Tea Time (Lost)

The boy smiled at Hyacintha, feeling welcomed to the rich looking abode. He looked up at the house named Raspushia one more time, marveling at the fineness of it before nodding at Hyacintha and heading to follow her into the home. He listened to Hyacintha and smiled lightly, thinking out his response carefully.

"I'm not really sure to be honest... Everyone thinks it's just a huge joke, though." he said politely, again marveling at the niceness of the house. He followed her into the dining room, taking Hyacintha's invite, and took a seat next to her.

Hyacintha was pleased that Nilo seemed relax in the presence of Raspushia. She knew where the boy came from and did not want to offend or scare him off with the piece of property she had much pride in. To see him smile and instead admire the house brought joy to the young lady as her grin remained and she lead the way into the big house. She was patient with the boy as she allowed him to look around the house as long as he wanted. When they reached the table and she sat down, Nilo took the seat next to her after answering her question.

As she heard what he had to say, she pouted playfully at the other.

“Well that is not very good. How am I too keep up with the good things if people like playing jokes like that. I really wanted some of what I heard to be real. Imagine how the world would turn out if it was all true,” Hyacintha said as she moved the tray so Nilo could pick a tea bag before picking her own. Once that action was done, she would pour the water for them as Snow finally came out of the kitchen with a bandaged hand and a bit winded.

Hyacintha raised an eyebrow at him, but the other just shook his head as he sat down on a pillow on the floor. Whatever had happened in the kitchen must’ve not been pleasant. Regardless of that, Snow took his glasses off and cleaned them as he spoke.

“If that whole ordeal was a joke it was quite elaborate….and what of those strange holes popping up everywhere? Holograms or something?” he asked as he narrowed his eyes at the glasses before continuing to rub them with the bottom of his shirt. "On that note, I wonder how that girl even pulled it off. I don't think just anyone can make broadcast."

"That is true, but money and connection can pave the way for a lot of things," Hyacintha said and then looked at Nilo. "What do you think? You think it was a joke?"

The conversation was light as if the pair were just ordinary folk making speculatations about the ordeal.

Nilo stayed quiet and listened to the two, taking a tea bag and dipping it in his tea. He contemplated what they where saying, forming a fabricated lie to keep the two out of his hellish world. H gave himself a brief moment of thought though, what if they had potential? What if they had awakened after the events of the tower, or if Angel simply didn't state their names. He inwardly shook his head though, deciding to simply speak from the point of view he would have if he would have been rendered normal.

"... If it's a joke, it's an amazingly well fabricated one. Think of it, holographic rifts, hacking major air ways. And for what? Just to scare people...?" he asked, twisting a strand of his hair, now in contemplated thought. "It could be a set up for a terrorist attack... An elaborate one, yes, but it makes sense... We're all distracted on the here and now, more so now, and it'd create a perfect opportunity to assault us at will." he said with a sigh, grimacing at the fact.

"It's a terrible thought... But of course, this is just the worst case scenario." he said in a lighter tone. "It could just be some group of kid's idea of a good time, maybe a business's technology gone hay wire? Or even government technology going a bit loopy..." he said in a wistful tone, taking a sip of his tea. He looked over to Hyacintha with a smile, lightly raising the tea cup.

"It's quite good, thank you." he said politely, his small smile on his face.

Snow cleaned his glasses as Hyacintha made her tea. The boy was quiet and contemplative about what was said and while this was normal of the boy, the pair had to wonder if the silence was the normal kind or the kind taken when one was trying to avoid getting into a sticky situation. It was an interesting thing to play with, but neither showed any suspicion of what they thought.

As Snow slipped back on his glasses, he narrowed his eyes slightly at Nilo to focus as the other began to speak. To his words, the other let out a light “hmm” as he ponder the possibility.

“That is possible. The Azores Region has been peaceful for a while. I can see someone maybe becoming bored enough to stage such a tactic on the place just to stir it up. Terrorists, I am not so sure would go so far out of the way with a strike, but bored teens…perhaps. Still I’d question where they got the money. I am sure that little trick wasn’t cheap. I wonder who could’ve backed them up…” Snow said as he at least looked like he was pondering the idea. In reality he was simply waiting to see if the boy would slip up somewhere and perhaps mention something not so normal. Something that would give more information about the boy to them.

