Dinner for Dio - RPLOG

Participants

• Dio
• Sveta

Date

23/7/476

Log

A fine evening at the Artisan's School in Firmament. While dusk has not stopped the ringing of metal against metal and hiss of things being cooled, the hustle and bustle of the school's usual activity has died down to manageable levels as maestros and students alike prepare for a night's rest. What's not at rest is a small studio in the basement of the Artisan's School, one of many like it along the corridors.

There are signs that this room used to be in a considerable state of chaos, but the worst of the mess on both workbench and cabinet alike has been tucked away under clean linen sheets. The room is sparsely furnished, a folding cot leaning up against the wall, a lit hearth in another corner providing warm and light next to a large brass washbasin, and a small bookcase with a number of obscure-looking titles in another corner. A faint citrus scent permeates the air, perhaps to cover up more recent smells, like that of ash and machine oil.

What is immediately more appealing, though, is the scent of cooking that wafts forth from a small stove connected to the hearth. A wide hot plate has been set over the fire, precariously balanced in order to keep a goodly number of dishes warm. There appear to be a number of courses in waiting, and a table has been neatly set for two in a recently-cleared space, occupying a good portion of the room's remaining space.

The Artisan's School... Dio never believed he'd ever set foot in such a place in all his years. The thought even brought a small chuckle out of the lion as he entered the building and roamed about, awing occasionally at various things as he passed by. His journey towards the room he invited to was rather short, his interest of a tour much lesser than the thought of a cooked dinner personally for him! "This seems to be the place," he mumbles under his breath after picking up the various scents, knocking on the door in perhaps one of the more polite gestures in his life. "Hello lass," he shouts through the door. "May I come in? It smells... Wonderful in there."

"Coming! Please wait a moment!" There's a soft scratching behind the door, and Sveta appears shortly in the doorway. She's evidently made some effort to clean up, but some traces of scruffy unkemptness still linger in her feathers, refusing to leave. Having shed her usual work clothes, the goshawk is clad in a rather plain dress of autumn colours, although it's plainly borrowed, considering how loosely it hangs about her thin frame, although her gloves are still on. "Welcome, my dear Lion of Punctual Arrivals. I...well, I hope I'm doing this properly. Everyone says...well, nevermind. Please, come in and have a seat." She takes Dio by the arm, and if he will follow, gently tugs his impressive frame towards the table.

Dio patiently waits outside the door, hands tucked within his pockets as he imagines what sort of food lays in wait for the seemingly constantly ravenous lion. With the click of the door, he opens his mouth to say, "Hello la- Oh my..." He looks down at the smaller goshawk bird and gives her a good once over with his eyes, noticing various unkemtness despite attempts at grooming. Of course, he hadn't made much effort, considering how frizzled his mane was in several areas. "Ya didn't have to do all this, Bird of Surprising Fanciness," he laughs, letting himself get carried off towards the table with ease. His laughing however, pauses for a moment as he observes the hot plate and all the obvious attempts at cleaning up, causing a small frown to appear upon his muzzle. "I mean... I was mostly jokin' lass. No one's ever done somethin' like this for me..."

Sveta averts her gaze from Dio's, suddenly inspecting the ground near her feet as Dio is seated. "Well, you did save me at the beach, and I did promise you a meal. The value of one's words is in the actions that come after, as the First Text goes, and I'm not about to go back on my word." She clears her throat. "I hope there isn't anything you don't like, or if it's too fancy or not fancy enough...I did my best with what I could. I had to borrow a few things from my the other journeymen - well, a lot of things, but it doesn't matter. If I'm going to do this, it'll have to be done properly." With that, she's off to the hot plate and returns shortly with a tray, which she sets down on the table.

The first course is clear eel soup, made from eels caught in the Sweetwater and served in a couple of tureens, steaming softly, the aroma promising a slightly salty and fishy taste. Thin slices of filleted eel can easily be seen in the clear broth, and wisps of white and yellow suggest that an egg has been beaten in. Dio's serving is easily twice as large as Sveta's, and there's a basket of dry black bread, ready to be sopped if need be. "I anticipated your appetite and made a lot, so eat as much as you want," Sveta says. "Although knowing this Lion of Great and Varied Appetites, that shouldn't be that much of a worry."

