Closed Two Teens And A Pot (Lavira)

[Alori Sai]

Time stamp 25th Fall 513

Alori along side her best friend Lavira entered the Communal Kitchens, after they had decided to help out for the day. It was still early and the small heat, and smells of the brewed soup still wafted through the air. It had been a while since Alori spent as much time in the place. As a hunter she had only ducked in to get her meals, while other times she ate what game she caught in the wilds. Now as an Endal she did the same, making the last time that she spent for long in the kitchen was when she was a glass blower.

Perith, her mentor at the time would also have them eat at the same times during work days. It was a chance to cool off and talk to each other about something other than glass. He saw Aela, at the time, as a child of his own which also explained why he was so strict with her. But he cared for the girl and never wanted anything less than the best for her. Of course her constant wind eagle talk was a bother when he was trying to get her to think on her glass projects, but they had made it through anyway.

She thought of him sometime, and wondered if he missed her, and if he believed she was evil as many would say. There were even people making stories about a witch who stole and ate children. It was a huge exaggeration and really pissed her off. But that was a beef for another time. At the moment, she was in good spirits and ready to help out as much as she could

Alori wasn't a cook, and even she thought her cooking tasted bad, but with a little help, she was sure that she could do better now. It had been Lavira's idea to help out and the teen seemed so enthusiastic about it, Alori couldn't say no. To start, the teens located Chef Davoid and let her know that they wanted to help with the meals for the day, and from there they would begin.

"Hey, Vira? I didn't know you cooked? I try but, well..it needs work. Like..a lot." Smiling the little huntress bumped shoulders with her sister. "I guess having a man at home gives you a reason to really go for it, huh?"

[Lavira]

There was a very small part in the back of the young womans mind that suggested she learn how to cook, if only so that she could make something besides charred deer steak or burnt rabbit. That same small part of her told her it was to be done for Kovac, as if something suggested she should learn to serve him in more ways than the physical ones. It was absurd, to be honest! And yet, here she was in a sleeveless vinati and tight-legged bryda in the kitchens with the newly risen Endal, Alori.

When her newfound bestie had been elevated to the ranks of Endal, Vira had been a little surprised! Not a lot, just a little. She had yet to hear the full story behind the bonding, too, so this little trip of volunteerism would prove enlightening on both lessons in cooking and how her bestie managed to get herself a bird!

"Haha, well mine's not much better." She replied, staring into one of the large stone kettles that sat over some searing coals. It smelled like herbs and vegetables and other stuff she knew little about. "I'm so bad I could burn water!" And then her friend bumped her, saying she should be the domestic in her relationship with Kovac, as if as a woman it was expected of her. Vira gave her a playful half-shove back, sticking her tongue out. "Do I look like a housewife, Alori?"

She'd planted her hands on her hips, the white apron they'd been given by Davoid upon volunteering hanging to her thighs and her rust-colored hair piled into a bun. There was even a smudge of flour on one cheek from when she'd thought to go nosing at something on a counter before Davoid could get to them. The irony of it was palpable.

"I really just wanna learn how to cook what I kill; I dunno about you, but I'm not super big on meat that's still baa'ing." Wind Reach didn't have cows, afterall, or any other farm animals for that matter! Leaning over the nearest pot now, the teen sniffed at its contents again, frowning at the celery that came bobbing to the surface. "Maybe she'll let us just stir something..."

A voice behind them made her jump and spin, bumping against the pot in the process and burning the back of her hand when she did so. "Ow!" She leaned off the pot and put the burnt spot against her tongue, cooling it with her own spit. Davoid stood in the doorway, staring impatiently at the two young women. Being in Alori's company seemed to make Vira either overly excited or overly self-aware; now was a case of the formers. She couldn't help turning her head towards Alori and whispering, "What's that in her hair?"

There looked to be a clump of dough or something on one side of the fierce woman's hair but it was hard for the one-eyed rider to tell.

[Alori Sai]

"Awwww." Alori said with a bit of a giggle. Neither of them were good at cooking, and it was a surprise that they hadn't started a fire or given themselves food poisoning. What made them think they could help someone else cook, was an idea steeped only in the mind of a teenager. Alori had dressed sensibly, a grey vinati top and tanned colored bryda. She knew she was in for a mess, and wearing anything dark would just show it off more. She went with low cut boots to keep a bit of style and something warmer on her feet than sandals.

