169 » close your eyes, clear your heart

[rainjade]

[It's a beautiful day in Liyue Harbor. The last several days have been overshadowed by sheets of rain; nothing so overbearing or dramatic as a thunderstorm, just steady, relentless, soaking rain. So this morning, Baizhu opened the doors and shutters of Bubu Pharmacy with a smile, letting in the soft breeze and the sunlight.

It also promises to be a warm day, so he sends Qiqi and Changsheng together into the city, to handle a list of errands. As long as the morning stays cool, Qiqi should be fine. He can't very well go himself - a line is already forming. Patients who haven't been able to make the trip in the rain, perhaps.

He's thinking about stopping for a bite to eat, and some herbal tea, when a shadow falls across his doorstep. Baizhu hums, turning carefully in his chair, pushing his spectacles a bit higher on his nose.]

Ah! Aether, what a pleasant surprise.

[While he wasn't expecting a visit from the traveler today, he would have to be in dire straits indeed to greet Aether with anything but a warm welcome.]

I sincerely hope you are here cordially, and not because you've been feeling under the weather.

Comments

[rainjade]

[Baizhu smiles, covering his deep amusement with one polite hand. He rises easily, traces a fingertip along a row and then a column of little drawers.

Aether opened this one once. Baizhu does so again, removing two little sachets of dried tea leaves.]

Though I lack the experience in advanced chess strategies of some of my acquaintances, even I feel that a checkmate reached too soon simply ruins all the fun of a game.

[He's still smiling, eyes almost closed with the satisfaction of a fine opening move, when he nods across the room to where the kettle makes its home. The tea, he'll set into Aether's open palm as soon as it is offered. The brewing and steeping were the traveler's claim.]

Do you take anything in your tea?

[ironwind]

In Fontaine, when black tea is served, I like to take some sugar and milk. But I find that Liyue-style teas are best without any extra additions.

[ Feeling somewhat chastened and conquered by Baizhu's positively dizzying collection of herbs, though not overly so, Aether turns back to the teapot and cups, busying himself with the brewing and steeping. ]

Any secret additions to your own tea, doctor?

[ It wouldn't surprise the traveler to learn that Baizhu has some esoteric seven-step routine for some kind of medicinal tea he has to take every four hours, or something equally complex... No, it can't be that bad. Surely it's fine for him to have a normal cup of tea every once in a while, too? ]

[rainjade]

Not today, I think. As you say, an excellent Liyue tea blend is best savored without any complications.

[Because Aether has come on a good day, even if it's tripping on the heels of several bad ones. And it's a pleasant surprise. Changsheng and Qiqi, and sometimes even Gui, will join him for tea in quiet moments, and he enjoys their company of course, but it just isn't the same as exciting visitors from afar.]

So, while we wait for our simple tea to reach perfection - do you have any particularly interesting stories from the road to share?

[ironwind]

[ Interesting stories? Aether has plenty — of course he has plenty. The thing with interesting as a prompt, though, is that one must come up with something that is interesting specifically to the person asking for the story. So the question then becomes: what does Baizhu find interesting?

Aether thinks he has the answer. As their tea steeps, he hums and considers it for a moment, then looks back at Baizhu with a dancing mirth in his eyes. ]

In Fontaine, I ran into a young clerk with an interesting sickness. Every third day of every month, he would come down with a debilitating stomachache and be unable to perform his duties at the Palais Mermonia for at least a week. His Melusine coworkers asked me to look into this for them, as they'd never run into a human with such regular bouts of illness before.

[ Aether's lips curl into a smirk he can't quite seem to suppress as he recalls the incident. ]

What do you suppose this man suffered from?

[rainjade]

Every third day of every month, hm?

[The expression Aether wears, the pitch of his words as he speaks each one - the man's giving him a riddle of sorts, isn't he? A little diagnostic puzzle to turn over in his mind while the tea steeps.

How delightful.

Baizhu gently adjusts his spectacles so that he's looking at Aether over the top edge of glass.]

I imagine he suffered from whatever happens to him on each second day of the month - or perhaps the first, depending on the specifics. A stomachache is a fairly common symptom for many conditions, after all. It's the week of debilitation that stands out.

[How does a man get any work done with a condition that separates him from it for one week of every month, he wonders?]

A little too much self-indulgence after receiving his pay, perhaps? Or the horrible anticipation of an unavoidable visit from family he would rather forget?