smk_network | [video- locked to Mal]

Ah, so this is an 'MP3 player' is it? To think that all that music can fit into this teeny-tiny container; truly darling, your world's technology is amazing!

I don't suppose you could be a dear and come show me how it works? I'd rather not break your lovely gift by accident trying to figure it out. And it will give me a chance to give you your gift as well.

"you didn't have to get me anything," [instant and defensive.] "But yeah, I can show you how it works."

I know, darling. That's why it's called a 'gift' rather than an 'obligation'. Besides, it's already here, all wrapped up and ready to go; a bit too late to stop me now.

[He gives a cheeky wink.]

At any rate, you know where to find me. I'll be waiting for you.

[She made a face at him. Mostly it involved something very like crossing her eyes before rolling them. Then she sighed.] "Fine, I'm on my way."

[And Sylv is completely unrepentant for his cheekiness. Not that he would ever be.

But he is indeed waiting when Mal arrives at his and Atem's apartment, and readily opens the door when she knocks.]

Come in, darling. Your gift is right on the coffee table if you'd like to get right to business. Or if you like, I could make us both a cup of tea first; we're not really in any hurry, after all.

She let herself in, and at his words gave a small smirk. "Have you ever known me to turn down food? Tea does mean and snacks around here, right?" she asked. Yes, she was yanking his tail a bit.

"Of course!", Sylvando said. "I'd actually made a cake yesterday, so we can have a bit of that. I plan to make one for Aziraphale and Crowley as part of their gift, since they're fond of my cooking, and wanted to be certain I recalled the recipe correctly first." Baking was far less forgiving than other types of cooking when it comes to getting measurements right, after all. And he couldn't very well give someone a poorly made cake as a gift, now could he?

He got two mugs out of the cabinet and filled each with water, planning to heat them in the microwave. "The cake is there on the counter, if you'd like to go ahead and cut us each a slice while I get the tea ready," he said, indicating the round, un-iced cake. It sat on a platter under a glass cover, and was already missing a slice, so it was obviously meant to be eaten as it was. Removing the cover would reveal a pleasantly light scent of lemon, identifying the cake's flavor.

Ugh. Why did so many people like Crowley? But cake was good. She headed over and almost just cut the cake to eat with their hands. Island manners, or rather, Island lack-thereof. But she'd spent enough time in Auradon to ask, "Plates and forks?"

Because not everyone meets a prickly attitude with another prickly attitude. Some people meet it with delicious soup.

And while it would have hardly been the first time Sylvando ate with his hands, he was pleased she remembered and inclined his head to indicate their location. "In the cabinet above the cake and the drawer to your right, respectively," he said, popping the two mugs of water into the microwave and setting it to heat.

"Is there a particular kind of tea that you like?", he asked. "We have ordinary black and green teas, spiced chai, some cinnamon-apple tea that I picked up back in September, and some lovely blackberry chamomile or mint tea if you prefer herbal teas."

She grabbed the plates and utensils, and then just shook her head. "I don't think I'll ever get over how many kinds of tea there actually are," she said making a face, torn between amused and exasperated. "What do people need with so many choices any way?" Who was she fooling? She loved new things, just a little at a time. Too many choices where she was used to none was a bit overwhelming. Which of course, she hid with the afore mentioned prickly attitude.

"No one really needs tea, Mal darling," Sylvando said. "Anymore than they need cake. But it's certainly nice to have, eh?" He gave her a smile and a wink over his shoulder. "There are some blends that are supposed to have health benefits, but for the most part, it's simply a matter of taste."

"Though I'll take your reply to mean that you don't have a preference, so I'll get us some of the cinnamon-apple tea, if you don't mind," he said, taking two tea bags out of the appropriate box.

Edited 2020-02-03 04:07 (UTC)

"Hey, with Evie for a best friend the only time I'll ever say no to an apple is if it is poisoned." She grinned at him and cut them each a rather large slice of cake. Closer to a wedge than a slice, really.

Hey a wedge was still technically a slice, so it worked. Sylvando did glance over his shoulder though at the comment about Evie though, quirking an eyebrow. "Oh? Is your friend in the habit of giving out poisoned fruit?", he asked.

"Her mother is famous for it," she said with a grin.

