[Tower's Respite] - Sweets and Spices

by **Arysana** on February 13th, 2014, 2:14 am

"NPC Speech" | "Sana's Speech" | 'Thoughts' | Winter 57, 513AV

Afternoon classes had ended with a boom, almost literally.

It seemed that Arysana was not the only one learning new tricks with her reimancy, one of the students in a short class going over the basics and core theory behind reimancy and its workings, one of the many ways the Dawn Tower was tackling problems about ignorance and students not quite understanding what they were getting themselves into, thought it would be an excellent idea throw transmute ice down the back of the student by their side as an example following the teacher's words.

Although funny to some, including Arysana herself, who under the scrutiny of the instructor and in a position where she was supposed to represent a 'responsible' staff member of the circle, was biting her tongue in an effort to smother her grin, said student was put through Hai as the teacher blew a gasket over the irresponsible behaviour.

He was lucky that he was allowed to remain in class, though the fact that he was kept in to write half a dozen pages of the same statement on taking reimancy too lightly in repetition was quite the classic punishment, improved only by a fellow peer's suggestion that his meditation coursework be doubled, which indeed it was.

"Kitchens first," she mused to herself, almost singing the words as she made her way through the corridor, "Or room?" She assessed her ached and pains and whirling mind, still reeling for all she learned and gained from class, a slight, dull pain in feet from route she took to return from the tower, much preferring to pass over as many bridges and spiralling stair cases as she could, almost feigning a slip of mind and stopping for food and beverage on her way home.

Her decision was soon enough made for her, the sight of Rima walking briskly in the reimancer’s direction quickening her heart for a moment, worry striking her as she wondered the time of day, taking a glance outside one of the window panes as she sought to check the bell. “Sana,” She called, voice loud and light, more of a friendly beckon than an authoritive summons. “Come, we’ll have to start soon,” The woman then turned on her heel, the movement smooth and swift, only a short glance several steps later to ensure that Arysana was walking as quick as she ought to be, a hurried movement telling the reimancer that the cook wished her to pick up her pace, a light sigh leaving her as fellow peers gave her the odd look or two as half jogged down the hallway.

She opened her mouth to question the blonde, words dying before they left her throat, too close to the kitchens for her to worry about asking for more information until well inside the stone chamber.

The short half chime she spent travelling on her own was an awkward one, and colour shortly flushed to her cheeks as she realised how bizarre she much have looked, orange haired and red faced, gunning for the kitchens. Gods. Please let no one mention this.

When she broke into the kitchen she spoke before she saw, immediately shifting to the stone counters to the far right of the room, setting her backpack in one of the few cupboards she knew to kept clear, and routinely used by Rima herself for the storing of loose items. “So, what are we making?” She asked, almost breathless, attempting to catch up to body builder blonde proved no easy feat, “Soup.”

by **Arysana** on February 20th, 2014, 12:55 pm

"Sana's Speech" | "NPC Speech" | 'Thoughts'

It took a moment for the word to properly settle in Arysana's mind, but once it did the grin that took to her features was wide and wild. "You mean like the one you made not too long ago? Spice... something?" Her words were rushed and muddled, and an extra gesture to from Rima required for her to remember to wash her hands and tie back her wild locks.

"Just Tomato," was the dull reality. No dozen herbs and spices, no chives or chili or vegetable the reimancer hadn't even heard of. Tomato soup, the kind of thing that was a staple in her childhood, the same kind that one could expect on a visit home. Which, if Arysana was perfectly honest with herself, was a season overdrew.

"How exciting?" she droned, scrubbing her hands until they were red raw, mindful of the dust and grime that could blacken the skin when one dealt with tomes as poorly kept as she was recently. "Boiling rice is one thing... but soup? Tomato soup?" she continued, air drying her hands before seeking a clean cloth to wipe them, "I don't know if I can can handle this."

A look of sheer disgust passed over her soft features, her mouth set a gape and eyebrows high, holding the expression for a mere three ticks before her mouth quirked to a crooked grin, unable to hide the obvious pleasure in seeing the look of defeat that Rima bore.

"What?" The silence was cut by one of Rima's 'done' breathes, slapping Arysana on the shoulder when she passed the cook, shaking her head as she attempted to form words. "Just, go," a tired gesture was thrown at to the central work bench, a huff leaving the woman and she worked her neck and rolled her shoulders, “I am, I am.”

