The Yeastest Adventure: Miki and Canned Bread!

[Miki]

Frost 63, 4622¤

It was night time in the Badlands, Miki was out and about headed towards Amoren to meet with Hector to talk business. With her tent propped up, tarp covering it from any evil Madness storms, and campsite otherwise assembled she decided to eat something other than dry rations for the night and had went hunting and foraging. The fire was low, just hot embers, with a single can sitting on the top. Inside the metal can bubbled a gelatinous goop made from scorpion, rabbit, collected water, and random herbs Izul had taught Miki to forage in the Badlands that were "delicious". Assuming this meant it could make any dish taste good she had chopped them up with her pocket knife and threw them in the brew last minute. Watching it cook with anticipation the fire was so low it took ages to get hot. Poking the mixture with her thumb every so many minutes to test the heat, it was getting warmer slowly. Adding some dry wood to the fire to speed things along she watched with rapt attention, that was until slowly her eyes got heavy and she fell asleep. When she woke up the can was boiling over black goo which smelled worse than any dog shit she had ever encountered. It made her gag and she kicked the can from the fire, sending its contents flying, while swearing in Kornaan.
"#@$%!!!!"
To those who could understand, it was an old time Kornaan curse implying your mother slept with, essentially, inbred hamsters and your father smelled like rotting carcass. She raised her arquebus to do away with the affronting "food" but stopped short of shooting the can. This was ridiculous. Instead, she kicked the can far away from the campsite and went into her tent to grab another.

[Gloomcrest]

63rd of Frost, 4622

Taking a moment to readjust his charcoal black face cloth that covers the lower half of his space. Jared was currently passing through the Imperial Badlands for a couple of days to cool down from the recent strings of pilfering he had conducted back at Genteven. From what he could recall from many whispers passed from person to person that the Imperial Badlands was often a place of danger for most yet refuge for those the less compliant of citizens for the Empire of Rust.

The citrine-eyed thief could tell that the environment would be extremely challenging for someone like himself who was predominantly a city-folk as just by the look of the landscape being arid, barren wasteland and what little watering holes he could find during the day & night were often contaminated and conventional methods that Jared was used to would provide little to no results with wasted effort to boot.

But that didn’t stop Jared from creatively thinking of what things are possible into making his temporary journey to the Badlands fruitless, rather this was an opportunity to grow his skills in survival as well. Cloaked not in black but blackness through the use of his tattered, pitch cloak that is infused with Umbralplasm via the use of Obscura. So far, encounters with inhabitants of this strange yet hostile land have been quiet but that is something the apprentice-skilled thief could not hide behind as each passing day could yield a new encounter.

Nevertheless, as the silent traveler continues on his journey through the wasteland, a brief glimmer of oranges & reds paints the soil in warm hues as if someone was camping out in the open with some fire & focusing his gaze, a vague triangular-prism shaped could be make out in the distance as if it was a tent or sort.

“Who would be camping out in the open like this, and in this forsaken hour as well… Might as well check, but precaution is needed… You are still in foreign territory and whoever it may be, might not be as nice.”

Taking a moment to deepen his breath, the amber-eyed thief would make his way slowly towards the makeshift camp, appearing as a wispy blue figure that distorts his general figure as if he was similar to a mirage from a distance, slowly closing distance with each passing second.

[Miki]

¤

Rummaging through her things she was able to find three more empty cans in her stuff, rations that had been depleted but she never bothered to throw away the cans. Like a hoarding dragon she assembled them in a neat line beside the again dying fire. Izul was a prolific cook and while she had shown Miki things, Miki had never bothered before to pay close attention. What Miki knew was that fire temperature was important but she had no idea about how create flavors in a dish. To that end, she began scavenging again for scorpions and found a trio under a rock. Hitting them with the butt of her gun they were minced meat, using her knife she cut off the poison stinger and discarded them. To her utterly base knowledge, she stuck each on a stick and began turning one on the fire slowly to heat it.

That was in when in the distance she saw a mirage. Blinking, the form of a man cloaked in blue darkness neared closer and closer. Confused, she drank some of her water ration worrying she was beginning to dehydrate, but they got closer and closer still until Miki was sure this was a person. Sighing, she sat the scorpion on a stick down and grabbed her gun, facing it towards the potential enemy. When they drew near enough to hear she would tell them in a serious voice,
"Move on, cowpoke. I ain't interested in solicitors and have no rations to share."
Added as an after thought she said mostly to herself, the tone completely fed up,
"Yet, I can't even cook for my damn self let alone a stranger. I've got scorpion on a stick and dog shit hot and ready, if you're desperate."
She wasn't being fully aggressive but would hold a serious, guarded stance, loading her arquebus with them in sight and leveling it towards their head.
"If you ain't got nothin' nice to say, move along."

