Lost At A Sleepover

[knockingatthedoor]

WHO: EVERYONE - Meeting time!
WHAT: Kel, Frieda and Nagito organized a party/sleepover!
WHERE: The largest house they could find in the area
WHEN: Between one crossing and another
WARNINGS Nooooot really much?

There are few things Kel treasures deeply in a place like that. The siblings, sure, his new basketball with the creepy face on it, but also the opportunity to build bonds with others. From what he understands, the memories they build in there will stay, so... why not making great ones? thigns that will remind them they're 'alive' in their own way, that even if theirr identity is lost at every Crossing just a bit more... they're still themselves? He has been in an awful mood since he and Sunny had... a fight? Something? He doesn't even know how to call their poor attempt at a tlak but he knows his best friend is now avoiding him like the plague and it hurts. That being said? He's smiling rto whoerever approaches the building and waving at them. Invitations were sent out, preparations had been done and even at this 'pit stop' there's a community event, so to speak, ready to go.

The whole building may be baely lit, but the precious jars Frieda brought in with glow worms (Some with sitiks and leaves in, too) gave the whole place a cozy and comfortable look. The woman also brought in basins and such, decorated now with water lilies and other few flowers. Ribbons, strings, anything they could find has been gathered as well to make the place 'prettier'. There's no point in being stuck with an ugly room, right? Nagito took clear of all the cleaning, leaving the place spotless, and Kel carried inside all the mattresses he could gather. After a long time processing how to place things? He opted for leaving bed frames alone and just sitting a whole corner of the area with mattresses and blankets for everyone to share.

The few games they can make with sticks and mud are there as well. He may have no apples, but one basin has been filled with water and lily buds to play the 'bite into it and drag out as many as you can' game, whatever it's called. There are sticks and differently colored rocks to prepare some Tic Tac Toe games (sort of. Grey and green rocks VS Xs and Os), there is a space with all the paper (damp, humid) he could find and some pencils and pieces of charcoal too.

The true stars of the sleepover, though? A bonfire set right outside, as safely as possible (with rocks and mud all around the charchoal and chairs put at a safe distance from it) and FOOD. Nagito was an angel and got not only a picnic set for them all, btu also real food. There's wonderful, greasy pizza (one little square has already been stolen, it seems) covered in cheese, A plate full of chimichangas (and here Kel is guilty of taking one), watermelon already cut in large slices, steak that may be warmed up by the fire, chocolate chip cookies, bags of popcorns and both ice and lemonade for whoever wants them.

"Welcome to the party! Nagito and Frieda did such a good job here! You should come inside, we have everything ready. And, hey, why don't you considering moving in here, too? At least until we have to move? You know... company is very important, after all!" He isn't in the mood to look happy but that's irrelevant.

Comments

[witnessvelama]

"It has to do with the growing, and the steeping - Orchor is a strong tea. The tea of the elflands is grown in too much bulk to be done indoors, though some varieties must be cultivated in that way. Nobles," he adds, by way of explanation. "The teahouses have their own stylings, depending on their clientele."

When Need offers the fish, Celehar takes it without complaint, maneuvering his sticklike limbs to not jostle the still-speared bodies. This, if anything, is the dish he's most comfortable with, the rice and the chocolate having received a larger portion of his curious glances than the simple, recognizable and fire-charred form.

[hasapoint]

Need nods. "Tea's important, then." She hasn't asked about the climate where he's from but by context it's too cold to grow tea as a regular crop. Most of it must be imported, which says something about the elflands that they can move so much of it around.

"We had it when I was growing up, but we didn't prepare it like the housefolk did. You would hate it," she says with serene confidence. "It was salty and half milk, with fried millet and sheep's tail fat. Sometimes we'd cook rice or noodles and dumplings in it and make a soup."

She hefts up the pot of rice as explanation. Rice would have also been imported and wasn't a common foodstuff, it needed water and settled cultivation. She has no idea about tea.

[witnessvelama]

"... I would not call that tea by our measure, no," Celehar says. He's doing an admirable job of keeping his expression neutral, not wrinkling his nose or balking. "Though the soup as you describe it would be a welcome meal, in some circles. Perhaps it would exist, in some fashion, but animal husbandry was not the primary cultivation, in the places I served my Prelacy."

Indeed it's been de-emphasized, as far as he can tell, due to the ongoing conflicts with the Nazhmorhathveras, who are more migratory - but comparing Need's people to those who the Ethuverazhin have warred against is a misstep he is reluctant to make.

"The airship workers favor tea for the properties of keeping one awake. Though I would not say they brew it for taste. The Airman's blend is invariably bitter."

[hasapoint]

Seeing the very careful stillness of Celehar's features, Need cackles. "Not your circles, though. That's fine, it's not your fault you lived somewhere wet enough that people settle down to grow crops."

Not that she really looks down on such people. Need's been around for more than long enough to be used to how very many ways there are to keep fed that don't have much to do with nomadic animal herding.

"Isn't it always bitter without milk? Or... no, what am I saying, that's what sugar is for, isn't it," says a woman on whom the subtleties of tea are entirely lost. "I never got used to 'sweet' being easily accessible. Wasn't an adventurous eater, I guess. So, is 'strength' something other than the stimulant property?"