The bench already had on it a number of set ingredients. A basket of tomatoes, whether they were grown on grounds or bought somewhere that frost-harvests, clean water along with along with Gods knew what. “How long will this take?” she asked, taking the apron set aside for her, indigent grumble as she struggled to tie the blighted thing.

“For myself? Half a bell. For you? Better make that closer to three quarters to a full.” Rima took her usual place, lazily leaning on the counter opposing her little protégé, mouth quirked in a relaxed smile as she took the well deserved break. “Chop the tomatoes into…” she shifted the weight of her head from side to side, thought caught on how finely cut she wished the fruit to be. “Halve them three times… yes, yes. That sounds fine enough. You can place them immediately into a pot.”

by **Arysana** on February 23rd, 2014, 1:14 pm

"NPC Speech" | 'Thoughts' | "Sana's Speech"

Right. A pot.

Arysana's gaze skirted over the counter tops, flitting back to double and triple check which items had already been gathered, and which she had to seek herself. The knife was set, though she still needed to seek the pot and cutting board, all ingredients, from what she knew, already sat out before her.

There were only a few other students stumbling about the kitchens, so the short journey to the other side of the room, where the cutting boards sat on proud display, when without a hitch. For once, it seemed, she needed to neither dodge knives nor shout and complain about it. It was a promising sign, no?

The loud thud that silenced the muffled chatter was entirely Arysana’s fault, the quiet rush that she moved with having her seem to think that it was a well enough idea to practically throw the skyglass board onto the counter top. “Whoops,” she mumbled, face falling devoid of all emotion for a moment, a slight upward twitch to the corners of her mouth before simple pleasure returned and she sought one of the smaller pots.

Or rather, a pot that was smaller than that which she often cooked rice in.

She almost sung her journey aloud as her steps heavied, already rolling her back and stretching her arms, unsure how she would deal with the weight of the pot of her choosing. As she peered into the cupboard, she could practically feel the heat on her back, her mind apparently not one too easily made up, nor done so quick enough to satisfy those that wished to inspect the low shelves themselves.

“Did I say that it was going to take three quarters to a whole bell?” rung out Rima, the pitch of her voice meaning that she’d shifted from place, likely seeking something to busy herself with while Arysana dallied about. If there was anything the cook hated, the geomancer had noticed, it was wasting time. “Because it seems that I’ll have to make that a whole to a whole and a half.”

She heard a rolling sigh, then, and Arysana rolled her eyes as impatience got the better of her, taking hold of the closest pot and ripping it away from the rest, sending Rima a ‘Are you happy now?’ look as she stood and waddled back to the counter, the pot in question perhaps one and a half times too big. Nothing of major note, though still far too large for her to carry with ease and looking like anything other than an idiot.

It took a hefty swing and push to get it onto the counter, after which a grin of satisfaction rose for a moment, before a convenient cough from Rima had her suddenly remember what it was she was supposed to be doing.

‘Halves, then halves, and halves again, was it?’

She gave a hard look to the size of the tomatoes, finding them to be rather small in size, though knowing full well that it was not her place to ask or question. The first few tomatoes were a game of trial and error. The first one suffered cuts that were sloppy and messy, the geomancer playing the placing of her fingers as she sort a manner of cutting that didn’t run the risk of having her bleed out.

The rather than manage straight cuts down the centre, an odd diagonal was taken, the knife more often than not also cutting down at a slant, as well, causing the tomatoes to look horrific enough when halved merely twice. “Sana?” came a voice, soft and quiet, unbefitting of the grinning lips that she soon realised spoke.
“Rima?”
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Hacking tomatoes apart with- Did you cut the-Good Gods, girl, you didn’t, did you?”
“Didn’t what?”

by **Arysana** on February 28th, 2014, 1:24 pm

"NPC Speech" | 'Thoughts' | "NPC Speech"

It was a look of wicked pleasure that took to Rima’s expression, an incredulous laughter bubbling from her lips before she was in sorts to respond, “The ends, You’re supposed to cut off the ends first.”
“Now you tell me?”
“Didn’t realise I had to. Just cut them off and discard them, then finish up slicing the tomatoes – try halving it twice, instead, I didn’t think the bulk of them would be so small – then clean the board and knife and slice the onion,” She paused for a moment, then, frowning as she looked over Arysana, before her own play got the better of her. “Make sure you cut off the ends.” The cook didn’t allow for further comment, not that the slack jawed student was in any form to give one, and turned on her heel with a grin, working on whatever else needed to be done.

