Closed [Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Orin helps Sayana get food preparations done before her big party.

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This shining population center is considered the jewel of The Sylira Region. Home of the vast majority of Mizahar's population, Syliras is nestled in a quiet, sprawling valley on the shores of the Suvan Sea. [Lore]

[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Sayana on February 7th, 2015, 4:39 am

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(Earlier that day... Here)

Winter 92, 514 AV – Early Afternoon

At last everything seemed to be ready. Except for the food and company. Sayana sat down heavily on a couch. Her couch. She smiled at waves of fabric that clung to the ceiling and walls. Even still, after more than half a season, she couldn’t help but admire the colour and warmth it brought to the place. Reds, greens, blues, and even some yellow and purple. It almost had the feel of an airy market tent except for the fact that the stone walls were still clear in sight.

She started to wonder if anyone had even noticed the sign she had put up. Would there even be any willing cooks, musicians or dancers? If all else failed, she knew a little bit about cooking. However, when she looked over at the ham and fish she realized she had no idea how long it might take or how to tell if it was done or not.

The uncertainty made her restless and she got up to add another log to the hearth. Ah! Maybe she would boil up some water to start things going. If a cook did show up, often hot water was needed. Or at least Remi always seemed to need hot water when she cooked. The Eypharian pulled out her iron kettle and filled it with water before carefully hanging it in the hearth. Even if it wouldn’t be needed at least it would be ready.

Sayana glanced at the six loaves of bread on the table. She could at least start cutting them into slices. Even if a cook showed up who didn’t want them cut, maybe she could leave half the loaves untouched. With that thought in mind she pulled out her bread knife from the drawer of the cupboard and began to make careful cuts. It was tricky to get the slices the same thickness but when she concentrated and didn’t go too quickly, she did a fairly good job.

Every so often she would glance towards the door half as if expecting it to burst open with one of her friends, or even just a dancer or cook. This would become the hard part. Trying to be patient.

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[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Orin Fenix on February 8th, 2015, 9:29 pm

Orin Fenix
Food Equals Love

Orin glanced at the corridors around him. He had noticed an opportunity for a chef to help make food for a party and he had been rather strapped for cash. He had asked and gotten permission to finish his job early to head over to this residence. Although you might expect more people would eat outside their own homes on the eve of the new year, the truth was, anyone who could be was with family and friends right now. Orin was one of the few who didn’t have anyone to spend the night with. Not that he minded, since parties still scared him, but it would be a long, lonely night for him. All that was to say that getting off when his work was done for the day, he was let go without a problem.

Of course, he still hadn’t memorized the layout of the citadel and had made a few wrong turns on the way here. He still got lost despite spending almost an entire season in Syliras. Someday he hoped he would be able to find his way around without issue. However, that day was not today. He finally at what he hoped was the right apartment. He hoped he was still in time to help with the preparations, but he wouldn’t know that until he knocked. If he was too late or if someone had beat him to it, no harm done. He’d go home and have a quiet evening. Maybe he could spend it in vigil. It wasn’t often that he got time to himself that wasn’t spent in work or sleep.

Stepping up to the door, Orin knocked tentatively. It would be better for both his mind and his finances if he could make some money tonight though. It was a lot more expensive living here than Orin had expected. The little costs added up to make bigger costs. Orin could almost find himself understanding the frustration of the various people who raised him. It must’ve been such a burden to feed an extra mouth and cloth an extra body. While Orin had been pretty healthy, there were also occasional healers fees and the like. However, that didn’t really excuse their treatment of Orin, and Orin couldn’t bring himself to forgive them. But that was the past and it was behind him. He stared at the door, as if to will it to open. In the present, Orin had bills to pay.
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[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Sayana on February 10th, 2015, 3:48 pm

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The Eypharian carefully cut up the three loaves of bread. She mostly used her mid hands but she occasionally used another hand or two to steady the bread. When she was finished she piled them high upon one of her plates and realized she hadn’t thought to purchase any serving dishes. With a frown she looked at her cookware by the hearth. At least she could use the pots and pans as serving dishes so long as they didn’t scorch the table.

