Talking Food [Sable Baggywrinkle]

[Lase]

After she had made her way across the ship (by pulling herself forward with her arms...trust me, it took a while) and down the stairs, Lase managed to pull herself onto the make-shift seat Sable had made for her. This was very considerate, especially because she couldn't exactly sit on a stool without falling over. She had watched Sable shell and drop the tiny crabs into the boiling water, and then she started to ask questions. Which, of course, Lase had happily answered. "Oh, Sib was very nice. And helpful. We had a lot of fun." She began, watching Sib annoy Sable. "I don't have many animal friends," she continued, "Or any friends really at all. I usually stay by myself." She dropped her eyes, looking at the floor for this bit, mainly to avoid any trace of pity that might appear on Sable's face. She didn't need any pity. She was perfectly fine by herself. Right? Right?? Yeah. "You see, I was part of the Starwave pod. Ever met them? They were a fun lot. My mum was an Akvatari, and she married one of them. Luckily, I had blue eyes so they didn't leave me floating in the ocean. Then, my mum left me on a rock and told me to wait there. She gave me the armband I left with you. It has my name engraved on it, see?" She gestured to the area where the armband was sitting. You could just barely see the word 'Lase' engraved on the edge, large enough to be visible but small enough to escape notice at first glance. "After that, they went on a long trip. I couldn't come with. I don't know where they went or if they'll come back...so I dropped 'Starwave' from my name. If they come back, I'll join them again." She finished her somewhat-sob story. It wasn't the whole truth, but the reason for that was the fact that Lase hid the memory of what really happened in the back of her mind, under lock and key in her subconscious. But she didn't know that, and neither did Sable. She drummed her fingers on the table. "I haven't had cooked food in years. I usually eat raw plants. Sometimes mollusks or fish if they happen to be slow enough for my clumsy self to catch them."

[Sable Baggywrinkle]

Sable glanced up, a skeptical furrow to her brow, as Lase chatted. Even Sib, who could actually catch the lonely inflection in Lase’s voice and body language, peered over at her, little eyes blinking from behind a veil of blond locks. Shell bits were brushed into a nicked wooden bowl and set aside to be disposed of as the lanky woman moved to sit opposite the strange girl. Deft fingers flicked the armband back as it came up in the conversation. “You’re probably safer by yourself, there’s no telling how many of your friends would try to eat you when food got scarce,” Sable deadpanned, folding her hands behind her head, which made Sib chatter in displeasure at being bumped. The otter landed with a sharp thud and wasted no time scampering over to Lase to cuddle. Air grew thick and odiferous as the small crabs quickly cooked in the vaporizing water. “Pods are overrated, really, noisy and busy. Can’t get a good night’s sleep no matter what,” the woman comforted with a wry twist to her lips. “Why don’t you search out more of your kind? The ones with wings?” The irony of her observation hung in the air, even with the follow-up question, and the woman slipped out of the stool to check the meat. It had cooked quicker than anticipated and she rushed through getting it off the stove and out of the heat. Seared fingers later, she’d strained out the meat and put it in a large, clean bowl to slide across the table. “I’ll be right back, gonna go toss this over the net and see if the juices tempt any fish.” Both the pot and the wooden bowl of shells sloshed into the opaque waters moodily keeping the fish safe and away from her net. Feet padding loudly, the tall woman descended into the cabin once more. Dishes, rinsed, clanked to a rest next to the stowed stove and Sable hurried to take a seat and plop a white bit of meat into her mouth. “Thanks, this is good. You could always start a fire on shore, you know, to cook food, if you like it. Why don’t you have a harpoon or fishing net?”