Wanted: Assistants of the Tea Sage (Complete)

[Dark Star]

After a short run of spreading the word of his arrival, Jasmine Soul returned to his home and business; The Jasmine Vibe, a tea shop in Ponyville that he had built from the ground up sometime ago. He had everything that he needed, everything of course, except for any followers. In his home town, he was known as the tea sage, his advice having made him a highly respected individual in all regards. But then, he decided to move away and spread his wisdom, leading him to one of the more chaotic of villages in the country; Ponyville. 

His move was successful, and the production of his business went even smoother. He was approaching the grand opening of his shop, and he needed assistants if he wanted to be efficient. In tune with nature as he was, Jazz still needed to know how to run a business. One part of that included having help to keep the place running smoothly, hence why he had went out. He took a glance at one of the help wanted posters he hung onto, to further remind himself of what he needed;  

Help Wanted

Assistants of the Tea Sage

Local tea shop owner requires assistance if he is to spread his wisdom across the land. 

Requirements:

-Must be able to keep calm under pressure

-Must be capable of brewing tea 

-Must include references

It seemed like it was fair enough. His expectations were kept at an all-time low, so as not to discourage potential candidates. That was a given. For the time being, Jazz decided to pass the time with a cup of tea, hoping it would help calm his nerves. "I must keep a good example set, these ponies could rely on me and my advice at any time now" Jazz told himself. He trotted over to the large pillow he kept in the center of the room, meditating on his next course of action. 

[waxworks]

While Jazz meditated his actions on a large pillow, a large pillow meditated on Jazz's action. One of the help wanted posters had come loose and drifted onto the ground, the perfect place for a none-too-alert hippogriff to read it without expending much effort. Tock had always been very fond of tea, he found it to be one of the most relaxing sipping drinks around. He closed his eyes and let his beak sink into his plumage thoughtfully as he imagined his brother Tick, a professional barista, working behind his counter and serving out mug after steaming mug of fresh coffee. Now coffee was the sort of thing that kept you buzzing, but tea could smooth you out after a long day and help sooth the nerves, as was the hippogriff's experience with tea. Perhaps a little experience in this area could give him some insight into his brother's business, and maybe even a little leverage to suggest some low impact alterations to his twin's menu.

By this point Pillow had completely fallen asleep on the idea, and on the poster as well, humming softly to himself before he delicately popped awake and reexamined the ad. Must be able to keep calm while under pressure. Certainly, thought the hippogriff, as he was a world champion of keeping calm. So much so that he'd slightly drifted off just thinking about keeping calm. Must be capable of brewing tea. He searched his mind for what he knew of tea, and recalled something about boiling water and little pillow-shaped bags. Seemed simple enough. References? Why, his brother the barista of course! He'd certainly vouch for him, and this sort of thing seemed to be right up Pillow Tock's alley.

It was quite lucky that the tea shop was literally up Pillow Tock's alley, as it saved him a long walk. With the poster rolled up and neatly clenched in his beak, the little mass of fluff made its way toward The Jasmine Vibe, being drawn more and more by some luxuriously relaxing scent that seemed to be wafting from the place. It was such a wonderful smell that Pillow had stopped halfway through the door of the building, head on the floor, help-wanted poster still in his beak, slumbering softly.

[Dark Star]

Jasmine Soul tucked his fore-hooves into his chest, took a deep breath, and exhaled. Slowly but assuredly, the sage could feel all manner of all things harmonious surround him, filling him to the brim with their power. The scent of jasmine-specific incense wafted all throughout the cafe, relaxing his every muscle, even down to the stallion's core. Truly, he was one with the universe, completely at peace. Negative thoughts were all but completely erased within the sage's mind, his only thought being the positive energy filling his body and enlightening his mind. 

The sudden entrance of a living soul had brought Jazz down from his spiritual high. It wasn't unusual, though it was slightly unwanted. Still, Jazz would open his eyes slowly to find a sleeping hippogriff stuck halfway through his doorway, which in turn reminded him to replace the door with some spiritual beads, something to remind him a little more of his old home. After a bit of degression, Jazz re-focused his effort and walked over to the sleeping creature. 

Jazz smiled as he approached the hippogriff, impressed by how relaxing he had made his shop. Now of course, the normal thing to do would be to let sleeping dogs lie, but considering the latter was obstructing the entrance, it simply wouldn't do. With a slight clear of his throat, Jazz leaned in to smile. 