While Snow fell silent, Hyacintha nodded as she stirred her tea and played a different card from Snow.

“I think that would be a rather useless waste of money. Sure, chaos is nice here and there, but why on earth waste money stirring up chaos? If I were in charge of something like that, I would’ve put more love into it and wouldn’t have spent a penny,” Hyacintha said with a light chuckle before sighing lightly. “Still, I got to hand it to whoever came up with that idea. Even if it was just a hoax, those holographic rifts still exist all over the place. In fact, I found one in my neighbor’s front yard the other day. He was staring at the thing for hours not sure if he should move or not,” Hyacintha said and then frowned lightly. “Now that would be odd. Having the whole neighborhood empty due to this. What will I do then?” Hyacintha said with a light pout.

“We could move closer to Nilo, so you’d have a friend nearby,” Snow suggested.

To thism Hyacintha giggled with delight as she looked from Snow to the boy.

“Hehe. I don’t know. I think we might scare him away,” she said lightly teasing the other as she watched him with what appeared to be playful eyes, but were they really playful or were they simply observing a particular likeable specimen of interest? It was hard to say or read as the looked vanished in an instant as Nilo mentioned the tea.

“Oh! I am so glad you like it. I was in quite the panic trying to figure out what you like,” Hyacintha said as a relieved look crossed her face.

The boy sipped his tea and stayed silent, listening to Snow and Hyacintha remark on his comments. He found it intriguing that they agreed with a few hypotheses he made on a whim. It did make him raise a few questions, though. Did they truly believe his tails or did they know things as well? It was hard to tell, especially when they where so polite and nice. He decided to place it under him being overly analytic, thinking about Azores abandoned because of what the angels where doing...

He thought about his town, its large park only residents to the poorer and more questionable people of Azores. It never bothered him though, social status because of money wasn't something he payed attention to. He gave himself a moment to glance around the nice house. He wondered what his life would have been like if his father had had a better paying job, or even his mother for that fact. He didn't let a sigh escape though, his attention perking up as the conversation turned to one about his home.

It was safe to say the boy blushed, at Hyacintha's remark, putting on a light smile in an attempt to hide it (albeit poorly with his pale composure). He thought up a response to it though, trying his best to not come across oddly as he did so.

"You wouldn't scare me away, Hyacintha. It'd honestly be nice to have people my age near my home for once." he said with his polite smile and tone of voice, taking another sip of his tea. "I usually drink coffee but tea is still good. But when it comes to tea, I'm not picky, it all tastes very good to me... I guess you could say I am 'tea-stless?'" he said with a wince, really disliking his unbearably poor joke.

"... F-Feel free to forget that terrible pun..." he said with a light blush, taking another sip of his tea to prevent himself from saying anything else terribly dumb.

Snow remained quiet as the boy began to speak. His sharp eyes took note of the blush of the other and the way he acted. When he commented about them moving nearby, Snow’s expression was unreadable as he looked the pale boy up and down, sizing him up. What was this? Did he like his master? And if so did he think he was good enough for her? Tch! Only Snow could be the judge of that if this was truly what the boy thought. Sure, Nilo was kind and what not, but prepared to take care of Hyacintha? Well, that was still up in the air wasn’t it?

Granted the blush could’ve come from something else, so maybe Snow was digging too far into the lines. Whatever. As long as Nilo didn’t do anything drastic, why should he care how the kid spoke or interacted with his master? Blinking as the blank look crossed his face and vanished, Snow shifted on his pillow and was on the edge of lying down, when he froze as he heard the most atrocious of jokes come out of Nilo’s mouth.

He didn’t mean to be rude, but he just couldn’t help the expression that came across his face as he looked over at Nilo.

Hyacintha on the other hand was quiet for a moment with a blank expression as she held her tea poised in her hand as if she was about to drink as she watched Nilo and then—

A snicker.

A snort.

And then laughter.


Hyacintha put her tea down as she began to laugh uncontrollably at what she had heard causing Snow to look at her in even more confusion. He didn’t understand what was so funny, but Hyacintha was rolling at this point as she leaned back in her chair still laughing.

