Theo straightened in his chair, posture suddenly regal as he lifted the glass delicately by the stem, sniffing at it with exaggerated seriousness, eyes fluttering half-shut as though deciphering the mysteries of life itself.
“Ah yes… notes of… sugar syrup. And… is that… lime?” His brows furrowed in deep concentration, as if he’d just cracked open an ancient grimoire, slipping into a pompous drawl. “No, no, wait. It’s definitely lime. Zesty. Refreshing. Like the ghost of a citrus fruit who died tragically young.” He swirled the cocktail like it was a prized vintage, then took the smallest possible sip. He let it linger on his tongue far too long before swallowing, smacking his lips together lightly in a pretentious little gesture, as though weighing the fate of the world on that taste alone.
“The balance,” he declared in his poshest critic’s voice, “is surprisingly adequate. One might even call it… drinkable. If you close your eyes, it’s almost as though you’re reclining under palm fronds, listening to waves crash upon the shore, when in reality, you’re being charged eight galleons for fancy fruit juice with an umbrella stuck in it.” He set the glass down with theatrical finality, the umbrella twirling once between his fingers before he tucked it neatly behind his ear. “I declare it… an eight point nine out of ten. And that’s mostly for presentation. Because let’s be honest,” his grin broke through, eyes glinting, "the umbrella does all the heavy lifting.”
"What a raving review. I was on the edge of my seat for that one. However with your very vocal love of the umbrella, I fear it takes away from rating the actual drink," Lyra pointed out with a good-humored laugh and a little golf clap for theatrical emphasis. "I mean fair enough. The umbrella has more personality than any drink here. And probably far more than some people we know," she added with another giggle, watching him play with it before it rested tucked behind his ear.
"Eight point nine is incredibly high though," she then mentioned, a light challenging tone to her voice. "Do you think there's any drinks in here that'll be able to top that? Especially sans-umbrella? Like... I dunno, feels like a tall order," Lyra shrugged, letting herself get lost in this ridiculousness of the exchange and enjoying the freedom in that.
