[Windswept Condos] Cooking up a Storm (Rinya)

by **Jorin Ertihan** on October 14th, 2013, 2:53 pm

Season of Fall, Day 46, 513 AV

Yeah. Definitely a tactical error. Rinya had reloaded herself on Jorin's awful egg goop- two handfuls this time- and grinned back at him, taunting him about his bad shot. Jorin just smirked, his eyes still on the eggs in their shells. "I think you'll find my next one is going to be a bit better," he hummed with a wink.

They had both looked at the eggs at the same time, so Jorin knew that Rinya knew. But Jorin was at least two or three steps away from the eggs, so Rinya tossed both handfuls at him and caught him on the shoulder and in the face- again. Jorin gasped slightly. Gods, that stuff was slimy! It was worse than the fish guts!

When Rinya turned her back, Jorin sprang for the eggs, grabbing one in each hand. He grinned as he hurled one at Rinya, but it fell short, and splattered against the ground. Ah well, he still had one more, and he tossed that one a bit higher this time, and it sailed in a pleasant arc and struck her right in the back and burst, the gooey yolk running down her spine.

Deciding the eggs were definitely a better projectile than the flour, Jorin turned to get a couple more when he heard Rinya sing out his name in a cheerful, bright tone. He grinned as he turned, only to see her toss the contents of the bowl he'd crushed the mustard seeds into his face. And suddenly his eyes and nose were on fire.

Jorin stumbled back in surprise, almost clawing at his face as the powder burned its way down his lungs. His eyes burned and almost itched and he could barely see, and they teared up automatically in an effort to wash the offending irritant out. With a choking cough, Jorin tried to expel the powder from his nose and mouth, but the burning sensation filled his nostrils. He could barely breathe except through his mouth, as every breath through his nose felt like hot pokers had been stuck through them.

"Water...!" Jorin croaked as he stumbled half-blind toward the bucket he'd filled earlier. He needed to get to the water.

by **Rinya** on October 14th, 2013, 4:53 pm

Day 46, Season Fall, 513 AV

The reaction was immediate. Between the two of them, the light fluffy feelings that kept her happy shifted. If it wasn’t for the bond, Rinya might have seriously considered that Jorin was acting. But the bond was clear as ever, and Rinya knew there was some sort of pain associated with the powder she tossed at Jorin. There was something wrong and it hit Rinya’s gut hard, the playfulness instantly turned into concern and dread. But whatever was actually wrong eluded her. Like the flour, she hadn’t thought the mustard seed would cause such a reaction. A terrible miscalculation on her part.

As Jorin stumbled backwards, Rinya dropped the bowl. She was so intently focused on Jorin’s reaction, that she wasn’t even sure if the bowl shattered as it hit the floor. Reaching out she latched her fingers onto his wrists to keep his fingers from scratching at his face. From off his body some of the powder still flew into the air, and Rinya didn’t even notice until there was a faint burning in her nose as well. If Jorin got a face full of this stuff—it was suddenly easy to understand why he seemed like he could barely breathe.

Jorin could barely get the word “water” out, and Rinya nodded more to herself than him. Leading him over to the bucket as quickly, but carefully as possible—the floor had spattered bits of egg everywhere and the last thing she needed was for him to fall on top of it—she dropped to her knees next to the bucket and firmly tugged on his wrists. ”Sit down.” The words were hard, but it was mostly because she didn’t know how to be tender with him at the moment. He needed to get the stuff out of his face and hair. It was easier to be detached, than let herself fall apart.

Releasing his wrists, her fingers found her knees, digging into the skin with her nails. Rinya was fairly certain that Jorin wasn’t going to die from exposure to the mustard seed, though whether or not it did any kind of permanent damage she didn’t know. But with nothing to do but watch Jorin wash the powder off, guilty started to seep in over the concern. Granted she hadn’t known that the mustard seed would burn like that, but she had still thrown it at him. In the back of her head she could hear her father’s voice scolding her. There was a reason she was raised not to play games. Even if every other normal child got hurt and learned from it. The logic was there, that it wasn’t either of their faults, but it didn’t stop the guilty from pressing against her chest.

