[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.]
( She knew he was younger, certainly. Even before seeing him with his hair down in the wake of the nightmare they were stuck in together, she knew he was still quite a bit younger than her. It only made sense with how things worked out back in that sleepy small town. )
Just checkin'.
( There aren't many twenty-two year olds who manage to be that put together. Fewer people still who've been doing it for quite so long, who've been taking care of another since before they're even old enough to drive. Even with all her parents', her aunt and uncle's, reminders that she needed to look out for her brother, take care of him, taking care of was restricted to helping him be less of a bookworm-y nerd for her childhood.
It sounds as though Ignis never had that freedom, those few years where responsibility was nothing more than a vague concept for boring adults.
That's a little sad. )
Used to twenty-two year olds bein' dumb and impulsive.
( It's said with a shrug, like of course that would be the case. He's just a little different from most.
[Impulsive, certainly. He thinks of his friends. Noctis, Prompto... even Gladio were still all so impulsive in their own ways. Ignis hadn't been for a long time - he hadn't been able to afford to be.
He can almost tell what she's thinking, though. He never had the chance at a childhood.]
... I haven't regretted my life, Kate. Don't worry about that.
( But yes, it was right on the money. She's thought too much about where her life could have gone, where Marc's life could have gone, if she'd made different decisions. Better ones. A series of thoughts only amplified by that event a few months ago.
Suffice to say that a life without regrets is a luxury she can't comprehend.
But for now, with food cooking and the comforting smell of her tea, it's easy to avoid falling into those thoughts. Better to think of the present when there's so much still to be done. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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.
Just checkin'.
( There aren't many twenty-two year olds who manage to be that put together. Fewer people still who've been doing it for quite so long, who've been taking care of another since before they're even old enough to drive. Even with all her parents', her aunt and uncle's, reminders that she needed to look out for her brother, take care of him, taking care of was restricted to helping him be less of a bookworm-y nerd for her childhood.
It sounds as though Ignis never had that freedom, those few years where responsibility was nothing more than a vague concept for boring adults.
That's a little sad. )
Used to twenty-two year olds bein' dumb and impulsive.
( It's said with a shrug, like of course that would be the case. He's just a little different from most.
That's not a bad thing. )
action.
[Impulsive, certainly. He thinks of his friends. Noctis, Prompto... even Gladio were still all so impulsive in their own ways. Ignis hadn't been for a long time - he hadn't been able to afford to be.
He can almost tell what she's thinking, though. He never had the chance at a childhood.]
... I haven't regretted my life, Kate. Don't worry about that.
action.
( But yes, it was right on the money. She's thought too much about where her life could have gone, where Marc's life could have gone, if she'd made different decisions. Better ones. A series of thoughts only amplified by that event a few months ago.
Suffice to say that a life without regrets is a luxury she can't comprehend.
But for now, with food cooking and the comforting smell of her tea, it's easy to avoid falling into those thoughts. Better to think of the present when there's so much still to be done. )
Long as you're happy.