Wrong Turn? (Peony and Will)

[Will Tagg]

Will had expected his hesitant, uneasy explanation to demoralize Peony even further. It wasn't that he wanted to criticize her way of life. or her father's methods of parenting. He didn't have his own child, he certainly wasn't in any place to criticize a father. Fortunately, instead of simply depressing the little wolf, he appeared to have awakened some eagerness inside her that cold and exhaustion had managed to subdue.

"So... You never got to explore your city where you grew up? Were your parents scared of a monster coming and getting you?"

Needless to say, the reindeer had not expected that. "What?" was all he managed to reply before Peony launched into a rather fanciful description.

"Was it like... Like a huge goat with a huge back and two heads and reallllllyyy long horns and fangs and beady eyes? Oh, and with long fur and splotches of color all around its body? Was that it? Was that the monster?!"

Will stared at Peony as though she'd sprouted a pair of horns herself. How on earth was he supposed to respond to a non sequitur like that? "Erm...n-no, there wasn't any monster..." he mumbled awkwardly. He tried to formulate a more comprehensive answer, but any attempts at saying something relatively dignified and proper just ended up sounding bizarre. After several false starts, he gave up and laughed a little. "Hoofentry is different from Zootopia, but we haven't any monsters."

At about that moment, they came into view of a cozy shop. Its large front window glowed an inviting golden yellow against the icy whiteness of Tundratown. By its front door, a wooden sign shaped like a tea cup swayed gently in the crisp breeze, the small pile of snow on its top appearing almost like whipped cream. Will pulled the door open for his companion, and a tantalizing odor of vanilla and fresh bread wafted out into the cold. The reindeer shut his eyes for a moment, appreciating the sensation, before he smiled down at Peony. "Well, ladies first."

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony giggled softly, letting her arms fall down to her side. She liked this guy. He acted a little, formal, but hey! That was completely fine in her book. She bowed and said, "Thank you!" to Will as she stepped inside, the many politeness-lessons she'd been taught to as a pup resurfacing. There was a lot of brown on the inside of the small tea shop, but everything was so pretty. It had an old-timey theme, with brown wood and wooden round table sets around it. There were antique plates and cups hanging on the wall, and a fire burning in a chimney placed in the corner of the room.

"Wooaaah..." She breathlessly said, looking around. Her ears slightly fell forward at the sight of a small counter at the end of the short room. There was a white cloth with curly ends draped over the end of the counter to the right of a small cash register, which was positioned at the corner where the wall and the counter met. The inside of the counter was a Desert Cage, as Peony liked to call it. here were cookies and other goods stashed away.

Intrigued by the entire room, the pup ran forward, her tail up as she began to waver around the somewhat empty room. Suddenly, she remembered the Will was behind her. Excitement plain as day on the pup's face, she ran back to Will.

"This place looks so cool!" She softly whispered in awe, looking up at the reindeer. "Do you come here a lot?"  

[Will Tagg]

"Thank you!"

Will chuckled lightly, dipping his head back at Peony in his own little bow. "You're quite welcome," he replied graciously before following her in and shutting the door. He leaned his umbrella against the wall and, after wiping his hooves on the welcome mat, walked further into the shop. It really was the textbook definition of the word 'cozy,' with its assorted bric-a-brac, crackling fire, and paw-made wooden furniture. The entire place may as well have come out of an old-fashioned postcard, which was no doubt the appeal that kept customers coming. Fortunately, at this particular moment the tea house was largely empty--just as Will preferred it.

"Wooaaah..."

The reindeer nodded, a fond smile on his face as he glanced around the room. "That's about right, I'd say," he muttered in his own miniature rapture. Though he supposed the tea room was rather kitschy, even stereotypical, he still had to admit that it was one of the best reminders of home that he'd found in Zootopia. If nothing else, the food was fantastic: the display shelves were brimming with meticulously-organized platters of different tea snacks. Endless varieties of scones, tea cakes, biscuits, cucumber sandwiches, cookies...it was almost overwhelming.

"This place looks so cool! Do you come here a lot?"

Will shook his head and sighed wistfully. "Not really. It's not often I have anyone to come here with." Of course, that would probably involve him going out, making friends, and then having the guts and initiative to invite them to tea. Somehow, that didn't seem like Will's way of doing things; he was much better at staying quiet, awkwardly fiddling with his hooves, and ending up alone. Was that depressing?