”I’m so sorry Jorin…” The words came out choked, and Rinya realized that once again she was near tears. Apparently only Jorin made it easy to cry. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing—or bad one.

by **Jorin Ertihan** on October 14th, 2013, 6:53 pm

Season of Fall, Day 46, 513 AV

jorin could feel the concern and worry coming from Rinya and he instantly felt bad. She obviously felt terrible for causing him harm, even though it wasn't her fault and she couldn't have known the mustard seed powder would be such a severe eye and nose irritant. At the moment though his eyes were too irritated and his nose burned too much for him to think about anything but getting to a source of water to wash it off.

Rinya had taken him by the wrists, and since he could barely see more than vague shapes and colors he allowed her to lead him, slowly and carefully, to the bucket of water. The powder seemed to have washed out some from his eyes, although his nose seemed perpetually at that state where you want to sneeze, but no sneeze comes.

"Sit down," Rinya almost ordered, her voice a lot firmer than her emotions indicated. Jorin could tell she was barely holding it together inside. But the burning would not go away and when she released his wrists he immediately reached forward, grasping until the back of his right hand knocked against the bucket's edge. He plunged both hands into the cool water and splashed it onto his face, washing off most of the powder and letting him breathe again.

Jorin did this a few more times, taking a few sips of the water as well to wash out the taste of the powder and ease the burning in his throat. Mizahar, and more importantly, Rinya, started to come back into focus as the water washed out the last of the powder from his eyes. Just to be safe, Jorin splashed some of the water on his hair as well, to make sure the stuff didn't float down and irritate his eyes and nose some more.

Rinya had sat quietly next to him, her hands fisted on knees and her eyes brimming with tears. "I’m so sorry Jorin…" she choked out, and Jorin shook his head and gave her as cheerful a grin as he could manage, and coughed a few times to clear his throat of the final dregs of the powder.

"No, don't be, Rinya," he insisted. He almost moved to embrace her, but they were both covered in icky goop, and he was quite sure getting his ruined eggs on Rinya's dress would not improve it, or their collective moods.

"You couldn't have known," he pressed, and shrugged as he stood up, offering Rinya a hand to stand up as well. "It could have just as easily have been me that threw the powder in your face. Please don't be sad, Rinya."

Jorin threw Rinya his best smile. "See?" he said, "I'm perfectly fine."

Jorin took a few steps back, arms outstretched, to prove his point, when he slipped on some of the slippery egg on the floor. His arms circled a few times, and his face had just enough time to change expression before he fell backwards and onto his butt, landing on the floor with a solid "thud". Jorin winced and rubbed his behind, then grinned up at Rinya.

"See?" he said. And really, he was. The burning sensation had mostly subsided. Then Jorin looked around the room.

"Although... we probably should clean this up," he sighed, as he took in the state of their home after their little skirmish. "And make another trip to the Moonstone," he added, as he looked first to Rinya's dress, covered in egg and flour, and down at his own clothing, covered in the disgusting goop he'd "cooked" earlier.

by **Rinya** on October 14th, 2013, 11:18 pm

Day 46, Season Fall, 513 AV

Rinya sat kneeling next to him, her back actually aching slightly from the rigid position. She felt useless, watching Jorin splash his face. The sensation that Jorin was feeling pain subsided as he got the powder off his skin and out of his eyes, but the guilt didn’t fade with it. He took her apology though like he did everything else. With a grin and no traces of being upset. He stated the same thing she already knew—that really she hadn’t known, but it did little to loosen the knot in her chest. Luckily though, the tears in her eyes didn’t fall and with a few deep breaths she gained more control over her emotions. She took his offered hand after a moment and pulled herself to her feet.

"See? I'm perfectly fine." Rinya sighed softly, watching Jorin stretch his arms out in an attempt to prove to her that he was indeed just fine. And then he hit a wet patch of eggs on the floor. Rinya didn’t even have time to groan or reach out to try and catch his arms swinging wildly through the air before he ended up on his butt. Rinya couldn’t help but flinch at the sound of him connecting with the floor. Fine was a relative term that she wasn’t entirely convinced of at the moment.

