[Winterflame Hold] Now You're Cooking With Fire (Aiza)

[Kendall Saarinen]

85th of Autumn, 511 AV Kendall was not extremely skilled in cooking. Actually, to say he was skilled at all would be an overstatement. The blond could pretty much boil water and toss vegetables into the pot, although they would most likely come out to be horribly prepared. Hadrian and Ethan were even worse with cooking and so Kendall took it upon himself to try and learn. He had attempted a few times just to try and cook some meat over a fire but even that left the meat either horribly undercooked or burned to a crisp. He would need some lessons if he would ever feed his friends without making them sick. There was talk of a members of the hold occasionally teaching people in their free time. This is where Kendall would head for the day. Hopefully someone there would be kind enough to teach him with the exchange of a few mizas. Walking into the hold, Kendall looked around, hoping to find someone who would offer to take time off of their cooking to help him. He spotted a girl who seemed kind enough and spoke up. "I heard people in Winterflame occasionally give lessons on cooking. Would you be interested in teaching me? I can pay you."

[Aiza]

Aiza was on her break, sipping a glass of milk when a stranger came up. She blinked looking at him as he asked for lessons. Unsure what to say at first she stumbled over her words. Finally she sighed putting her mug down. A few extra Mizas would really help out... Standing up she grabbed her apron. She started to speak, her voice soft, and a little shy. "Well, Okay, I guess I could show you a few things... Anything you are looking for to cook? Or should I start off with the basics?" She smiled, her green eyes glinting. Looking towards the kitchen, she knew it would be empty right now, plenty of room to show him a few things.

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall was relieved when the girl agreed to help teach him. "Thanks! How much do you want for the lesson?" Kendall Still had some money left from working at the stables, but not a ton. He had just started his work in the city so there would be money coming in, just not right away. The blond tried his hardest to keep some sort of income coming in. Hadrian had a good amount of money but Kendall hated to rely on him for upkeep. The Azenth was a grown man, he needed to help support Hadrian as well, even if the mage could do just fine on his own. "Just the basics please. Sadly, I don't know too much about cooking." Kendall felt a little strange saying this. He was twenty two for Ivak's sake! Still, there was nothing gained in lying. He would not learn much if he claimed to be a great cook when he wasn't. "I know a little bit. I made cookies once… although they set on fire." He smiled lightly at the words. He probably shouldn't have said that. "I'll try my hardest not to light the kitchen on fire though." He chuckled nervously at the words. He was just digging himself deeper into a hole. "Anyways, the kitchen is this way right?" Kendall pointed to the kitchen, trying to get attention off of his awkward rambling.

[Aiza]

Aiza looked at him out of the corner of her eye when he started on about payments, she took a moment to think about it and he began again about his cooking skills before she could answer. She didn't think much about price, didn't care too much ether. But it might be a little difficult to teach him. Setting cookies on fire? Now that is some talent right there. Aiza smiled kindly, "It's quiet alright, we can talk about prices afterward. And yes, that way is the kitchen, let's go." Turning she lead him into the large kitchen area. Looking around she grabbed a hair net for herself and him and two aprons. Handing him both she looked around. "Well, best thing we can start off with is the recipe, you will always have a recipe and if you have no clue what you are doing, best thing you can do is follow that. And you will be golden." She looked around the room and found the box of recipe cards, digging through it she hummed to herself, trying to think of a simple recipe that would help him learn the basics, without making it too hard. "My name's Aiza, by the way. What's yours?"

[Kendall Saarinen]

"Fair enough." Kendall could not argue. The girl was kind enough to teach him and if she wanted to wait, that was fine with him. He looked over the girl, taking in her aura. This had become somewhat of a habit for him. He had a nervous streak and his time in Ravok only made it worse. He liked to know what others were feeling. Usually his mark from Ivak could tell him more than auristics could but right now he was not picking up on anything too strong from her. He could only sense strong, underlying emotion. The girl's aura was colored with light tones for the most part. She was quiet and shy, although he could tell that much without the help of his auristics. He picked up on something else though. Her eyes were the first clue. They showed him that she clearly was not human. Her eyes were like slits, much like a cat. Her aura backed this fact nicely. He would not ask about her animal form. It was not her place. Kelvic interested him though. He had met so many interesting ones. Following the girl to the kitchen, he nodded at her directions. "Very nice to meet you Aiza. I'm Kendall." He played with the idea of extending a hand to her, although the last cat Kelvic he did that to was a Ranuri. Deciding against it, he turned his attention to the box of recipes. He was curious as to what people normally cooked in Avanthal. How different was their cooking to his hometown of Zeltiva? "So, how long have you been cooking?" The question was a bit odd but no one could say he was not trying to make conversation.

[Aiza]

Aiza's eyes once again glanced towards Kendall. She liked his name, but didn't speak of it. She just nodded, to let him know she heard him. Back to the cards, flipping through she stopped at deserts. Something sweet sounded wonderful. She loved sweets and this was her favorite thing to make! Cookies, cakes, muffins, cupcakes... What to pick... Ah, a simple chocolate cake sounded nice. She pulled out the card before replacing the box on the shelf. Aiza turned to him with a smile. "I've been cooking for as long as I remember." She said, her voice almost sounded like a happy mew. "I don't like cooking for masses, erm, don't tell my boss that, but I just like cooking for myself or friends... heh." She held out the card. "This is something simple, and the best thing about it, we can eat it afterward!" She squeaked in happiness over the idea of eating cake. "Okay, to get started, you need to gather the ingredients and bowls and spoons. Grab a cake pan from over there." She pointed towards a pile of pans on another shelf, "a spoon, and a bowl." She then pointed towards a hanging rack of spoons and then another shelf with mixing bowls. "I will start to gather the ingredients. Put them all on that table once you get those."

