Gonna take more'n whatever shitheads are siding with those things to kill me. ( It took a damn dragon to take her down last time, so bring it. The only option she has is believing that. All the fighting in her life-
Well. Kate's not surprised that it never truly ends. )
[Genuine, if not still laden with the same force that his original missive was. Should anyone on that list be harmed he would hold both the perpetrator and the Null responsible, and Kate was the first person he alerted.]
At the clinic. ( She inhales after speaking, checking down the corridor before speaking again, assured that her conversation is at least private in this space, if not on the network. Who knows how much The Null have access to. )
( Whether he's there or not, she's at her flat a few minutes after 6, keys in hand and shoulders tense. Hadriel threatening their lives is nothing new, but there's something about knowing you're on a hitlist that's different to the gods' bullshit or the monsters. )
( He catches her attention as she's mid-turn of her key, which in and of itself should be enough of an alarm bell - not paying attention to her surroundings enough to notice him until it's too late. )
Ah-
( H i... )
Sure. Didn't have owt planned.
( There's a few things in the cupboards, but all she'd had in mind was throwing them into a pan and hoping it was edible.
And the door opens, Kate letting them both in, stepping to the side to let Ignis through with the bag of groceries. )
[All things considered, Ignis is difficult not to notice unless he's trying not to be seen, and he's surprised that he managed to sneak up on her like that.
He passes her and sets the bag down in the kitchen. No meat, naturally, but it can wait until he's sure that she's feeling up to.. well, anything at all. At times, certain things may elude him, but that doesn't make him oblivious to the fact that finding out you're on the hitlist of something like the Null has got to feel less than great.]
I'm sorry that I had to warn you of something like this.
( Her reaction otherwise is to settle down on the armrest of the couch in her flat with an almost dramatic flop and exhale. For the moment, she has to be suspicious of a lot of people in the city - those people who haven't been classed as trustworthy or so obviously on the side of the gods that she can't imagine it.
Ignis, for the moment, falls into the first category. Has never seemed to be anything but-
Still.
Still, there's a brief moment of old, learned vigilance that makes her wonder if letting someone else cook for her is the best idea. Now that she's settled and the thoughts are running through her mind again. )
[He nods. Of course he did, though he would hope that he hadn't been the only one.
She asks her question, and he glances back to the kitchen and the bag he left there. At this point, suspicion would be smart, even if unwarranted in his case.]
Garden curry over rice. I was able to find some fairly palatable vegetables this week. [You know, as far as the vegetables in Hadriel can be considered palatable.] ... Would you want to watch?
( Rosen also rang, assuming she had already heard, so no. Not the only one. It's something, at least, to know that there are people willing to tell her this. Right now, however, Kate would love to have the companionship of her friends from home, those she's known for over a decade.
But then Ignis has to offer the freedom of watching, as if he picked up her suspicion from a single question. (Of course he did, Kate, not everyone is as dense as you.) She pushes herself off the armrest and walks over, leaning against the counter, arms folded. )
[In truth, it wasn't the question that drew him to his conclusion, but rather the fact that he would have come to the same conclusion himself. Ignis would have been the perfect person to kill her in this scenario... so it's lucky that he has absolutely no intentions of doing so.
He smiles faintly at her and swiftly takes his place in the kitchen, emptying the bag. As he removes each item, he comments on it, perhaps remarking on what it looks like or what it actually tastes like and, in the case of at least one, noting that it looks like a peculiar kind of hybrid.
The rice, thankfully, both looks and tastes like rice.]
Slice these, if you'd be so kind. [He slides a few vegetables that look mostly like carrots over to her.] Not too thinly.
( A quick rummage in the drawers finds a knife that's sharp enough to slice, even though it's probably not the technically correct one. You make do in Hadriel, especially when you're not a person who's particularly interested in anything but having enough energy to make it through the day. And occasionally cheese.
Slicing is also reasonably simple. She chops off the ends of the carrot-ish, carrot-esque things quickly before holding the blade above at about a centimetre's thickness. ) Or thicker?
[It doesn't have to be precise, though Ignis does take some measure of pride in his cooking. If Noctis can manage it, then he has every faith that Kate can.
He does leave her to it while he makes a start on the sauce, rummaging through a few of her cupboards before he finds a pan that he deems acceptable. It gets flipped once by the handle, then placed on the hob.]
( Well, it's not exactly like slicing paper or tossing knives. Not even like those times Dagny dragged her to autopsy rooms to try and expose her to things she viscerally feared. But it's not that hard, either.
Suffice to say that Kate rolls her eyes, a lopsided grin flitting across her lips as she glances sidelong at Ignis. )
[He catches sight of that smile and grins brightly, the expression going all the way up to his eyes.]
