Xanadu Weyr - Kitchens
The kitchen is large and well-stocked with technology as well as those with culinary skill. State of the art equipment has been brought in from the various crafts to be used - stoves and large ovens replacing the hearths that used to be in here. Three baking ovens are usually going full bore half the day, from early morning through to mid-afternoon. Large windows take up the entire of the western wall, generally open wide to the mountainous landscape beyond allowing the cool breezes in to keep the kitchen's temperature to a desirable level.
Tables, cabinets, and counters take up the remaining spaces and walls. Various spices, herbs, and other foodstuffs are found here, and what's not ready at hand is tucked away back in the storage caverns or the massive cold-room large enough to walk inside.
The night hearth beside the door to the main caverns has been kept out of a sense of nostalgia, but the smaller stove set beside it is what's actually used to prepare late-night food. This is where you find late night meals of stew and soup simmering in pots, and pitchers of klah and tea in their electric units to be kept warm.
Summer has finally happened upon Xanadu and that means there's a whole new set of desserts that Sylvarin is coming up with…/especially/ after he eventually got his much-sought flower. The baker is currently standing at the counter with several trays in front of him, each lined with a different kind of half-decorated cake. He's in a pair of pants with a waist apron tied about his hips and his shirt of choice is a button down with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. The dark swathe of hair on his head has been swept back but still seems to periodically get in the way of his gaze. There's an irritable puff of air sent at those locks….and they hardly move from out of this eyes. /Awesome/. The baker is trying quite hard to concentrate right now, enough so that he's probably quite oblivious to most things that are going on around him.
Rinian follows her nose to the kitchens, having worked right through dinner, in search of some food. She instinctively looks for the night hearth near the door, but gets distracted by the new stoves and ovens. Curiosity wins over hunger and she has to go get a better look.
Nessalyn arrives from the store rooms on the heels of some poor cook who is desperately trying to get off duty, but just can't seem to shake the techcrafter who seems intent upon harassing him. The argument between them seems to have been building for some time (or perhaps the cook has an extraordinarily short temper), because he explodes with an exasperated, "FINE." His apron is ripped off and shoved in the woman's direction. Nessalyn appears shocked for a moment, but her lips slowly curl in a sly smile. Then, "Sylvarin!" And there's another familiar face, even her memories of this one are cloudy thanks to too many drinks. "And you."
Here is Sylvarin minding his own business and decorating tiny cakes. He reaches over for a piping back filled with frosting and starts going to town on a couple of them. His brows remain knitted in concentration until his focus is quite suddenly interrupted by the yelling cook. The baker's hands squeeze down /too/ hard with his sudden jolt into reality and what initially looked like a nice rose looks more akin to a slime mold now. "Fucking shells…people are /working/ here you idiot." This is said to the cook and accompanied by a scathing look from the baker. There's a deep breathe as he looks woefully down at the messed up little creation but eventually those blue-green eyes shift to Nessalyn and there's a small wave of a hand with frosting-splattered fingertips. "You…look like you're enjoying yourself this evening." Perhaps a hint of amusement even appears. The other face? Not familiar so he doesn't address her yet!
Rinian hears the arguing, and calling out, but she tunes it out assuming it has nothing to do with her. Instead she starts looking over one of the ovens, touching it lightly to see if its hot before opening a door to look inside.
Nessalyn bundles up that apron as though to shove it back at the cook, but he's already storming off, making a rather rude gesture in Sylvarin's direction as he goes. Clearly, this cook is a jerk and Ness is ENTIRELY INNOCENT of all wrongdoing. "I'm having a fantastic time, thanks. I'm going to cook." This is a terrible idea. The techcrafter has many skills, and while burning a pot of water might be one of them, successfully cooking is not. Still, this the course of action she has settled upon for the night. She finds herself a pot, before making her way over to the stoves, passing Rinian on her way. "Watch your eyebrows," she suggests with a smirk, before setting that pot on the stovetop. The heat is promptly turned on, before she turns away to gather her ingredients.
