[Flashback] Mold Matters (Solo)

[Orin Fenix]

14th of Summer, 513AV

Orin scrubbed furiously at his medium sized cooking pot. One of the younger children had been using it for something that Orin really didn’t want to know about. Probably started off as a helmet while the child and his friends were playing at being Knights and then turned into a home for some animal or a makeshift shovel in building a fort. Regardless the reason it had been returned to Orin in less than pristine shape and Orin wanted to remedy that sooner rather than later. Today was another important day, at least in Orin’s world. The next step of the soy sauce recipe had come up. It hadn’t given a specific number of days to indicate how long Orin was supposed to let the mold grow, giving an approximation of seven days. Orin had decided to err on the side of caution and wait for the eighth day. It had gone by in a flash probably because Orin had been so excited at the prospect of his completely exotic food that he was working on. While most individuals would have been grossed out at the prospect of mold and Orin actually was a bit queasy himself, it was a necessary evil in this case. Besides, Orin wouldn’t be dealing with it for that long.

Finally the pot was spotless even to Orin’s eyes. He set it aside, then realized he’d been working on that so he could delay the inevitable. But this was Orin’s first official request as a dabbler in the field of food and he refused to let himself get dissuaded by a little bit of harmless mold. So Orin steeled his nerves and settled his stomach and retired the cloth-wrapped soybean paste from where Orin had stashed it. Carrying it over to the table, Orin grabbed a plate on the way and set the soybean paste on it. Twitching the cloth aside Orin was a mixture of pleased and revolted to see that there was indeed something growing on the paste. Presumably this was the mold. Trying to touch it as little as possible, which ended up proving quite difficult considering how well Orin had wrapped it in the first place, Orin pulled out the disks and placed them onto the waiting plate. Orin took the cloths and placed them in the laundry area. Hopefully they would get washed. And hopefully that washing would be quite thorough. Since the chance that Orin would be the one doing it that was quite likely.

Orin hesitated, forgetting the next step of the process. He consulted the sheet that the recipe was copied onto. Apparently the mold now needed to dry out and it recommended that the disks be placed in direct sunlight. Well, the most direct sunlight Orin could think of was outside. Pushing the door open with one hand, Orin gave his eyes a moment to adjust. It was a beautiful summer day, if a bit hot for Orin’s tastes. The sun was shining in a cloudless and vividly blue sky. Birds swooped and cawed and clamored at each other and Orin took a moment to simply smile at their antics. Rarely did Orin get a respite such as this, and since he had the entire day off so he could work on the soy sauce, Orin was planning to enjoy it to the best of his abilities. Darting back inside for a stool Orin placed the dish onto the surface of the stool. Now he just had to play the waiting game until the mold dried up. The sign of that would be when it turned brown.

Still there wasn’t any rule that said Orin couldn’t have a little fun while he waited. While he didn’t want to let the dish out of his sight in case someone or some animal decided to investigate, there was plenty Orin could do in the small stretch of clear space between the cottage he was currently staying at and the one across the dirt-packed street. In fact, Orin was looking for to stretching both his mental and physical legs a bit. He tended to play it dumb around his guardians since that was what they expected and it was easier that way. Orin didn’t want to cause trouble and if his foster family wished to believe that Orin was an incompetent dolt not worth their time or energy Orin was more than happy to oblige them and play that role. It usually just resulted in eye rolls and pointed looks and comments rather than fists and shouting so Orin figured he was doing something right.

