"Mmhm," she confirmed -- her mouth bowing into an almost-smile but faltering but trying but failing to maintain the emotion. So she swallowed hard and was grateful to see their two mugs arrive -- hot and steaming and spewing forth earthy, spicy notes that hit the nose like a mack truck. Buffy gratefully grabbed onto hers, wrapping fingers around the mug but waiting for it to cool a little more before drinking.

"Small blessings, I guess. Like I said. They get me through your average Luceti day. Good tea. A nice day of weather. The chance to go out for a sail, maybe a quick dip in the ocean. We could take you, sometime, if you wanted. We have a boat. Two boats, actually."

She'd slipped so casually into a we, she hardly even noticed.