[zapdragon555]

Sencha blinked at the pillow, then laughed, a delighted expression on his face. "Oh, that would be nice! I was just thinking how strange it might be to be shorter than you," he chuckled, his tail wagging happily behind him. "This way things don't really change much…" He bent down to set the pillow on his side of the table, then sat down on it with a thump, his tail curling neatly around his legs. "Oh," he began, blinking at her with a kind of concern in his eyes. "But… will you be able to reach the table if you're on the floor?" he asked, tilting his head at her.

[Baconwizard]

"It'll be fine!" Ava said with a grin, waving Sencha's worry away with a small hand. She reached up and carefully placed her cup and plate on the floor, then the silverware and a napkin. "I can just eat it like this." Ava looked at them both, sitting on the floor with their cups of tea, and began to giggle. "It's a little unorthodox for a tea party, I guess! Do you want me to pour you some tea?"

[zapdragon555]

Sencha blinked as she moved her things to the floor, and he quickly reached up and copied her, carefully transporting each little piece of the tea set to the floor with a small smile. "Oh! Yes please," Sencha said, holding out his teacup, which was far too small for his hands. His tail swished behind him lazily, his eyes shining. "Thank you for doing this for me, Ava… It was such a happy thing to get the invitation," he said softly, his eyes growing soft as he looked at the teacup. "I've been a bit sad lately. But you've helped that so much!" he laughed, his shoulders hunching a little.

[Baconwizard]

An embarrassed smile spread across Ava's face as Sencha thanked her, and she reached up to bring the covered platter down to the floor as well. Her eyes flickered at his last words, and she paused, sitting back for a moment. Sencha was sad? That seemed so unlike the demon, Ava thought, who was always so serene. Ava frowned, tilting her head to the side, fixing Sencha with a worried look. "What's wrong?" She asked, leaning forward slightly. "Maybe I can help?"

[zapdragon555]

Sencha smiled just as sweetly as always, but it seemed to flicker slightly with a frown behind his eyes. "Ah... no, you're helping me now..." Sencha murmured, dipping his head to look at the small teacup in his hands, and he brought it to his lips to sip at it, wincing at the hotness. "I got into a fight with someone, and he's very mad at me, I think. I'm not sure what to say to him, now..." He lowered the cup back to his lap, looking at it, then glanced up at Ava, his tail swishing slightly and curling against the pillow. He smiled at her, shrugging. "He's a bit difficult to deal with, sometimes."

[Baconwizard]

Ava listened to Sencha intently, her eyes flickering slightly at the demon's serene words. The amber tea in her teacup trembled slightly, making her hazy reflection distort until it disappeared. Ava let out a long sigh, her hands stilling. Someone who is difficult... Ava could definitely think of a man in her life who fit that category. It was a good kind of difficult, though, and he always treated Ava with care... "I wonder why some people are hard to deal with," Ava murmured, thinking aloud. She blinked, straightening her head, and looked at Sencha with wide eyes. Smiling sheepishly, she shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, you don't seem like you would get into a fight with anyone." Ava paused, then tilted her head, considering Sencha, her smile growing a little. "Is he someone you care about a lot?"

[zapdragon555]

Sencha was quiet for a moment, his lidded eyes trained on his knee, before they drifted up slightly to glance at the ceiling, something like a smile on his face. "Maybe," he mused, his eyes distant behind his smile. "It's difficult for me to care about someone who doesn't care about me. Do you understand that?" he asked, looking back at her, his shoulders jumping ever so slightly as a chuckle escaped him. "There's not much point to it, really. Not much at all..." He sipped at his drink, looking contemplative. "I think he needs me, though."

[Baconwizard]

There was a pause, where Ava took a sip of her tea, mulling over Sencha's words. "That sounds complicated," she finally said, her voice filling up the kitchen. Blinking, Ava smiled, ducking her shoulders sheepishly. "Sorry, um..." Ava put her cup down then leaned back with a sigh. "So... he needs you, but you don't need him, but you like him, but he doesn't like you?" Ava frowned, suddenly realizing that what she had just said didn't make any sense. "Wait, what?" She leaned forward, beginning to ramble a bit, her breath coming a little faster in her chest. "So... do you like him, like him? Do you not want to like him, but you do anyway? Or is it not like that? Who even is this guy! If he doesn't care about you, he doesn't sound very nice."

