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greatshell-rider · 3 years

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34. a deer darting away under the trees (sensory prompts)

Lani sat cross-legged in the gnarled roots of an ancient saphion tree. Spears of sunlight lanced through the tree’s branches, moving gently over her body as soft spots of warmth as the wind rustled through. The sharp taste of the saphion leaf sat on the tip of her tongue, slowly permeating her saliva with a brackish bitterness. It cleared her head, though, allowing her to focus on one thing and one thing alone—a rare occurrence, for her.

She focused on the roots. Those thick knotted limbs that cropped up from the leaf-littered forest floor to curl around Lani like a bird’s nest around its clutch of eggs. Though the bark on the trunk of the saphion tree was thick and rough, the roots whereupon Lani sat were rubbed smooth from the press of thousands of fingertips over the course of centuries. A light scent rose from the roots, barely discernible in the warm summer breeze, and despite the familiarity, despite her focus, despite the drug, despite all that she tried, Lani couldn’t name it. All she knew is that she knew it, but whether from long ago or just yesterday . . . well. Perhaps the tree would know.

So Lani shifted her focus. No longer directed merely at the exterior of the tree, She tipped her senses down. Down, down, down, spiraling into a free fall, until she was well within the mindscape of the ancient being and began to slow. Her body remained in the roots’ embrace, but her mind stood at the doorpost of the tree’s mind, and politely, she knocked.

The figurative bark of the figurative doorpost molded into a figurative eye, which stared at Lani in whorls of brown and red. She smiled—figuratively—at it. “Hello.”

“You again?” the tree sighed.

“You should know I’ve almost earned my license,” Lani told it. “Only just barely failed the final exam.”

“By what, half the questions?” the tree grumbled, but figuratively swung its mind’s door open to admit her. “Come inside, you miserable scrap of mineral.”

“I do think I’m getting close,” Lani said as she strolled inside. She threw herself down onto her favorite leafbag—like an Earth beanbag, but crunchier—and sighed dramatically. “It’s just that darn-ed professor! They and their silly written exam! They want me to fail, you know.”

“I can’t imagine why,” the tree said. “Milk, yes or no?”

“Do I look like a heathen?”

“Your choice,” the tree shrugged, and passed her a cup of steaming yellow-tinged tea. It was the same stuff as the leaf on Lani’s physical tongue, but, you know. Figurative. Didn’t make it taste any better. Lani took a sip anyway. She liked these visits with the tree—and not just because the tree tutored her in soothing—and if the tree insisted she drink the weird juice, well, she would drink the weird juice.

The tree poured itself a cup and folded itself down into a leafbag opposite of Lani. “So. Why grace my mind with yours today, dear pupil?”

Lani startled, nearly dropping her tea as she pulled and tugged at the skin around her—figurative—eye, trying to see how the pupil had changed. “When did the transformation begin!” she cried out in horror. “Help, Teacher! I-I think I can feel antlers growing!” She grabbed at her hair and pulled at it in agonized panic—then glanced up to see if the tree was smiling.

It wasn’t, but Lani laughed anyway, rewarding her funny little prank with another sip of tea. She shrugged. “Yeah, no, just wanted to pop in. Say hi. Say no to your milk. Make knee-slapping jokes.”

“The usual, I see,” the tree said. “And here I thought you’d heard the news . . .”

Lani perked up, setting her cup aside to lean forward with elbows on her knees. “Trees’re talkin’ again, huh?”

“Clean up that accent,” the tree scolded. “No one wants to hear it in these parts, least of all me.”

Lani nodded eagerly. “Right. And the hot goss?”

The tree sighed. “It’s steaming,” it admitted. “Tunes from the mountains is that the Tarnished Giants are on the move.” It took a long sip of tea, eyeing Lani for her reaction.

Lani sat back. “Oh, is that all?” She yawned. “Cool.”

The tree pursed its lips. “It is not ‘all’ and it is not ‘cool’. Surely you know from your lessons what the Tarnished Giants are capable of.”

Lani flapped her hand dismissively. “Oh sure, sure. It’s just that that’s old goss. Cold, sticky, scraped-off-the-bottom-of-the-pot goss. I heard all about the rust rocks or whatever from the birds yesterday morning.”

The tree stared at her a long moment before remembering its tea and drinking again. “I simply cannot believe a soother of your capabilities has not yet earned her license,” it murmured, shaking its head. “Trees and birds and stone? You may have a point about Rupfford’s exam.”

