How do you take your tea?

Not your Peter Rabbit / half-blood / 15 / Ravenlaw / pansexual / artist / Divination nerd / talk Dickens to me / brother to a wannabe Quidditch star / Fair Isle jumper enthusiast / sleepless wreck / prone to outbursts of song lyrics

[peter-the-seer-blog]

PARA: Tea for Two || Kai & Peter

[kailindstrom-blog]

Kai cocked his head to the side and giggled slightly. He’d only talked to Kieran a little bit, hardly enough to really get a sense of each other. And by talked he meant wrote things to him. I’ll have to try that sometime. Kai grinned brightly at Peter. 

When Kai looked up he saw Peter sinking down his chair and he looked at him curiously. Then he felt Peter’s foot against his and he flushed a bright red, and gave Peter a small smile. What are you- he began but then Peter slid onto the floor. Kai blinked for a second until what happened finally hit him and he burst into a fit of laughter, struggling to stay in his chair himself. After a moment, he calmed down, through a few more giggles escaped and he offered a hand to help Peter up as he shook his head.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

“You have a really cute laugh,” Peter said, eagerly taking Kai’s hand and maneuvering out from under the table.  “I think I’ve said that.  Several times, actually.  But it’s really, really cute.  Do I have to let go of your hand now?”

Peter squeezed Kai’s hand a little tighter and held onto it while he used his other hand to pour out cups of tea for both of them.  He was a little shaky, but it was probably just from nerves.  Or so he thought until he sloshed tea all over his clothes.  He stared blankly at his jumper, then at Kai, and finally, tugged his jumper off with a flailing, wriggly attempt that pulled his shirt up as well and left his hair in disarray.  “Sorry ’bout that,” he mumbled.  “I’m really uncoordinated.  Ever done a tea reading before?”

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

Biscuits and Owls// Odette & Peter

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

“A little bit, but I moved to Paris when I was eleven, so I didn’t see a lot of them until they got here,” Odette said. “Charlie and his cousin were around, but not as much as Declan.” She nodded. “Maman and Father were second years during the war and neither of them really talked about it.” She kept weaving thread. “Do you think the Ministry’s going to do something big this May? It’s the twenty-fifth anniversary, after all.” She nodded. “Then I suppose I should get some when I go to Hogsmeade. Colored pencils or crayons? Which do you think they would prefer?”

“Ah. Well, I think I saw her nesting in the Herbology section, but I only caught a glimpse of her.” She smiled. “That sounds adorable. Does your mother knit a lot?” Maman never knitted or anything of the sort, but one of her aunts liked to crochet things for them sometimes. “I thought I saw someone in the break room when I was there working on a project. Do you think he has a blanket?”

“I was a rather picky eater as a child. Those poor house elves.” She blushed, then nodded. “That would be nice, if you’ll have me. Fair warning, I can barely boil potatoes. Do you two cook a lot?”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

“Huh, you’d think there would be more networking between the families, the way people talk about purebloods.  Wait, Charlie has a... never mind.  Sometimes I forget about Dean.”  Peter tilted his head.  “Well, um, I mean... it’s still pretty fresh in everyone’s minds.  My dad’s still kinda... er...”  He played with the ends of his sleeves, not really knowing how to describe the situation.  “Um... personally?  I like colored pencils.  Crayons are nice, but they do that thing where the wax clumps up.  It’s very frustrating.  But I do wax projects where I melt the crayons with Mum’s hair dryer...”

“Hm?  That’s where she nests?  She takes quills from people, and sometimes she drops them on Kieran’s head.  It’s actually kinda funny when they stick in his hair and he doesn’t notice.”  He nodded enthusiastically.  “Mum knits ‘cuz she says it’s cheaper than therapy.  And she has a shop online where she sells blankets and hats.  They’re actually kinda expensive because it’s a whole lot of yarn that goes into those blankets, but they weigh, like, four bloody kilos or something.  She started knitting these really heavy blankets when Yuri got to be maybe... three years old?  Anyway, he was super fidgety and wouldn’t stay in bed, so he needed really heavy blankets.”  Peter couldn’t help wondering why Kieran was in the break room so often.  Maybe because of Charlie’s formerly empty bed right next to his.  “Kieran?  Yeah, he has one.”

