(Flashback) Fish on Fire (Nuavi)

[Blythe]

27 Summer, 507 AV

Blythe was standing outside by the fire her sister had made. The fire had grown in the time since her sister first set it, and was now about 2 and a half feet in height. Tiny sparks flew out from the area in which the fire was incased, a large circle, with a radius of about 2.5 feet, marked off, or rather enclosed by, a series of large grey stones. Smoke billowed out and into the air that surrounded the fire, and at times, would be carried away by the whistling wind.

Blythe was not in the best of moods. Her sisters had all gone out fishing, and since her mother and grandmother were sick, and she was the only one who knew anything about cooking, she was elected to cook the day's catch. Luckily, the fish had already been scaled and essentially, de-boned and cleaned for her, (Blythe had no idea as to how much to attempt doing any of that), now, all she had to do was find a way to cook the fish... without burning them, which should be interesting...

Blythe watched as the fire grew in both heat and intensity, a small pot that had been attached to a series of logs and sticks hung over the fire. The fish that she was to cook lay out on a simple white cloth near the fire. Their stench was carried, continually to her nostrils by the wind, and it was difficult for Blythe not to scrunch up her face, and turn up her nose in disgust. The scent of the sea as well as the uncooked fish also clung to her skin, and Blythe couldn't wait to finish cooking everything so that she could run off to take a nice, long, well-deserved bath. Even so, Blythe wasn't even sure a bath could get the awful stench out.

As Blythe waited for the fire to heat up, and grow some more before she began to cook, she grew impatient. She twiddled her thumbs, whistled "mary had a little lamb," and then proceeded to sing a simple, wordless tune: lalala la de dum la mo do ri me or laaalalaallalaaaaaa. She wasn't feeling too creative that day.

Finally, the pan had started to heat up enough where she could start cooking. Looking around at the ground for her supplies, she realized that she had forgotten the butter she would need to line the pan, so she ran back inside to get it from the cupboard before returning to the fire.

[Nuavi]

27th of Summer, 507 AV

Nuavi had been on her way to the sea to fish when she noticed the smoke billowing from a nearby cookfire. The sweet scent of raw seafood enticed her closer, as she was hungry and admittedly impatient for her older sisters to start the meal back home. She herself had never actually cooked in her life, but was never reprimanded for it, as she pulled her weight of the family chores largely by fishing in the sea. The young Konti loved to swim, and often made a game of catching the quick finned fish in order to test her own speed against theirs. It created the odd problem of being able to catch a meal, yet being unable to actually cook it.

She'd developed a taste for raw fish as a result.

But as she neared the cookfire, she thought she recognized the Konti woman attending to it-- older than she, yes, but not by much, still quite early into adulthood. She seemed to be having as much trouble as Nuavi imagined she herself would at the prospect of cooking fish alone. Feelings of frustration and mild annoyance drifted to her, resonating, drawing her lips up in the beginnings of a grin. The familiar crackle of butter beckoned her nearer, hot warm scent reminding her strongly of her own family.

The whole of Konti Isle seemed as one great family of sisters, mothers and grandmothers. She didn't feel odd approaching the stranger's cookfire, surveying the raw goods on white cloth waiting to be prepared. Nuavi regarded everyone as family here. "Would you like some help?" She offered, placing a light hand on the woman's shoulder as she emerged from behind, careful not to startle her. In truth Nuavi was fishing for some lessons in the art of fish-frying herself, but the sentiment was genuine enough. She offered a smile, glancing down at the pan of hot butter, then back to her fellow Konti.

"My name is Nuavi, by the way. Luanti's daughter? We actually live rather close to each other," she glanced over her shoulder at the sea gleaming in the summer sunlight, then back to the woman, "I was on my way to fish, but I've never really learned how to cook it myself," she admitted somewhat sheepishly. Some help she was going to be.

