Eggs, anyone?

[Na'tala]

-- Summer 20th, 513AV --

It was a beautiful sunny morning, and Nat was outside, soaking up Syna's rays. She'd cooked her usual breakfast of eggs, this time scrambled, and was eating outside, a plate and fork in hand. Salt and Pepper, her two chickens, were wandering around in the nearby vicinity, clucking at will. She watched them move around, pecking at nothing in particular. They always seemed so calm, so happy. And so stupid, really. She didn't like to insult things, but... they were chickens. Though sometimes their small brains did come up with something hilarious...

She stuffed a section of egg into her mouth and began to look around her as well. There were a few people out, Konti wandering around, and the occasional tourist. It was interesting to people-watch, to see them going about their daily business. It would be nice if she could spend all mornings like this... Just sitting in the sun, letting her mind wander at will.

Pepper, being slightly adventurous, had wandered a little too far away, and into the general traffic of people. Nat sighed and put down her breakfast, and ran to catch up with the bird. She grabbed at the chicken, quickly gaining a firm hold on it's rounded, feathery body. In her distraction, however, she forgot about the people around her, and became quite an easy target for a crash.

[L'orlei]

L'orlei was busy, very busy. What was she busy doing? Daydreaming.. yes, it was a very important part of her day, apparently, because it made her absolutely oblivious to her surroundings. She was busy imagining her next project.. possibly something with roses. Some of her concoctions just smelled bad, and it made people not want to buy them.. but roses smelled good. If she added some rose oil, assuming she could figure out how to get some, to her poultices, they would smell better and people would want them. Or so she thought. It was a tricky thing, crafting something effective, but still appealing. It often took up a lot of her attention, just thinking about how to improve her next project. So much attention that she did not notice the crunch under her bare feet and the squishy feel of smushed eggs until it was too late. "Oh gods," the konti exclaimed as she stumbled, hopped on one foot, and then crashed into a much larger, non-plate, non-egg like object with blonde hair and white scales. The next thing she knew she was on the ground, tangled with another konti, and she could still feel the eggs on the bottom of her feet. Na'tala. ..and then the names started coming. More names, some she recognized from the island, some she didn't, along with their faces started flashing through her mind from the skin to skin contact she now had with the other konti. L'orlei quickly rolled away. Years of living with her gift had done nothing to get her used to that particular part of it. She did not know if she would ever be able to turn it off, but it made contact with others quite difficult. Shaking her head to clear it of the names floating around inside, it took L'orlei a few ticks to recover. Eventually she did though, and remembered everything that had just happened. Eyes wide, L'orlei scrambled to stand up, ignoring the small cut the plate had torn on the bottom of her foot. If Na'tala was not up yet, L'orlei would offer her hand, more willing to risk the names when she was prepared for them. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, and then there was this plate and I tripped and hit you.. and I think I ruint someone's breakfast too."

[Na'tala]

Nat jerked suddenly at the person crashing into her, which sent both of them tumbling to the ground. Na'tala rolled on her back, keeping her chicken in the air and clutched protectively to her chest. Pepper, however, didn't appreciate the feeling, and spent most of the time scrabbling and squawking her indignation. As they touched, Nat got the sudden image of a pair of peaches, juicy and refreshing.

On her knees, she pushed up, attempting to balance herself while still clutching to her hen. It took a few ticks of wavering back an forth, but she was soon steady on her knees, smiling apologetically at the Konti before her.

"It's ok..." she said, shrugging, before continuing "It was my breakfast, but I don't mind. I was nearly done!" She grinned, in an attempt to make the situation slightly less awkward. She shouldn't have put her plate there... she should have kept a better eye on Pepper.

She thought for a moment, considering what the woman wanted for breakfast... "Hey... do you want some peaches? I have a few at home... and I can make myself more breakfast anyways..." she asked with a grin, trying to be polite. The Konti had probably hurt herself on the plate, right....?

"Oh! Did you hu-" she began, before taking a look at Salt. The hen was calmly pecking at the scrambled eggs scattered across the ground. "Uhh..." she said, flabbergasted, before quickly dropping Pepper, and going to shoo her other chicken away from the eggs. "That's just gross!" she told the bird, before swiping most of the ruined breakfast onto the plate, carefully picking up the pieces of that too.

