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WHO: Cosima Niehaus - and you?
WHAT: Catch-all log for August
WHEN: Handwavey depending on when your character will be around Skyhold
WHERE: ...Skyhold
NOTES: While Cosima is going to be ill in one of the starters, it is fair to assume she'll be back on her feet within a week or two, so feel free to assume she looks fine if you run into her outside the healer's tent. (Alternately, if you'd like her looking a little peaky as a hook, that works too!) If you want something other than the hooks below, or want to chat first, DM me or grab me on plurk.

I. Healer's Tents

Cosima has been instructed to rest, and at first, the instruction is unnecessary; she's too weak to do much else. But spirit healing seems to have done the trick, at least temporarily, and as her strength starts to come back, it brings her curiosity with it. Thus, whenever no one is there to order her back to her cot, she wanders - mostly respectfully keeping her distance, but occasionally asking a question if she thinks she can get away with it. Some of the healing is related to medicine as she understands it. Some of it she has no frame of reference for at all. But concerns like "not wearing herself out" are secondary to learning more about what's going on as they patch people back together. She's not as well as she'd like to think, but she's well enough to get restless.

II. Kitchens

It is well known that convalescence requires baked goods. Cosima is still hesitant about overstepping, since she technically hasn't joined the Inquisition; she's a refugee, and she's well aware of how long she wouldn't last if someone decided to kick her out. So she is very scrupulous about asking first before she takes anything and about trying not to be unreasonable in how frequently she asks.

It's not her fault that those little buns with the jam that tastes like peach in the center are so addictive.

III. Various Around Skyhold - Roommate Search

Once she's determined that she's eligible for a barracks room, Cosima has decided to get one. What she hasn't entirely resigned herself to facing is a randomly assigned roommate. She's too old for that nonsense. On the other hand, she doesn't exactly have a huge roster of acquaintances to ask. So she's compromising by asking around. If someone else is looking for a roommate, at least they can have a beer together and make sure they don't hate each other before committing to cohabitation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Avery is currently the smallest person in the kitchens by almost a foot and maybe a hundred pounds, and yet somehow she is still less approachable-looking than the three massive, horned chefs working with her right now. It's kind of a gift when you think about it.

Still, it could be worse. They're at least all focused on the work rather than arguing today. One of the Tal-Vashoth even seems to be humming some sort of jaunty tune as he chops up vegetables.

Unfortunately perhaps, depending on your point-of-view, it's not him but Avery who notices Cosima first and narrows her eyes suspiciously. "You need something?"

"Oh, um." Avery's open suspicion is enough to make Cosima consider just retreating, briefly, but she decides that would actually be worse. Instead, she said, "I was wondering if there were any more of those jam-filled buns that weren't spoken for? I'm happy to like, do some dishes or something, if you need."

She feels weird about not really being able to pay for anything. She figures it's a kitchen; there are always pots that need scrubbing, and she really has had a lot of pastries in the weeks of her recovery.

"This for something, or are you just looking to get yourself a little extra?" Avery asks, her expression less suspicious now but still far from friendly.

She exchanges a quick word with one of the other cooks and then steps away from her work toward Cosima, sizing her up as she approaches.

"Um, no, just for... I've been kind of extra hungry since I've gotten out of the healing tents, but it's not like the healers ordered me to up my pastry intake. They're just really good." She looks sheepish. "I'd be happy to buy some with like, actual money, if I hadn't fallen through a hole in the sky a couple months ago, but."

So it goes.

You know that thing where someone just lets you talk until you run out of steam and gives no reaction other than looking at you like some sort of confusing machine they don't really understand or care for? Yeah, that's what's happening right now.

After an uncomfortable length of that though, Avery eventually gives a quiet grunt and asks, a little out of the blue maybe, "You allergic to anything?"

Cosima rubs the back of her neck. "Not that I know of, no." She's not willing to vouch for an entire world's worth of ingredients she's unfamiliar with but... so far so good.

"Good. I've another idea than paying or doing dishes to get yourself a snack."

Heading back across the kitchen for a moment, Avery retrieves a small plate from one of the counters and returns holding it out in Cosima's direction. "Try this," she says, nodding to the dish of... what appear to be small squares of bread in some sort of syrupy substance?

Cosima takes one, after only the briefest pause. "Alright, I'm game." She takes a bite, momentarily careless of the inevitable sticky fingers she'll be left with.

