Tea Party [den, nor, eng, jap, ch]

[Yao Wang]

"One Oolang tea, please." Yao called to a waiter as he shuffled into the teashop.

It was a small, out of the way, but trustworthy place. All sorts of people came here, although business seemed to be slow this afternoon. He sat down at a free, but slightly sticky table. It was the cleanest he could see so far in the dim light streaming through the dusty windows. The only other people here were the shadowy workers and a few other patrons here for their own reasons. Which was how Yao liked it. Quiet, simple, and ready for work.
A meek waiter scampered over with his tea and placed it gently on the table. He took a sip of it and grimaced. It was weak tea, considering the place they were at, but it would have to do.

He had come for two special meetings today and hopefully things would go as planned. Normally, he would've avoided two meetings in the same place with different people, but Yao was running a little low on time. There was a bad taste in his mouth on what could go wrong though. His first meeting was about to start though and he had to focus. From what he estimated, Yao had a good 30 minutes before he met with the second person, which was plenty of time if he hurried.

[Kiku Honda]

Kiku smoothed out the piece of paper with him, squinting at the hastily hand-drawn map and the near-illegible words written by his master. However, he'd read enough of his master's writing to roughly decipher the directions which ultimately lead him to small teashop. The shop looked old but not unpleasant, and Kiku felt it had a rather cosy ambience to it, even if the windows looked like they needed a good dusting.

He was sent to meet a potential new metals supplier for his master; normally he would accompany his master, watching (and learning) as his master argued and bargained with new suppliers. But today his master was abruptly called away by one of his more important customers for an urgent matter, and he had asked Kiku to meet the metals supplier on his behalf instead.

Kiku didn't mind, although this was his first time handling such matters by himself. He was informed enough of what needed to be discussed, and his master more or less trusted this new supplier, and only needed Kiku to go through the formalities and then seal the deal. It would be a quick and straightforward meeting, and Kiku did not expect it to last more than a hour.

The youth glanced at his pocket watch, checking the time, realizing that he still had half an hour before his appointment. No matter he thought as he entered the shop. He had never liked the idea of rushing to appointments, so he always made a point to be punctual. It was best if he was early even; he could then slowly observe the surrounding. Besides his master mentioned they served rather good green tea, and Kiku had to give that a try.

When the waiter asked for his order, he bowed his head slightly and said, "Green tea, please. Sorry to bother you."

The waiter acknowledged his order with a smile and as he scampered off, Kiku looked around for a free seat. There were a few other patrons, but there were still a number of empty seats towards the back. The Japanese youth began to walk a free space in a corner when his eye caught sight of the person sitting next to his intended table. Something at the back of his mind clicked... he pulled out the paper his master had given him. His master had also drawn a rough sketch of the supplier so that Kiku could recognize him.

An Asian man, slightly taller than you, with black hair tied back into a low ponytail. Shouldn't be hard to spot, there aren't too many Asians around in Londinium after all.

Kiku looked up from the paper and at the person at that table, who was Asian and who had his long hair in a ponytail, just like how his master described.

Oh, he's early too. I guess I should go sit with him then.

He approached the man at the table, clearing his throat. "Excuse me, I believe we have an appoint--"

His voice caught in his throat, his eyes widening in disbelief, a slight look of surprise crossing over his face when he finally recognized the man. No wonder he'd thought the man looked familiar. Kiku's face darken, childhood memories (which he'd rather forget about, thank you very much) surfacing in his mind.

Shit.

[albion]

Ajaja, Kiku really IS a ninja D;<
andsorryit'sshortomgXD
---

He'd like to say he had better things to be doing than this, and of course he'd like to entertain the idea that his life right now was not in fact rather uneventful. Alas he was far too realistic to be able to do such things, and thus it was with a grudging dissatisfaction that he accepted both facts. Of late crap had just been... Dull, and to be fair dull was being nice about it. One would probably expect that a pirate's life was full of booze, epic adventuring, and of course nicking stuff. Now, this was true... However people had a nasty habit of forgetting that you couldn't do all of these things all of the time, and thus there would be periods where nothing at all would happen. For he these times could be put to good use, though a lesser known fact (perhaps amongst even his own crew mates) he was actually bound in rather tightly to the opium trade of this place. Thus when not pirating he'd be meeting with his accomplice, as he was set to do today.