Peter couldn’t really figure out what to say, having been very enthusiastic about food as a child.  “Boiling starchy things is actually kinda hard.  They boil over ‘cuz of how the bubbles form.  But don’t feel bad; Yuri set instant noodles on fire once because he microwaved them with no water.  Ada and I cook a lot though.  Mostly cakes.”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

Silent Nights

Church bells, distorted, overlapping.

Wind groans among the barren trees and whistles through the bus station.

Slender fingers, snow-white from hypothermia, flick desperately at a found lighter.

Once.

The wind blows it out and stings pale cheeks with the kiss of frost.

Twice.

The motions are too slow, fumbling, numbed by cold.

Thrice.

Sputtering flames leap high in desperation, clawing away from a near-empty reservoir.

And it holds for a moment. Long enough for the Lord’s Prayer to pass through chattering teeth.

Long enough to make the night feel even darker when it goes out.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

PARA: Tea for Two || Kai & Peter

[kailindstrom-blog]

Kai turned a deeper shade of red then he actually thought was possible. He should have realized that was what Peter was doing. But instead he went blathering on like an idiot in a language Peter didn’t even understand. Kai bit his lip, looking down and shaking his head. Pulling out a piece of parchment and a pen from his bag, he scribbled quickly. Sorry, I should have realized.

He gave Peter a small smile and looked away again at the compliment. I don’t like my accent… or talking in english much really. He shrugged and passed the note before reaching into his bag and pulling out the cookies. They were his favorite, he didn’t really know what Peter liked, biscotti with pistachio and cranberries with white chocolate drizzle. I baked these for you, if you wanted to have a snack or something.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

“Hey, no, don’t worry about it.  Also, don’t fall for it if Kieran tries to screw with you by talking to you in Swedish.  He likes to mess with people by speaking their first language and then waiting for them to realize they aren’t speaking English.  But if you learn a little Welsh, you can do it right back at him, and he’ll never see it coming.”

While Kai was distracted with writing, Peter tried to rub his leg up against Kai’s under the table, but being so short, he had to slide further down in his chair.  When he finally made contact, he tried to sit up again, but slid out of the chair and slipped onto the floor with a dull thump.  “Ow!  I’m okay,” he said, fighting back a laugh as he lay there for a moment.  “Betcha didn’t think I’d be gettin’ horizontal on the first date, didja?”

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

Biscuits and Owls// Odette & Peter

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

“That’s your brother, though,” Odette said. “That’s completely different.” She nodded. “Yeah, but I’m glad that we have someone here that can help. That’s good that he helped. It probably helped that he’s such a big Quidditch star.” Coloring books? She wanted them to make something. “You sure? I thought that the crafts would help keep their hands busy so they couldn’t do anything stupid.” She started making a bracelet with the four threads. “I don’t want them to think that I’m treating them like little kids.”

“That sounds so precious!” She smiled at him. “He sounds so adorable! Have you seen the little owl that steals quills? I think she makes a nest in the library with them. Where’s Herbert’s nest box?”

She shrugged. “I eat biscuits and such, but I don’t like sweet tea. I never have. Oh, it does? I might have to try that during the spring. Do you think that the first years would like them?” She nodded. “That sounds great. Let me know when you make some of this because I’d love to try it. I wish I could cook, but I can barely make lunch for myself when Maman’s at the shop.”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

“Not really.  Didn’t all the Slytherin purebloods grow up together?  I think Declan mentioned something.  Or maybe I just dreamed that.  Sometimes you guys say things and I get the weirdest sense of deja vu.  Anyway, yeah, Dad’s been doing a lot of stuff since the war to try and change how things are here.  He... got kinda messed up by the things he saw.  But he went to one of Crofton’s colleagues after he realized he just couldn’t be honest with a muggle, and by the time I was old enough to remember stuff, he was pretty much just like every other dad, ‘cept around the anniversary of the battle.”  He shrugged his shoulders.  So what if his dad was a little overly insistent about teaching him and Yuri some basic protective spells?  “You’re never too old for coloring pages.  They’re great because they don’t require much concentration.”