The smile on Dio's face quickly returns as a bellowing laughter escapes from his belly, leaving him unable to speak or even breathe for several seconds. Desperately, he tries to recover and catch lost breath, a tear of amused joy brushed aside from his cheek. "Ahh... yer too much lass," he pants out, finally recovered from his laughing fit. "The dinner's certainly appreciated, but ya must know by now fancy business isn't needed around a dirty ol' lion like myself." The first course now in front of him, he wastes little time in placing his hands upon the bowl and bringing it to his lips, gulping down the soup at an impressive pace before setting it back down and nearly inhaling a piece of bread. "That was amazin' lass! I'm not sure I can go back to inn food anymore if this keeps up."

Sveta takes a little more time in finishing her soup, and although one might have expected her to at least scowl at the lion's antics considering her usual attitude towards things, she keeps a small smile on her beak. "I don't know, I haven't tried doing this for so long. It ought to be the same, really, but theory and practical are so different. And yes, I suppose I could've bought something from the inn to take back and serve to you, but it wouldn't be the same. There'd be no meaning behind it." Her soup half-finished, Sveta sighs a little and drums her fingers on the table. "But the inn's good, isn't it? No, not just the inn - how's the whole of Firmament been treating you so far? You've certainly had some adventures since you arrived, and that's just those which happened within sight of me."

Dio with soup now surrounding his face-fur, he looked towards his hand. It was always the tool he needed for such situations. Bringing it up to his chin, he gives his face a few wipes, which is then not so subtlety wiped upon his legs shortly after. "I gotcha lass. Though, I just didn't want ya to pretend to be anythin' just for my sake, wearin' a dress and cleanin' up just fer me. Though, it means a lot, really. And if I must say, ya look good in a dress! Though, I preferred the feathered cloak. Fits yer personality a bit better." After eating another piece of bread, he puts aside his bowl and smiles at the question. "Yer certainly an interestin' bunch, I'll give ya that much. I enjoy helpin' when I can. It's all I've been doin' the last few years."

Sveta finishes the rest of her soup, then nods and begins cleaning up. "I do look good? Well...thank you for the compliment. I just haven't done this for some time - I mean, cooking for more than one. I know I should, that proper food is something important, but it was so much easier to just have the school serve me all my meals in the year I spent cramped up in this building studying. There were so many things to learn, and going out seemed like a bother...and well, as I've told you before, everyone forgot me, so there was no one to cook for. It all boils down to alchemy, when you think about it. Cooking, that is. Well, excuse me, I have to go get the second course."

The second course consists of a salad in one large bowl, crisp lettuce, sliced tomatoes and shredded carrots all tossed together with ham cubes and a pinch of salt. Arriving with this is a small tin pot, from which Sveta fills a couple of mugs with plain tea - neither milk nor sugar - first for Dio, then for herself. There's a large pair of tongs from which anyone could serve themselves with as much as they wanted, if need be. As before, she serves Dio first, then herself, then leaves the tongs in the now two-thirds empty bowl before taking her seat. "The last few years, just spent helping people? Where was that? I remember you mentioning you were a mercenary - did you do a lot of fighting?"

"Ahh, studied yerself into reclusiveness I see..." Dio rubs his chin and leans over as he watches the next course arrive, eager to get a peak before it had arrived. "I 'aven't picked up a blade fer someone in a few years, except to clear a shadow 'r two when needed. After I was left fer dead by my group, I wandered around from place to place, stoppin' by various villages for a few weeks, helpin' out to get some food, then leavin' off for the next one." Dio picks up a piece of lettuce and holds it in his hands for a bit, then soon drops it into his mouth with a good crunch on its stem, eventually eating the rest with his hands by picking up fistfuls of the medley and stuffing it into his mouth. "Farmers were more than 'appy to spare ya a bit of food in exchange fer some manual labor. A good change of pace from bein' nothin' more than paid cannon fodder I'd say." He leans down to the tea mug and gives it a small sniff, and then, he drops his tongue in, reeling back slightly. After the initial taste however, he finds himself coming back and bringing it to his lips to give the liquid a good gulp.

