The young man sat huddled in the very center of the tea shop, as far from the windows - and the water - as he could get. Though he had dried off and gotten himself more or less put back to rights outwardly the courier was subdued by his recent brush with a watery grave.
His second, now, and once more only saved through the intervention of another person who had been in the right place at the right time.
Hands curved around the tiny tea cup to warm them, he sighed and inhaled the sweet, spicy scent of the Fae brew, determined to appreciate being alive and in the moment when he so easily might not have been here anymore. Behind his chair the glacier-toned dragon who accompanied him - nearly as tall at the shoulders as some of the Fae waiters - crooned soft reassurance and encouragement.
Dark haired, brown of skin, and with pale eyes, Tal smiled ruefully and took a sip before he murmured: "Yeah, girl, I know. Love you, too, you big scaly hound dog." Her long, serpentine tail thumped once against the wood of the floor and then she perked up as the dragonfly-winged waiter approached with a faintly apologetic air.
"Pardon, patron. All of the other tables are full at the moment. Would you mind sharing yours with another?"
Tal hesitated a moment, unsure that he wanted company, but then shrugged and gave a small nod. "Sure, why not, I guess." It still felt weird to be allowed into the Fae village, and he wasn't about to piss any of them off by being a rude customer.
"Thank you, patron!" the waiter chirped, spinning on his toe and darting back to guide the newest customer over.
Sohalia
His second, now, and once more only saved through the intervention of another person who had been in the right place at the right time.
Hands curved around the tiny tea cup to warm them, he sighed and inhaled the sweet, spicy scent of the Fae brew, determined to appreciate being alive and in the moment when he so easily might not have been here anymore. Behind his chair the glacier-toned dragon who accompanied him - nearly as tall at the shoulders as some of the Fae waiters - crooned soft reassurance and encouragement.
Dark haired, brown of skin, and with pale eyes, Tal smiled ruefully and took a sip before he murmured: "Yeah, girl, I know. Love you, too, you big scaly hound dog." Her long, serpentine tail thumped once against the wood of the floor and then she perked up as the dragonfly-winged waiter approached with a faintly apologetic air.
"Pardon, patron. All of the other tables are full at the moment. Would you mind sharing yours with another?"
Tal hesitated a moment, unsure that he wanted company, but then shrugged and gave a small nod. "Sure, why not, I guess." It still felt weird to be allowed into the Fae village, and he wasn't about to piss any of them off by being a rude customer.
"Thank you, patron!" the waiter chirped, spinning on his toe and darting back to guide the newest customer over.