Sylvando smiled right back. "Well, if she ever turns up here, do remind me not to accept any dinner invitations from her, eh?", he said. "Many people claim that their desserts are to die for, but best not to take chances when someone might mean it literally."

The microwave beeped, indicating that the water for their tea was ready, and Sylvando took both mugs out, putting a teabag in each one. "Before we get settled, Mal darling, do you like anything in your tea, like milk or sugar?"

"Well, you'd think the name Evil Queen would give that away." She grinned a bit more. She stretched a bit, because she could. "Have you ever known me to say no to sugar?" she asked, eyes twinkling with amusement.

Sylvando quirked an eyebrow. "That's really her name?", he asked. "Or is it just what most people tend to call her?"

The comment about sugar got a chuckle. "Never, darling," he said. "But you know what they say about assuming." He got a package of sugar cubes down from the cupboard as well, so that Mal could add sugar to her taste.

"Now then, to the living room. We can put our tea and cake on the coffee table."

"If she has another name, I've certainly never heard it, and my mother raised me on hating her from when I was like... five," she said with a laugh. "Then they turned around to work together so that mom could try and conquer Auradon? One of these days I will figure out what mom had on her, though Evie says her mother would have licked my mother's horns just for a chance to not be a pariah again. Adults can be so disgusting." She shook her head.

"No, actually I don't," she lied with a twitch in her lips to see if he'd back off from actually saying it to her. Especially after her crack about adults. It was a challenge, and that was clear from her posture and expression. even as she picked up stuff to follow him in.

"I doubt she meant it literally darling," Sylvando said. Though he supposed if they were both interested... But that was hardly the kind of discussion to have over tea with a young girl, however jaded she thought herself to be.

"I expect she does have another name, though," he said. "Ooh, maybe that's what your mother knew! After all, it must be a terribly embarrassing name for her to prefer to be known as just 'Evil Queen'. What do you think, eh? Maybe Queen 'Ermintrude'? Or 'Maisey'?" He grinned and took up the tea and sugarcubes and headed into the living room setting them down on the coffee table.

"And they say 'Never assume, because when you do, you make an ass out of u and me,'" he said as he sat down on the couch, then gave her a cheeky wink. "And just to point out, it's not swearing if you're talking about donkeys."

Mal snorted. "I am pretty sure whatever EQ's actual name was she's even forgotten it," she said with an eye-roll. But then again, none of our parents are all that creative when it comes to names. And in case you failed to notice, neither of us turned into a donkey, so you totally did just use a swear word. Good job." Smirk.

"Oh don't be so sure," Sylvando said. "A name can be rather a hard thing to forget." Which was probably a good thing, honestly.

He smirked right back at her with regards to the expression though, before wagging a mock-scolding finger in her direction. "Ah, but the expression is referring to donkeys, or 'jackasses'," he said. "So it's still not swearing, even if the donkeys are metaphorical rather than literal."

"Ugh, sometimes it would be better if we could," she said flatly. "Nope. You still swore and you're doing it even more and in front of a teen. For shame," she said, mocking him.

Sylvando chuckled. "Alright, I'll give you this one," he said. "Though only because if the language you've heard in your teenage years is anything like the language I heard in mine, I'm fairly certain you didn't hear it from me first."

"I lived on the Isle, you guess for yourself," she said with a laugh. Truth to tell, she'd heard little actually. Her mother thought any curse words that didn't have magic behind them were pointless and most of the other villains made up their own swear words to try and stand out.

And Sylvando had grown up among a primarily male group of knights-in-training. Honorable they might have been, but they could also become fairly rowdy when his Papi or their other instructors weren't present.

Sylvando added two sugar cubes to his tea, stirring it gently to help it dissolve more quickly. "Now then," he said, "before we get to gifts, how have you been, darling? Enjoying the season so far?"

She added most of what was left after he took his two, to her own. She shrugged a bit. "The days that are just cold are fine. Bt odd to actually have a window to close or to be able to just get a new coat, but getting used to it, for what it is worth. The wet days are more annoying."

Good thing there wasn't a great deal left in the box then. Sylvando nodded. "It has been a bit nippy lately," he agreed. "Nothing compared to Snifflehiem though; it's not called the 'Crystal Kingdom' for it's glassware, after all."

