Pixie & Betsy Meet for Tea

[xp_pixie]

Pixie entered the Japanese tearoom, taking in the walls of tea that disappeared into overhead skylights before looking over the rosewood tables in the tranquil seating area for Betsy. She had been happy to learn that the younger woman, one of the newest faces at the mansion, shared her interest in tea. Pixie had been meaning to visit this place for a while, now she had the perfect reason to. She wasn't sure if the shop was mutant-friendly, though, so she'd cast a glamour spell to hide her wings and all-black eyes from notice (which she preferred slightly to her image inducer).

Betsy was fidgeting slightly in her seiza. She had overestimated how long it would take her to get to the tearoom and now her nerves were getting the better of her - while she was keen to meet other mansion residents she had never been too good with waiting patiently. The little bell hanging on the door tinkled lightly as it was pushed open and she lifted her head to glance at the newcomer, then followed it with a small wave as she recognised the other woman.

Pixie smiled and headed over, seating herself on a cushion across Betsy at the low table. "Helo!" she said, her Welsh accent mild. "This place is beautiful. I just love the smell of tea and the natural light coming in... perfect for a winter day. I'm glad we could meet and check this place out.”

Betsy smiled back. “The tea does smell rather gorgeous. At home I usually stick to boring black teas but I’m happy to make an exception for matcha. And sencha. And genmaicha. I haven’t ordered anything yet but I heard the sweets are particularly good as well,” she said, passing the other woman the menu. "I hope life has been treating you better since our rather unfortunate Halloween celebration?"

"Oh, those sound lovely. I'm afraid of scalding green teas so I rarely make them myself. I normally brew red teas or black teas with fruit. I do have a bit of sweet tooth," the pink-haired lady admitted, shrugging off her handmade cloak (it slipped on over her wings, which were invisible at the moment, SO comfortably) and poring over the menu. "Yes, it's been nice and boring, which is welcome at the moment. It's the ordeals that make me appreciate the mundane, wouldn't you say? How are you doing since the ah, that night?"

“I tend to get a couple of bowls and pour the water between them a few times to cool it down when making green tea. It is much less effort to just brew a nice cup of builder’s tea with milk though so I usually go for that instead,” Betsy said, trying to catch the eye of a passing waitress. “And yes, things like that remind one of why boring is good. I have just been doing the usual - training, not sleeping, attending sordid parties...” Betsy grinned. “Trying not to think about ninjas."

A pink eyebrow raised at "sordid parties". "So, the fun kind of parties and not the horrific kind?" But just then, the waitress appeared and Pixie settled on a jasmine tea. "Oh, and an order of the sweet rice cakes, please," she added.

Betsy ordered a bowl of matcha, then debated for a second before regretfully deciding against sweets for now. The colder weather was making her even more lethargic than usual and she was starting to worry about the more tight-fitting parts of her wardrobe. She waited until the waitress had moved on before replying. “More fun than horrific, although it’s still up for debate in some cases, mostly due to the other party-goers. May I ask you a magic-related question?,” she quickly changed the subject.

"Of course. And if I don't know the answer, I could ask Ms. A. That is, Amanda," the other woman replied, mentioning her magic teacher.

“It’s not that important, just idle curiousity… I was just wondering about the logistics of it all.” Betsy paused to thank the waitress who returned with their tea, then continued. “So, if I’ve understood correctly, the events at Halloween were caused by demon magic, correct? But there are other kinds as well, are there not? Do mutants have mutant magic?"

"Yes, it was the demonic kind. Well, there are many kinds of magic. Some mutants are able to manipulate magic energy in a way specific to their mutation, although it's very rare. I think that could be called 'mutant magic', although I've never heard that term used before. I think for most of us, our magic falls into one of the basic categories. I use traditional magic, I do - books, spells, that sort of thing," Pixie explained, unconsciously tucking her lock of black hair behind her ear.

“But you need to have an affinity for it though, right? Or could just anyone learn it if they read the books or studied the spells?” Betsy asked enthusiastically, then caught herself. "I apologise if I’m asking too many questions, I just find it really fascinating. I never knew magic was real before coming to the mansion.”

Pixie took a quick look of their surroundings, finding that there were no other patrons in the immediate vicinity. Still, she quietly performed a basic spell to muffle their conversation. "Some people believe that magic is, in the words of Arthur C. Clarke, just science that we don't understand yet. But even a basic spell like this... one must have an affinity for magic to channel its energy. It is fascinating, frightening, and I'm always learning more. Like, I didn't know extra dimensions were real before I came to the mansion, and some of those are more magic than not."

“I like the Arthur C. Clarke quote. It also reminds one about how little we know about magic, mutants, any of this really. I can understand why some people are so afraid of us.” Betsy picked up her tea with both hands and sipped before continuing. "I only knew about other dimensions as a theoretical concept before since my brother is really interested in that sort of thing, but actually hearing people have visited them was something else. There are so many things to learn here, even outside our powers."

Pixie breathed in the fragrance of her jasmine tea nodded in agreement. "I don't know if those extra dimensions required by string theory or M theory or whatever it's called now - anyway, I understand those dimensions are beyond tiny - have anything to do with the places I've been to, but it makes one wonder how much of the universe we still have to discover. Maybe someday we'll have a 'theory of everything' that includes magic, too. Is your brother a scientist?"

Betsy nodded. “My brother Brian. He is the smart twin,” she said without bitterness. “He’s currently working on his PhD in physics back in the UK and I’m almost scared to mention some of the things we run into here to him. I am quite certain the existence of magical dimensions would not go over well with his advisors. Do you have any siblings?"

"You have a twin? I always wished I had a sister, but I'm an only child. When I was a kid I had an imaginary friend," Pixie laughed. "So you only keep back some things from your brother - you must be close then? And are your parents a part of your life, if it's OK to ask?"

“Generally the only secrets Brian and I have from each other is things we forgot to tell the other about,” Betsy smiled, then got more serious. “Our parents passed when we were nine. My older brother, Jamie, took care of us as long as he was able to but he’s… ill. Paranoid schizophrenic. We spent a lot of time in boarding schools."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Pixie knew many of the residents in the mansion had tragedy in their pasts. "My parents are gone, too. My dad passed when I was a kid, and then when my mum died I came here. We're like a family here," she added cheerfully, reaching for a sweet rice cake. She gestured at the plate of sweets. "Are you sure you don't want one?"

“I’m sorry too. Huh, sometimes it feels like nobody at the mansion has had a normal, happy family life. Then again I guess they probably wouldn’t be there if they did,” Betsy shrugged, eyeing the sweets. “And thank you. Would you go halfsies on one? Then I wouldn’t feel quite so guilty.” She had self-control, truly. She kept it in a small jar at the back of her wardrobe.

"Halfsies," Pixie agreed, poking one roughly in half with a chopstick. "I think it was Virgil who wrote 'through adversity to the stars,' or something like that. Without our hardships, we at the mansion wouldn't be who we are. As an adult, I've learned to take happiness where I can find it. Sometimes all it takes is a cup of tea with a friend."

“Per ardua ad astra. I think that was my school’s motto actually. Or one of the hospitals I was in, not sure.” Betsy popped her half of the treat into her mouth. “And agreed; especially when the tea is this good,” she said light-heartedly.