[zapdragon555]

Sencha blinked at her flurry of words, a bemused smile on his face as he barely leaned away to see her better as she leaned forward. "Eh... 'like' like?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion. "I'm not sure what that means... but..." He smiled slightly, the sadness flickering out of his eyes as he tapped a finger to his chin. "No, he doesn't like me, I don't think. Because he hurt me." His smile faded slightly at that, and he shifted, glancing away. "It hurt a lot. So I'm not sure if I like him... but I miss him."

[Baconwizard]

Ava's face fell slightly at Sencha's words, and she was silent for a long moment, looking into the dregs of her tea cup. That was sad. That was... more than sad. Ava was still for a moment, trying to describe the constricting feelings in her chest. Looking back up at the demon, she studied his soft smile and melancholy eyes, a little frown playing on her lips. "I'm sorry, Sencha," she said, her voice laden with regret that she couldn't say more. On an impulse she reached out and squeezed his hand. Almost immediately, a wave of tiredness washed over her, and she blinked, carefully taking her hand away to pour herself another cup of tea. Maybe she needed more caffeine; she was getting too tired all of a sudden.

[zapdragon555]

Sencha's eyes flickered slightly as Ava touched his hand, and they flashed with a new light, a smile worming over his face even as she leaned away. "It's okay," he said in a light tone, lifting his tea cup to his lips and draining it, then reached for the pot to pour himself some more. "Coming here was just what I needed. You're very nice, Ava. I like you very much," he said with a slight chuckle, his tail swishing lazily behind him. His eyes suddenly lit up, his tail wagging faster. "Ah, can I see the cake, now? I'm sure it's really pretty..."

[Baconwizard]

Ava's eyes brightened at the compliment, and she smiled, shifting a little underneath the praise. "I like you too, Sencha," she murmured, beaming at her cup as she put two spoonfuls of sugar into her tea. That done, she raised her eyes to look at Sencha, blinking at his words. Ava straightened up suddenly, regaining a little bit of her usual energy with her excitement. "Oh, right! The cake! Wait a minute, that was supposed to be a surprise!" Ava pouted, letting out a huff of air. She leaned forward, shifting her weight onto her knees as she brought the covered platter between them, then revealed a cake covered with vanilla icing. She grinned, looking up at Sencha to see his reaction. "Ta-da! I didn't know which you like, so there's chocolate and vanilla cake."

[zapdragon555]

Sencha's eyes grew wide at the sight of the cake, and his tail wagged excitedly, a laugh spilling out of him. "It's so cute!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together and bending down to peer closer at it. "I'm sure it will taste wonderful, since you made it. All kinds of cake are good, you know?" Sencha chuckled, beaming up at her, whatever melancholy he was experiencing from before forgotten. "Can we cut it? I want to see inside," he said, his voice quieting but still holding a fair amount of excitement in it as the tip of his tail wagged. Clearly he was trying to repress it.

[Baconwizard]

"Give me a second," Ava said, a giggle in her voice. She picked herself up off the floor, pausing for a moment as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Blinking rapidly, Ava got her balance, then carefully moved over to the kitchen to get a knife. A hum rose up in the back of her throat, and she walked back and plopped down across from Sencha. "Okay, here it goes. Do you want a big slice or a small one?" Ava blinked at Sencha, awaiting his request, the knife held up at the ready.

[zapdragon555]

Sencha watched Ava go, smiling a little as she wobbled on her feet, and he perked up even more as she sat back down. He blinked at her question, his attention fully on her, before his gaze slipped to the knife in her hand, and he stared at it for a long time, his tail stilling. Suddenly looking a little pale, Sencha curled his tail tighter around himself, his shoulders hunching as he glanced away. "Either is fine..." he said softly, almost seeming to shrink. "I like cake... but... y-you can choose first."