Rinian closes the door quickly, just in case there is a good warning in that. Curious she watches as pot is set and stove turned on. "Hello..wait..I thought you were in the Techcraft?" Then again, no reason a tech person might not want to fiddle with these.
Nessalyn slips the apron on, frowning to herself at the state of it, but she's not about to go looking for another one. This will have to do. "I am in the techcraft," she replies, a 'no duh' tone to her voice. "What's your point?" She arches her brows in challenge, despite the fact taht she knows full well what the point is. She clearly has no idea what she's doing, since she just left an empty pot to cook on the stove while she picks up a leafy vegetable and begins to rip the leaves apart, making a pile on the counter.
Rinian looks into the empty pot. "What are you making? Does it take these a long time to heat or something?" There are certainly times one does heat a pot up first but…
"You're going to cook…" Sylvarin's words drawl on for a moment before he sighs heavily in Nessalyn's direction. He's moving over towards her though, a watchful eye kept on the pot. "And exactly what are you planning on making?" Because he's kind of concerned that the whole place is going to be set on fire. Still, she's an engineer, there's got to be some sense to all this right? Course, the question is whether she's had enough to drink to the point he can smell the alcohol on her. That would /definitely/ change things. And it's about this time that he realizes there isn't any water or anything else in the pot and…yeah he's trying to discreetly move it aside. "I think you missed a few steps, Ness."
"I don't know what I'm making yet. But yeah, the pot takes a long time to heat up." Does she have any idea what she's talking about? OF COURSE NOT. But Nessalyn says it with all the confidence of someone who believes they can figure it out, regardless of the truth of that belief. Sylvarin's concerns probably aren't too far off base. "I didn't miss any steps, this is-" She catches on to what Sylvarin is doing out of the corner of her eye. "HEY. Stop him!" This last is to Rinian, as she gestures between the girl and Sylvie with leaf in hand. "Don't let him ruin my recipe."
Rinian looks between the man who obviously knows what he is doing, and to the woman who is a bit more questionable. She does nothing to stop him. "This isn't my kitchen… in fact it looks nothing like the kitchen I'm used to. But I do know that you don't want to heat it up too long, even if you're wanting to sear some meat. Are you going to sear some meat?" She has to resist the temptation to play with the stove herself.
"Oh no no, she isn't going to stop me." Because look at him and his 6'1 stature and the confidence in his step. Well…she might try and stop him but thankfully she doesn't! "If you're planning on dumping those vegetables in here we're either adding oil or water /before/ all of that." Sylvarin's eyes are quit critically focused on the leaf that Nessalyn's waving about now. "And like she said, you don't let it heat up just all on it's own like that." There's a nod of his head in the unfamiliar Rinian's direction, but he's 100% agreeing with her. Feel the BROOD Ness, all of that is focused on her now. BROOD.
"I'll sear your meat if you don't stop him. Or his meat." She's not too picky about whose meat she's searing, as long as someone pays for 'ruining' her recipe. "Sylvarin!" The leaf is all she has in hand, and so she throws it in his direction, hissing her displeasure when it falls ineffectually to the ground. At least she never bothered to get a knife, right? "I know what I'm doing." She definitely doesn't. "I was letting it heat up before I put the oil in." They're both at something of an advantage, however, since Nessalyn is too petite to succeed in moving Sylvarin, and not at all inclined to make physical contact with either of them. This just leaves the woman to cross her arms and glare at the pair of them, the one leaf she still has in her hand sticking out from beneath her crossed arms like Pern's most disturbing armpit hair.
Rinian doesn't really know what to make of Nessalyn, what with the other day and now. "But if you heat it too much and add the oil many things could go wrong, some of them including you getting hurt." She starts to look to the stove again, wondering about how hot it gets, or how quickly, but decides it might not be wise to not keep her eye on the other woman. She acts as if she would say more, but doesn't. After all, there's the big guy that knows better than she does and it seems he belongs in this kitchen where she does not.
