Thyme

Dearest Luli -

Many years have separated us, though it seems suddenly the distance between us is not so great. Word has spread of your tavern; a new endeavor, or one long established? I can only wonder. You were always so driven - it is no difficult endeavor to imagine you as a tavernkeeper.

Time has been kind to me; some may not agree, but I am grateful and proud of the future I have wrought from my fate. I run a humble teashop of my own alongside a beloved apprentice who has become a master in his own right. To see dragons enjoying my own pride and joy is a feeling like none other - certainly you understand.

If you wish to meet again, to continue where we left off - follow the sea breeze toward the Windswept Plateau. Ask any dragon in the clan to lead you to the Twilit Teashop.

I will be waiting.

Thyme

The Twilit Teashop is in need of another assistant for the busy summer season! Duties include harvesting and drying herbs, brewing tea according to instructions, and providing exemplary customer service. Dishwashing experience required. Room and board are provided, and employees may drink as much tea as they like.

In a bid to (hopefully, finally) break out of his shell, Esau took a chance in applying to an internship in his great-great-something-grandmother's home clan. He was startled when a missive arrived asking him to report to the Twilit Teashop at dusk - thousands of anxious second thoughts flooded his mind, and it took nearly 'til sundown for Esau to calm his nerves enough to leave his room. Fortunately, Sunbeam Grotto is only a short flight away from the Zephyr Steppes...

Regrettably, Esau arrives to the teashop almost an hour late. Between the flight over, working up the nerve to ask for directions, unscrambling the directions, and making his way to the teashop, a "short flight" turned into getting lost in the labyrinthian caverns long enough that Esau doesn't doubt Thyme forgot all about the new apprentice that was meant to arrive today.

Esau pauses at the entrance to the teashop - a cave mouth draped with a beaded curtain - for a minute to steel his nerves. A minute turns into a few, and he's almost knocked over by a group of patrons making their way out. As the last tail disappears around the far end of the cave tunnel, Esau takes a deep breath (mmm, smells like mint,) and steps inside. The cavern opens into a wide, sprawling room with low ceilings. At the far side of the room, a bar is nearly full of patrons, with a single seat empty on the end. Around the room, neat wood booths contrast kitschy cushions strewn across the cold floor.

In fact, a serious-looking Imperial is cleaning up the vacated booth now. Esau stands up a little straighter and strides forward with a smile he hopes appears confident.

"Hi, I'm Esau, I'm the new intern starting today! You must be Thyme!" he says over the Imperial's shoulder.

After a beat of silence, which stretches into a few beats more, the Imperial finally replies.

"Are you talking to me?" he asks, turning around to peer down at Esau through his glasses. Esau nods, then immediately regrets it - what if that question was supposed to be rhetorical? Well, he wouldn't have waited for an answer if it was, right? Why do people even ask rhetorical questions, isn't that what we really should be asking?

"Thyme is working the bar," the other Imperial says, effectively derailing Esau's train of thought. He returns to wiping down the table; one, two, three sweeps of the cloth before he pauses and turns back to Esau. "Oh - and I'm Aen, Thyme's other apprentice."

Esau feels his face heat up as he tries to calm his racing anxious heart. Just a case of mistaken identity, just an awkward moment, yet it's all he can do to suppress the urge to run out of the teashop and fly straight home. Aen seems unaffected, as he's already carrying the stack of used teacups away towards the back of the room. Esau trails behind, his goal ahead the empty bar stool on the far end, where he will hopefully be able to sit without falling off and meet his new mentor without more thoroughly embarrassing himself.

Seconds after Esau eases his way into the last bar stool, the fluffy wings of the Tundra seated beside him brush up against his side in a way that make his already fried nerves bristle just a bit more. Shaking his head, he tries to pull his focus to the task at hand; introducing himself to his mentor - presumably, the apron-clad Wildclaw handling the bar alone. He - Thyme - is busy serving customers at the other end of the counter in a flourish of shimmering wings and swirling steam. Before catching sight of Thyme, Esau had imagined - from the wording in the ad, and the stifling atmosphere of the full house present in the teashop - that the workload would be overwhelming, but the Wildclaw moves so gracefully that Esau struggles to believe his help would make any difference at all. His mind begins to wander and his eyes glaze over, and he doesn't even notice Thyme standing right over him, asking him...something.

"I-I'm sorry, what was that?" Esau stammers.

Thyme's bright green eyes don't blink as he tilts his head and smiles. "May I get you something to drink?"

"Actually, I'm...here to respond to your ad," Esau says quickly, his courage draining with each word. "I'm sorry I'm late, but..."