[Gloomcrest]

63rd of Frost, 4622

As Jared closes the distance towards the camp, his vision becomes clearer by the second; From what he could see, there seems to be a reddish, gold skin woman with a short tail that had a tuft of black hair or fur? Two large horns with notably golden rings that pairs nicely with the navy blue hair and golden eyes that seem to glimmer in the emberlight that cascades over a small area of the land that she currently occupies.

Taking a moment to tilt his head over to the side as he was attempting to get a better view or angle on his position, it was only then that his citrine-hued gaze notices a glint in the dark as the female figure pulls out a contraption that he had never seen before in his life. A long stick was hollowed out in the center with various metal pieces that joined this weird piece of equipment together while a large, smooth block rested against her shoulder.

Raising his hands up in the air based on this weird item alone plus the defensive nature this lass was putting on was enough to make the thief quell any potential hostile intent as it was better to keep things civil if possible. After all, Jared wasn’t a killer at heart and preferred to avoid confrontation if possible.

“Cowpoke? Solicitors? What are you talking about?”

Jared seemed really confused as he took a moment to congeal his Obscura back into a Compass, the black, viscous fluid briefly undulating to the palm of his left hand before forming back into a small but dense sphere of the void.

“If you need some help in cooking, I can help on that; Just a mere traveler passing through with no intent to linger longer than needed and if you need at least a nice meal, I can at least make something with what I got.”

Tossing one of the many satchels that the amber-eyed thief carried onto the ground. The thief makes no attempts to be aggressive by any means, moreover based on the confusion the vagabond was putting would immediately indicate that he was not a native of the Imperial Badlands as well.

[Miki]

¤

Closer and closer still the mirage came until it was a full bodied person. Miki wasn't frightened in the least, more annoyed and tired. Her failures at cooking had left her with scorpion again to eat, not her favorite meal, flavorless, and too crunchy. The innocence of the man's first questions rang true, he seemed to come from Greater Daravin. She could tell by the way he was dressed and the lack of understanding of the native slang. Dropping her gun, she kept it close, not trusting any stranger fully, but it no longer was poised to shoot the man outright. He did some mage trick and Miki recoiled, but didn't comment. Magic was of no interest to her and she knew little of it on this world, best to let the priorities of mages stay secret.

He then offered to help cook, if Miki could she would show a blush, but having red skin hid that from her new companion. She wanted to comment and ask if she looked helpless, but that was stupid insecurity. Not to mention she had made a show of complaining. Dropping the sack to the ground she tried to peek at its contents but could not.
"Y'ain't gonna poison me are ya?"
She looked unsure and clearly did not want the company, but would not fuss as the man did his work. In fact, she would watch his movements with rapt attention, tail swishing from side to side in a trance.
"Ya got anything in there to make some bread? Fuck, it's been so long since I've had baked bread."

[Gloomcrest]

60th of Frost, 4622

Taking a moment to watch this red-skinned lady as her body language shifts from an aggressive & defensive stance to a more relaxed albeit still cautious tone. The amber-eyed thief’s tension drops by a bit as the woman in question lowers her gun; Based on her reactions alone as the nightfallen magus manipulates his umbralplasm to remove the anonymous status, it would seem that her understanding of magic was limited but that was understandable.

Not everyone knew what Magic was to an extend, hell even this gutter rat didn’t know what his magic was called until only recently and it was still something that the amber-eyed vagabond still needed to understand from theory of the magic to the innate sensations of ether flowing through his body to create this oddly, mysterious & alluring black liquid that he so often uses to his advantage.

“Trust me, if I were to try to poison people with my cooking; I would off myself on the spot… Food is to be eaten & enjoyed. Yes, it can be used as vehicle murder but killing doesn’t bode too well and will quickly build you infamy & that is something I would rather avoid entirely but I am happy for you to watch if you are still paranoid about me potentially poisoning our meal.”

Squatting down for a moment, the Alistian rogue took a moment to go through his rather large rucksack that held a sleeping bag, various wooden vials that hang around the various tags & tassels on his bag and begins to delve through the contents; pulling a variety of equipments, raw materials & other assortment of trinkets and baubles that would make one’s head spin.

Turning his honey-hued gaze over to Miki who asked for the capacity to make some bread; The thief couldn’t help but smile underneath his char-black cloth mask.

“I do, it just depends on what style of bread you are asking for? I can make the standard kind that you see serfs & commoners eat known as Maslin Bread, tends to be a little bit more dense, earthy & grainy in terms of taste & texture or are you looking some akin to more upper class such as white bread or are you looking something more customary? Also, would you like the bread to last for long periods of time, cuz I can make some hard-tack or hand you some for your journey, to be honest; I over prepare food when traveling.”

