PM to join [The Drunken Fish] A Meeting (Sadie)

[Taris Orlanith]

Taris blinked at Sadie. “So,” he said, hesitating. “You’re not here to steal their recipes?”

Just a meal and a drink. He hadn’t thought of that before. His life was full of threats and danger. Simply being here, now, was dangerous. The people he had stolen from at the bar could still discover they were missing coins and come after him. It was so strange to think that life could be any different, Taris could hardly believe it.

“I, uh, I meant the barmaids. And the cooks,” he said. “I...” He swallowed, then shook his head. “No, nothing wrong with that.”

He sipped his drink again and noticed it was almost gone. Did he want another? Yes, always. But could he afford it?

“How long have you worked at the Pig’s Foot?” he asked.

He would love some food too. The ale was going to go to his head if he didn’t eat something soon. Yet, if he couldn’t afford another drink then he shouldn’t buy any food either. Did he have anything stored away? An apple or husk of bread? Maybe, but he doubted it.

Thinking of food made his stomach rumble. He clapped a hand over it and bit his lip. He hoped Sadie hadn’t heard that. He’d been here long enough, surrounded by the smell of food, that he thought his hunger had passed. Of course, he was always hungry. That’s what happened when you couldn’t get enough to eat. But it was normally a dull, distant ache.

He glanced at Sadie. For the first time, he wondered if she was from Sunberth. She didn’t look like a Sunberth native. However, there were a lot of people in the city who had not been born here.

“You’re not from the city, are you?” he asked. “Where are you from?”

He lifted his ale to his lips. He had stolen those coins at the bar. He had planned to hold onto them a bit longer. If Sadie left soon, he would be able to go find other food, food he did not have to pay for. But, if she wanted to keep talking, well, he would buy something. It wasn’t like the coins had been his to start with.

[Sadie Sundown]

“Jokes aside, I've been working there since the beginning of winter,” Sadie replied, downing the last meagre dregs of her ale and sat her mug back down on the table. “It hasn't been long, but kitchens are one of the kinds of places that you can get used to rather quickly.”

She heard the rumble of his stomach and noticed the flush in his cheeks. Sadie felt the weight of the silver in her pocket.
'He's a nice enough lad...' she thought to herself, 'it would be a shame to leave him hungry...' not to mention that it had been something he had gone through the risk of getting caught to get, even if it wasn't through the most honourable of means. One silver would not be enough for a meal, even a poor one, but it would suffice for some bread and drink.
'Two coppers for a loaf... four coppers for an ale... Fine then, my conscious,' she thought, 'but I'll at least get a drink out of it'.

Sadie glanced back at Taris, his question having caught her by surprise. Ever since she had arrived in Sunberth, she had known that her blue eyes, dark hair, and pale skin made her somewhat different from the common native Sunberthian. Some had guessed that she was perhaps some mix of Svefran, which was common enough, since they were the main source of transport across the rivers, and she usually said little to dissuade them. Especially after Morwen's disappearance.

She considered him for a moment before replying with a teasing smile.
“I don't think you've spent enough time getting to know me to receive a full answer to that question just quite yet,” she replied, “but to answer at least partially, I have lived in Sunberth for the past thirteen years.”

Sadie lifted her hand and caught the attention of the barmaid from earlier.
“Yes?”
“Thank you for lending me this,” she said while handing over the borrowed rag from earlier.
“No problem. Can I get you anything else?”
“A loaf of bread and two more ales, please 'n thank you,” Sadie said with a nod.
“Coming right up,” the broad replied, and headed off towards the bar to pass on the order.

Sadie turned her attention back on Taris.
"That loaf is for you, but don't you go and start thinking I'm going soft on you; your going to get yourself into more trouble the longer you go sticking your hands into places they don't belong. There are more than a few reasons you don't see many older pickpockets, and getting caught is one of them," she said gruffly, and sat back to wait for their drinks and food.

Thoughts, Common, Fratava, Vani
~Thank you for letting me base this on one of your templates, Regime!

[Taris Orlanith]

Thirteen years! Taris thought. That is… That is more than half my life! That’s practically my whole life!

He was surprised he hadn’t seen her before. Or, maybe he had and had just forgot. Thirteen years was a long time.

Sadie called the barmaid over. She returned the rag and ordered bread and ale. Taris opened his mouth to order another ale for himself, then heard what Sadie said. Two ales. He raised his eyebrows at her. Was she buying him an ale?

He smiled as she spoke to him. The bread was for him. She didn’t say about the ale, but he’d keep his hopes up. And, if not, he would buy his own ale. Then she spoke about pickpockets and getting in trouble and he frowned.

She was right, of course. All of his old friends, those who had first found him on the street, were dead or had joined gangs and moved onto bigger thefts than pickpocketing, like breaking into homes and businesses. Most of them were dead.

“Well, maybe I’ll turn over a new leaf,” he said.

He shifted in his chair. He didn’t like all these questions. They made him question himself. And living like he did, questioning yourself was a good way to get killed.

“You said you have only worked at the Pig’s Foot since the beginning of winter. What else have you done? Thirteen years is a long time.”

He listened as she spoke. He downed the last of his first mug of ale, then sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.

What do I want to do with my life? he wondered. Tairi could get me a job. Or maybe I could apply for something. Keep an eye out for open jobs. But, then, what would I do?