Thankfully, Will was brought out of his musings about his own social shortcomings when the tea room's owner, a rather matronly donkey, came out from the back and grinned at them. "Hello, dears!" she chimed, her accent somewhat thicker than Will's own. "How can I help you two?"
"Er...table for two, please?" the reindeer answered.
"Of course! You can have that one right there," she said cheerfully, pointing at a table framed in one of the room's large windows. "I'll bring you out a menu in a jiffy."

As she bustled back into the kitchen, Will turned to Peony and gestured at their table. "Well, does it meet your approval?"

[Peony Rìluò]

The small pup tilted her head at Will's response to her question. No one to come with? She could hardly believe it. "If you want... I could come with you whenever you want to go!" She piped, looking up to Will with bright eyes.

Peony's smile widened as she followed Will up to the cash register, her ears perked as far forward as they could go. Her little paws were placed on the top of the counter as the adults exchanged conversation. Not very tall compared to the other mammals - even for her own kind, if you really compared her - only the tips of her ears could be seen. Eager to get a better close up of the donkey, Peony struggled to pull herself up. She waved softly to her, listening to the two foreigner's voices. Gosh, she loved accents.

After the conversation was somewhat through, the pup dropped herself down to the ground again (seeing as she was somewhat lifted off of her paws) and pressed her small paws up against the glass wall of the shelf display. She was eyeing the cookies with wide eyes, distracted for a mere few seconds until Will began to talk to her again.

Peony followed his gesture towards the table. Immediatley, she started heading towards it, her eyes wide. "It's so small! And round! It's cool!"

The Pup excitedly walked up to it and sat down across from the seat that Will would sit. She smiled and looked around again, a small smile still on her face.

[Will Tagg]

It would have been quite difficult for Will to miss the way that Peony gazed longingly at the cookies in the display shelves. Really, he couldn't blame her, as they were just as tantalizing to him as they were to the miniscule wolf pup. Who didn't love cookies?

"If you want... I could come with you whenever you want to go!"

Will smiled in embarrassment. "Well, that's kind of you," was all he could think to reply. After all, he questioned if Peony's father would be all that thrilled with his daughter running off to Tundratown on a regular basis to have tea with someone who was still, at this point, largely a stranger. Not that he would have been entirely opposed to the idea himself; Peony seemed like a very sweet child, and if the few minutes he'd already spent with her were any indication, she could likely talk more than enough for the both of them. Though the reindeer wasn't all that talented at keeping a conversation going himself, he was quite content to listen to someone else ramble as long as they weren't dull.

And though she seemed to be many things, Peony was hardly dull.

"It's so small! And round! It's cool!"

The reindeer couldn't help but laugh at that. "I didn't mean the table itself," he replied in amusement as he sat down. "Now then, let's see what they have, hm?" Grabbing a leather-bound menu from the edge of the table, he opened it and set it down between them at an angle where both mammals could read its contents. Inside was a lengthy list of teas, organized under the headings of White, Black, Green, Oolong, Herbal, and Red.

It was almost beautiful enough to weep at.

After a few moments, the donkey came out with a small notepad and, if possible, an even larger smile than earlier. "Alright then dears, what can I get for you?" she asked cheerily.
"I'll have a pot of the Porkshire Gold, please," Will answered. "And I think we'll have an order of the biscuit sampler, and the scones--do those come with lemon curd?"
"How else am I to serve scones?" the donkey answered with a small chuckle.
"Right, of course," Will said a little bashfully. "Then we'll have that. Peony, I'm guessing you want an oolong tea?"

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony gave a small giggle as she looked over the menu, her smile small as she read over the menu, her tail wagging slightly as she read over the desserts, the name of the tea that she wanted already stuck in her mind. The small pup's ears were back as she continued to read over the menu with the reindeer.

For a split second, Peony's eyes drifted up towards the doctor. Her thoughts slightly drifted towards how he'd mentioned that he didn't always have someone to come with. Was he lonely? Maybe his friends were just really busy and didn't know the true wonders of tea. If they did - they obviously hadn't found the right tea to show them the wonders, or else Will would have come here a lot.

Peony looked away from the reindeer as the donkey walked up to the table again. The small pup smiled as the two adults talked over their orders.

