Reaching towards adulthood?

[issala]

WHO: Kas & You!
WHAT: Catch-all for the month
WHEN: All through Justinian
WHERE: Skyhold (mostly)
NOTES: Feel free to hit me up on draiol for any specific starters!

I. Healer Tents

Since the trip to the Fade, the strange headache had returned. Now it was always there, nagging him, but at times it grew to something less tolerable and more 'knife in his brain'. Kas tried to ignore it, but eventually he had to drag himself to a healer again to get a potion or something until it calmed down.

Opening the healing tent flap after a little knock to a pole, he makes a grumbling sound as a greeting, not sure if it was a healer or another patient in the room.

II. Archery Range

The archery training was going well for the teen, and he found himself always feeling better after he had gone through his training for the day. It cleared his head better than any other things he had attempted, and came with the added bonus of actually improving something. With the hip quiver making pulling out an arrow much easier and less entangled, he was also increasing his speed.

After nailing another shot at the dummy, Kas takes a quick break to grab his water skin and wipe some sweat from his forehead. Concentrating was heavy work.

III. Herald's Rest

Better days meant better ways to entertain himself, and Kas often found himself at the Tavern playing games with other patrons. Wicked Grace, Diamondback, Checkers. Other times, he just liked listening to people talk (and maybe shyly look at girls). He didn't drink, though, which annoyed the staff a bit.

(Good thing the cook thought he was cute.)

Writing letters to his old kith had been sparse lately, the more he realized how bad it had really been there compared to the families he heard about from people like Gorse and Korrin. Still, he felt obligated to let them know he was alive now and then, and could be found scribbling on paper in the tavern when not losing his money to cards.

...it usually ended with him doodling instead.

IV. Wildcard!

Comments

[issala]

Oh, food? It's a kitchen surprise? Kas gives a blindingly bright smile at that and stops petting the fox. "Oh, yeah! I definitely have time for that!" Then he pauses, a little amused to hear that she had gotten rid of the horrible one.

"I hardly remember what we've talked about either, but anything involving kitchens are high on my list of great things, so lets go!" He even grabs her hand and sets off towards the kitchen. Someone's excited.

[foxsays]

Universal constants: the stomachs of teenage boys. But after what she learned from him in Emprise du Lion, she had certainly wanted to do something nice for him and organising a real Antivan cuisine night (or whatever title she and Zevran will settle on) is taking longer than planned. Probably to be expected.

Laughing, she can hardly believe how far they've come but she sets off with him and into the kitchens, the smell of spices still thick in the air as she moves to dishes still on the heat, just enough to keep them hot. "I had to guess with some of these since I wasn't sure exactly what would work, and Skyhold being, well, Skyhold though our new chefs were very happy to help."

Happier since she has a dragon's tooth necklace now and she's proved that she does know what she's talking about but she unveils what does look sort of like tandoori chicken. Cobbled together from guesswork. "I'm more of a fish person but surprise!"

[issala]

Universal constant, indeed. Still, this was far beyond that.

"Oh shit."

Yes, that's his first reaction. He's just flabbergasted, really. Blue eyes wide, he's almost overwhelmed by the scent of actual goddamn spice in the kitchen. Spicy, hot, savory, fresh... it brought back strange feelings of joy in his chest, but no real memories to attach them to.

Still. Food..

"It looks... wow. Is that peppers?" If he was a lesser man, Kas would be drooling. "...and chicken, and... wow." Kas looks over at her and grins. "This is awesome!"

[foxsays]

Some old habits die hard, and Araceli misses cooking. Sure she might not have anywhere near the same amount of time she has for it these days, and the Inquisition isn't home, getting to feed people she cares about is always going to put a smile on her face.

"Well when the Nightingale sent some of us to Antiva, Korrin asked me to refill our stash of spices and seasonings since we like our food to, well, taste. And the Inquisition picked up three Tal-Vashoth chefs at the same time too, soon all the meals will improve and so will morale." An army marches on its stomach, she read that in one of the many books Leliana assigned to her even if none of them were in today to help her out. "I thought you deserved something nice, working as hard as you do, and a growing young man that you are."

[issala]

"Three of them?" Kas just looks so ridiculously happy right now, sticking his head over pots to smell them. It all just looked so delicious and he is just barely managing to hold himself back from just digging in without at least some permission.

A few months ago, he wouldn't have cared about politeness at all. On the streets, food was a rarity... and he had stolen loads of it from the kitchen the first weeks when he has part of the Inquisition. Hoarded it, just in case he would be kicked out.

Now he could eat when he wanted, but this? This was heavenly. Like Andraste's fucking bosom, right here.

