"You trust both of them implicitly. Or explicitly? I'm not sure of the wording."

Freya and Stone were on the short line for tea. Only five mice and one rabbit were in front of them.

"Aye, I trust them, lass. Sela is a good otter. And you know how I feel about the rest."

"It's just, I feel like going to her boarding school? I'm not convinced."

"There are… good reasons to head off to boarding school, especially for a blue jay such as yourself," Stone said.

"I see. Would you care to explain? And how does an otter know so much about aviary boarding schools?"

"I know because I ask the questions I want to know the answer to."

Two mice ahead of them grabbed their tea contentedly.

Freya saw the problem ahead of her at once. They had a Soldier, one of the rabbits, serving the tea. He must have been making it his mission to ensure that no one received a drop more tea than they deserved.

Ahead of them the lone rabbit on line must have tried some party trick to engage the sensibilities of the tea issuer. It went predictably bad.

"I heard that boarding school could be a tough time," Freya said, her eyes still on the arguing rabbits.

"It could be, but if you had a special dispensation because you did something great? Then it might be easier."

Freya gnawed on his words as the rabbit finally accepted the tea. She wished that she could have some kind words with Holly, perhaps tell her about how the past three days had been.

It had been an adventure enough on its own, but now to consider something even further?

That would be a special kind of madness.

The two mice ahead of them accepted their meager tea ration, without a biscuit of course, and moved out.

"Hello my dear rabbit, would that I might have your finest cup of tea," Stone replied.

In front of them, the lacquered wooden sign read:

"TEA RATIONS: one per day."

"Yer that git wot took care of our feline problem, innit?" The rabbit said.

"That I am."

Freya realized that he’d been along for the ride with their supply train. She’d never interacted with the rabbit personally, but it made her feel a bit better.

"And yer one of them sappers?"

"That I am, kind rabbit."

"This one is on the 'ouse then. Our special brew."

Stone raised an eyebrow. He’d been there but she was far more noticeable. What with the blue feathers and all, Freya in her Private Kayli identity stood out. An otter in a coalition base should be as common a sight as a blue jay, but everyone knew that the aviary kept to themselves.

"Thank you."

Freya watched as he pulled a special bag of tea from a box nearest to his body. He then made a show of placing it into the steaming mug that he handed to her.

"Five minutes, and it's brewed, no more no less."

He eyed Stone before placing a similar tea bag into the otters mug. Freya realized that as outsiders, they really stuck out. The chickens probably didn't help. There weren't any others around.

The strange gazes compounded when they arrived in the general mess area. Freya had heard tales of rowdy crowds but the dozens of Soldiers were something else.

They found a table with two squat wooden chairs and took places. Stone looked around carefully before placing his tea down.

A dull roar abated briefly at their arrival.

The creatures in the area returned to their tea.

The great equalizer between rabbit, fox and mouse, tea had for centuries been one of the most important crops of the coalition. Freya had known other teas from other nations, but the tea bushes of Yellowrock were said to be known across the continent. As such it was customary to offer tea to a visitor. It was normal to keep tea at home.

It was not normal for two platoons to be drinking tea like rowdy bachelors.

But for the time it took them to sit down and steep? Freya felt at home. She dabbed her beak with a wing.

Tea tasted sharper when she was a Blue Jay. She didn't understand the difference initially, but she had grown to appreciate the minor changes. Specific needs that she’d never had to meet. She felt a yearning to eat some of the larger seeds and nuts that the caravan had brought. Far off in the distance she saw an oak tree and her mouth salvated. Her body knew that oak acorns tasted the best, even if she'd never had to put those two together.

Then she saw an insect in front of one of the platoons and had to stop herself from going after it. A little beetle caught her eye before it leapt out of view. Freya froze, her cup at her lips.

"Don't be bothered by the little insects, lass, they’re fleeting things," Stone said.

"I find myself drawn to eat one, have you ever…?"

"Sweet Miru, no," he patted his belly, " this body is made by fish and sweet rolls."

Stone looked strong, like an otter that fought bears on a mountain.

He also looked round, like an otter who spend his day moving kegs of ale around.

Freya laughed to herself. Laughing as a bluejay felt like a special treat, as if she'd not laughed before. Which, as a bird? She hadn’t.

"You know the first time that …err Bea took me flying?"

"She told me something about you kissing the ground?"

"It was something like that. I feel a bit more confident now."

Stone watched his mug longingly before downing what the last sip.

“Well, that’s excellent. It’ll come in handy for this long winter.”