He'd met Yao many a times in the rather quaint little tea shop he was fast approaching, and though not the best in town it was still better than many others in the area. Besides, at least here you weren't likely to find something alive swimming about in your afternoon leaves. Such a thing was an atrocity worst than most other things you could think of. If you couldn't make good tea then A) you pretty much sucked at life, because to be fair tea wasn't difficult to make; and B) you just shouldn't even try to make it. There was no need at all to defile something so... Wonderful... by fucking it up. None at. For those who couldn't make tea there was mud, and by this he naturally meant coffee. Damn vile thing it was. Eugh.

Gently placing his hand on the door he pushed it open, mindless of the soft jingle that issued as he did. Not yet bothering to look around for the one he was here to meet. His first port of call was far more important. "Earl Gray, if you please." With that settled he at last scanned the quaint little Tea Shop, quickly finding his cohort... And... Well someone else. Turning fully around he let his head tilt comically to the side, if only for a split second, before sighing and walking forward. By the frozen look the other had Arthur had a nagging suspicion the poor soul had just found something out. Probably that the other man was in fact that, a man. To be fair it was a pretty easy mistake to make. Yao wasn't exactly the most masculine looking fellow one could hope to see, and thus the pirate wouldn't be at all surprised if it turned out the raven haired stranger had alas been making all together inappropriate gestures, only to find the harsh truth. Pity really. Still rather amusing though.

Taking it upon himself to amend the situation he strode forward, steps every bit as level as that of any in nobility. Ironic really when you thought about it. "Excuse me sir, you're in my way~ If you'd be so kind as to shift it I'd be most obliged." Somewhere along the lines the comment was both polite and rude. There was nothing distinctly off about it, you could only see a vaguely scathing undertone. The aim of which being to move the other man away from where he needed to be. Saying this though, it'd be so very rude to tell the other to flat out 'bugger off', although to be fair it was liable to get the point across far faster. Ah well, manners first. "Evening," he finally offered to the one he was actually here to meet. Of course, not knowing quite who this stranger was it would no doubt be a fool's errand to proclaim Yao's name for any old vagabond to lay witness to. In their line of work it was better to keep things hush hush, no?

[Yao Wang]

Yao had lifted his hand to stifle a yawn, so he almost didn't see the man approach him. When he did, his first reaction was puzzlement. From what the last time he was here, he was certain that his opium partner wasn't dark-haired. Then the stranger started speaking and Yao realized, a little slowly, that he was asian. It was a happy realization that warmed Yao up a little. Maybe the stranger was just interested in meeting another asian.

But a sudden look of recognition flashed across the stranger's face and he stopped talking. Yao raised an eyebrow in confusion. Why did he stop? Baffled, he let his eyes scan over the man for any clues and saw the paper in his hand.
Was he the second appointment? If he was, Yao thought, he was early. Much too early. It would make a sort of conflict in his plans unless he could get the man to leave and come back later.
But that still didn't explain why he stopped talking. Still confused, he let his eyes scan over the man for any clues. The most he could make of it was that the stranger was most definitely Japanese. Japanese with an expression that reminded him so strongly of-

His mouth fell slightly open.
Although he never got a chance to say anything, because Arthur arrived.

Yao quickly shut his mouth as his colleague reached where they were asked Kiku (or at least, he thought it was Kiku) to move aside. He was here too early! But, as his eyes peeked at a nearby wall clock, it appeared that Arthur was just on time. Either way, Yao felt the need to get one of them away before they started getting suspicious. This wasn't supposed to have happened. He could hear his schedule crack, but he was going to try and save it anyways. There were still some salvageable parts, right?

"A-ah, Good to see you again. We can get straight to business once...er." Yao tried to smile reassuringly, but he felt it falter. It would be an understatement to say he felt a little panicked.

[Kiku Honda]

Why is he here? ... Why did it had to be him of all persons?!

As much as he'd like to deny it, there was no doubt in the Japanese youth's mind now that the Chinese man sitting at the table was none other than Wang Yao, son of a merchant family who had visited Japan a number of times when Kiku was just a boy. Their fathers were friendly to each other and Kiku's sire had often invited Yao and his father to the Imperial Palace for tea, and to discuss worldly issues, while Kiku and Yao played in the garden. Kiku didn't hate Yao, but he wouldn't readily admit that they were friends either. While he was grateful to have the occasional playmate (growing up as the only child got rather lonesome after a while, even for one such as Kiku), there were many times where Yao annoyed him to no end because he was older and therefore tend to be somewhat overbearing. He even remembered it got so out of hand that both ended up in a scuffle which resulted in Kiku getting a cut lip and Yao getting one black eye and wailing to his parents about how Kiku had changed and didn't like him anymore. Kiku was of course, severely punished by his father, and was made to apologized. He did not see Yao anymore after that incident... well, until now, that is.

