[open] ☽ Tea Room Mingling Log

[judgmental]

Who: Anyone who'd like tea or company.
What: An open mingling log.
When: In the days shortly after Baldr's post
Where: the Hrafn Tea Room (in Odin District, near the library)
Rating: Likely G, but PG at most?


The Hrafn Tea Room's design is simple and shows its owner's taste for blues, greens, and grays. It's only here and there that the warmer color of Odin district shows itself in brief glimmers, such as on the aprons of the staff. Most of said staff are natives, but they have rather more color than most. Perhaps it's Yuri's influence, but like him, they are also quite polite, prompt, and dedicated to their jobs. They are welcoming in manner without being overly cheerful.

Located so close to the library, the tea room is very friendly to readers. Off the main seating area is a separate, quieter reading room, with many comfortable chairs for the use of those who wish to read or study in relative peace and silence.

There is a hand-lettered sign in the window that reads "Help Wanted", in neat, elegant script.

The proprietor himself can be found at a table at times, sitting alone more often than not, thoughtfully enjoying one of his own blends and perhaps a book.

[[ooc: Open for all to linger and mingle, to relax after recent troubles. Anyone in search of employment need only approach the counter and ask for the owner, and he shall appear. If you'd like to have a closed thread with someone, no problem! Just mark it as such.]]

Comments

[madamemoiselle]

[She frowns, looking back at him]

It's not that fragrant... [But then she looks at her cup with an expression like "is it?"]

What are you doing here, anyways? This doesn't seem like a place for you.

[hotshit]

[Claire has the nose of a dog. He gives a sniff, scratching at the side of his nose as he rounds the table, pulling out a chair to take a seat.]

What's that supposed to mean? I mean, I like my tea just as much as the next fella, so why wouldn't I check this place out when it opened?

[madamemoiselle]

[Her back straightens, and she sits more primly in response to him taking a seat. But at least she doesn't say anything about it or ask him to leave. Could it be that she would enjoy the company? Diva makes a haughty noise, taking a sip of her tea before she speaks.]

It's just not suited to someone like you, I would have thought.

[She almost asks what his favorite is, but that's just polite conversation that she would use when she had to play the role of human. She could discuss things like food at length from practice, even though what she could actually taste of them was such a small set of things.]

But yes, it's strawberry. It was either that or peppermint, but I thought strawberry would be nicer, since it's getting warm.

[hotshit]

[Claire himself could admit that he enjoyed the company anyone had to offer, so it wasn't as if the fact that she didn't mind his made him smugger than usual. He blinks, the corners of his lips dropping.]

Huh? What does it matter whether it's warm or not? It doesn't change the taste at all, does it?

[He actually remembered that she could only taste strawberry and peppermint! But that wasn't important.]

[madamemoiselle]

Well, no, but it's... [She frowns thoughtfully, unsure of how to really explain this. But she only realized that halfway through the sentence, yep.]

Well, it's like spring is coming, right? So strawberry is a more "spring" sort of flavor...

[hotshit]

[LMFAO. Claire snickers, smirking as he leans back into his chair.]

Sounds like a silly reason to pick strawberry, if you ask me. [He waves for the waiter!] Anyway, I'm thinkin' I'm gonna try somethin' new today! I've never had peppermint before, so maybe I'll order that.

[madamemoiselle]

It's not silly...

[Diva continues frowning, because this makes total sense to her, hdu!! But she sighs]

Well, the peppermint is good. It's what I had the first time I came here.

[hotshit]

Well, I always liked candy-canes, so I imagine peppermint tea'll be good! [He orders peppermint tea, before turning his attention on Diva.]

I bet you think winter is a good time of the year to drink peppermint tea! Am I right?

[madamemoiselle]

Well, of course! It's a winter kind of taste.

[She says this like it's the most obvious thing ever] I mean, because of things like candy canes, you know? Do you really not associate things with seasons?

[hotshit]

Ah, no, can't say I do. I mean, what season would you associate pasta with? I eat that stuff all year long!

[He drums his hands against the table lightly. He has ADD.]

[madamemoiselle]

[She looks at his hands, judgin'. Because seriously, have some table manners, gosh!]

...Well, I guess that one doesn't really have a season. People eat that all the time, you're right. But some things kind of do, I guess is my point.

[hotshit]

[He gets a beat goin here, FUCK YOU DIVA.]

That's pretty human of you.