“I…I am…sorry Nilo. B-but that is just…” she trailed off unable to talk as she continued to laugh for a while longer until finally she composed herself enough to talk again.

“That is too funny. Where did you find such a joke?” Hyacintha said as she wiped her eyes very amused as she calmed from her laughing fit and looked over at Nilo charmed by the joke even if it was bad. Snow, on the other hand, simply frowned at his owner as he pondered the possibility of his master going completely over the edge.

The boy blinked and honestly didn't know how to react to Hyacintha's response to his poor joke. He had expected a response similar to Snow's but the out of control laughing was what was given. He raised a brow and laughed lightly as well, taking another sip of his tea to keep himself from laughing as hard as Hyacintha. He listened to her question, smiling lightly.

"It was just a poor pun." he said with a light laugh. "It was really just to lighten the mood a bit... I didn't expect it to have such an amusing effect on you, though, Hyacintha." he said with a light smile, glad he could make her laugh so.

Hyacintha grinned at Nilo as he laughter lightly along with her. She supposed that the laughter was uncalled for, but at the same time Hyacintha was easily amused by the simplest and sometimes the silliest of things. Unlike her more serious counterpart, Hyacintha easily found humor and delight in everything around her making even a bad pun beautiful to her ears.

As she calmed, she took a sip of her tea before responding to Nilo.

“Oh no. I think it was quite good,” the young woman said as she began to eat a grape. “You must learn to always expect the unexpected with me,” Hyacintha teased Nilo lightly before plucking another grape and eating it.

Snow, on the other hand, simply shook his head as he looked away from the pair. He honestly did not understand his master’s odd tastes at times, but he supposed if the joke was that wonderful to her, then he had no right to complain about it. However, he could bite back just a little, yes? After all the boy had made a comment about the mood of the house that perked Snow’s interest a bit.

“Well, I supposed you did manage to lighten the mood alright,” Snow said glancing up at Nilo with lightly narrowed eyes and the faintest of smiles on his lips. “The gloom did move a bit out of the way,” he told the other with a light nod, but his tones made it hard to tell if he was playing, being sarcastic or truly giving a compliment. Had Nilo struck a nerve? Or was Snow perhaps reading a bit deeply into what could’ve been simple words? It was unknown, but the words had been said and Snow was watching the other with light curiosity, hiding unspoken questions within.

Regardless of what effect Snow’s words had upon the boy, Hyacintha would remain friendly as she watched Nilo for a moment and then as she seemingly remembered something, she would clap her hands lightly.

“Oh! How is your mother, Nilo? Is she doing well?” she asked in casual tones. The conversation had seemed to have left the issue of rifts and the announcement for the moment. So it left one to wonder..Had the pair simply brought it up due to hearing the announcement on the news? Or was there something more behind this change in subject?

The boy listened to the two with a polite smile and nod of his head to Hyacintha and Snow respectively. He liked their company, to be honest. Snow's cool attitude and Hyacintha's sweetness made it feel like he was at home with the two. He took a sip of his tea before perking up at Hyacintha's question, smiling warmly before speaking.

"My mother is well. She's been working fervently as per usual." he said with his polite smile, placing his tea cup down. "She's gotten a raise recently in one of her jobs, and so she's had more free time. She's actually been given the opportunity to work full time and so she'll be able to stop working so many." he said with a sense of joy in his voice.

Despite how odd, Snow and Hyacintha could appear to be to others, Nilo was one of the few people that actually did not judge them as he instead accepted them and their oddness for what it was. Just them being them. While the pair didn’t ever say thanks or anything like that for the boy doing this, the fact that they continued to be their confusing selves showed the small amount of trust they had in the other.

Even if Nilo kept secrets and wouldn’t tell them flat out what he knew, the curious pair would hold no grudge against him. Hyacintha liked the boy and while Snow did take a moment to get over the idea of his master being close to the boy, the fact that his over protectiveness had stayed in check was proof enough the more serious young man had some form of liking towards Nilo. If not, there was no way the other could even get near Hyacintha let alone hug his master without some resistance being made.

Dislikes and motives aside, Snow would become quiet as the subject turned to Nilo’s mother. When Hyacintha heard the answer, her smile only grew brighter as she clapped her hands excitedly.