"You should definitely put the oil in /before/ the pan heats up too much, otherwise there's going to be a very weird temperature difference. It'll take a lot /longer/ for the oil to heat up and you're just going to be standing here with nothing to do." Sylvarin doesn't flinch at the leaf thrown his way and…yeah, he's trying hard not to laugh. It's kind of a dangerous situation but also a bit amusing. Hopefully he escapes being seared today! He's definitely standing in /front/ of the pot though while jutting his head towards some oil. "C'mon, you can put whatever you want in it," mostly "just…put the oil in first." And to further emphasize the point he points in Rinian's direction. "Honestly, would /two/ of us lie to you about this?"
The prospect of getting hurt doesn't seem to trouble Nessalyn in the slightest. Her practicality in such measures is in plain few upon her hand, burn-scarred as it is. "You're both infringing on my creativity," she utters in an imperious tone, staring them down with that dark look upon her features. And then, unexpectly, it seems she takes all those warnings to heart. She takes a deep breath, forcing the anger from her expression upon the exhale. "I'm sure you wouldn't." That sweet tone is unusual coming from her lips. She picks up the oil, opening it up to take a sniff before she moves closer, leaves temporarily forgotten. She gets riiiight up to that pot, holding up the oil as though to pour some in… only to turn at the very last second and upend the bottle over Sylvarin. Well, at least as much of him as she can reach.
Rinian steps back out of the way as Ness moves to continue with her cooking, thinking she's been in the way enough. However she didn't expect…that! She quickly backs away more, having no idea how the tall man will react.
Sylvarin's eyes are immediately narrowing at Nessalyn's sudden shift in tone, but…she /seems/ to be doing the right thing? He's giving her the benefit of the doubt here and he gets /punished/ for it. THere's a blink of surprise as the oil is suddenly poured on him and his clothes and oh do those corners of his lips begin moving downwards. It's an eyebrow-knit look that's /usually/ reserved for Taeli but nope, not today! His hands move out quickly, attempting to hold her wrist with one hand while snatching the oil away with another. He's definitely going to /try/ and drag her away from the stove too when he takes a step back but…well, Sylv is kind of covered in oil so she could easily slip out of his grasp. "You are /drunk/ out of your mind and if I get set on fire because of you…" Dude is FUMING. Mostly because he liked the shirt. He likes nice things. It was a nice shirt okay?! "And you're going to injure yourself. And /her/. Whoever she is." Because he is rude and hasn't introduced himself to Rinian yet!
"Don't worry, we're going to be married," Nessalyn assures Rinian, like that somehow makes what she did COMPLETELY OKAY. But then Sylvarin is grabbing her wrist, and the reaction is almost immediate. She twists like crazy, and it's probably for the best that he maneuvers her away from the stove, because there's a bit of thrashing from her until her wrist slips free from his oily grip. Of course, she slips on the puddle she created as she yanks away from him, stumbling back until her rear end hits the floor. Ow. "I'm not drunk out of my mind, I've had a few drinks and I'm perfectly fine. Want to see me stand on one foot?" Not that she looks inclined to get up from the floor now that she's down there, scowling up at him. "That's… R-something. Her name starts with R. She's new." Any mention of being set on fire is ignored, because she's not going to deny the likelihood of that.
Rinian blinks from one to the other in surprise. "Married?" These two? Oh dear. She is not getting in the middle of any domestic dispute! She mumbles something about being sorry and starts to back away from the couple, when the orgional purpose of her visit to the kitchen makes its loud annoucement from a rumbling tummy, causing the crafter to flush in embarissment.
"If this is any indication of our marriage…we're doomed, I think." Sylvarin rolls his eyes a bit and then….there is Lady Karma right at the doorstep. There's actually a wince when she slips away and hits the floor and the baker's head tilts sideways. "You alright?" Can she tell that there's a hint of amusement behind those eyes? He's trying to be at least somewhat gentlemanly but…she kind of brought it on herself! There's a glance upwards to the nearly retreating Rinian then, "She only wants me for my desserts." Truth. Nevermind he's got this oil-soaked /bod/. It is WASTED on these witnesses. "And if you're hungry I'm sure there's something /already/ cooked you can probably eat…Ms. R."