If you view honesty as flattery, I should warn you to be prepared for a great deal more of it.
[The amused expression remains on his face as he starts on the sauce, but doesn't turn the hob beneath it on just yet. They have a few more things to do first, and he delves back into the cupboards to find a pan big enough to hold two person's-worth of rice.]
( There's a brief pause there, the grin fading into something more lingering and amused, brow raising. )
Cutting summat isn't difficult.
( That's all she means by that, of course. It's a bit much, in Kate's eyes, to compliment something as simple as being able to slice vegetables. But, since they are; )
I would like to see you impress that upon Noctis. [Ignis replies with a small shake of his head. Asking that man to cut vegetables was akin to asking him to scale a sheer cliff face, and Noctis would still likely perform better at the second option if given a choice.
He passes her the next thing that needs to be chopped up while he concentrates on the sauce, after measuring out enough rice to serve them both into the second pan he managed to find.]
The same again, if you please. Unless you would prefer to do this instead.
( Be honest with yourself, Ignis, the reason Noctis is so bad at cutting is less to do with the action and more to do with the vegetables involved. Probably.
She takes the next batch of vegetables from him, fingertips brushing against the palm of his hand as her fingers wrap around the ingredients. )
'S fine. ( No, don't ask her to measure things out. She kind of does it blindly. )
[Progressively, everything comes together into a pleasantly spicy-smelling dish of colourful vegetables in a rich-looking sauce. Ignis only relaxes more as time goes on and he easily sinks into his element, and his smiles and even laughter come far more quickly in response to even the dryest of Kate's quips.]
Here, taste this. [He brings up a fork with a couple of pieces of vegetable speared on the tines offering it up for her to try.]
Tell me if you think it needs more salt. [Even the blandest of dishes can be salvaged with a little salt, though what he makes is anything but bland.
Still, he watches her curiously, awaiting her verdict.]
( After the vegetables are cooked, Kate has nothing more to do, so she rummages the cupboards for glasses and tableware, asking about drinks and stewing a bag of lavender scented tea for herself. Things are easier with company, the drink isn't exactly necessary, but the scent is familiar and relaxing (and, more importantly, about the only thing she has that can be served hot right now). )
Mmm- ( Hold up, chewing. ) Tastes good. ( But you're talking to a woman with perpetually underseasoned and bland tasting food when she cooks her own stuff, so take it with a pinch of salt (ha. ha).
She steps back, brushing a finger against the corner of her mouth to remove residue that isn't even there. )
[Her opinion might not count for much given her usual food but he looks pleased with it regardless, and looks back to the cooking as she asks her question.]
When I was ten years old, and Noctis only eight, he told me of a dessert he had tasted in Tenebrae while visiting Lunafreya - a young girl who would become his betrothed. [He pauses to taste the food himself, then does take the liberty of adding a little more salt to the mixture.]
I decided that I would try to recreate it for him. It was a feat I never managed to accomplish, but he enjoyed everything else that I made to such a degree that I continued to develop the skills through my teenage years.
( That's... incredibly sweet, really. Kate blinks, once, as she processes the whole story. How one little moment can spiral into something like this. One day, one conversation, one friendship deciding something that sticks with you forever.
A stone thrown into water, the ripples casting out into infinity. )
... Wait. ( A stone thrown into water, and one part of this story pulling up memories of a world they never actually had, where she taught and he cooked, and Kate realises she doesn't remember asking at all - )
Twenty-two. [He glances at her on the answer, his eyebrows briefly lifting up. It isn't the first time he's been asked that - his level of maturity has been out of pace with his physical age since he was very young - but it had never occurred to him that Kate didn't know.
Though, it does come to mind that he isn't sure of her age, either.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
voice; private
Are you alright?
[Her voice is casual... but he isn't sure he believes it.]
voice; private
Well. Kate's not surprised that it never truly ends. )
voice; private
[Genuine, if not still laden with the same force that his original missive was. Should anyone on that list be harmed he would hold both the perpetrator and the Null responsible, and Kate was the first person he alerted.]
Are you alone?
voice; private
Meet at my place at 6?
voice; private
Of course.
[He'll be there.]
action.
action.
When she appears he sets the bag down by the door in favour of approaching her and lightly touching her arm.]
I thought I might cook something for you. If you'd like.
action.
Ah-
( H i... )
Sure. Didn't have owt planned.
( There's a few things in the cupboards, but all she'd had in mind was throwing them into a pan and hoping it was edible.
And the door opens, Kate letting them both in, stepping to the side to let Ignis through with the bag of groceries. )
action.
He passes her and sets the bag down in the kitchen. No meat, naturally, but it can wait until he's sure that she's feeling up to.. well, anything at all. At times, certain things may elude him, but that doesn't make him oblivious to the fact that finding out you're on the hitlist of something like the Null has got to feel less than great.]