Arysana’s eyes fell to her handy work, groaning as she rolled her shoulders and began work fixing her errors. “I don’t even like tomatoes,” the work before her was largely a sloppy mess, her awkward hacking and cutting of the ends that she suspected to be those that Rima had referred to doing little more but squishing the them further, the red juices bleeding all over the place.

Soon enough, her mistake was rectified, Arysana taking care as she attempted not to lose too much tomato as she cut the ends off the tomatoes yet to be done, and gingerly threw them into her pot, the knife and board then taken and rinsed in the nearest basin. Already her back was aching, her shoulders tight and hands sticky, and by the time that she’s rinsed and dried the utensils, Rima was sending her looks and gestured to hurry the Hai up.

Onion. Onion, she didn’t mind too much, at least until her cautious cut and awkward holding had her eyes watery for at least three chimes than needed, with Rima taking over her work when the geomancer was barely halfway through. “I was getting there.”
“Spring will be come and gone by the time you’re finished –here,” she gestured with the knife for Arysana to watch, the student taking a cautious step. “You need to cut the onion in half like this-“ The woman lined up the knife and exaggerated her holding, shifting her stance to allow a better view for Arysana.

“Remember to keep your fingers out of the way, it’s a wonder how you’ve managed to not cut yourself already. After you cut it there, you need to slice it this way, careful not to make it too thick or thin.” The cook cut the first few slices slow and steady, ensuring that Arysana had a proper took and understanding before she hacked through the remainder in half a chime, throwing them into the pot before taking the next ingredient.

“I’ll leave you to the cloves, just chop them as much as the tomato, then add the powdered broth,” she gestured to a small skyglass bowl, “And two measured of water. Clear?”
“Crystal”

by **Arysana** on February 28th, 2014, 1:25 pm

"NPC Speech" | 'Thoughts' | “Sana’s Speech”

Arysana did what was listed last first, throwing the powdered broth straight into the pot, before seeking a measuring cup and locating the clean water. “Two measures, right?” she wondered aloud, frowning as she glanced into the pot, before taking it upon herself to add another half measure.

Whether it was in the end needed or not, was yet to be seen, but the amount of juice drained from the tomatoes had the geomancer herself feel that it was necessary. ‘Let’s hope I don’t get in trouble for that.’

When it came to the cloves she had little idea how to precede, her expression doubtful as she began to cautiously hack away at them, grateful that they’d at least been peeled beforehand. “Finer,” it was a passing remark that sent a chill up her spine, Rima’s words heard long before Arysana took the care to notice that the cook had paused by her before continuing on with her other work.

“I’m only doing what you told me to,” she sighed lightly as she went back over her work, the smell of garlic by then over powering, taking away any lingering scent of the prior onion and tomato, the slight aroma from the thickening brother a distant memory. “This is going to smell…” she trailed, mediating over the thought for a moment, the amount of garlic more than enough to cover her vendetta against tomatoes, though the thought of then walking down the hallways with putrid breath stifled her appetite.

“Cloves, yes. You’re finished? Set the stove on and bring it to boil, don’t stop mixing it. It’ll talk just under half a bell, I’ll let you throw in some herbs and spices for some extra flavour. But, uh, I’ll supervise.”

There was a sort of apology that came with her words, Rima’s expression no different in the feeling that Arysana took from it. “Yeah, just a moment,” the cloves were somewhat recklessly thrown into the vat of fruit and vegetable, several of the large pieces heavier than the geomancer thought, and knocking the rim and bouncing off. “Leave them, throw them out. Ignore the ‘several ticks’ rule, absolute nonsense, it is.”

Arysana opened her mouth in protest, the weight of the pot and its wealth of ingredients knocking the air out of her, a shocked giggle escaping her as she hauled it towards the nearest stove, figuring it best to laugh at herself before any other did.

She’d been working in the kitchens and libraries for well over a season and a half, and the rhythm of the staff and workers were beginning to seep into her. She took in a heavy breath as she lifted the pot, though the effort it took to properly set it was far less than the last few times she’d had to do so.

