[The unfortunate fact of the matter is, she's so unfamiliar with any name even remotely resembling his that he could have been wearing the most traditional garb of his homeland ever to exist and she still wouldn't have had even the slightest hope of matching it up with his name. It was a futile endeavor from the start.]
[But that doesn't stop something in her blood from running cold when she realizes he's that big fellow with the grim expression who's just stood up and begun walking toward her. A bit like a deer in the headlights, she watches him approach, and there are a lot of learned responses that go off in the back of her mind that say she should probably just duck under the counter and hide while he takes his tea. Ultimately she does not, but she has to fight the urge to shrink in on herself as she cranes her head back to look up at him, body threatening to tip back as he leans over the counter, her eyes wide.]
[But all he does is correct her, and she's so relieved that she can't do much more than exhale the breath she was holding the whole time, even as she still attempts to process that 'thank you'. (Ah, she should have known better; the people here aren't like they were in the rest of her life. There is not so high a price for displeasing someone.)]
[Her eyes flick toward the giggling man and then return to Cao Pi's back, and suddenly she feels a rush of guilt. She'd thought it sounded silly when she was saying it, but... that poor fellow must get all sorts of trouble, with a name like that. So before she can stop herself, she's planting a hand on her side of the counter and leaning slightly to call over it after him,]
Sorry...! Tsao Pi.
[It's a bit better, this time, the contrition plain in her voice. The 'Ts' is still markedly difficult for her, but it's admirable enough improvement. (And the tea happens to be sporting a little white design on its surface, if that's any consolation; there's a pretty decent - albeit stylized - picture of what looks like it might be a lotus flower shaped in the foam.)]
:D !!!!!! Thank you, I aim to please \o/
[The unfortunate fact of the matter is, she's so unfamiliar with any name even remotely resembling his that he could have been wearing the most traditional garb of his homeland ever to exist and she still wouldn't have had even the slightest hope of matching it up with his name. It was a futile endeavor from the start.]
[But that doesn't stop something in her blood from running cold when she realizes he's that big fellow with the grim expression who's just stood up and begun walking toward her. A bit like a deer in the headlights, she watches him approach, and there are a lot of learned responses that go off in the back of her mind that say she should probably just duck under the counter and hide while he takes his tea. Ultimately she does not, but she has to fight the urge to shrink in on herself as she cranes her head back to look up at him, body threatening to tip back as he leans over the counter, her eyes wide.]
[But all he does is correct her, and she's so relieved that she can't do much more than exhale the breath she was holding the whole time, even as she still attempts to process that 'thank you'. (Ah, she should have known better; the people here aren't like they were in the rest of her life. There is not so high a price for displeasing someone.)]
[Her eyes flick toward the giggling man and then return to Cao Pi's back, and suddenly she feels a rush of guilt. She'd thought it sounded silly when she was saying it, but... that poor fellow must get all sorts of trouble, with a name like that. So before she can stop herself, she's planting a hand on her side of the counter and leaning slightly to call over it after him,]
Sorry...! Tsao Pi.
[It's a bit better, this time, the contrition plain in her voice. The 'Ts' is still markedly difficult for her, but it's admirable enough improvement. (And the tea happens to be sporting a little white design on its surface, if that's any consolation; there's a pretty decent - albeit stylized - picture of what looks like it might be a lotus flower shaped in the foam.)]