Summary:Shuri and Eve meet to discuss a rare plant Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Sunday evening is usually not a time at which Eve is working. It is, instead, usually a time she's dropped into her sofa, turned on Netflix, and is trying desperately to find something — anything — that she has not actively watched on Netflix before. When you don't sleep, as she doesn't, you wind up with a lot of dead time to fill and a need to fill it with something.
Now, she's settled onto a documentaries. And is just working her way through them.
'OH, fuck," she groans after five minutes, "it's ancient aliens again!"
Then the phone rings. There is no number displayd (benefits of being a diplomat! Secret number!), but the caller is persistant.
"Miss Eve? I know it is not business hours, but might you have time for a rather late meeting regarding your buisiness tonight?" a female voice asks. The ambassador herself, on the phone… and in the car right in front of the brownstone Eve is in, uing the buisiness address. At least she has the courtsy of asking before coming up.
"…I'm sorry, who is this? I have time but…"
Eve is a bit copnmfused. She has no idea what's going on, but then, she sometimes has sorcerers just teleporting into her home to visit her and so on and it's all just a mess.
Still, she has to go put on some clothes. Which she does. Quickly. While talking.
"A customer," comes the answer, the background sound changing a little with a click, the sound of a street replacing the silence of the car's back. Shuri walks slowly to the door, maybe half a minute away from the entry. Plenty time to prepare for the bell ringing…
It's enough for her make herself presentable, though not to get her hair up.
At any rate, when the door is knocked upon, she'll pop it right open.
"Hi," she offers, eyes blinking several times.
Standing in front of the door is Shuri, for a change not wearing the panther habit today but what might constitute as casual wear for Wakandan royalty, a snug, sleeveless top showing quite some skin and trousers. And she hangs up just the moment the door opens. "Thank you for having me at this time."
Blink blink. Eve recognizes her, not immediately, but there's recognition there.
"Come in. Can I offer you some tea?" she asks. She's someone important! She can tell! She has that sense. Or not, you know, but something about her is definitely setting some alarm bells off.
Shuri smiles as she steps in, sorting that piece of neck veil hanging from the headband a moment. "Only if it is not a bother to you. I heard you can get your hands on some of the rarest flowers on the planet," she says once the door is closed behind her. She knows how to hold herself, that's sure.
"…I mean, if I've run across it before, yeah, that's true I suppose," says Eve, blinking her eyes at Shuri.
"Uhm."
"Please, have a seat, ma'am. I'm afraid I haven't caught your name?" She proceeds to put the kettle on. Quickly. Hurry, hurry.
She's dressed… utterly conventionally in a pants and a baggy black t-shirt emblazoned with tiny skulls.
Shuri chuckles a moment into her hand as she sits down on one of the chairs indicated, keeping posture. "Oh, No problem. I'm Shuri of Wakanda, the Wakandan Ambassador. Ambassador or your highness would be fine thoug." She tells, her hands finding a rest one over the other. "I was wondering about a rather rare plant that is rumored to grow in almost polar regions."
Blink blink. The ambassador to some nation is in her apartment.
"I mean, I've never been quite that far afield, I'm afraid. Never had the chacne to sample the local flora and fauna, but it's… not impossible, I guess." She brings her hand up to the back of her head. "So, tell me about this plant."
Shuri nods slowly, using the phone to pull up a picture of a rather simple plant with jagged leaves growing in the snow. "I don't know much more than this picture was taken some month ago on some glacial range in Alaska. I know, Alaska is huge but as an expert for plants, maybe you know what this is? The information I got with it were rather terse."
"Mmn…"
Eve is leaning forward, now, studying the planet. "I can imagine. Give me a oment here…" She tilts her head. "I think I recognize this. They call it an Ophelia." She drops back into the seat. "IT's after the Hamlet character — you know, the one that killed herself? It's said to only sprout when someone loses their life with their love unfufilled, and that it's petals are used for a variety of alchemical concoctions rooted in despair or regret. I'm surprised to see one all the way out in Alaska, though it's not impossible that it's symbolism extends to other kinds of unfilled loves." She bites at her lower lip, mulling it over.
Shuri hmms slowly as she turns the phone to eye the pant herself again. "So you say, it'd be useful to make somebody depressive?" she asks, giving eve an investigating look, trying to read her. "Or are we talking antidepressants?"
"… I mean, both conceivably, though making someone sad would definitely be more in line with what its geared towards — but you know… such things can have protective qualities when used in the right way. I've never seen one in person, before, but it's not even a scientifically identified flower." She lowers her gaze.
Shuri nods as she tucks the phone away. "Which was why I asked you and not a scholar at university. They mihgt have claimed it was a peppermint on a faked photo or something." A smile gathers on her lips a moment. "Well, too bad that someone did share it on instagram."
"…too bad," agrees Eve, unsure of what kind of 'too bad' she is agreeing to.
"Is… there some other way I can help you, Ambassador?" she asks, returning to the kitchen to provide the tea to the Wakandan, now, as promised.
Shuri hmms as she shrugs slowly. "Hm, I don't think so, at least not tonight. But if that plant shows up here, it'd be good to get informed."
"IT can show up anywhere," agrees Eve, holding out the tea cup to her now that she's brought it over. "I'm…really honored to meet you," she manages to say after a moment.
Shuri takes the cup to smell at it first, the bridge of her nose rufflign a moment as she tres ot gather exactly what is inside the mix. "It's a pleasure on my side." she answers.
It is a hot cinnamon spice blend. It smells of luxury, to be honest, and high quality. Eve spares no expense for her tea, it would appear, and it does seem she wants to serve her finest to Shuri for obvious reasons.
What else do you do with a royal in the house?
"I…okay," she blinks her eyes at Shrui, caught off guard by the compliment.
Shuri smiles as she takes a slow sip from the cup. "A tea for a cold evening, isn't it?" she asks finally, looking back to Eve, those dark eyes careful.
"Typically but, you know, it's a lovely tea and I rather like cinnamon," admits Eve. "I Thought you might as well." She has a sip of her own cup of it. "So… you know me. That's interesting, but I guess not surprising." She lets out a breath.
"I was referred to you by my staff. They said you might have an idea, as they heard through the grapevine." Shuri replies noncomitting. "And you're still pretty central to town."
Eve takes a moment, studying Shuri and taking her all in. She then lets out a breath.
"Yeah, I guess that I am. I'm pretty cool and have an excelletn sense of style. For that matter, so do you." She seems pleased and impressed. "I don't want to take up too much of your time…" Though she assumes she'll want to finish her tea.
Shuri listens for the moment, letting Eve muster, letting her talk, possibly ramble a little while drinking her tea. "Oh, my schedule for the evening is very close to finished, safe for a call to be placed in…" she looks around to try to spot a clock. "About an hour. With the traffic as it is, I might need to hurry though. Thanks for having me that late. Would you be so kind to send your invoice for the help to the embassy?"
"Consider it free of charge. It really wasn't much," replies Eve.
"If there's some other way I can help…" She totally wants a chance to land more clients with money, after all.
One can hardly blame her.