"Anyways, did you hurt yourself on the plate?" she asked, remembering her planned question. She raised said object slightly, as an indication. She knew if it was a small cut, she could use Rak'keli's gift to help out...

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[L'orlei]

L'orlei was caught off guard by the offer for peaches. Oddly enough, she had just been thinking about buying a peach, and then suddenly this woman, who left her plates in the middle of the walkway to chase after.. a chicken? Suddenly she was offering her peaches. It was a bit surprising.. but after a moment of thinking about it, L'orlei realized the silliness of her surprise. Of course Na'tala had offered her peaches. Why wouldn't she? This was Mura. For L'orlei to be surprised that Na'tala would offer her peaches would mean that L'orlei would have to be surprised that she somehow knew Na'tala's name without ever asking. And that would be even sillier. "No, no, it's my fault. I should have been watching where I was going. And don't worry about the foot, I can take care of it." L'orlei realized then that Na'tala was a healer like hers. It was so common to meet other healers on the island that L'orlei rarely paid attention to the fact that her mark alerted her to that fact, but if she thought about it, she could indeed feel a tingling in her gnosis telling her that the other konti shared the same mark. L'orlei took a moment and closed her eyes, calling on her gift from Rak'keli. Soon enough the mark on her forehead started to glow, and easy as that, the minor cut on her foot closed up. "There, all better. And um.. if you're offering, then sure, I'd love some peaches. Maybe I can help you fix your breakfast, since I ruined this one."

[Na'tala]

Nat nodded absently as the other Konti healed her own wound, using Rak'keli's mark. Within moments the cut was healed, and her new acquaintance began speaking again. She grinned in reply, rather than saying something, and moved into her house, still carrying the broken plate. She checked that the other Konti was following a few times, just in case... well, who knew.

When they reached the kitchen, Nat put the broken plate aside, and moved over to a bowl of fruit. Unlike herself, who enjoyed eggs in the morning... Es and her mother were a little more normal, and liked fruit. It was probably more sensible on an every day basis... but whatever. She grabbed a peach from it and handed it, with a smile, to the other Konti, before turning to an egg sitting on the counter. Salt and Pepper each laid an egg in the morning, leaving her with two for breakfast. Today, she'd only made enough for one egg, so there was still an extra left over. That done, she pulled out a pan, and began contemplating what to make.

It took a few moments, but she decided to be unoriginal and make scrambled eggs. She grabbed a small bowl, then paused. "If you wanted to help... did you want to learn how to make scrambled eggs or something?" she asked, remembering the Konti's previous comment. If the woman agreed, Nat would explain the actions to her, but if not, she would do them herself, still explaining. "Well... you put the egg in the bowl... and mix it with a...." she grabbed a fork before continuing. "Fork, until it looks generally the same." She paused here, lighting the stove with a match, and placing the pan over the open flame. "Then you pour it on the pan... and wait... and mix it a bit..." she finished, smiling.

After realizing she'd forgotten another thing, Nat, dashed over for some milk, and poured a bit onto the liquid egg, before it hardened. She mixed it up again, this time with a wooden spoon. "Milk just makes it taste nicer..." she explained with an apologetic smile. "So... you just keep sorta stirring it, until it becomes stiff... and then you're done!" she finished, leaning on the counter to watch, and wait, as the breakfast cooked. On occasion she glanced at the other Konti, partially to see how her peach was going, and partially because now that she'd stopped talking... it felt slightly awkward. Once, she grabbed a bit of pepper and salt (not the chickens) and threw that onto the eggs, to add a little flavor.

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[L'orlei]