I'm sorry that I had to warn you of something like this.
action.
( Her reaction otherwise is to settle down on the armrest of the couch in her flat with an almost dramatic flop and exhale. For the moment, she has to be suspicious of a lot of people in the city - those people who haven't been classed as trustworthy or so obviously on the side of the gods that she can't imagine it.
Ignis, for the moment, falls into the first category. Has never seemed to be anything but-
Still.
Still, there's a brief moment of old, learned vigilance that makes her wonder if letting someone else cook for her is the best idea. Now that she's settled and the thoughts are running through her mind again. )
...What're you makin'?
action.
She asks her question, and he glances back to the kitchen and the bag he left there. At this point, suspicion would be smart, even if unwarranted in his case.]
Garden curry over rice. I was able to find some fairly palatable vegetables this week. [You know, as far as the vegetables in Hadriel can be considered palatable.] ... Would you want to watch?
action.
But then Ignis has to offer the freedom of watching, as if he picked up her suspicion from a single question. (Of course he did, Kate, not everyone is as dense as you.) She pushes herself off the armrest and walks over, leaning against the counter, arms folded. )
C'mon then. ( Teach her to cook tbh. )
action.
He smiles faintly at her and swiftly takes his place in the kitchen, emptying the bag. As he removes each item, he comments on it, perhaps remarking on what it looks like or what it actually tastes like and, in the case of at least one, noting that it looks like a peculiar kind of hybrid.
The rice, thankfully, both looks and tastes like rice.]
Slice these, if you'd be so kind. [He slides a few vegetables that look mostly like carrots over to her.] Not too thinly.
action.
Slicing is also reasonably simple. She chops off the ends of the carrot-ish, carrot-esque things quickly before holding the blade above at about a centimetre's thickness. ) Or thicker?
( "thinly" could mean anything to her, really. )
action.
[It doesn't have to be precise, though Ignis does take some measure of pride in his cooking. If Noctis can manage it, then he has every faith that Kate can.
He does leave her to it while he makes a start on the sauce, rummaging through a few of her cupboards before he finds a pan that he deems acceptable. It gets flipped once by the handle, then placed on the hob.]
You're a natural.
action.
Suffice to say that Kate rolls her eyes, a lopsided grin flitting across her lips as she glances sidelong at Ignis. )
No need for flattery.
action.
If you view honesty as flattery, I should warn you to be prepared for a great deal more of it.
[The amused expression remains on his face as he starts on the sauce, but doesn't turn the hob beneath it on just yet. They have a few more things to do first, and he delves back into the cupboards to find a pan big enough to hold two person's-worth of rice.]
action.
Cutting summat isn't difficult.
( That's all she means by that, of course. It's a bit much, in Kate's eyes, to compliment something as simple as being able to slice vegetables. But, since they are; )
What else?
action.
He passes her the next thing that needs to be chopped up while he concentrates on the sauce, after measuring out enough rice to serve them both into the second pan he managed to find.]
The same again, if you please. Unless you would prefer to do this instead.
action.
She takes the next batch of vegetables from him, fingertips brushing against the palm of his hand as her fingers wrap around the ingredients. )
'S fine. ( No, don't ask her to measure things out. She kind of does it blindly. )
action.
Here, taste this. [He brings up a fork with a couple of pieces of vegetable speared on the tines offering it up for her to try.]
Tell me if you think it needs more salt. [Even the blandest of dishes can be salvaged with a little salt, though what he makes is anything but bland.
Still, he watches her curiously, awaiting her verdict.]
action.
Mmm- ( Hold up, chewing. ) Tastes good. ( But you're talking to a woman with perpetually underseasoned and bland tasting food when she cooks her own stuff, so take it with a pinch of salt (ha. ha).
She steps back, brushing a finger against the corner of her mouth to remove residue that isn't even there. )
So, how'd you get into this?
( A quick gesture at the cooking food.
Call her curious. )
action.
When I was ten years old, and Noctis only eight, he told me of a dessert he had tasted in Tenebrae while visiting Lunafreya - a young girl who would become his betrothed. [He pauses to taste the food himself, then does take the liberty of adding a little more salt to the mixture.]
I decided that I would try to recreate it for him. It was a feat I never managed to accomplish, but he enjoyed everything else that I made to such a degree that I continued to develop the skills through my teenage years.
action.
A stone thrown into water, the ripples casting out into infinity. )
... Wait. ( A stone thrown into water, and one part of this story pulling up memories of a world they never actually had, where she taught and he cooked, and Kate realises she doesn't remember asking at all - )
How old're you, again?
action.
Though, it does come to mind that he isn't sure of her age, either.]
Why do you ask?
action.
From:action.
From:action.
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