An odd little tea party

[Robyn]

It had been a long flight. But Reaver had been aching for some company of his fellow brothers. So he had flown to north to visit one of the few he was close too. It take most the morning to fly out from Creta all the way to the north of Amestria but he had done it in style he must say. It was nice to be able to borrow the royal jet....even though he hadn't really asked for it. It saved him a lot of trouble of switching at air ports and having to mingle with the filthy human common. Urgh even the taught of the cramped sweaty conditions made him heave.

Walking from the rented limo towards the ship he took it in with almost amused eyes. It was quite a sight really and he couldn't help but chuckle. maybe one day he might go for the scandalous life of a pirate...he would make a good pirate but then he would have to challenge Sal for the position of captain after all he would never be a deck scrubber. Giving a chuckle he walked up the walkway. No he leave Sal to be the pirate. He much enjoyed he current occupation to much. Reaching the deck he tapped swagger stick on the deck. "Hello Duckies.…Sal are you here?" He called in a sing song voice. Hoping the chimera turned glutton was around. He missed the dear boy to much.

[Sec Invidia]

As was for some reason, tradition well-established in the Pirate's domain, Sec was of course the first to the door. Erm... Drawbridge? Or... WAITWAITWAIT. What WAS the entrance to a ship to be called? How in all the world did a band of self-respecting pirates as themselves neglect the IMPORTANT, VITAL DETAIL, that they had no idea what to call the very ENTRANCE to the ship! Ah, no matter. Sec called it a door, and therefore, by the Law of Secsiness, it was a door and nothing more. So Sec opened the door, and looked down upon a man in regal clothing, appearing to be a king of sorts. Sec wondered WHO it was, indeed. Upon hearing his captain's name however, he knew that this man seemed to know Sal, be he known to Sec or not. So, with a gracious nod, Sec gestured him inside, offering to place his extra clothing and such on the hat and coat rack. As the man entered, Sec smiled politely. "Good day, sir. My name is Secundinasci Amor Invidia, and I am First Mate of the Ole Miss. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Turning to the hallway leading towardsthe Captain's Quarters, Sec called, "Captain! You have a visitor! He should be here momentarily, sir. Welcome to the Ole Miss, by the way." And but one thought resounded within the mind of Secundinasci Invidia at that moment; Thank Truth we actually CLEANED this place before guests arrived!!

[Dai]

B U M P

[Sal]

It had been a fairly quiet day on the Ole Miss, and Sal thought it the perfect opportunity to slip in a nice cat-nap before anything too exciting happened. Of course, he only slept for about 20 minutes before the quiet was over. A familiar sound - the sound of people walking about the ship - resonated throughout the old wooden contraption, causing the small captain to awake from his peaceful slumber. Hoping it would end soon, he simply stayed in his room, the "Captain's Chamber", relaxing on the rather..."antique" bed. It was a king size, making the homunculus seem that much smaller in comparison. Large, down-filled pillows lay at the head of the bed in a haphazard pile, upon which the small boy lay curled up in a very cat-like fashion, head held up and ears perked in response to the noise. When the footsteps seemed to cease, Sal let his head flop back into the comfort of the pillows, only to hear something else:

"Captain! You have a visitor!"

It was Sec's voice...a visitor? He must have been too preoccupied with trying to go back to sleep that he didn't notice this...visitor was here. Stretching, he slid off of his perch and walked out of his room, not aware that his hair was in disarray. He was rather used to having a "bed head", so he didn't realize it when he had it at times. This was one of those times.

"I'm coming!" Sal shouted with a yawn as he made his way toward the source of the noise. To his surprise, his visitor was someone whose company he had definitely missed. Sal dashed over to the diva of a homunculus and hugged him affectionately.

"Uncle Reavie!"