He was still somewhat staring down at Yao when he heard another voice - was that a British accent? - and he turned to see a blonde-haired man standing behind him. The man's eyes were as green as emeralds, and he had a hard, cold expression, made sterner by his thick brows. The newcomer had politely requested Kiku to move aside (although the youth detected a slight note of curtness in his words) and then greeted Yao. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who had business with Yao.

He bowed his head slightly to the blonde. "My apologies, sir. I had not realized you were there." He began slowly, his voice soft but firm. He paused for a while, regarding the man. "It surprises me though, that one as stern as you could move with such quiet grace."

Kiku didn't know what made him particularly bold today, especially when his instincts told him this stranger was one to be wary of. It was the same feeling he had felt initially with Norway, only this time, it was ten times stronger. Perhaps he was just bothered by Yao's sudden appearance, perhaps he didn't want Yao to see him as that "little kid brother" still. Or perhaps seeing Yao just brought out the hidden snarkiness in him. Either way, Kiku was not ready to be pushed aside so easily since he too had an appointment, and therefore had as much right to be there as said gentleman.

Meeting the other man's fiery gaze, he bowed once more and politely continued, "Anyways, it would seem both of us have business with -" he glanced at his paper - "China... san. Perhaps it would be easier if we all just sit down first? And..."

As if on cue, the waiter appeared with their tea and placed all three cups onto the table.

"... I don't suppose it'd be nice to let our tea go cold either," Kiku looked back at the Briton, waiting for his reply to his invitation to sit.


[@iggy: >D Beware my ninja-skills! Soz, I actually didn't see your post in the discussion thread before writing my bit here o7and short?!

@china: I hope you don't mind if I took some creative liberties with Yao and Kiku's backstory. If you want me to change/add anything, let me know and I'll do so~]

[Arthur Kirkland]

Arthur found himself in an unusual situation. It had been bad enough that Yao decided that the location of their appointment would be here on the fringes of his business domain and with the high possibility of running into familiar faces – now, on top of everything, there seemed to be a third wheel to their business transaction. A very bold third wheel at that who held some vague resemblance to the man he had come to see. “I suppose it would not be ideal, no. Let us sit then, sir.” White teeth were flashed with the subtle, biting emphasis on the title he used to address the other man. Irritation tended to sharpen his own tongue though Arthur strained to call upon his gentlemanly restraint despite his current pirate persona.

The Englishman’s instincts were screaming at him that there was too much in this situation with the potential to go horribly wrong. However, tea had arrived. He was already here, in his pirate guise, and had sent his valet away along with the carriage that would transport him back to his ship. Both men were looking at him expectantly as if waiting for him to make some move. Like it or not, Arthur’s options in the situation were not looking good. Tearing his eyes away from the unknown man with the impudent tongue, the Englishman snorted with an edge of derisive humour before dragging out a chair to be seated.

As the waiter placed his steaming cup of Grey in front of him he used the distraction to level the full ferocity of a disapproving stare in Yao’s direction. His gestures were pointed as he let his hand move with some languid exaggeration to withdraw the pocket watch tucked away inside his crimson coat, so that he could click it open to examine the face. Nope. He hadn’t somehow dropped into some bizarre secondary world where he’d lost his unfailing sense of punctuality. Arthur had arrived precisely when scheduled. The Englishman’s eyes were unflinching as he loudly snapped the device shut and forced a bare smile to Yao. “Your other guest is correct, China. It would appear that we have both arrived to conduct our business.”

Arthur fully understood that he could have easily fixed the situation for Yao. For example, he could have politely offered to delay their meeting, or to excuse himself to another section of the establishment until the men were finished speaking. He could have – but damned if he would. England was a busy pirate lord. Arthur was an equally busy businessman. The rest of his day had been carefully crafted to make the most of his schedule. Any delays would send the whole thing pear-shaped.

More importantly than that was the fact that Arthur was used to getting his way. He was far too stubborn to back off now. Arms were folded together as the Englishman furrowed those impressive eyebrows together, settling back in his chair with a scowl and an unmistakable petulance in his manner as he left figuring out a solution to this problem entirely in Yao’s hands. Honestly. This was precisely why he had a valet. As he waited for China to resolve things, Arthur pondered on whether forwarding the suggestion along in a polite note was a breech of piratical conduct.

[Yao Wang]

(( From what I remember of the original thread, we were planning to have this awkward meeting descend into a fight over what tea is better? and then Den and Nor come crashing through? Although I don't know if Den and Nor would still want to...))

