#Always interested me how both Kris and Susie tea heal Ralsei for 120HP

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Transcendental Teatime Taste Test

(in which Kris has a new flavour tea for Ralsei to try)

You knock on the door a third time, parcel stowed inexpertly behind your shoulder cape. Could he have actually gone out somewhere? But he never went anywhere without you or Susie to accompany him... well, certainly not without You, at any rate.

But you needn't have worried, because a few moments later you hear the latch click and the door creaks open to reveal Ralsei. He is somewhat surprised to see you, but he is also unable to hide the joy in his expression.

'Oh, Kris!' he chirps. 'What... an unexpected surprise! To what do I, um, owe the pleasure of this visit...?'

You say nothing, taking a moment for the prince to stew in the awkward silence. Waiting for him to notice the strange way you're holding one arm behind your back.

It doesn't take him long to put two-and-two together, and his snow-white face darkens a deep red. His smile is shy as he asks you, 'D-do you have s-something back there for... for me, Kris...?'

You consider saying "no", just to see him sqirum a bit more... but you have something you want verifying, something a little more important than pulling petty pranks like that. And so with a flourish of your cape you reveal the neatly-wrapped box, presenting it to Ralsei as though it were a ceremonial weapon. Your theatrics do not go unnoticed... or unappreciated

'Ooh, Kris!' he exclaims, puffing himself up in an attempt to look as princely as possible. 'What gift is this you have brought? Surely a mysterious trinket from far-flung lands, the likes of which no darkner has ever laid eyes upon!'

The caprine boy giggles, somewhat mortified by his own earnestness. He takes the package from you, taking care not to crease the delicate multicoloured paper it's wrapped in. Almost at once his eyes widen, the aroma emanating from the box unmistakable to his quivering nostrils.

'Y-you brought me a... a new tea to try!' Ralsei's eyes sparkle like diamonds beneath his cola-bottle glasses, and he is visibly torn between shredding the packaging into ribbons right there and then, and throwing his arms around you to articulate his joy. 'Th-this is so... I've never... th-thank you so much, Kris!'

His unbridled excitement spooks you a bit, despite the fact that you had actually anticipated this reaction. You calm yourself, remembering that this is just the way that Ralsei is built. It would have been no different had Susie been the one to give it to him.

...well, mostly, you reason.

Perhaps sensing your slight discomfort, the prince composes himself a bit, though his face remains flushed with happiness. 'Ah, sorry about that... it's just I, um... don't really get gifts from anyone, so it... it really means...'

He looks like he's on the verge of tears, but a moment later he realises his error. 'O-oh, I'm sorry! W-we should give this tea a try, shouldn't we, Kris? I can't wait to try it out!'

Neither can you... but not, you suspect, for the same reason as him.

Ralsei ushers you into his room, urging you to sit at a small table laden with the most ornate crockery you have ever seen - even more ostentatious than your mom's Good China. You note the three places set around the table, and that two of the three chairs are already occupied by plush effigies of you and Susie. The stitching on them is well-worn, white stuffing poking through the loose lining. Ralsei gathers them up with one hand, mumbling an embarrassed apology, gesturing for you to sit where the Kris doll had once been.

'I'll j-just prepare the tea, so please, um... be patient a moment. Ok, Kris?' And with that, he zooms away, leaving you to your racing thoughts. The chair is a little small and digs into your back, despite the armour you always wear in the dark world.

Could there be any chance he'd figure it out before you had an opportunity to see his reaction? It didn't seem likely, considering how difficult it was to acquire this particular blend, but... well, Ralsei was pretty good at knowing about things he shouldn't.

Like your name, for instance.

Of course, there was that whole "prophecy" thing, wasn't there? It wasn't entirely unreasonable to suppose that both your and Susie's names were etched upon it somewhere - that was a pretty common thing to happen in prophecies, right? If the stories were anything to go by, anyway.

But you can't completely shake the crawling suspicion that somehow, he just Knows. That all this is a big game and he's just... playing along. Your heart - your actual heart and not the You that wasn't you - thumps an anxious beat against your ribcage. Your palms run clammy with sweat. But surely, there was nothing to worry about, was there? Ralsei was your friend, after all. He liked you.

Well, you'd find out in a moment, wouldn't you?

And then, almost as if on cue, the prince returns, carrying a large tray groaning with every type of cake you could possibly think of - rich red velvet cake, dense and moist carrot cake, fluffy and colourful angel food cake. In its centre sat a large and colourful teapot, its spout blowing a gentle tail of steam through the air behind him. You swallow, force a small smile, do your utmost to present as, and indeed to be, Normal.

'S-sorry that took so long!' he says, setting the tray down between the two of you. 'I, um, might have gotten a little carried away with the cakes, haha. But I figured you wouldn't mind! ...Err, hopefully.'