“Oh, that is wonderful to hear. Maybe next time, she can come to tea and then we can all have nice dinner cooked by me!” she said excitedly and then looking up at the ceiling for a moment a blush came across her cheeks as she rethought what she said. “Of course, that dinner will have to be planned for the future. I still need to take those cooking lessons ~!” she practically sang as she covered up embarrassment with a light chuckle. Yeah. She didn’t exactly want to kill anyone with her cooking and asking Snow to take on such a feat alone was asking way too much in her opnion. No….she had to learn to do more for herself. How else was she going to be able to take care of Snow or the man she married?

Hyacintha’s eyes glazed over her mind drifted into Lalaland where she became the ultimate wife and protector of her family and friends. Apparently, she had forgotten for a moment that she had a guest, but thankfully Snow did not.

“There she goes again into her dream land,” Snow said lightly as he shook his head with a small smile before laying down on his pillow, or rather stack of pillows and using a hand to hold his head up as he looked over at Nilo with a relaxed expression and smile.

“What type of dreams do you have that make you happy, Nilo?” the young man asked calmly as he watched the other with the calmness of a tiger despite how odd or out of place the question was.

The boy nodded his head to Hyacintha with a smile, taking another sip of his tea. He had almost forgotten about his mother's offer to teach Hyacintha how to cook. It wasn't due to neglect, but due to how insane his life had gotten. He inwardly sighed, keeping his polite smile on to not worry the girl or the glassed boy. He laughed lightly at Hyacintha's fantasy, nodding his head.

"My mom hasn't forgotten. She's just waiting for you to tell her when you're ready." he with a light smile and nod of his head, taking a sip of his tea as the room went silent. He was about to say something before turning to Snow, grateful for his speaking.

"... Dreams?" he said with a thoughtful tone, looking down at his tea with a hum. "... I dream of a forest... It's a terrifying place, spider webs adorning everything in sight... But then I dream of wonderful things... Of a wonderful world with peace and happiness." he said in the tone a true writer would use to describe something fantastical.

“Oh…I didn’t give her a date, did I?” Hyacintha said still in her dream world.  “Hmm…how about a Tuesday or a weekend? Would that work for her?” she would say as she looked at Nilo as she rested her elbows on the table before resting her head in her hands. By some miracle, she didn’t get her arm into anything as she looked at Nilo with a far off expression wondering if he would like her cooking once she mastered it and then realizing what she was doing, she quickly blinked and looked away, using the cookies as a way to cover her rash actions.

“How about a chocolate chip cookie? Or a oatmeal one?” she said with a smile as she moved the plate of cookies to make it easier for the other to reach. She was doing her best to hide her embarrassment and keep herself from blushing. It was true she liked Nilo, but she had no idea where the idea of impressing him with cooking came from. Oh man, she hoped he didn’t notice that!

In any case, while Hyacintha dealt with her embarrassment and feelings, Snow took note of the changes in the air even though his expression would not tell what he thought of it all as his eyes instead focused on Nilo as the other responded to his question. As he listened, the serious young man would close his eyes for a moment to picture it all before reopening one eye and looking at Nilo. A hint of gold was in the eye.

“Dark forests can often be places of great mystery and danger. Sometimes to find the treasure we must past through this. Perhaps you will struggle to get the dream of peace, but I wonder if we can all agree on that dream. It seems so delightful,” Snow said as he smiled lightly at the other before blinking causing the light gold in his eye to vanish as he opened the other.

So this one dreamed of peace and happiness. A noble and innocent goal, but did all humans agree with this and what of his kind? Could they agree on peace between humans and shadows? Or was Nilo’s black forest more real than the latter?

"It'd be perfect. My mom has the weekends off now, so it should fit perfectly into her schedule." he said with a polite smile and nod of his head. He, however, blinked as Hyacintha continued to stare at him, causing his to blush lightly and hastily take a sip of his tea. He nodded lightly to her, taking a random cookie and taking a small bite from it.

He stayed quiet though, trying his best to hide his blush from Hyacintha as the silence took over the room. The boy looked over to Snow as he spoke though, silently grateful for the break in the silence. He however stayed quiet for a moment, a question forming in his mind due to Snow's words.

