04. upon thyself thy beauty's legacy

[keepscalm]

Characters: England and all of the cultured people. Open!
Setting: Floor 25.
Format: Starting action, but will match!
Summary: England is having a teatime picnic. It's long overdue. Threadjacking is okay and welcomed! Join an existing thread and make it a tea party or make a new thread.
Warnings: Probably language since it's England. Also possibly threadjacking, so just say in the subject if you don't want that!

[So there is no fancy garden table and chairs or quaint little sitting room, but the innocuous spring floor is almost as nice. He's laid out a length of cloth snatched from the workshop floor to act as a makeshift blanket, and has a teaset out, with a full pot of tea, multiple cups, and sugar. No milk or honey, due to the restrictions of the Tower's kitchen, but he can deal.

And he's actually smiling a little. Do you dare risk disrupting him in this almost fugue-like state?

Of course you do, he's just a silly grump with pretty plates and big eyebrows. Come join him for tea.]

Comments

[notagiraffe]

Hello Mister Kirkland!! [He smiles] Thank you, you are too.

[keepscalm]

[Comparatively, he probably does look pretty well. This is the best he's felt in a while.] Thank you.

Would you like to join me for tea, perhaps? [Wasn't that how he met Taiki? Making tea in the kitchen?]

[notagiraffe]

[Same with Taiki, the moments between blood sickness were becoming rarer and shorter but at the moment he felt almost normal, or as close to it as he was going to get here.] If... if it wouldn't be too much trouble mister Kirkland... [It was how they met, and Taiki is only a tiny bit more confident now than he was then]

[keepscalm]

It's no trouble at all. I'd be delighted to have your company.

[He picks up the pot to pour some tea into a cup set up opposite where he's sitting in the meantime.]

[notagiraffe]

[Taiki smiled and sat down on the grass] Thank you... [It seemed a little strange after everything that had happened, to be sat drinking tea in a meadow, but it was nice.]

[keepscalm]

Of course. [He finishes pouring Taiki's tea and sets the pot back down, before nudging the sugar and milk over to the young kirin, if he so desired to supplement his tea with them.]

If I might ask, how are your companions? They're well too, I hope? [Sanshi and...what was the other one's name? He can't remember it off the top of his head, but it would be very rude to just say "the other one", so he'll wait and hope Taiki understands his question.]

[notagiraffe]

[Taiki paused before taking some sugar, he was mostly still a child after all even though in his kingdom he was not classed as one. And like most ten year old's he had a sweet tooth.

He didn't touch the milk though, since it made him ill. He smiled at the question.] They are fine, though angry and restless. They don't like it here very much.

[keepscalm]

I'm sure that's how many of us feel right now. [He sounded a bit weary as he said that, raising his tea to take a grateful sip.] I don't much like it here myself.

[Did anyone, really?]

[notagiraffe]

[Taiki sipped his tea as well and nodded] Sorry... I think it would be really hard to like it here...

[keepscalm]

You don't have to apologise. I think you're absolutely right.

Unless you're one of the people in charge, I suppose. [Said with a note of bitterness.]

[notagiraffe]

Yes... they seem to like causing us pain... [Something that is utterly alien to Taiki, he has a hard time wrapping his head round the concept that those who brought them here were hurting them on purpose...]

[keepscalm]

"Be happy here" my arse. [whoops that sort of slipped out. Though it's very true, so he can't say he regrets it too much.

He frowns and glares thoughtfully into his tea.] What I'd like to know is why. Been here almost [hold on he needs to count] eight months already and I still don't know anything about why we've been brought here. And I'm sure those who have been here longer are equally as clueless.

[notagiraffe]

[Taiki blinked but gave a tiny smile before nodding and thinking. It was true, there seemed to be no purpose to their cruelty.] Sometimes... sometimes I think there is no purpose... that they just like hurting us... but sorry... that's hard for me to imagine... they must have a reason.

whoops pretend that said "six months" i forgot how old this log was

[keepscalm]

It's very systematic at times to be pointless cruelty, I think. [And why would they hurt people they claim to be "rescuing"? They could at least make an effort to seem hospitable if they want the rescue pretense to hold weight with the Tower's inhabitants. As it is, no one believes it, and that's not exactly an effective method of psychological torture.] The collars, the grouping during experiments, and all the meticulous directions...

[This is England's thinking face.]

[notagiraffe]

I wish.... I wish they would tell us. If they need something... we could help... without them hurting us... [Not knowing was scary, not knowing why they were here or what was happening, when the next thing would happen or if they would ever be allowed to leave this tower.]