You shift your glance from Ralsei to the colossal pile of cakes in front of you. Many of them, you now see, are some variation of chocolate flavour. Your stomach rumbles, despite your unease. Perhaps you really were just overreacting. Gingerly, you take a fudgy brownie - it is studded with glossy milk, white and dark chocolate chunks that ooze slightly from the still-warm cake.

'Now how about we try this tea, Kris?' says Ralsei with a sweet smile, proffering the teapot to you. You nod, mouth full of gooey sweet brownie, and he pours out a small cup for you, before seeing to his own. The liquid is a deep dark caramel colour, but you also suspect you can glimpse the occasional flash of deep crimson as the light dances across its surface..

'Ohh, doesn't it smell heavenly?' he continues, lifting his china cup to his nose and inhaling the steam, before giving off a contented sigh. 'Give it a sniff, Kris!'

Curious, you copy Ralsei's gesture. The steam wafting from your cup hits the inside of your nostrils, and you are taken aback by how hot it feels. Once you acclimatise, however, you take a tentative sniff...

...it smells like nothing you have ever experienced before. An aroma that teeters on a fine line between rotten and sweet, like the faintest whiff of fermenting fruit, or of the manure spread over the fields in spring. Not entirely unpleasant... but not what you would call "appetising", either.

'...you know, Kris,' the prince says, peeking over the rim of his cup at you, 'I didn't really, um, have you down as enjoying this... sort of thing.'

You raise an eyebrow. Ralsei gives you a nervous chuckle, an endearing bleat-like noise.

'Well, I suppose I don't... I don't really... know you all that well, do I? F-for all I know, you could actually really like... this. Am... am I making any sense, or...?'

You don't respond right away. Thankfully, you aren't required to give an answer, because a moment later, You nod. His shoulders sag a little, and a small smile spreads across his face again.

'O-okay... that's good, haha,' he says. 'I... I was worried that you were just... just humouring me, I suppose. N-not that it would matter if you were, or are! It's nice just being here with you, Kris.'

A paw reaches out across the table, alabaster fur gently tickling your fingers. His smile widens, his eyes go soft... and then he seems to realise what he's doing, and sharply withdraws his hand, almost as though you'd burnt him. There's a slight stab of rejection close to your heart - it's not clear which of You the feeling originates from. Perhaps both.

'A-anyway-!' says Ralsei, tucking his offending paw into his robe and turning his face away slightly. 'Wh-wh-why don't we t-try some of this lovely tea you've brought for us? If it tastes anywhere near as g-good as it smells, then I think we might be in for a real treat...!'

You nod enthusiastically, grateful for a distraction from the awkwardness. You waste no time and take a long, slow sip from your teacup, bracing for something truly stomach-churning...

...but that's not what you taste. You were expecting something like spoilt milk, or toast so burnt it's unbearably bitter, but instead all you can identify is... chalk. Not awful, but not pleasant. It seems to coat your mouth and throat as you swallow, and you're reminded of the milk of magnesia your mother used to make you drink when you had an upset stomach.

You're almost disappointed at how bland it tastes. You were expecting something a bit more than this... whatever it is.

(HP + 10)

'Well?' asks Ralsei. 'H-how is it, Kris...?'

You make a show of thinking about it. Take another sip to add to the effect - strangely, the chalky flavour is starting to grow on you. You worry a little about what that implies.

'Yeah it's pretty good,' you're able to say; it's always a slight shock when You're permitted to speak. You wait a moment to see if more words are forthcoming, and when they are not, you gesture the prince to follow your example.

Finally. Now you'll be able to see which You he thinks he's talking to. Your breath catches a little in your throat as he raises the cup daintily to his lips, as the first drop of manna falls onto his tongue.

You wait as he takes a sip. And then another. And still another. With each gulp, he tips the cup further and further, until you wonder how he could possibly hold it like that without drenching himself with hot tea. And still he is not done. In fact, he fully upends the cup, draining it to its very last dregs.

'...oh,' the prince says, setting the china back down upon his saucer. You note the trancelike glaze in his eyes, the cogs whirring in his fluffy head as he struggles to quantify and comprehend what it is he has just experienced.

'Oh,' he says again, voice lower this time. 'Ohhh.'

You'd ask Ralsei if he was alright, if you were capable. But you don't need to. You know exactly what's happening. It's exactly as you'd always suspected.

'This... K-Kris, this is...!'

He is unable to finish the sentence before he is pouring himself a second serving of tea, china rattling as he picks it up and downs it all in one go. A third cup is poured, which joins the others in the pit of Ralsei's stomach. And you watch it all unfold, expression flat, inscrutable.

'...still can't...' the prince breathes, smacking his lips together. 'It's... it's like nothing I've ever tasted before...! The... the sweetest sugar would taste like bitter salt next to this... the richest cake, as bland as tofu! It's... the closest thing to... to heaven I've ever...!'