“Oh, that’s Mochi.  She’s Ada’s owl.  Kieran’s been trying to find her nest for ages, and he’s really not having any luck.  Which is amazing, because I think sometimes he sleeps in the break room if he’s been reading down there.  I don’t know how he’s always there.  Maybe he has a clone.  Er... Herbert’s got some weird little thing in my room that my mom made out of a basket and some knitted stuff?  It’s like a little bird tent.”

“Kids’ll eat anything.”  Or at least Yuri did, especially if he could put ketchup on it.  “So, uh, you wanna be invited to me ‘n Ada’s cooking sessions?  I’ll see if I can swing that.”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

PARA: Tea for Two || Kai & Peter

[kailindstrom-blog]

Kai’s heart was beating in his chest as he looked at Peter. Those butterflies he always felt had returned to his stomach as well. They were flitting about and churning. It was an odd sensation that Kai was starting to think he liked. He was surprised when Peter spoke in Swedish, and he immediately perked up. The accent was terrible, of course, but it made Kai smile brightly.

“Hej! Jag visste inte att du talade svenska. Du skulle ha berättat för mig tidigare. Det är mycket lättare för mig att prata svenska. Engelska är bara … grov,” and he giggled softly. But then he froze, his eyes going wide. Peter probably would have mentioned he spoke Swedish before. Maybe he’d just learned a few words. Kai suddenly felt like he wanted to sink into the floor.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

At first, Peter didn’t know how to react to Kai talking so much.  He’d scarcely gotten two words out of the boy before, but now, he could actually hear him clearly.  He couldn’t understand it, but at least he knew Kai wanted to talk to him.  And he looked so thrilled when Peter greeted him in Swedish that it made Peter want to learn more.

“Oh, um... s-sorry, I just thought it’d be a nice gesture to learn how to say hello.  Kieran’s the linguistic genius around here, not me.”  He ducked his head and picked at his nails, hoping Kai wasn’t mad at him.  “You’ve got a really nice voice.  You should talk more.  I mean, er, I don’t speak Swedish, but... I like your accent.”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

PARA: Tea for Two || Kai & Peter

[kailindstrom-blog]

Kai had busied himself all day getting ready for his date with Peter. He’d baked, of course, in order to relieve some stress. He was fairly certain though that a tea shop wouldn’t be particularly fond of him brining in outside sweets, but they could always share them later. The rest of the day had been spent getting ready. The Hufflepuff had spent far too long trying to figure out what he was going to wear and fixing his hair.

Kai knew that they hadn’t actually set up a time for the date though. So he was just going to show up at the tea shop and hope that Peter would show up soon. As he pushed into the door, his bag with books and his cookies slung over his shoulder, he looked around curiously. He spotted Peter after a moment and grinned brightly, though his nerves were acting up. What should he say to him? Well, not say, but how should he greet him. Kai had to take a little breath before he finally got the courage to walk up over to Peter. Biting his lower lip, he smiled softly and moved to sit down next to Peter.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

Across the room, Peter caught sight of Kai coming into the tea shop.  He couldn’t deny that his heartbeat picked up at the sight of him, and even though he couldn’t think of anything to say, he grinned back.  Why did being around cute people always do that?  He was either rambling a mile a minute or completely silent.  Of course, both tended to make him seem like he was stoned out of his mind.  Which, being on his medication again, he sort of was.  But in a prescribed sort of way that he was far more used to and comfortable with.

While Kai sat down and got settled at the table, Peter tried to remember the greeting Kieran taught him, tapping his pen against the table.  Why did he ever think it was a good idea to try and learn Swedish to impress Kai?  Resist the urge to start singing that old Adele song.  Resist.  Peter glanced up at Kai again and said, “Hej, hur är det?”

