100 Blinks

013 Crime

She's struggling a bit with a tray of peach tarts. Mostly with the doors. Mu is sitting on the very edge of the platter trying to guide, but latched obstacles are a bit above his size. The little Lung Slug heaves a sigh of relief when Holt pokes his head around the door from the foyer, making short work of leaving his boots next to the front doors before sweeping with an unexpected grace into the room to catch the dish.

"I've got it. Open the doors." he assures, feeling the weight of the decorative ceramic increase as she does as bid, offering him a sigh of silent thanks. "Where are we going."

"To the inner gardens, if you please." Her little laugh is enchanting, music on the air to his tired ears. "Mother has brought the twins to meet Ili. I thought a few snacks and tea would be appropriate."

He regards the platter again, stacked neatly with the tarts in question. "Are you feeding your family or an army."

She regards him with a side-glance, though Mu makes snickering noises from her shoulder.

"What! You've made an over-abundance of tarts this time for five people. And for a tea-party, nonetheless."

"It is a private debuting party, I will have you know." she responds haughtily. "A much different affair from just a garden party, or tea party."

He looks at her with a small shrug of his shoulders in mild confusion.

"Didn't you learn the differences when you were younger?"

He offers a another half-hearted shrug. Mostly due to the tray he carries awkwardly. "You could have called me a 'sheltered aristocrat' back in those days. We never had 'debut teas' or any such thing; my parents were more about children being neither seen or heard."

She playfully tsks at him. "Well. We'll have to fix that."

"I'm a bit old for a debuting party, I'd think."

She scoffs at his teasing. "Not too old to help debut your daughter, yo– Wasn't there a tart on top of that pile?"

"Not that I recall." he mutters around a mix of crumbs and sugary peach fill before revising his story at her stern stare. "I barely walked in the front door and was saddled with the sad task of ferrying around a plate of your baked goods, what was I supposed to do!"

"You offered."

"Details!"

"Well. As luck would have it..." She sweeps the carved doors to the inner gardens wide open. "...We are here, O Ravenous One."

There are a few fruiting trees in the enclosed space. along with a pond fraught with decorative fish and a few flowering bushes along the edges. It's not a big space, and sitting among the shade of the trees of the center is The Tiamat, looking as tall and regal as ever. The twins, Leviathan and Lindorm, are sitting nearby entertaining their infant niece.

The Tiamat makes a brief glance of greeting in Holt's direction as he moves to put the platter on a small table to one side of the party, receiving a small nod in return. The old dragon spirit still intimidates him, moreso than the ever temperamental Wyvern, his father-in-law.

Tatzel isn't long behind him, helping to align the platter up to her specifications. "Thank you. Why don't you go rest for a bit before joining us?"

He makes a noise in his throat at that. "That sounds like a good idea. I won't be too long."

A bow of his head is given in greeting to the twins as he passes on his way back to the house, disappearing into the halls beyond the doors. Mu chitters, pointing to the tray of tarts. Another one is missing.

"Tart thief!"