Yao found himself wanting to go back to his ship and cuddle with his dolls. In fact, it would've been very easy to just stand up, run as fast as his legs could take him away from the shop, and head back to his ship. All he had to do then, was stay low and out of sight for a couple months and never come back to Londinium ever again. It wasn't as if this place was a major trading ground for him anyways. He had simply thought it would've been nice to expand, and where else but Londinium? There wouldn't be any major consequences, but he'd lose out on a chance to gain a whole mountain of profit.
And with that happy thought in mind, he stiffened his resolve and made up his mind.

He was a proper business man, and he would not run away. That was cowardly, dishonorable, and he wasn't even sure if he could outrun either of the two. Spending weeks aboard an airship, not really doing much could make a man less fit than he was before. Yao always left the hard work to his workers, and he realized that he spent most of his time sitting around as well. So he was stuck here, with this massive problem. Lucky me, he thought.
The englishman's glare was really harsh. In the pit of his stomach, he realized he was losing a good impression, and fast. He couldn't tell one or the other to leave- that would be horrible manners! So what other choice was there?
He cleared his throat, hoping to stall for time to figure out how to fix this mistake. If possible, he'd very much like to keep both contacts and their services, yet at the rate he was going, he'd be lucky to come to an agreement with just one of them.

"ah... How about I pay for both of your drinks as an apology? Apparently, I did not think things through well enough!" he said, trying to ease the tension. Maybe they could all laugh it off.
"W-we can still discuss things as planned, yes?

[Kiku Honda]

((I can't find the discussion thread either, and I've sorta forgotten our initial plan But yes, we were suppose to argue about tea and such, and Nor and Den are supposed to barge in midway and cause a scene, though I'm not sure if they are still keen on it. Should we start new discussion thread for further brainstorming of the thread plot?))

Once the stern-looking Englishman had taken his seat, Kiku followed suit and quietly sat himself down, his expression impassive. The steam from his green tea wafted up towards him, its light and fresh smell soothing his ruffled nerves and initial surprise upon seeing Yao. Now that he had a little time to recollect his thoughts, he realized that perhaps he had been a little too forward with the Briton. When he heard Yao fervently trying to save face and offered to pay for everyone's drinks, it hit him that he had probably been the cause of their mixed-up schedule. He was after all, rather early for his appointment.

Kiku sighed inwardly, chiding himself. Not exactly the best way to conduct business on behalf of his master. And as much as he was reluctant to have to admit his mistake in front of Yao, etiquette demanded that he apologize for his small burst of discourtesy.

Nodding slightly at Yao, he said, "I apologize, China-san. It seems that in my enthusiasm, I arrived a tad bit earlier than expected."

To the Briton seated next to him, he bowed politely and continued, "And to you, sir, I apologize also, for my over-punctuality... and for my initial curtness. This is my first time handling such matters, so please excuse me for my inexperience."

He met both their gazes, a softer expression now in his brown eyes. He was still trying evade that glimmer of recognition in Yao's expression, pretending that he had somehow overlooked it. He wasn't quite sure if he succeeded though.

"Perhaps the esteemed gentleman would like to go ahead with his proposal first?" Kiku offered, head tilted slightly towards the blonde.

[Yao Wang]

((I, er, went ahead and made a new disscussion thread here. ))

[Arthur Kirkland]

Not having expected the other man to bow so formally as he apologized left England stunned initially, as wires were crossed between his pirate façade and the gentleman currently buried beneath. He was far more used to dealing with rougher sorts while in these clothes; everyone was being exceptionally polite about things now that the initial confusion had passed. Coughing awkwardly into his hand, the Englishman shifted further upright in his chair as he tried to shift gears. “Y-yes. Well, naturally these things do happen. I could probably learn to be more flexible with my itinerary to anticipate such situations.”

China’s offering to purchase his tea for him sounded like a fair enough trade for this inconvenient scenario. The generosity made everything more forgivable. And when the other unknown gentleman offered for him to conduct his dealings first, England lost all excuses to maintain his grumpiness. Beyond this point it would be silly to express a sour mood. The pirate reached out to pick up his tea from the table, balancing the delicate saucer in his palm as he tried to streamline his thoughts in the best way to handle illegal dealings while in company of another. “Right. We were going to meet about that shipment, weren’t we?”

