Cherry Blossoms and Fangs - Part One



The female samurai sat with her back to the front door of the tea house. Although she seemed to be focused on her cup of Dragonwell, her senses were in overdrive. Her werewolf companion hunched over his bowl of soup, his ragged breathing a sign that he was still healing from that fight. She smiled to herself - I told him I could take care of myself, she thought. She raised the cup to her lips….only to lower it slowly. The werewolf looked up at her, his pointed ears now twitching. Before she could turn her head, a man flew into the tea house and landed in a crumpled heap. The tea house fell quiet, as all eyes focused on the person on the floor, then on the female samurai as she slowly stood up and walked toward the figure. She crouched down and lightly touched the figure's neck. Barely a pulse. She then pulled down the figure's collar and gasped at what she saw. She felt warm wind against her neck and suddenly, her companion gently removed her hand from the figure's neck as he inspected the tattoo.

"Was this supposed to be a warning?" he growled at her. Seeing a man bearing a mark that resembled a black fish was never a good sign. She didn't reply but only stood up and made her way to the counter and the scared tea house owner who stood behind it.

"He's alive," she said in a low tone, "but just barely. He'll need tea and some meat buns. On me." The owner nodded nervously as she turned to face her companion as he gently lifted the man up in his taut arms. He carried him to their table and set him down, causing the unconscious man to lightly moan. The owner soon came out with a tray of tea and buns and set the tray on their table. The patrons continued to watch in terse silence. The female samurai sat down next to the man and gently raised his head. Suddenly, his eyes flew wide open as he jerked himself out of her grasp.

"W-where am I?" he stuttered as he looked around in shock. His eyes widened even more as he took in the sight of the samurai and a grey haired werewolf seated next to him. He nervously swallowed.

"You need to eat and drink," she said in a serious tone as she pushed the bowl of tea toward him, "and then you need to talk, Undying One."

 

To be continued. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Crows

Image
  (tea leaves photo by me) The old crow flew down from the skies and perched next to me. Of all the times when I flew, he said in a gravelly voice, I wished to be on the ground. He cocked his head at me and waited for my reply. Instead, I set a small tin cup before him and filled it with my morning Tea. He cawed once, then lowered his beak into the warm liquid. Conversations are always important, I replied while he drank. That's why we are lost without them. The crow continued to drink the Tea. Just then, a woman with red hair and dressed in all black, walked up to us and sat down on the other side of me. I've forgotten how to think, she said in a singsong voice. The crow raised his head and cawed - then how are you talking now? His black beady eyes focused on her crooked smile. She closed her eyes and transformed into another crow. I stared off at the clouds and wondered if our thoughts betray us, or if we are the result of them. I then poured Tea into another cup and gave it
Read more

Tea Is A Good Friend of Mine - Celia Carmen Aceae

Image
Here's another great interview - meet Celia Carmen Aceae! What’s your name and what part of the world do you live in? Hi! My name is Celia Carmen Aceae and I live in Montreal, QC, Canada How long have you been drinking tea? What’s the story, morning glory? I’ve been drinking tea since I can remember. In my house, we never drank water and there was no rule against children consuming caffeine at all! I’ve only recently realized that the reason my sister and I were always labeled as crazy, wild and hyper at school, was probably because my mom sent us to class every day with a giant jug of tea. We were constantly caffeinated! Tea also means more than just Camellia sinensis for me. I’ve been reading about medicinal herbs since I was eight. My mother forbade all forms of medication in our household, so I learned at a young age how to cure small ailments with plants and tisanes. My sister was very prone to headaches and anytime she started to get one, I would hop on my
Read more

A Flash of Jazz - Acoustic Bicycle

Image
  When Abby declared that she was now the proud owner of an acoustic bicycle, I rolled my eyes and congratulated her on finally getting that last badge that would claim her to be a Black Hipster. She looked at me as though I had just told the funniest joke. You're just jealous that you didn't know the term, she laughed. At that moment, I wanted to leave but instead replied with - I've heard that snarky ass term before, thank you very much. In fact, I added with my own spoon of snark as I leaned forward on the table, I first heard it when I hung out with that really cool singer-songwriter, you know the one? Now she rolled her eyes at me, giving me full permission to continue on my soapbox. Yeah, yeah, the one who talked about planting wildflowers every time someone purchased her CDs. THAT one. So, Abby replied, I guess you're now going to save the planet, stop eating burgers, and plant a fucking tree every time someone farts? How very original, Wendell . The way she said
Read more