Two Sides to Every Card (Varde!)

[Lucca]

Colin raised an eyebrow in surprise, but his voice was still very polite when he asked, "Have you ever been to the Villa, then, Fenzik?" He couldn't imagine many Corvies ever visited it, knowing as they surely did that they were...less then welcome in a Realm far more civilized and cultured than their own. Not to mention how rarely they left their labs in general. Crazy scientists!

A triumphant smile graced Colin's beak as the rat mentioned contacts. That was a word Colin loved to hear. "Agreed. You should seek these contacts out as soon as possible for questioning. Get a name, if you can," he advised. His eyes flashed as he thought about the question. "Sadly, we were both within the shop at the time of his...abrupt departure," the cardinal remembered. "However, when first he approached the shop...he was coming from the left. I remember that distinctly." And how couldn't he, after being so rudely plowed into?

[Varde]

"I have," answered Fenzik with a smile, "a few times, over the years. Regrettably, I haven't met many of its inhabitants. Alas, I typically only make the trek when I've need of some reagent my usual Corvistowne shops don't stock," he explained, his tone unnecessarily apologetic. "Also, there are a number of wild herbs unique to the Villa with simply fascinating properties," he added, his mind now drifting further and further from the topic previously at hand. "Take the dear-life plant, for instance -- a small, inconspicious white flower that grows just beneath the lip of the Villa's steepest cliffs -- the nectar of which... hm?" He train of thought was abruptly derailed by a telltale whistling sound from the next room. "Ah!" he exclaimed, hopping up from his chair, and his left tail seized the opportunity to snatch up the cushion from said chair and fling it zealously in a random direction. "Water's ready!" Fenzik proclaimed, bustling out to the kitchen to remove the kettle from the stove and locate two teabags of a sort that the bird was unlikely to find objectionable.

In the meantime, his mind raced, attempting to remember what Colin had last said before he'd gone off on a tangent about flowers. Right! That was it. "So, he came from the left, you say?" he called to the bird. "Hmm... so that would be... the east, I believe," he pondered, rotating a map in his mind. "I do know several Cards over in that area, though I haven't paid them a visit in... my, must be months, now," he calculated, a bit of a guilty expression crossing his face. "Well, seems it's about time I rectify that!" At this point, the rat reappeared in the doorway to the living room, carrying two steaming mugs with a grin. "Sugar?"

[Lucca]

Colin tried not to show his surprise about the fact that Fenzik HAD actually been to his homeland, thinking it would be impolite, but his eyes widened slightly before he schooled his expression into one of amazed appreciation instead of shock. "I see. I trust you found it a lovely place, then?..." He actually found himself almost amused as the Rat went off on a tangent. Well, not everyone visited Villa for the music, though he was sorely disappointed by the fact. He had to admit, though, the cliffs had some pretty flowers too.

Without warning, there was a pillow flying nearly right at his head, and Colin squawked in undignified surprise and ducked, letting the cushion plop harmlessly to the floor. He shot a glare at the evil tail as he straightened back up, smoothing out his feather irritably.

He was glad when they returned to the previous subject. "Yes, quite, pay them a visit and give them third degree over tea." Hopefully not failed experiment tea, he added silently with a shudder. But he smiled mostly sincerely when his host came back into the room. "Yes, please," he said, subtly eying the tea for any odd traces of some sort of experimental herb.

[Varde]

"Here you are," Fenzik said, offering one of the plain white mugs to Colin, and placing the other on an endtable beside his own chair. "And the sugar is..." he trailed off as he headed into the kitchen once more, whence came the sounds of a cabinet or two being hastily searched. "Ah-ha!" The rat soon returned, triumphantly presenting to the bird a small, pink ceramic dish and a spoon. "Pardon the wait," he apologized, although it hadn't in fact taken that long. "I don't often partake of sugar, myself, and as such it was not readily accessible," he explained as he went to sit down and noticed with a start that his cushion had gone missing. "I prefer to experience the natural flavors in their purest form, you see. By the by," he added as he spied said cushion on the floor near Colin and moved it back to where it belonged, "this specific tea, while a personal favorite, is not one of my own making." He spoke this last phrase with what might have been a twinge of disappointment in his voice, as though this decision had been the result of an argument that he had lost. "Perhaps if you visit again!" he hypothesized, largely to appease himself.