[Robyn]

"Good day, sir. My name is Secundinasci Amor Invidia, and I am First Mate of the Ole Miss. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Reaver’s eyes glanced to the blonde who came down. So this was Sal's first mate. He gave a simple nod and walked past the man searching for the little cat eared homunculus. "Captain! You have a visitor! He should be here momentarily, sir. Welcome to the Ole Miss, by the way." Reaver gave a Nod. "Ah I see...Well then while I’m waiting...Be a dear and fetch me some tea? I've had a long trip and I'm sure you do not want to be a poor host...so chop chop!" He laughed momentarily when he heard the voice of his darling brother of sorts.

"Uncle Reavie!" Strong but slim arms wrapped round his middle as the other hugged him. Sal one of the few people Reaver adored and not in a dirty fashion. As human Reaver had had no wish for children. But Sal was quite the darling in his books. "Hello Duckie." He cooed gently. "I see you have quite a marvellous ship going on here." Looking around his eyes returned focus to Sal. "So tell me...how have you been?"

[Sec Invidia]

Hmm... This man seemed rather rude. But, he did look somewhat important. Sec was actually about to run him out of the ship when Sal's voice was heard. And as this was Sal's UNCLE, Sec immediately walked to the kitchen at top strolling speed. Upon reaching the kitchen, he went to work on possibly one of the ONLY things he was good at in the kitchen; tea. It didn't take him too long to get the tea ready, and by the time Sal and Reaver had finished hugging, and maybe had a bit of chatting done, Sec had arrived on the scene with a tray bearing his specialty tea, three teacups, some cookies from the cookie jar, and several little things to make the tea taste better. Among those tea condiments were things such as sugar cubes, honey, and syrup. Sec first turned to Reaver, with a polite smile. "How would you like your tea, sir?" After Reaver responded, Sec fixed his tea appropriately and handed him the cup, as well as first coice of cookies, should he want any. Already knowing how Sal liked his tea, he went on and got the other two cups ready and divided some of the cookies between himself and his Captain. Wondering exactly what would come next, Sec quietly sipped his tea...

[Sal]

Sal was delighted not only by the surprise visit from Reaver, but also by the compliments on his ship. Of course he had help cleaning and maintaining it, though, so he couldn't take all the credit. If anything, he had the other two - Secundinasci Invidia and Marcelina H. de Leon to thank for their assistance. With a gentle purr, Sal rubbed his face into Reaver's coat before releasing him. "Sec and Marcie help me with the ship, Uncle Reavie, I did not do it all by myself! And I am doing very good, but I missed you!" His long cat tail waved around pleasantly and the small Ishvallan turned his attention to Sec, who was bringing in a tray with what smelled like tea, and he could see three cups, honey, sugar cubes (his favorite!) and...syrup? He was happy to see that Reaver and Sec seemed to get along well, because that wouldn't have been good at all if they ended up being enemies or something.

"Oooh, tea!~" Sal chirped, clapping his hands playfully. Sec's tea was definitely the best tea, and the small captain always enjoyed the snacks that were served along with the tea. Shoving a cookie into his mouth, he smiled childishly, swinging his legs back and forth. "Sho, wah bwwngsh ew hehh, Unko Weevee?" He said with a mouthful of sugary goodness. Of course he knew better than to speak with a mouth full of food, but the excitement impaired his judgment and his memory. He washed the crumbs down with a bit of his tea before proceeding to devour the rest of his cookies in the same fashion, and rather quickly at that.

[Robyn]

"Sec and Marcie help me with the ship, Uncle Reavie, I did not do it all by myself! And I am doing very good, but I missed you!" Reaver smiled almost lovely and petted Sal's hair. He had even let the other rub his face in his coat. Normally anyone who dared rub there dirty little faces on his expensive and beloved white coat was quickly put down with a bullet. One that was generally aimed for there grubby little ugly faces.

Reaver looked at the tea and then looked round. "Oh no no Duckie this will not do! Where is the table and chairs for starters?" He tuted at Sec before pouring his own tea. "I have endured a long flight and drive. Should I have to stand on my tired feet and drink my tea?" He added one sugar and some milk taking a sip. "But lucky for you the tea is quite marvellous."