She went over to the fish and ham that she had placed in the washbasin with a bit of snow to keep it cool. Sayana eyed the two meats with scrutiny. If she cooked them enough so that they’d be burnt on the outside, would that be enough? She vaguely recalled Remi saying something about checking the inside even if the outside looks done. But if it was burnt, then why wouldn’t the inside be done too?

Her thoughts were fortunately interrupted by a tentative knock on the door. She jumped to her feet and quickly opened the door. Before her stood a young man who was tall and quite skinny. She paused a moment trying to recall if she had seen him before and when she couldn’t summon a name, she simply greeted him with hers. “Hello there! I’m Sayana. Are you here for the party?” She asked excitedly and with big gestures from her high hands.

She stepped out of the way and twirled about on the spot with her arms spread wide. “This is my home. The food isn’t ready yet but I can get you a drink. You’re the first one here.” She was pleased, more than pleased at the fact that her sign had worked. It had even brought someone who she hadn’t yet met. And it was clear from her tone and animated body language that she was excited by it all. She wore her typical red beaded top and long red skirt. Inside she went about barefoot and her six arms were unimpeded by any sort of sleeves.

The unprepared food was quite clearly on display on the table nearest to the hearth. The meats were in the washbasin and other dried food and seasonings could be found within the cupboards or shelves.

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[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Orin Fenix on February 13th, 2015, 8:26 pm

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Food Equals Love

Orin thought his eyes were playing tricks on him at first. When Sayana opened the door, Orin had to direct his gaze downward. He saw a head of dark curly hair atop a beautiful face with a dusky complexion. She went barefoot and wore a red top and a red skirt, the cloth seeming almost to shimmer in the light. He was so flustered, his usual reaction to a pretty girl talking to him, that he didn’t notice anything unusual about her for a few moments. However, it soon dawned on Orin that there appeared to be more arms than you normally saw on a person. He took a step back to see more clearly and started counting. There were six arms, three sets of two, with the middle set slightly more forward than the other two. Then, with a jolt of recognition, Orin realized he had seen Sayana before. They worked in the same place! She danced in the front. Orin had avoided her, being afraid of dancers in general and confused about her extra limbs.

Before Orin quite knew what was happening, he heard himself saying ”It's you! You dance where I work, I mean, I work in the kitchens and you dance in the main room, but it's the Rearing Stallion." Gulping, Orin asked the question that he had wanted to know the answer to when he first set eyes on Sayana. "Wh-what are you?” Blushing a furious shade of crimson, Orin immediately hastened to smooth things over. ”Oh gods I didn’t mean anything by that, I mean it’s just well, not that common to see people with extra arms but I’m sure it’s very useful and it’s pretty incredible for you, you must find it helps a lot and I seem to just be making everything worse don’t I?” Taking a very deep breath, Orin ran his hands through his hair, a nervous tic that he wasn’t even aware of. ”Maybe I could just start again? I’m so sorry if I offended you, I was just shocked is all. I’m Orin and I’m actually not here for the party. Well technically I am here for the party.” Shaking his head as if that would help put his thoughts into some semblance of order, Orin tried to explain his presence rationally. ”I saw on the bulletin board that you were looking for someone to help cook for your party and I was wondering if you still needed help.” Orin looked around her rather sumptuously decorated apartment, suddenly aware of how drab and sparse Orin’s looked in comparison. ”This place looks amazing!” Orin hoped that being very complimentary might save him from his earlier impression of idiocy. What was strange was that Orin couldn’t smell anything cooking. Spotting some food on a table, Orin walked over, dodging around a couch and few other obstacles. Orin felt himself almost drawn to it. Maybe she would ignore his lack of social skills if he showed himself to be a skilled enough cook.