Grinning at Araceli when she speaks, there's a little bit of a flush to Kas' face when she says he works hard and all that. He was working hard, wasn't he? So changed from who he used to be.

"Can I...?" Please. Give him a plate before he explodes.

[foxsays]

"Burly, Raas, and Kalla. Raas is the one without horns, Kalla is the only woman, and Burly, is well, burly. We told them such a tale of woe, of a kitchen that dreamed of such things as spices and I had to tell them of course about my poor kadan's heart breaking each day when she must endure such bland southern nonsense." Ever the dramatic when it comes to such matters of grave importance, she clutches a hand to her heart when she speaks, pretending to faint.

She likes to think she played her part in getting them to come back to join after all, lady of taste and culture that she is, ready to play to a crowd when necessary. And she remembers well the hunger of the people she lived with before too; her thefts had been for her rent because it had been an easy way to pay the bills, because it had been a test of skill and daring for her, but how many people had she fed with the money she'd made?

"Of course, as much as you like!" And she plates up a generous heaping portion for him, and a smaller one for herself (since she spent time tasting it) and well, there's always rum in a kitchen because it's not a kitchen without rum. Not according to her. "I'm sorry if it's not like what you're used to, next time when it's not a surprise you can come tell me exactly how you like it."

[issala]

He chuckles a little at the descriptions of the qunari and Araceli's over-dramatic wiles to get them to come to Skyhold. Kas is really glad that he gave this another chance and didn't blow it forever when they met the first time, because man, she was really great.

Especially when filling his plate up like that. The teen's eyes are wide as she heaps it up, and she's almost not even done when he dives the utensils in to eat. The first mouthful is a little hot - but it has flavor. The sound Kas makes his probably indecent, but wow.

Spice.

"Fuck this is so good...!" He takes another bite with a wide grin. "This is a lot like something I remember... not sure what it was called but it's chicken, too."

[foxsays]

There are few people that ever stay entirely on Araceli's bad side: they have to threaten her life in some manner or those of her loved ones, or say or do something that offends the way she lives her life to place themselves on that list. Kas is young. Young men, well, they say many things. Seeing him now like this warms her heart as she takes a sip of her rum, almost choking when she laughs.

A pity Korrin isn't here too but well, a family dinner is surely called for at some point in the future.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that, I think you called it tandoori? Something like that? Is it something you grew up eating?"

[issala]

"Yes! That's it!" He grins between bites, shamelessly loving each one of them. It was perfect, really. "I can't even believe how long it has been since I had something like this."

Kas calms down a bit after the first half of his plate, instead focusing on enjoying to food to the fullest and sharing more recipes with Araceli. If they had proper chefs and spice for once, he wanted to share what he could remember.

It was all a little vague and he couldn't exactly tell her the full ingredients since he had been a kid when he last had it, but he seems to enjoy telling her how it tastes.

"...then, once the bread is finished, you spread the chickpea stuff on it and eat it! It's like a mix of sweet and spicy in your mouth, combined with the crisp of the bread..."

[foxsays]

"That's one of the things I miss most about home, walking down to the docks and the promenade, getting my favourite meals. I made Korrin one of them the first time she went to Emprise du Lion, most of the people here don't know how lucky they are. Every day, they get familiar things, probably their favourite thing at least once a month." She manages a smile as she rolls her eyes because she could say plenty of things about the not-so-refined tastes of Fereldans and even the Orlesians honestly.

After all, coming from a place with a giant floating market to somewhere up a mountain with fresh supplies being an issue? She misses it. And her own little kitchen. And the palace kitchen since they were all natives.

Listening to him talk, she nods her head and commits as much of it as she can to memory. After all, with all the new chefs they have, they've definitely got a chance of figuring it out and she's always been a fan of the trial and error method of replicating a dish she's only tasted. You get to eat your still delicious failures.

"That sounds incredible!" There's a little moan of her own because no one will ever be able to explain where all the food she eats goes. "We have lots of things served in bread bowls where I'm from, thick soups and stews, fish based because we're surrounded by the sea and they cut the top so you use it as a spoon. At the end you break the bowl apart to eat it too, and it's got all the flavours in it."

[issala]

Kas looks a bit thoughtful as Araceli speaks, and then nods a little bit. "You're right... I don't think I've really thought about it that way before. I mean, I didn't even realize how homesick I've been for the food until right now!" When trying to survive, you really didn't care how well-spiced the garbage you ate was, and after that, just full meals had been amazing enough to him.

This? This was so much more.

"Bread bowls... it sounds familiar. Delicious and saves on dishes!"