The thief couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as for a moment as he goes on a tangent about the complexity about simply cooking bread which indicated that this mysterious black-hair fellow was well-versed in cooking despite his roguish appearance. His chuckling was an attempt at trying make the atmosphere lighter and in turn helping him combat his own negative thoughts that tend to manifest randomly throughout the day & night.

[Miki]

¤

'Offing one's self due to cooking?'
She looked to the masked man flabbergasted, finding him odd but she felt something else. Awe. If there was one thing Miki valued above all else it was loyalty and honor, whatever the cause. Thinking someone could be so dedicated to cooking, a craft which she had never taken an interest in, she was moved.
"I see."
Was her only response to that and watched with curiosity what he did next. His bag was stuffed to the brim with items, had he not impressed her previously she would be thinking of theft or worse. Yet instead she found herself entranced by the items and wanting to touch, but held back completely. Her stance was now completely at ease, if not a little impatient, as she waited for him to finish pulling things from his bag.
"What? Hard tack? Boy, had I wanted hard tack I would be eatin' rations. You have talents? Show me something delicious, it's been a long time since I have met a capable man."

With her command made, she sat back and waited for him to work. She felt greedy in a way and wanted a show, hoping the man was true to his word. Should his cooking prove disgusting and he was a liar she would flog him first, mage or not, and send him on his way. Miki could be a hard woman to please and even harder to impress-- though this man had made quite the first impression. Would he be able to back up his words? He would notice her tail excitedly moving from side to side with his every movement and she would gasp as he did certain things in his work, truly entranced, her guard was completely down.

[Gloomcrest]

60th of Frost, 4622

Seeing the strange, red-skinned lady a bit flabbergasted by his statement does make the thief ponder for a second as if he was questioning if what he said ticked her off but as the seconds pass, the shift in horned woman’s body language indicates something else that Jared could not put his finger off due to the lack of experience when it came to interacting with people due to his secluded nature as a person & distant profession as a thief which he still needed to further his skills in order to be able to pull off larger heist.

Grabbing one of the larger waterskins that was attached to the side of his rucksack, the extremely skilled cook gets to work by quickly setting up a suitable workstation close to the campfire that was already made. Noticing the same level of curiosity that Jared had initially had when he was but a sprout when it came to his art of cooking, the amber-eyed thief speaks up for a moment.

“If you are interested in going through my stuff, go for it. Majority of it is mainly cooking supplies, some trinkets & baubles and other gear to make traveling a bit easier; Just be careful with some of the wooden vials since they contain some spices.”

While the thief should be cautious about just meeting up with a stranger who just pulled their strange contraption at him. In the moment, the thief felt that there was no hostility between them and as long as that was maintained, the thief didn’t need to be on-guard; and in strange sense, this was more peaceful than living in the City of Monuments where his reputation as a thief was slowly reaching to a boiling point with his recent semi-successful string of heist.

Nevertheless, pouring enough water to feed the two with an extra serving’s worth of water into a large pot; The Alistian chef starts his work on making a simple soup; crouching down to his bag to pick additional wooden containers with an assortment of dried goods. A strange, yet lightly fragrant spinach green powder was added into the pot of water as the scent of boiled greens, onions & woody scents linger up in the air for a moment.

Rummaging through a small pouch that was kept inside of his rucksack, a few familiar items would be noted; Mainly some carrots, a large potato & some bits of smoked beef chunks, which the thief twirls a knife in his hands for a moment before dicing the root vegetables & beef chunks before being added into the pot and setting up a tripod made of umbralplasm with a holed plate a few inches away so that the soup pot could sit & cook through the use of convection.

The thief had to resort to using his Raw Magic for something so trivial yet in his mind, magic was essentially an extension of one’s self & desires and at this very moment in time; Jared wanted to have a good meal from the cold nights of Frost.

“Alright, The soup should be ready soon since it just needs some time to simmer over the flame; Can’t make anything too glamorous out here but it is better than nothing. Give me a second I will get the bread started but it will be an hour or so if you want to be fluffy.”

Getting ready to make the bread that was being requested, the Alistian chef begins to work his magic as he goes back to his bag once more to pull out a small sack of whitish-beige powder which was labeled ‘Maslin Flour’ & a wooden containers that was labeled “Yeast Dough” & ‘Salt’with some cord and small wooden tags. Adding the maslin flour, a few pinches of salt and blending them together before enough water to making the bread dough before following it up with a couple of tablespoons worth of the yeast culture before starting the kneading process to develop the elasticity of the bread, stopping once the dough was completed and setting it off to the side in a large wooden container for it rest.

“Not going to lie, cooking does take a lot of patience if you are fine with waiting but it will be worth it in the end.”

