faderift | open; Dry your smoke-stung eyes

It's Lux that he notices first, raising a brow when the fox comes in and hands him a note. "What do we have here?" he asks the fox rhetorically, immediately opening it up to look over the contents. For several long moments he reads, and rereads, the note before his eyes return to Lux.

He's not planning on saying 'no' but it is still something to have a fox staring at you so intently. There's not much to think about. No, he really wouldn't want a fox all up in his business. Besides Nikita might try and pick a fight.

So despite knowing where the kitchens are, Sam raises his brows to Lux. "Give me a couple minutes?"

Lux seems to give Sam's words serious consideration once his solemn duty is over: Araceli did tell him what he was to do since he can't read just to be on the safe side, and the kitchens are where there's food and chefs that spoil him but he can stroll around the forge because he doesn't get to go here too often. He barks, strutting around the place to poke around to where he won't get into too much trouble until whenever Sam is ready.

(But if this makes him miss out on treats or get in trouble because they took too long then so help you Sam he will pee on your bed. He will find it and he will pee on it. He knows what you smell like.)

(You don't want to start that fight Lux. Sure he'll be upset, but there are others who use that bed. The cats won't take kindly to anyone peeing on their territory. Neither will Kirk.)

Sam doesn't take terribly long, just needing to put away his tools and everything else before he leaves - unless this was an emergency he always makes sure his space is clear, otherwise he'd get an earful. Once everything is put where it belongs he looks around for the fox, raising a brow at where he's gotten in to.

"Do I need to give you a minute?" Seemed like Lux was enjoying himself.

(He is king of the fennecs Sam, he has a goddamn army across Thedas. Bring it.)

Understanding human speech more than any animal should given his long years of service as Araceli's best friend, companion, partner-in-crime, and lookout, Lux shakes his head and starts trotting off to the kitchens where Araceli is chattering away to three Tal-Vashoth chefs. Absolutely untroubled about being the shortest person in the room (she's used to it) and being fed a spoonful of sauce whenever Sam and her furry son arrive.

"I'd say more peppers but you'll have a line of crying southerners outside the door trying to talk with their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths trailing tears and snot through your kitchen, boohoohoo too bad so sad," Araceli is saying with a wave of her hand that has the silverite bracelet Korrin gave her on First Day catching the light as Burly gives her a very careful shove that luckily has her spying Sam.

Lux trots to sit in front of Araceli with his fur all puffed up, one last look at Sam before he awaits the award and praise that is lavished upon him. (So he gives Sam another look to say 'behold, human, look at this woman that loves me this much, I am beloved'.)

"Here you are, Samouel, what a surprise I have in store for you. The first half at least."

(Pretty sure cats are quite as numerous. And they have Anders. Point is he isn't starting anything, he just doesn't want you do start something.)

As soon as he spots Araceli when they finally get to the kitchens, Sam raises a hand to wave and call out, but stops when he hears the odd comment she's giving to the cooks. Lowering his hand, Sam raises a brow and watches with mixed confusion and interest at the conversation. He was a southerner, what was this about?

He continues to be quiet as she lavishes Lux with attention, tilting his head at the look that he is given by his escort. So smug.

"The first half?" he asks, looking up from Lux and looking at Araceli curiously. "... Am I taste testing whatever you're making?" Were you planning on making him cry?

(One day he's gonna be riding on a nuggalope. Those cats are fucked.)

Letting out a snort, Araceli shakes her head and her dragon tooth swings with her curls, rattling faintly. "I'm not making anything, not today. They're making something for everyone and I like to catch up on the gossip." Tools of the trade Sammy boy, same as she does in the tavern but these are her people, these hulking Tal-Vashoth and she will fight a duel for Burly's honour. "We all agree that none of you would last a day where we come from."

The thought of Sam diving straight into the waters of Castileos with his mouth wide open is honestly so funny she nearly loses it, biting down hard to keep her composure before she sweeps aside to reveal her gift. A large barrel. That she beckons him over to. "I trust you know a decent ice spell? I've had people working on this, people that owed me and everyone works shifts, and someone figured out something with a powerful ice mine overnight? To keep them fresh so you don't get sick."

Anyway, off comes the lid as she explains and ta-da, look at that delicious fresh fish.

(The cats already ride a mage. Better catch up, Lux.)

"You all come from the same world?" He knows a bit about where Araceli had come from, but he hadn't realized others had come from her world as well. Unless he was misunderstanding something.

At seeing Araceli making a face, or trying hard not to make a face, biting her lip, Sam raises a brow. He doesn't know what's so funny, and he's not sure if he wants to know? Then he's left even more curious and confused when he's presented with a barrel.

Sam isn't quite sure what he'll need an ice spell for, but when the contents are finally revealed he can immediately understand why - his eyes go wide. He remembers mentioning to Araceli that he missed having fresh fish, or fish in general, in Skyhold, but he hadn't expected something like this.

"You brought these back all the way from up north?"

(Korrin Ataash is a thing Sam.)

"She means people that like good food." Burly is the one to answer instead, folding big arms over a bigger chest because sometimes they're not really over their first meeting with Beleth and Araceli back in Antiva, and the general agreement that the Inquisition still doesn't care about food that much. "People that care about it."

