Hibiscus petals

Being open only one day a week — Tuesdays, of course, since we love good branding — means that the small T.E.A shop can sometimes be a bit busy. Most of the tables on days as nice as this one, but out of its handful that remain within the shop, a couple have already been claimed by customers with cups of tea and coffee. Some others roam through aisles filled with items all too varied, and by the wooden counter, a child that can barely reach up to its top hands an Espeon a bottle filled with purple liquid in exchange for a jar of flowers.

The child hurries through the door just as another customer comes in, but the scent of flowers lingers within. Chamomile, hibiscus, and lavender too. Flowers steeped to make those herbal teas proudly offered on a chalkboard. There's even a basket full of lavender still: right there, on the counter, right next to the Espeon of fur as purple as those flowers. In this bed of blooms, an egg rests, ice cold and surrounded by a thin mist of its own creation.

"Hey, cute Chikorita." The shopkeeper that makes her way to the counter greets her latest customer with a smile, disregarding apologies while setting a tray of empty cups down. She then gets a good look at them, a hand on her waist and her smile unfading.

"Well... Here you are now, welcome to the T.E.A Shop! What do you think?"

Yes, she spells out every letter of 'tea', but that's also part of the branding...

"Ha! Thanks a bunch. You have a good eye." Tuesday laughs; a light and gleeful sound that is quick to fade among the hushed conversations of the tea shop's customers. Her mismatched gaze falls upon them then, calm wandering until meeting Kitakat's once again. "I didn't really open the shop to earn quick bytes, there's much better ways to do that. I just thought it'd be a nice thing to do on my free time."

Mars is and will always be a businessman; he's pretty damn great it, and if he wanted to, Tuesday could turn this shop into the most profitable business in Briarbane. That's not the point, though. The point is having it be a cute little shop full of all sorts of marvolous things, that also opens only one day a week.

So, when this new customer praises her work and asks her if she's the owner, Tuesday smiles radiantly, offering a handshake along with the simplest introduction there can be:

"I'm Tuesday, the owner. Hence the schedule. See? Double meanings." She winks before another laugh softly bubbles up. "What can I get you? Tea? Coffee? Potion? An umbrella?"

With a smile and a nod, Tuesday reaches for one of the menus stored nearby, offering it to Kitakat. "We have a few cold options, so let me know what you want and I'll make it for you."

Just as Tuesday had said, the menu lists a few cold tea options along with coffees, from iced tea lattes to cold brews, and yes, even boba.

While Kitakat makes their decision, Tuesday goes around the counter, passing by the Espeon and the curious egg that has been surrounded by lavenders. Calm and methodical, she gets back to work, but of course, that does not mean that she has left the conversation on hold:

"Having themes is good, but it's also important to know how to be flexible. Like with naming your Pokémon, right? A lot of people have themes for Pokémon names, I do too, but would you pass on a name that seems just right because it doesn't fit your theme? I wouldn't."

Most of her Pokémon have names that are literary references, be it to characters in novels or to their authors, but some are the exception.

"Oh the wings are a nice touch, really cute." She agrees, her mismatched gaze admiring Kitakat's wings. It's the that Tuesday begins to work on their order, setting everything up to prepare a cup of boba milk tea. "I hear that if you equip the Catcher subclass you get dragonfly or butterfly wings that let you hover slightly off the ground, but that's a totally different vibe, huh?"

It's with care that she prepares their drink, boba pearls being carefully placed within a glass. She even sets up a cup of foam for Kaede while at it. A puppuccino for a Chikorita...

"What do the names mean?" Tuesday asks Kitakat then, serving their drinks on simple golden coasters. For as much of a polyglot as she might be, she does not know Japanese and she won't pretend like that's the case. So, she asks, ever curious about why people name their Pokémon this or that.

Fall. Tuesday watches the small Pokémon with her pear-shaped body and single leaf, clinging to her Pokémon and demanding affection. Kitakat's own reasoning for it is probably different, but the fact that the Chikorita reminds her of pears sure brings thoughts of the Autumnal season, which in turn makes her appreciate the design.

"Maple leaf, that's cute. I have a Sawsbuck myself... I'm pretty sure they look different as the seasons pass? I named him Bartók after the composer." Bela Bartók. it's a reference she doesn't expect most people she meets in UNOVR to pick up on, but still, the Cantata Profana (The Nine Enchanted Stags) is one of Mars' favourite pieces.

Thankfully for us all, praises to the T.E.A Shop's proud menu come before this turns into a rant about classical pieces:

"Ha! Glad you like it. Eating in game is pretty great, you get to try all these things you might never try in real life, and the best part of all? No need to worry about calories or any of that. You should try the pies the Mom NPC makes sometimes, they're to die for."