Stranger in a Strange Land (Ha'na & Sam)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"If I bring you game and herbs from the forests, would you cook me a Benshira meal?" he asked, curious as to what that might consist of, and eager to keep the conversation away from his past. "I mean, I'm sure we don't have any of the proper ingredients, but... Well, I've caught elk and stuff, and there are plenty of mushrooms and plants and things to be found when you know where to look. I'm starting to get a feel for the area."

[Hana]

She paused mid-bite at his suggestion, blue eyes lifting up to him. Her head tipped to the side just slightly as if she was utterly confused by his question. She chewed her food slowly, considering what it would be that she'd cook for him.

After swallowing, she finally said, "I think perhaps I can make something close to traditional. I'm not that good of a cook, though. Not like most Benshira women. But I can see what I can do for you."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam smiled, the deal made in his mind, at least. Then it was set aside in order to enjoy the moment. That was what he lived for: the moment. The past was too painful and the future too enormous to comprehend, and so he inhabited the present moment and tried to make the most of it. And likely he wouldn't be able to tell the difference if it was authentic or not; this simple meal they were sharing was delicious enough for him. The elaborate things that the Golden Dragon offered were good, too, but overwhelming in their complexity.

"Good."

[Hana]

"When would you like to have this meal?"

Her mind was already abuzz over what she could make him. What she could do with local meats, grains, and produce to make it traditional. She started to tick off a list of spices that could be added to things. Adaptions. Twists on the old. She'd fallen into a rut with her own diet, and so she thought maybe this would cause her to branch out again. She seemed to rely too heavily on bread lately.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Whenever," he said, breezily. "A week. Two. I have to bring you the supplies first, remember."

He would really have to go looking for all the plants and mushrooms. Meat shouldn't be too difficult to come by if his hunting excursions with Jaeden were any indication.

[Hana]

"Yes, of course. I just wanted to make sure that I had the other ingredients to provide for you. Perhaps pick out the correct tea or wine."

She smiled. The more she thought about this idea the more she liked it.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Well, I don't know much about correct," he admitted; a connoisseur of wine and tea he was not. The only thing in which he had impeccable taste was horseflesh, so perhaps, if he stuck around, he would try to get a job in the stables of the Syliran Knights and raise them some fine warhorses. And train them, of course.

[Hana]

She flashed her timid little smile and shook her head, putting another hunk of bread onto his plate for him. He needed to eat. She thought him too thin.

"There is an art to it, I suppose. The fortunate thing about the rules of tea, more so than wine, is that one matches it to the spices in food properly. Truly I think the spices are what make Benshiran food exactly that."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"I don't really know anything," he admitted, a trifle embarrassed, "about anything. Like that."

He ate the bread he was given enjoying it much more than the harder stuff that lasted on the long road journeys and washed it down with the clear, clean water. Thankfully Syliras didn't seem to have dirty water like many cities did.

[Hana]

“It comes with time, I think. The reason I know anything at all is because that’s what I was raised with - Being taught to take care of the home.”

She shrugged, taking a bite of goat cheese. It had been ages since she’d bought any to eat, and she found herself savoring it more than anything else on her plate.