Scones? She'd never tried scones before. Her head tilted slightly as Will asked about lemon curd. She hoped it was like the name suggested - slightly sour.

Of course, the conversation soon fell on her. She nodded her head and quietly said, "Yes please."

The donkey smiled down at her and looked up to Will, beginning to recite the order before she went to the kitchen. Peony looked up at her, observing her somewhat long ears as she spoke. The pup watched as they twitched every now and then. Eventually, the donkey nodded as Peony confirmed that the order was correct. 

She looked back to Will, thinking back to his family. Hoofentry. The tiny pup tilted her head, her wide blue eyes looking up at Will with interest.

"What was Hoofentry like?" She asked as she placed her paw on her right cheek.

[Will Tagg]

It was difficult for Will to gauge just what Peony's mood was at any given moment. She seemed so capricious; one second she was bubbly and enthusiastic, the next she seemed pensive and shy. If she would have just chosen one and stuck with it for more than fifteen seconds, it would have made things so much easier for the reindeer. Instead, Peony's feelings seemed to shift with the ever-changing winds of Tundratown. Meanwhile, Will had to glance at her every few seconds to make sure she wasn't suddenly upset.

"Yes please."

There she was, looking somewhat troubled. Will furrowed his brow in concern for a moment, wondering if perhaps he'd done something wrong. Did she hate scones? No, that was stupid. Even if she didn't like scones, she wouldn't respond by shutting down and looking lost in ennui. (He was fairly certain Peony didn't even know what 'ennui' was.) As he finished ordering for them and the waitress left, the reindeer was about to ask what was wrong; instead, Peony changed the topic.

"What was Hoofentry like?"

Will smiled fondly, his love for home obvious the moment the word 'Hoofentry' left Peony's mouth. "It's beautiful," he said in a reverent tone. "Zootopia is an exciting place, but Hoofentry...you'd think it came out of an old painting. The center of the city is hundreds of years old, there's a sort of...a feeling of history that you don't really get in a place like this."

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony wagged her tail softly as she did her best to imagine what Hoofentry was like as Will explained what it was like. Suddenly, her ears perked up as the perfect idea came to mind.

"Oh, Oh!! Is it like where Harry Otter takes place?"  She asked excitedly. Although she'd only seen the first half of the first movie so far, everything was still exciting, and it'd replaced Sherlock Howles for the time being. So far, her favorite character was Ron Weasel.

She'd been daydreaming about visiting Frogwarts for the past few days. She'd been practicing saying the only spell she could remember at the moment - Wingardium Leviosa - which is probably the most well-known Harry Otter spell out there.

Peony smiled a tiny bit as she finally noticed Will's smile. It must have been really pretty if he was still looking back on it with awe after he 'd lived there for... Wait.. How old was this animal?

The wolf pup tilted her head slightly as the donkey stepped out of from behind the bar, carrying a tray with their order.

[Will Tagg]

It was no secret that Will was proud of his hometown. Granted, he was no professional historian, but with as much as he'd learned and memorized, he was more than halfway there. He'd at least have made an excellent tour guide, had he ever been put in the position to show anyone around Hoofentry. There were so many things to talk about: the cathedral, obviously, but there was also the transport museum, the old fortress, the Hoofbert Gallery...

"Oh, Oh!! Is it like where Harry Otter takes place?"

Will paused for a moment, uncertain how exactly to respond to the question. "Well...y-yes, I suppose it is rather like that," he answered after a moment of thought, scratching the side of his neck in slight embarrassment. "Though I think that's actually supposed to be set in Trotland?" He supposed that the difference between his homeland and Trotland might not actually be clear to Peony, who likely had never left Zootopia. That said, he might as well give her the benefit of the doubt--it wasn't like it would hurt him.

He smiled as the teahouse's owner came up with their order, glad of the brief distraction. "Here we are my dears," she said as she began transferring things from her little trolley to their table. "These are your scones...cream and lemon curd...biscuits...a pot of Porkshire Gold for the gentleman...and the peach oolong for the little princess!" The spread she'd laid out was as quaint and charming as the shop itself, set on delicately-painted china and intricate paper doilies. It was all far more fancy than tea typically was for Will back home, but hey, why not let it be special for Peony?