It's not that Sylvarin's oil-soaked bod goes unappreciated, it's just that Nessalyn is appreciating it for all the wrong reasons. Even if her tailbone protests that fall, she still looks smugly satisfied with herself for her handiwork. "Yes, I proposed when he fed me. You'll probably propose too, if you have any sense." There's some skepticism in her voice, that ever-present misanthropy rearing its head. "When were we not doomed?" There's a brief huff of a laugh that's only slightly bitter. His question regarding her welfare is ignored, because she does see that hint of amusement and the sentiment is not returned. "I could've made you something, but you two ruined that." But Sylvarin probably isn't wrong about there being food available.
Rinian should really leave. It would be the wisest course, but how can she leave with that comment hanging in the air. "He's such a good cook you proposed to him?" What is more shocking? How good of a cook he is, or her doing the proposing? She belatedly respondes to the whole R thing. She can't go around with everyone calling her R! "Rinian."
"You're right, we were doomed from the start." Sylvarin smirks slightly, he'll straighten up fully once she seems to be alright. "You're right, we've missed out on /quite/ the feast. I imagine you would have blown our minds with your food." Sarcasm drips from his voice nd he really doesn't bother to hide it. "Or we could leave that to the professionals while you…tinker with things." He's got no clue what an engineer really does to be honest. "My baking, I'm not that great of a cook but I do know some basics. Pastries though…" Definitely his strong point. And as far as introductions go, "Sylvarin. Well met…despite the circumstances." This accusing looks is for /you/ Nessa. Also he's totally not cleaning up this mess. NOPE.
"Baker," Nessalyn corrects, even though Sylvarin is already on the case. He's the commander of the techcrafter's greatest weakness: sugar. With a grunt of protest for her sore tailbone, Ness forces herself to her feet, dusting herself off. Gross. "Oh, you'd never want to eat anything else again if you ate my cooking." The words are accompanied by a smirk, her expression otherwise as vague as her commentary. That apron which was thrown at her earlier is removed, and promptly tossed over that puddle of oil. ALL CLEAN. Or at least no longer a slipping hazard, so her work here is done. She merely shrugs in regard to the circumstances, as though she had no hand in them.
Rinian does not show interest in the mention of baked goods. Nope. Not at all. That couldn't be a moment of keen interest in her eyes. "Oh..and we've interrupted your work. I'm very sorry." Though it wasn't her that interrupted. She eyes the 'clean up' and wonders if those glasses at the treehouse were left in a simlar way. One wonders what the woman's quarters look like.
"Good thing your plans got messed up then, I don't want to be in the infirmary because of food poisoning." He says this so nonchalantly, as if he doesn't do that sort of things to others on a near weekly basis. What a hypocrite! Sylvarin frowns briefly at the oil that's suddenly covered by an apron but he leaves it for now. Will he come back and clean it up later? Probably not. It kind of depends on whether that really gets in his way. "It's fine…definitely not your fault. But I do think I saw a plate of spare meat rolls if you guys want to have at while I finish up." Because he can't let all that stuff just sit out there for too long!
No one wants to see what Nessalyn's quarters look like, Rinian. Seriously. It's a miracle that she manages to find anything in that chaos. "There's always a chance you would've skipped the food poisoning and gone straight to death," she offers, as though that's somehow a better alternative. Those leaves she was previously shredding are eyed for a moment, but she doesn't go back to them. Vegetables aren't really part of her diet, so that's left for someone else to clean as well. "Do you have something for us to try when you're finished?" She takes a side-step toward him. And then another. Heeeeellooooo there, Sylvarin. "I'm sure your new friend here would love to try something, right Ri-" She wasn't paying attention to the girl's name at all. "Riri?"
