm not sure I've heard about it. Is it know for anything?"

Tisarwat was fairly certain that, whatever it was Seivarden was thinking she'd done, was not nearly as bad as what had actually happened.

She was fine with this assessment. Especially considering that her mission had succeeded, and Seivarden's...well...

"Tea, actually!" Tisarwat's smile was bright, to match her tone. "This is actually a tea from one of their plantations, though, I apologize, it's not Daughter of Fishes. That particular tea has gained a reputation for its quality, but I'm afraid we've all lost our taste for it."

It was a good thing that Seivarden didn't know that in a possible future she would make a complete mess of a very important mission.

"Lost taste? This tea is definitely very high quality. You can't get anything like this here."

She looked sincerely surprised and took another sip.

Even if Seivarden was just saying it to be polite, Tisarwat couldn't help feeling a small glow of pride at that. After all, she'd had to make it herself, something she wasn't used to having to do, and though it would be better if she didn't have to, it was good to know she'd at least done the tea justice.

"Then I really should be sure to make it last!" she remarked. "Is it really that bad? I mean, obviously, the tea bags are, but that should hardly count."

Seivarden had had to learn how to make tea when she first arrived. Perhaps surprisingly, she could be understanding.

"Oh, there is good tea, just not quite Radchaai tea. Oh, and it's impossible to get a tea flask, and the tea sets aren't quite the same standard."

Tea was always a good topic.

"I'm still surprised that I can get Radchaai entertainments here. At least that's something. The local ones aren't very interesting."

She paused, then added since her first experience with Earth movies always made her think of this: "Have they lectured you about the pronouns yet?"

"How lucky I am to have such a nice set with me, then, though it's a shame that so few people will be able to appreciate it." Said with a smile that expressed gratitude that at least one person would.

"And entertainments?" Tisarwat's brow furrowed slightly. "All the way out here?" Though she supposed if this place sucked in the occassional Radchaai officer and ancillary gone rogue, an entertainment here and there wasn't too far fetched. No more so than anything else she'd encountered so far, so she brushed the confusion off with a slight laugh. "That should help a little if I start to feel a little bored."

How anyone could be bored in a place like this with so many different people from so many different places with absolutely no knowledge of the Radch or anything important, really, was beyond her. So much to explore, so much...potential.

Though she did wonder, she hadn't exactly had a lot of time to appreciate entertainments since she gained her new...perspective on things. She couldn't imagine the historical dramas will ever be the same for her ever again.

As for that last question...

"Lecture about the pronouns?"

It had, surprisingly, not yet come up.

"No? Really?"

Seivarden looked genuinely surprised.

"Well, they are very important," she almost managed not to roll her eyes, "and you are supposed to just be able to tell, but no one can explain how."

She made a gesture with her hand. "I don't want to get into an argument with people so I pick it up from radio."

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Covent Garden Flowers, Saturday

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