Still, in the fresh air scented with life and everything, under Syna’s light and with the pulse of summer beating all around him Orin refused to let himself be bogged down by thoughts of his past and present. Other than the immediate now, of course. So, Orin decided to give himself a bit of a challenge. Squaring off with his back firmly to the cottage, Orin sank into a half crouch. He’d seen some of the other boys start off a race this way and wanted to see if it actually made a difference. Springing forward Orin was delighted to discover that he did indeed have a bit more forward momentum right off. However, Orin wasn’t going for speed just yet, wanting to warm-up a bit. He took a few leisurely jogs back and forth taking care to focus on his breathing. That was one of Orin’s biggest flaws as a runner. He’d finally managed to figure out that deep steady breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth were the best way to control his breathing. But as soon as Orin hit anything faster than a jog, that knowledge flew straight out of his brain.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin was finally ready to attempt something a bit more difficult. Coming to a halt by his cottage, Orin got into that half-crouch again. Taking one deep calming breath before he started, Orin jumped ahead, breaking into the fastest sprint he could manage. Of course, predictably his mind went to controlling his wayward limbs and not to his breathing and Orin was soon gulping in huge amounts of air in a highly uncoordinated manner. His lungs were burning from the perceived lack and with the speed Orin was going at his legs were tiring quickly too and the first signs of the dreaded stitch in the side appeared in Orin’s gut. However, Orin pushed through it all and slapped the wall of the other house before spinning around and making his way back. His vision started narrowing and the stitch turned into a full fledged cramp but Orin kept going. Finally, the cottage approached again. Orin tried halting himself but his command of his body wasn’t that good and he skidded instead of coming to a complete stop. Luckily, the wall did that for him as Orin slammed into it. He’d managed to twist at the last second so his left side hit, his shoulder impacting first. Pain blossomed there and Orin bit back a scream. It probably wasn’t as bad as it felt and Orin didn’t want to alert the neighbors if any of them were even home and not out in the fields working. Besides, as Orin carefully walked it off, the pain diminished until it was just a dull ache that throbbed occasionally when Orin prodded it.

Hands on his hips with elbows propped forwards, Orin walked in a circle until his breathing slowed and the cramp finally let go of him. Deciding he should relax his body a bit, Orin fell forward. He’d heard that this would stretch out the muscles in his back, and that it was good to do it after a run. However, Orin was horribly inflexible. His hands barely reached the middle of his shins before a line of fire started running up the back of his calf. And Orin quickly realized that was even when Orin was doing it wrong. His knees were slightly bent and Orin was pretty sure they were supposed to be straightened. In fact that was probably the whole point of the exercise. So Orin did it, and immediately straightened up a little bit at the increased pain in his legs. Apparently that little bit of a knee bend had been saving Orin from a whole lot of torture. Still Orin still felt an almost pleasant burn now. He held his position for around a chime, as he reckoned. Orin had gotten pretty good at estimating time after his years of cooking. Dishes often need to be cooked to the tick and no more and since Orin sometimes didn’t have access to an hourglass he’d be training himself to count ticks at the proper intervals. Of course there were definitely other ways to determine whether a dish was finished, sometimes by scent, sometimes by sight and almost always by taste. But Orin liked to be safe and so he had also been working on his timing.

Standing up, Orin decided to keep working on this stretching business. Apparently it was good for have better body movements or something and that would definitely be good for Orin. Orin went to the wall and stuck one leg forward. He placed the ball of his foot to the wall of the cottage. Then he began pressing slightly, making sure that his back leg was straight this time. He pushed into then eased back a little when he went too far and it became actually painful. He held that for around half a chime then switched to the other foot. Next, Orin threw his right leg up behind him. Catching his shin in his hand, he pulled it into his body to stretch out his thigh muscles. He tried to balance on one leg but he was wobbling far too much so after a moment of nearly pitching over he placed his free hand on the wall to steady himself. When he changed feet, Orin didn’t even bother to try and balance after his lack of success last time. It would probably just result in Orin dropping to the ground in a jumble.

[Orin Fenix]

Finally, Orin had to get to the last set of stretches, the ones he was dreading the most. They were apparently called splits, and the last time Orin had attempted one it had left him walking funny for days. A little pain for a huge benefit was definitely worth it in Orin's mind though.

Still that didn't stop him from wishing he could get the benefit without the pain. Sinking to the ground with a groan, Orin paused for a moment. He was reluctant but something compelled him to continue, drowning out the smaller voice in his mind shouting at him to tell him he was insane. So Orin put his legs ahead of him then split them, one to either side. His feet were both on the wall of the cottage although his legs were on the ground. There was the other variation on this stretch that Orin had done last time. That one required Orin to lay on his back then have his legs in the air, trying to force them as far apart as possible. But Orin wanted to give this other technique a chance.