[Blythe]

When Blythe had returned to the fire, she threw the stick of butter into the pan, and watched it melt, and then bubble along the bottom of the black iron. She looked over at it warily, as she absentmindedly wiped her brow with the back of her hand, a few beads of sweat having had appeared there, courtesy of the fire. The smell of burning butter was being carried to her nose by the wind, and Blythe figured it was about time to start cooking. The fish smelled horrible enough, the fire and butter not much better, and she simply wanted to get this all over with.

Suddenly, Blythe felt a hand on her shoulder. "Mist, could you not! You scared me there!" Blythe said as she gave a little jump, simply assuming it was Mist being her slightly immature playful self. "Mist?" Blythe questioned, when she heard nothing before turning her head slightly to look over her shoulder to see an unfamiliar face. Another Konti woman, who appeared a little younger than she. She had light violet eyes, and thick white blonde hair that was a little longer than Blythe's. She was almost as tall as Blythe, and was wearing a simple tunic and a pair of pants. "You're not Mist... sorry I assumed you were my sister up to her usual trickery," Blythe explained herself, her cheeks turning a rosy pink.

"Would you like some help?" the mysterious Konti woman asked. Blythe turned to face her, she felt rude with her back turned. "Sure, why not?" Blythe said, waving the woman a little closer to the fire with her hands. "My name is Nuavi, by the way. Luanti's daughter? We actually live rather close to each other," Nuavi continued. Blythe stared into Nuavi's light violet eyes with her lavender ones, she wasn't sure she recognized the name.

"I was on my way to fish, but I've never really learned how to cook it myself," Nuavi admitted somewhat sheepishly. Blythe flashed a wide, radiant smile and her eyes glimmered, making it appear as though she were laughing with her eyes. "Well that's alright, I'm not much of a cook myself," Blythe laughed, as she pat Nuavi's shoulder playfully. "Come, we can figure this out together, right?" Blythe said, before bending down to pick up the fillets of fish, "would you mind placing those in the pan?" Blythe asked, gesturing towards the cloth filled with fish that she was now holding up towards Nuavi with her eyes.

[Nuavi]

"Alright, thank you," she laughed in turn, heart lifted by thermals of delight-- both her own and her new companion's. She was sorry for startling the woman earlier, but she seemed to have recovered well enough. Her sister Mist seemed a likable woman, judging by the affection which flowed at the mention of her. Vaguely Nuavi wondered if she would get to meet the rest of her new friend's family.

"Do you have many sisters?" She asked, gingerly picking up the raw fillets and laying them gently into the pan, careful not to be burned by wayward crackles of butter. Despite her care, a few bubbles sent hot droplets flying into her hand; Nuavi swallowed a yelp and jerked her fingers back, rubbing her knuckles hard. "Hot," she offered blandly, ceasing to rub her hand just long enough to see the tiny red welts rise up before rubbing some more. Her face was wrought with surprise, laughter, and just a little bit of pain. "Sorry. Okay, so what do we do next?"

She surveyed the fillets with fingers slick with their rawness, thrilled to be part of something new, with someone new, forging new connections. Maybe she could go home after this and show them what-- wait, what was her name again?

"What's your name? I'm sorry, I should have asked," sheepish again, yes, but too blatantly gleeful to be truly ashamed. Nuavi was enjoying herself.

[Blythe]

"Alright, thank you," Nuavi laughed, as she moved a little closer to Blythe, practically hovering over the fish. Did she like the smell? Blythe wondered.

"Do you have many sisters?" Nuavi asked, as she gingerly picked up each of the filets of fish, throwing each into the pan, one after the other, careful not to burn herself. Yet, despite her caution, the butter in the bottom of the pot bubbled, and sprang out at Nuavi. A few bubbles popped on Nuavi's hand, and she quickly pulled her hand away from the heat. "Hot," the girl said simply, as if in explanation, as she rubbed her burning hand. Blythe made a that does not look pleasant face and said, "you ok?" before quickly adding, "three sisters," so as not to appear rude, or like she hadn't heard Nuavi's question.

