Did someone say food?

[skjalf]

CHARACTERS: Elizabeth of York and EVERYONE
LOCATION: 1st floor kitchen + lounge room
WARNINGS: Nothing afaik, but this will be edited should anything arise!
SUMMARY: Last week, Lizzie issued the ship a formal invitation to a feast meant to lift their spirits after the events of the last few months. She's making good on her promise.
NOTES: I will be making sub-threads for food prep, the meal itself, and post-dinner hanging out and/or shenanigans.


( this occasion sees elizabeth in her natural element for a change, planning and organizing a social gathering. the familiarity is awesome and welcome, as much of a needed break from the angst of the past several jump cycles (months? years?) as she hopes the occasion itself will be for everyone attending. she can be found working hard in the first floor's kitchen from early in the day until the moment the meal is served; and then seated amongst friends while they eat. afterward, she will flit about and generally socialize with any and all who do not immediately leave after they have eaten.

where anyone might sit and how long they stay is entirely up to the character/player. if you would like anything specific involving elizabeth during or post-feast, let me know! )

Comments

[notmarieanymore]

A girl- er, queen after my own heart. [So, that means mostly cheese]

[skjalf]

We certainly do seem to be of one mind. ( by this point, she has finished a good deal of her own dishes. so, looking about, she takes up a wooden spoon and sends her a questioning look. )

Is there aught I might do to aid you?

[notmarieanymore]

For two girls across time and space? I'll say so.

[Rogue looks over at her sauce.] Not really? Oh! Could you turn the oven to about 450?

[skjalf]

( elizabeth nods, turning the dial on the oven. she's become used to the appliances here enough to understand the rudiments of how they function. )

There we are! It has been an adventure, learning how to operate these machines.

[notmarieanymore]

Sweet, thanks, sugar.

[She nodded] I bet. I grew up in a kitchen, so this whole thing is second-nature to me.

[skjalf]

You did! Was it not unbearably hot? I would imagine so.

( bless her, but she is used to kitchens surrounded by roaring hearths that never gutter out; the heat from such fires is like a taste of hellfire itself. and even this spacious room on a city-sized vessel sailing through a freezing void in the heavens, this kitchen is hot enough to remind her of the days of yore.

she can't imagine having had to literally grow up in a kitchen! not in the least. )

[notmarieanymore]

[She laughs, shaking her head.] No, that ain't what I meant- I just spent a lot of time in ones, when I was a kid. 'course, it was hot, especially in the Mississippi summers. That was just awful. [And her mother was conservative enough that she wasn't allowed to wear clothing that would have helped cool her off. Those, she had to change into the second she escaped the house.]

[skjalf]

( elizabeth exchanges a look of complete empathy with her, and smiles quietly while moving to chop some vegetables for the sauce as is noted in the recipe. )

That was an embarrassing mistake, I apologize. The summers at home can be extremely hot and dry, as well. Does such weather bring about spells of sickness in your country?

[notmarieanymore]

Nah. I guess it's a more modern turn of phrase, then.

Oh, they're not dry. They're humid. You could drown outside somedays, I swear. Though, we tend not to get sick- that's more when the temperature drops.

[skjalf]

( ah. like when sometimes the fog rolls in off the sea, thick and wet, cloying at the air with a layer of damp that cannot be shaken. lizzie pulls a face. )

I do not think such summers would be pleasant in the least. I will own, it rains often at home. It is rarely dry. When it is, illness is swift to follow.

How cold does it get where you are from?

[notmarieanymore]

Don't get it wrong, summers are great. We can go down to the lake, swim, everything. I used to have this real great place where my friends and I would go- it had a rope swing and everything, so you could get out into the middle of the lake. Sure, it was hot, but nothing beat jumping into that water.

[She had so many good memories there. It was one of the things she missed about Mississippi.]

It does. But never real cold, like it does up North. Still, below freezing.

[skjalf]

How wonderful! I did not learn how to swim properly until I arrived here. Do you learn such an activity at a young age in the future? My sisters and I would pick flowers and sit in the shade by the river, but my mother rarely allowed us out of her sight.

( it sounds like it, and lizzie can pick up on the homesickness. ) Do you think you may return there to visit, if we can find a way to escape this ship?

These vegetables are ready, for whenever you have need.

( they are all chopped, neat and fine. perhaps a bit too fine, and she pulls a sheepish expression. ) My youngest sister is but four years old, thus I am used to keeping things small for her sake.

[notmarieanymore]

We do! Oh, man, I must'a learned how to swim when I was real little. It's pretty standard in my day and age.

[Rogue stills.] No. [Her voice is clipped, stern, and she sets the knife she was using down.] I'm not welcome back there. They made that terribly clear.

[Right. Vegeables. She takes a few and places them into the pot.] I'm an only child- far as I know. [She's met her half-brother before. Neither of them knew it.] But you're mighty good at chopping. I wouldn't have been able to do it nearly this neatly.

[skjalf]

Such a useful skill should be learned early. There is much wisdom—and fun in that notion. There is a stream in the gardens, should you ever like to make an afternoon of it with me.

( when rogue stills, elizabeth thinks at first that she has stepped in it big time. what she says about her family hits hard; and it doesn't matter why they would feel that way. she knows rogue to be a kind young woman, and that is wrong, to bar her from her own home. as she can't take her hands, she instead compensates by leaning toward her a bit, and regarding her gently. )

That is terrible. Well, you shall always be more than welcome to share my company here. It is not the same, I know. But I would have you know that I enjoy it, nonetheless.

Was it ever lonely? ( she helps, taking handfuls of the vegetables and putting them in the pot, too. when finished, she smiles. ) Whyever not? With practice, you can do anything you set your mind to.

[notmarieanymore]

I think that'd be great, Lizzie. A nice afternoon in the gardens? Let's plan on it.

[She hesitates as Elizabeth leans closer towards her, but does nothing. She's fully clothed, and her hair covers her neck well-enough.]

You're great company- I like it a whole lot more than almost anyone's in Mississippi, t'tell you the truth.

It was. But I had friends. This great older woman, Irene, she lived down the street from me, and practically raised me. She was more a mother to me than my own.

[Rogue looks down at the rubber gloves she's chosen for cooking, and nods towards them.] That's why.

[skjalf]

Yes. I shall hold you to that.

( they could both use a relaxing afternoon with nothing to do but have some fun and chill. much as today, but different. a time without there being a task at hand. and she smiles softly, pleased and honoured that rogue thinks so highly of her. just as she is beginning to regard her, in turn.

elizabeth remains still and quiet while the other girl speaks, listening patiently. she finds herself glad that rogue had irene. if there is anything positive to this tale, it is that. she hesitates but a moment before reaching forward to clasp a hand over one of rogue's gloved ones in a silent show of faith and friendly affection. )

A challenge, to be certain. But it should not and cannot stop you from accomplishing whatever you wish. You are a good and kind young woman, but strong, as well.

( which can mean only one thing in a future where women actually have a shot at having a will of their own: )

There is a world of possibilities before you if you can but see it, my friend.