Parralel play with some tea

“If Ryan doesn’t mind swapping our daytime plans, we can start with playing board games,” Jesse suggested.

“Sure, as long as I can join in,” Ryan said with a smile.

“Well, I think an entire day of gaming might be too much for me. With sport, I can at least occupy myself semi-separately without having to put in a bunch of energy for social contact.” Chris said with a guilty face.

“Is reading in the community centre fine?” Jessica asked.

“Sure, I can do parallel play things. That ought to be fine.” The master said with a nod.

The group slowly trickled into the community centre. The first were Ryan, the Jessies, and Chris. They spotted their goblin bartender unloading a whole bunch of stuff, and by the time the rest came in, they were preoccupied with their books or conversations.

[What did you do to make Aimé mad?] Ember asked first before the quartet could speak up.

“Not Aimé; a fox has it out for me, and I suspect Aimé-level prep is necessary. I will do my best to make sure you don't get caught in the crossfire.” Samson said with an anticipatory grin.

“First Heather, now this fox. Are you going to make an enemy out of everyone?” Ryan asked.

“Hey, I am an impulsive dude. If you give me a button and then expect me to push it. Hosts know there is always someone who will.” The bartender defended his actions. “That she can't take it is her fault.”

“You are just shifting the blame from yourself to the host.” Ryan's observation wasn't wrong, but arguably so was Samson's opinion. The Jessies and Chris didn’t engage with the conversation; instead, they went looking for the book they wanted to read.

“Hey, I am giving her an option to get me to ask for a refund or to cancel it. She just has to go on a date and try to… how did Elaine phrase it? Go on a date with anyone but the mistress and try to engage with them. She had, in my opinion, two chances; she blew both. One she didn't count, so why would I? Also, her partner did all the heavy lifting; no attempt by her. The other was worse.” The bartender explained.

“How bad?”

“I checked the footage from yesterday, and my wife gave her opinion. Worse than William. The first was moderately better, but in the same ballpark.” The bartender looked at a glass and spotted a smudge as he spoke and started cleaning.

“Wait, how bad did it go?”

“Ask them; it isn't my story to tell. Even if I might want to.” The goblin stayed focused on the glass he was cleaning. “What I can do is get you a drink, recommend something. Any wishes?”

“A large pot of tea, a warmer and four cups? I would also like a recommendation for a book.”

“You know my recommendation for you already. Go read Mona’s Season. You will enjoy the story. Any flavour profile you look for. Do you want a nuttier flavour, herbal, fruity or more of a spiced one? Caffeinated or not?” The goblin moved over to a watercooker, filled it with water and flipped its switch.

“I have no idea what people like; normally Chris makes these decisions. I am a bad friend, aren’t I?” Ryan scratched the back of his head as he spoke. The goblin shook his head and instead grabbed a box filled with tiny containers labelled with names Ryan didn’t recognise. “What are these for?”

“Smell them, pick the one you like the smell of. It might not be a tea any of you like, but you will have made your own choice. The other option is you take the box to the table and ask them to pick. If you can’t agree, there are always these.” The bartender held up a long, deep sieve with a fine mesh flared at the top that would fit perfectly in a teacup to the point of almost matching its walls.

Ryan thought it over and smelled them. The top row smelled heavy, with fruitier notes or more floral notes. It looked as if other leaves were mixed into the tea. The second smelled grassier but had the same types of additions, as well as one with sticks and popped rice? “What is this?” He pointed towards the one with popped rice.

“Gen matcha; the popped rice is added to give a sweeter, nutty note to the lower-quality tea. I can also get a mix with proper leaves, but there is a decent chance the leaves will get buried under the notes of the rice; it feels like a waste. I have some popped rice that I just use as a snack, and these are just leaves.” Samson’s green hand tapped a bin.

“What are the other rows?” Ryan asked, but Samson wasn’t going to answer the generic question and tapped the side of his nose. The row below was a wider mix of smells and scents, some extremely smoky, some more woody or earthy; he didn’t know how to place them. The last one seemed to be made up of a bunch of herbal mixes, which he enjoyed. The co-owner ended up picking one of these and saying that for the next one, Chris or one of the Jessies could pick.