Grinning, the teen leaned against her friend's shoulder and offered her an innocent smile. "Totally, and that spot of flower is so you, haha. Vira you could be my house wife any day." she laughed then and braced herself just in case Lavira decided to shove her clear across the room. Recovering from the fit of giggles, she tied off her apron and pulled her hair back over her shoulders. Another tale that Alori wasn't used to cooking, and she hadn't thought until that tick that she should have pulled her hair up.

"Hey, do you have a ban or something? I should probably do something with my hair." Looking at the table, and the pots, pans, and meats and vegetables laid out, she really didn't know where to start. The idea of being able to make something good for herself was very appealing, and it would make those meals in the forest a lot better and tasty. "I know what you mean, the meat is either not done or too burned to get much from it." Only stirring sounded like a good idea since the young Endal had suddenly forgotten everything she had learned about cooking, which wasn't much.

"Oh!!" Alori squealed as she spun around with the racket her sister was keeping up. "Are you ok?" It was pretty impressive, they hadn't even started to cook yet and the teen had already burned herself. Taking note of Lavira's words, Alori looked closer at the woman who came in, while trying to share, which was hard to pull off. "Oh, I think you're right." she said in a hushed tone. Both of them were too excited and would probably get kicked out before the day was over. "So, um..where can we start?"

[Lavira]

Vira probably would have given her a playful shove. The ice storm had brought the pair closer, oddly enough. That whole survival thing could bring the best and worst out in people and it had clearly done that during their stay in the cave. "I am so not being your housewife. Go find yourself a boytoy for that!"

Chef was trying to explain to the girls some of the types of cuts for vegetables. There was the chiffonade first, she explained.

"Typically used for salads or herb preparation, the chiffonade involves slicing the vegetable into extremely thin strips." The Chef then went into a blurring pace of chopping a bunch of spinach and parsley. For whatever reason, Vira couldn't help clapping her hand over her mouth again as she laughed. She turned and whispered to her friend.

"Looks like what I fed to the hatchlings! At least it smells better and doesn't come back up the way it went in." Davoid ignored the girls and kept talking. She had a carrot in hand and chopped of the tips, peeling it quickly and easily.

"Then there's the Julienne"

Before the chef could explain, Vira stepped up, trying to not be completely unproductive throughout this charade. "Ma'am, can we chop with you? I dunno about her, but I can pick it up better hands on. I'm sure it would help us not mess something up in the process!"

When Davoid began directing them in her controlling, perfectionist way, Vira slipped around behind Alori, turning her so that she could get to her hair. "I have to tie it up every day. If it's not up, it's braided. Keeps it out of my face when I'm working." Her hands set to work gathering her friends hair together first into a ponytail then quickly twisting it some until it had tightened at the base of her skull. From there, she began wrapping the length of hair around the base of the twist, using her fingers to keep it tight and tucked until it she was left with just a bit of spare hair. "It should stay like that for a few bells. You've got a different texture to your hair, though so we'll see."

As she started to turn back, however, Vira noticed something on the side of Alori's neck. It sort of stood out like a sore thumb and she wondered why she'd never noticed it before. It looked like some kind of tattoo. "Oh that's neat, where'd you get it?" Vira reached to touch the mark, her curiosity evident. "Kind of looks like some fire."

[Alori Sai]

"Awww, you don't like me Vira?" Alori sighed and put on a playful pout as she glance to her friend. "I guess it's just me and Skye then. Forever alone." She liked teasing the other young Endal, she had a good sense of humor and that made it much easier for them both. She liked to tease Kovac to, but that wasn't exactly the same kind of teasing.

Trying to calm herself and pay attention, the teen rested her hands close to the edge of the table she stood in front of and looked on. In a way, Alori felt like she was back in yasi class, standing around while someone explained something to her in a way that was so basic, one would think they were talking to a dek. She watched as the spinach and parsley flew as the woman went on a mad chopping attack. It looked a lot like angry cooking. But angry cooking was what she did when she had butchered her meat and barely had enough left to make a meal.

It was just odd, and the teen found herself flinching slightly as the woman continued. It didn't help matters when Lavira whispered into her ear about what it looked like. Alori had to bite her bottom lip to hold back any loud laughter and turned her head away. "Vira! Why did you tell me that? Now all I see is bird food." She quickly moved her hand across her mouth to hide her smile when she noticed the chef glancing towards them.