"Sho, wah bwwngsh ew hehh, Unko Weevee?" He looked over to Sal who was munching a cookie and drinking an almost sickening sugary mess that he was calling tea. A loving smile place itself on his lips and he pulled out his fine silk handkerchief from his cuff and wiped Sal’s cheeks. “Cause I wanted to see you Duckie of course.” He smiled. “I was hoping Xanthus was about too…I am rather alone in Creta…” He sometimes hated the feelings Sal and Xan respectfully brought out in him. Earlier this year he had been selfish and only cared what was best for him. Screw if it harmed anyone else. He wouldn’t of gotten lonely at nights. He wouldn’t of felt empty. And this made him feel angry. But he couldn’t be mad at Sal. Though…when he saw Xanthus he was going to give the other a piece of his mind. How dare he make him feel…FEELINGS! Of all things!

[Sec Invidia]

As Sec brought the tea, he could only smile apologetically as Reaver rather rudely, though pointedly, stated that Sec should have seated everyone first. "Very sorry, it must have slipped my mind. And thank you, it's an old recipe I found." So Sec had everyone seated at a nearby table, where he set down the tea and cookies. After everyone had sat down, and tea and cookies were being snacked upon, Sec sat and listened as he sipped his tea and slowly ate a cookie, nibble by nibble. As Reaver spoke, Sec began to pick up on Sal's rather interesting family, catching the name, Xanthus, which he recalled from a prior time. So Sal's father was a rather old man named Ogihci, who appeared to be Reaver's brother, by Sec's assumptions, and Xanthus was something akin to Sal's older brother. Of course, these things only made Sec a bit more curious about Sal's family...

[Sal]

It was interesting how different Reaver behaved when he was talking to different people. He seemed to be acting like himself - not that Sal knew how to describe it - around people that weren't very close to him, as though they were meant to serve him. Of course, it was a good thing that Sec just did as Reaver told him, but Sal couldn't help but think that it wasn't really appropriate for such dialogue to be exchanged. He wouldn't say anything for now, but if it got worse, he would. Even if this was Uncle Reavie, it wasn't nice for him to talk to the crew members like that.

Sec had the small group sit at a nearby table, and Reaver continued with his reason for visiting. Sal had started to notice how attached Reaver seemed to be to Xan, and it reminded him of the attachment that pulled Celes together with Grimm as well as Aren. These were fairly interesting relationships, and he could sense the incredible atmospheres when they were present, but he didn't quite understand them. For someone of his state of mind, romance didn't exist in his world. He didn't know what it was, nor had the concept ever really been brought to his attention. It wasn't until he'd met the people that made up his crew that he'd been exposed to it, so it wasn't something that he picked up immediately.

"Big Brother is busy a lot, but he sometimes comes to visit me...or sometimes I go to see if he's there at the Briggs place." Casting Sec a glance, Sal finished his "tea" and wiped his face with his sleeve. Some of it had gotten on the side of his mouth. "In... Creta? Where is that?" Confused, the small homunculus tilted his head instinctively, giving Reaver a quizzical look. He had no idea where that was, and he'd only ever heard it mentioned a few times in other people's conversations.

[Robyn]

"Big Brother is busy a lot, but he sometimes comes to visit me...or sometimes I go to see if he's there at the Briggs place." He chuckled and watched Sal over his tea cup. He must give it to Sec the china was a fine choice. It was rather darling. "I see.....Oh well..." He lied taking a sip to calm his anger.

"In... Creta? Where is that?" Chuckling softly he placed the empty cup down. "Creta is the land to the west Sal." He dabbed his lips with the napkin in a soft taught. "It's where I was born...I decided to return when central was bombed and my poor Teapot got destroyed..." Re-pouring himself a cup of tea he dug in his bag passing him a wrapped gift. Inside was some Cretan cupcakes and sweets. “I never come empty handed.” He smiled sweetly to the smaller. His eyes held some forum of loneliness. Though he enjoyed being home he was back with superficial people. Having ran away from the people who cared. He was returning to his selfish loneliness.

