Tea and Schemes
by Altivo Overo

“And then,” Fennec told Argos, “he dumped a bucket of water over my head.” The fox tried to maintain a perfectly serious expression in the telling, and watched for a reaction.

The white wolf blinked. “Who did? Sulo's uncle?” he wanted to know.

“No, Sulo himself did it, from behind me where I wasn't watching, though of course Uncle Sato could see it was about to happen.” Fennec finished up his story of events that took place the day before with, “And without even wincing, Uncle just said, 'Come in and have lunch.' As if it were a perfectly ordinary, everyday occurrence.”

“Well, maybe it was,” said Argos, reasonably enough. Instead of rising to his friend's bait, he was taking over the fishing pole it seemed. “Must be a regular initiation kind of thing, like they do in some guilds or lodges, you know.”

The fox shook his head, laughing softly. “I give up, Argos,” he said. “You're absolutely unflappable aren't you? If you went into the tavern and they were serving bright green ale, you'd never ask about it. As long as everyone else was drinking it, you would too.”

Argos made a face. “No,” he said, with all the solemnity he could muster. “I'd ask for wine. You know I don't drink ale.”

Fennec pretended to be tearing his own ears off. “Outsmarted again,” he sighed. “Someday I'll manage to surprise you with something.” The two friends were having Sunday afternoon tea, not at the Brush and Collar, but at The Warren, a less pricey and more homely place that Argos favored. Run by a rabbit family, the restaurant offered food that was varied and excellent though it included no meat. Even Fennec could find things on the daily menu that were pleasant enough. Today they were having a soup of spring vegetables, made with heavy cream and served with crusty rolls fresh from the oven. A sharp, crumbly cheese and tiny young arugula leaves were offered as a garnish.

Argos lapped at his tea and grinned. “Someday you won't tip your paw so that I can see it coming, and then I'll be surprised,” was his rejoinder. “After all, Sulo had promised that you'd get wet. So do you think you learned enough about sailing to manage? Enough to teach me so I can help?”

His friend nodded, chewing down a piece of roll. “Yes. Both of them assure me that I'm good enough to manage where we plan to go, and that the little boat will perform nicely for us.”

“All right, then,” the wolf agreed, raising an eyebrow. “What do we need to take along? Blankets, food, fishing gear?”

“Blankets and provisions, certainly,” Fennec said, wagging just the tip of his tail. “Probably not your best blankets, we might get them dirty or worse, but blankets. Sulo says it will still be chilly at night up in the hills, but he will lend us his tent. He promises it is big enough for two of us and will keep the dew or any rain off while we sleep. Uncle Sato will supply the fishing equipment along with the boat, as long as we bring him some fish should we catch any. He's fond of salmon, and this is the time for them. Sulo says the Twig doesn't flow fast enough so they don't spawn on this branch.”

Argos stared off into space for a moment. “So,” he murmured, “we really are going. All right.” He focused on Fennec again. “Sorry, somehow it didn't seem real to me until now; but I did mention it to Mazer yesterday, and she was enthusiastic. Told me to go, I'd earned a vacation, take as long as I need. Friday she was telling me how glad she was to have me around, and Saturday she was telling me to take a long vacation. Isn't that somehow a contradiction?”

“Argos, my dear friend,” Fennec answered, “sometimes you seem to bring out the contradictions in folks. No, I mean that in a good way. You're so honest and direct that they just speak whatever they happen to be thinking, forgetting to tie it all together logically or dissemble to hide the inconsistencies.”

“OK. When did you want to leave?” The wolf was looking thoughtful and counting on his claws one by one.

“I hoped we could get to Uncle Sato's place early on Wednesday. Is that too soon?” Fennec realized that Argos could leave his own work at any time, but still had to help Mazer when she needed him. He himself was free to go as long as Sulo would be around to cover for him, and Sulo had already agreed.

Argos wagged his tail and his ears perked. “No, it's not too soon. I was hoping you'd want to go early rather than later. We're not going to market with blankets and shawls until the end of the month. Mazer needs me to help with that, but we have plenty of woven goods prepared already. If we leave on Wednesday and get back, say, two weeks from today, it should be fine with her.”

Fennec's own tail wagged too. “Good, then. I'm eager to spend some time with you under the stars,” the fox said quietly. He reached across the table with his right paw and laid it over the silver and turquoise bracelet on Argos' left wrist. “The desert god can look after us for a few days.”

Argos turned his paw over and squeezed the fox's wrist as well, so that their clasped paws were entwined. “That desert god hasn't done badly by me yet,” he answered. This was a reference to the blue stone in the bracelet. Acquired in the marketplace at Chatton-on-the-Sea during their vacation the year before, the seller had told them that the stone was the symbolic eye of a desert god who would watch over its wearer and keep him from harm.

