@Sparrow | Video

[arcadedragon]

[The video feed opens on part of the kitchen where there's a big stockpot sitting on the counter on a towel, and a few small bowls filled with soup are standing ready nearby. If anyone has known Genji for more than five minutes it's a shock that the rest of the kitchen isn't stacked to the ceiling with dirty dishes and there isn't food literally everywhere.

He cleans up nice sometimes.

While he's not visible at any point in the video, his slightly mechanical voice is pretty recognizable, so he doesn't think to introduce himself.]

Many of us have been sick, and the weather has become increasingly colder. I made butajiru, except without miso and without dashi because we do not have such things. So I suppose it is simply pork broth and vegetables.

In any case I made a lot, please help yourself, it is in the kitchen.

[Genji is capable of making exactly four items of food: porridge, tamagoyaki, waffles, and this. It's actually good too! Spoiled rich boy has learned himself some new skills.]

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[writtendestiny]

[Poison, too, tends towards making soup as a comfort food. Mushroom, in her case, and Peter seems to enjoy it thoroughly though she's never made much effort to offer it to anyone else.

Though she's out of the medibay now, being ill has left her shaky and with little appetite. It isn't the video that draws her but rather the smell coming out of the kitchen as she passes by. She pokes her head inside, finding the room more or less empty save for Genji himself.

She hesitates briefly, then walks in with her shoulders straight and head held high.]

That smells good.

[arcadedragon]

[Genji is sitting on one of the metal counters, a bowl of soup cradled between his hands that he's slowly sipping. His helmet is at his side, bright green hair exposed along with this scarred face. Most notably the carbon fiber that makes up his jaw, attached at his temples to join the bits of him that are still human.]

Thank you. I made more than I intended, I was .. distracted.

[Depressed is more like it, but he's not going to say that to a stranger. His eyes drop to the bowl he's holding, still unused to showing his face for any length of time.]

[writtendestiny]

[She looks at him for a moment or two, but it's the curious expression of one examining a stranger rather than an open stare. Poison smiles quickly, glancing over to the soup and indicating one of the bowl laid out.]

Can I have some?

[It does smell very good. Enough to make her stomach growl quietly in complaint that she's even asking the question.]

I make soup too, sometimes. It's hard to make it for just one person.

[arcadedragon]

Of course! Please do, I cannot eat it all.

[Well he probably could, he seems to have a never ending stomach. But that's not the point.]

It is, and I thought perhaps it would be nice to do for others since it's so cold. And many have been ill. Soup when you are sick seems to transcend all cultures.

[writtendestiny]

My mother used to make soup when I was sick. [She says, picking up a bowl and finding a spot to sit to eat it. There's a small hesitation after the first mouthful, as if she's trying to decide how she feels about it, then she dips the spoon in again.]

This is good.

[Though Poison doesn't eat that much meat, she doesn't object to it.]

I've seen you around here. What's your name?

[arcadedragon]

Genji.

For me it was my brother. Well he did not make it, but he brought it to me. I suppose it is the thought that counts?

[writtendestiny]

[Poison hums, quietly amused.]

I'm Poison.

[By name, not by nature (though her stepmother might have said otherwise).] Who would have made it, before your brother brought it to you?

[arcadedragon]

[He figures that's a code name. Like Mercy or Reaper or Soldier 76. Not too unusual.]

My family had cooks, servants, people who tended to such things. That's why this is one of the only things I know how to cook on my own. I never had to before.

[writtendestiny]

Oh, you were rich.

[It comes out like a statement of fact, not a judgement. Gull, where Poison grew up, did not have a concept of 'rich'. No one was really more well-off than anyone else, and there was no sense of resentment towards those who might be... because they were so far away that it didn't matter.]

The only people I've met who had servants were lords and ladies.

[Oh, but she's met queens, too, but when you're torn away from your home your titles cease to matter.]

[arcadedragon]

Yes. My family was. And powerful.

You mean royalty? I am definitely not that.

[writtendestiny]

Not always royalty. They acted like they were.

[But Genji seems fairly... normal. Not someone she would have guessed came from a place of privilege.]

You're more polite than they were.

[arcadedragon]

I try.

[he smiles a bit, glad he doesn't come off like a spoiled rich kid who never took responsibility for anything.]

I can't say I recommend having people who do everything for you. I feel incompetent now, that I did not learn the most basic things. It took far too long to learn to make this.

[He spent a lot of time learning to make soup because he wanted at least one skill.]

[writtendestiny]

You learned it well.

[Poison doesn't give compliments too often, but she is enjoying the soup very much.]

If you'd like to learn to cook other things, I can show you what I know.

[arcadedragon]

Thank you!

[He sounds genuinely happy. It's not often he gets compliments, in fact he could count them on one hand.]

What do you like to make?

[writtendestiny]

My mother used to make a mushroom soup. Mine isn't as good, but I like to make it.

[She pauses to swallow another mouthful, then gestures slightly with her spoon.]

But I can make stews, bread, simple cakes. Stews are easy.

[arcadedragon]

Bread? What goes into making bread?

[Noodles and bread, please carb load this ninja.]

[writtendestiny]

Oh, that's very easy.

[She brightens slightly, leaning forwards, eager enough to share knowledge.]

Flour, water, yeast and a little oil and salt. That's it, unless you want to do something fancy.

[arcadedragon]

That's it? And then you bake it?

It seemed so much more complex than that.

[writtendestiny]

Mm, that's about it.

[She smiles slightly at him, then looks around the kitchen.]

... I've got time, we could make some now.

[arcadedragon]

Really?

[He looks delighted!]

What do we need? I'll get it.

[writtendestiny]

Ah, we'll need flour, salt, butter, water, and... yeast, of course.

[Unless they want flat bread, but that's not really what she's going for here.]

And some bowls, and a tray to put it into the oven.

[arcadedragon]

[He springs into action! He's gonna get that bread! Well assist in making that bread. He's all about this, gathering the ingredients and looking through all the cabinets and drawers for what they need.]

Yeast comes in little packets? Or is it a jar?

[Time to root through everything.]

I never realized it was so few ingredients. But I did not ever cook, nor watch anyone do so. Except at the ramen place because the kitchen was exposed.

[writtendestiny]

Yeast? Ah... packets. They might be in a box.

[She takes her time, finding a couple of bowls and a tray, and turning the oven on.]

Did you not want to know how the things you were eating were made?

[arcadedragon]

I wasn't allowed in the kitchen. I made too many messes.

[If he hadn't been the son of the clan leader he would have been kicked out with far harsher methods than words. Genji was a terror as a child. But he's matured, somewhat, emerging victorious with a packet of yeast. Aww yiss, gonna be bread time.]

What do you need me to do?

[writtendestiny]

I'll tell you what you need to do. [She tells him with a small, but genuine smile.

He looks so excited, and she's not going to take that away from him.]

Start with the flour. Um-- you can do it on the counter, but it's probably safer to use a bowl since it's your first time. About a third full should be enough.

[Recipe? What's a recipe?]