Rinian doesn't hold out much hope for Ness to remember her name, "Rinian. But no…no thank you." Her voice lacks a little conviction on the first no, and more strength to the second. "Some meat rolls would be great!" There goes the rumbling tummy again. Maybe this will teach her to not work through meal times.
"For you? No, not tonight, not after /that/. This is a nice shirt you know, I paid good marks for it." And now it is RUINED. Though now something he hears is drawing Sylvarin's attention and the broody baker glances over to Rinian. One eyebrow raises slightly and suddenly he's scrutinizing her very closely. "I'm sorry, did you just say….no?" To his desserts? RUDE. That ego of his has already taken a beating given Taeli's recent waste of his precious creations. Though, he's already discounted most of her opinions. "Is there a reason for that?" Yeah, alllll that attention is on you now! Maybe she wasn't even referring to his desserts when she said no but that's the ongoing assumption!
"I'll buy you a new one, don't get fussy." Because telling someone not to get fussy is definitely the way to win back their affection. "Or you could just wash it." Nessalyn shrugs, entirely unaware of the futility of that particular endeavor. As Sylvarin's full focus falls on Rinian, the engineer takes the opportunity to go in search of those meatrolls. Amusement lingers in the faint curve of her lips as she listens to their exchange, but doesn't jump in. Instead she returns with platter in hand moments later, already munching on one of the meatrolls. "I just told you they're life-changing, you can't say no."
Rinian blinks up as she gets the tall man's full attention. Ooops. "I mean no disrepect to your baking. I..just don't like sweets." That last bit doesn't seem to ring quite true, but she tries to distract by reaching for one of the rolls on the platter Ness returns with. "Oh, thank you. These look good."
"I'll believe it when I see the shirt because I don't think a nice wash is going to cut it." Sylvarin tosses this over his shoulder towards Nessalyn before a decided frown is being directed on Rinian. "You don't like sweets…." The words are stated slowly and he continues to rest his gaze on the girl. "Not all desserts have to be an explosion of sugar. There are very few people out there I haven't been able to cater to with my baking…" And yeah he is /eyeing/ her some more because that attempt at distraction isn't working one bit.
"She's lying!" Nessalyn proclaims around a mouthful while simultaneously scrutinizing Rinian with a speculative stare. Now she's the focus of two sets of eyes! "But if she wants to leave a void in her life where sweets could be, I say we leave her to her self-inflicted misery." By Nessalyn's calculations, that just means more sweets for her. She polishes off that meatroll quickly, attempting to pass off the rest of the platter to Rinian rather than continue to hold on to it. "You know, I think I'd be able to get that shirt for youfaster if I had some extra energy thanks to some sugar…"
Rinian is so tempted by the bakers words but shakes her head. "Oh no, its ok." And before she can be further pressed about sweets, she snags a few more rolls and heads quickly for the door. "Thank you for the food!"
Sylvarin watches after the disappearing Rinian for a bit before shaking his head and shrugging. "Ah well, not going to make it a personal vendetta or anything. If she's really just lying about it maybe she'll come around eventually." He exhales slightly as he moves back towards his cake decorating and glances over his shoulder, "I'll think about it after I'm done…depends on how much more you destroy in here before these things are ready to be taste tested." He'll /probably/ give in as long as she doesn't make too much more of a mess. But yeah, he's also totally going to be expecting a new shirt in return. Thx!
Nessalyn is left with that platter in hand, which she promptly shoves onto an open counter when Rinian abruptly departs. Is that where it's supposed to go? Probably not. She leans against the counter next to those meatrolls, reaching out for another when it seems she has nothing else to do. Don't mind her, Sylvarin. She's just going to stand here until you're done. "I'll wait until after you're finished to destroy the rest of the kitchen." That meatroll is picked apart with her fingers as she begins, "Do you know of anyone who's allergic to flowers? Because I found this smelly one…" And thus she'll regale Sylvarin with the tale of how she 'found' this particularly stinky flower. Is it just an attempt to fill up the silence, or a strange sort of apology for losing her temper? He'll have to figure that out for himself.