#debukefarmhold

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"What's the big deal about tea?" The boy says as he sits at the table, which required a booster chair for him. It's troll synced

"Tea is important." She insists, carefully setting out the service. Stale biscuits, spoilt cream, perfectly brewed leaves...

he sniffs, "I like how it all smells"

And he starts to reach for it, like some little savage or ill trained urchin

A soft tut. "Manners."

His hand goes back empty "Sorry"

And Zara serves him - a cup of tea chock full of clotted cream, several biscuits, and an upsettingly (or delightfully) slimy collection of cucumber sandwiches.

"One must always be mindful of proper etiquette. We are sluagh, and manners show respect to our brothers and sisters. Show respect, and do not accept disrespect."

"oh." he says "But what if I'm really hungry or thirsty?"

"Tis no excuse to forget manners. We are not barbarians. We are sluagh. If others do not understand us, that is their failing. Now - please, eat."

"If you dip the biscuits in your tea, they are much friendlier." Gentle advice as she dunks her own cookie.

"yes."Jacob takes the biscuit, then "Should I pray first or something?"

"If you wish." A fluid shrug.

"Uhm.. " mutter mumble might be a prayer to someone or something not sure

He dips the biscuit as if it were slowly sinking into it's doom... glug glug glug

"You were very clever to have escaped. Not all would realize they needed to."

"I...guess. I don't feel clever. " he takes a bit, and his eyes light up.

Then he takes the tea and ..eying the way zara holds her cup, tries to adjust his seven year old hands in similiar fashion, and he drinks from the source - the cup itself.

Clem watches with amusement, quiet amusement

"You needn't to feel a thing to be a thing."

"What do you know of before your change? Tell me of it, please."

a longer sip, a bit of a slurp- soooo good

oh dear. he's learned to love tea, but he still must learn to respect it

Then he sets it down "it's really good" the seven year old said "Why didn't people tell me tea was so good?"

"Their loss." A toothless grin.

He smiles back, mouth equally devoid of teeth "i usta kind of like soda? but it was so.." he tries to find the right word "it was too sweet and it made a fuss?" Then Jacob seems to recall he waas asked something "Before I was...a sluagh" testing the word "I was not happy. I remember asking who my mom was... and I remember... talk about how I should be adopted right away cuz I was young."

"but I didn't do the right things to get adopted. I tried to hide. I told someone who wanted a kid that she was too loud and her voice hurt. I.. wasn't..awake yet, but it still..always on the inside, you know?"

She nods. "I know."

"I was adopted, too. My mother loved me, but she was taken away by bad people."

"i'm sorry"

"I was lucky, because I was adopted as a baby - by what we changelings call kinain. A human who has faerie blood, even if they are not quite like us. They... understand, better."

"Tis no sorrow now. It took a long time, but my mother was found. Rescued from the bad people. Wounded, aye, but alive and returned. You met her. Miriam is my mother."

"oh. I like her she's.. different. Not like the evil angels"

Zara nods. "The evil angels are the bad people, aye. We call them Balor. They stole her and locked her away in a tower and hurt her, for many years."

"But she was rescued. And you were stolen too, nu? Taken from your mother by bad people."

"Balor... Miriam said there were good angels too. " He looks at his cup, "They..when I woke to myself, they tried to claim me..they said they owned me because I was born to someone they owned afore" A thought "I liked what I had become, but now they wanted to take me to .. you know?"

She nods. "Some good angels No good Balor."

Very carefully. "No person can be owned. Every soul is part of the Divine, and is free. But a body may be captured, and the cruel slaver may THINK they own someone. And aye, they claimed to own your mother. But know this - they had only a false claim, born of iron shackles and cruel fists."

"You are not theirs. You belong to yourself." Firm.

"i guess... but I still don't know who I am, I mean.. not inside..sometimes I feel myself slipping... and I get so scared"

She nods. "It... we are creatures of dreams and magic. And so, we are bound by ancient laws. You feel uneasy because you do not yet fully know yourself."

"You do not yet know your name."

"my name is Jacob Xavier C-o something.. I.. have it on this thing from when I was a baby.. it's all I have of my real mom" he looks around distressed "Oh no. I forgot to get it back"

"Cohen."

"Jacob Xavier Cohen."

"The nocker has it yet. Miriam Ada Cohen."

"Wait, why does she have the same last name?"

"Curious, isn't it?" A sip.

"yeeess" he says "it is. you could tell me and then the curiousness would be out of the way?" as if hey, here's an idea