✿ 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.
|
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Woah. Okay, definitely still alive, definitely still young and energetic, thank you very much, but Jae-ha has just earned himself a one way ticket to Disapproval Town. He's sensitive to jabs about his age, and about too much familiarity, though thankfully he doesn't look ready to exact any sort of violent vengeance upon Jae-ha for it. It looks like having a smokin' hot bod counts for something after all!
Gilgamesh shakes off the malaise, though he continues to grumble under his breath.]
And focus on your work! Adrasteius won't be asking me much of anything at this rate!
[Except to move out, maybe. That was a distinct possibility after certain developments today.]
no subject
Right, right. Sorry, Your Majesty. [ There’s no sarcasm in his voice, just exasperation. He has half a mind to let Gil finish the task himself, but in his own way, he does seem at least a little grateful for the help, and it was the own man’s housewarming. He finishes gathering the crumbs and dumps them in the trash, along with the rest of the failed crusts.
He then washes his hands and gets to work on chopping up the meat. This part is easy, as it involves knives and flesh… ah.
Idly, as if he hadn’t been completely bewildered just a few moments prior, as he hands Gil the chopped meat: ]
You’re quite terrifying when you’re bossy, you know. It’s not a bad look.
no subject
Sorry, he says... hmph.
[Gilgamesh somehow doubts it, though he'll accept the meat anyway, throwing it into a fresh tin. Thankfully, this one seems considerably less disastrous than the others, and this time Gilgamesh knows just what to do. He fetches another prepared crust and tosses it over the meat, throwing it in the oven after liberal application of spices and what looks to be sauce and setting it to bake. There. That should do it for sure.
Gilgamesh breathes a sigh of relief, and... oh. You're still here, Jae-ha. Huh.]
Just how do you know Adrasteius, then? You do not strike me as his typical company.
[You're still here, so apparently it's interrogation time. Lucky you.]
no subject
While Gil frets over getting everything just right, he begins to wash the leftover dishes, raising his eyebrows at the question. ]
Yet you are? Wow, I must have left a pretty poor impression. [ He'll answer the question, though, while putting things away. ] Do you remember the task we were given, of collecting special plants? We helped each other out-- I offered him the sky, he offered me his expertise.
no subject
[Bluntly:]
This strikes me as innuendo for fornication.
no subject
Enough that he's struck speechless, opening and closing his mouth. ]
Is... sex on your mind all of the time?
[ BUT NO ]
I mean literally. Through flight-- from the sky as a vantage point, it's more efficient to find flower beds in a short amount of time.
no subject
[Uh-oh. Someone sounds a little... jealous.]