Noting absently that the bread had already been sliced, Orin surveyed the available foodstuff. It looked like Sayana had a pretty good assortment of dried fruits and vegetables that didn’t necessarily need extra preparation although Orin had a few ideas on what to do with them if time permitted. The two biggest projects would definitely be the fish and the ham. The ham was mostly an issue of time, while the fish would require more steps. So, Orin’s first order of business was to figure out what Sayana wanted and how much time they had. [b}”So, did you have anything in mind? For the food I mean. And when are you expecting guests to show up?”[/b]

While he waited for her response, Orin decided to start on the preparations. Taking the fish from the washbasin, Orin put them on the table. Luckily, the fish had already been cleaned, gutted, and had the scales removed. Those were probably Orin’s least favorite parts of the cooking process so it was nice not to have to deal with it. Gesturing for Sayana to come watch him, Orin picked up a clean knife. His hands were already clean, since Orin had come here directly from the Rearing Stallion and Rondo would skewer anyone in his kitchen with dirty hands. ”So, if you don’t already know, watch me if you want to learn how to fillet a fish.” Orin picked up the fish, judging it weighed about a pound based on his previous experience. And that also happened to be the typical weight of fish sold. He wasn’t good enough to tell simply by feel how much it actually weighed. Placing the fish on the table with its spine facing him, Orin gripped the knife firmly. ”Careful not o cut yourself.” Orin then made a widthwise cut until he hit the spine of the fish right underneath the fish’s head, making sure to move the blade away from himself. Orin then sliced downwards along the direction of the spine. He removed the slice of meat from the body, and placed it to one side. Flipping the fish over, he repeated the process. Putting the head and the body at the end of the table for now, he started kneading the meat to expose to smaller bones inside. He picked them out one by one until he was sure that he had removed them all. Glancing at Sayana, Orin smiled slightly. He was suddenly shy, realizing he was alone with a gorgeous woman, in her apartment, no less. Although she probably was feeling far from romantic, especially considering his greeting.”Well, I hope you got all that.”
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[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Sayana on February 14th, 2015, 9:03 pm

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“It's you! You dance where I work, I mean, I work in the kitchens and you dance in the main room, but it's the Rearing Stallion.”

“Ohh! I thought your face looked familiar.” Sayana replied as the realization hit her. “You’re usually in the back, right?” She gave a gesture behind her with one of her low arms. Every so often she would catch a glimpse of the young assistant tailing after the extravagant, and rather self-important, Rondo but those were usually the times when she avoided the kitchens. Remi was kind, humble, and easy to get along with. But Rondo? Those were the times the dancer stuck to her own profession and didn’t dabble in the art of cooking.

“Wh-what are you?”

Sayana gave a questioning raise of her eyebrows. There were always a couple of Syliras folk who asked the question rather bluntly. And clearly he hadn’t been to the south. Hardly a moment later he was already blushing profusely, and while Sayana managed to keep herself from chuckling, her lips twitched in amusement. He pattered on, obviously seeming flustered. It probably would have been kinder to stop him in his tracks and say that it wasn’t a big deal. But he seemed to be going at full tilt that it was more than likely he’d talk himself out of his fluster. At his momentary pause while he ran his hands through his hair, Sayana gave him a gentle smile and a brief pat on his shoulder hoping to calm him.

So his name was Orin, and he wasn’t here for the party except he was… “You’ve come to help cook for the party?!” Sayana exclaimed feeling relief sweeping across her body. “Yes yes, I could definitely use the help. And I redid my place just this season. All the furniture is new and the colorful cloth. And I just went out and got food for tonight…” Even as she said this she noticed that Orin was drawn to the kitchen area of the apartment. It seems like a cook can always find his way to the food.

Then in answer to his earlier rather blunt question she said, “I am one with many arms.” Her tone was cheeky and she gave him a wink emphasizing her redundant statement. “In the deserts of the south, it’s rather common to see Eypharians such as myself with many arms,” Sayana finally explained. “And it’s practically the mark of a slave to only possess two hands.”