It was a bit strange that rather than respond to her, Na'tala just started walking away. At first L'orlei was certain the other konti was angry with her, and was just too polite to actually say something. But after the second, not the first, but the second time Nat checked to see if she was following L'orlei finally started to get the hint and awkwardly went after her. It wasn't until the third, or maybe the fourth time Nat checked that L'orlei finally became confident that she was indeed supposed to be coming with the woman, and the awkwardness began to fade. When they reached the house, L'orlei happily accepted the peach and took a bite into it, loving the soft, almost furry texture of the peach skin, and the way the juice burst into her mouth. The flavor was divine, and they were definitely one of her favorite fruits. Far better than things like apples or bananas, but on par with pineapples and oranges. When Nat decided to make scrambled eggs, L'orlei watched with some curiosity. She was a little disappointed that it was such a common meal, but she wasn't going to pass up a free lesson. She did not know about the milk part, actually, and was surprised that she had actually learned something new from something so simple. She would have never thought to add milk, actually, and wondered if that was why her eggs never tasted quite as good as her mother's had when she was a child. "Thank you for the peach, Na'tala, it was wonderful. And I'm sorry about breaking your plate.. I can buy you a new one if you want. Oh, and my name is L'orlei." OOCSorry for taking so long. You may or may not know this, but I am Verilian. I was just recently promoted to RS, so it's been a little crazy, and my PCs have suffered a bit, but I am getting back into a routine now.

[Na'tala]

OOCNo problem at all! I did know that... though for the life of me I can't remember HOW.

Apologies from myself on my much longer delay, but (I don't know if you know....) I'm Abstract, so as you knew... I was away on holiday... So I'm not fully back yet, but I might be able to get one or two posts out here before going away again, depending... sorry

Hearing that the other Konti was content to watch her cook, Nat went through the actions herself, mixing and seasoning the dish quickly. It was something she did so often that she never needed a recipe, and was so simple it didn't matter. Even a beginner could make a good scrambled eggs, as long as they took care not to burn them. Sometimes she experimented with adding various things, though she hadn't found anything too successful... other than the milk of course. However, that was a trick taught to her and Es by their mother, so wasn't really a discovery of her own. The most solid thing she'd found so far... was that most fruit tasted... odd... when cooked like this. She considered trying something new, but realized it was way too late by now. The eggs cooked so quickly that if you wanted to add another ingredient that required preparation, it was best to prepare it beforehand, to avoid running out of time.

The eggs chunky and solid, but not looking too dry, she scavenged herself another plate and dumped her second breakfast onto it with a minor flourish. She just couldn't help it... when doing something so... normal, it was hard not to make it a little less so. The Konti shook on a little more pepper and salt, so she could easily see it, and smiled. A meal successfully re-created.

When her companion began talking again, one odd thing stuck in her mind, causing a small frown. L'orlei... that was her name, apparently, had called her by name... despite the fact that she was sure she'd never introduced herself. Or maybe she had. It was quite impolite of her to do so... everything was a tiny bit fuzzy. She decided to ignore that fact, deciding that if she could propose the perfect food for the new Konti, the new Konti could know her name. Odd things like that happened occasionally, and it was best not to get too surprised...

"It's no problem for the peach! My sister and mother prefer them to eggs... so there's always a bunch about. And the plate... well, I've broken a number before. Though I can't remember Es ever doing so..." She said most of this with a smile, honest, until the last sentence. There, she couldn't help letting a slight tone of bitterness into her voice, which she quickly regretted. It didn't matter really... Es was just better at this, right? But... that was the point. Mentally, she groaned, and quickly tried to return to her normal features, which wasn't too hard.

"Anyways," she continued, trying to change the subject, but not really quite sure what to say. "The chickens out there were Salt, and Pepper... oh, and Es is my twin..." Nat tried to think up more topics, before returning her attention to the scrambled eggs. "You know... it's fun to experiment with these... adding new things and such. I haven't found anything yet though... fruit just tastes funny... Hey, do you have any ideas? I was thinking trying some vegetables, since those are generally less sweet than fruits... so they'd go better with eggs... but I'm not sure. Have you ever added something else to your scrambled eggs?" She smiled, holding up a plate, and a fork she'd brought along with it. It was a small portion, made from only a single egg, but it was fine for her... considering she'd eaten the other half earlier.

During the pause, there was a slight mental hesitation as the Konti thought on what she'd just said. Her actions dawned on her, and Na'tala blushed, muttering apologetically, "Sorry... sometimes I go on a bit... I really hope you don't mind..." She glanced down at her plate, and up at L'orlei, and realized another politeness failure. "Oh! Did... did you want to try some?" It was more to be gracious than anything else, and deep down... she kind of hoped her companion said no. She'd wanted a peach anyways... but after that, Nat had no clue. Maybe she was hungry for eggs? Still... things would get a little bit awkward if L'orlei said yes....

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