[Open] The Mapo Tofu affair

[showsnopiety]

Who: Everyone! If you can smell it, you can find it!
When: 6/8-610
Where: Hall of Glory Parlour in Caissa
What: Caren found out she can make mapo tofu and is sharing with everyone. Heaven help us all.
Rating: So far none but will change when things happen.





THe Halls of Glory smell a little different today. Instead of the usual fare that the others might know from the weekly menu, there's a different scent. Something that may remind heroes of Airy, Ma Jiang dishes, or maybe, more simply, of home.

This was the result of Caren's cooking and some hunting on her part. And the results may be quite appealing. There are pots of rice, still steaming, and various bowls filled with the result known as mapo tofu. Some of them are spicer then others, and she hasn't seen fit to label which are very spicy, and which are quite mild. The only thing she has labelled, with a rim of green around the bowls, are the vegan variations, for those who can't, or do not, eat meat or meat by products.

Consider it a game of spice roulette. Because there are other bowls as well, with crushed cucumber-hot pepper salad, spicy tofu, and something that has spewed spinach and garlicy noodles within. But hey! You may be able to cool off with one of the pots of tea around the place-or with one of the rare tubs of ice cream of various flavors, kept chilled with an icy spell.

The cutlery and bowls are disposable, and there are trashbags to clean up after yourself. She's not going to do it for you!

But hey. Who can say no to free food?

Comments

[sealeted]

[Well, Hakuno supposes she can replace gold and the like, but not Enkidu. Never him. Nobody could. Of that, she has a soul-deep certainty.]

...I... This is not something I've ever thought about.

[You blew her mind, congratulations. She fiddles with the cuffs of her jacket, flustered beneath that blank facade.]

You have a way of speaking that cuts straight to the bone, Miss Caren.

[showsnopiety]

[No one can replace Enkidu. Caren would never even try.]

You haven't had a chance to.

[Her mouth quirks, and she offers, a slight tilt of her head.]

But you could say that I have a way of getting to the heart of the matter. And again, Caren is fine. There's no need for formalities.

[sealeted]

Yes.

[Hakuno smiles, then—really, smiles, with teeth and sincerity that she just can't tamp down on, filled to the bursting point with all sorts of feelings. But the top two contenders are gratitude and admiration, still.]

Thank you, Caren.

[showsnopiety]

I've done nothing to be thankful for.

[She slips a little closer so she can, for a moment, touch her face. Just ever so lightly, and in passing over her cheek.]

You are an interesting girl. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

[sealeted]

No, sometimes just saying things you would anyways is something to be thankful for.

[Hakuno flushes at the gentle touch, just the way she had the first time she ever met the Rin Tohsaka of the 2030s. God, why do girls have to be so pretty?]

I-I'll do my best not to disappoint!

[showsnopiety]

Don't worry, Hakuno.

[Her hand drops, and she steps away, seeming ready to move on now.]

I'm sure that no matter what you do, you will not disappoint me.

[sealeted]

...because a tragedy is as good as a comedy?

[Hakuno regains some of her composure, now that there isn't a pretty woman invading her personal space and destroying her ability to think rationally. Some, which is why that quip slips out, instead of staying safe in her head.]

[showsnopiety]

And a combination can even be better.

[She chuckles quietly. Hey, it's all good girl. She ain't gonna put down her sass.]

[sealeted]

You know, it's a little unfortunate Andersen—he was a Caster—isn't here. I think you'd like him.

[Or not. He was kind of a little shit to the nun who was his Master, but who can say for sure?]

[showsnopiety]

Perhaps so. But I quite like what I have, if you're proposing a change of servants.

[She waves a hand.]

You'll find that this place is crawling with them. But perhaps...he might have interested me.

[sealeted]

I meant more as a conversational partner. Gilgamesh is the kind of Servant you'd have to be a fool or completely fed up with to discard. Andersen was... You know, Hans Christian Andersen? His stories were always interesting to talk to him about. He had a sharp tongue and a rather misanthropic point of view.

[showsnopiety]

And I am neither of those. But...ah. Hans Christian Andersen.

[He was misanthropic? Hmmm.]

Who knows. We might have gotten along.