"Greetings, dear child, what brings you to the shrine of the famous tea sage?" Jazz smiled, speaking just loud enough to rouse the hippogriff without yelling or otherwise disturbing the peace. Well, the rest of that peace anyway. Still, one thing he had to admit, the aura of the individual before him was a sight to behold. He'd have to keep note of that once all the rest was finished. 

[waxworks]

A soft voice was exactly what Pillow Tock enjoyed being roused by. Well technically the smell of freshly smoked kippers was his favorite way to be awoken, but this pleasant voice was quite nice as well. He pulled himself some slight way from the floor and peered up at the tea leaf colored earth pony with a pleasant smile plastered across his owlish face.

"A prospect of work," he buzzed warmly. The little hippogriff had a voice that sounded like a chorus of bees trying to lull a baby to sleep, and it seemed to have this affect on its owner, as he swayed gently like tall grass in a soft breeze. He held up the small rolled up poster he'd managed to bring with him, seemingly quite proud that he'd actually held onto it on the trip here. "Your poster mentions you're looking for workers who can be calm and capable and referable, and I think I might be all three with a modicum of effort. Although..."

He reached a small claw up and scratched under one of his cheeks thoughtfully, "to be honest I could really do with some employment. The streets are not the most comfortable place to sleep and my parents would never let me hear the end of it if I wratermelon corduroy entirely-" this lapse in linguistics was brief but vanished like a bubble touching a needle as the little creature's eyes suddenly seemed to properly refocus. "Sorry, never let me hear the end of it if I wrote home begging for money."

There was a pause and the hippogriff looked around, a very slight look of worry tucked into his plump face.

"Er... this is the tea house I've wandered into, isn't it?"

[Dark Star]

"No need to speak another word, dear child" Jazz stated once the hippogriff has finished. This young creature had apparently been in need of work, refusing to accept any kind of ridicule from his parents. 'Ah, to be so young once again' Jazz thought as he smiled. "You're welcome to work here as much as you see fit" the sage explained in a soft tone. 

Jazz turned and trotted over to the nearby counter, picking up a small paper containing all the information needed. As much as the pony wanted to have him start, he needed to take care of things in the legal area first. "Take all the time you need in filling this out. I can't legally employ you if you don't, it's just a proper procedure and all" Jazz spoke in a much more realistic tone near the end, completely out of character for the young sage. 

One clear of his throat later, and he returned to his usual self, donning a smile as he went to give some of his classic advice. "In order to restore honor to your family, you must first restore honor to yourself" he stated in his usual zen-esque manner. He had gotten a little out of tune in the time he spent building his shop and moving, but he'd hopefully get back on track within the next few weeks. Jazz stepped behind the counter and started pouring a small cup full of tea, flavored after his namesake. He presented the hot tea over to the hippogriff, inviting him to join in on a friendly glass. "It'll make more sense when you drink this" the sage explained. 

[waxworks]

As much as... as much as he saw fit? He got the job? Already? Pillow paused for a moment to reorient himself as it wasn't so implausible that he'd wandered into a dream and applied for a job there, similar to those dreams where you imagine that you're getting ready for your day only to find yourself still in bed. A few minor tests confirmed that he was indeed awake. The small golden ball fluffed himself up cheerfully, it was all happening so suddenly that he was suddenly feeling terribly important despite not really having any idea what his job would entail. He took up the small paper in his little claws and scrutinized it closely, buzzing the words aloud to himself as he went.

The little hippogriff glanced up quickly at the brief change in Jazz's tone, and then nodded at him very matter-of-factly, certainly, done all the time, must do the proper procedures and all that. In truth Jazz could've told Pillow that he needed him to climb into a large kettle and the little creature would've been fairly convinced it was the proper procedure.

A little more koan from Jazz, and Pillow gave voice to a pleasant little chirruping sound. He didn't entirely know what it meant, fairly certain his family had no trouble with honor and all of that, but it sounded good and that was important.

"It's all so sudden," he buzzed warmly to Jazz, plucking one of his own feathers to lightly sign the document, "I keep thinking I've found myself in some wonderfully mellow dream, but if this is really the waking world brewing around me then I think I might just be able to keep my eyes open for it."

This statement was immediately disproved upon Tock gratefully taking the glass cup of tea, tilting his head back, and promptly drifting off to some wondrous, boiled leaf nirvana. It was only divine providence that kept him vaguely upright and still in control of the hot liquid as his brain swam in a lovely mist of ghostly flavors that gathered at the apex of his beak before escaping into the world.

