✿ THE HOUSE ✿
Adra's house is a cozy stone cottage on the outskirts of Caissa, close enough to the sea that one can hear the breaking waves throughout the day.
This afternoon, there's light, cool rain falling intermittently, tapping in a rhythm at the windows and roof. Fortunately, the kitchen is warm, bright, and welcoming. Its counters and tables are covered with freshly prepared foods of all kinds, and there are plenty of chairs for visitors who might like to sit and relax.
A door from the kitchen leads out into the garden, which is not quite yet fully landscaped, but which boasts a promising array of flowers (orchids, roses, lilies, tulips, etc) and herbs. Adra's also cultivating strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, and so on; the strawberries and cherries in particular are ripe for picking. Adra has strung enchanted, floating fairy lights all over the garden; they cast a soft, ethereal glow over the paths and carefully tended patches of greenery. At the garden's center, there's a clear pond filled with red and pink lotus blossoms.
Back inside, a visitor might like to rest in the den. There's a roaring fire in the hearth, and sitting near it for a short while offers a boost to the weary spirit. Soft, plush chairs and couches fill this room, making it ideal for lounging. The tables are covered with books borrowed somewhat indiscreetly from the library; they deal largely with the magic and history of Enprise.
Adjacent to the den is Adra's study. In here are half-empty bookshelves and antique rolling desk covered with neat stacks of papers, boxes of quills, and numerous pots of ink, each one in different, brilliant colors. His journal is somewhere here, too ...
Finally, down the hall one will find a half bathroom and, across from that, the door to the second bedroom--belonging to one Gilgamesh. The master bedroom, belonging to Adrasteius, is at the end of the hall. There's a full bath in there, but this room is definitively locked.
✿ THE SPREAD ✿
As usual, Adra's gone over the top in his preparations. For drinks, there's a sweet, refreshing punch; delicately pink and decorated with sprigs of flowers. There are pitchers of sparkling ice water, jugs of wine and spiced mead, and plenty of glasses to share.
Though Adra does not eat meat himself, he prepares it ably; there's a honey-glazed, roasted turkey in the center of the table, right beside a carving board heavy with seasoned, hand-carved slices of fresh beef. Red potatoes, bright with paprika and salt and glistening with pats of melting butter, are arranged in wedges around the turkey. There are woven baskets of steaming rolls, flaky and soft; platters of carrots and broccoli and asparagus; enormous bowls of belly-warming soup filled with thick wheat noodles, sliced egg, and shredded cabbage. At one end of the table, there's a plate of burgers, along with small dishes to fix them--bacon, crispy onions, sauteed mushrooms, and all the necessary condiments. He has plates of savory pies, filled with beef or pork or chicken; steamed and fried dumplings stuffed with meat and spring vegetables, plump and perfectly shaped.
The desserts are similarly extravagant: he has a plate of meticulously crafted flower and fruit cakes; some look like ripe, blushing peaches, others, he shaped into red orchids, lotus blossoms, or golden roses. He's made a chocolate tart so dark that its smooth, sugar-dusted surface shimmers reflectively in the overhead light. Cupcakes of all kinds are scattered here and there, as well as an extravagant, multi-tiered confection dripping with fudge sauce, encrusted with sliced strawberries and vibrantly colorful, fondant flower petals. There are loaves of warm banana bread; fruit tarts glittery with rainbow sugar crystals; and, under glass, an assortment of flavorful macarons baked to look like something plucked right from the starry sky.
But the most important thing about Adra's lavish banquet is this: all of the food is enchanted, laced with magic meant to inspire feelings of comfort and security. Eating it may conjure up familiar, welcome sensations or memories--nothing sorrowful or painful, and only as specific as you'd like. It could be something as simple as the feeling of a fuzzy blanket on a cold day, or as complex as a particular soothing memory. In all cases, the intended effect is meant to inspire calm and ease.
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potatoesresponsibility.]It's not for me.
[The teasing malicious tone is gone. For now at least. Instead it's...pensive.]
It's too much. I can't.
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You don't have to eat it all.
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[Contrary to what might be expected, her voice goes more and more quiet.]
And yet. All food is made with certain intention, is it not? It is made with something clearly in mind, even for the sake of curbing the yawning maw of ones stomach.
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[ A little should do just fine. Though they've already established that he's not going to force her further. He knows what she means in regards to the atmosphere, but... ]
I think our host's just that kind of guy. [ Personable? Magic happy? Who knows. ]
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[Her mouth twists.]
Adrasteius is can not let himself live for happiness or pleasure. Only duty.
And yet he puts out a display, meant to soothe and welcome to his home. It may be a welcome for others. Maybe a celebration. But I know it does not apply to me.
I can not eat at his table.
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Why not? You're here, aren't you?
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So I am. But our relationship is...
How to phrase this.
You've met me enough times to be aware that I am not a good person, correct?
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That's not on me to judge.
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That is not to say that I am a murderer, because I haven't killed. Nothing human at least, and not yet.
Would you welcome someone such as I to your table?
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On the contrary, he thinks that she's probably struggling with something else. But he won't make it his business. Instead he makes up his mind and takes a bite of her discarded potato. ]
That depends. Are you gonna eat?
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At least the potato is being eaten.]
Would it satisfy you?
[She still might have trouble at his table. But she'd try.]
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As long as you mind yourself, it's all I'd ask. [ That is, his only other expectation is basic civility. It's not hard to match the manners of an underground thug. ]
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I've learned my table manners. No one would be stabbed with a fork, I promise.
[She dips her head briefly.]
That's for later.
[Is she...joking? Who knows.]
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I guess you can come then. Though I don't really have a table.
[ Not a dinner table anyway. It's been convenient to stay in the Hall. ]
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[Putting it nicely since...well.]
I profess, I have none either. But I do have an idea. How are you with spices?
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They use a lot of spices in Ma Jiang food. Other than that, it's pretty new to me.
[ But the fact that he knows that they use it in Ma Jiang food may imply that he likes it. Their extensive use of tea with their cuisine had gotten him interested early on. ]
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[That's her pert answer and she's sticking to it. That one might be an actual joke. But...she glances at him, side long.]
There's a similar set of cuisine where I come from. One that is hot for the mouth.
Next week. That will give me enough time for me to get what I need for milder and spicer forms of a dish, for you and others. Neither of us have tables, but I can share this little thing with you.
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In any case. This dish does sound interesting. If she's sharing it, he may as well partake. Even if he sounds vaguely suspicious in tone while he accepts. It probably means nothing. ]
All right. Give me a call then. You only need to ask for "Levi." [ He's not the type to use a fancy carrier handle. ]
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Which he might be once he tries what she's cooking, to be honest. It's just a small token of her regard to the world.]
I will. You may recieve a call from "Nun". But it's just Caren.
[She's not fancy either, technically.]
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Got it. [ In the meantime... ] What does "nun" mean?
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Oh, that's a member of a religious community of women.
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[She shrugs.]
But the two groups can and do work together with various projects, mostly charity works, including education, hospitals...so on and so forth.
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He also notes she mentions a singular God. Different from the Blanc culture of many. Since he figures she must have some opinions on the matter, it for whatever reason, provokes him to share something more personal. ]
In my world, there are some people who believe the Walls that protect our community are divine. [ If he sounds dull about this... it's because knowing a semi-truth about those Walls, in some ways, makes them seem even crazier. ] Most people have abandoned the idea that any kind of God exists.
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[That's different. But if it goes with the various kami that Shinto speaks of...well, maybe she can understand this?]
That's new to me. But I know many atheists and agnostics- those who do not believe in god, and those who do, but who do not believe in organized religion.
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