golden pendant found itself on backwards somewhere during this process, nearly choking me, and I was forced to adjust it.
My coat was somewhat built for handling dampness, though it had only ever stood up to rain before, so I threw it across my bed to dry. I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. The water was probably warm by now. Picking the now wrinkled milkweed blooms out of my pockets, I tucked them in my arms.
Back down the stairs I went, checking again on the visitors in my living room. They had not moved at all, and I rolled my eyes. I would have to rescue Morrense from the silence that was Levent Itzallion.
Having put the white flowers into a bowl, I wrestled three mismatched clay mugs from a cabinet. I haphazardly placed the tealeaves in the pot and filled each cup with steaming water. Never having any sugar, I grabbed a dusty jar of honey and a spoon instead. Placing all of this on a metal tray that I only used for such occasions, I braced myself before returning to the living room.
Morrense smiled as I entered, while Levent looked rather like he had just stepped in something horrible. I passed out the mugs, and the old man eagerly began shoveling honey out of the jar. The dragon-kin simply stared at the tea, which had steeped to a pleasant amber color already. As I took the honey from Morrense and began to sweeten my own drink, I realized that I did not know if dragon-kin were even familiar with tea. By the way he was staring at it, though, I judged that they were probably not.
I pushed the honey toward him, shaking him out of whatever tea-induced horror he had just been in, and he mimicked Morrense and my method of scooping it and stirring it into the tea. I tried desperately not to stare, distracting myself by tearing the petals of the milkweed blossoms apart.
“So,” I said abruptly. The silence was killing me. “This is Morrense,” I gestured at the old man, who seemed a little concerned about my feigned nonchalance. Levent nodded shortly, not really paying attention. “And the trouble-maker here is Levent.” Morrense just gaped.
There were a few more minutes of staring into tea before Morrense decided to speak.
“What brings you to the Volin Isle, lad?” The old man’s somewhat jovial tone made me smile slightly.