(HP + 451)

He is enraptured, seeming to forget you are there entirely. You can't even imagine how anything could possibly taste so good - not even your mother's posh chocolates could elicit that kind of a reaction from you. It's a little uncomfortable to watch, and not just because of the implications.

After a little while, however, he starts to come back to earth. Ralsei blinks, apparently mortified that you witnessed him losing control like that. He takes off his glasses to polish them, and you note that his eyes still have that slight faraway look to them.

'O-oh, I'm sorry, Kris,' he mumbles into his scarf. 'That was rather, err... unbecoming of me, wasn't it...? B-but that tea really was so... um, th-thank you for bringing it to me!'

Slowly, you nod. His gaze slides off of you, as if he is ashamed of what he had just done - yet still, he cannot seem to help looking pointedly at your half-full teacup. You pretend you don't notice, and he doesn't make anything of it. And so the minutes pass awkwardly by until it is time to go.

'Oh no, don't worry about that!' he says hurriedly as you offer to help tidy everything away. 'I've... e-everything's under control here! A-and I enjoy tidying up, anyway!'

As if to demonstrate his enthusiasm, he sweeps everything up onto the tray and hoists it into the air with both hands before you can object. As he whisks all the plates and cups back where they belong, you think you spot him surreptitiously sip from the cup you drank from - desperate for one final taste of godly manna. You wait patiently for him to finish, and then stand up to go, stowing away another delectable brownie for later.

Ralsei walks you to the door. 'It was lovely to see you again, Kris! And, um... thank you again for the wonderful gift.'

He seems to look through you as he says this. You'd seen that look before, but now it holds much more significance as you realise - Ralsei has literally been looking through you the entire time. Through to the You residing in your very SOUL. The You that no-one else could see.

As you say your goodbyes and leave the darkness behind, you start to wonder if this had been such a good idea. If maybe you should have just left things as they were. If maybe, it would have been easier - better, even - not to know about these things.

You might have at least been able yourself into thinking that any of it was for you in the first place.

---

The alleyway was deserted when you arrived. No-one came this way unless they absolutely had to, and with good reason; a terrifying host of unearthly creatures made their home in this place - beings that could offer the curious and the credulous deals to attain their heart's desire. But all transactions were made at the purchaser's own risk.

The figure you were after resided at the very back of this hellish locale. As you passed by several dilapidated stalls, voices whispered to you, as insubstantial as cobwebs in the darkness, imploring you to browse the various goods and services they could provide. More than once, you were forced to turn down something referred to only as a "Single Sneaker" - a cursed trinket of unfathomable origin, no doubt.

A lone creature sat at a small table, upon which rested an item that looked very much like an ordinary household kettle. The demented runes scrawled underneath this shabby display told of its power: "FLAVORED TEAS MADE HERE".

The figure noticed you approach, springing to life like a motion-sensing anamatronic. Its angular nose and rictus grin unsettled you - though you couldn't quite understand why.

'Care for a sample?' the Addison spoke, its voice dry from lack of use. 'Teas specially made bespoke, tailored to YOUR unique flavour profile!'

You did not respond, but stopped directly in front of them.

'Just you today, Sir and/or Madam?' they laughed, nerves showing.

You swivelled your head from left to right, sweeping the alleyway for signs of anyone there aside from the two of you. It didn't hurt to be absolutely sure - you didn't want any more people knowing about this than was absolutely necessary.

Then, very slowly, you nod.

'Great! Then I'll just-'

The Addison had no time to continue their sentence, before you raised an arm into the air, clenching and unclenching your hand in preparation for what had to be done next.

Your screams were silent as you struggled against Yourself - a well-rehearsed mime show of internal pain and anguish. The darkner's eyes widened in mute terror, their smile frozen in place. They could not look away as you gripped hold of something lodged deep within yourself, yanking at it once, twice, thrice...

And with a sickening wrench, it came free: a heart-shaped object, the colour of blood, pulsed weakly in your hands. It was You. It was not you. Both and neither of these things were true at the same time.

You proffered the SOUL to the quivering Addison, gesturing with your free hand towards the kettle. Somehow, they understood what was required, and set to work brewing a tea. Satisfied, you returned the object back where it belonged, and waited patiently as if nothing interesting had happened.

The resulting liquid shimmered uncannily in the faint darklight, shivering as if possessing a life of its own. Wordlessly, the salesperson decanted the tea into a canister, wrapped it up in gift paper, and handed it to you with trembling fingers.

It felt lighter than you thought it would be. Almost insubstantial - as if it didn't have a physical presence. You spotted a small tag tied to the gift bag, with a single word scrawled upon it:

SOUL.

You tore it off and discarded it. No need for him to know what this was. Now you would know for certain, just what he actually thought of You.