However, Orin was chickening out slightly. But Orin had long practice in facing down unease and he resolutely picked his rear off the ground and used his hands to push himself forward. His legs slid open just a touch more but that touch translated into a sudden increase in the stretch. When Orin reached the point where it was highly uncomfortable he settled in. Apparently in stretching, a little pain was alright but too much would result in an injury. However pain wasn't the same as the slight ache as his muscles were pulled into a new shape. That Orin was more than capable of dealing with. As he sat there Orin started reciting recipes to try and distract himself and give his mind something much more enjoyable to focus on. While Orin didn't have many recipes memorized he was inordinately proud of those he did know. And he wanted to make sure he had them held as solidly in his mind as possible. He wanted to know them better than he knew the back of his hand.

That carried him through the few chimes until Orin carefully brought himself out of the split. However self-inflicted torture wasn't done quite yet. Although Orin had done the front split, and quite admirably too, he still had to do the regular splits, one for each foot. Getting to his knees, Orin stuck his right foot in front of himself then started sliding his left foot backwards. When he reached the point where the muscles in his quad and groin started pulling Orin stopped. He wasn't going as far on this one having already worked a bit on these muscles seeing as there was a bit of an overlap between the two types of splits. Orin's waist was about a foot off the ground and his back leg was bent, knee to the earth, to make holding on easier. Orin held the rest of his weight on the palms of his hands one on either side. After a choke passed, although Orin might have shaved a few ticks off in self-preservative Orin flipped sides, mirroring the first split. When he completed both sets Orin stood up and rolled his neck to relieve some of the tension he'd just created. Thanks the merciful gods that's over

[Orin Fenix]

Orin needed a complete change of pace from the splits. So, Orin decided to attempt something he'd only manage to do one or two times before. He'd seen some of the other youths of Mithryn practicing cartwheels a while ago. And Orin had practically been mesmerized by what he saw as nothing short of a magical movement. Of course, as soon as the others had spotted Orin they'd chased him off with jeers, taunts and the threat of fists. Orin had come out of puberty with a breathy tenor voice, some height and a complete and utter lack of coordination with his lanky limbs. So the fact that other people his age could cartwheel was a challenge for Orin. Not that it was even that exciting and as far as Orin could tell it was a group of boys competing for the attention of the girls that had started this. But Orin felt he had something to prove, whether or not that was true.

Orin had been practicing in secret. He'd almost gotten to the point where he could actually get his legs straight as he turned. Doing a strange little hop step, Orin threw his left arm at the ground immediately followed by his right. As soon as his palm hit the ground Orin kicked off with his left foot and soon after with the right. For a moment he hung balanced and suspended just on his hands. Unfortunately he hadn't quite managed to get his legs directly above his arms so instead of a graceful pinwheel, Orin tipped to one side and slammed into the ground. Grimacing, especially since he'd landed on his already bruised body. Pulling himself to his feet, Orin threw himself into another cartwheel. This one was still slightly off but at least Orin managed to get his feet on the ground before his entire body crashed down. It took Orin almost half a bell of constant focus before he executed what he hoped was a perfect cartwheel.

Of course, that only covered one side. But Orin had started with his left in the hopes that his dominant right side would be easier. And he was partially correct. It was indeed more intuitive, but that didn't actually end up helping Orin all that much. It took another half bell before Orin could call himself satisfied. He'd work on those another day, having grown weary and frankly a bit dizzy from constantly spinning through the air.

Darting into the cottage to grab one of the kitchen knives, Orin decided the sunlight felt too nice as it bathed his skin to not finish his workout outdoors. Besides the soybeans were still out there. All day Orin had been keeping a careful eye on the mold, noting with delight as it steadily shriveled up and browned. The progress was too slow for Orin to track with his eyes, but if he checked in at regular intervals, as he'd been trying, then the change was obvious. However, there were still a few stubborn patches. Orin went over and rearranged the plate so the portion stubbornly clinging to life, mostly those that had been partially shaded, were now fully exposed. Orin was almost certain that would take care of the problem. And that meant he was free to work on his actual fighting abilities.