Fenzik took a few short sips of the tea, as it was still fairly hot. His expression then turned abruptly quizzical. "And what about you? Are you planning to accompany me for the questioning?"

[Lucca]

Colin accepted the tea in a claw, taking a subtle sniff...and then fighting down a choke. Whatever this stuff was, it was strong. Of course, it smelled strongly of tea, so that was a good sign. He nodded absently as Fenzik babbled, waiting for the sugar. Which for him was an attempt to mask the natural flavors of such a distasteful drink. "Of course, I understand," Colin said politely, stirring in some sugar with his other claw and watching with slight amusement as the rat seemed to not have noticed the cushion incident. So his tails really did have a mind of their own. Or...two minds. Two halves of one mind? Ech, Corvies.

"Then where is it from?" Colin asked, trying not to show -too- much relief at the fact this tea had not been part of some weird experiment. At least, not of the rat's doing. He decided to ignore the...promise of odder teas to come. He took a small sip, grimacing slightly. "Hot," he explained, letting himself adjust to the new flavor of nasty he'd have to endure for politeness' sake.

Colin shook his head. "Uh, I'm not sure that would such a good idea," he said. "For one thing, I don't know them and you do. And I...don't get along with most of you oddball Corvistownians. You being an exception to the rule, of course. Also, they're expecting me back at home soon with Melody's medicine. Mom would hate for me to miss dinner." He frowned, thinking about having to go home now. He wondered suddenly how much longer he should even intrude upon Fenzik's hospitality, now that he thought of it. He'd rather lost track of time in all the excitement.

[Varde]

"Ah, erm," Fenzik stalled momentarily as he tried to remember the answer to Colin's natural follow-up question. "Nowhere terribly exotic, I'll confess; merely one of the shops in the Capital that specializes in that sort of thing," he explained, watching with hopeful eyes as the cardinal tried the drink. He seemed to react somewhat negatively to its temperature. "Ah, sorry, yes, careful with that... should have warned you," Fenzik apologized. Lifting his own mug again, he blew into it a few times, attempting to cool it off a bit.

The rat couldn't help but look a little disappointed but Colin turned down his invitation -- he had been rather looking forward to the company -- but he nodded in understanding when the bird gave his reasoning. He had to laugh, too, when he heard the term 'oddball Corvistownians'. To be fair, it wasn't an inaccurate statement. "Of course, good points, all," he said with a good-natured smile. "You're right, I'd completely forgotten; your family will be expecting you back from your errand soon," he continued, punctuating the sentence with an unintentionally noisy slurp of tea. "Well, I suppose, then... we'll go our own ways for now, and... meet up again once we've...?" he suggested with some uncertainty, trailing off toward the end. He wasn't much for planning beyond the limited realm of scientific experiments.

[Lucca]

"Mmm," Colin mumbled in agreement as he took another sip of tea. Yes, that was definitely a relief to hear. Tea from the Capital was about the safest thing he could have hoped Fenzik had. Not that there weren't some...unsavory types in the big city, but he tended to try not thinking about this fact often. It helped that sticking to the safest areas in the daytime kept you blissfully ignorant of the darker side, and of course that was -mostly- the only times and way he'd been there.

"No, no, it was my fault for trying to drink too fast, and not realizing a drink made with boiling water should be given a moment," Colin laughed, shaking his head and smiling in good-natured self-effacing. No need for the rat to apologize...Colin even felt a little bad that he wasn't the type to be able to truly enjoy any type of tea. As far as Corvies went, Fenzik really was a nice chap, and not someone the Cardinal minded association with.