We're gonna get kicked out..I know it.

They seemed to calm down soon enough and Alori nodded when Lavira mentioned trying her hand at the work. They were there to help after all, not just learn to cook. "Thanks." she offered and held her head still while her bestie worked on her hair. She was glad and surprised that the chef hadn't gotten onto her about it, and wondered if it was because she was Endal now. "I could have done something with it this morning, but I forgot about it because I had to hunt down Skye's rations. I'm almost sure that he moved the bag, probably trying to get into it."

Alori tilted her head slightly when Lavira reached for her neck and smiled a bit. "It's not really a tattoo it's... she paused and lowered her voice. "It's a mark from the Gods, from Ivak." Alori was familiar as everyone was with the God of Fire and his roll in the djed storm. Not everyone was ok with him, and she didn't want any hateful glares just because he had marked her, although she still didn't understand why. Now, she just hoped her sister wouldn't freak.

"It seems kinda weird huh? Yea, you know, sometimes it's tingles."

[Lavira]

The woman grinned back at Alori as she covered her mouth in an attempt to hide the laughter. "She was probably right in that they would get kicked out, but it was rightfully fun to do this with her friend. "What? It does!"

And on Davoid went, chopping and talking, eventually letting the girls join her. Her commanding attitude made sure they kept their work accurate every time even if that meant going slower than usual. And during this time, the teen chatted with Alori about the gnosis. "A mark from Ivak, huh?" She replied casually.

Many had been affected negatively by what had happened during the storm, many more had lost their lives and not just the humans. Vira's close work with the birds had put her in direct contact with them when the storm erupted. She'd done all she could in the nesting aeries before being forced out by the birds and into a sheltered cave, but even that had not been enough. An entire generation of eggs had been lost and half again as many of chicks that had yet to fledge. It had been a horrific time.

But no Inartan had known WHO Ivak had been before the storm came. His name was as alien to them as the Akvatari or Eyktolans. Not now, though. Now he was a strange symbol of tumultuous release. Had what happened to him been right? Who knows! The gods wars was not the wars of the mortals of Mizahar.

"How'd you manage that?" Her single-eyed gaze lowered to the table again to focus on her cutting, half-listening to what Davoid was saying about julienne cuts. Something about correct length and widths, but her attention was more on her friend even if she wasn't immediately looking at her. "Seems kind of strange that he would want anything to do with us; I mean...look at what we did to him." Vira didn't know the god had calmed, only that when he had been released and the geas lifted on the race he was this mighty being who had caused one hai an amount of trouble! "What'd you do to gain his attention?"

[Alori Sai]

Alori didn't like telling the story, at least creating a lie to hide the truth. She couldn't say what really happened, but she had to answer in some way. The problem was, she didn't know if she could even tell tiny bits of the truth, or would that be too dangerous for her. She glanced towards her friend, and to the chef before she looked down to attempt to cut. "It's crazy. I mean, I've never really looked to Gods before but..with what's being going on lately, it's kinda hard not to."

She watched the chef and Lavira's handy work just to make sure that she was doing it right and continued on. "It was weird, and I couldn't tell if I was a sleep or awake. It all felt real, but then I'd wake up some place where I hadn't been before." She paused again, it would have made sense to have a story for it, but the teen hadn't thought of one and had to make it up on her own. "I think it was like an emotional thing. Maybe something about me stuck out and he wanted to see what I could do. He..told me that I would do good things."

Suddenly, her fingers slipped and for a tick she thought that she had sliced into it, but the skin didn't break. Alori sighed softly and went back to work. "It's really hard talking to a God. They won't listen to you and they just tell you what to do. Sorta like an instructor only..scarier." She fell silent for a moment, trying to focus on not cutting her fingers off. "I still remember what he looked like, and if he wasn't so scary he would be hot."

[Lavira]

The story wasn't as indepth as she had oped it would be, Alori evading something in it. Vira looked up to her friend and frowned a little bit, studying her as she cut the veggies and told the little bit about her experience getting the god-mark. Maybe something about having gotten it bothered her? Vira made a note to herself to ask about it in private; perhaps Chef Davoid's presence made her not want to talk about it.

