Fare thee well / Trade in all our words for tea and sympathy

[gotbottle]

Who: Rachel Conway and THE ENTIRE CITY, if they so choose :|
What: Hanging out at the tea house for tea, conversation, and CR.
Where: The Shrove's Wing.
When: Today, from midday until well into the evening.
Notes: Note the time of day or where your character is sitting if it makes a difference to your thread.
Warnings:Potential for people Rachel knows to get mashed together like Barbies IT'S FUN SHE ENJOYS IT OKAY.

Working the middle shift is a mixed bag. On the one hand, Rachel's day is pretty much shot for anything else; not long enough before her shift for much in the way of adventures, and while her later evening is free it's not like she has a circle of friends or dates or anyone to go out on the town with after.

But the trade-off in being there for this shift is seeing the customer base turn over, from the people doing lunch to the leisurely afternoon lollygaggers, from those arriving for midafternoon tea to the evening dates. A wide range of people, alone or with company, comes and goes over the course of her shift, and she's happy to wait on or hang out with them all.

She can be found manning the tea bar, or sometimes carrying pots, cups, and food to and from tables. Sometimes she even gets to crash at a table or in a booth for a few, or she gets to go upstairs to wait on someone in one of the private rooms. It's a busy day and there are a lot of people to see.

Comments

[Evening]

[toooldforlosing]

Raylan has probably drunk more tea in his association with Rachel than in his entire life prior to this point.

But he wants to say hello, and wants to touch base. If nothing else, he wants them both to see each other frequently enough that they'd notice if the other disappeared.

He doesn't disturb her shift, though. Instead, he gets himself something to eat and settles himself in a corner, raising a hand in greeting the next time she looks his way.

[gotbottle]

She sees him, sees the raised hand and she waves back with a warm smile. And she points at his table, mouthing stay there; it's close enough to the end of her shift that if he doesn't mind lingering a little over his food she can come join him.

She finishes up her work, cleans up, takes care of splitting the tips with those who are working until closing. And then she makes her way to his table, a cup of tea and a sandwich in hand. "Hi," she says, smiling at him as she settles in. "It's good to see you."

[toooldforlosing]

"You too," he says, smiling as well. He leans back in his chair. "Looks like business has been good."

He's done with his food, but he's in no rush to go.

[gotbottle]

"Yeah. The place is doing all right for itself. It's nice. And it keeps me in tips, so that's good, too."

She has a bite of her sandwich and a sip of her tea as she glances around, making sure no one's hanging out within eavesdropping distance. "So I talked with a few really nice guys lately," she says, all casual, like she's just filling him in on gossip and not covering their unwritten to-do list. "One was a doctor and the other two were lawyers. Awesome, huh?"

[toooldforlosing]

"We should make you a bingo card. Types of guys you need to find." It's dry, but not unkind. "Any of these awesome guys have names?"

[gotbottle]

She laughs, not at all offended. "That sounds like a fun game. And yeah, they do. The doctor is Leonard McCoy--seems like he's military, too. I got that impression. And he's a Southern gentleman so you two ought to get along well."

She pauses to sip from her cup. "The attorneys are Solomon Koenig, who works for Hellsing, and Alan Shore, who was in my party for the Quest of the Gods a while back. They both seem like they have good heads on their soldiers. And, hey, they were willing to oil-wrestle for the chance to advise us, so they can't be all bad."

That last sentence is delivered with such a feigned expression of innocence.

[toooldforlosing]

Before he can protest he isn't military OR a gentleman, she finished and he half chokes on a laugh. "...oil-wrestling."

[gotbottle]

"Oil wrestling," she repeats, oh so seriously.

...Okay, so her mouth twitches slightly. But apart from that little tell, she's doing a pretty good impersonation of "seriously".

"They wanted to fight it out. Their idea was mud-wrestling but that's just kinda gross. I suggested the olive oil. But I decided, for the sake of expediency, to just avail myself of both their offers to help, instead of holding things up waiting for them to wrestle each other. I figured the willingness to wrestle for it was a good sign of commitment to the job."

[toooldforlosing]

He can't help laughing. "I'm sure they were very grateful for your generosity." Either with the oil or the not making them actually do it.