They remind him of Sky's words, a woman who warranted caution... But why would Snow have reason to sound like her? He didn't know and so stayed silent, putting on a polite smile and nod of his head.

"I hope so too, Snow. Peace is a wonderful thing to strive for, isn't it? Imagine a world where there's no harm for anyone... Where we can all be well." he said with a light smile, his words true despite his silent suspicion.

“Oh, that sounds wonderful! I’d love to set up a date with her for the cooking lessons,” Hyacintha would say with great joy and then remembering something, she would chuckle lightly. “Granted, I don’t know your number or hers. Should I just waltz over at random to ask?” the young lady asked as she watched Nilo briefly before looking elsewhere.

She had already stared before and didn’t want to do it again. On top of that he had caught her staring and while he did look away from her and try to distract himself with the tea, she wondered if she saw that open like she had for him. If he had, then what did he think of her now? Oh man. Hyacitha’s thoughts remained in a panic for a moment as she used cookies to try and hide it; however, when the boy took a cookie and nibbled a bit off of it, the embarrassment refused to die down. He was just…so cute and kind, but why had she just noticed this and why now of all times? Not understanding how her brain worked, she tried busying herself with her own tea while not making the actions appear forced or unnatural.

The air in the room seemed to be getting warmer, but despite that Hyacintha did what she could to not fan herself. She didn’t need to give anything else away. No. No. She had to keep this secret! Who knew what might happen if this got out?

Snow, on the other hand while not a 100% sure what was happening between his master and the boy, remained relatively calm as he gauged the strange air in the room. It wasn’t threatening, but uncomfortable it was, but not in an unpleasant way. Just in a kind of I-don’t-get-it annoying way…..if that made any sense. In any case, when things became too quiet and tense enough to make Snow feel left out of whatever was happen, he automatically sought Nilo’s attention to break the strange connection between his master and the boy.

Selfish? Maybe, but in this situation the young man didn’t seem to care or know any better. Besides, Nilo had said something interesting and didn’t seem to mind the distraction. When the boy spoke, Snow gave him a light look over as his mind wandered lightly.

“Peace is…complicated in a fashion that I cannot weigh. I would think that it is indeed wonderful, but a world such as the one you speak of seems improbable to achieve...and yet not impossible.  I am just trying to figure how you'd get the whole to go with on such a plan. I would think a world with a tad bit more chaos would be easier to achieve. At least that world is similar to now, but with more perks than downside. Peace…I am not sure if the world is ready for that truth yet,” Snow said pondering the other’s words and ideas. Hmmm…was peace a possible truth to be revealed in the chaos? Or was it a fantasy?

"Oh, I'm sorry... My phone's so old I usually forget to use it." he said with a roll of his eyes. "I can give you my number though, I'm sure my mother would appreciate having time to prepare for your arrival." he said with a light smile.

In truth, the boy didn't know how he felt about Hyacintha. He had never liked, and to an extent loved, another person besides his mother before. He was always so sheltered and distant from others that he never gave himself the chance to feel for others. This came across glaringly in the stories he wrote; most of them consisting of dark passion rather than the true feelings of love. He glanced over to Hyacintha quickly, smiling lightly before bringing his tea cup to his lips, hopefully hiding the light smile. She was pretty and so nice... Being with her right now made him feel... Light and fuzzy. He didn't know how to deal with these emotions, never having felt this before.

The boy stayed quiet though, letting himself dissect and analyze the emotions that fluttered in his chest. He was slightly confused by them, and could only label them as love. He wondered if Hyacintha felt the same way. What if she didn't, and he was getting himself pumped up for a saddening depression? He didn't know, but now wasn't the time to think of such things as Snow spoke. The boy listened politely, silently grateful to be distracted from his emotions.

"... It is true... Peace is mostly an impossibility... An illusion..." he said, thinking for a moment. "... But, striving for true peace... The peace that actually exists... I wonder if that is worth wild. No one can describe what true peace is... But most know it isn't a beautiful road to walk down... Sometimes, in search for peace, people cause more chaos and suffering than what was already there. In the end, peace... Its a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Is it easier to bring chaos into the world? Yes. One-hundred percent so... Is it possible to bring true peace into the world? Well... That's a mystery that only the wisest of philosophers can deduce." he said with a nod, feeling content in his response.