He pushed the thought aside. Did it matter what he did. A job meant money. Money meant food. Money meant new clothes. New, clean clothes without holes and stains like what he wore now. And, when he had enough, money meant a home. Whatever job he got, it meant money.

“Is cooking hard?” he asked. “I don’t know much, but I’m sure I could pick it up. Maybe I could help you at the Pig’s Foot?”

[Sadie Sundown]

What had she done? Other than cooking, there had been a few things here and there; running errands for shopkeepers, manual labour, along with a few other lowbrow jobs. Anything but resort to selling herself or stealing. She had done her best and had succeeded to keep her toes out of those pools, though it wasn't as if she hadn't thought about them. There had been a few particular occasions where she had come close, but either out of good sense or cowardice, she had stopped herself.
Although it had not quite been work, one thing that had kept her alive had been her hunting trips.

“Well, other than some errands and physical labour... I would have to say hunting. I'd catch some prey, bring it to the butcher's, sell some and keep some for myself. I still do, sometimes,” she said.

It had been one of the more dangerous options, and the most labour intensive, considering she had no horse or mule; perhaps one day she would invest in one. Sadie had had to be selective about her prey, only catching what she could carry, even if that meant hacking a larger animal into smaller pieces to carry back. Sometimes she had come back into town looking like bloody murder.

She was taken a bit by surprise with his following question.
“It's not exactly difficult, at least for most people, especially if there is a recipe to follow. As for working with me at the Pigs Foot... you'd have to go in and ask Merv, since he's the owner and all... I can maybe put in a good word for you, but it depends on him.” She paused for a moment. “If you really are interested in cooking, it couldn't hurt to look around at some of the other taverns around town as well. I won't lie and say that it will be completely easy in the beginning, since being a cook not only involves making food, but also cleaning the kitchen and washing dishes, but it is the kind of job that you can do in any city... that has living people in it,” she ended with a half smile.

At that moment, the barmaid arrived with their drinks and food.
“Here ya are,” she said, placing her burden on the table and reached out to accept the silver Sadie had taken out from her pocket.
“Thank ya kindly,” Dee answered, placing the coin in the woman's palm and used the same hand to pick up her ale. After she took a swig, she turned her attention back to Taris.

“It would be great if you want to become a cook, even just to get yourself some working experience, and it's a good thing to fall back on... You might also think of exploring other occupations, and who knows, something might catch your fancy when you least expect it.”

Thoughts, Common, Fratava, Vani
~Thank you for letting me base this on one of your templates, Regime!

[Taris Orlanith]

A recipe, Taris thought. Recipes were almost legendary in his mind.

His sister never used one. And he couldn’t remember his mother using one either. They had never had enough food for a recipe. Still, his sister always made cooking look easy. And, at the same time, hard. Tairi cut some vegetables, some fruit, sliced some meat and set it to cook. That was easy. It was easy to know when chicken was done cooking, but what about other stuff? Boiling water or soup, that was easy. But did that mean it was done? And then there were spices and other foods. How did Tairi know, how did anyone know, what went well together?

He ate whatever he could get his hands on. Cheese, bread, chicken, ham, eggs. Sometimes he didn’t feel very good after eating. He always tried to find unspoiled food, fruit that hadn’t rotted yet. And, yet, there were times when it made him sick. It wasn’t green, or black, or growing mold. But it still made him sick. Cooking would help him learn what was alright—what was safe—to eat, wouldn’t it?

His stomach growled again at the thoughts of food. Not as loudly as before, but Taris pressed a hand to his belly and bit his lip. He didn’t think Sadie had noticed, not this time.

Where is that bread? he wondered. He fidgeted in his chair. It was getting harder and harder to just sit here. The smell of hot food filled his nose and made his mouth water. All around him people eating and enjoying themselves. He couldn’t stand it. He needed food!

Taris clenched his teeth and pushed his fist against his stomach. Hunger was his oldest friend. He didn’t like it, but he knew how to be hungry. What was Sadie saying? Something about talking to Merv, the owner of the Pig’s Foot, and having to clean and wash dishes in the kitchen.

Yeah, I could do that, he thought. He nodded to Sadie to show he was listening. He had let his mind drift a bit, but he had been listening.

He opened his mouth to speak, but that was when the barmaid appeared with the ales and food. Sadie paid and took a swig of her drink. Taris stared at the bread. It was steaming hot. He would burn himself for sure if he touched it. But it would be a good burn. Worth it to get the hot food into his stomach.

Taris grabbed the bread and tore a chunk off of it. Steam burst out of the hole. His hands growing hot, he all but juggled the bread from one hand to another to keep his fingers from burning. Sadie had said it was for him. And the burning heat, it would keep him warm for a long time today and, when the heat was gone, he would still have the memory.

“Yeah, cooking,” he said, talking around the bread as he pushed chunk after chunk into his mouth. “I could cook. An’ clean an’ wash. I don’t know how. But can learn. Right?”

Other occupations… He could become a butcher. Then he would always have meat to eat. Or a tailor. He could make himself clothes fit for a prince or a king, like the ones in stories.

Then he remembered what Sadie had said before. Something about hunting. She hunted?

I could become a hunter! That would get me out of the city. No one would be able to hurt me. I’d always have food, cause I’d hunt it. I’d be warm in my furs as I slept around a fire.

“What’s the biggest animal you hunted?” he asked.