Our food is home

[springforth]

Who: Persephone & Open
Where: Kitchen & Dining Carriage
When: Jelly Day 20
What: Persephone is feeling nostalgic and homesick, so she's feeding people food from home.
Warnings: None so far

A. Kitchen

Thinly slicing several pounds of vegetables takes just as long as it sounds. And before this could get anywhere, she should really get the baklava in the oven and out with the syrup poured over. There's a couple loaves of bread going in one of the other ovens. Honestly, it was a lot of rushing around, keeping an eye on one thing while another was being prepared.

Still, she was enjoying herself, mostly. It was the smells of home, stealing olives from the jar as she made the bread, chopping big handfuls of parsley to coat the vegetables, the garlic, tomato and lemon fighting with the sweet smell of honey. If the pervasive sense that her mother should be right around the corner would disappear, well then this would be so much nicer. She wipes at her eyes with the back of her wrist and turns to look at her company.

"Can you grab that really really big roasting tray from the bottom cabinet?" She called out over her shoulder at the person nearby, "I would but my hands are just covered in olive oil."

B. Upstairs Dining Car; Closed to Close CR

It feels like a feast, like she's managed to pull off some fancy mortal realm party in the confines of a train. The briam is rich and tomatoey, the bulgur salad is fresh and full of herbs and lemon and the baklava is crisp and sweet. She feels like a wrung out towel after it and only barely has the energy to add a fruit salad made from produce in the greenhouse car. Not traditional but--delicious. She'd sent out word earlier that food was in the offing, to the people she'd want to try this taste of home.

After the food is assembled--she disappears into a bathroom, coming out in a hastily done up chiton. It's amazing how elegant you can make a bedsheet look with a few brooches--bought at the winter fair, and a length of vine wrapped around her waist. The vine matches the green leaves, the brilliant red flowers tucked in her hair. A pair of shell earrings shift and gently clink as she makes her way up to the second floor where her things are prepared. Any weird looks at her attire are met with a flush.

"I was feeling nostalgic. Go ahead, try something."

Comments

A

[miseris_socios]

There's a young boy who's crept into the kitchen, looking for more food to squirrel away. It looks like there's nothing made right now but - oh.

... This is awkward. "... Okay." He leans down and takes out the large tray, managing to lift it with relative ease and put it on the counter. He shuts the door once it's done.

[springforth]

"Thank you!"

She pops an olive in her mouth and nudges the tray with a few fingers hooked inside. Time for the tomato part. But--she noticed him looking around a little, scoping out the kitchen. So she chews, swallows and nods toward an oven.

"If you're hungry, the bread should be out in a few minutes. I won't miss a slice or two."

[miseris_socios]

"... Okay." The boy looks terribly thin and very tired as he leans against the counter. "... Have you been here a long time? I just got here the other day. Tthis place is a little bit confusing." He knows what a train is, just... everything else is A Lot.

[springforth]

"Five? Six?"

She stops midway through pouring tomatoes into the pan and sets it down to think back. "It was Egret. The first platform in it, I think." Her mouth moves, counting them off silently.

"I guess I'm in the middle of month six. Next month will ring in six months on this train. It's kind of weird and overwhelming at first. And it doesn't stop being weird, not really ever. But you do get used to it in some fashion."

B

[controlsthedie]

Thanatos arrives as normally does, with the light changing and the toil of a bell as he shifts into the upstairs dining car. He's dressed in his outfit from home, so Persephone doesn't look so out of place anymore. Not with two of them dressing "traditionally."

"Did you make all this yourself?" he asks, not sitting quite yet. He was expecting hot cocoa at most. Nothing so elaborate as this. It's a lot of food for one person, so there has to be other invited. Right?

[springforth]

"Not entirely. I had some help."

His outfit is really--over the top, she thinks. It makes a statement, though she's not entirely sure it's the statement he's trying to make. Maybe that he hates modern fashion. She smoothes down the edges of her makeshift chiton and raises an eyebrow.

"I didn't make this all to eat myself. Come--sit. This is all things I ate at home."

[controlsthedie]

And for Thanatos, it's just what's worn in the Underworld. Skulls and eyes and the like fit in perfectly.