"Left for dead? That's rather awful. And that was the mercenary group that brought you up and they just left you there? They must have had their reasons, but...well, I suppose I can't fault you for not wanting to seek them out - I'd be hurt too, if someone I trusted just dumped me like that." As for me...well, not everyone forgot me. There was the kind turtle lady who brought me my meals sometimes, and I have my folks back at home...but since they've been just fine by themselves, we get along without much correspondence." Sveta looks morose for a bit, then picks at her salad with fork and spoon in direct contrast to Dio's exuberance. "Would you like some more, or are you saving up room for the main course?"

"Yeah... Reasons..." Dio lets out a slight 'hmph' and crosses his arms. "Though, even I thought I was pretty much dead at the time. An' who knows? Maybe I've been just dreamin' this entire time. Perhaps I've just been wanderin' around for somethin' to wake me up from the dream." The lion looks towards the salad one more time and shakes his head a bit. "I'm quite fine, lass. I'm very excited for the main course! As fer you, I'm glad yer gettin' out and about again, especially when I arrived in town. It's been a pleasure gaining yer aquantice."

Sveta dips her head at Dio and begins cleaning up once more. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find someone to eat the leftovers. There's always someone who's just that little bit hungry in this place, if you search hard enough." The main course, when it arrives, smells wonderful, boiled potatoes arranged alongside long, thick-skinned lamb sausages, each one about as thick as Dio's thumb is. Simple peasant food, designed to stick to the ribs and keep one warm on a cold day - not that Firmament has many of those. There's a small pat of sour cream on the side for the potatoes, and the sausages are positively drenched in a thick and rich garlic butter sauce. A few sprigs of sage to the side complete this quaint arrangement, and still warm from the hot plate, steam wafts from the whole affair as Sveta uncovers it before the miniature black hole that is Dio.

"So, my good Lion of Deathly Dreams," she says as she uncovers her own plate. "I wonder if this meal is convincing you that this is not a dream? Or perhaps it's quite the opposite?" She shakes her head and laughs a little, although it sounds somewhat forced. "There are things one can't learn alone, I suppose. Like how to have a good conversation. Or how to cook for others. I suppose I'm glad I'm out, too - there have been truly terrible things that've happened so far, and yet...there is also the good. But this is Promise we live on, and was never said that the whole of it would be perfect. If you should ever want to find your old company, though, at least hear what they're doing, I could try and look things up. If you ever want to."

Dio nearly begins drooling as the plate is revealed in front of him. Meat! Filling potatoes! There was nothing more needed for a common and simple lion as he. Two at a time, he begins chomping down upon the lamb sausages, but then pauses. "This... Might be the best I've ever 'ad in all my life... Nearly three decades. Maybe this has been a dream all along," he chuckles, soon resuming his warpath by consuming everything upon his plate with what might be a record, if it had ever been recorded. "Thank ya so much lass... This is probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done fer me." By the time his meal was finished, his face-fur was once again filled with crumbs and a bit of meat, quite typical of the lion. "What a world we live on," he mumbles. "If fate decides it, I'm sure I'll run into them again. But perhaps, this was destiny to stroll into this town and leave my group. Maybe."

"Perhaps. But I'm of the mind that even if fate exists, then one must try to influence it. Or if it cannot be influenced, then at least different paths to that final fate may be walked, some easier than others. Otherwise, what are we here for? Why do we try?" Sveta eats a bit slower than Dio does, doing so in silence, but manages to finish her portion, too. "And as for the best thing that one's ever done, well, I can't quite claim that, can I? If you hadn't been picked up as a cub, you wouldn't be here today, eating such a wonderful meal. Although sometimes I wonder just who abandoned you, and why with that coat of yours." She sighs and begins cleaning up once more in preparation for dessert. "I've known some beings who wanted to be mercenaries, thought it was a great life and that if you just yelled at someone and waved your sword really hard the enemy would just run away. I've read enough historical accounts and memoirs to know that's not the case, but what do you as a real mercenary think?" she says as she prepares to set out the dessert.