[Sec Invidia]

Sec listened as Reaver and Sal spoke to each other, slowly beginning to see the distinct bond that these two had with one another. It was odd, to say the least; Sec had no memories of ever being so close to another person. There was Sal, of course. And Rolego, for that matter. One could also consider Marcelina, and even his relations with Celesto, as antagonistic as the electric alchemist seemed at times. But of course, none of those bonds were quite the tightness of family, not at all like the connection betwixt Sal and Reaver, though their family was, unbeknownst to Sec, a ragtag bunch of the ressurected dead and the creations of a powerful, yet dead, man. Interesting indeed. Either way, he examined the two and their conversation as he slowly drank his tea, sitting with his incredibly long legs flayed out to the side in awkwardness.

[Sal]

Creta...the land to the west. He HAD heard about that place. If Uncle Reavie was born there, then...did everybody from Creta speak that way? Sal could recall hearing the same language being spoken in different ways, just as the way someone sounds speaking something they aren't accustomed to speaking. In any case, the small homunculus thought that it might be nice to pay a visit to his Uncle Reavie in Creta sometime if he had the chance. That way, Reaver wouldn't have to come all the way here! Besides, Sal could sense that something was going to change. Something was definitely going to change very soon, but he didn't know what, so he didn't know how to prepare for the change. All he could do was wait for it to come.

As he was handed a gift from his kin, Sal turned his attention to Sec, whose speech had been limited to responding to Reaver, for the most part. Sharp, red eyes looked over the tall pirate questioningly before gazing at the gift. After a moment of hesitation, Sal tore into the box to find that it was filled with more goodies to eat. Overjoyed, he grabbed the first thing he saw - it was a cupcake. Popping it into his mouth, he grinned. Once he managed to swallow it, he licked his lips happily.

"Uncle Reavie, maybe next time I should visit YOU instead! That way you don't have to come all the way here when big brother isn't even around. And Sec can come with me!"

[Robyn]

"Uncle Reavie, maybe next time I should visit YOU instead! That way you don't have to come all the way here when big brother isn't even around. And Sec can come with me!"

Reaver nearly choked on his tea. Sal wanted to come visit him in creta!!! He looked up with wide eyes for a second before giving a series of coughs to regain his composure.

It wasn't like he didn't want Sal around. Quite on the contrary he loved having the cat eared glutton around. But his abode was never really one would say a child friendly. One would quite often walk into his estate to find people spread out in what ever mess they had made recovering from what ever activity they had been up to. And most the time it was either illegal or some forum of scandal. He knew for a facts News of the world most likely where itching to bug his place. They'd have a field day if they knew what naughty things some of his frequent guests got up too.

He gave another cough. "Your...more then welcome to Sal...just give me...plenty of warning."

[Sec Invidia]

As Sec sat still, quietly sipping his tea and such, he listened in on the conversation. Eh, he wasn't being rude or anything, he just didn't have anything to say. But as Sal glanced at him, a slightly confused look in his red little eyes, Sec figured Sal wanted him to say something. Aye, but his problem lay in figuring out what to say... Fortunately, Sal spoke up, and Sec was rather amused by the prospect of Sal bringing him along when he visioted Reaver in Creta. Apparently, the thought of Sal visiting left Reaver rather surprised. In an effort to actually speak for once, Sec smiled pleasantly to Sal. Giving a slight chuckle, he spoke up (for once). "Creta, eh? I'd actually like to go there again some time. Last time I went, it was rather interesting. Lovely country, Creta..." And that was Sec's attempt at small talk. Yeah, he sucked at it... But he tried, eh? THIS IS FOR YOU SAL!!!

[Sal]

It seemed that Sal's wanting to visit Reaver in Creta came as a surprise...and it confused the small Ishvallan even more. Was it really that strange that he wanted to visit his Uncle Reavie? Well, that meant that Reaver really didn't know too much about him. He did like to visit the people he cared about, as was evident in his many visits to Briggs just to say hello to Xan. Speaking of visits to people he cared about, apparently there was someone that he had to meet (according to his father, Ogihci Masu). Hopefully he would have the chance to do that very soon, because he was feeling a little eager to meet this person. After all, if his father said he needed to meet this person, then it was obviously either important or fun! That little moment of impatience aside, Sal refocused on the conversation at hand.

