One time the teen brought his elderly uncle to the restaurant. The man spoke with a calm and the nephew seemed to be glad to be in his presence. The uncle was overjoyed to be brought along to his favourite restaurant, as he put it. The staff was of course glad to hear that they were at the top of the list. "It's important to balance life's hardships with life's treasures." As the uncle put it.
From what Tarri could hear in between serving other tables nearby, the nephew had been bragging about them. He put a lot of emphasis on the good relationship between servers and management, and the professional service they provided. He also described them as "really chill about me being here", which struck her as a bit odd.
They spoke about a teashop in Ba Sing See, which the uncle worked at, apparently. This proved the theory about him being from the colonies or the earth kingdom. He was probably a young ranked officer or something from his army time. Nobles were good at getting leadership roles, and with the recent losses many climbed the ladder quickly.
In the back they circled the colonies with thick strokes and erased some other notes which were outdated with this new revelation. He was apparently not from the outer borders of the islands.
He also seemed to work closely with the ministers, which meant he was an up and coming lord if all went well. The young were always ambitious. Busy with meetings and prep work and dignitaries and balls, dinners, and diplomatic relations. Perhaps he even knew the water tribe ambassador, as his friends had let slip a few weeks earlier.
Of course no one eavesdropped intentionally but that was just what they seemed to gather from the conversation topics over the evening.
The uncle also seemed to have a soft spot for good tea, which the nephew was opposed to.
"Well nephew, not everyone makes tea as brisk as you do."
"That's not fair, you've had an entire lifetime to practice. I hadn't even tried to make it two years ago."
"Very true," the uncle agreed "Now what can you tell me about this one? Judging the quality is not the same thing as steeping it, and a practice that can easily to slip by if not honed regularly."
The nephew sighed loudly and rolled his eyes but took in the fragrancies of the jasmine they had ordered. He took a small sip, swirled it in his mouth before swallowing, and sighed wistfully.
"Mmm, leafy." He said in a deadpan voice.
The uncle looked astonished at the response before he chuckled lightly and played along.
His uncle took a sip of the tea and agreed. "I think you might be right."