"Well, you're doing good things now, see?" She nodded to the veggies that were continuing to be chopped up. "We're helping prepare a meal! We're helping to feed people, Alori. That's a good thing." She tried to look on the brighter side of things a lot, though it didn't always work.

When Alori mentioned the gods attractiveness, Vira grinned and laughed at her. "Ivak? Really? He looks too creepy for my tastes, all pasty face with those odd red marks." She finished chopping the squash she'd been working on and pushed it into the pile with the rest of the vegetables. "So what does that mark do? It's from the god of Fire; can you set things alight?"

Then, the endal grabbed a slice of onion and flicked it at her friends face. "If you could light things on fire, why didn't you do that during the storm? We were freezing! Shame on you, Alori!" A throat clearing beside her, however, made the woman turn 'round to look at Davoid once again. The chef was glaring at the two of them, the knife held up in a threatening gesture. It would have been frightening if the dough in the cooking masters hair hadn't begun to slip...and then plop into the pile of vegetables.

At that point, Vira lost it. She set her knife down and covered her mouth with both hands, vainly trying to hide the teenage grin that split her lips wide and softened that gruff blind eye. Between fits of laughter, and around both hands, she tried to speak. "I'm s-so sorry, Chef, it's just that..."

But the Chef wasn't going to let her finish. The knife went up and she sought to chase the two girls straight out of her kitchen, hollering after them the whole way about wasting her time and wasting her food and wasting her space and this and that and everything in between. The whole time, Vira was laughing, on the verge of tears. It was just too hilarious to handle. Once outside the kitchens, Vira leaned against the wall and breathed, hands on her knees and head down as she laughed. "So much for that!" She guffawed.

[Alori Sai]

Alori's face brighten, she looked to her friend and shook her head. "Don't make fun Vira, I'm serious. He really said that. I don't know what it means, who knows what a god wants anyway." Lowering her head again, the teen went back to her work. If feeding people was all that Ivak had meant, he could have just said so instead of putting her through the suffering that he did.

"Oh stop Vira. I bet you would like him. You have a thing for bad boys anyway." Moving quickly Alori finished chopping her vegetables and pushed them with the rest before Lavira could attack her. That was an interesting thing about cooking, so much went into the preparation, depending on what was being cooked, and it could take a long time just to finish one meal. When the teen asked Alori if she could set things on fire, she glared at the girl with a suspicious look. "Really Vira? You think I can..Hey!!" she squealed and tried to duck the onion.

"That's crazy, if I could have, I would have made us a huge fire. Gods I thought we were going to die!" Now it was her turn to reach onto the table and sling a bit of squash at her friend. She was just about to declare it a war when she noticed the chef glaring at them. "Oh..umm s-sorry." She blushed then, Lavira brought out her inner child, and Alori enjoyed making trouble with her.

But, they would have to make trouble else where. The chef chased them out of the kitchen, racing behind them as if they were performing something out of a dramatic play. "Wait! Wait, I said we were sorry!" But her words didn't help and neither was Lavira, who couldn't stop laughing. Once they were outside, Alori started to laugh more, and gave Lavira a friendly push. "Vira!? Gods, what am I going to do with you? Now what do we do?"

[Lavira]

Standing out in the corridor, it took nearly three chimes for Vira to calm enough to even stand up straight, her face still lit exuberantly. There was such an upwelling of delight just hanging out with Alori after the nightmare of a hunt they had experienced. They had bonded hard and fast during it and now they were dear friends.

"Hey, I can't help that she looked silly!" Vira countered, shoving Alori back in a similar way. "She didn't have enough presence of mind to even notice that in her hair! And then it fell, bahaha!" The endal burst into another fit of laughter, though this one did not last nearly as long as she finally straightened, rubbing at her side. "It's not as gusty today, we could go out to the Edge; or maybe the ranges? I need to practice with the bow anyways."

Vira took Alori's arm in hers and strode off down the corridor. "Oh, no I know what we can do! Let's go swimming!" Had she lost her mind?! "The wind's not so bad so the Haven will be the perfect spot and the waters are always warm. I can see if Mohya will fly us out there, huh?" She had yet to meet or know about Durveth, of course.

"Come on, I'll get some towels from the aerie." Vira pulled on Alori more adamantly now, leading her through the mountain and up to the Endal quarters. Hopefully Alori wouldn't resist too much and would go along with the little adventure to the Bay. It would be a friends excursion, just for them to have fun on!