Apparently Sec had been to Creta before, and it made Sal groan. "Awww! Even you have been there!" With a pout, he crossed his arms. He didn't think it was fair that Sec had been to Creta and he himself hadn't. Nor that Uncle Reavie was in Creta and he hadn't gone to visit the man. He would have to change that, but it was important that he tell Xan first, JUST to make sure that Xan knew where he was going. Oh, and he would probably have to ask Ogihci, first, too. Man, it sucked being a kid! Having to ask for permission to go places... "Well, then, I HAVE to come visit you so I can see what it's like in Creta! And and Sec will have to come with me, too!" His earlier frustration had now turned into more of a longing to go see this fabled place (it was a fabled place to HIM, at least). The thought made him even hungrier than he was before. Was it lunch time yet?

"I mean...you always have to come here, Uncle Reavie, and I know you don't like traveling so much, so maybe if I come visit you it will make it better! Maybe I can bring Big Brother with me sometimes, too! I know you like to see him!"

[Robyn]

Reaver smiled. He could never be mad at Sal no matter what. Reaching out he petted the boys head giving the snowy hair a ruffle. "Hush now. You are welcome to visit me duckie." He let his hand slid down to Sal's cheek. Normally venomous eyes softening into an loving look. Though it look oddly natural on Reaver. Rarely seen on the mans face with the soft smile. He let the hand linger for a second before withdrawing it and the look slowly faded. "Just let me know in advance duckie...I need to make sure the pantry is well stocked." A half truth at least. No he couldn't spoil Sal. Xan would never forgive him....Reaver would never forgive himself.

Sipping his tea he chuckled. "And quite on the contrary Sal my dear. I am quite found of travelling. Shortly after my transformation to the current man I am now I did a spot of travelling. Though after the monkey incident in Xing...." A shudder ran down the man's spine. "I am a lot more cautious."

[Sec Invidia]

Sec could do nothing but give a rare, genuine laugh- he'd been working on it, and it ACTUALLY sounded nearly human, instead of robotic and unused!- when Sal expressed his envy of Sec's visit to Reaver's homeland. "Don't worry Captain, you'll go there soon. There are some rather pleasant tea shops in Creta, by the way, so your appetite should be catered to." Ah yes, Sal's appetite! Sec was always prepared for his Captain's infinite hunger, as is obvious from the gigantic sack of snacks that he was nearly ALWAYS seen carrying, when travelling with Sal. Said sack had proven to contain nearly every food, from applewood smoked bacun to zuchinni pot pies, and many in between, making it the PERFECT pantry-on-wheels! But enough about his food storage methods! Sec listened then to Sal saying that he would have to come too, and befallen on the gaunt giant's face was a look of amusement at his adorable captain. "Sure, Captain, I can come if you wish. That is, if Mr. Reaver doesn't mind." Giving a small smile to Sal, he took a bite of cookie and waited for other people to do small talk, while he didn't have to.

[Sal]

((OOC: This thread has been sitting here for a while and I need to cut down, so unfortunately I'll be making my exit with this one. You two are free to continue the conversation if you like.))

A light purr sounded as Reaver's hand touched Sal's face. The boy was perfectly fine letting the man know in advance when - or if - he decided to visit. It was true that he was accustomed to others visiting him without giving him fair warning, but he wasn't one to do anything that needed hiding while on the ship. Tilting his head as Reaver spoke of his view traveling, Sal suddenly had an urge to go run around in the snow, and maybe hunt a few bears. Shaking himself, he looked at the two men in his company. With a frown, he stood up, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Well, men, this is a very nice talk, but I just remember something that I wanted to do." Scratching his ear, he took a few steps toward Reaver, hugging him. "It was really nice seeing you again, Uncle Reavie! I hope I will see you again soon." Sal gave Sec a rather entertainingly awkward salute, then turned on his heels and ran off. Some bear-hunting would definitely be good.

[EXIT THREAD]

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