He blinked and cautiously set down the cup, beaming at Jazz like a chuffed chinchilla, "this place is... wonderful!"

[Dark Star]

One sip of his specially-brewed tea, and the puffy little hippogriff was in love. Jazz always poured his heart and soul into every pot of tea brewed, everyone loving it as they always did. He utilized many different kinds of herbs that always left a satisfied and relaxed figure in its wake. Seeing Pillow Tock acting the way he was merely defined the results of it.

Jazz smiled at his newest employee and follower, taking his application and filing it away soon after. Seeing the hippogriff so joyous made the earth stallion's heart flutter in a joy of its own. "Most excellent, dear child" Jazz beamed at the excellently-detailed form. He wrote down the number of the only reference and mentally noted to contact him later. 

Jazz happily trotted before the hippogriff, smiling at nodding at the pleasantly-fluffy ball of feathers. "Now go forth, spread the word around town; the tea sage has arrived and he's back in business. You start working here on Monday" he told him, gesturing with a fore-leg halfway through his tale before gesturing to the door. It wasn't exactly like the earth pony didn't want to have a hippogriff around his shop, it was more along the lines of wanting to wait for other applicants in a bit more peace. 

---

Meanwhile, a certain earth pony had been doing his final deliveries for the day, and had come across a certain flyer. "Tea sage?" questioned a rather curious Morning Sun. He merely figured it was just another loony for the big bin that is Ponyville. With a sigh, he pulled forth his cart once more and kept on going, keeping the little curiosity at the back of his mind.  

[waxworks]

(( If you want to call Tick feel free :3 ))

Pillow was swimming in a comforting soup of sweet sensation, all from that one little teacup. He wondered with some excitement and a little dread what might happen to him if he were to drink an entire kettle's worth. There was such a surge of warmth through him that it had given him an incredibly suggestible sensation, and he pumped his little claws in agreement with Jazz's dispatch. Of course, these actions were still tremendously small in an effort to expend as little effort as possible, but the hippogriff was enamored with his new employer as well as his mission of spreading such wonderfully relaxing tea throughout the town.

He waddled towards the door with some fluffy enthusiasm, turning to salute his new boss.

"We shall flood the town in the sweet strained sensations!"

With that, he turned to exit and promptly fell down the stairs leading out of the building. Of course he was so low to the ground to begin with and so soft that rather than tumbling down the stairs he seemed to ooze down them, similar to honey dripping down the front of a washboard. After unbunching himself at the bottom of the steps he raised himself up (which is to say, he sat) he waved his tiny claws about, in the same way that wheat waves when nudged by a gentle breeze.

"The Tea Sage has arrived," he squeaked mightily, pointing at the shop behind him as though someone were about to appear in a puff of smoke. He tried to catch the attention of some nearby ponies but then it struck him that he didn't officially start until Monday. With this firmly understood, he promptly fell asleep where he sat.

[Dark Star]

After watching a yellow ball of feathers ooze down the front steps, Jazz had a sudden craving for some honey and biscuits. "What a strange feeling" the stallion mused as he trotted over towards the kitchen. One little dance number later, and he walked back out with a big plate of freshly-baked biscuits and some freshly opened honey. 

Jazz licked his lips voraciously as he spread the honey on the underside of the puffy treat, snacking away like there was no tomorrow. If it was one thing that this sage kept secret, it was his sweet tooth. Everypony has a liking to sweets in some way, but Jazz has a borderline-addiction to them. All things considered, it should be pretty legit for him to avoid snacking on sweets in the presence of others. Still, he hated keeping secrets and wished that somepony would catch him in the act at one point or another. Anything to keep this sage's image honest. 

---

After Sun had dropped off the cart at the flower shop he worked at, he started heading home. Along the way, he had found a familiar pair of mares walking through the town together. 

"Good afternoon, Sun" greeted Hummingbird with a smile. 

"Hello" greeted Softspark plainly. 

"Hey, girls, what's up?" Sun responded. 

"Have you heard of that new sage that's moved into town?" Hummingbird asked, a little too eager. 

Sun merely sighed. "You don't actually believe any of that malarkey, do you?" he groaned more than he asked.

"Not all things mystic are malarkey, Sun. Wisdom from a sage is more powerful than any magic" Softspark defended. 

Sun merely quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night" he stated as he silently walked away, Softspark leering at him. 

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy?" the periwinkle unicorn turned to face her pegasus friend, only to find her in a confused state.