"It's very colorful." He takes a seat when prompted, but he doesn't dish himself anything. He's still waiting for others to show up. "Did you eat these often or were they for special occasions?"

Thanatos feels like he should know this, but Demeter's eternal winter does limit what's available at a given time without Olympian divine interventions.

[springforth]

"Oh I probably wouldn't have made them all at once for just everyday. But I like cooking. Or at least I like baking and I don't mind cooking."

She dishes up a plate of vegetables, some of the salad, a slice of bread. Eat you dumb butt. It is gently but firmly pushed his way.

"Zagreus helped, a little. I mean--he mostly did the fetching and taking stuff in and out of the oven. You all really didn't have much in the way of mortal food, huh?"

A

[goingthroughaphase]

Kitty had just stepped into the kitchen for a snack when Persephone made her request, and she looked toward the cabinet to find the tray.

"Oh, sure," she said, bending down to pick it up. As she walked over to place the tray someplace where Persephone could reach it, she took in a deep breath.

"Mm...It smells really good in here. Whatcha making?"

[springforth]

"Thank you, I hate to get all the cabinet doors dirty."

Persephone pours in the diced tomatoes then pats around until she finds the spoon she's laid out. Smoothing out the tomatoes is the last step before the dreaded carefully placing of many many vegetables.

"Briam--it's just a lot of vegetables. This is all going to be roasted and then you can eat it with bread, dip it in the tomatoes at the bottom? It's something I ate plenty of at home."

[goingthroughaphase]

Now that she's a bit closer, she can get a better smell of the tasty aroma. "Mm...that sounds awesome," she says. "You uh...need any help?"

She still wasn't great in the kitchen, but she was pretty good with direction.

B

[happyends]

As soon as Madoka hears about the food, she's quick to head in the direction of the dining car. She wouldn't want to make Persephone wait, after all - though she's sure that she's not the only one who wants to try some of the food.

Once she arrives, there's more food on display than anticipated. There's not just the baklava, but also multiple kinds of salads, and.. is that some sort of vegetable dish? Madoka is already impressed by the sight alone, her eyes going wide as she looks at the food.

.. and staying wide as she spots Persephone's outfit. Not because she thinks it's weird, but rather because she thinks it's stylish in a way that suits the other.

But rather than mentioning anything about that, Madoka thinks it's more important to first address the thing she's here for.

"You made the baklava!" She sounds so happy about it.

[springforth]

She knew her clothing was odd for this train--but it still makes her self conscious. She fiddles with the folds at her shoulders and has to talk herself back into this. Hosting is a privilege, don't get all flustered because of something silly.

"Of course I did. One of my better batches since I could ask for all the thing I wanted, rather than just whatever we have at hand."

[happyends]

"Oh.. You're so kind to share! Thank you..!"

Apparently kind enough, in Madoka's humble opinion, that she deems it worthy of a bow. It's just a quick bow though, since the girl is rushing over a moment later to sit down at the table so she can try some of the baklava. There's an excited rush to her feet that's so typical of younger children, perhaps even younger than Madoka's age, but she can't help it. This dish has been properly hyped up now, and so Madoka can't help but be so incredibly excited about actually trying it out.

She's making sure to not be a glutton about this though. Madoka only grabs two small pieces for herself. That should be enough to try out for now, right?

"It already looks so good..!"

[subcircuits]

Devero's probably just on his way to or from the Stores car, carrying a broom and dustpan to do some cleaning, and only too willing to stop and help. "Sure!" he says. He leans the broom up somewhere away from the active food prep and finds the requested roasting tray.

"Where do you want this?" he asks, carrying it over to her.

[springforth]

"That--that is an excellent question." Persephone eyes the mess that is currently taking up her portion of the kitchen. Or at least, it seems like a mess to her. She's used to cleaning as she goes with a little help, not running around the kitchen to catch up with whatever is currently on the edge of being cooked.

"Here!" She nudges her bowl of tomatoes back to one side, leaving a spot probably just big enough for the tray.

[subcircuits]

It's... not quite big enough, but now that he has a general idea where she wants it, he can scoot a few more things aside until he does have the space to set it down.

