Government Work

I made my way to Snowcap Elder's den after training with Moonlight Guardian. He had given me a half week (5 days) to make any needed arrangements. I didn't need to make any arrangements outside of informing my folks that I would be staying with him, it's not like I was moving halfway across a country. Maybe he needed five days to prepare, and, knowing him and his "supreme excellence," it would take him that long to clear out a corner for me to sleep. Well, I guess I still appreciated the time to mentally prepare. I think people undervalue mental prep time, it can really make all the difference.

Anyway, this was my first day as an Elder apprentice, and the familiar feeling of butterflies accompanied me. This was pretty much a universal experience whenever starting something new. Perhaps it was a little more intense than usual because of the more formal nature of this apprenticeship, and I say this knowing full well that the Elder was closer to Zapp Brannigan than Picard. But it couldn't possibly be worse than the first day under Moonlight Guardian, so I tried to relax as I opened the door to the Elder's residence, the place where I would now be residing.

"Indigo. Delighted to see you." Despite his lack of work ethic, the Elder was always friendly. However, I could not say the same for Mesa, who said nothing but stood straight, arms folded behind his back as he silently watched me enter. I was a little intimidated honestly. In a way, I did feel like I was invading Mesa space, but what could I do?

"Come on over, don't be shy." The Elder waved me over to his side. Mesa’s presence had given me pause, but now that I was being beckoned I made my way over. I took a place by his side, and as I did so, it was apparent that Mesa was sending out low levels of animosity. Do people do that? I had never experienced it before, and it's not like he couldn't hide it. No, it's not unusual for an emotion to slip out subconsciously. Still, all it takes is a small conscious effort to block this impulse. Sure, if you take your mind off it, it could still leak out occasionally, but in this case, his hostility was sustained, so yeah...

"You have great timing Indigo, you have arrived just in time for tea."

"Isn't this usually dinner time?" This had been the case for both my parents' place and the Kite's Klub (TM Pending).

"Snowcap Elder doesn't take an evening meal, he has a more substantial late lunch," Mesa answered curtly, only turning his head, while the rest of his body remained rigid.

"Right you are Mesa," confirmed the Elder, apparently oblivious to the contempt in Mesa's tone. "My stomach isn't what it used to be, I like to get my food digested before bed."

"Oh... Okay." I guess I would need to figure out my meal schedule then.

"Now Indigo, if you wouldn't mind preparing the tea... Oh, but wait, you wouldn't know about that. Mesa, would you mind showing Indigo?"

Mesa stared at me with reproach. "...But of course." He made one of the formal bows you see butlers make to the Elder. "Come along, Indigo," he said briskly and turned to walk to the kitchen.

Unlike the standard dens—or at least my parents—the Elder's den had a separate room for the kitchen. And while the rest of the den was just one room, it was clearly much larger than the pleb's dens and even had something equivalent to a loft. I suppose it only made sense for the tribe's leader to have more swank diggs, but I still didn’t think he deserved it.

"Alright Indigo, tea is a luxury reserved for the cultured, therefore it only stands to reason that you are unfamiliar with it." Was that a not-so-veiled insult? I was of course familiar with tea... From my previous life. That said, I wasn't sure how to prepare it outside of dropping in tea bags. I assumed the traditional way was more involved.

Mesa produced a metal kettle with a spout—apparently, the Elder had also acquired a metal kettle at some point—and filled it with water from a pale. He then set it to boil above a fire in the far end of the kitchen. "Now, while that is going, you will need to set the serving tray."

"Okay, where can I find everything?" I was confident that I could do this part.

"In the cupboard." He pointed. Resting on the shelves was a teapot as well as several cups and saucers along with a cup of a white substance that I assumed was sugar—this guy was just living in the lap of luxury—and of course the tray itself.

"How many people will we be serving?" I wasn't sure if only the Elder engaged in this ritual or if we were all expected to pick up this habit.

"Hmm... three." Mesa maintained his low level of animosity, but it fluctuated a little—not sure what that meant. I pulled down the tray and set three saucers down, then placed the cups on top, followed by the bowl of sugar that I positioned in the center. I wasn't sure if there was some particular arrangement, but I was sure I would be corrected if there was. Lastly, I took the teapot and placed it on a surface closest to the fire, assuming that it would be easier to fill that way.

