auroraexpress | The Ninth Trial

[ Yikes, that is a lot of plants. Possibly way too many plants. But he won't say that out loud. ]

So everything here must seem really... sterile to you.

Yes. There is a time and place for sterility but I would not apply that to the whole of the world. [She's fine with talking about it, but she does not want to be a poor host.]

Tea? Coffee?

I'll go with coffee.

[ Nothing wrong with tea, but he likes coffee better. ]

I can't really imagine plants being everywhere like that.

Very well. [Gonna make a fresh pot, take off her loves and roll her sleeves up before putting on...an apron. Over her goth battle wear.

Yeah.]

And, I would not have been able to imagine it, but it seems the norm for some people, at the very least. At any rate, the Jasmine carriage otherwise suits me.

[THERE ARE FISH!! IN THE WALLS!!1 THEY HAVE AN AQUARIUM!!!!!!]

[ Considering how skimpy her goth battle wear is, the apron is probably immensely useful. He's not here to question her admittedly bizarre-looking fashion choice either way. ....Though if prompted, he'd be more than happy to tell her how weird it looks. ]

With the "under the sea" motif? Yeah, can't say I'm surprised.

Yes! It is delightful. Ah, not that anything is wrong with Licorice.

[It's fine, it's fine! Can't have anything splatter on the velvet. Even if it looks funny wearing an apron over it. Probably funnier because she's in slippers. But she pulls knives out of the holder, seeming to search for something. She sighs, likely not finding it and instead something knife-shaped, blue and glowing forms in her hands in a bare instant. Really, and this is supposed to be a kitchen.

But she places her magic netting of shells and stones in one bowl, and the fish in another to be left in the sink with ice. The tap runs water and she starts to scrub the outside before placing one on a cutting board and with a careful, smooth movement of her wrist, slices its underbelly open.

She's always been proper and prim, but she does not hesitate at all to reach inside and pull out its bloody entrails, to be placed in another bowl.

The kitchen area starts to smell of coffee as it drips into the pot at a constant rhythm.]

Licorice's cabin works for me. It's just too bad I don't like the clothes half as much as the cabin itself.

[ But Licorice's clothes are terrible, it offends his sense of fashion.

He watches the way she seamlessly fillets the fish, her preparations careful and steady. She's clearly got a lot of experience in the department and he can't say it isn't impressive. It's a survival skill, one that works well when you're accustomed to catching and preparing your own food.

The scent of coffee soon fills the air, long before the pot will be finished. Crow closes his eyes and inhales. Coffee smells far more delicious than it has any right to, especially considering the preparations needed to actually make it palatable even after it's finished boiling. ]

[She doesn't look up from her work.]

It's the shorts, is it not?

[But once the entrails are removed she rinses it out and sets it aside before washing her hands. And setting up a tray just as the last of the coffee stops dripping. Pouring it carefully into a pot, she carries the tray over and serves him a cup with smooth elegance.]

How do you take it?

It's... definitely the shorts.

[ It's not that he has a problem with his legs but he'd really rather have pants! Shorts are only good when they're optional.

Crow watches the way she serves the coffee-- with all the grace of someone who is well-practiced in this sort of thing. He wonders again, briefly, what her function as an android is even supposed to be, but he pushes the thought aside. ]

I'll take some sugar and creamer with it. Black coffee's too bitter for me.

Please say when to stop. [But she will carefully add sugar and then creamer and memorise it for later.

The corner of her mouth twitches. Is that a near smile or a spasm? She doesn't seem capable of the former.]

Pants do seem like they would suit you better, some circumstances excepted naturally.

[like beachwear or dressing like a near-naked warrior for a trial. Probably the same diff to him, honestly.

Still can't believe you slipped her SOME TONGUE.]

[ Ask him if he regrets slipping 80H some tongue during that play. The answer won't surprise you at all. ]

That's exactly what I think! I'm not against shorts entirely, I just don't think they're right for me.

[ He nods after a moment. ]

Alright, that's perfect.

[She already knows that answer.

But she sighs, softly but with a subtle air of drama.]

Pity. You have such nice legs, too.

[She stops and then nods when he says that is good returns to her work, turning on the oven and leaving a quick note on the fridge. She washes some rice and sets in a pot. They really need a cooker--when are they getting that new kitchen--and she needs to order some more ingredients, she won't be able to do her best today, but it should suffice.

She gets some eggs, tapping them against a bowl and breaking them one-handed like it's nothing and starts to beat them.]

My legs weren't meant for the eyes of mere mortals.

[ He grins and rolls his eyes at his own statement-- he's making fun of himself with that one. He's confident in his looks but he wouldn't actually go quite that far with it. ]

You're really confident in the kitchen, aren't you?

[Her voice is solemn, heavy with the knowledge that he has bestowed unto her a great privilege.]