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

Biscuits and Owls// Odette & Peter

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

“I know, right? Don’t tell anyone, but he’s my favorite first year,” Odette said conspiratorially. She shrugged. “I don’t ask him if he goes to Crofton. But he’s so quiet that I do worry sometimes.” She nodded and pulled bronze and silver thread out of the basket. “I prefer chevrons, but I know how to do both. I am sad that none of the first years took to the crafts. I seem to be the only one doing this in Slytherin.”

She smiled. “I like having a cat, but if I want to send a letter, I either have to bother Owen or get a school owl.” She nodded. “That sounds adorable. Zoe just rolls over my essays when she wants attention.” She stirred her tea, waiting for it to cool down. “I take it plain. Black tea, I put loads of milk in. I know it makes it weaker, but I really like milk tea. Not a huge fan of super sweet tea.”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

Peter grinned and made a zipping motion across his mouth.  “Promise.  After all, I’ve got a favorite second year.  Sometimes, I think the whole bloody school’s going to Crofton.  My dad’s one of the people who petitioned to get counseling services here.”  He started knotting strings together, trying to make one with hearts on it, like he’d seen Ada do before.  “Coloring books.  You gotta get on the coloring book bandwagon.  Those things work great on Yuri.  Give him one and he’s totally tranquilized.”

“I guess that’s true.  Herbert’s great for mail, but he’s so small, he can’t carry much.  And he likes to play with paper.  He’s seen me rip the edges off of notebook paper, so whenever I pull pages out, he wants to do that, and then he takes the paper strips and stuffs them in his little nest box.”

He looked over at Odette’s cup in disbelief.  “Most of my caloric intake is sweets.  I’m practically American in how I take my tea, except I don’t let it go cold.  Actually, mint tea makes great ice lollies, or tea with lemon.  I figure, if you can make ice cream out of green tea, why not chai or something?”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

PARA: Tea for Two || Kai & Peter

Act casual.  Act.  Casual.  Don’t bite your nails.  He’ll be here soon.  God damn it, Wood, take your nail out of your mouth.  Do something else.  Lip balm?  Great, the Dr. Pepper one.  I hope he likes Dr. Pepper.  Wait.  That means he’d have to snog you.  Me.  Why am I yelling at myself in third person?  Has this tea house always had that picture over there?  What else have I got in my pockets?  Purple gel pen, some paper edges, couple of mint humbugs...

Peter busied himself with drawing in a little notebook with his pen, sketching out whatever came to mind.  At least he wasn’t late, and he remembered he had a date this time.  Of course, he’d shown up ridiculously early because he’d forgotten to tell Kai exactly when the date was.  Hopefully, he’d be there soon.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

PARA: Scars From Tomorrow || Armand & Peter

[dearxarmand-blog]

Armand didn’t hear any part of what Peter was saying. He was too consumed by his first taste of blood, an iron-y tang on his tongue that he did not think would taste that good, but fuck, he couldn’t get enough. He honest-to-God moaned into Peter’s wrist, and the last time he did that, he’d been eating his first meal out of the hospital. A hamburger. Could he eat real food anymore? Honestly, if drinking blood was always like this, why did he need to? He could feel his strength returning; his grip on Peter’s wrist tightened, and his fangs dug deeper into Peter’s skin. He was dimly aware of Peter saying something, of the pulse slowing a little bit under his mouth, but he was so overwhelmed, it was so much, he couldn’t get enough. He couldn’t do anything but drink.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

The longer this went on, the more Peter began to realize that there was definitely a difference between passing out and slipping into a vision.  During a vision, he didn’t have hot and cold flashes.  He didn’t shake like he did when his blood sugar dropped.  The sound echoing in his ears during a vision was a distant roar, like the distorted reflection of his heartbeat in a seashell, not a shrill ringing.  But this wasn’t a vision.

He whimpered as Armand’s fangs sank deeper.  His breath came in gasps, and he knew he couldn’t be panicking, not with his system overloaded with Calming Draught, so it could only be one thing.  “P-professor?  I...”  He stopped, swallowed hard, waited for a wave of nausea to pass.  “I think I might faint.  D-don’t let my brother find out if I go to the hospital wing.”