"...Have you done this before?" His animosity was temporarily displaced by doubt.

"No." Even in my past life, I had never served tea in this manner. I had seen it in TV shows, but even without that, it wasn't rocket science.

It looked like the kettle was boiling, so Mesa removed it from the fire and set it on the counter. "Alright Indigo, here is how this works. You bring the water to a boil. You then need to take the tea leaves..." He opened a jar and took out an amount of tea leaves. "And place them in this strainer." That stainer was conveniently located right next to the tea leaves. "Then you open the teapot and rest the strainer in the opening." He did so and then reached for the kettle. "Next pour in the water, and let the leaves steep for the appropriate amount of time."

"How long is the appropriate amount of time?"

"..." He stared with what I can only imagine was reproach. "Watch and find out." Well, that was mean, but then I remembered that our people have no units for time measurement. Still, he was being a jerk.

"Then we remove the strainer and discard the leaves..." He tossed them into the fire, making a hiss. "And replace the lid." He then placed the pot on the tray alongside the rest of the porcelain. "Simple, yes?"

"Umm, yeah..." It certainly wasn't complicated, but he said that like I was a dullard. Anyway, I carried the tray over to the Elder and placed the tray down in front of him.

"Very good," the Elder said as I set it down. A moment passed and I just stood there for a while, until I felt Mesa's disdainful expectation. He didn't specify, but I realized I was expected to serve it.

"Oh, sorry, I'm not familiar with the custom.” I poured him a cup. "How much sugar do you like?"

"Three spoonfuls will be plenty for me." Three? That seemed like a lot to me, the guy clearly had a sweet tooth to accompany his list of faults. It was then that I caught another of Mesa's passive-aggressive emotes, but this time it was a demeaning smugness. What was that about?

Well, I quickly realized when I went to add the sugar there was no spoon. Clearly, I should have brought some, and clearly Mesa hadn't corrected my error, most certainly to get egg on my face. Well, I would show him!

I pinched out roughly 3 spoons worth of sugar with fox magic and added it to the Elder’s tea—I was confident in my ability to gauge the amount—and then stirred it through the same means. The Elder took a sip. "Perfect! I'm impressed, you got just the right amount of sugar without a measure." Mesa was clearly annoyed. I could tell, by the sudden cessation of emotional transmissions. "The tea is wonderful too, Mesa." This caught him by surprise.

"...Thank you." He bowed.

"Make sure you make it just like Mesa showed you from now on." The Elder radiated warmth as he sipped his tea.

"I will do my best." I bowed as well, but thought the extra flourish Mesa liked might be a bit too much.

I prepared the tea for the rest of us. Mesa took only one spoon of sugar and I, feeling I needed to one-up Mesa, didn't take any. I was worried that this was going to be a very awkward tea party where we all just drank in silence while Mesa cursed my existence, but luckily, the Elder had plenty to talk about.

"So Indigo, as you might have suspected, there is a lot that goes into being an Elder, and by that, I don't necessarily mean in quantity, though that is true as well." Is it? He sipped his tea. "I mean that an Elder has a very eclectic set of responsibilities. In some ways, you need to know a little about everything."

"...Everything?" Everything encompassed a lot of things.

"My apologies, let me clarify, everything that goes on in the village, although the more you know will only make you a better Elder. I would advise never to miss an opportunity to learn something." Looking around his den, he was definitely living his advice, this place looked like a dense room in the Smithsonian. "But I don't want to drop all of that on you right away, I want you to get comfortable first, so I will give you some simple tasks to start with." He gestured towards his collection of misappropriated funds—I mean artifacts. "All I would ask you today is to do some dusting and polishing. You wouldn't believe how fast this stuff collects dust!" Oh, I was aware of how fast stuff you don't use collects dust. However, this was a simple enough task.

"Alright, should I use a cloth?"

"Actually, I got this 'feather duster' just the other day." He pulled over a feather duster that looked like a standard feather duster but of much higher craftsmanship. Sigh, he really was taking the village for a ride. "This is how humans remove dust!" The Elder said, excited.

"But doesn't that just kick the dust back into the air so it can resettle elsewhere?" My personal opinion was that traditional dusting wasn't the greatest.

