tampered | Closed: Tea For Two

Eagle was running late anyway. There had been one customer who just couldn't decide what all they wanted and it wasn't like he could just shove them out the front door. That wouldn't have been very nice! Still he does try to make it to the Cafe as soon as he can and is quick to offer an apology once he is directed over to the table Mercy is sitting at.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long? Closing up the shop for the day took a little longer than I was expecting."

Mercy smiled at him. "No problem," she said. "It's a lovely place here and I got them to make some hot chocolate for me."

"Hot chocolate," Eagle chuckles as he takes a seat across the table from her, "We are going to get along very well. That has become one of my favorite drinks here in the City."

She laughed. "I kind of thought you might think less of me for ordering it in a tea house. Have you ever tried the spicy version?"

"There is a spicy version?"

This would be a no.

Mercy laughed again. "Yes. It gives the hot chocolate a bit of heat. It's my go to drink when I'm feeling stressed. Heat up some milk, add in the good stuff - dark chocolate with spices - and put my feet up."

"Ah, for me that is usually tea."

Which he decides to order for himself despite how tempting it sounds to try spicy hot chocolate. He probably will give it a whirl later, but for now a nice violet tea sounds more interesting. Of course a few of those tea cakes get ordered too.

"The city really does have so many interesting kinds of drinks. I haven't actually tried this kind of tea before either, but it sounds interesting."

"Now I kind of feel bad that I didn't order tea," Mercy admitted. "Well, if I finish this, maybe I'll try one."

"Its true. You can always have more than one drink at a tea house."

There are some other places where one should be more careful, but tea was safe enough.

"I don't know if I ever asked, but are you the only one from your world here? I was just wondering... well, there are a few people from my world who really might have thought it terrible to order anything other than tea here. They always made a face when I added sugar to it as well."

Which he does now, adding a few lumps of sugar to the saucer of tea the waitress had just brought to the table.

Mercy generally didn't drink at all, so she didn't have to worry.

"Yes," she said, looking down. "It's just me. There was someone else here when I arrived - one of my best friends - but he's been gone a long time now."

He'd also been seriously involved with that Jack, which made things rather odd.

That certainly would complicate things! But there was no need to dwell on unpleasant things like that, Eagle instead steers the conversation in a little more cheerful direction.

"Have you tried one of the tea cakes yet?" Eagle asked while offering one of the little dessert plates to Mercy. "I think they go with hot chocolate as well as they do with tea."

It wasn't something she was too eager to share with anyone, so...

Mercy took one of the cakes and took a careful bite. "Oh, these are really good," she said with a smile. "I don't think there are even any tea shops where I'm from."

"No? Maybe your world doesn't have them? I doubt Cephiro did, though they were familiar with the concept of tea."

"Oh no, I'm sure there are tea houses in my world. Tea's very important in several countries there," Mercy said quickly. "I just, where I'm from... well, the Tri-Cities area is really more known for coffee shops."

"I'm not really sure where that is. Is that some place on Earth? So many people do seem to be from that world."

Tea sip. Mm! Not bad at all.

She nodded, finishing her bite of tea cake. "Yes. I'm from Earth. Finley, Washington to be precise, though I know that doesn't mean anything to you."

She was quiet for a moment. "I miss it."

I didn't mean anything. Just as she thought it wouldn't. Eagle had heard of a few Earth places, Japan, England... but never Washington. Earth certainly had a lot of place names!

"I'm sure you do. I find myself missing Autozam too. But, I am also glad I was able to come here and meet so many wonderful people, like you and Jack."

She smiled at him. "I've met some wonderful people here, too. It's just hard sometimes to get attached and then have them leave."

Eagle take another sip of tea before setting the cup back into its saucer for a while.

"That can make relationships especially difficult in the City."

She looked up at him with a half-smile. "Not if you just don't have any."

"Then you have the opposite problem! Being lonely. For me I would rather have a temporary but happy relationship than to be entirely alone."

And while he does say 'temporary' he still hopes some how his relationship with Lantis won't be.

"Before I came here, I hadn't had so much as a date in ten years," Mercy admitted. "I'm... not exactly human normal and back home I wasn't able to tell anyone about it. So back in college, well, I guess I realized that being involved with someone where you had to lie to them about a huge part of your life... it wasn't for me."

She took a sip of her hot chocolate. "Here, a lot of people know, so it's not the same, but when I finally let down my guard and got involved... Well, let's just say it ended badly. He treated me terribly and then cheated on me, so... I guess I've been really hesitant about wanting to take a chance."

"I had no idea you were any different than any other human, but I am sorry you weren't able to find anyone you felt could accept that."

Ten years was a very long time. Poor sociable Eagle couldn't even imagine going that long without some one. Of course keeping secrets from people... it was something he did almost without thinking. A flaw he was trying to overcome since being more open about problems does give others a chance to help. But, it was an old habit.

"I can see why you would hesitate to trust some one again with all of those kinds of experiences."

"It's not so much that there wasn't anyone who might have accepted it," she explained. "It was forbidden for me to tell anyone."

Secrets were a way of life for her - hers, others... But for someone she wanted to be intimate with... That she didn't like.

"Why would that be forbidden? Surely if you were in a relationship with some one you would be expected to tell each other everything... eventually."

"I'm a walker," Mercy explained. "I can shift into a coyote. I was raised by werewolves and no one is supposed to know any of us existed. The only person I'd be allowed to tell is the person I married and they'd know at that point that they could never tell or we'd both risk being killed."

"I'm used to hiding all that, but it was hard to get deep into a relationship, knowing there's a huge chance that when you're allowed to tell someone, it might be a relationship ender."