”Yes… stable right?” Her voice dripped of sarcasm, though she wasn’t sure if it was over the whole situation or just Jorin’s version of fine. Rinya understood she was being a little harsh, but now that the game was most certainly over, the wet spot across her back was starting to feel a little chilly and disgusting. Not to mention the flour coating her skin was starting to irritate her as well. Jorin seemed to read her mind and mentioned they should start to clean up the kitchen—and then themselves.

”Why don’t you head to the Moonstone and go clean up. I’ll take care of cleaning up here.” Rinya glanced down at him, sitting on the floor covered in undercooked eggs, hair and skin dripping wet from the bucket. He looked like a total mess, and yet somehow he was still handsome. A little ridiculous looking, but she was sure she looked the same. Brushing some of the flour off her dress, she sighed. The dress wasn’t likely to come clean. It would have to be something she wore around the condo. Not that she was angry—after all Jorin did warn her. But she was going to have to go for new clothing for certain.

”Besides, you got the worst of it.” Which was true. If nothing else he deserved to go relax while she cleaned up. She wasn’t intending it to be a punishment for herself, but she had a feeling Jorin was going to decline anyways. But she felt the need to at least offer him a reprieve after the whole incident. This time it was her turn to offer him a hand up off the floor.

by **Jorin Ertihan** on October 15th, 2013, 12:22 am

Season of Fall, Day 46, 513 AV

Jorin winced a little at Rinya's sarcastic tone. He sighed from his position on the ground. Thinking to himself, Jorin supposed Rinya was feeling a bit upset, both at herself and at the general situation, and what he felt from the bond seemed to confirm that. Well, he couldn't really blame her for feeling that way, although he hoped she'd feel a little better now that he'd washed the stuff off of his face.

Rinya was covered in white powder, and the eggs she'd thrown at him dripped down her hands and into the sleeves of her dress. The dress itself looked ruined, which Jorin felt a pang of guilt about. Rinya seemed to like that dress, and if he was being honest, he liked it too. It really showed off her curvature quite nicely, and it seemed to suit her so well. But despite the Flour in her hair, and the sticky, disgusting mess on her sleeves, Rinya still looked as beautiful as ever.

Rinya's offer of going to the Moonstone by himself, though, did not strike Jorin the way she probably hoped it would. He couldn't imagine being able to relax in a bath, knowing that his mate was scrubbing the floors here at home. No, they would clean up together, and they would leave together. Even Rinya's attempt to justify it by saying he got the worst of it, which given the mustard seed powder in his face, was probably true, didn't dissuade him. As he accepted Rinya's hand to help him up, Jorin looked up at her, smiled, and shook his head.

"I would never leave you here to clean up this mess by yourself while I relaxed," Jorin insisted. Looking about the place, he sighed. They really should have had more control. The floor was a complete mess. Deciding that there really wasn't anything else to do, Jorin went and retrieved a rag, dunking it into the bucket he'd gotten and bent down to start scrubbing the floor.

"The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go to the Moonstone and wash this icky stuff off of us," Jorin explained from the floor as he continued to scrub. His back was already beginning to feel a bit creaky, but he continued on regardless. Jorin really wanted to clean the goop off the ground as quickly as possible, since he figured once this stuff hardened it would be almost impossible to wash off. As he scrubbed, he looked up briefly, and threw Rinya a hopefully encouraging grin.

"Come on, my love," he tried. "Just think about how good the bathwater will feel when we're done!"

by **Rinya** on October 15th, 2013, 2:01 am

Day 46, Season Fall, 513 AV

"I would never leave you here to clean up this mess by yourself while I relaxed," Rinya guessed as much. For a moment Rinya felt stuck, as though moving would take a tremendous amount of effort. This was going to take them a long time. The idea wasn’t thrilling, but in the long run she supposed it was the price for fun—until Jorin got hurt anyways. Grumbling under her breath, Rinya followed suit behind him, grabbing a spare rag and wetting it down. Even as a child this was the part she hated the most. Playing clean up.