"Is magic really nothing malarkey?" she asked.

Softspark merely sighed. The sheltered life of a pop prodigy was something she still hadn't gotten used to.  
 

[waxworks]

Pillow was quite enjoying this new dream where he'd become an assistant to a tea sage and had achieved a job working in a tea house full of delightful smells, tastes, and sensations. A moment later he arose from this slumber, gathered his surroundings, and took in what had happened. He'd actually been hired by a tea sage. Ah. Sometimes you dreamed exactly what had just happened, after the fact. It was much better that way, because dreaming things before you did them, like getting ready for work, made the actual getting ready for work feel that much more laborious.

The hippogriff sat up and swayed slightly, smiling dozily. It was a nice day. Or evening. He was never exactly sure which, and it rarely mattered to him. He had a job! A proper paying job! He took a moment to recall what it was. Spread the word that the tea sage was back. The tea sage! Spread the word! He was good at spreading things, he'd often spread himself out on quilts and sofas, so he imagined the word to be an easier thing to spread.

"The tea sage is back," he cooed to nopony in particular, wobbling a little like a somewhat deflated parade balloon. "The tea sage is back!"

He started to parade down the street, waddling as he went, cheering it to every pony he met as he went, "the tea sage is back, the tea sage is back! Tea sage! Tea sage! Tea, sage! Tea! Sage!"

He passed a small market stand and pointed to some of the herbs, "Tea! Sage!"

"Yes sir, that will be 4 bits."

He turned without taking anything or paying anything, leaving a rather confused merchant in his wake as he continued his waddling path chanting, "Tea sage tea sage, the tea sage is back! Where is the tea sage? Back!"

"Not all things mystic are malarkey, Sun. Wisdom from a sage is more powerful than any magic"

His hearing plucked out a word. Sage! Sage? Yes, sage!

"Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night"

Now that was a sentiment that was particularly near and dear to his heart. He turned towards the group and noticed the one wandering away from the group that had issued that little statement. Potential customer, his fluffy little brain thought, as he began waddling after him, past the unicorn and the pegasus, chiming like a kind of mantra, "tea sage tea sage, help you sleep, tea sage!"

He was quickly (for him) closing the gap on Sun, merrily chanting his new favorite words.

[Dark Star]

(OOC: Is Tock supposed to be feathery incarnation of Riki from Xenoblade Chronicles, because he acts a lot like him?)

After watching Sun advance passed them, the mares heard the sudden chanting of something. It seemed to blow right passed the two of them, chanting "tea sage, tea sage, help you sleep". At first, they couldn't really see where it was coming from, assuming that they had even really heard something to begin with. One good look at the ground revealed a bouncing ball of feathers waddling over in Sun's direction.

Softspark had to do a double take after that. Hummingbird merely stood there with her mouth hanging open, blinking occasionally. 

"Did a yellow pom-pom just bounce right towards Sun?" Hummingbird asked. 

"I...I don't even know what that...thing was" the periwinkle unicorn answered. She rubbed her eyes, shook her head, even tried to will the thought away, yet the puffball was still there every time.

"Maybe Mindlight or Dark Star can identify it?" Hummingbird offered, Softspark nodding and leading the two straight ahead.

---

Sun was happily trotting home when a sudden voice started creeping up on him. He stopped all of a sudden and then felt something plush whack against his leg. Turning around, he spotted what looked like a bush-sized pillow right behind him. 

"What in the name of Celestia...?" he wondered as he leaned down to inspect the strange creature. Never in his life did he ever encounter such a being, even during his one-time-only excursion to the Everfree Forest. Hopefully, this thing wasn't anything like those monsters were. 

[waxworks]

(OOC: Ohmigosh I never thought of that, I LOVE Riki!)

Tock continued waddling along on his merry way, cheerily repeating the words over to himself when a sudden obstacle presented itself. Perhaps that was incorrect as there was nothing quite sudden in the hippogriff's life, as he collided with Sun's leg much like a balloon eventually collides with the ground. It was a side effect that when you had a habit of trotting about with your eyes closed that you'd inevitably bump into something. Of course having a cushioned body helped prevent most damage in these situations.

He sat before Sun like a ball of sunshine rolled in molasses, round and plush and burbling gently. It took the hippogriff a moment to realize that he'd caught up with his target, and after some studious smoothing of his feathers and fluff he threw a wide smile at the pony.