"Splendid!" Thyme crows, his wings fluttering where they're tucked closely to his side. He reaches under the counter, then throws the item in his grasp - a soggy dish towel - over the bar and into Esau's lap. "You can replace Aen washing dishes. Send him to me! And then, twenty - no, twenty-five teacups! Sparkling clean, as quick as you can!" Without another word, he produces another damp towel and wipes the section of the counter in front of Esau's seat before stepping to help another customer, effectively ending the conversation. Esau slides off his seat, easily spotting Aen leaning over what he assumes to be the dishbasin, and spends the rest of his night scrubbing teacups, running them to the bar in batches of twenty-five.


After that nervewracking first day, Esau found himself settling into a sort of routine, at least by the end of the week. He'd wake up in the late morning, after all the other occupants of the travelers' quarters had departed for the day, and enjoy an indulgent breakfast of whatever fresh produce had been delivered that day. By afternoon, he'd head into the caves towards the teashop - and was able to find his way there in a reasonable amount of time more often than not. Then, for the first few hours of Esau's shift each day, Thyme seemed to find it more important to drill him on recognizing all the different varieties of dried herbs than doing any, well, real work.

Even after hours spent hunched over, organizing tiny dried leaves until his neck ached and fingers stained, Thyme still didn't allow Esau to brew any tea! When the customers started to filter in, Aen and Thyme would work behind the bar, brewing and serving tea, while Esau was relegated only to bus tables and scrub out empty cups. Sure, he was allowed plenty of breaks, and plenty of cups of tea free-of-charge, but Esau couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. The ad had mentioned dishwashing, but it had also mentioned an opportunity to craft and serve tea, which had yet to happen!

In the many hours he'd spend feeling on the outside of something; with Thyme and Aen cavorting with customers and Esau stuck elbow-deep in the dishbasin, he wondered whether he was being shut out for a reason. Did Thyme not think he had any potential as a tea maker? Or worse, did Aen tell Thyme about Esau's mistake on the first day, and that was enough to bar him from brewing tea for life? Esau scrubbed and scrubbed teacup after teacup, and hoped no customers or coworkers noticed if some tears dropped into the basin.

"And...one thousand!" Thyme cries from over Esau's shoulder, startling him enough to drop the teacup he'd just finished rinsing back into the soapy basin. He fishes it out and starts rinsing it again, but Thyme reaches over and takes it right out of his hand, holding it high in the now-empty teashop. When did it get so late, anyway?

"That's your thousandth cup washed. Unless you've been sneaking extra dishwashing time behind my back, which I highly doubt!" the Wildclaw crows proudly. Noticing the look of befuddlement on Esau's face, he continues.

"The first few, you're just a novice. In the hundreds, that's when you graduate from amateur to practicing professional. And after the thousandth whatever-it-is, you become an expert. So! I would be a fool to expect a dishwashing amateur to know how to behave in a kitchen full of dishes, or a pot full of water. And I would be a fool to expect an herb novice to recognize the intricate flavor, smell, texture of the herbs I use in tea. But! You have proven through hours of diligence - you are no longer a novice!"

Without hesitating or allowing Esau a word, Thyme pulls him across the room to the bar, and Esau takes a seat in the same stool he'd sat on on his first day. Aen, sweeping up as he always does after closing time, shoots Esau a knowing smile before returning to his work. Across the bar, Thyme is frantically grabbing jars of unlabeled herbs and lining them up in front of Esau. Finally, he places a steaming teapot and a teacup - not the soapy one, a clean one from the bar - in front of himself.

"So!" Thyme smiles widely, his sharp gleaming teeth a reminder of his carnivorous diet. "Make me something to drink."

Esau's eyes flick between his mentor and the jars in front of him. "M-me? Make you...tea?"

Thyme casts a look around the room. "We are in a teashop! And you work here! You can make me tea, can you not?"

Taking a deep breath, Esau surveys the herbs Thyme has placed on the counter. There are only a few jars present, each holding only a single herb - this must be a test. If Thyme wanted him to brew just anything, he'd have opened up the pantry and brought out everything from anise to zedoary. Tentatively, Esau reaches out with a single claw to tap the jar of dried chamomile flowers, and Thyme's eyes light up. So that's how this game is to be played...

With ideas sparking in the back of his mind, Esau looks over the herbs once again. Dried lemon slices and dried orange slices. Lavender, cinnamon, chamomile, and...marjoram. Some are potent, some incredibly subtle. Some go together, and some are never meant to be mixed. But at this time of night, there's only one blend Thyme could be looking for...