Blythe watched as the girl kept rubbing her hand. Nuavi's face displayed both pain and laughter. How strange, Blythe thought, as Nuavi said, "sorry. Okay, so what do we do next?" Blythe looked over at her latest companion. "Uh...." Blythe scratched her head, and shifted her weight from her right to her left foot, she cast her eyes from left to right nervously, "maybe we flip it over, so both sides will cook?" Blythe suggested, and questioned at the same time. "Would you mind handing me that spatula over there?" Blythe asked, pointing to a metal object that looked like an enlarged, and slightly flattened spoon with holes in the middle. It was resting on a red blanket, which was sitting on a nearby log, along with some other basic outdoor cooking supplies.

Nuavi seemed to nod her head slightly as she asked for Blythe's name. "Blythe," Blythe replied simply as the wind started to pick up again, blowing the smoke towards her and Nuavi. Blythe turned her body around, as she closed her eyes and began to cough into her hands, why did this always seem to happen to her when she tried to cook on an outside flame? Blythe wondered.

[Nuavi]

Nuavi waved off the butter burns and shook her head, laughing a little. She frowned and made a face, still amused with the situation, "I'm fine, don't worry. It was her fault for getting too close to the hot butter in the first place, watching the way it slicked the black iron to mimic a black tide. And it smelled amazing.

"Yeah, it looks like the fish cooks fairly quickly, doesn't it?" Nuavi commented as she fetched the spatula from the log and handed it to Blythe. Odd, using utensils she'd only watched others use. It made her feel proud of herself, then immediately silly for being so proud of such a little thing as cooking. She could see the browning edges of the fillets, understanding by the way they smelled and the color of the flesh that now would be a good time to flip them over.

Then the wind picked up and blew smoke from the cookfire into their faces, stinging her eyes and making Blythe cough. "Are you alright?" Nuavi asked, brows knit with concern for her new companion. She touched her shoulder again in a reassuring gesture, wondering if the smoke was especially bad for her, since it wasn't bothering Nuavi nearly as much.

[Blythe]

Nuavi started to wave her hand about, as if to calm the burn she must now be experiencing in her hands. "I'm fine, don't worry," Nuavi commented, as Blythe eyed her nervously, she felt bad for the poor girl. Burns were never any fun, and they tended to turn red, boil, and then your skin would peel off. They weren't something Blythe was particularly fond of, and the short glimpses that Blythe could catch of Nuavi's hand as she waved it around, told her that the wound was probably more painful than her companion was letting on, and that it was only going to turn more and more red. But Blythe didn't press the matter.

"Yeah, it looks like the fish cooks fairly quickly, doesn't it?" Nuavi commented as she fetched the spatula from the log and handed it to Blythe. Blythe nodded, "apparently," she was watching the edges of the fish turn a light brown, and was wondering if she should flip them... about now. But that was when the wing picked up and the smoke blew in her face, and she started coughing. Nuavi didn't seem to be anywhere near as affected by it as she was however. In fact, she didn't seem to be affected by the smoke at all. Blythe couldn't even hear her coughing, was she even coughing?

"Are you alright?" Nuavi asked, as she reached out and touched Blythe's shoulder. Blythe nodded as the wind blew in the other direction, carrying the thick black smoke away with it. Blythe turned back to face the fire, the fish was starting to darken, so Blythe figured they should flip it.

Blythe reached over the fire, and tried to flip the first filet with the spatula, it broke in half, and fell into the fire below, burning to a crisp. Blythe coughed again, nervously, "maybe you should try," she said, as she held out the spatula to Nuavi. It glinted in the sunlight.

[Alice]

Blythe

Experience: 3 Cooking, 1 Hospitality
Lores: How to Cook Fish, Standing Where the Smoke Blows at, Handling the Spatula

Nuavi

Experience: 2 Cooking, 1 Interrogation
Lores: Hot Bubbles in the Pan, How to Cook Fish, Being Proud of Cooking

Comments

Nice little thread! Nuavi and Blythe work quite well together. There wasn’t much action yet, so I couldn’t award that much, but feel free to poke me if anything is missing.