[Miki]

¤

He had given her the go ahead to peek into his world, this chef who happened by at the right time. Superstitious of the timing, she wouldn't miss this chance to rifle through a strangers things. Pulling out item after item eventually all of his things were laid on the ground. Unfortunately he had given her a challenge, something to beware, the wooden vials were then laid out in front of her in a row and she mulled over sticking her finger in one to taste, but instead opened the first vial and stuck her nose to it to sniff. Whatever it was, it assaulted her and made her sneeze, several times, as she hissed in an alien language curses and rubbed her face to get it off. Her eyes were watering and she glared at him for a moment, as if he told her to do it. Putting the lid back on the vial, teary eyed, she began putting the inspected items back. It was with care and curtesy she reassembled his bag, respecting him and his craft.

Not missing a beat she peered into the soup, listening to his words like a student and master. It smelled delicious already. She did recognize some of the ingredients but had never smelled anything like this before. Lost in the moment she was being very un-Miki. Tail beating against the ground in anticipation she wouldn't realise until much later her gruff demeanor had been lost, all shreds of "scary Badland bitch" was washed away. In its place was something she hadn't felt in a long time and something which was very Moroi, a sense of yearing and adventure. To put it simply, this wandering thief had found the quickest way to Miki's heart, honesty and a good meal. It wasn't often she would seat herself beneath someone but as she watched him twirl his knife and cut the vegetables earlier she knew this man to be different than others.

"All we have is time, yet I wonder why bread takes so long? I see here it's just dough, ain't it go in the fire now?"

She hadn't asked the man to make soup and after going through his things could tell he had plenty to spare, yet she still was moved by the stranger's generosity. Resources were scarce in the Badlands, sharing was uncommon, and kindness downright rare.
"Y'ain't from around these parts are ya? I'm different than most scum you'll find 'round the Badlands, so I feel like I ought to tell ya-- maybe don't show your bag to everyone. Spices, even that infernal one, are hard to come by. You'd be quicker robbed and hung than invited for dinner by most."

[Gloomcrest]

60th of Frost, 4622

Briefly moving his gaze over to Miki as the Alistian chef was done with all of his preparations, he noted that the tough exterior that was being presented changed to something more about curiosity which was a pleasant sight to behold in Jared’s personal opinion for he himself had to put on a tough exterior due to the cutthroat nature that living in Atharen & specially Daravin had put him through. Briefly chuckling under his tattered black face cloth as Miki sneezes at some of the vials.

“Careful, some of those are meant to make meals a little bit fiery but it is not for everyone! For bread, it takes time due to a load of reason; Mainly because the dough needs to rest for a bit unless you want tough bread & yeast needs time to work its magic on making the bread fluffy.”

To be more of himself in the presence of a stranger was more liberating than he could ever imagine, so much so that for a moment Jared was about to reach up to his black face cloth that drapes over his mouth to cover the scarred flesh but hesitates before moving his hands over to the side of the wooden container; briefly showing signs of insecurities.

“Haha~ We do have a bit of time before we can fully stuff our stomach fills to the brim. To be honest, I cook because it is one of the few things I know I can do well…”

For a moment, the thief froze as his amber-hue eyes quiver for a moment, his muscles tensing up as he was recalling some painful memories before clearing his throat and beginning to speak once more.

“Cooking was an outlet for me… Being a child of the streets; one thing that stays true well for me is… is the fear of starving, being powerless in a dog eat dog world… Probably will die for it but at the very least I am staying true to who I am...”

Quietly listening to the soup pot bubbling loudly as the scent of the vegetable soup lingers up in the air. The amber-eyed thief took a moment to look up in the air, letting his vision soak in the brilliant, glittering lights that cover the black-veiled sky.

“I only ever heard of stories of the Imperial Badlands, not too sure how much of it is true or covered in lies or heck even in-between but so far; I am still a bit concerned since traveling alone is not the easiest thing. You are vulnerable and stick out like a sore-thumb… I find that traveling at night is easier since it is harder for most people to see in moonlight alone but it can come off as insidious if one is not careful.”

Listening carefully to Miki’s words, taking it to heart about needing to keep his wares hidden wherever possible. Jared nods before speaking up.

“I will keep that in mind; While I am not traveling for long, I can see that just spending a day here. That the Badlands is rough, hell seems like you have it more rough than myself who is just a child of the streets but I just wanted to say thanks for not killing me outright.”

The pitch-black haired vagabond couldn’t help but chuckle despite the possibly tense situation he was in but nevertheless, it was nice to have some companionship even if it is potentially fleeting like a distant dream. As time passes, the thief would occasionally check on the soup & bread dough; ensuring that the soup wasn't being overcooked and had time to tenderize the root vegetables & beef chunks & ensuring that the bread dough was rising to which he would knead out the excess air one last time before allowing to rest for a couple of minutes as he looks around for something to fit the dough so that it could bake.

"Sorry to ask, but do you have something that I bake the bread dough in? Kind of hard to make bread without a metal container & I am using my pot to make the soup."