[Raster Market] But to learn to cook.

[Cairis Beth]

Timestamp Day 1 of Winter 511A.V

Some things never change. A small sigh left lips pursed at the sight of burnt, sludgy goo at the bottom of an already well charred iron pot. “It’s about time I get some cooking lessons.” Cairis poke aloud to no one in particular, and tucked a strand of hair behind one ear. Her fingers were still grimy from cooking, and her face flushed red from bending over the hot hearth for close to an hour. It was still early morning, but the pot of simple food she'd planned to simmer throughout the day was now as naggatory as an ingrown nail.

Not for the first, nor the last, time in her life, Cairis wished she’d paid more attention to the hours her mother spent cooking. She had always been far more concerned with bandaging Eloise’s scraped (or just fine) knees, or feeding the latest animal addition to the family. As she wiped her sweaty hands on the front of her dark blue skirt, Cairis made the decision to walk to the market, and see what she could find in the form of un-burnable food items.

Ensuring the hearth was dampened down, Cairis swept her eyes across her bare home, collected her thread-bare cloak from the back of the singular chair and walked through the door of her little cottage, and headed toward the market. A definite coolness reminded her that it was the first day of Winter, and that she would soon need to aqccuire a new cloak. She made another mental addition to her shopping list. As she walked she hummed a tuneless ditty, reflecting on her lack of home-maker-ness, and greeting anyone she saw on the road with a smile. She may have lived in Denval for most of her life, but away from her parents things were so hard!

With this, she thought back to her parent's farm, and her sister Eloise. At some point soon she would have to arrange a visit. She missed them dearly, Ella, especially.

The best thing she could do was to find someone willing to take her on as a doctor’s apprentice, or to whom she could offer what she knew of the skill. The sudden change in thought pattern reminded her that really, living alone, she needed some way to make more Miza.

Food, cloak, job. Food, cloak, job. Food, cloak, job...

Making a note to ask around, Cairis entered Raster Market. There were few people about, It never failed to amaze her, the wares on sale, and like a child, she flitted from stall to stall, and just like someone flicked a switch in her head, she had completely forgotten the charred mess at home, and the other reason for coming at all.