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall watched as the girl flipped through the cards, trying to catch the recipes while they flashed by. He smiled back at her when she turned to him. With a small chuckle he spoke up. "No worries, your secret is safe with me. Believe me, you are not the first person who is not fully satisfied with their job." He started to walk around the kitchen, gathering the things Aiza told him to get. "I used to work at the Windmount Stables in Syliras and I hated it. The workers liked to make fun of me a bit." He smiled lightly as he shrugged. "I wasn't as strong as them so I had a little bit of difficulty doing the same jobs they did. I worked as hard as I could until I left the city though." His eyes widened slightly when he found a bowl big enough to bake with. "I don't think my persistence really impressed them per se but at least they knew they couldn't discourage me." Kendall was overjoyed when he knew the last day of that God awful job was over. "At least you get to do what you like though." He turned the conversation back to the girl. "It makes it less like work and more like fun. I know I'd rather sit in a room writing all day for a job than working myself to the bone in a stable." When Kendall found a spoon and cake pan, he walked back over to Aiza's side. "Okay, bowl, spoon, and cake pan. What's next teacher?" He was a little surprised to see how friendly he was being. Perhaps the snow of Avanthal was good for the Azenth. A complete change of scenery was doing him well.

[Aiza]

Aiza was gathering the ingredients as he spoke. She too returned to the table with sugar, coco mix, flour, and other things. She placed them on the table and dusted what appeared to be flour that had spilled onto her apron. " I like to cook, but I don't like the crowds, and it gets a little too hot in the kitchen sometimes... It's hard to keep up a good spirit when I am sweating my ass off and having to serve so many people..." She paused for a moment and shook her head. It's better than the cold, right? Aiza couldn't wait until she had enough money to leave this place. Find a warmer climate... Looking back at the table she bit her lip. "Okay, now that you have your tools..." She pointed to the bowl and spoon, "And ingredients you have to mix them, in order. You also... oh gosh!" she blushed. "Forgot the measuring tools...Hold on." Spinning on the spot she grabbed measuring spoons and a measuring cup. "Heh, these are important, you have the measure the ingredients according to the recipe exactly! If you don't, your product could come out all wrong and you will end up with a giant mess. " She looked down at the card and read off the first bit. "Oh gosh... I forgot you have to turn on the oven before hand, erm, to heat it up." Turning a deeper red she rushed to the oven and turned it to 175 degrees. "It's called preheating..." This was so embarrassing, she was making a fool of herself, forgetting one thing after another, but he asked her of something and she had to keep going! "Anyways.." Aiza returned to his side. "First thing you got to do is mix 2 cups sugar, 1 and 3/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup coco powder, 1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt into that mixing bowl and mix it up."

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall watched the girl's aura as she spoke. It seemed to spark every once in a while, taking in the colors of nervousness. "Don't worry so much. You are doing a good job." Kendall worried himself after saying this he was being a bit pushy but he hated to see a girl getting all flustered. She clearly was skilled if she was employed by the Vantha. Some of the things Aiza spoke of were similar to Kendall's baking experience with Aello. At least with someone who really knew cooking he could actually enjoy his food after they finished making it. It was not that Aello was a bad cook of course, the pair together just did not have enough knowledge in cooking not to run the recipe. Kendall started to measure the ingredients one by one, following the direction of his teacher. He wanted to help her feel more comfortable so as he worked he asked her more questions, keeping in mind not to ask about her race. If she wanted to vocalize about it, she could. "So, how long have you been in Avanthal? Were you born here?" He was sure not only Vantha were born in the city. There were kelvics everywhere and a few other races scattered about. "I was born in Zeltiva, south of here in Sylira. It is a port city known for it's university. I went there for years. I studied writing and literature. I want to be a poet though." He smiled lightly as he started to measure the last of the ingredients. "I know it is strange, but it has always been a dream of mine. I have a while to go before my poetry is good enough for others though." Finishing up the measurements, he looked to Aiza. "Okay, the ingredients are measured. What's up next?"

[Aiza]

Aiza looked at him through the corner of her eyes, she smiled and gave a sigh. Taking a deep breath she relaxed and looked at the card before reading off the next bit listed. "Okay, now add to the bowl, two eggs, one cup milk, a half a cup of vegetable oil, two teaspoons of vanilla, and one cup of hot water." She looked up at him now. "Basically when making a recipe you always want to have the dry ingredients in the bowl and mixed first, then add the liquid, you could always mix the liquid in a different bowl than the dry then add them in, but sometimes it's easier to have only one bowl." Aiza was a bit ditzy sometimes, but she was book smart. She took in whatever she read and held it. Of course, what she read is all she knows about the world. Her lack of proper education has left big holes, making her incredibly ignorant to a lot of the world. Aiza thought about Kendall's question. She feels like it's been forever, but in fact it hasn't been that long, compared to someone who lives more than 20 years. "I've been around Avanthal all my life. I was born in a small cottage outside of the city, but my parents brought me to the city to visit the marketplace and things like that." She thought again of her parents, how nice it was living with them. She remembered her mother, her fur was soft and warm in the winter, and her dad, un-bias of their race, love them in ether form. Aiza's attention snapped back when Kendall started on about his dream. "I want to hear some poetry... I love reading, and I think poetry is one of the most beautiful forms of writing." She smiled, really glad to have had the chance just to meet a writer, of any kind. Her love of reading and books has gotten her a chance to come across many types of writing and poetry was one of her favorites. The best kind, romance. Aiza was a sucker for romance!