30th of Searing, 4623
"How many days has it been since I last nabbed a purse or pilfered a home… feels like it has been too long… well, until the dust settles, it best to continue with this little guise I have going on now…."
For a moment, the amber-eyed chef couldn't help but ponder off, still paying attention to his surroundings and feeling rather bored with what he was doing. In his case, the thief worked at a relatively high-end restaurant catering to the upper class of Daravinic society.
How he managed to weasel his way into a high-end position was by chance. The thief was participating in a local cooking competition to pass the time as the heat generated from a failed scouting attempt in an upper district was still seething hot from his general perspective.
Nevertheless, the competition was more of a sport between the locals on who could make a well-made meal, with the theme varying weekly. In some sense, it was a common way to know the neighbours and people. One thing was for sure. Many people were surprised to see a new person enter the fray, as it was apparent that Jared would rarely venture out during the day, preferring to sleep when the wake of light was present.
Still, it was outside Jared's comfort zone, as talking to people in relatively large groups took a lot of work for the thief to maintain. His composure would be slightly draining as he needed to maintain an appropriate visage. While the details could be explored further, the general gist was that after a couple of bouts of cooking and maintaining a good record of creating delicious food, he could only enter the local competition if he was cooking for fun.
Whispers of his rustic but heart-warming meals would quickly seep through the crowds from the poor and hungry to the rich & affluent. Here, a potential scout was looking for some talent regarding what industry. The Draedan didn't know, but it was a chance encounter that this figure, who could not recall the facial details well due to his distraction of cooking a meal for the small mass, decided to make a note once he could experience a hearty meal.
It was on the next competition when someone of higher status decided to make their trek down from the middle or possibly upper district of Genteven that they wanted to try the Alistian chef's cooking. To say they were impressed was rather an understatement, but the thief didn't care if a man, woman or child enjoyed his cooking; making a comforting meal was Jared's way of relieving stress and taking it at his own pace was important to him.
After all, the Draedan of Saren saw himself as a thief first and cooking as a hobby rather than making ends meet. At this moment, the rogue Draedan’s thoughts were cut short as a voice echoed forward, slightly harshed but concerned as if nothing was happening.
“Hey Miles, get your head out your arse for a moment and pay attention to what is going on… You don’t want to get in trouble with other chefs, do you?”
Jared couldn’t help but seem a bit annoyed in the first place; he only took the chance to work in a kitchen due to his unfortunate situation, but he needed to maintain his cover, and the best way to do so was to play along with the role that he was currently in; essentially being a cook for a middle-rated restaurant.
“Fine… I already did all the prep work; all I needed was to make up the dish… It isn’t that hard, you know….”
Rolling his eyes momentarily, the amber-eyed chef took a moment to feel the knife’s edge, grimacing slightly at how dull the blade was… Briefly taking a moment to look around his workstation, knowing that once the coast was clear, a brief coating of purplish divinity over the blade, morphing its shape to akin his desires, allowing the knife to form an extremely sharp edge.
Briefly twirling the knife in his hand would be considered dangerous to play with, and bladed tools for the risk of injury. However, disregarding that notion, the Alistian chef would stop the twirling as the blade handle nestled into his hand. From there, some of the vegetables that had been washed and sectioned off were needed based on their order of when to place the raw materials into the crock pot. In Jared’s case, he planned to make a rustic stew that would pair well with some maslin bread or seasoned hardtack. Something that could be filling and leave a customer satisfied with the meal.
Most of the vegetables provided were simple enough, brushed potatoes, misshapen carrots, onion bulbs and other rooty goods. Since the base of the recipe was a stew, it is safe to say that cutting the potatoes and carrots into a mirepoix while the onions could be diced or thinly sliced was also acceptable. With a plan in motion, it was time to start his knife work, with his skills as a seasonal chef; it would not take the master-skilled chef to make all of his preparations in no time at all, in fact; while the thief was focusing on his knife work, the speed and precision that was taking place at Jared’s workstation was noted by the nearby staff.
Blitzing through his work, it wouldn’t take the thief too much time until all of the foodstuffs had been prepared and set to the side, from that point; the enchanted knife would quickly fade; transmuting back into its original dull state, and none would be the wiser as to what just happened in a moment. For the most part, it would seem to be a blur of speed as the sounds of a knife chopping onto a wooden board would echo. The sounds of a sharp, iron blade battering down on a wooden board were the only thing that could be heard, and being so focused on his work.
Whether or not the amber-eyed chef was causing a fuss around him didn't matter. All he knew was that the guise of laying low until everything had settled was all that mattered. Despite all of this, the constant chattering among his co-workers was a continuous sting of annoyance compared to working with scoundrels and other petty thieves. The usage of flowery language and pleasant words hid some motives. To what end, the Draedan didn't know, and keeping his guard up at all times was the best he could do to prevent himself from being discovered.
Letting out a sigh, the mundane-looking chef took a moment to look at his handiwork. Happy to note that all of his preparations have been completed for the day and that he can start preparing the rest of his meals, from briefly searing animal flesh to garnishing the plates ready to be sent off to their final destination. Still, in his mind, Jared couldn't help but ponder where he might go next. For too long, has Genteven been his home, his hub and place of comfort and while it wasn't too far from where he was raised back in Alistian, the sense of dread loomed closely like the shadowy companion that stalks through the night, skirting out of one's vision but their presence lingering between truth and fiction?
As the seconds pass, the working seemingly becomes plain and simple. It dons on Jared as to why he didn't take a regular profession, while his cooking skills were on par with someone with vast amounts of knowledge in his field of expertise. The life of a chef wasn't as thrilling to him. There was almost no challenge as brewing up something delicious to eat was merely a hobby, not something that the thief couldn't recognise as an aspect that was important to growing one's self. As much as the thief feared going down the path of thievery would cause him to change into something worse, the route remains unclear; fate's design is constantly ebbing and flowing, providing solace in the thief's mind.
By the time Tenebrax's cloak washes over the sky, the thief's shift was now over, but the repeating cycle of returning to his workplace. Something within, his divine spark flowing through his veins, started to flare momentarily as his pondering started to lead him to a path that felt right to him while unsure.
"I wonder why you awakened me, Father… It is so I can herald a change that will bring a new world or era or possibly the destruction of something that even you couldn't see. Nevertheless, I never saw myself as a saint or a villain, but too many will come to view that point… all I know is that I will be moving something, and I am waiting for when that time will come…."