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

Biscuits and Owls// Odette & Peter

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

“Gabe?” she asked. “That’s Declan’s little brother. He’s so adorable and precious. I’ve known him his entire life. I worry about him, though. He’s so quiet.” She started playing with some of the string. “So I could teach you some of the patterns they taught me. There’s this really cool one, it has like four different colors in it.”

“Aw. I was hoping to see him. He’s so adorable and I’ve always wanted an owl.” She busied herself with the kettle and came back with two mugs of tea. “Let’s do the bracelets first and then maybe tea leaves? I made peppermint because I remembered you liked it. Careful with it around Zoe, though, she tries to drink tea out of the mug.”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

“He really is cute.  Like, he’s the kind of kid you’d see on cereal adverts.  Wait, is he, like, weird quiet, like go-see-Crofton quiet?”  Peter glanced over and fixed his eyes on Odette’s hands.  “Candy cane stripes, like?  Or chevrons?”

Peter shrugged his shoulders.  “Owls are nice and all, but it’d be nice to have a cat.  Herbert doesn’t like to cuddle much.  He just sits on my hand while I paint and pecks me if I space out.”  He nodded and picked out a few colors of string.  “Peppermint can steep for a while.  I like mine super-sweet anyway, so there’ll be loads of sugar in it.  Actually, do that while it’s hot.”  He paused to scoop some sugar into his tea and stirred it in, then gestured to Odette’s cup.  “How do you take yours?”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

PARA: Scars From Tomorrow || Armand & Peter

[dearxarmand-blog]

“Peter…” Armand was ready to cry. Here he was, having gotten himself into trouble because he was trying to be brave, and now Peter was forcing himself to deal with it. He’d felt guilt before, when some tragedy happened that he could have stopped by exposing himself as a Seer but didn’t, but he’d never felt guilt quite like this. It was even enough to cover the bloodlust for just a moment, until it returned with a vengeance. He had to drink. He could feel his life draining away a little more every time he coughed, and he would rather drink now, when he still had at least some control over himself.

“Thank you.” He wasn’t sure if he was thanking Peter for the blood or for the promise to kill him, but he didn’t suppose it mattered. His fangs slid out over his normal teeth as he bent forward over Peter’s wrist, making sure to bend his neck so that Peter’s wand pressed against it. It would make things easier, if Peter had to kill him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, and then his fangs pierced the thin skin of Peter’s wrist, drawing pinpricks of blood that Armand lapped up with a greed that would have humiliated him had his mind been able to focus on anything at all.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

Although he expected it to hurt, Peter was surprised to find that vampire fangs burned like a vaccine.  He watched carefully as Armand avoided the fragile bones of his wrist.  Such a shallow wound.  And yet, it stung.  “Hey, professor,” Peter blurted out, “Do you reckon vampires have anticoagulants in their saliva like leeches do?”

Before waiting for an answer, Peter kept on rambling.  Anything to keep from focusing on the uncomfortable feeling of being a vampire’s donor.  “So-ooo, uh, as long as I have a Blood-Replenishing Potion after this, I oughta be fine.  You know, I’ve never given blood before.  Oh, wow, my ears are ringing.  I really hope I’m not gonna trip out and have a vision while your teeth are right there.”  Blackness crept in around the edge of his vision, and suddenly, he felt like he was overheating, despite almost always being cold.  “Er, Professor?”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

Well, this isn’t at all like a dating sim...

Peter/Kai Moodboard 1/?

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

Biscuits and Owls// Odette & Peter

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

“Huh. I think I’ve seen him around before,” she said. She smiled when he started digging in his bag. “That’s the really cool braid, right? I don’t know how to do something that impressive, I’m afraid.” She looked at the foam wheel. “Wow. That’s cool!” She pulled her sleeve down to show a couple old string bracelets. “My cousins made the purple and pink ones and I made the green one.” Her therapist in Paris had suggested crafts to help distract her. 