As soon as the answer clicks into place in his mind, Esau quickly adds a heap of chamomile, a dash of lavender, and two lemon slices to the set-in infuser of the teapot. Thyme busies himself behind the counter for the minutes it takes to steep, but his tail is lashing in what Esau assumes is excitement. Once the steam rising from the kettle takes on a crisp lemony smell, Esau musters up his courage and announces to the room, "It's ready."

Thyme whips around, two more teacups clenched in his claws, which he sets on the bar before quickly shuffling the jars of herbs back into place. Without needing to be told, Aen saunters over to the bar and sits next to Esau, leaning in to smell the wafting steam. He gives Esau a curt nod before pushing his teacup closer to the kettle. With his mentor and fellow apprentice watching him expectantly, Esau stirs into action and pours out one, two, three cups of chamomile lemon-lavender tea, meant to calm the drinker for a good night's rest.

The three dragons all take the first sip at once - Thyme takes a long swig with his eyes closed, while Aen takes a few short sips with a serene look on his face. Esau holds the cup to his mouth, breathing in the aroma, but finds he's shaking far too much to lift the cup enough to get a proper mouthful. A small amount passes his lips, and the soothing yet tangy flavor tastes even better than it smells. Esau realizes Aen and Thyme have already set down their cups, and follows suit, anxiously anticipating their judgement.

Thyme's eyes are trained on Esau, sparkling in a way that makes him uneasy as his mentor remains silent. Aen clears his throat, apparently speaking for the both of them when he says, "Excellent."

"Excellent!" Thyme echoes, his wings springing out to their full span. "Truly a stupendous first blend. Why, I'll have a far easier time with you than I did with this one!" Esau's head swivels to look at Aen, expecting a retort, but the Imperial is merely sipping his tea, seemingly unaffected. His gaze turns back to Thyme, who is still watching him quite closely, as if waiting for him to speak.

"So..." Esau says. "What's next?"

"More tea, of course! Many, many more kettles and cups, but those you will have help in washing. But before that...we three must retire for the night, in preparation for all that lies ahead!"


In the following months, Esau's routine stayed much the same as the first week, but with some key differences. He'd rise in the travelers' quarters, at the usual hour, and enjoy a fresh breakfast. His commute time varied, but not due to a poor sense of direction - many of his regulars were the chatty sort, after all, and not just when they were seated at the bar! He found he didn't mind entertaining their small talk quite so much as he might have before starting his apprenticeship, even. And when it came time to start his shift, Esau didn't mind at all if there was already a stack of dirty dishes waiting - the night would be long, and there would be plenty of opportunities to brew all sorts of teas...

The Twilit Teashop's patronage ebbed and flowed during Esau's apprenticeship, as would the customer base of any such establishment. Still, it was hard to notice on a daily scale; most shifts were spent with the three dragons all working around each other at the cramped bar, with few seats open for customers arriving. Yet as the season changed, so too did the number of dragons visiting the teashop each night, and Esau found himself with more and more down time to practice his own blends of tea (and ask Aen to test them, as he was a far more...clear and concise judge than Thyme). Soon enough, Esau realized he was no longer acting as an apprentice, at least not in the capacity he had every day since his arrival in Sunbeam Grotto.

It took longer to tidy up his den in the travelers' quarters than he'd expected, and it was already nearly sunset by the time Esau entered the grotto, a full satchel swinging at his hip with each step. Fortunately, when he parted the beaded curtain at the teashop's entrance, only two booths were occupied, with Thyme attending to one and Aen wiping down the bar on the far end of the room. Esau surged forward to greet his friends and say a farewell - for now, at least, since his home wasn't far at all!

As Thyme walked over, Aen reached out to pull Esau in for a half-hug, which was quite a significant gesture coming from the normally reserved Imperial. It fit, though, as he and Esau had grown quite close during the latter's apprenticeship, especially after mutually discovering they were distant cousins!

"Here," Aen said, passing Esau a small wooden box. Esau looked up to meet Aen's eyes and share a smile, before opening it to see a pair of blue-and-white teacups nested inside, clearly handpainted by the gifter himself.

"I'm sure you have some at home -" Aen started, but Esau interrupted him - "They're perfect! And I'll think of you both every time I have to wash them." The three dragons erupted into laughter, Thyme's cackle echoing off the hard cave walls - before a dirty look from one of the occupied booths struck them back to a whisper.

"And, before you go!" Thyme whispered gleefully, "Some tea to take home!" He pulled out a satchel from behind the bar - it looked quite like the one Esau was carrying, but much larger, and judging by the stifled clinks it made when it hit the counter, was stuffed to the brim with heavy glass jars. Oh, well - at least home wasn't too far away...!