I noticed Mesa brought a hand to his mouth and couldn't help but think he had stifled a laugh. However, the Elder looked like I had just told him Santa Claus wasn't real.

"B-But, if we open the door and window we can get an air current going and vent out all of the dust!" I didn't want to be the guy to ruin Christmas.

"Yes, Let's try that." He perked up a little at my suggestion. "But first, you said you wanted to learn to speak like the humans, correct?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, so here is something to work on while you are cleaning." He rubbed his trachea. "First you must learn to use your 'vocal cords.'" I grabbed my own to demonstrate that I understood. "They are used to make sounds." He then proceeded to make a long drawn-out "ah" sound. "Now you try."

I did as the Elder asked, but what came out of my mouth would have been shameful even as the last utterance of a dying man. It was true that I had never actually tried to use my voice, oddly enough, but even still, as a former speaker, I was ashamed that it was so weak.

However, the Elder was beyond impressed. "That is exactly right! You might just be the God of Clear Skies' Chosen." Might just be? Looked like there was still a chance to live down this title. Mesa had remained mostly silent, but looking at him now, he seemed to hold himself more rigid than a moment ago. I felt like I might have acquired a rival.

Snowcap Elder told me to practice as I cleaned. I would have done so regardless, as I was frustrated at how weak my voice was. I would go about humming softly, changing up the pitch while I cleaned until my larynx was tired and I had to rest it.

As for the dusting itself, I open the door and window. I couldn't create good airflow in or out of the den while cleaning, but I could create a good breeze to blow all the dust in that general direction, and flying proved useful for reaching the higher shelves. This too seemed to peeve Mesa, as he continued to keep a constant eye on me.

While I was doing this, the Elder and Mesa went over various matters: who was ready to be granted a role name, the building of new dens, and even a couple internal member disputes. And the Elder seemed to be on top of it. I guess he did actually know what was going on, though he did a good job of hiding it. However, I can't comment much on Mesa's side of the discussion. While the Elder was broadcasting, Mesa was using the Whisper. I think the Elder wanted me to benefit from this conversation, and it had either never occurred to Mesa or—more likely—he wasn't inclined to extend this same courtesy.

At any rate, cleaning turned out to be an enjoyable activity. Seeing all the artifacts gave me a profound sense of nostalgia. Many of the devices gave off a steampunk vibe as most were of brass color. He had a looking glass, that watch Moonlight Guardian had used to drive me through the gates of hell, a sextant, a compass, even an abacus among others, and that's to say nothing of the myriad of maps, books, figurines, a globe... This guy was a massive hoarder. Also, this stuff had to cost a fortune to secure, going on the medieval economy that I assumed was the standard in this world. I wanted to cast more shade at him for his blatant abuse of the treasury, but after basking in its glory, I couldn't cast judgment. On the contrary, I was glad that I would now have access to this wealth of knowledge and culture, and felt inclined to help him acquire new pieces at the next opportunity. I had been corrupted, and it was only my first day in government.

__________________________________________________________________________

"How was your first day with the Elder?" Moonlight Guardian asked just after the start of our rounds. It was unlike Moonlight Guardian to ask a personal question, but I was happy enough to answer.

"He has me doing chores, preparing meals, and cleaning mostly."

"So a gentle entry into the profession..." Did she disapprove? I know she had given me quite the welcome when I became her apprentice, but I didn't think a baptism-by-fire approach was the norm.

"Well, I do have a sore throat!" She looked at me puzzled. "The Elder started speech lessons with me and I might have overdone it." I rubbed my throat. It hurt to swallow or even inhale quickly.

"...That can give you a sore throat?"

"Ahhh—yes..." It seemed obvious, but if Moonlight Guardian was like me, she had never tried to use her vocal cords and probably had close to no idea how it worked.

"Huh..." She turned back to surveying the village, bewildered.

"Also, I feel that Mesa doesn't like me much." It wasn't so much a feeling as a near certainty, but you had to slow-roll these kinds of things when putting them out there.

"Well, he does seem quite vain." We moved up to the next platform. This basically just meant climbing up a few tree branches.

"Would that matter?"

