After fixing himself for the day, Ren exited his room. At the moment he was staying in the local Rune Knight barracks. Thankfully the magic council seemed to have many accommodations for their travelling knights which Ren was very thankful of. He ran his hand through his dark blue hair as he walked down the corridor to the kitchen.

It was one of those days where Ren had nothing to do. No mission was requested of him, no other knights to formally meet and no responsibilities for the day. Usually this would bother the young mage, however the longer he spent in Fiore the more he began to know what to do with himself on days like today. His first instinct if he were at home in Joya would be to train, to prepare for another evening of grueling work. In Fiore however he much rather proffered taking nature walks and reminding himself of his home country. In fact that was what brought him to the kitchen in the first place this fine morning.

Usually Ren would leave the barracks and make his way to the river and listen contently to it's rapids. Today was slightly more special however. As Ren entered the kitchen he was glad to see a fire had already been kindled on the stove. This would cut out a lot of work for the Joyan. Turning on the tap he would fill up the kettle before leaving it on the stove. While it slowly began to boil, Ren would go around the kitchen and get a few items. Primarily a thermo flask and some condiments. His preparations would be completed rather quickly and once he was ready he took his make shift bag full of supplies and head out of the barracks.

Opening the door to the rest of the world the sun streamed in, hitting Ren in the face. He lifted his hand to cover his eyes. Well his left eye in particular. The blue pigment in that eye had faded considerably after an accident and at times it was somewhat sensitive to light. Thankfully to never lasted too long as to blind the poor boy but it was an annoyance from time to time. Once his eyes adjusted Ren made his way to the river, a small smile on his face.

A gentle breeze blew through Orchidia. It was a little cool in temperature however Ren enjoyed this. it would make his tea that much more comforting. Turning the corner to the small area that had a few wooden stools and tables Ren noticed someone else sitting down enjoying a hot beverage, as indicated by the rising steam. The knight stopped for a moment and looked at him, his megenta eyes seemingly catch Ren's blue ones. Felling somewhat obligated now Ren approached him. "Hello there. Mind if I take this seat?" He would ask, putting a hand on a stool.

Ren did not mind the young man staring into his off coloured eye. He had been used to it, even some of his siblings would gawk at it when they saw it but that could have been for other reasons. Still, Ren realized quickly that his scar caught most people's attention and would captivate it for a while. Ren blinked a few times as he waited for the other person to respond. Just before he was granted permission, Ren felt an urge to tell the young man not to stare. However he said "Don't worry, I don't bite." A small grin formed on Ren's face as he recalled the holy knight Adelaide say the same thing to him when they first met. After she did say it, Ren felt a little more comfortable. Maybe that was why he blurted it out, so this blonde haired man would feel a little more comfortable too. Regardless Ren took his seat once granted permission.

First he set down his make shift bag and untied the knot that bound it together. As the sides came down, inside was a rather elaborate tea making set. It was rather old looking and nothing like the tea leaves kept in bags like they were now a days. It was very old timey in appearance. It seemed to be made out of a brass coloured metal which was slightly stained with rust. The filter was rather standard, but the tea leaves Ren put in them were in their own special container. As he stood up to get the flask of hot water, Ren was asked a question by the magenta eyed man beside him. "No actually, this is my first time. First time in a while I had enough free time to even take a walk let alone enjoy a cup of tea." Ren admitted to the boy as he began to pour the hot liquid over the tea leaves. The colour changed from clear to a deep brown as it came through the filter, soaking up all the nutrients from the tea leaves. Underneath a mug caught the water and was soon filled up. Once he was done, Ren sat up on a stool, both his hands wrapped around his mug to heat himself up. Ren sniffed the wafting steam from his tea as he took a sip, looking extremely relaxed with a soft smile.

Ren's eyes soon shifted over to the person sitting next to him, his pale eye being the one closer to him. "Sorry, I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Ren. Nice to meet you." he said setting his tea down on his lap and offering a hand to shake.

"Sage you said? A very nice name." Ren commented letting go of his hand. Ren returned the pleasant grin that Sage gave him as they talked. It seemed that whatever awkwardness that was in the air when Ren entered the area left as the handshake ended. Taking another sip of his tea, Ren was silently proud of himself for managing to do this. For the most part he was as dull as a stone and could not carry a conversation to save his life, yet here he was stopping any awkwardness in a conversation right from the get go!

The Magenta eye'd Sage seemed curious to know what kind of work Ren did. More than likely in response to the young mage saying that he did not have too much free time these days. "I'm a Rune Knight actually. So between quests and being on patrol or on call I don't have too much time to have a nice cup of tea in nature. One or the other but rarely both."
He said taking another sip from his cup, hoping that answered his question. "I definetly prefer to enjoy both together. It reminds me of my home back in Joya." Ren admitted. He had noticed how curious Sage had been, so indulging him would be the nicest thing to do.

Ren shifted his gaze from his tea back over to Sage. "And yourself? What kind of work do you do?" Ren asked, returning some of the curious energy Ren showed him.