"Myself, I've been having a lovely time, despite the weather. Most everyone is so cheerful thanks to the upcoming holiday; it's always good to see. And of course the fact that many of them are feeling more generous is always a good thing for buskers." He smiled cheekily.

"Now, while our tea is steeping..." He picked up Mal's gift and offered it too her. Knowing her he didn't use wrapping paper which would likely need to be thrown away, but instead the gift was 'wrapped' in a small drawstring bag made of purple velveteen. Inside was the sort of jewelry display box commonly used to hold chunky, oversized watches and the like, as well as a bag of fruity-flavored hard candies. "Merry Christmas, Mal darling."

"Sounds like it was named for what everyone does all winter there," she said with a laugh. "You're out of sugar, by the way."

She blinked at the gift, then sighed a bit. She still had trouble knowing how to accept gifts. But her fingers of one hand ran over the velvet bag while she fished out a hard candy with the other hand. It took some doing to do that and unwrap it one handed, but she managed it, popping the candy in her mouth.

"What? You said the tea still has to steep."

Sylvando chuckled. "That does tend to happen with cold, dry air," he said. "Though it's likely simply a coincidence. I can't really see anyone deliberately naming their kingdom after such a thing."

Her skill at getting the candy unwrapped one-handed earned a brief, mildly impressed smile, which quickly changed to amusement at her comment. Though he waited expectantly for her to open the other half of her gift. When she did, she'd see a bracelet with a dragon motif made of gold-tinted metal and black leather.

She realized he was waiting, so set the candy into a pocket and opened the small bag. She hoped he didn't expect to get the wrapping back, because she was keeping that bag. She'd find a use for it somewhere.. maybe as a lining inside a pocket so she could just keep petting it without being obvious.

She tipped it so that the contents hit her lap, then she lifted the bracelet and stared at it. Just... stared for a moment. Because she needed that long to be able to speak without sounding like a sap.

"T..thank you," she said. It was gorgeous. And made her gift seem cheap and unimaginative. She slid the bracelet onto her wrist and lifted her arm to get a better look at it, and to hide her face.

The bag was meant to be kept and used however she saw fit, so that worked out well. True, he assumed she'd just use it as a bag to store something else, but a pocket lining was definitely a valid option too.

Sylvando smiled at her reaction. "You're welcome, darling," he said. "I thought of you when I saw it, and just couldn't pass it up."

"This... this is too much," she said, still staring at it. She wasn't giving it back, mind. one of her fingers traced it gently, her eyes still locked on the bracelet.

"It's only costume jewelry," Sylvando said, in case the weight hadn't clued her in to the fact that the metal bits weren't close to solid gold, "but it's both tough and beautiful. And with that added bit of draconic flair... well, it almost seemed made for you."

His smile became a bit gentler as it became clear she was a bit overwhelmed. "As for it being too much, I'd say it was actually just right. And it looks just as lovely on you as I thought it would."

But it is new and picked out for her, not picked through the trash and repaired.

"You better not change your mind, because you're not getting this back," she warned, putting a hand over it almost protectively.

Yeah, she didn't know how to deal with this. Sure, she'd gotten gifts from Ben, but Ben was in love with her - or so he thought, and from Evie, but Evie's gifts usually came with favors she wanted, or were more about Evie wanting to design something than about Mal. This... This was different, but she didn't have the words for how or why. Didn't even begin to know what to say.

Sylvando grinned. "I think I can safely throw away that gift receipt then," he said. "I'm glad you like it so much."

"Now though, while our tea is finishing steeping, how about you show me how to use the lovely little gadget you got me, hmm?"

Gift receipts? She never understood the point. But she nodded and headed around to lean over his back. "Here, I'll show you."

The point, dear Mal, was covering one's metaphorical butt. Not everyone is as forgiving as you are on the gift front.

Sylvando himself wasn't especially picky either, but was glad to have someone more tech-savvy on his side for this one. But with a willing teacher, he'd prove to be a fast learner when it came to this little bit of tech.

And she'd enjoy showing off how it worked, how to add music and make playlists and of course how to listen. She might have 'accidentally' blasted his ear drums a few times... but never so badly to be long term painful. She tended to startle instead.

[video- locked to Mal]

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Will relink the bracelet pic in the next tag.

Re: Will relink the bracelet pic in the next tag.

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Good place to fade out?

Sure. TY for the thread!