"That kind of magic sounds wonderful. I don't know why your people wouldn't want to share knowledge like that."

There must be more to it, some political reason they needed to hide.

"But, keeping secrets can make any thing difficult regardless of the circumstances. That isn't a problem here though? You mentioned many people here already knew about your magic?"

"People are incredibly prejudiced," Mercy explained "They proved that when the fae came out. If you're different, you're dangerous. Some of the werewolves are out now, but not any in sensitive positions - like teachers or doctors."

She smiled at him. "The Network was playing tricks one day and caught me shifting. I've been out here for over two years. But I'm not nearly as dangerous as other beings here. And my being out can't endanger annyone else back home."

"Really? I usually find people to be very understanding and kind."

Different places, situations and worlds. Eagle knows that but he still has this kind of view of other people.

"The network and its tricks..." He chuckles a little. Some times those accidental videos were terrible. In this case however it actually sounded useful. "But, that is a good thing as well. Since you don't have to worry about hiding your true nature here, maybe that won't stop you from finding some one nice... or maybe you already found him?"

It wasn't so much individual people as the mob mentality that happened when people got scared or felt threatened.

"I haven't had the best of track records," she admitted with a rueful smile. "But..." she shrugged, blushing a little. "I don't know."

[ooc: And here she's either really happy or rather sad/confused, depending on how the next tags go, which Lysoke is struggling with.]

"Every has that one bad experience. That is part of dating, but you shouldn't let you stop you from getting close to some one again."

The blush was a good sign he thought. Not only did ladies look cuter when they were blushing but it sort of proved she did care for Jack even if she was a little confused about the situation.

"I think..." Mercy blushed again. "Jack and I talked yesterday and we're... together. I'd hoped so much, and even now... it still doesn't seem quite real."

"I just hope I don't mess this up somehow."

"Are you? Well, that is wonderful!"

It was a bit of a surprise to hear. Jack had never really struck Eagle as the 'settling down' kind, but who knows. He had never really though of himself as the settling down kind and yet he was trying to do just that. Maybe Jack had had a similar change of heart.

"I really wouldn't worry about messing anything up. Just be yourself and I'm sure everything will work out for the best."

"I told him I didn't expect him to stop flirting and all, just... that we only slept with each other," Mercy said, still rather stunned that it had all worked out the way it had. "And he said he wanted to be with me."

She smiled shyly at Eagle. "I hope you're right. I just want us both to be happy."

"A commitment?" Eagle chuckles, "That really is very impressive. Congratulations! He really must care about you a great deal to make a promise like that."

He does wonder though... so after a beat Eagle does go ahead and ask.

"It really doesn't bother you when he flirts with other people?"

'Commitment' made her feel all funny. Maybe she didn't like trying to put labels on it any more than Jack did. "It's... I guess I don't really think about it like that - like something to be congratulated for."

Still the rest was easy enough to answer. "Jack flirts with everyone, regardless of sex or age or... anything," she said with a fond smile. "It's as much a part of him as breathing. As long as I'm the one he comes home to, I'm okay with it."

"When some one is happy I consider that reason enough to offer congratulations. What you would like to call it, doesn't really matter I suppose."

Eagle himself wasn't one to label things too much either. Even on board his ship he usually called people by their names rather than their titles.

"I had noticed that about Jack." And Eagle can't prevent a slightly embarrassed blush himself as memories of that mistletoe induced kiss returned. "You sound very much like Lantis. 'Its your nature, you wouldn't be you if you didn't'... I still can't help but worry that people like you two might end up getting hurt."

She nodded. "Thanks, then."

And was very quiet for a moment. "I worry about it, too. That I won't be enough for him. That he'll get bored with just me. But... I trust him. Enough to believe that he'll tell me if this isn't working for him. And if we need to end things so he can be free to be with other people, well..."

It would hurt like hell, but she'd survive.

"Kissing and flirting... I've watched him do that, but it never goes any further. If he wants to change that, he can tell me and... And we can end this part of our relationship and still be friends."

Honesty was the biggest part of this all for Mercy.

"You really are very understanding... I truly hope this works out for you both. I have found the City can be a place of new beginnings, so maybe this is a new beginning for you and Jack."

After that conversation she mentioned, well, Eagle hoped they would be able to work out any differences they might have had and it certainly sounded as if they had.

"I grew up with werewolves," Mercy said simply. "You have to learn to take people as they are. I... There's no point in trying to change someone or hoping they'll be different for you."

"When Jack and I talked... my sticking point was knowing I couldn't handle it if he was sleeping around while we were together. And he said that sort of monogamy wasn't a problem for him, so... I just hope... I just want us both to be happy. The last person I was involved with said he loved me and wanted to be with me, but he..."

It was still hard to admit this. "He wasn't happy about being with me. And because of that he looked for reasons it wouldn't work and... it got ugly. I... more than anything I want Jack to be happy. Whatever that means. If he can be happy with me, I'd love that more than anything."

"I think that is very wise. You shouldn't enter a relationship if you feel your partner is in need of improvement. Trying to change them really could put a rift between you."

Though... if they decided to try to change on their own? The parallels to his own situation can't help but be noticed again. He doesn't mention them however.

"But, it might be a little too soon to talk about all this ending? You should see how things work out first."

"I'm trying very hard just to be happy and not worry about anything," Mercy said with a shy smile. "And I am really so very happy."

Eagle chuckles again, quite amused by her shyness and happy that things were going so well for her.

"That really is very cute."

She blushed again. "Cute. Wonderful."

Closed: Tea For Two

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