“But, on to more important things like food,” Sayana continued as she changed the topic away from slaves. It seemed like the young cook was already assessing the situation including what food she had and probably whether her kitchen was equipped well enough for cooking in. She was momentarily self-conscious that she might not have everything desired by a cook but she was pretty sure she had done a good enough job covering her bases.

“So, did you have anything in mind? For the food I mean. And when are you expecting guests to show up?”

“Well I definitely want the ham and fish to be done up. And I was thinking of bread with some cheese to…” She waved a pair of her hands as she searched for the word. “… fill things out a bit. Especially since I’m not sure how many people will be coming.” She paused as she considered his second question. Petch. She hadn’t thought to include a time on the notice that she wrote. Not even something like ‘come for dinner’. “I… hope that they’ll come for dinner? I mean, I want them to stay till the new year.” Her answer was unsure and she was even just impressed that he had shown up. “Oh, and you can find various spices in the cupboard in little pouches. Salt too.” The Eypharian quickly added knowing just how much a difference salt could make.

As Orin brought the fish over and took out her large carving knife, Sayana watched him curiously as he made two careful cuts and removed the meat from the bones. She was momentarily surprised just how perfect the bone structure of the fish looked and how there were only a few remaining bones within the meat that Orin had to take out afterwards.

“Let me try, I’ll see if I managed to get all that,” she replied with a grin and went to get the second fish. She placed it carefully in front of her on the table and rotated it so it looked kind of like his fish had been. She instinctively reached for a knife at her belt but then remembered Remi’s refusal to let her mix weapons and kitchen implements. “Could you pass me… thanks,” she said as she gestured to the knife in his hand. Now he had cut it near its head, but how far up? Sayana gave a brief frown but began cutting along the width of the fish using her left mid hand, while her two highs held the fish. Suddenly she felt the bone of the spine. “Ah.” She switched the blade to her right mid and carefully cut down along the spine of the fish. Her cut was rather straight instead of following the gentle curve of the spine but it seemed close enough. “And then it just comes off?” She said partly to herself as she pulled the flesh away from the bone. She had to make a couple more small cuts to get it fully off but she was surprised at how easily it came off.

“Here, I’ll look for the bones in this one,” she said as she set down the knife and made space for him to fillet the other side of the fish. Her fingers worked through the meat to find a couple little bones but that was all. “What else do you need help with?” The Eypharian asked eager to learn more.
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[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Orin Fenix on February 15th, 2015, 9:33 pm

Orin Fenix
Food Equals Love

Orin was rather startled that Sayana seemed to have recognized him. He tried to stay as unobtrusive as possible but apparently he wasn’t doing as good a job as he had thought. He felt his cheeks grow even warmer if such a thing were possible. ”Yeah that’s me, in the back. I think I’ve seen you a few times back there, haven’t I?” Orin realized how creepy that might have sounded and rushed to reassure her that he was at least relatively normal. ”Not that I’ve been watching you or anything like that I just meant that, well it’s just so unusual to see someone knew in the kitchen that I’m bound to notice and you’re of course always welcome back there, not that it’s my call to make.” Orin mentally kicked himself. She’d probably avoid him like the plague now after his babbling. That could get incredibly awkward incredibly quickly since they worked in the same place after all.

Orin felt a distinct sense of relief that Sayana still needed help with her preparations. She seemed to be having a bit of fun at his expense if her wink was any indication but at least he hadn’t offended her with his obviously ignorant statements. In fact, she seemed rather bemused. And she definitely seemed happy when he announced he was here to help cook. Orin blinked in surprise at her nonchalant statement about slaves. Slavery was illegal in Syliras but apparently it wasn’t uncommon elsewhere. And if humans were enslaved where she came from Orin made a note never to travel south to the home of these Eypharians. He liked his freedom very much. Seizing the decorations as a safe neutral topic, Orin grinned in an attempt to dispel any discomfort his appearance might have caused her. ”Well I think you did an amazing job with the place. I’m a bit jealous, mine is quite bare if you must know and it’s so warm and friendly in here and I think everyone who ends up coming to the party will appreciate it.”