It seemed a nice enough day that he felt in no rush, and as such a long moment passed before he said anything, just smiling at Sun. Somewhere a lone tumbleweed passed by. Afterwards, Pillow gave a nod to Sun, similar to how a cake slowly collapses, before he began speaking.

"Ah! Hello sir, I think I heard you speaking about what helps you sleep at night, and sages and such, and I think I know exactly what you need! Yes! A trip to the tea sage, where everything's soothing and steamy, tantalizing tea leaves tormer firma tortoise-"

He seemed to have started babbling for a moment before regaining clarity and awareness, "tea leaves! You should come see for yourself, the tea sage has returned!"

[Dark Star]

(OOC: Okay, now I can't picture Tock's voice as anything else but Riki, just being able to speak proper sentences)

Sun was taken aback when the strange ball of feathers suddenly sat upright, revealing it to be some kind of miniature griffon of some sort. It just sat there, staring up at him in ways Sun could only describe as unsettling. Eventually, it spoke up, sounding like a cross between a buzzard and something high-pitched. It seemed to babble incomprehensible nonsense for a bit until it eventually started sounding coherent, but then it only blathered on about the tea sage. 

'Great, this guy's fliers only appeared today and he's already broken someone' Sun thought with a scowl. To be honest though, he really wasn't all that certain if the tea sage was really the reason behind this creature's strange behavior. If anything, the creature simply acted that way normally. Although he could definitely do without the puffball's blathering. 

"Alright, just calm down, I can hardly understand a thing you're squawking" Sun told the thing as gently as he could. Giving it a minute to stop, Sun then continued by asking "First off, who are you? Second, what are you? Finally, what happened with that tea sage of yours to make you act like this?" all at once. All things considered, he didn't really need to concern himself with overloading the mind of the strange pom-pom creature, it seemed to be just capable of understanding it all well-enough. Who knows? Maybe it was some kind of hyper-intelligent life form.

[Storm Scout]

(OoC: Hey guys... not sure if it's okay to be joining this thread at this moment, if it isn't please tell me. I'll be happy to RP with you, though I'm only stopping by )

Here it was... Ponyville. A charming place, to be sure. And home of the renowned princess Twilight Sparkle. But Storm Scout didn't plan to be here long. He was here on a mission. Sure, he'd like to explore this beautiful place some day in the future, but he had work tomorrow, so he just had time for a brief visit.

Now, Storm had seen the help-wanted posters, but he wasn't here to ask for a job as an assistant. He was already an assistant in another shop, in fact. It was the tea he had come for. A certain blend, for a certain pony... she probably had several tins of this blend already, but this was all he knew about what she might want, so it was what he was getting.

It had been a fairly boring journey to get here, but as a pegasus it hadn't really been a very difficult or long journey. The cloak he wore had warded off the moisture that had brushed against him up in the skies. The tea label he'd seen in Canterlot had said "The Jasmine Vibe Tea Shop, Ponyville", which was conveniently the same as the shop appearing on the posters looking for an assistant, so he hadn't had much trouble finding the shop in this unfamiliar settlement.

So here he had stood, outside the Jasmine Vibe tea shop of Ponyville. He got his breath back from the flight, gathered his words, and trotted into the shop, hoping to find the owner (or whoever else that might be serving reception, if the owner had already found an assistant by now). "Uh, hello? Is this place open yet?"

[Dark Star]

The feeling of the universe surrounded Jazz, relaxing his every muscle down to his core. A sudden shift in the surrounding aura revealed another newcomer in the surrounding area, and a pegasus for that matter. Soon enough, the front door open and a voice was heard.

"Come forth, dear child" Jazz said as he kept his zen-face on. His forelegs pushed his chest up while he kept his hind-legs were kept on his meditation pad. The earth stallion glanced over the threshold of tables and chairs to find his hunch from earlier to be correct; he found a pegasus stallion staring back at him.

"What brings you to the tea sage?" he asked. He kept his facial expression firm and his voice calm, his tone inviting. He looked the pegasus in the eye and awaited his next response.

---

After one trip to the local library, Softspark and Hummingbird Heartbeat sat in the park, looking over the book of the world's creatures, trying to find out what that unusual one they spotted earlier was. The two mares flipped through one page after another, none of the creatures being all that similar to what they needed, but one of them fit the bill.

Under the sentience section, they found an entry on hippogriffs. They seemed to be similar to griffons in a lot of ways, such as body and bone structure, though they couldn't find anything about average sizes or anything. Still, what they found was certainly better than nothing.

"Mystery solved" Hummingbird said with a meager grin.