The fox grinned, squeezing Argos' paw before letting go. “But can that desert god cook? I'm certainly not much good at it.”

The white wolf laughed. “Well, I can't measure up to the Brush and Collar,” he said, “but we won't starve. We will need a metal teapot that can both boil water and brew the tea, a kettle to make soup or porridge in, and of course a grill or some other way to cook the fish if we catch one.”

“Oh, I intend to catch more than one,” Fennec said with a grin, rubbing his tummy. You can eat porridge if you like, but I want salmon. I promise you won't have to watch me clean and dress them, though.”

“Good,” Argos said simply. “That always makes me uncomfortable.”

Fennec picked up his teacup and lapped at it delicately. “Do you think we can take some of this tea?” he wondered. “Whatever it is, they have the best tea here.”

“Ponce's Best it's called,” Argos told him. “Mazer buys it too, so I know where to get it. I'll shop for and pack the provisions, how does that sound? You made the arrangements for the transportation and kit, so it's only fair that I do my part.”

“And the grocer won't pour a bucket of oats over your head, either,” Fennec said, snickering. “Sure, I'll let you do that. Try to figure what we might need for ten days. We should be in Dermouth on the second night, and another night coming back, so there'll be an opportunity to buy anything we forgot, but it would be best to take it all from the start.”

Argos counted off some items on the spot. “Oats, barley, and some onions. Dry biscuit in a tin, because bread will mold within a day or two on the water. Tea, some salt, dry mustard...”

Fennec held up his paws in astonishment. “You do know more about that than I do, obviously,” he chuckled. “I'll leave provisioning in your most capable paws then. Can you get the utensils too?”

The wolf nodded. “Mazer has lots of old pots and kettles and such in the back of her pantry. She keeps them in case they might be needed for dyeing, but once they've been used for that she stores them outside in a shed. I'm sure we can borrow any of her old stuff.”

A pretty bunny girl in a blue and white apron came to bring them a fresh pot of tea and take the other crockery away. “Anything else today?” she asked cheerfully. “We have some lovely currant buns, or molasses scones if you like. There's a bread pudding with fresh cream and dried apples too.”

Fennec shook his head wistfully and patted his stomach. “Couldn't eat another crumb, Suzy,” he said, “And I regret that too. Sounds lovely.”

Argos got a hopeful glint in his eye. “No rhubarb pie yet?” he had to ask.

Suzy shook her head. “Not yet, Mr. Argos. But soon. Ma says another two weeks before there's enough to harvest. I won't forget to let you know the first time we have it.”

The wolf let his ears droop mournfully, but Fennec winked at the the young rabbit. “Don't worry, he'll live until then. After all, he made it through the whole winter already. If you'll just let us settle up now...”

Closing her eyes, the girl added up in her head. “It would be two and a half, but since you are both such good customers, we can call it two coppers even,” she said.

Argos had his paw in a pocket faster than Fennec, and handed Suzy three coppers. “One more for the delightful service. Now if you'll just go out to that rhubarb bed each day and sing for the wee sprouts, maybe it will hurry them along.” He winked and licked his chops.

“Why Mr. Argos,” Suzy answered with a smile, “I never thought you'd be hurrying young sprouts along to such a fate. It doesn't seem like you at all.”

“Wolves,” Fennec interjected dryly. “It's in their blood. Just look at those teeth. Made to tear young vegetables leaf from stem you know.”

Argos played along. He put his head down and covered his eyes with his paws, pretending to sob. “I can't help it,” he whined. “They're so tempting, it's so hard to resist...”

Suzy pocketed the coins and walked away with the dishes, giggling. “Two weeks, Mr. Argos,” she called back. “Take your time with the rest of the tea, no hurry. Thank you for your custom as always.” With that she vanished into the kitchen.

The wolf sat up and poured more tea into both cups. “Really, Red,” he said, using his pet name for Fennec, “you didn't have to exaggerate quite so much. It's embarrassing.”

Fennec wrinkled his nose and winked. “We provide entertainment, and she gives us a discount. I'd say that's not a bad deal, actually.” He lapped at his tea and set it down. “This really is the best tea. Be sure to bring some along, will you?”

Laughing, Argos nodded. “I won't forget,” he promised, stirring milk into his own cup. “I just hope the weather holds for us.”

“It will. I'm making fox charms every morning, just as my granny taught me. Just strike a bargain with that desert god and we'll be all set.”

Argos covered the bracelet with his right paw. “I can rub his eye. Maybe that's like scratching his back. After all, he doesn't have any paws to do it for himself.”

“Can't hurt, I guess,” Fennec snickered.