Hot Drink

Seiga couldn’t help but smile as she stirred the large pot of ingredients in front of her. Surely this would be a lovely experience for Luca. He hadn’t ever had a warm drink before! She knew that Torrent wasn’t a large fan of coffee so she made a coco instead.

Picking the perfect ingredients was a task in itself of Seiga but she was determined to have only the best. Milk and Chocolate were of course easy to pick, it couldn’t be coco without them, after all. She figured cinnamon would be good as well. 

She stirred the concoction over heat as it bubbled, being careful not to burn anything.

At this point the smell had found its way to all areas of the kitchen.

Seiga found three matching mugs, placed them on a platter, and poured the warm liquid into them.

The smile on her face didn’t leave as she brought out the last of her ingredients, a single maraschino cherry for each glass.

Carefully she picked up the tray and carried the drinks outside where Luca and Torrent sat examining various stones and basking in the soft fall sunlight, respectfully.

She watched as Torrent's ears flicked at the sound of her approach and a soft, almost sleepy, smile greeted her.

“Hello Seiga.”

“Hello Boys, I thought you could use a bit of a break. You’ve both been so busy studying after all.”

She stood tray in hand as the two other Æstrolos moved the stones back into their cases and off the table. Afterwards, Luca beamed up at her.

“Yeah! Torrent has been a big help!” There was a pause before he teasingly added, “though, I can notice pyrite way better than him!”

His only response was a shrug before Seiga handed each of them their drinks.

“Here before it gets cold.”

Luca looked at the specks of cinnamon floating in the mug before shying looking at the others for instruction. Sure, the mug was warm but what was its use? As he saw the two older Æstrolos drink the liquid and share a laugh between themselves, he followed suit.

He pulled back, eyes wide, as something hit his nose. His cheeks flushed as he discovered it was no threat, just part of the drink itself.

“Seiga! You gotta teach me how to make this!” 

He noticed his outburst of excitement before slowly adding, “I mean, if you feel like it.”

She only nodded before sharing a laugh with her husband only making Luca more embarrassed.