"He might not like to share the position or get less attention. Still, dealing with difficult people is part of being an Elder, so you should consider it part of your training." I wasn't too worried about Mesa as long as he wasn't openly hostile. But she was right, I should try to form at least a working relationship even if we didn't get along. Elder apprenticeships can go on for a long time, and I didn't want to deal with open hostility on a daily basis. Moonlight Guardian really was a wise mentor.

My day, or evening, with the Elder, started with tea. After Mesa's brief tutorial, I was confident that I could make it just fine, it wasn't like you could mess up putting tea leaves in hot water. However...

The Elder smacked his lips, "Hmm..."

"Is something wrong?" It wasn't hard to see that Snowcap Elder was discontent.

"It seems the tea just isn't..." Despite his hesitancy to disparage, it was clear he thought that his evening beverage was subpar. I could feel Mesa sneering at me. I couldn't help but wonder if he had set me up for failure.

"My apologies, I made it the way Mesa instructed." I cast a glance at him. "But I must have missed something." I don't think Mesa appreciated me putting attention in his direction, but I hadn't actually passed off the blame. "Maybe he could instruct me in the finer points of the craft?"

"Hmm..." The elder stroked his beard—the one on the mask.

Snowcap Elder

Well, what to do? It is quite evident that Mesa is not happy with my acceptance of Indigo as an apprentice. He thinks I am unaware of his antics, but I am well aware, though he hasn't concealed the fact that he is opposed to this break in custom.

However, that is not the problem. My tea is the problem. I could have Indigo learn to brew the perfect pot of tea independently, but that could take a while. He is a genius, but does that genius extend to the art that is tea? Who can say?

On the other hand, I could have Mesa instruct him until he is capable on his own. My concern is that this could build additional enmity between the two and I would like to avoid that if possible. I've seen how rowdy rivels can get, and I have a den full of precious artifacts!

I took another sip of the tea Indigo had brought, Mmm... The decision was easy, potential damage was a possibility, but poor-quality tea was a guarantee for the immediate future if Indigo was left to his own devices.

"Yes, Mesa, please mentor Indigo until he can perfect the craft."

Mesa

Sigh... I don't want to mentor this uppity pup! Well, perhaps I am putting too much on it; it would be easy enough to show him exactly how to brew the tea the Elder's liking. Despite my disapproval, I will admit, he has demonstrated a quickness of mind.

However, the plan was to tarnish his image by proving him incapable of providing the evening tea—a routine that Snowcap Elder most cherished. This alone wouldn't be enough, but it would have an outsized impact on how Indigo was perceived. I would just need to find other areas to chip away until the Elder recanted his apprenticeship. It would take some doing, but I had confidence in my subterfuge.

But if the Elder was going to insist that I mentor him in tea making, then his subpar tea would reflect badly on me. I could probably arrange for the tea to come out fine while I supervise without giving away the key details, and claim that Indigo just didn't have the knack when left to his own devices, but once again, that would still reflect poorly on me as a teacher. It would be a pyrrhic victory.

Hmm...

Indigo

I could see the wheels turning in Mesa's head as we made our way to the kitchen. It was obvious that he was scheming something, but It couldn't be that nefarious, it was only tea after all. Regardless, I was aware that he was trying to thwart my tea-making attempts, so I would be watching what he did like a hawk and mostly blocking out what he said.

Once in the kitchen, Mesa abruptly cast the teapot's content into the fire, giving no heed to the whooshing sound it caused. That seemed rather crude, but it wasn't like there was a sink of anything, so perhaps this was the standard way to handle this. But I couldn't help but think there was some hostility in this action.

Leaning against the counter arms crossed, Mesa let out a loud sigh and looked at me. "Okay, set the water to boil..." Mesa took me through the same steps he had taken me through before, but he went into detail, as he had me prepare it.

"Let the water cool for... You will need about this much... Next, add the water slowly, and wait for..." He had me taste test it a couple of times. "There, remove the leaves." I Honestly couldn't really tell much difference in the tea from one moment or another, I guess I would have to go with time and hope for the best until I could develop the sensitivity.

"Ah, this is much better." The Elder was happy.

I bowed. "I'm sure with senior apprentice Mesa instruction, I will be able to make something passible on my own eventually." I felt a warmth radiate from the Elder. As for Mesa, he didn't add anything disparaging. He just looked away. I didn't think that Mesa's opinion of me had changed, but I did want to foster that good working relationship.