A More Formal Tea: The Crunch

TheCuriousSeed

Coming up next on this episode of Why Boredom Can Sometimes Fuel Creativity...

~Lavender had ruined two lovely gowns already, the first one from gardening, the second from trying to learn tea etiquette and failing. She had one last chance at the ready: her green outfit that had only one sleeve, a tillandsia skort and bejewelled shoes. She had indeed embarrassed not only Foxglove and Xenops, but she embarrassed herself in the Tea Room. Thankfully except the Service and Kitchen talents, only those three were there when the tea incident happened, but then...

~"Look at my outfit!" cried Elva as she flew in wearing a huge brown beetle stain on her dress. "I've naught else that balances formal and talent as well as this outfit!"

~Lavender then had an idea: why not make her own dress look worse than Elva's in comparison? Lavender then took Foxglove's tea and poured it over herself, then took Xenops' and poured that cup on Elva's head! Of course, by then the Tea Room was definitely not empty anymore. Everyone stared at them both.

~"Great, now my hair's a mess too!" Elva exclaimed.

~Lavender, however, didn't care: she still wore a bigger stain on her dress than Elva, plus at least they would look like a tea accident together at the tea party. Besides, what harm could befall them with the backup plan Lavender had?

~Lavender first went to Elva's abode and pulled out Elva's green tillandsia outfit, then led Elva to her house and put on the outfit she'd been waiting all this time to wear.

~"But neither of us are Tinkers!" exclaimed Elva. "We can't be seen in green at that party!"

~Lavender, however, didn't care. It was a tea party and she'd been to one before, that Icy one. The party fast approached, so it was time to go there in their tillandsia ensembles... well, Lavender's ensemble wasn't all tillandsia.

~Unfortunately the Holly holding the party wasn't a Chordate Scout, but a Teatime Event Talent. Normally approachable, this night she wasn't too keen on anyone coming to her tea party looking any which way, as evidenced when Lavender and Elva came in donning green outfits.

~"You two are late," Teatime Holly said to the two fairies flying in.

~"We're sorry, we just had a little mishap," said Elva.

~"And what are you wearing? This is a Talent-Based formal tea. Oh, never mind, just come in."

~The reason Teatime Holly wasn't so approachable was because earlier, Chordate Scout Holly flew into her while on patrol. Teatime Holly shouted at Chordate Scout Holly to watch where she was going, Chordate Scout Holly kept trying to explain that it was an accident only to fall on unwilling ears and that impacted Teatime Holly's decision to invite a very select few to her next party. Let's just say Teatime Holly had a very small amount of patience for mistakes that affected her, not to mention she was a little bossy.

~As the guests all took their tea, Lavender could see the steam coming from the cups and really wanted to avoid a repeat of the tearoom, so she brought a pair of gloves to protect not only her gloves from the last outfit, but her hands from the excess heat. Teatime Holly almost never poured the tea herself at the events, but had a few Service Talents pour the tea. Only when alone or at a much smaller, less formal tea did she pour tea. The tea was much too hot to drink safely, so everyone waited a bit, then drank. It was still too hot for Lavender and definitely too hot for Fauna, who needed her food much colder, so while Teatime Holly flew off to check something, she had Hickory wick away the heat from her tea, then Fauna froze her tea to a little runnier than slush. Unfortunately, Teatime Holly noticed Fauna's tea already lacking steam and made a mental not to never again invite Winter Fairies to her formal soirees.

~Next were the crumpets. Teatime Holly almost never served those herself either, again having the Tea Talents serve those. Now, the Service Talents that were invited to serve the guests were only able to serve the food and drinks, not prepare it, which Teatime Holly did herself prepare, at least where tea treats were concerned. Once everyone was at the ready, they gently tasted the crumpets, which were delicious to all but Lavender, who found them way too sweet and rich in milk. Where was the vegetation? Where were the leafy greens? Where was the water? Where were the fruits, which were oft sweet but never this sweet? After eating just two crumpets, Lavender actually felt a little sick since she wasn't used to so much sugar in one sitting.

~Next came the scones, which smelt like they were even fuller of sugar to Lavender and a little too done. Lavender really wanted water, but even after trying to finish one scone and seeing no water, she'd had enough. Where were the healthy foods?

~Finally, something healthy! Lavender thought when the tea sandwiches came out.

~But upon opening a sandwich and finding an excruciatingly sweet spread with no fruits or veggies, only a sweet dairy cheese and custard with honey and treacle glazed between the dairy products, Lavender tried her best not to throw up. She really wanted water to cleanse out the sugar, or at the very least some cool, bland if not bitter tea with nothing else added, or even a blended veggie soup. She did not want to embarrass herself at a party this formal.

~Finally, Daylily spoke up. "Uh, Holly, Lavender looks really sick."

~"Sick?" asked Teatime Holly. "Most Neverfairies love tea treats."

~"But we also need water, especially Lavender. She can't stomach much more sugar in one sitting."

~It was true: Lavender did enjoy the treats at the Icy Tea Party, but they were never this sweet and plus, she had healthier options as well as the more typical tea fare. Every finger sandwich there had at least lettuce, but she needed something to settle her increasingly pained tummy and fast before she threw up.

~Teatime Holly sighed, then had the Service talents bring salads. Lavender ate her salad slowly, which was making her feel a little better, then there was water offered, which helped too. After all, as much as Teatime Holly excelled at sweets, she knew when her guests were reaching their limits so long as at least one spoke up. Once the dining part was over, Lavender had a little relief, but began sweating a lot. She decided it would be safer to attend a party she knew would have water and healthier food on hand than one that was likely to have only sweets or junk food galore.

~"Thank you all for coming," Teatime Holly announced at last. "Have a good night."

~When everyone departed, Lavender flew to the first source of clean water she found and drank plenty and soon felt better. No way she ever wanted to eat that much sugar again.

~For the next week Lavender ate only vegetables and certain fruits that weren't too sweet because anything sweeter sickened her a bit. She also refused any beverage but water during this time so she could get back to her right healthy self. Afterwards, with clothes cleaned and body feeling better, Lavender was back to rights.

~Tea parties aren't so bad once you know what to expect, she thought, tending to her garden in one of her most durable gardening outfits. But they can be a hassle if the food makes you sick.

~Lavender continued tending her garden happily, knowing that she no longer had to suffer through a bunch of junky foods at a formal party, but no way she was gardening in her formal wear ever again because that was hard to wash! After a good garden tending, Lavender removed her shoes and stuck her feet in the dirt, poured water on her feet and squished them in the mud. She might be fine with formal parties here and there, but nothing beat a good mud squish under her feet and between her bare toes. Lavender was finally back in her element.

Hope you enjoyed the second half of this tale.