15465/=Bull in a Bookshop

=Bull in a Bookshop
Date of Scene:	26 July 2023
Location:	Candle, Booke and Belle
Synopsis:	A cowboy walks through the door... Jacen comes in as a customer, and Gabby sells him some tea. It's actually rather normal for the shop for once.
Cast of Characters:	Gabby Kinney, Jacen Knight

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Gabby Kinney has posed:
There's a little Honda Trail motorcycle parked out from the store. It's almost easy to miss given the size of the bike, but it was a zippy little machine and worked well with someone of Gabby's height. It had brought here here not long ago, and the store is filled not only with the scent of teas, herbs, and books but a hint of the leftover Chinese food she'd run out to get.

Situated behind the tea counter for the moment she's manning the store, temporarily, while the owner is out and the other assistant is elsewhere. It wasn't a hard job really. Her attention is fixated currently on an electric kettle she'd put on to boil some water while she starts to sift through various tea cannisters sniffing them to figure out what it is she wants to try tonight.

Jacen Knight has posed:
A 3/4 ton, black Ford pickup pulls up outside the shop. The cowboy opens the door and gets out, settling his hat in place. He looks at the main storefront and hmms thoughtfully,"Ah'ight Amy. I'm thinkin' y'r full of it, but I reckon we'll hafta see."

He opens the door and steps inside. The scent of the places does draw a smile and so he walks the rest of the way in. He pushes his hat back a little and starts looking at the teas. On his belt are two things that draw attention. One is a badge that marks him as an EMT-P and the other is a medicine pouch that rests near his right hip. Otherwise, he just looks like the average run of the mill cowboy...in New York.

Not weird at all.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney lifts her head at the familiar jingle of the door opening to flash a grin at whomever just came through. It wasn't a familiar face though for a half second she has to wait until he fully comes into the light to judge that. He *almost* looked like a certain cowboy she'd met a year or two ago. It wasn't, though she doesn't let that dampen her smile.

"Hey, welcome!" Comes her cheery greeting as she pauses with a tea cannister in one hand and the lid in the other. It's placed back on to set back in the row of similar tea cannisters.

"Looking for anything specific today? I can point you in the right direction for most of it," she offers while dusting her hands off on her jeans though it might not be necessary. Though it seems as if this place were old and dusty it was actually pretty clean on further inspection. It just had old stuff IN it. "If you want to sample any of the teas, too, lemme know."

Jacen Knight has posed:
"Thanks. A friend o' mine said I needed ta take th' edge off. A doctor tol' me I needed ta cut out things that ain' gonna happen so..." he motions around the room,"...'nother friend said get some hot tea'n see'f help."

If she understood everything he said she is in the minority. He looks at a few of the teas and then looks her way again,"Th' doctor said chamommile, but I really don' like it. I think my way o' relaxin' is fine, but they all wanna argue."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
This wasn't the first Texan accent Gabby had dealt with but it was one of the... thicker ones. She squints a moment letting the words filter through and focus on translating it into New York-ese before her thoughts turn toward a tea that might help. "Oh, yeah, Chamomile kind of tastes like... I don't know. Flower water? Not the best in my opinion." God when did she become a tea snob?

Stepping out from around the serving counter she lifts her hand to gesture in a 'follow me' way while approaching the wall of teas. There were numerous ones there including quite a lot of odd ones that just didn't seem to have much of a label at all. Home brew mixes perhaps.

"To be fair, *anything* that's hot and tastes good is going to help you relax unless it's got a ton of caffiene. I mean, caffiene doesn't do anything for me, but it makes others jittery I'm told." Her hand lifts to start running fingertips along the jars.

"You like sweet things? Spiced things? There's this pretty neat one that's a red roibois tea, kind of a nice spiced blend, with blue peaflower." Grinning over her shoulder at Jacen she explains, "Blue peaflower is cool. Turns the drink bright blue until you add a bit of lemon, then bam. It's purple."

Jacen Knight has posed:
Not exactly a Texan, but that's a pretty common misconception. Jacen follows her where she lead and starts looking over the options. He nods as he agrees,"Yeah, pertty much like drinkin' perfume wi' no alcohol'n it or somethin'." he agrees.