[madamemoiselle]

[o...mg... she is going to like stab in the hand with a fork

except not really because Claire is a godmod, but she is glaring at his hands, even if she still sounds pretty lightly interested]

Is it? I'd never thought about it much. But I mean, I've lived in a human's world my whole life, so of course some things about me are pretty human, right? I... can appreciate things they do. Like opera, naturally.

[hotshit]

Opera? [THinks: That's lame.] Isn't that lame? [Oh, yeah, he always says what he thinks aloud. At least his hands have stopped drumming against the table.]

[madamemoiselle]

What?! No, it's not lame!

[You would think you'd just called her fat or something with how offended she is.]

Opera is beautiful! It's the most difficult kind of singing there is, because it requires so much practice and technical ability! You can't just learn how to sing opera, like those amateurs who have been singing on the network, you really have to be born with the talent!

[Rude and passionate! A new combo for her! But she kind of realizes how loudly she was talking, so her voice softens, though she's definitely still upset]

I've practiced every day, for as long as I can remember. You can't just insult it like that...

[hotshit]

Talent? There's no such thing as talent. [Of course, Claire picks the topic of interest that relates most to him. He gives a shrug.] Some learn easier than others, but that doesn't prove anything about natural skill. If you want somethin' you gotta work towards it, through practice and knowledge. Nothin' falls into your lap just like that. There's nothing special about you that separates you from anybody else, besides not bein' human. What separates your skill from the skill of others is the fact that you worked hard to achieve that ability.

[The waiter sets his cup of tea down!] Though, I gotta agree with ya, that opera is definitely a lot more fancy than any other type of genre. Which is exactly why it's not my cup of tea. I prefer listening to words I can understand, you know?

[madamemoiselle]

[She frowns as he explains, because she completely disagrees. Honestly, she would probably be alright with the explanation if not for how she came to learn opera, but she feels very strongly that she couldn't have been able to sing so well without formal training without talent. But she doesn't really want to tell that story or care enough to argue, so she'll just go with his second point.]

I guess that part's fair. A lot of it is lost if you don't know the story. But, really, people should learn more languages. I know more languages than most humans do, and that's just strange.

[She sighs softly] But that's why a lot of operas have a summary, at least, nowadays. I heard of one that even gave the full libretto with a performance, but I thought that was a little too much... I'd actually really like to perform here, but it's kind of like you said. No one is really interested anymore!

[hotshit]

Maybe people don't listen to opera because it's not available to 'em! I know I've never had any particular interest in it for that reason; I'm a jazz kinda guy. [He takes a sip of his tea and makes a face... he doesn't like it!]

[madamemoiselle]

Ah. Well, jazz is nice too.

[She looks a little surprised, but at least she's less huffy. She'll just take another sip of her tea to get... even less huffy]

I don't really have a voice that's well suited to it, but I listened to it a lot when I was in Germany. American music is pretty nice, actually. I thought I would hate it when I listened to it for the first time, but it's not bad at all.

[hotshit]

[Sliding his cup away from himself, he waves to the waiter again.]

I'd say! I haven't listened to much foreign music, aside from French, but what's not to love about Jazz and blues?

What makes you think you don't have the voice for it, by the way? Too smooth of a singer or somethin'? [Claire makes a concentrated face as the waiter waits for his order. He's not sure what he should get! He still wants to try something new.]

[madamemoiselle]

It's too high. I'm a mezzo or spinto soprano, and I can sing dramatic coloratura if I practice the part for a few days. F is about the top of my range, but I've hit G a few times. It's hard, though.

[She shrugs, like this is just common knowledge, though she is looking at his discarded peppermint tea now...]

Jazz is usually an alto part, and sometimes really deep! Without manipulating my vocal cords, it's out of my range.

[hotshit]

Um... Diva could I get a suggestion over here? [He waves a hand, gesturing to the waiter.] You'll have to show me what these notes are, by the way, since I got no idea what you're talkin' about!

[madamemoiselle]

[She sighs, exasperated]

Why are you asking me? You know I can only taste strawberry and peppermint out of anything.

[She nods to the waiter] Ask him.

[hotshit]

Ah... somethin' spicy, then! [The waiter nods and leaves...] Ah...? He didn't even say what he was gonna bring back!

[madamemoiselle]

Well, I guess it'll be a surprise, won't it? It seems like you'd like that.

[She sits back, looking at him doubtfully]

...Do you really want to hear the notes? I won't be able to do G, but I can get to F.