Several days had pasted since Jikan's arrival to Orchida. The meeting with 'Ariael' and others was...something. All new faces with names to get used to. All new personalities and egos to get along with, if she decided to, for now. The sky was calmer now, much much calmer. The storm somehow went as fast as it came. The people that left in panic of the weather however, were not as present. Many of the people seemed to not have returned yet from the nearby places such as Oak town as refuge. Trees were still cut down from lightening strikes, branches clogging the sight of some sidewalks, and holes with puddles were still seen in some places.

If Jikan decided to join this alliance, then this would be her home base for a bit it seemed. And it would not do. Not with the mess of the place. She needed a place she could go out and enjoy, relax, and get a nice piece of food if she wished. It would need to cleaned, one that she doubted the other members of this team would want to do.

She sighed as she walked closer and began to see one store appearing to be open at least, maybe she could get a nice lunch to better her mood.

Kaede decided to stop into Orchidia for a bit although when she got there, she soon regretted her decision. The streets were a mess from the storm that just passed and the petite mage let out of sigh of pure annoyance. The only reason for coming here was because she heard from an acquaintance that a new tea shop had opened up here. Normally, that wasn't enough to spark the young Joyan's interest but this particular tea shop was run by someone from Joya. Rumors said the owner had only recently moved to Fiore and so maybe, she could learn the current situation back home through this person. It was certainly worth a shot since Kaede had no other way of hearing about her homeland.

She arrived upon the shop, the signboard was made of wood, found back in Joya, the style of the building was reminiscent of her homeland. The signboard was in her mother tongue and read hydrangea garden, her mother's favorite flower. Kaede felt a strong sense of nostalgia that nearly brought the aloof young woman to tears. However, that simply wouldn't do, Kaede quickly composed herself and headed inside. She was shown to a table by the window. All the tables were close to the floor that was all tatami mats, making Kaede feel at ease. She took off her shoes upon entering and sat down like she would have back home with her feet neatly tucked behind her.

A waitress came by to serve Kaede a cup of green barley tea and then handed her a menu with a kind smile. The waitress must have recognized that Kaede was a Joyan like herself. She graciously accepted the tea and took a sip all while scoping out her surroundings. She noticed that all the workers were Joyans which pleased Kaede more than she let show. After she had a good look around, the young mage opened the menu to see what looked good since she hadn't had a single bite to eat since arriving in Orchidia. When the waitress returned to take Kaede's order, Kaede told her what she wanted in their native tongue out of respect. It seemed to please the waitress to hear her mother tongue from a customer in a foreign country. Kaede ordered a plate of midarashi Dango, a cup of Hojicha green tea, and some sesame mochi.

On closer inspection of the shop once Jikan reached the shop, she found that it was a tea shop. Her hand rested on the handle before walking inside, letting the door close behind her. The signboard was in a different language from the words of Fiore, and Jikan's native Minstreli language. Try as she might she had no full knowledge on the words, only pieces of it from her decades of travel. She could not fully make it out but it seemed that one of the words said garden.


A person soon came to greet Jikan, a waiter. With a nod he came and showed her a nice table by a wall. An interesting sight, all the tables were close to the floor, they were all mats. They looked soft, and well kept. It was new but something she would be fine with sitting at. The waiter instructed her that it was custom for people to take their shoes off before sitting down. A simple matter that bothered her not one bit, she took off her shoes upon sat down with her legs bent outward, folding her dress over so that it would cover herself as she sat down.


A waiter came by to serve her a cup of water, not knowing what Jikan would like, always a good one to start with. With a nod and thanks she accepted the drink and took a sip while enjoying the environment. Only after a minute or two did she start taking in her environment. She noticed that a lot of the workers looked like they all shared similar ethnic features, perhaps they all had the same heritage?

But for now she would not worry about that and resolve the issue with her stomach. She opened the menu and began to look at her options.

Not long after she gave her order to the waitress, they returned with her snacks and tea. Kaede was famished and thanked her waitress in their native tongue. She gave her thanks for the food before picking up a stick of the midarashi Dango and pulling one off the stick from the side with her mouth. The familiar, sweet gooiness filled Kaede's mouth instantly, reminding her of home. Oh, how the young mage missed the food of her homeland. It wasn't easy for her to find little treasures like this in a foreign land so it always made Kaede happy when she did. She finished her barely tea shortly before the food and second tea arrived. The Hojicha tea was in a small earthen kettle with a cherry blossom stamped on the side.

With it came a tall, earthen teacup of the same style with the same cherry blossom stamp on the side. Kaede gracefully poured herself a cup of Hojicha green tea, not forgetting what her mother had taught her for a second. She picked up her teacup, brought it close to her nose so she could smell the unique aroma that comes from Hojicha green tea before taking a sip. Some customers in the shop were clearly locals as they could not help but be in awe of Kaede's beauty and grace. Never for a second did Kaede forget her manners as she did not wish to disgrace her mother's honor.

Soon Jikan was ready to order, from the images and descriptions, there were a pleasantry of option were on her to choose from and she had a feeling that regardless of what she she chose she would enjoy a nice meal. With content, she placed the menu back down on the mat and closed it, not long after the male waiter before returned to Jikan. The language of the food was definitely not one Jikan was used to speaking, thankfully there were also names of the items in the language of the town's people, the language of Fiore that Jikan did indeed know. When the waiter was ready to take Jikan's order she told him that she would like two plate orders of midarashi Dango, and attempted her best to try to order a drink in the native language she saw written down on the menu. The attempt seemed to be somehow successful. The waiter smiling and seemed pleased with her attempt at speaking their language correctly.

Not long after she gave her order did Jikan get her food, the waiter returned with the snacks and tea. Jikan thanked the waiter before receiving her food. She picked up the food before taking the first bite of the midarashi Dango. However, she did not get into chewing and enjoying the flavor for long before out the corner of her eye Jikan saw a foot kick in the door.

[ have to exit ]