“Brought to boil, so on high…” she murmured, ensuring that the pot’s position and the set of stoves was enough for such heat, a sweat almost breaking on her brow as she realised the warmth of the room, the almost constant burning of fires in the stoves causing the entire room to climb to temperatures that rivalled the hot springs in Wind Reach.

by **Arysana** on March 1st, 2014, 5:03 am

"NPC Speech" | 'Thoughts' | “Sana’s Speech”

With the pot in proper place, the geomancer turned on her heel and gave a sharp look about the place, eyes scanning over her station and the mess that she was yet to tidy, before finding Rima obstruct her view with a raised brow. “Here,” she said, her tone rushed and pressed, several bottles and jars crammed into Arysana’s hands, a stirring spoon balances precariously on top. “A bit of everything. A bit. No more than a single pinch, and keep stirring. You’re dismissed once you’re done. I’ll…” Arysana saw the clouds to the cook’s eyes, the tightness of her expression and the stiffness to her back. “Someone will take over, ok?”
“Ok.”

The simple answer seemed enough to please her, wavering for a moment more before a sound of a crash and clatter had her jolt, rub her temple and scold a student or two, Arysana herself stressed merely by seeing the woman in such a way.

Sana rolled her shoulders and glared at the pot, placing down the bottles and jars in an awkward squat and drop, scrambling to pull back and contain several as they rolled towards the stove and stone basins. “Shyke,” she cussed, lucky to catch one of the larger bottles before it fell to its doom, taking the spoon and practically slamming it into the pot as she juggled both reading labels and mixing the chunky soup.

“Half a bell. Half a bell. That’s all I’m here for.” The thought pacified her enough, though it took several attempts to read over the fist of the bottles before she made sense of the faded lettering. ‘Basil. Basil. I think I’ve heard of this before. No more than a pinch.’

Unsurprising, the lid was a difficult task, the reimancer tugging and pulling for an awkward chime before she finally eased it open, a sharp pain crippling her fingers as found herself having squeezed too tight in her attempters. ‘Mother petcher,’ she shook out the pain for a tick, scowling at the soup at she attempted a decent look at her work without burning herself, throwing in a little less than a pink of the chopped, dry herbs without quite managing to see.

She didn’t have the feinted idea what in Gods names ‘Coriander’ was, giving the slender jar and awkward sniff before turning and facing the ground, sneezing half a tick later, the string of profanity leaving her mouth as she slammed the jar down and ventured to scrub her hands once more audible in the most bustling parts of the kitchens.

By the time she continued the pot was boiling madly, and she almost burnt the tips of her fingers as she rushed to stir the, then much nicer smelling, vat of clove, onion and tomato. She threw in the powdered coriander with a glare and a huff, moving on to the next container with discontent, channelling her annoyance to the parsley as she threw it in as though she was boiling an enemy.

by **Arysana** on March 1st, 2014, 5:12 am

"NPC Speech" | 'Thoughts' | “Sana’s Speech”

Her form was almost as firm as Rima’s for the remaining dozen and half chimes, the cook having come and set the stove lower in heat a chime after the coriander incident, throwing her hushed comments and scolds in regards to how it wasn’t ‘attractive’ for a woman of her age to use such language, that curse words were better left to dense men and bitter women such as herself.

Arysana gaze the soup another hefty stirs, watching as the contents swished and spun around in the pot with quite the amount of glee, the excessiveness of her comfort made clear when her hand slipped and knuckles burned. Another mumbling of profanity let her as she turned and took three paces away from the stove, finding herself jumping in place as she shook the pain out, only to find another student snatch her wrist and lead her to a basin of cool water.

The stumbled thanks that Arysana would have offered proved unwarranted, the other student already off and doing whatever else they believed to be more important, the geomancer’s blazing knuckles keeping her bound in place as Rima kept her word. “You’ll need to keep that under cool water for a good half bell to prevent swelling too bad,” another student mumbled, shrugging before they gave a sorry, look, their nearby friend not even bothering to hide her girlish grin. ‘Great.’

END

by **Catastrophe** on April 22nd, 2014, 3:27 pm

e

Arysana :

Notes :

Solo [Tower's Respite] - Sweets and Spices