Seeing that she was a bit unsure of how much time she would have Orin felt a rare sense of authority settle over him. He didn’t know much but he did know food. He could definitely take charge of this situation. ”Bread and cheese sounds delicious. In fact, we could even melt some cheese over the bread. It makes quite a tasty treat.” Smiling, Orin did some quick mental calculations. It was early afternoon now, so they probably had a few bells before people would show up. It wasn’t enough time to full cook the ham but everything else would be ready. Settling on a course of action, he turned to Sayana hoping she would approve. ”How does this sound? We’ll start them off with a dinner of bread with cheese and fish. Since they’ll be staying fairly late if you all are planning to be awake for the new year, we’ll roast a ham. By the time people are hungry again it will be done cooking. And believe me, after several bells people will be ready for more. We can serve the ham with some vegetables and fruits.” Orin grinned. It was simple, but tasty and he bet people would appreciate it. ”If there’s anything leftover you can through it in a stew pot for tomorrow.”

Passing Sayana the knife and seeing that she filleting the second fish correctly, Orin nodded in approval. It was a bit disconcerting to see her switching the knife to her various hands but she seemed to have everything under control. Taking the fish from her as she removed the bones from the piece she had cut off, Orin flipped it over and completed the fillet with a few quick and sure strokes of the knife. Handing the piece to her he smiled and said, ”You did it perfectly! Why don’t you get the bones out of this while I start working on the ham.”

Turning, Orin lifted the ham out of the washbasin with a bit of a grunt at its weight. Peering at it, he flipped it over to its fatty side. He then picked up a different knife since you never mixed the different utensils used in food preparation unless they’d thoroughly been washed. Remembering his helper, Orin turned to Sayana. ”So, first of all, use a clean knife whenever you switch dishes alright? Now, watch the pattern I’m about to make carefully” Hefting the knife, Orin made two small incisions that crossed. They weren’t too deep. He then repeated the motion a little farther down the ham, the lines parallel to the ones he’d made earlier. Continuing this process, he soon had a series of small diamonds layering part of the ham. Handing the knife carefully to Sayana, he asked, ”Think you can finish that patten? Only do it on one side. I’m going to go look at your pots and pans and your spices if you don’t mind.”
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[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Sayana on February 16th, 2015, 5:15 pm

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"In fact, we could even melt some cheese over the bread. It makes quite a tasty treat."

“That’s brilliant!” Sayana replied gleefully with an excited gesture of her high hands. As the cook continued to explain his meal plan the Eypharian every so often interrupted with a “Yes!”. She was now very glad he had seen the poster and had found her apartment without getting lost.

As the young cook finished with the other half of the fish Sayana took the meat that he handed her and started digging out the few stray bones. She smiled at the compliment and took extra care to make sure there were no bones left. As she set the meat aside with the other fillets she watched curiously as Orin brought out the ham. Now that was something she wasn’t sure how to cook properly.

At his words of instruction, Sayana stood next to him and paid close attention as he began making shallow cuts into the ham. She unconsciously wrapped a low arm gently around his waist as he continued the incisions. It kind of looked pretty as the diamond pattern began to form. “Sure, I can do that,” the Eypharian replied and she released him as she took the offered knife.

She carefully held the rounded chunk of meat with her high hands and began making more parallel lines on the ham. She made some more cuts that crossed those lines. With a frown she realized that her original cuts weren’t long enough so she carefully extended each of them before turning the ham to slice across them. It did look rather pretty. Kind of like the stones that made up the streets of Syliras. As she looked up, she noticed the cook checking out her pots and pans as well as the few spices she had. She suddenly had an idea.