And then he's back to his sauce as Araceli smiles, patting a beefy bicep.

But anyway, here is the first half of her surprise for Sam as she nods enthusiastically. "I did! The first time I went to Antiva, we had these shrimp for such a wonderful price, and you're like me - you miss fish. But I spoke to Madame LeBlanc about if magic can keep shrimp fresh, and then there are huge fish markets at the docks in Dairsmuid, and some of the mages coming back with us were talking and…" Ta-da 2: Thedosian boogaloo.

"Well I like good food. Can't say I can make it though." Sam gives a slight smile at the larger man, rubbing the back of his neck a bit sheepishly. Healing people and making armor/weapons were his forte, not making food, but he certainly liked eating. "I'll have to send Kirk and Christine your way. He's been complaining about not having good food, and Christine has been learning baking when we aren't busy at the tents."

He'll let him get back to his sauce - that apparently will make people cry?

Sam taps at the ice as Araceli talks, seeing the variety of seafood just shy of the frozen surface. "It's been a long while since I've been to the Coastlands... I don't recognize some of these fish." Which makes sense, but he's still excited about fresh fish. He looks up when he tappers off, clearly looking excited. "We're having a what?"

"You are a man grown, Samouel Gareth," oh ocean save her she sounds so very like her mother though her mother never needed to have the cooking talk with her, "and a free mage. You will need to learn to fend for yourself. What happens when you are out on your own in the world with your own little home? You will not have others to cook for you then, unless you seduce someone into making all your meals but then you will have to do all the cleaning up since that's equitable." Sam the pot boy, she can just picture it. Although Kirk and Sam? Well, she'll need to dig deeper into that when she can.

Alas no tears. Araceli will have to spice up her own sauce from her own stash.

"Tama - Korrin's grandmother - she cooked for everyone and most of it was fish. Kas fell asleep at the table, I could barely move by the time I was done. All of it is good, I didn't get eel, I don't know your opinions on eel. Kirk can vouch for all of them since he definitely ate everything here at Tama's dinner."

Yes, very motherly there, Araceli. The berating only has Sam grinning wider, and trying not to laugh at the very serious lesson she's trying to give him. "Seduce someone. Well I would have to be desperate then. I know how to cook, Araceli. Just probably not something you'd consider 'good' cooking. More like rustic, at least able to cook what I catch to be edible."

Hearing about the fish feast certainly has Sam tilting his head, perhaps a bit jealous for having missed out on that, and meeting grandma Tama of course. "I haven't had it, didn't care for it as a kid and haven't had the chance since. But sounds like I'll need to pick Jim's brains a bit on it since he just mentioned it in passing." A lot more other stuff was discussed or rather not talked about and there needed to be some down time.

[OoC: So sorry, this got lost in the inbox. I didn't forget! *cries*]

"Never say that in front of Burly. If you break his heart, I will have to duel you." No, she's not joking, she will fight a hundred duels for Burly he is a sweet and gentle soul, she loves him. "Well at least you can cook, I have come to realise that isn't exactly a skill common to the Circles. Mages being able to fend for themselves, what a terrible thing, they might get ideas."

Rivain has...well Rivain has left her touchy. What might have been a more light-hearted joke rubs too raw when around that sort of hatred and misery.

Oh Sam it was incredible. Just flopped where they were. Stuffed to the gills. "It's an acquired taste," she agrees easily enough since well, jellied eels are something she avoids at the market herself. "Jim-- do you mean James?" Of course it comes out with more of a 'h' sound at the start, the same as when she says Jamie's name but that can't really be helped with her accent.

"Say what? Rustic?" Couldn't Burly just take pity on him instead? It's not his fault that he only learned to cook fish over a bonfire and then didn't cook during the second half of his life. He's made a pie and a cake in the past few months if that helped. "They still get ideas, but not knowing how to cook certainly made a lot of mages reliant." He knows Christine had been in such a situation and had considered going back, just because there was shelter and food.

"Yes?" That was his name, but Sam is also know many who actually call the man James besides himself. "The last name is Kirk?" Does that help? That was an unique name that, and he's introduced himself with his full name.

He is a gentle soul. Concerned with sweets but in general he has a passion for cooking, because there are Raas and Kalla to deal with and they could snap Sam like a wishbone. "At least at home it was more that people could cook it was just that we don't really have streets to sleep on if you can't pay the rent. Waterways and bridges with water under them, and half the bridges are wood and rope so we can move them as needed." Meaning you pay the rent and worry about how you'll fill your belly later, unless you lived in Araceli's building since she was a damned good thief able to feed everyone with her loot. But that was rare. Here she is in Thedas, saving this world, but she can't be at home where she's helping to make sure people don't need to make that choice.

(Not that people know she does that. Araceli's just a thief after all.)

"That's him, I didn't know the two of your were friends Sam." You will of course have to tell her so much more now.

It's subtle, but Sam's able to pick up that this new information has grabbed Araceli's attention. The way she says it too certainly has him sighing, knowing that she wants to know more.

"Not just friends, we're roommates as well. Back when that nasty illness went around I found out he didn't have a place to stay and since then we've been sharing the loft. Before that I met him because he was being chased by the meat merchant - saying that Kirk had stolen sausage. Interesting way to literally run into someone."

open; Dry your smoke-stung eyes

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