“Right? I’ve told everyone how lame it is, but you’re the only one so far who’s listened.” She tsk-ed. “I guess it just goes to show how—”

“So what did the birds tell you?” the tree interrupted. It rotated its empty cup around and around in its hands. “Anything more on the Tarnished?”

“Nah, they weren’t too keen on talking too much about them. However . . . there was something else . . .” Lani looked slyly up at the tree, scratching idly at her scalp in a non-idle way.

The tree nodded immediately. “You’ll get your regular payment. Next fortnight?”

“I might need it a little sooner . . .”

The tree considered a moment this time. “Night after the full moon. That’s the soonest I can have it.”

“Deal! So. Here’s the real hot goss . . .” Lani leaned in and the tree did the same, their minds blurring and blending together to allow the secret and untraceable transfer of sooth. Sheer knowledge. Utter truth. That which is known and that which is, is. That which could not be denied. That which was, and is, and would be. A single thread of the universe, loosened from its tapestry for just the barest of moments to be passed between fingertips.

Finally Lani withdrew, collapsing back onto her leafbag, figuratively beaded with sweat and literally exhausted. The tree slid out much more gracefully, only taking a moment to steady itself before clearing its throat and saying, “Well. That is certainly . . .”

“Hot goss,” Lani breathed, sinking a mile deep into the leafbag.

“It is certainly something,” the tree agreed. It turned its cup around a little quicker. “But, Lani, are you sure. I know you trust Red Breast’s song, but if this rumor proves to be true . . .”

Lani snorted. “I did not mingle my mind with yours just for you to doubt the sooth’s validity.”

The tree frowned. “I suppose. Well. This is, at the very least, deeply—”

There was a rustling sound louder than the rest in the physical world, and Lani lost her concentration. Immediately she snapped back into her body, and had barely a moment to register a young stag fleeing into the brush with his purple-fluff tail flared high before the pain hit her skull like the blacksmith’s hammer to their anvil.

“Owwww,” she groaned, doubling over and grabbing her head. “Ugh. Stupid deer.” At least it was night now, the bright sunshine replaced with the softer glow of distant stars.

“That is what you get for imperfectly disconnecting minds with the saphion,” a haughty voice said. “Question number thirty-eight, isn’t it, on my exam.”

Lani groaned louder as a figure stepped out of the shadows of a nearby tree. “Professor Rupfford,” she said, miserably watching them approach. “How ever did you find me.”

“The Board has been aware of your . . . additional tutoring for a while now.” The professor loomed over her, arms folded inside the long sleeves of their honey-gold robe. “It took very little effort to narrow down the options of who could handle your temperament from there.”

Lani merely grunted, too preoccupied with handling her head’s temperament to come up with something clever, or even snarky.

“Come on,” they said, taking Lani by the upper arm and dragging her to her feet. “We would have words with you.”

They marched through the trees, Lani stumbling after them. “We?” she mumbled. “Who—the Board?”

Rupfford’s grip on her arm tightened, and Lani glanced at them, noticing how deep the lines of their face went, how their mouth was drawn into a line tauter than usual, how the look in their brown eyes was strained. How it seemed, to her at least, that the professor wasn’t angry. Or even just deeply upset at the poor conduct of one of their students. No . . . they were afraid.

A slow grin crawled up Lani’s face. “Hmm,” she mused, absently dismissing the headache. The last of the saphion leaf’s effects wore off, and all the different little thoughts and plots and puzzles and games and treats began to creak and turn, like all the little well-oiled gears of an old-fashioned clock. “You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?”

The professor didn’t respond, nothing changing in their face or posture, but walked faster, forcing Lani to jog to keep up.

Well, that wouldn’t do. Lani dug in her heels and dragged the two of them to a halt. Rupfford swung around to face her and Lani stood up on tip-toe to whisper in their ear, “You know who I am. You figured. It. Out. Haven’t you?”

They drew back as if she were a venomous snake. “Come quietly,” they hissed, spit speckling Lani’s face. “Do not make me use force.”

“Just say it,” Lani told them, smirking now. “Go on, don’t be afraid. I dare you. What’s my name?”

Their upper lip curled, revealing teeth stained purple. “Starweaver.” They said it like a curse. “Yes, I know who you are. I know what you’ve done, moving across the universe and all its many ’scapes. I know what you plan to do here, as well.”