Will thanked the shop's owner as she walked off, then turned to eagerly eye what lay before them. "Well, if that's not a sight to cheer a body up, I'm not sure what is." And without further ado, he grabbed a scone, pulled it into two halves, and began generously applying the cream and curd. Some things didn't bear waiting for.

[Peony Rìluò]

Peony's smile widened as Will answered her question. A place like Frogwarts? Oh she had to visit now. She could see it now - she and her dad would use all the money they'd made from their little flower shop and visit Hoofentry. Maybe they'd even be able to take Will with them! He'd be their personal guide around the place. Nodding slightly at her new plan that the poor reindeer was blissfully unaware of, the wolf pup almost missed Will's correction.

"Though I think that's actually supposed to be set in Trotland?" Peony tilted her head softly to one side. Trotland? She'd have to look it up once she finally got home. Her head quickly straightened up as the smell of food hit her nose. She quickly turned to watch the owner walk up to their table. The pup's light blue eyes lit up at the sight. She felt herself blush slightly at being referred to as a princess. If the stories and legends that she was told were true then she was far from a princess. But it was nice to be called one, even if it had been by mistake. She gave the teahouse owner a quiet thank you and bowed her head to show her thanks, eagerly looking back up to Will. She nodded in agreement to his statement, grabbing her long awaited Oolong tea and sipping from it.

Peony looked to the reindeer as he grabbed a scone. She'd never tried one before, and it smelled pretty decent. She watched Will carefully, the gears in her head turning as she began to copy what he was doing. What most may or may not pick up about Peony is that she is very reliant towards her nose. If the nose says it smells good, then nine times outta ten it tastes good. It's just how it always works, and one never questions it.

A scone now in hand since the teacup full of Peach Oolong tea was set beside her, Peony took a bite. It was actually pretty good! She looked to Will once more and watched as he applied the cream and curd to his own scone. Her bite now down the hatch, Peony took the moment to question the reindeer.

"Is that stuff good?"

[Will Tagg]

Will sighed as he took a bite of his scone. It brought a lot of memories back, and while they were all fond memories, it only took a few moments for them to start taking on a new meaning. Since the reindeer had moved to Zootopia, he'd been endlessly busy; going to medical school, getting a job, setting up his own apartment...he was, if nothing else, very good at keeping himself occupied. But in this moment, he wasn't in a flurry of activity. He was just sitting calmly with his new friend, eating and drinking things that reminded him of Hoofentry, and for the first time, he realized something.

He was very homesick.

"Is that stuff good?"

"Hm?" Will responded blankly, distracted by his unpleasant revelation. "Oh! Er, yes, o-of course it is! Why else would one order it?" Pushing the dish at her, he pointed out things as he explained. "This here is lemon curd. It's sort of sweet and sour at the same time. And this is clotted cream. It's...well, i-it's creamy. They're both good, but I wouldn't put them both on at once."

As he began spreading cream on a chunk of his scone, Will furrowed his brow as he tried to come up with a way to change the subject. "S-so, um...Peony. What, uh...what do you want to be when you grow up?"

[Peony Rìluò]

"True.." Peony responded. She leaned forwards and inspected the scones further as Will pointed out the different toppings. Nodding as the reindeer told her about the sweet and sourness of the lemon curd and the creaminess of the clotted cream, Peony made sure to keep a concentrated gaze on them, sniffing them and considering if she really wanted to try them. After a bit, Peony bravely picked up a butter knife and put some lemon curd on top of the scone.

The pup took a bite, her snout immediately wrinkling up as soon as the sourness hit her tongue, only to have the sweetness soon overpower the sourness. After swallowing the bite, Peony still had no idea on what she truly thought of the lemon curd. She glanced up at Will and tilted her head, shrugging a tiny bit with a small smile on her muzzle. Though, before she could apply the clotted cream, Will had begun to talk.

"What I want to be?" Peony repeated, thinking for a tiny bit. What did she want to be? The pup never really thought about it. Maybe she could have a cafe? That was also a house at the same time? It would be like the florist shop her father owned, but with an upstairs where they would live. Peony liked the sound of that. Maybe when she finally got home, she could ask her dad if she could have a cookie stand at his store. "I want to work in a bakery! But like, one where you can live in, too! Like, in the upstairs!" She said excitedly. "And it could be a place where animals could come to hang out and talk while they eat!" The pup explained.