Then it is my honour that I can count myself among that number.

[She says it so straight that she must be joking.

Probably.]

Ah, well, I still have quite a bit to learn, actually...

[Comes the humble reply, but does not miss a beat. He is right, though, she does look very comfortable here, yes.]

I must apologise in advance. [She pulls out a baking sheet from the freezer and puts it in the oven, places a pan on the stove to be heated, and chops herbs and spinach to add to the eggs.] We are not stocked with the largest variety of food, I will have to remedy that, shortly.

[ He laughs at her reply to his stupid joke, shaking his head. She's got a dry sort of wit to her, it's a lot of fun.

And then she apologizes for the variety of food, and he waves a hand vaguely to and fro. ]

I promise you, whatever you make will be better than what I've been cooking for myself. I'm a mediocre cook at best.

[She wonders if she will ever get tired of hearing him laugh. Not many did in the Carrots house and that was fine, really. It just was not in their personalities even if most of them did possess senses of humour.

Her heart hurts to think about it. She grew used to cooking with others at this time for the rest of the house, but she needs to shove that memory aside to function.]

That is surprising.

[She pours a bit of oil into the pan and follows with a bit of the egg mixture, folding it in on itself as it cooks and then adding more egg into the pan to repeat the process.]

What, that I'm not a fantastic cook too? The Goddess already gave me enough blessings as it is, I've gotta have some flaws.

[ The truth is, he's got at least one or two things he can cook pretty well-- but overall, he hadn't been interested in becoming better than "okay" at cooking. ]

I suppose that is reasonable, you simply never struck me as being very mediocre at anything.

[Keeps up with the egg cooking, but the smell of baking bread starts to filter into the air to join the rest of the savoury, frankly delicious aromas. While the last bit of egg is cooking, she retrieves a pot from the fridge and sets it on the stove to cook.

When she's finished with the eggs, it ends up as being something of an appetising, colourful loaf that she transfers onto a dish before slicing it into thick pieces. Next, she filets the fish before adding a rub to it and frying it in the pan.]

Heh! My ego thanks you for that one.

[ Honestly, the delicious scents are setting his stomach to growling. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until she'd set herself to preparing breakfast, but now he's simply famished. He'd worked up quite the appetite back at the beach, and he's ready to eat now. ]

Ever so humble, as usual.

[Running and having sex and other stuff will make you hungry, yeah.

But it will not be long now.

She stirs the soup in the pot and satisfied that the fish is cooking well, slices assorted fruit and vegetables before putting them into separate bowls. The tableware is very standard, which is fine, but not very conducive to how she is used to plating things with many little bowls and such, but she will admirably make do with what she has.

She flips the fish, slips on gloves pulls out the sheet from the oven. On it are freshly baked croissants.]

I am nearly finished.

[Scooping out rice into proper bowls as well as doing the same with the soup, she starts to put the finishing touches on some things. The fish is placed onto sprigs of fragrant leaves on a pair of plates, for presentation.

She also makes some tea, for herself, otherwise, she tidies up a little and plates everything else. In the end, she has made: fresh bread, with jam on the side, miso soup, fried fish, rice, tamagoyaki with spinach and parsley, mixed fruit, and a small salad. There are two sets of these dishes for each of them and she places them on the table in a tidy, elegant setup.]

My apologies for keeping you waiting.

[ He could point out that he sees no reason to pretend to be humble, but there's no use in saying something she already knows he thinks. There's a happy medium of course, he doesn't need to brag about how great he is either-- but he feels confident he hasn't been doing that, so he's just fine the way things are.

The food is finally ready, a feast placed directly in front of him to eat. He grins and shakes his head at her words. ]

I'm not seriously gonna complain about you keeping me waiting when it was to make a meal like this. Thanks for the food! ♪♫

[It's fine. We tried the shy humble thing and it gave her the heebie jeebies.

Never again.]

You are welcome, Crow-san.

[She would leave him to it, but they have to share in this. She knows that. It's why she has her own food as well.

She takes a seat.]

If you find this to your liking, I could make other dishes for you, perhaps.

[She wouldn't wish bad or mediocre food on anyone.]

[ Her subtle horror at his act was hilarious, but he has no intentions of doing it again. Not without a really good reason, at least. He takes a bite of the fish and nods approvingly. ]

Mmm, this is great. Man, I love fish.

[ Despite his horrible experience with raw fish after a bet with Naeva. It's not the fish's fault. ]

I definitely wouldn't complain if you cooked for me again. You're a good cook~ ♪♫

Ah, thank you, I am glad! W-well...you are welcome to it, then.

[She's embarrassed. She craves praise but also cannot handle it.]

Um. It would be a good way to get points, too.

[ She's flustered, that's kinda cute. ]

You can get points for cooking?

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