“Oh oh! With the cheese and the bread can we…” The Eypharian hesitated for a moment, not quite sure of her culinary skill. “I have this little green spice, not the leafy one but the twiggy one, and I kind of like the taste.” She paused not sure if real cooks ever nibbled at the spices they bought. “And it’s not spicy,” she said in a rush. Her own preference was for hot and spicy foods but Remi had warned her that not everyone appreciated such powerful tastes. “Could we put that on the melted cheese?”
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[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Orin Fenix on February 18th, 2015, 12:06 am

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Food Equals Love


As Orin prepared the ham to be roasted and readied it to be passed on to Sayana he felt a curious sensation around his waist. It took him longer than it should have to figure out what it was. It probably was because Sayana had so many arms, that Orin didn’t realize that she’d put one around him at first. When he noticed, he felt his face flame a furious crimson and he almost jumped, not advisable when holding a sharp knife. As she took the knife from his suddenly limp fingers he practically tripped when he tried to disentangle himself without drawing attention to it. Thankfully she released him when she took over with the ham. Orin put both hands through his hair and starting bouncing on his toes. ”G-good, that’s that’s that’s perfect, just keep to that pattern and you’ll be gorgeous. I meant good! Not that you’re not gorgeous I just, well, that’s entirely beside the point and is it me or is hot in here!”

Orin was not only stuttering badly, but he also seemed to be losing control of his words. He ran a finger under his collar as bead of sweat suddenly sprang up. ”Spices! Let’s go look at spices and pots and pans, that seems like a great idea doesn’t it?!” His tone was just a touch too bright as he rummaged through her cabinets. His first order of business was to find a pan or something similar to hold the ham. Getting back to work helped him calm down immeasurably. He noted the location of her dishware, which seemed to be of a very nice quality. He idly pondered what dishes, if any, he could put in them. Finally, Orin located exactly what he was looking for, and drew out a large iron pan and one of the. Placing it on the table, Orin turned back to the shelves to hunt down the seasonings he would use.

He would definitely use salt on both the ham and the fish, and he placed Sayana’s supply on the table as well. Her other spices weren’t especially diverse, but that was fine with Orin. He didn’t think people were expecting anything incredibly fancy, based on the ingredients Sayana had bought. They could bring their own meal or go and buy it from a vender if they had to in that case.

Taking the garlic and the onions, Orin began the tedious process of peeling them both. Glancing at Sayana’s process, Orin was pleased. She was making a pleasant latticework of crisscrossing lines. As soon as he had a nice pile of peeled onions and individual cloves of garlic, he switched back to Sayana’s side of the table, taking the cloves with him. Taking one in his hand, he motioned for Sayana to pay attention. ”Watch what I’m doing.” With that, he placed the clove in the intersection between two lines and crushed the clove between his fingers, rubbing it into the lines. ”Can you do that in all the intersections? Also, I don’t know if you were watching me, but do you know how to peel garlic and onions?” Leaving the pile of cloves next to the ham, Orin picked up the salt. He sprinkled some on both sides of the fish fillets. Taking it over to Sayana, Orin dropped it on the table. ”Can you sprinkle this on the top of the ham? I’m going to start frying the fish.”

Placing the fish in the pan, Orin walked over to the hearth. It wasn’t ideal for cooking but Orin would make it work. He separated out coals and placed them on the left side of the fireplace, nudging the logs to the right to make room. He placed the pan on the coals. This would be better with some grease. ”In the future, get some fat or grease to line the pan,” Orin called to Sayana. ”It adds to the flavor.” Straightening up, Orin brushed nonexistent dirt from his pants. ”We’ll let that cook for a bit on both sides and then it’ll be all ready.” Soon the distinct scent of frying fish filled the air. Some people found it unpleasant, and Orin wondered if he should ask if Sayana had incense or just some smoky candles to help mask the smell.

As he let the fish cook on one side, he went back to hunt down that spice Sayana had described. ”Twiggy spice, twiggy spice, twiggy spice,” Orin muttered, turning it into kind of a mantra, tousling his hair with his left hand. Finally, he spotted some dill. Holding it up triumphantly, he turned back to Sayana. ”Is this what you were talking about?” Orin asked as he walked back to the fire, taking out his knife to use to lift up the fish. Seeing that it was done on the bottom, Orin flipped the fish over. Walking back to the bread and cheese, Orin placed the dill next to it. ”Why don’t we split it up? We can do some with dill, some without, so people can decide for themselves.”
Last edited by Orin Fenix on February 21st, 2015, 1:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Sayana on February 20th, 2015, 1:16 am

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When Orin was explaining the ham and how to cut it, there was a moment in which his face went quite crimson. Sayana looked at him curiously and it was only after they had separated that it dawned on her that she might have been the cause.

