There was a light visible under the door to Ali's, in the very early morning. For those with exceptional healing, pacing can be heard: human and canine.
"You're welcome. First, you need to get the water boiling. Put enough in the kettle to fill each cup, plus two more. One's for the pot--it's the water that boils away. The other is to warm the teapot when you're ready to steep the tea.
"Then while the water's boiling, measure the tea." She shows Victor the amount needed for a cup, and adds it to the large teaball. "Whole leaves are better than powdered, cutting makes them bitter. And make sure they have lots of room in the tea ball to move around. Some people prefer to put them in the teapot loose and strain them out later, but I use a tea ball so I don't have to worry about the inside of the teapot staining."
She peered over at the leaves, and left the information floating in the stream of her memory and prayed that it wouldn't sink and rot at the bottom. She wanted to remember, and she watched with an intent look. She nodded. "Makes sense."
"Then," she pours a little water into the teapot, swirls it around, and dumps it out again before adding the tea and the rest of the water, "you warm up the teapot, and leave it to steep. It takes a while to get a good strong cup, but the wait is worth it."
"Warm," she corrects with a wink. "This way the teapot doesn't suck heat out of the tea. Now, if you're making this for Jas," yes, she has a clue from time to time, "you can usually get him to eat a little something with it. If you can find anything to eat there. He likes spicy food, and oranges."
She opens a cabinet and gets out a paper bakery box. "Do you like crumpets?"
She winked back. She found herself making bad puns quite often lately without realizing it. Like the time she said volcanism rocked. Or that any hot drink was cool to her. That one bordered on extreme irony. She smiled, because that was a great thought to surprise the Captain with! And maybe he might smile, too! "Oh, wow. Those seem like foods he'd enjoy."
"I dunno if I've ever tried one 'fore."
((I'm gonna go to a costume party, so I'll likely be back tomorrow. Have a pleasant evening!))
"He enjoys food, when he remembers to eat. He doesn't eat very much though." She gets out a plate, then puts a half-dozen crumpets on it with little bowls of clotted cream and berry preserves. She holds the plate in place with her right forarm, just for a moment--but long enough for Victor to notice that something's missing. "It helps if you make it seem very civilized, he likes playing the part of a gentleman."
She nodded at the first part because she was the same way. She forgot to eat, or decided that she didn't have time, on a fairly regular basis.
Victor looked at Ali, and for a moment, she thought she didn't have a...but that was silly. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her. They were doing that increasingly. Even so, she checked again. And...still!
Any are-you-okaying would sound awkward. So she decided to follow the trend of where they were going. "He's a perfect gentleman."
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"Then while the water's boiling, measure the tea." She shows Victor the amount needed for a cup, and adds it to the large teaball. "Whole leaves are better than powdered, cutting makes them bitter. And make sure they have lots of room in the tea ball to move around. Some people prefer to put them in the teapot loose and strain them out later, but I use a tea ball so I don't have to worry about the inside of the teapot staining."
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She opens a cabinet and gets out a paper bakery box. "Do you like crumpets?"
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"I dunno if I've ever tried one 'fore."
((I'm gonna go to a costume party, so I'll likely be back tomorrow. Have a pleasant evening!))
Reply
"He enjoys food, when he remembers to eat. He doesn't eat very much though." She gets out a plate, then puts a half-dozen crumpets on it with little bowls of clotted cream and berry preserves. She holds the plate in place with her right forarm, just for a moment--but long enough for Victor to notice that something's missing. "It helps if you make it seem very civilized, he likes playing the part of a gentleman."
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She nodded at the first part because she was the same way. She forgot to eat, or decided that she didn't have time, on a fairly regular basis.
Victor looked at Ali, and for a moment, she thought she didn't have a...but that was silly. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her. They were doing that increasingly. Even so, she checked again. And...still!
Any are-you-okaying would sound awkward. So she decided to follow the trend of where they were going. "He's a perfect gentleman."
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