Taking his basic defensive stance, dagger held firmly but not tightly in a reverse grip, Orin got straight to work. He started with his basic slash and strike pattern trying to force unruly muscles to behave. When Orin figured he'd done enough to limber himself up, especially in light of his earlier activities, Orin got down to business. For the past few practice sessions, Orin had been working slowly but steadily towards a combination that he was inordinately proud of. Orin had realized that he'd been completely ignoring one of the most useful parts of the dagger, the pommel. While some knives didn't have them most of them had hilts that would serve that same purpose. Orin slashed across where his enemies chest would be, then reversed direction immediately and brought his knife in an overhand blow that would knock an opponent unconscious if they weren't quick enough to dodge or block it. The problem was that Orin's arm didn't move that quickly, so Orin spent a good amount of time repeating that single set of movements until it became second nature and was up to a speed that would actually be useful in a fight. Orin then switched to his left, which was giving him even more trouble than his right. However his only teacher of any kind in the martial arts had stressed the importance of ensuring that both hands had equal skill in a weapon. That way, if one arm became injured it would still be possible to use even the non-dominant hand. Orin worked until his body was slick with sweat and his shoulder muscles ached with the pain of doing the same move over and over again until Orin felt he could do it in his sleep.

[Orin Fenix]

Pushing past one's limits in a desperate attempt to reach excellence was either the mark of an idiot or a madman. Orin hoped he was just the former. However, anyone watching him as he forced his fatigued muscles into one more set of repetitions of his combination with both hands just to prove to himself that they were solidly in his muscle memory probably would've pegged Orin as the latter. Not willing to give up on his precious free time quite yet, Orin switched to a more freeform attack. He visualized an opponent in his mind. Orin had long practice with this as he was far too timid to actually approach someone to spar. So Orin was reduced to this although he tried not to focus too much on what it meant that usually his virtual opponents beat Orin. He ducked an imaginary slash and punched forward, using the weight of the dagger to add strength to his fist. His opponent deflected the blow easily and Orin desperately tried to reverse the motion of his blade into a stab that hopefully would end up in the air that held his friend's gut. Unfortunately his foe was always faster and Orin felt the mental touch of the tip of a blade on his throat. Orin had been too slow again and he slumped, dismissing the apparition from his brain. This was all just a silly game anyway. Orin doubted he'd fair even as well as he'd just had when it came to true combat. Still, that's why he was constantly striving to improve himself, since Orin harbored no illusions at how far he had to go. So Orin clung to each and every incremental improvement with fierce pride. And his setbacks just stiffened his resolve to do better next time.

However, the soy sauce was definitely within Orin's power to handle. So he pushed all thoughts of physicality out of his brain and let his unadulterated joy in cooking replace it. Facing the mold that had so disgusted him earlier, Orin realized that he now simply saw it for what it was: an intermediary step that would lead to a wonderful final product. So Orin picked up the plate which held the now dead mold and carried it inside. Replacing the knife from where he'd brought it, Orin filled the pot from this morning with water and then mixed in a portion of his precious salt. Orin scraped the disks into the pot and gave it a stir, then covered it with a large piece of cheesecloth. In anticipation of this, Orin had asked for a few more supplies for the kitchen so he could more easily work on the soy sauce and had surprisingly been granted them. There were perks to being asked to work on something by the leaders of the community. It has also made Orin that much more determined to succeed at this. Taking up a string, Orin tied the cheesecloth off. He was sure to anchor the cheesecloth to the pot, but his knot was easily removed. Orin would have to give the contents of the pot a stir about once daily for the next thirty to forty days. The recipe essentially stated that the timing varied widely. Orin would know it was ready when the disks fully dissolved. So Orin would now just have to wait. And he had plenty of experience with that.

[Sayana]

Orin Skills: Skill EXP Cleaning +1 Planning +2 Philtering +3 Running +2 Endurance +2 Acrobatics +3 Dagger +2 Body building +1 Cooking +1 Lores: Cooking: Soysauce requires mold to grow for seven days Philtering: Drying out a substance Running: Importance of proper breathing Acrobatics: Basic Stretches Acrobatics: Types of splits Acrobatics: Cartwheel Dagger: Using the pommel Dagger: Basic fighting exercises Comments : That was a lovely thread to read. I like how Orin does his bits of training while he waits. I was almost about to give you dual wield but you’re not yet at 30 points in dagger (now you are) and I figured that philtering was generally more appropriate, though I gave you a point in cooking due to the complexity of the recipe. Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request in the grade request thread. However, make sure to keep the link so that the DS can review graded threads with ease. If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message. Enjoy.