Lani laughed at that. “Let’s say, for the fun of it,” she said, wiping away a tear, “that you do. The question then, is what are you planning to do in response?” She smirked. “What will the Chipped Diamond do to stop me?”

Rupfford’s eyes widened. “I—I don’t—” they began to stammer.

“Don’t hurt yourself trying to say a lie,” Lani said, disgusted. “I mean, you’ll hurt me as well. That’s painful to watch.”

They opened and closed their mouth a few times more. Then, finally, managed to get out, “You are coming with me, Starweaver.”

“Sure.”

“Try as you may to resist, but I have full authorization to—What? What did you say?”

Lani stuck her hands in her pockets, bored. “Sure. I’ll come with.”

They stared at her.

“I’ll take a pass on the burlap sack or whatever blindfold-thingy you’ve got,” she added. “Been there, done that, not a great time, so—”

“To be clear,” the professor cut in. “You are. Coming. Willingly.”

Lani shrugged. “I mean, I already have a headache, so it’s not like I want to get knocked out and undergo more head trauma . . .”

They narrowed their eyes. “This is some sort of trick, isn’t it,” they said, words quick and clipped. “You’re trained as a soother, so you shouldn’t be able to, but you can lie, can’t you, which means this, and everything you’ve said, cannot be trusted, and—”

“Dude,” Lani said, “this is a limited time offer only. Either lead the way, or get out of my way, because one way or another I will be speaking to the Chipped Diamond tonight. This ’scape was getting boring anyway, so chop chop.” She clapped her hands. “Let’s get this thing moving. To the climax already!”

They just continued to stare, so Lani shooed her hands at them. “Move!”

And they did, stumbling a little uncertainly back onto the narrow deer trail they’d been pulling her down. But she followed after, strolling along as patiently as she could, and slowly Rupfford regained some of their composure, smoothing down their robes and quickening their stride to an urgent march. Impressive, for a pair of knees so old and knobbly. They even dared turn their back to Lani, no longer checking to see if she was still following, and didn’t bother with any more words or questions. Which Lani appreciated, and she kept quiet too. She couldn’t talk to any birds or trees along the way, not with Rupfford so attuned a soother, but if they passed a large enough boulder . . . Well, a finger’s brush wasn’t much, but it was possible she could meld with its mind enough to ask it to send a message to Jerry and warn him of the timetable’s adjustment. Her brother wouldn’t be pleased, but when was he? And it was true, Lani supposed, that forcing them to act without their strike force fully prepared increased the possibility of this whole scheme falling apart quicker than paper mâché in rain to quite a high percentage. Such as it was. Lani had chosen this plan mostly just to try it out, anyway. She’d never been confident about it. It rarely served well to be certain of anything. Just determined.

So Lani lowered her head, eyes trained on the back of her professor’s robes, and stalked through the trees behind them. Maybe if she had time, maybe once this was all done, she would pop in on her saphion teacher again and tell it of this hot, hot goss. She wouldn’t drink the leaf juice this time, however. She was sick of tea.

#writing #my writing #Lani & Jerry #in which: lani gets high enough to talk to a tree and gets very close to quoting twilight #what's following the prompt i barely know her

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yezitea · 7 years

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Bagged Tea vs. Loose-leaf Tea - Part 2

Recap - Last Time on Battle Teas

Last week, Part I of Bagged Teas vs. Loose-leaf told the history of the tea bag and the difference in quality between bagged teas and loose-leaf. This week, we’ll start from where we left off by delving into convenience. So, welcome-back tea-friends, buckle up, and let’s continue!

Convenience - The Need for Speed

The same reason why tea bags became popular in the early to mid 1900s is the reason why they remains popular today. Many people like their teas like they like their sports cars: Fast and strong. While there is nothing wrong with that, we believe that there is a large misconception that loose-leaf teas are not convenient. Without a doubt, pulling a tea bag from its container, placing it in boiling hot water, and within minutes, enjoy a strong brew of tea, is easy. However, preparing loose-leaf teas can be comparably convenient. Loose-leaf tea can be made seamlessly without any special tea-equipment.

Add tea leaves to one cup ⇒ Add hot water ⇒ When steeped, place a small strainer over another cup ⇒ Lastly, pour the tea and tea leaves through the strainer.

