(no subject)

[tibetanmethod]

Seven forty-five in the morning, when Moiraine Sedai comes to Twin Peaks, and the very first thing Dale Cooper does is drive her to the Bookhouse, funny sound in his engine be damned. Once she's safely asleep in the back room, under the guard of one of the boys, Cooper calls the sheriff's station and tells Lucy that they'll need to get somebody else to make the donut run, and he needs to see Harry, immediately.

Hours pass. Cooper conferences, explains what he knows, tells Harry and Hawk what they'll need.

The small bed is behind a wall dividing the back room into two sections. Cooper sits on the other side of that wall with a book and a cup of coffee to hand. He's begun to get his concentration back; he hasn't had to restart a chapter in several hours.

Comments

[tibetanmethod]

"I watched my mother do it every now and then." Mild, as he keeps working. "I didn't start doing it myself until I spent some time at a temple on the island of Hokkaido. That's the northernmost island of Japan. And as you can probably infer, I don't do it very often these days."

[blue_ajah]

"Hokkaido," she repeats. "In Japan."

Another pause.

"That is near China, as I recall from the maps."

[tibetanmethod]

"Yes." Cooper doesn't look up as he sifts tea into a strainer. "Off the eastern coast. The two countries have a long history, and in recent decades relations have been strained. They still share a great deal of mutual cultural influence, however."

[blue_ajah]

"I see." Moiraine idly traces a line along the tabletop with the tip of one finger.

"Were you there for any particular reason?"

[tibetanmethod]

"To learn."

He sounds like he's smiling. "They didn't have coffee. I understand why, but I still think it's a shame."

[blue_ajah]

"Somehow, it does not surprise me that you would," she says, with a hint of something that might be dry amusement.

"To learn," she muses. "Reason enough, I should think."

[tibetanmethod]

Cooper turns to lean back against the counter, facing Moiraine, palms resting on the edge. "This was between high school and college. I didn't know what to do with myself -- I'd left school two years early. So I went to go look for some answers. Japan was one of several places I wound up before I finally went home."

[blue_ajah]

The Aes Sedai nods once, then tilts her head to one side as she considers him.

"Did you find the answers which you sought?"

[tibetanmethod]

"Some of them. The important ones." Another slight, brief smile. "It was a beginning."

[blue_ajah]

"I am glad of it, then."

She glances down at the rest of the bread and soup, and pushes it slightly to one side.

"Is there anything that has happened in the last few months of which I should be aware?"

[tibetanmethod]

Cooper doesn't miss any of this.

He doesn't press her. Not yet. "I'm commuting forty miles down the road a few days a week to help out with an ongoing federal drug investigation. Harry is going a little farther to provide some stability for another town's law enforcement agency while they transition to a more ethical approach to their job. Beyond that..." He shakes his head. "Here, at least, it's been very quiet."

[blue_ajah]

"Quiet."

Moiraine looks back up at him.

"Peaceful?"

[tibetanmethod]

Cooper returns her gaze.

Moiraine looks terrible.

Moiraine doesn't miss much, either.

Let her read into it if she wants. "Quiet."

[blue_ajah]

She nods.

"It is good to know."

[tibetanmethod]

Is it? he thinks.

Rather than let it go on --

Cooper nods at the bowl. Mild: "You didn't eat much."

[blue_ajah]

This time, her fleeting smile is unquestionably amused.

"Enough, perhaps, for now."

[tibetanmethod]

Dale Cooper raises his eyebrows.

[blue_ajah]

Moiraine shakes her head.

"Let it suffice, Dale, please. I do not think I could manage much more, at present."

[tibetanmethod]

"Would you still like tea?"

[blue_ajah]

"I would," she replies.


"Thank you."

There is a shade of meaning in her tone, somehow, encompassing things beyond tea alone.

[tibetanmethod]

He shifts, turning to pour water in the teapot.

With his back turned: "Guard," Cooper says, "but not Warder."

"Even now."

[blue_ajah]

"Even so," the Aes Sedai agrees, softly. "Even so."

[tibetanmethod]

A soft clink as Cooper places the lid on the teapot.

Clarice Starling, as Harry pointed out, was able to start over just fine.

There is no room for fear. Cooper takes a moment -- a brief one -- to settle himself.

When he places the teapot on the table in front of Moiraine, the porcelain doesn't make a sound.

[blue_ajah]

There is only one cup, but she has already observed that he has coffee, which remains near to hand.

Moiraine inclines her head in acknowledgment and takes up the teapot with accustomed skill.

Her hands do not shake, as she pours, nor do they tremble beyond a slight quiver. It is progress, of a sort.

[tibetanmethod]

After a moment, he sits.

After another moment, he says, "There's a suitcase. Harry -- arranged for it. I'd imagine you'd find the contents to be of interest."