When she starts going over the teas he frowns thoughtfully, listening and trying to make a decision,"It takes a lotta caffiene ta make me jittery, but th' doc w's wantin' me ta lay off th' caffiene too so there's that."

Considering her questions he finally nods,"Prolly rather th' spiced than th' sweet." A quirk of his brow at the mention of the blue peaflower and a smirk when she talks about it's coloration changes,"Ya know. If f'r nothin' else gimme summa that justa see't f'r m'self."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"It is pretty cool. Tastes good, too, kind of citrusy," Gabby explains further while she grabs one of the larger tea jars off the wall. It's hugged to her chest so she can grab the other, and turn for the table in the back again to measure out portions. "So what is it you normally do to relax, then? I'm guessing having a drink. I mean if you *really* want I can recommend some teas to mix with alcohol but I haven't tried them myself."

Jacen Knight has posed:
"Citrusy soun's good." he replies and watches her, offering to hold things if she needs him to. When she asks what he normally does to relax he laughs softly and tells her,"Ta quote a great man, eat steak'n drink whiskey." He raises a brow at the thought of tea that goes good with alcohol,"Ya have m' attention on th' tea'n alcohol mix. That's...unique I reckon.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grins at him in amusement at that last bit. "Nothing wrong with steak! I mean, mostly. Beef jerky has way less fat but then you have the sodium to deal with so kind of depends what sort of red meat you want to be stocking up on."

The teas are placed down, and she starts to measure some out into pouches. Not a lot of each since he wasn't sure yet what he would like. "They're herbal teas, so you can't really 'over brew' them like some of the more finicky ones. Just a good boiling water, 212 degrees, at least two tablespoons per eight ounces of water. This'll give you two cups of each to try." The little ziplock baggies are filled and a sticker with brewing instructions is placed on it. "The shop owner likes her whiskey, too, so she's got this tea blend she uses with it. Smells like a campfire if you ask me, but she says it makes cheap whiskey taste like good scotch."

Jacen Knight has posed:

He returns her grin when the comment gets a smile. Easy going is an understatement with this guy,"I like a good beef jerky, bu' back home'n Missouri if ya catch ya deer't jus' th' right age that jerky c'n be hands down better with'a li'l bita th' right chile, ghost peppers'r hot, but tend ta be a little over kill. If ya don' like someone ya slip'm a little bitta that'n watch their face."

Listening to her instructions he nods and smiles when she puts the instructions on it,"Y'r an angel. Cain' remember my name sometimes, still able ta read mosta th' time though." He considers the other and asks,"Think ya might be able ta fix me up with th' tea that makes cheap whiskey taste like good scotch. Don' think I could pass that up."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Oh, venison? You know I don't think that's one thing I've ever had before," Gabby admits with a thoughtful nod. "Kind of surprised really. Used to know someone who liked spending a lot of time in the woods but he usually just bought his steaks." Something something about hunting, she vaguely recalls. The thought is brushed aside in favor of the actual topic at hand.

"I dunno about angel, most people tell me I talk too much. Which I can at times," she admits only to duck down behind the counter and come up with another cannister of tea. "Going to warn you. It looks like moss. Peat? Something like that, but she likes it and she's older than dirt so I guess she knows a thing or two." The powdery greenish brown mix is poured into another little baggie. "This one you want to make strong. Let it brew for like, seven to ten minutes before mixing anything up. You can chill it in the fridge overnight too if you want it cold I guess."

With all the little baggies sealed and labeled, she rings up the price at around twenty dollars. "Not going to lie it's cheaper buying it in bulk, but if you don't know what you like yet it's usually best to try some different ones to figure it out."

A grin is flashed toward him as she offers, "Feel free to come by earier sometime. Can always try some samples for free. I try to brew a few a day when I'm watching the shop."

Jacen Knight has posed:
Walking with her to the register he listens to her directions and makes a mental note, but glad for the instructions again,"Maybe next time I make m' way through I'll try ta bring ya some of it then." he tells her in regards to the deer jerky.

He takes out his wallet, from left pocket might seem strange to some, and then pays her for the tea. Gathering up his goodies he offers her a tip of the hat and tells her,"Next time we'll see 'bout bulk'n I'll try ta come by on a day off so's I c'n get here earlier. I'm Jacen by th' way." With that he turns and heads for the door.