"Indeed," Dio agrees, nodding his head. "Total dominance by fate defeats the purpose of givin' life in the first place." Crossing his legs, the lion patiently waits and leans back into his chair, looking quite excited for the final course of the night. "Mercenary business... Two decades of fightin' for coin, with nothin' more than scars to show fer it. Bein' paid cheap rates to be cannon fodder while the real soldiers charge in while we lick our wounds and drink back at camp 'n' mourn 're dead brothers, eating stale bread 'n' sleepin' in meager tents 'n' cots. Maybe other bands had it different 'n' perhaps better, but we were bottom of the barrel, even if no one wanted to say it."

Sveta nods grimly. "At least in the Good King's army, heads roll if too many of the rank and file get slaughtered, so I hear. But who are sellswords in the grand scheme of things? The glory goes to the generals, and not to us..." she sighs. "All right, I think that's enough out of me. Time for dessert."

Dessert is a simple affair, a small pie filled with cream that's been blended with berries. Hot on the outside, cold on the inside, the two separated by a fluffy, light crust. Accompanying this is a half-bottle of a sweet dessert wine brewed from pears, and Sveta carefully opens it and sets out a glass before Dio before filling it and setting the bottle firmly on Dio's end of the table. "I don't drink," she explains sheepishly, as she moves to cut the pie into slices, taking one for her own plate and leaving Dio to help himself to the rest. "The wine's all yours, my good Mercenary of Mysterious Pasts. I hope it hasn't gone flat, either. Fellow who sold it to me told it hadn't been opened for that long, but...well, I trust him. Mostly."

Dio nods his head. Perhaps it would be better for such topics to be explained much later in another setting. Especially when there's pie involved! His hands descend upon the pie as they pick up a slice and quickly slip it between his small and thin lips, soon never to be seen again after a few quick bites and a swallowing motion. "Wow!" The lion exclaims before taking a gulp from his wine glass. "Amazin'! I must admit, the surprises keep on comin', Bird of Wonderful Cooking. I may just 'ave to stay forever with cookin' like this," he chuckles, soon moving onto taking swigs from the bottle. "Thank you so much lass, fer the meal, the wine... Everythin'. It means a lot to me."

Sveta finishes her pie, too, carefully cutting away with knife and fork into bite-sized pieces before chewing and swallowing. Slowly, she stand up from her seat and attempts to curtsey a few times before giving up due to sheer awkwardness and bowing slightly in her usual fashion. "Thank you. As I said, I haven't done this in some time...it brings back memories. There is one thing, though." She disappears to the hot plate one last time and brings back a basin of warm water, two small and damp towels hanging over its edges. "I can't let you go out looking like this, with food all over your face." Before Dio can protest, she's already wrung one of them in the basin and begun to rub it all over the lion's face fur and mane, trying to get the worst of the sausage grease and cream out of him in a manner not unlike a particularly stern aunt dealing with a messy baby. This is repeated once more with the other towel, and finally, a little exhausted herself, the goshawk steps back to admire her handiwork. "There, now you look more presentable."

Dio couldn't hold back a chuckle when the bird attempted her best at a curtsy, the lion following suit by dipping his head and torso a bit while still in his chair. "Of course, my lady Sveta," he says in the best feigned fancy voice he could muster. Leaning back into his chair, he wonders what the goshawk was up to, the answer soon coming to him with an assault of a warm water upon his face. He purses his lips a bit and crosses his arms, looking much like an upset child who was forced to take a bath, standing there like a statue. When she finished, he shook his head side to side to remove an excess water and stood up, moving closer to the goshawk and soon surrounding her body with a tight embrace, certainly looking much cleaner than before. "Thank you, lass."

Sveta sighs and squirms a little, eventually managing to pull away. Seems like she still prefers that small circle of personal space about her, but fair's fair, considering she just managed to clean Dio up a little. "No, thank you. I do appreciate your coming." She casts an eye at the leftovers and dishes, then rolls her eyes and allows herself a small smile. "I keep my word, after all. Now, it has grown quite late. Do be careful on your way back to the inn - there have been unpleasantries afoot on the streets these days, I hear." She bows again. "Good night, Lion of...of..." she gives up. "Good night, Dio. Rest well."