For a mystery dish in a world of unfamiliar ingredients, it actually tastes a lot like French toast! Except that instead of maple, the syrup has more of a honey and cinnamon taste to it. It's pretty damn good though, if that sort of thing is your jam.

For her part, Avery is just watching Cosima's reaction very intently. "Well?" she asks after a moment.

Her expression probably speaks for itself, as her eyes light up after the first bite. She does manage to swallow. "Dude, this is excellent. Is it regular honey, or did you do something to make it even more delicious?" Because baking is not unlike science. If you squint. And the admiration is totally genuine.

Avery nods but doesn't look completely satisfied with the answer. "It's mixed with a simple syrup, but I'm not sure I got the balance just right. I've never really made much Antivan food before."

She sighs and stares down the dessert before continuing, "I've new duties though that'll involve it, and Nevarran too, so I'm having to learn."

"Hm." Cosima takes another bite. For science. "I can't help with whether it's Antivan-approved or not, but it's sort of like a dish we have at home. We usually use maple syrup though - it comes from a type of tree," she adds, because "maple" may not mean anything here. "This is good, though, the little bit of spice is a nice touch."

"Is there a lot of that? Food here that's close to yours?"

She's never asked any of the Rifters that. Never had much conversation at all with them, really. But now she's curious.

"Some," she says, after she's swallowed. "I mean, bread is bread and there are only so many ways to do things with beef, but occasionally I find stuff like this that's more complicated. I really do need to start selling you guys on the values of frying potatoes in oil, though." She offers a smile, suggesting it's at least partially a joke.

Mostly Avery just looks a little confused. Sheeeee's maybe not the best at humor? Or social skills in general?? But she knows how strange it can be to be far away from home, and how a familiar taste and smell can bring you right back there for a moment.

"If you have ideas, or better yet actual recipes, for something from home, you can bring it here. We might be able to give it a try."

Cosima smiles, warm and frank. "Hey, that's really cool of you. Thanks."

She glances around for something other than her clothes to wipe her hand on, then gives up on the idea of a handshake considering the amount of honey on her fingers. Still: "I'm Cosima, by the way. Sorry I didn't say that, that was probably pretty rude. But if you need anything else tested, I'm definitely happy to help."

If there is any rudeness involved, she apparently shrugs it off easily enough as she answers, "Avery," and gives the plate one more scowl for good measure.

"I can't make any promises, but I'm guessing it will take a while before I've got these all down."

"I won't object to you taking as long as you need. Are you the one who makes those little peach buns, too? Because I meant it, those are awesome."

She considers, then says, "Do you guys have any kind of fried sweet dough desserts? Is that a thing here?"

Thedas doughnuts don't seem like they'd be such a stretch.

Avery glances over at her over-sized coworkers again for a long moment before answering, "Maybe. They probably know more about that than I do. Chefs for some fancy foreign lords before this apparently. I baked bread in some hole in Denerim." Including buns.

She forgets for a moment that Cosima probably knows nothing, or next to it, about Denerim.

"Okay, I don't really have context for Denerim," she says, almost apologetic, "but where I come from, fried dough is sort of the opposite of fancy."

Most of the time. She'll skip the cronut phenomenon.

"It's like... the common people's answer to pastry."

"Huh..."

She stares for a moment, then shrugs. Cultural differences, man. "I know of some things like it, but they're not near so common here." Frying, sure, but deep frying?

"We'll work on it whenever. I'm around - I think I'm moving into the barracks, eventually, if I can find someone to split a room with me, but regardless, I've always got to eat."

She can make herself very available for experiments in fried food.

"Sure," Avery answers, despite still sounding a little skeptical about all of this. So the change of subject is sort of appreciated.

"As for the barracks, you should find plenty enough people looking for the same. It's been well full around here, and now they've finished building, people look to be flooding in there."

"Yeah, just have to make sure they don't think Rifters are demons and don't snore too loud, and I'll be all set."

It's a light joke, but she still doesn't know that many people. It's a little daunting.

She lets out a quiet huff of a laugh. "High standards you have there."

Personally, her jury's still out on the whole Rifter-demon debate. Avery honestly doesn't know much about either, and it's easier just to focus on other things instead of fretting. Leave that kind of thing to the mages and such to figure out. It's why they're here, right?

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