[gotbottle]

"They seemed so," Rachel's laughing now, too, unable to keep up the serious act. "Anyway, they both seem to have their act together, and so does this Dr. McCoy, so that makes me feel a little better, having people to trust if we need their services."

Another sip of her tea, and she grins. "Also--there's a political party here whose platform is more or less 'make sure the people who get dragged here are cared for and treated fairly'. I met their campaign manager and I signed on to volunteer."

[toooldforlosing]

"What party is that?" Raylan's always inclined to be suspicious, but he also just wants to know. He might be protective of Rachel, or he might think they could be useful; likely it's a bit of both.

[gotbottle]

Thank God one of them is; if anything is Rachel's downfall, it's her tendency to accept everyone at face value, often finding suspicion far too late.

"The Peoples' Independence Front," she offers. "The guy's name is Jack Benjamin."

[midday] this is long overdue

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

Brie poked her head into the tea shop. She was just getting used to being out in the sun, having her own place, and getting a new job. But now that her basic necessities were taken care of, she could finally make her way to see Rachel, in person this time.

[gotbottle]

Rachel is working at the counter for this part of her shift, moving back and forth between people seated there, serving them, making conversation, cleaning up when they leave. The place isn't terribly busy yet; there are a few seats open at the counter.

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

Looking around for Rachel, Brie spotted someone that could be her, and shyly moved herself to an open seat at the counter.

"Are you Rachel?"

[gotbottle]

Rachel looked up as she put away her cleaning rag, nodding, a warm smile curving her lips. "That's me," she confirmed.

The woman's voice sounded familiar, though she couldn't place the face. "Forgive me--we must have talked on the network but I can't remember if I introduced myself properly. I feel like I know you from somewhere, though."

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

"I'm Brie. We spoke on the network -- you said I could come by and visit you at the tea house?"

She smiled, a bit embarrassed. "It's taken me awhile though."

[gotbottle]

Rachel nods, her face lighting up, and she offers a hand. "That's right--I thought I knew your voice from someplace. Hi! Sit down, sit down, please. It's great to meet you in person."

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

Brie slides herself up onto a stool at the counter.

"It's great to meet you too. You were one of the first people I ever talked here, so it's great to finally put a face to your voice."

[gotbottle]

"Likewise! I'm glad you could make it out here." Rachel hands over a menu. "Are you still living at the inn?"

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

Gladly taking the menu - she's become more and more obsessed with food recently - Brie shook her head.

"I've moved in with Jones, actually. And I'm in desperate need for getting new furniture."

[gotbottle]

Jones. Rachel thinks a moment; the name seems familiar. The cohort is getting so big anymore that it's getting harder to keep track of who she has and hasn't spoken to in passing.

"Hey, have you tried the big marketplace in Aspic? They have, like, everything there. A friend of mine got a couch there a month or two ago, so there's totally some furniture vendors."

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

"I haven't yet, but I will certainly take a look! You may have just led me to my new sofa."

Brie looked down at her menu. "What would you recommend?"

[alan_shore]

Though it's more than caprice that spurs his visit, Alan does a very good imitation of a lollygagger (it's entirely possible that, in his day, he gagged more than a few lollies), finding a perch at the counter and perusing the teas on offer as if he has all the time in the world and wants only to while it away in the company of a cup of something warm and subtly flavored. His interest isn't completely feigned--the very notion of a tea house, with all the coziness that implies, is pleasantly perplexing--but when the opportunity arises, he'll be sure and catch Rachel's eye.

[gotbottle]

It's Rachel's job to see who comes and goes from the counter while she's stationed there; it won't do, either in terms of her tip-earning potential or her work ethic, to fail to see someone's waiting. So she notices Alan take a seat and pick up one of the menus, but she doesn't hurry to him. She's wanted to talk to him, too, but she's always wary of watchful eyes and eavesdropping ears. Dropping everything to talk to him would be suspicious.

She gets to him in turn, with a warm smile. "It's good to see you, Alan." She may be pretending this is entirely a chance meeting, but she can't go so far as to pretend her friends are strangers. "Have you decided yet or do you need a few more minutes?"