Jesse had a small book in their hands, Jessica a larger but not huge one and Chris about the same. “So what are you reading?” Ryan decided to ask.

“The season Syl talked about this morning. That season is short enough that I can finish it in one sitting, I think. Thus far, it has a lot of chapter-size variation and a genderfluid mastress, as they choose to say. Their host is a lot of the trickster gods, supposedly. So gods can be hosts?”

[Have I not said that before? Ishtar literally had her own season before this one started.] Ember protested.

“I know you said that Ishtar had her own season, but did I say that out loud to the rest? I have no clue. I get your point; it isn’t that unusual for a host to be a god. Jessica and I are reading the one that both Samson and Ember always recommend, ‘Woo the Girl, Save the World’. Any idea what you want to read?” Chris filled his buddy in.

“I guess I will grab that as well. Any reason you guys picked that season?” The third wheel on the date asked.

“Honestly, I am curious about how another harem behaves, and this one came with decent recommendations. The other options were either Haunted Castle or Lilly’s Garden. Very horny, friendly seasons with supportive hosts, apparently.” Jessica said with a shrug.

“I’m getting spoilers for this season left and right. I will know it by the end of our season whether I want to or not. I’d rather not have my only knowledge of it through another person's perception of it. Not that it won’t be colored by it, but it will give greater nuance.” Chris explained, looking at Ember.

Ryan’s eyes followed his line of sight, finding nothing. “Is Ember also reading something?” He decided to show interest in the invisible elemental.

[No reading and operating at the same time. I might get wrong angles or, even worse, cover angles I’d normally capture with the book. I will catch up when work is over. No problem, just no spoilers. Not that any of you are likely to get there for Mona’s season.] The ball of fire drifted around, looking for an interesting angle. How does one make this look good? She thought to herself.

Samson came over with a serving tray filled with four teacups, a plate of lemon slices, half lemons, a sugar bowl, a jar of honey with tiny specs in it, and a large teapot that smelled of a wonderfully floral mixture. “This is a herbal mix with a focus on elderflower, nettle, and a hint of mint. It can be fairly grassy, so some people prefer it with some more citrus; others add a bit of sweetener. This is pressed, unfiltered honey,” he said, tapping the lid of the jar. “Which does have its own fun notes if you want. As with all non-typical honeys, it might not suit your palate.”

“No stevia or other zero-calorie sweeteners? Not that I care, but…” Chris said before being cut off by Samson.

“None of you gives a shit about calories. For the girls who do, I have a stevia plant growing and a small dropper with extract. Don’t worry, that is my job. You ought to enjoy your time with your harem.” The goblin scolded Chris.

Chris took a few sips, aerated it in his mouth as you might do with a wine and decided he wanted some honey in it. He didn’t add a huge dollop, but the tiniest hint; if Ryan hadn’t seen the honey move, he would have thought Chris had gotten second thoughts about it. The man looked surprisingly pleased with what he had done. “Why add so little honey?” Ryan asked.

“This honey is strong in flavour; this much is enough. More, and the blend would have disappeared in the honey. It is a good pick, though I probably would like this better in the evening. Around this time, I prefer an actual tea as opposed to a herbal blend. Then again, this is a nice surprise; I probably wouldn’t have picked it even at night. Good to know it exists.” Chris looked, spoke and behaved like he had found a new favourite drink or food. Something he would return to with such frequency that if you gave him a jar of the stuff, he would go through it in a week. Ryan had seen this time and again, and those jars were always precious, but Chris knew to enjoy things while you can. ‘Tomorrow it might be gone.’ It was a phrase Chris repeated time and again. Why the co-owner didn’t know, didn’t ask. It was secondary to the mentality behind it. Live in the here and now, enjoy what you do.

None of them spoke much after that, lost in their own books moving at their own pace. Sometimes asking where the rest were to compare opinions. And yes, Craig was a jerk, exactly what Chris feared he might become with Missy. Jesse had laughed at that. Jessica and Ryan said, “The fact that you are thinking about it, you aren’t. The moment you stop considering it, you are becoming Craig.” They didn’t get far in the first week, but far enough to have a vibe. A vibe all of them liked.