The cup was lifted to his lips as he continued to murmur, sipping lightly from that cup of Earl Grey. “I’m still waiting for the new goods to arrive from—“ England cut off with a surprised blink as the taste of the tea caught up with him. A pleased noise sounded in his throat as he took another longer, more savouring drink. “My, my. I don’t mean to change the subject mid-track, chap, but this cup of tea is surprisingly good. It’s rare to find a place that can brew a decent batch of Earl Grey without mucking it up.”

Green eyes lifted to look at both men, and he was satisfied enough with his drink to manage a tiny smile at them. “I would highly recommend that you both try a cup. Strong black tea is great to get the brain working orderly.”

[Let the tea wars begin. Have at thee, scoundrels! BI ]

[Yao Wang]

Amazingly enough, things seemed to be calming down, and China felt all the tension leave his body bit by bit. He realized he had been wringing his hands under the table all the while, and he slowly moved to sit on them. The situation hadn't been that bad, he supposed, and wished he hadn't had panicked. Nothing too bad happened, luckily, but what if he had said the wrong thing in his moment of anxiety? At least now, with everything calmer, he could set his mind to the more important tasks at hand.
For one, he was becoming increasingly certain that the dark-haired man sitting to one side of him was definitely Kiku. Even his formality and polite mannerisms were the same. Who knew that the small boy from his childhood would turn into the stern-faced young man sitting there? Although, in retrospect, it actually wasn't too big of a surprize how he turned out.

As England continued on with business (in which he was immensely grateful that the good pirate had not revealed entirely what the item in question was to Kiku) the sudden pause in his sentence caused Yao to look up. Just in time to see him smile, which threw Yao for a loop. In all their transactions, he couldn't remember a single time where he saw a smile like that on the englishman's face. A business smile, maybe, but this one was definitely different.
It was good to know that even pirates appreciated the qualities of Tea. Although-

"These people are master brewers, I agree." He said, a little bit of pride seeping into his voice. "But strong black tea...?"
He couldn't help himself.

"Good for brain, I suppose- but it's no good for the body! Now a nice Oolang tea is both healthy for mind and body."

[Kiku Honda]

Kiku was in the middle of taking his first sip when he heard the Briton’s comment on his Earl Grey. He was not surprised that the blonde liked tea – they were in a tea shop after all, and most Europeans he knew appreciated tea enough to drink it on a regular basis. What did surprise him was the genuine smile that broke out over the Briton’s face, and how his green eyes lit up almost immediately after he tasted his drink. It was a really stark contrast to his previous stern expression.

But all of us are wearing masks here, he reminded himself, Good food and drinks can make it easy for us to forget that at times, though.

Kiku frowned a little when he heard China’s comment on his own cup of Oolong. How like his “elder brother” to always insist that his taste was usually better. And this somehow prompted him to speak up as well.

“Green tea never fails to soothe and calm one with its delicate flavour, so it’s a perfect balance for the mind, body and soul. Unlike Earl Grey, which hits you too strongly in taste, and Oolong, which is a little too aromatic in scent –”

He stopped abruptly, realizing that perhaps he’d been a little too honest with his words. Again. Yes, good drinks can dangerously unmask a person’s intention indeed. Kiku coughed lightly, allowing himself a small sheepish smile at the two men before continuing, “I would not doubt however, that both teas are beneficial in their own respects.”

He quickly took another sip from his cup, hoping that the action, in some strange way, would somehow deflect the attention from his sudden directness.

[Arthur Kirkland]

England frowned as he listened to the other two men disparage his preferred brand of tea. As he turned their points over in his mind, the Englishman formulated his own response to their statements. “Earl Grey is perfectly good for the body. And it is intended to be strong. Black tea such as this is meant to be tasted. It is strong, just like the British.”

The pirate shifted in his seat, taking another sip from his cup in order to balance out his temper. There was no sense in working up being offended by their insinuations about his beloved drink. Still, his tongue was known to get ahead of his mind with its sharpness, and he added soon after, “Those weak watered down flavours hold no interest for me. If I am going to brew a cup then I intend to taste something in it. Not something sweet, something faint. Earl Grey is firmly anchored in a rich, earthy base.”

Sensing that the conversation was drifting from where they had originally intended for it to go, England cleared his throat gruffly. He had come here to conduct shady business with China concerning their Opium dealings. Now they were talking about tea instead of the subject that was pressing more importantly on his mind. The Englishman glanced around the place to check on the absence of other patrons before returning his focus to the table. “Ah. It would seem that I have sent us off-topic. Better that we all agree on Earl Grey clearly being the superior brew and get on with our business.”

[Sorry for the short reply. I wasn't sure if we are waiting on some word from Den or Nor or not on continuing, but I thought I should at least advance us.]