10. Tea & Remembering
Tea and Remembering
In the tea shop next door, Noori has thrown open her windows to welcome in the morning air and allow the perfume of her wares to waft into the streets.
It is not long after she hears the voice of her friend Max begin the tale of how Embryveil came to be that her apprentice comes through the doorway.
“Good morning!” The Firbolg calls cheerfully as she pulls the smaller man into a welcoming hug.
Lurz scrunches his squashed nose bashfully as the older woman folds a third of herself down to wrap her arms around him.
Vruvlurz Quake is a Hob-Goblin; and yes, he is smaller than Noori, but still larger than most. His skin is a deep red with hints of fuchsia at the cheeks and temples. His long, deer-like ears that push out from his head stand tall and oval at the sides of his face. His nose is long and pressed flat into his face like a giant feline. And though there are no whiskers beneath said nose, there is a thick, brown beard that warms the lower half of his face.
Lurz is a sturdy man, but Noori takes joy in treating him as though he were a little delicate. Though she has only known him a short time, he has been dedicated to making a place for himself in Embryveil and in her shop, and she sometimes worries that he thinks he has to earn his friendships. This hug is a way to let him know that he does not need to work for what is already his.
After only a few moments, Lurz pulls away with a smile.
“Good morning, Miss Noori,” Lurz says, voice deep and resonant within the cozy tea shop. He quietly makes his way to his cubby where he pulls out a tiny half apron and wraps it tightly around his waist.
The apron was hand knitted by Noori. It is wide enough to wrap around her apprentice, but yarn of it is multi-colored and mismatched, and is not at all long enough for the Hob-Goblin. Noori had misjudged her yarn supply more than one time when making the apron, and as a result the apron stopped just at the top of Lurz’s thighs.
Noori always means to go back and add length to the apron, but it keeps slipping her mind. Lurz had informed her on more than one occasion that he did not mind the shortness as that just made it an extra special gift from his teacher.
He was such a sweet boy.
Once the Hob-Goblin has all of his belongings tucked away and his apron in place, he makes his way to Noori for direction.
Nori gives her young apprentice a thorough looking-over. Lurz has been with Noori for two years now; her apprentice is a capable assistant. He follows direction well, but he very rarely feels comfortable taking the lead on his own. She decides it is time to give him a little push.
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| Lurz (image found on Pinterest) |
“I would like you to set up a sample table today, Lurz. This will be your own project from now on.”
One would think that she had just fired him with the way his eyes widen with worry.
“My own project?” Lurz echos quietly.
“Oh don't be scared, my dear boy,” Noori says with a laugh. “You are more than capable of handling this without me. I want you to take ownership of this event. You choose the teas you believe are the best to sample today. All of the decisions today will be yours, right down to the very cups you choose to serve out of. I trust you, Lurz; you should trust yourself too.”
Lurz does not look convinced, but he hardly ever goes against Noori's wishes, so he begins the arduous task of setting up the sample table.
Noori does not monitor her apprentice, as she truly trusts in his ability. She sets herself up at her work table and applies herself to the task of making small Firefly Festival gifts for her neighbors and friends.
However she cannot help a small peek-over every once in a while.
One time, she sees him fret over where to set the table, inside the shop or out.
When she looks up again, she sees he has decided on keeping it inside and has set the table up in the middle of one of the more used areas of furniture.
When she looks up a third time, she sees her giant friend carefully and slowly handling the delicate cups, arranging them in a pattern that she could not discern from where she stands. Folks come up and ask questions about the teas as they take samples. Lurz answers them easily, yet still sometimes looks over to Noori as if to validate his response.
Noori cannot help her small chuckle, and she finally moves over to see the set-up more closely. She places a soft hand on her apprentice’s shoulder as she looks over his set-up.
“You are doing great, Lurz. I doubt even I could make such a beautiful spread.”
Lurz shakes his head in disagreement, but is smiling proudly, nonetheless. Noori pats him once. A sunrise, a shimmer of light dusts his shoulder as she casts Bless on the boy to give him a little extra boost of confidence and safety.
Instead of returning to her workbench, she moves to the open windows at the front of her shop. She knows Lurz will continue to do just fine, but thinks that because she is there he feels as though he's being watched… Which, she supposes is correct because she had been watching him now.
She finds herself leaning against her open window and listening to tales she has not heard in awhile.
The stories make her nostalgic and a little misty-eyed, as she remembers the time when the forest was more wild and the homes were brand new.
As the bard tells his audience about the fireflies that lead the refugees to the Druid circle for help, she remembers being a young Firbolg, scared and fleeing from the only home she had ever known, following fireflies–little beams of hope–to a new home.
The bard’s story ends with sweeping applause, and Noori wipes a tear from her smiling face. She is glad she still remembers the fear of that time, because it makes certain that she does not take for granted the beauty and safety of her life now.
Her smile blooms into a grin as the bard jumps directly into the tale of how the first groves came to be. This is one she is sure she told about the formation of Honeysuckle Grove and River Grove. It is a story full of mischief, mayhem, and politics, but the bard always retells it in a comedic way.
Noori stays a little longer to hear this.
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