“G-good, that’s that’s that’s perfect, just keep to that pattern and you’ll be gorgeous.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle a little at his flustered manner. I am gorgeous, she thought to herself yet had the sense not to voice it in front of the cook. So young and innocent. Rather like Garland when she had met him. The cook soon found himself going through her pots and pans and seemed to settle down. Sayana looked over at him a couple of times and was tempted to see what else might make him squirm. Except he was actually being a great help and she didn’t want him to bolt just from some gentle teasing. Besides, if he also worked at the tavern then she didn’t want it to be unduly uncomfortable for him.

The Eypharian looked up curiously as he began peeling the onions and garlic. It looked like peeling fruit, just more layers and skin. As she finished up with the criss-crossed cuts, Orin gestured for her to pay attention. She obliged and watched carefully as he placed the bits of garlic into the cuts of the ham. “Sure, I can do that,” she answered simply and began squeezing in the cloves of garlic into the intersection. One of the smaller cloves she popped into her mouth and crunched down upon it. “Woo! Now that’s got some heat to it.” She exclaimed and even though she didn’t spit it out, she was a bit more careful as she nibbled away at it. “Don’t you think this will be too spicy for people? I mean, I know I will enjoy it.” Sayana questioned the cook as she started sprinkling salt over the ham.

She was distracted and probably put a bit too much salt on the ham. “Oops,” she murmured to herself and attempted to scrape off the excess salt from the meat. When Orin called about the fat or grease she asked, “Can I get that from the butcher? And when I was asking about basic cooking supplies, one of the people at the stalls said that oil was always useful. I have a bottle of that.”

It was starting to smell of cooking and fish. It made the Eypharian smile. If she started to get better at cooking she might even do more of it at home herself, even if just for the smells. When Orin presented the dill, Sayana beamed. “Yes, that’s the one I was thinking of.”

She curiously looked over as he flipped the fish. It was looking quite good. At his request she started helping with the cheese. Remembering to grab a clean knife, Sayana cut it into thin slices. Surely it would melt better if it was thin. And then on half of them she broke off sprigs of dill, adding a nice bit of green to them. She couldn’t wait to see how it melted upon the bread.

“So Orin, you’re welcome to stay for the party,” Sayana said as she went to the washbasin to clean up a little. “And I’d happily give you a little something for all your help.” She dug out five gold mizas and placed them on the table hoping it was about right. As an afterthought she added, “Oh, and I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable earlier. I just… like to be close to people.”
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[Sayana's Apartment] Party Prep (Orin)

Postby Orin Fenix on February 21st, 2015, 1:27 am

Orin Fenix
Food Equals Love


Though Sayana laughed at Orin’s bumbling manner, Orin didn’t get the sense that she was being mean spirited about it. He knew his actions and his words came across as amusing, so Orin was used to it and it took quite a bit of teasing before he took offense. However, it was soon Orin’s turn to chuckle as Sayana popped a clove into her mouth and was surprised at its taste. Orin knew it was spicy from having tasted it himself. ”Well that’s why people put it in dishes as flavoring and don’t just eat it raw!” Orin grinned at Sayana, wondering if it was safe to tease her back. Orin didn’t really know where to draw the lines in terms of what was acceptable and what wasn’t, so he decided to err on the side of caution. ”It might seem spicy now but while its cooking it…” and Orin paused here as he searched for the right words to explain it. ”I guess you could say cooking spreads out the spiciness?”