"Ah I see. I suppose we are both starting out then." He said realizing that he did not mention that he only recently came to the country, let alone join the knights. As he spoke Ren took out his relic from under his clothes. The Rune Knight pendant was around Ren's neck but he never felt comfortable enough to wear it out in the open but with Sage it seemed like he did not mind. Ren had thought that since they were from opposing factions that Sage would be a little more skeptical to say he was a holy knight. The magenta eyed young man either did not know of the strife between their factions or he simply did not care. Either way Ren was glad that no more tension was between them both.

Taking another sip from his cup. His eyes soon trailed to Sage's cup. As they did another curious spell was cast over the Rune Knight. "So what kind of blend is that? if you don't mind me asking." He asked trying to see if he could gather any hints from what Sage had with him or any smells coming from his tea. The only thing he could smell was his own tea as his pale blue eyes moved to meet Sage's magenta.

As Sage described his tea, Ren's mouth began to water. His explicit detail stimulated Ren's taste buds, making the knight practically taste the hot beverage in his own mouth. Not being from Fiore, Ren rarely had tea such as that. The adding of honey and the general flavour seemed to make the Rune Knight very curious.

Taking a sip of his own tea to keep himself from drooling he was then asked about his own tea. Putting it down he looked into it. "My tea is Gyokuro. According to my mother it's one of the higher grade teas in Joya. Its a green tea, but because of it's processing the tea actually has sweet yet mild flavour with a very nice floral aroma. It's hard to find in Fiore as far as I know so I had it sent to me from Joya." Ren explained looking into his cup. "The taste and smell really remind me of home." He added giving a melancholic smile into the cup.

"Would you care for some when you are finished your cup?" He asked quickly realizing he was bringing the atmosphere down. In all honesty Ren was very much enjoying himself. he was positively jubilant to find someone who enjoy tea as much as he did. In fact it was very rare to meet an individual like that in a forest near the river. With an amused look on his face and a spark of curiosity in his eyes he wondered where this conversation would go next.

As Ren described how his tea tasted, he noticed Sage's ear's perk up. Almost like an animals now that Ren thought about it. He could see that they were pointed, a clear sign that he was an elf. The knight would have considered it a strange coincidence to meet another Elf in Orchidia after such short notice, but then again they were sitting in the middle of nature so it did not seem too strange in hindsight.

"careful, you might burn yourself." Ren said seeing Sage inhale his tea. He must have been very eager to try some of Ren's green tea. It actually made the dark haired man grin. "To be honest I'm surprised an elf has not had green tea before. It's basically all plants, just prepared in a particular way." He would say holding the filter over Sage's cup and pouring some of his out water over it. Ren had very little knowledge of boundaries and what may be considered rude. Due to his upbringing most things were not kept off the table and if someone wanted to say something, they would come out with it. Weather it would be phrased nicely or not was one thing but it was practically a rule in his old home, hence why Ren was so forward when speaking. "Ah yeah. I'd love some of your tea please." Holding out his cup Ren had a small smile on his face, his eyes full of wonder.

"Glad to hear you like it. I'll give your compliments to my mother." He said with a bright smile on his face. Green tea was usually an acquired taste from what Ren gathered. Even if this was one of the milder green teas it still had those exclusive tastes that only green tea had to offer. Maybe it was because Sage was an elf. Which reminded him, Sage did not respond to his earlier comment. Did he not hear him or did he chose to ignore those words? Ren was about to ask again, but was soon distracted by the sound of hot water hitting the inside of a cup.

As the liquid filled up Ren looked with extreme curiosity and intrigue at the colour of the tea. It was a slightly darker colour than most tea the dark haired mage had had before. It was like a light brown with an almost bitter aroma. Unable to wait any longer, Ren took a large gulp of the tea. His mouth was now puffed open, similar to a puffer fish's. He began to swirl the tea around his mouth so all his taste buds could have a sample of this new tea. The tea was nothing like Ren had ever tasted before. It had a bitter undertone, one which would be far more prominent if not for the honey and yet a nice spark of flavor thanks to the lemon and it's zest. Swallowing the tea. Ren sighed happily. "Wow, that really is something. I never had any tea quite like it. We rarely add anything to our tea aside from sugar or other herbs, but that honey and lemon makes it so tasty!" Ren complimented, his voice booming with enthusiasm and his eyes gleaming with joy. "You elves really know your tea. But who taught you how to brew such a good cup? I helped my mother for years but even she couldn't get a flavor like yours." Ren said, hoping his new found Tea friend would give him an interesting story.

"Wow!" Ren gasped in amazement. "You're quite the culinary master if those ideas just popped into your head!" He said with a bright smile, finishing the tea in his mug. He soon began to wonder if his own parents would try to mix some different flavours into their tea similar to Sage. He quickly dismissed these thoughts. His parents were far too by the book to change things up, not even with something as small as tea. Still, Ren really wished to share these flavours with his family, when he would see them again, however long that may be. The Rune Knight felt a deep pang in his chest. His eyes seemed to shift away from sage for a moment as he looked out into the river, trying to calm himself.

Hoping Sage wouldn't question his odd behavior Ren would meet his Magenta eyes once more. Although looking back Ren only now noticed all the blushing. "Are you feeling alright Sage? You aren't sick I hope." Ren asked seeming a bit concerned. To him it looked as if the Holy knight had a fever with his reddish face. He silently hoped it was not because of his tea that he let Sage try. Some people didn't take too kindly to green tea on the first take. They may enjoy the taste but the after effects may not agree with them.