“Thanks. I just brushed her,” Odette said proudly. Zoe preened and leaned closer to Peter. “Maybe he’s napping or something.” She pulled a tin of biscuits off one of the end tables. “And here are the biscuits I promised. Monsieur Allard just put some new things on the menu, so Maman got them for me. Do we need tea to go with them?”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

“Yeah, he practically lives here.  He got really close with some first year at the bonfire thing and he’s been glued to the kid’s side.  He’s, like, really quiet and nervous-looking and has this big fluffy mess of curls.  Which Yuri never shuts up about.  He’s got a thing for guys with curly hair, whether he admits it or not.  I swear, if he doesn’t come out to me by Christmas, I’m staging a brotherly intervention.  He could’ve flat-out forgotten to tell me, honestly.”  Peter tilted his head as Odette rolled up her sleeve.  “Oh, pretty!  Did I tell you... wait, yeah, I just told you, something to do with his hands.”

Peter grinned and stroked Zoe’s fur.  “Probably, he’s not up during the middle of the day if he can help it.”  He eagerly took a biscuit and bit into it.  “Tea sounds great!  Y’know, I’m really good with tea leaves.”

[kailindstrom-blog]

A Not Date | Kai & Peter

[kailindstrom-blog]

Kai gave Peter a small smile and nodded. That had happened before. He’d tired himself out form crying a lot his first few years at Hogwarts. Maybe we can hang out again soon? Kai asked, slipping the paper towards Peter hesitantly. He really wanted to see him again, under more normal circumstances.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

“Y-yeah, that’d be great.  Hogsmeade, this Sunday?  We could go for tea, and hopefully I’ll be back on track by then.”  Peter looked down at the paper again, as though he couldn’t believe it was real, and grinned.  “Sound good?”

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

Biscuits and Owls// Odette & Peter

[odettechevalier-deactivated2016]

“Was that your little brother?” Odette asked. “I think I saw him with Gabe the other day. I wasn’t sure because he was running around so quickly.” She nodded and pulled out the package. “I have no clue how to do this, sorry. I bought them for the first years to have something to do if they were bored or needed a distraction or something.” She rummaged through the package and pulled out some green and blue string. “I know how to make friendship bracelets, though. My cousins used to make them all the time. Let me see if we have any silver and bronze.”

Zoe jumped up onto the couch and settled onto the arm of the couch. “Oh and this is Zoe,” she said. “She likes playing with string, so this might not go very quickly. So did Herbert come along?”

[peter-the-seer-blog]

“Yeah, that’s him.  He’s off to see some friend of his.  Actually, that’s the best way to tell if it’s him.  Funny hair and bouncing off the ceiling.”  Peter went through Odette’s box of craft supplies as well, but as soon as she brought the string out, he stopped digging and stared.  “String!  Y’know, I taught Yuri how to make those so he’d have something to do with his hands in class.  And Ada taught me how to make kumihimo bracelets, and--hang on.”  He dug around in his bag and brought out a little foam wheel with half a bracelet dangling from it.  “See?”

Immediately, Peter put the weaving loom down and turned all his attention toward Zoe.  “Kitty!  Ah, she’s so cute, so fluffy,” he crooned, reaching over to pet her.  “Herbert’s somewhere, probably.  I know I had him with me earlier...”

[kailindstrom-blog]

A Not Date | Kai & Peter

[kailindstrom-blog]

Kai blushed again. He didn’t think his laugh was that great. Kai nodded, already thinking about what he would bake for then. Kai was not very picky when it came to sweets, but he’d have to figure out something really good to make for Peter. It’s fine, I really don’t mind. Kai wrote, flashing Peter a smile as he laughed. Well, I think you’re fine as you are. And I like you when you’re on your meds too.

[peter-the-seer-blog]

Once his burst of rambling was over, Peter began swaying slightly as Kai wrote.  By the time he turned the notebook around, Peter was struggling to keep his eyes open.  He yawned and asked, “Do you ever get really tired after getting really hyperactive?  Or crying a bunch?  I keep going from bouncing off the walls to needing a nap.”