"Once we've had some time to plan it out, yes," Colin finished, glad the Rat caught on. He had noticed the flicker of dissapointment, and was glad when it disappeared as his reasons were given. "I believe the easiest thing to do would be for me to contact you here after you've had enough time to speak with those contacts of yours. If that sounds agreeable to you?" He sipped at more of his tea while waiting for an answer, feeling slightly fidgety suddenly. His wing feathers tapped absently on the side of the chair.

[Varde]

At Colin's comment regarding the boiling water, Fenzik laughed good-naturedly for a moment. "Well, it's understandable," he said with a grin. "After all, you've got a lot on your mind at the moment," he explained, making a sweeping gesture as though indicating all of their carefully laid-out (if, at present, mostly nonexistent) plans. "Bringing a rogue scientist to justice, and all that!"

The rat nodded in response to the cardinal's question. "Most agreeable," Fenzik proclaimed. "Very well then, you'll know where to find me." More tea. Then, his face contorted briefly into a concerned expression as the possibility occurred to him that the bird might attempt to return to Corvistowne while the rodent was still out traveling and gathering information, and their plans to meet up again would fall through. Hopefully that wouldn't be an issue, but it was never wise to count out scenarios like that altogether. "Hrm," he pondered. "I wonder... should we establish a Plan B, in the event that you return here before I do? I suppose it seems unlikely, but... nonetheless..." he trailed off again. He was pretty good at that.

[Lucca]

"Indeed!" Colin said, expression turning fierce for a moment. Oh, the rude horse would get justice all right...more justice than he could ever have imagined. Never mind that this sentiment didn't make a lot of sense...the bird and rat would find a way to make it work! Shaking his head, Colin sipped more at the tea, now used to the taste even if he wasn't fond of it. No more of those distracting thoughts for now. The justice would come later. The waiting and info gathering came first. Which was annoying, but really just sort of the way things worked.

"I surely do...what's the matter?" Colin leaned forward a bit as Fenzik's expression shifted, but luckily the rat soon explained. "Is it going to take that long to contact all these people?" Colin asked, slightly surprised. Corvistowne, with all their technology, should have ways of communicating even faster than everywhere else...well then again, maybe it was hard to get ahold of scientists who spent too much time alone in their labs. But that wasn't the point anyway, Colin reminded himself with a shake of his head.

"You're right. I suppose in that case..." He tilted his head in thought. "I will leave a note for you, and then when you get back you can contact me." He smiled triumphantly, findign this to be an adequate solution.

[Varde]

"A most excellent solution," agreed Fenzik, and finished his tea emphatically. In response to Colin's question, the rat shrugged, setting down his mug (on his right side, safely out of Fen's reach), and pondered for a moment. "Well... in all likelihood, probably not. But one can never be too sure! Being a scientist, after all, I prefer to avoid making assumptions whenever possible. Perhaps even, on occasion, to the point of seeming obsession," he added, his tone vaguely sheepish, as though this trait were one that the bird hadn't quite certainly already noticed.

At a brief lapse in the conversation, Fenzik's gaze drifted lazily around the slightly dilapidated room and settled on a clock hanging on the wall behind where the bird was sitting. A few seconds passed before he realized exactly what he was seeing. "Oh, my!" he exclaimed abruptly. "That's what time it is?" He suddenly looked quite frantic, hopping up from his chair -- with Fen attempting and failing to make another grab for the cushion -- and busying himself with carrying the dishes from tea hurriedly back to the kitchen. "I'm so sorry! I had no idea I had kept you so long," he apologized profusely to the cardinal. "I'm sure you ought to be getting back home, I'm sorry, I completely -- don't know how --" he babbled, tripping over his own sentences. Re-emerging into the living room, he shook his head vigorously. "Anyway, thank you so much for spending the afternoon with me, it was a pleasure," he said, his worried expression now mostly replaced with a smile. "I'll be seeing you again soon. And with the desired information. You can count on me!" he declared, giving Colin a goofy little salute and his trademark toothy grin.