"Come on, my love," he tried. "Just think about how good the bathwater will feel when we're done!" If Rinya ever had the heart to actually glare at Jorin and mean it, this was the closest she got. While the words were true, Rinya herself could not find it in her to be as… spunky as he was. But the idea of a nice hot bath really did sound appealing. And the longer she took to help clean up, the longer it would take to get there.

Secondly, Jorin indicated that they would be bathing together—again. They had already proven that such a small space, shared none the less, was a potent combination. Actually it still befuddled her a little. After her bold move to spend the night with him several nights ago, it still wasn’t a common habit. They separated at night, climbing into their own beds and it was starting to leave Rinya a little confused. She wasn’t bold enough to just state she was staying in his bed. Though the entire idea just seemed to right. Jorin himself never wanted Rinya far from him, yet there was never any hesitation in parting ways at night.

Rinya really didn’t want to intrude on his privacy. She understood the need for it after so long alone. But it was just something in her head she couldn’t figure out. Determinedly she had decided until he invited her to stay permanently, they would just continue down their path. After all, she made the first move. Jorin knew she was willing to stay with him. It was up to him when he felt comfortable with that path however.

Kneeling down to the ground on the opposite side of the room from Jorin, Rinya focused on the task at hand. Clean first, bath second… and anything else that could follow third.

------------

Tossing the rag into the bucket of discolored water, Rinya groaned slightly. Her joints ached from scrubbing the floor, but it seemed to flow much faster after the floor was actually finished. Spots of egg and flour here and there, but the table was still mostly decent. It still took at least a bell to get everything cleaned up though—in Rinya’s opinion it might as well have been five bells. No matter how she looked at it—it still took them forever.

Mostly she had remained silent throughout the cleaning, trying to stay focused lest she become some kind of chatterbox just to get out of doing the task. But the moment the rag hit the water, she practically ran to her room and gathered up her clean work clothes. She needed that bath more than ever now. Practically sliding to a stop next to the front door, Rinya rocked back on her heels waiting rather impatiently for Jorin. Though she had the feeling he felt the same.

by **Jorin Ertihan** on October 15th, 2013, 2:24 am

Season of Fall, Day 46, 513 AV

Despite his bubbly insistence, Jorin really didn't much enjoy this. He really did look forward to a nice, long, hot bath with Rinya, but that didn't cover the fact that his back was incredibly sore after bending over to scrub for almost a Bell. Jorin would not say that he hated cleaning, but he did see it as something of a necessary evil. In this case, very evil. Jorin pounded a fist on his back and grimaced a bit.

Rinya had been mostly silent throughout their cleaning. Actually they both were, concentrating on scrubbing the floor clean and removing the last of the half-cooked eggs. Jorin was determined to never cook egg ever again if he could help it. One disaster was plenty for him. He briefly wondered if perhaps the cookbook had led him astray, then he realized that it was more likely his own lack of skill that prevented him from following its instructions correctly.

When the majority of the mess had finally been cleaned, Rinya dumped her rag into the now heavily discolored water and dashed to put on her work clothes. Jorin looked down at his clothes and realized he probably should change as well, but sadly he'd not purchased a change of clothes the way Rinya had. Clearly an oversight, and he'd have to remedy that some other time.

Instead, he decided to remove the worst of it, by stripping off his shirt (the egg on which had now almost caked on) and wrapping his cape around himself. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than nothing. His pants he'd just have to figure out later; likely he'd need to get the entire ensemble washed, anyway.

By the time he'd emerged, Rinya was already at the door, bouncing on her heels and obviously eager to go. Jorin just grinned at her, offering his hand.

"Come on, Rinya," he said. "Lets go take that bath."

LedgerMoonstone Private Bath, Unattended (-2 GM)

~Fin~

by **Magpie** on October 30th, 2013, 5:41 pm

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Jorin :

Rinya :

Notes :

If you have any questions or concerns about what was awarded, please don't hesitate to PM me.
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Completed [Windswept Condos] Cooking up a Storm (Rinya)