would you care to sit with me?

[patration]

While I was never the most avid of tea drinkers, I couldn't help but find it interesting to see that the beverage had lasted so well, over the years. Every morning, those who stepped into the kitchen seemed to mostly request any one of four beverages: coffee, milk, juice, or tea. Their background didn't seem to matter, their cultures were often as varied as the flowers which speckled the island fields, and yet between them, tea was so popular that I found myself curious that day, as soon as the bookshelf began offering books on both the history and preparation of tea, to try all of the different ways in which it was served in a future age. Armed with a bamboo tea set, one which I had fashioned some time ago when the residents all enjoyed unspeakable powers, I mused over the preparation of so-called English tea, while seated at the common table in the rec room. The biggest hurdle that I had not forseen, armed as I was with tea leaves and freshly boiled water, was the lack of a proper strainer to remove the leaves.

Briefly, I considered heading over to the kitchen to find the required materials. However, as I heard more and more voices streaming into the space, I knew that lunchtime had come upon us at last, and with it, a crowd that probably would have been none too happy to have me weaving through the chaos for a simple tea strainer.

So I sat myself back down, poured the leaves into the kettle, and waited for it to brew. Perhaps next time.