Arguably, this method would take only seconds longer than brewing from a tea bag. In this manner of brewing, the full tea leaves are allowed to expand and release more of their essential oils. The resulting brew produces a higher quality, more flavorful, and more aromatic tea than the average cup of tea from a tea bag.

Another aspect of bagged teas' convenience, is their taste. As mentioned before, the process in which bagged teas are prepared produces teas with homogenous flavors. The distinct tea taste that tea bags have is, for some, a boon; it's comforting and convenient. There is no guessing if one's tea bag will taste like tea. However, solely drinking tea that has a distinct taste is limiting. We believe that, "variety is the spice of life." If you want to appreciate and broaden your knowledge of tea, you have to go outside the teas that have that taste. In our experience, loose-leaf is the only form of tea that allows consumers to appreciate all that the tea plant has to offer. As one of the oldest forms of tea, loose-leaf provides innumerable variety when it comes to not only tea types, but also flavors, complexities, and aromas. From strong and bold to mellow and crisp, loose-leaf tea runs the gamut of possibilities (or possibilitiTeas)!

We are always flabbergasted when tea bag drinkers argue that loose-leaf tea is weaker than their beloved tea bags. In our experience, there are numerous robust loose-leaf teas (Xiao Zhong, for one!) that will put any tea bag’s strength to the test. With that said, that wrong assumption is not the only one that has been made about loose-leaf tea. We have already put to rest the assumption that brewing loose-leaf tea is complicated. Let's delve into another wrong assumption: that loose-leaf tea is more expensive than bagged teas.

Cost - The Price we Pay as Tea Champions

When it comes to tea bags, unlike the popular game show, the price is not always right! Generally, there are 2 grams of tea in a given tea bag. Per ounce of loose-leaf tea, you will find that there is an average of 12 cups that can be brewed. We have seen that typically, when it comes to tea bags and loose-leaf, the price for the for a particular tea in loose-leaf variety ranges from half the price to the same price as the equivalent tea in tea bag form. What this means is that you are either paying the same amount or more for a lower quality cup of tea. With these price points, it appears that when purchasing tea bags, you are truly paying the cost of the packaging and not the tea itself.

Furthermore, there is another cost that some tea drinkers may not consider when sipping from their favored brews: environmental cost. The amount of material that goes into packing tea bags is immense. Tea bags are not only individually wrapped in a small bag, they are often wrapped in foil or cellophane. On top of that, these small bags are then packaged in a small box or tin. And lastly, that small box or tin is frequently wrapped in air-resistant cellophane. With all of that said, the package that is created for the convenience of bagged tea is not at all convenient for the environment. Much of the material used for tea bags is not biodegradable and even when the tea bag itself is, the packaging that surrounds it is often not. Conversely, the environmental impact of loose-leaf tea packaging is drastically smaller than that of tea bags. Loose-leaf tea is either packaged in a large bag or a tin; both of which can be re-used.

Final Words - The Power is Yours!

To summarize what has been said, let's first take a look at this fun table of facts!

Loose-leafBagged TeaIngredients Whole tea leaves Tea fannings and Dust Quality Highest grades of tea Lowest grade of tea Variety Innumerable.

Artistically somewhat unpredictable. Limited.

Predictable, distinct tea taste. Convenience Easy Easy Cost Inexpensive per cup

Environmentally friendly Expensive per cup

Environmentally wasteful

In the battle between loose-leaf and bagged tea, as Captain Planet famously said, "the power is yours." Whose side in the battle you choose is up to you. With that said, it is easy to see why we at Yezi are champions of Emperor Loose-leaf. With better quality, more variety, and lesser cost, it can be argued that loose-leaf tea is a better choice than bagged tea. We would say that even a low quality loose-leaf is better than a high quality bagged tea. (Though, you will not find any low quality loose-leaf at Yezi!)

From our experience, no tea connoisseur claims a bagged tea to be their favorite. However, there is nothing wrong with liking a certain bagged tea, or any tea, for how it makes you feel. For example, many may feel that a specific bagged tea reminds them of home. At Yezi Teas, we simply feel that if you want a full and balanced tea experience, with a developed knowledge and appreciation for tea in its fullest capacity, then sampling loose-leaf tea is a must.

For some it may take time to taste the difference, for others, the difference will be noticed immediately. Tea affects different people in different ways, and that is part of what is so wondrous about it. Those differences bring us tea drinkers together. Those differences invite conversation and sharing. We would love to invite you warriors for bagged tea to give loose-leaf tea a chance.

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