"Is there anything else I can get you while you're all anointed, Mx. Goddess?" he asks with-- perhaps slightly exaggerated politesse. He doesn't say it meanly or mockingly, though; he's just teasing.

A

[adropofsunlight]

Rapunzel for the most part had come to the kitchen to do some baking, so helping others out with their own was something she was more than happy to do. So all she did simply give a nod before she went to get the tray.

"It's this one, right?"

Re: A

[springforth]

With another look over her shoulder, she brightens and reaches for it.

"That is definitely the one. Nothing else is going to fit this many slices of stuff in it. I'm not even sure I can fit them in. I doubled the recipe for leftovers."

Re: A

[adropofsunlight]

"If it doesn't fit them all we have other baking trays, right?" She thought it was at least good to have leftovers for those who might want them after. Seemed like a cute idea.

"What is it you are making if I may ask?"

A

[dyingpro]

The smell of freshly baking bread, of spices he's never heard of, of fresh green herbs even more freshly cut... this is a completely new sensory experience for him, and one that he's constantly fascinated by. When he'd first offered to help, he'd been amazed by the aroma of the food already cooking, completely entranced watching Persephone mix up the bread dough and boil the honey with juice from a sour yellow fruit (she called it a lemon?) and slice the vegetables almost paper-thin. He doesn't want to get in the way, and watching her cook makes him feel comforted in a way he wasn't expecting, so he mostly helps by getting things for her that she needs as she asks for them.

"Sure thing," Zagreus answers, digging through a few other roasting pans and trays to get the biggest one he can find. He pulls it out with a bit of a clatter, but manages to remove it from the cabinet without spilling cookware all over the floor. He places it on the countertop beside her, wiping it down with a clean kitchen towel to get rid of any dust. "Anything else I can get you, or... can I prepare something for you...?"

... yeah, he feels completely out of his element here, and he really, really hopes he's not bogging Persephone down.

[springforth]

It's rather like having a tall shadow, watching her work on a way that isn't exactly intrusive but relentlessly present. It's still taking her some time to get used to delegating tasks to him, though she's definitely been feeding him bits of things here and there. A handful of nuts, a spoon of honey, a slice of tomato. She pops another olive in her mouth and offers one to him.

"Mmn--" She gestures to the baklava with her free hand and swallows quickly.

"Can you put that in the oven? It should really have been in already but I'm having trouble keeping up with all the timing."

[dyingpro]

He's been accepting the food with no argument - a lot of this is new to him, things he's never had before in his life. Unlife? Whatever. Most of these don't make it to the Underworld, at any rate - like tomatoes and olives and nuts, and he savors these new flavors with the delight of a child. Honey he's had every so often when libations had been offered to the dead, and so he accepts the sweet spoonful with even more ease than the others.

Zagreus takes the olive from her and follows her example, popping it into his mouth and munching on it. He perks up when Persephone assigns him a task, and he swallows too after a few more chews.

"Sure thing," he answers with ease, picking up the heavy baking tray and setting it on the middle rack without an oven mitt. He repositions it to make sure it's right where it's supposed to be, before closing up the oven again. "So you said this was called a baklava, right? Do you make it for any special festivals, or is it an anytime food?"

B, a thousand years late without starbucks

[fivemilesdeep]

Ryo was a bit surprised to receive the invitation. He hasn't known Persephone very long, and he's not from a world adjacent to hers - surely there's someone better suited?

But no, she'd asked him, and he won't insult her by not going.

He arrives in the dining car to see an fancy spread and Persephone dressed for the occasion. He shakes off the feeling of being distinctly underdressed - it's not like he has any different clothes! - and instead offers Persephone a smile. "This looks incredible! Did you make it all yourself?"

[springforth]

"Well not all myself. Zagreus put did a bunch of running around for me and plenty of people popped in and out to help me get things and stuff. So I guess it ended up being far more of a group effort than I anticipated."

Does it help the fancy effect for her to lean forward on her elbows and dish out various things for him? Probably not.

"Hope you don't mind all the vegetables. I don't really eat meat or fish."