As Sayana overdid the salt a little on the ham, Orin eyed it. She seemed to be trying to scrape it off and Orin decided to let her know it was fine. ”So, no need to worry about the salt, kind of like the garlic, it gets moved to the whole ham. That’s more because of the juices that will come leaking out though.” Running the last sentence through his brain, Orin realized how strange and potentially gross it sounded. ”It’s perfectly natural though I promise!”

Orin took the pan out of the fire and slid the fish out into one of the ceramic serving dishes Sayana had. He figured that there weren’t enough for everyone to get one, so people would just have to snag food as they went. It would probably be best to keep the ham in the pan staying warm on the hearth once it was fully cooked, and just carve out slices. Plain bread and cheese could go on one dish, melted cheese and bread on another, and melted cheese on bread with dill on yet another. However, that left them with one last dish, and Orion felt his eyes drift to the onions. Walking back to the table, he picked up a knife. Taking up one of the onions Orin began dicing the onions as finely as possible. When he had a nice pile going, he went to the aforementioned grapeseed oil, which he had missed somehow on his previous check through Sayana’s supplies. ”Thanks for mentioning this, it’s a huge help. And oil is definitely good for cooking, but since meats produce grease and fat anyway as they’re heated, why not save some time and money?” Orin grinned, incredibly happy he could impart some of his knowledge on a seemingly willing pupil. ”And it gives you more flavors to work with even if you’re not on a budget.”

Orin tossed a dash of the oil into pan, swirling it around to make sure the bottom was coated. He added the onions next, and put it all back on the coals. As he waited for the onions to cook, eyes tearing a little from the fumes caused both by him slicing them up and their cooking, Orin speared a piece of bread on a fork. He nodded in approval at Sayana’s preparations with the cheese. ”That’s perfect, it’ll help a lot.” He wanted to see how close he would have to get to the fire for it to toast. ”You might want to watch this part so you see how we’re going to make cheesy bread.” As he held it, he moved it closer and closer until he saw the first telltale signs of brown appear. At that point, it was almost in the actual flames, but not quite. Smiling, Orin kept it there for a bit longer. By that point, the onions were browning nicely as well, and Orin placed the bread on a dish. He picked up one of the slices of the cheese with the dill attached and put it on the bread. ”And that’s all there is to it. Simple, really.”

Orin pulled the pan out of the hearth and poured the onions into a bowl. ”If no one else wants them, I’ll eat them. They’ll go well with the fish or the ham. Speaking of ham, it’s time to get that started.” Taking it from Sayana, Orin put it in the pain. There was still enough leftover oil in it. And Orin hoped between the oil and the onions the fishy residue would be covered. He probably should’ve washed the pan in between each dish, but he didn’t think they had the time. Also, he didn’t know how Sayana would feel about that. And, if he was being completely honest with himself, he’d forgotten. As he slid the pan back onto his makeshift stove, Orin did some quick mental calculations. Typically it took a few bells for ham to cook, and since Orin didn’t have a real oven, he’d cook it for as long as he dared. Dusting his hands together in an attempt to get some of the grease off, Orin went to stand by Sayana. ”It’ll be a couple bells before its ready. The party we’ll be in full swing by then. You’ll want to scoop up some of the juice from the bottom of the pan and spread it over the top of the ham to keep it from drying out and make sure the flavor spreads over the whole thing.”

Orin had been operating under the assumption that once the food was done, he’d be done as well. However, when Sayana offered him the gold mizas along with an invitation Orin was flattered. ”Well I mean, I didn’t have plans for tonight and that’s awful kind of you.” Holding up the coins, Orin blushed, but grinned happily. ”You’re really too generous. I mean, I guess I’ll stay to keep an eye on the food then. I’m not really much of a party guy.” When Sayana mentioned the incident earlier, Orin blushed even harder, if that was possible. He bet even his ears were red. ”I think that, well it’d be awful rude for me to crash, and you’ve already been too nice and you will be busy with the guests and working as a hostess, and so I’m just going to be in the corner and staying out of your way, I really think that’s best.” And, true to his word, Orin retreated to the hearth, almost praying guests would arrive soon.
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