voidtreckerexpress | Egret, Late Day 25, Early Day 26 | Healing Car

"Mmmmm, mmmhmmm," she said, and the grabbed for the bowl and spoon. She ate a few bites then considered and shook her head. "I think it's been worse since I got here. Dunno why though..." she said, thinking as she ate.

"You are in a strange place with strange people and you do not have your grounding rod, your friend, the talking stick," Glorfindel pointed out. "What sort of routine did you have at home?"

She considered the question as she ate. As well as the rest of what he said. "Well, I'd get up and grab a snack while I started making us breakfast. Summon my cards and call my Master down so we could all eat together. Then either training or chores or both. Depending what he had me doing either my Master or I would make lunch. We'd all eat together. Then more training or chores, then one of us would make dinner. Then more training or chores for a bit, then after the kitchen was cleaned I had some free time, and then bed." She took another few bites.

"On days he was out or market days things were a little different, of course. If he was out it was usually more chores than training, and more free time between, but I had to make all my own meals. And market days I actually got to go and buy fresh food to refill our supplies."

She took another bite as she considered.

"Recently though he's sent me out on a mission, and so there really isn't a routine anymore. I mean I traveled a lot to Soron, and then Gooligan and I were on our own and kind of got dragged into this big tournament. We had to save the town and everything. Then we almost WERE dinner for the Lord of Flies. After the Lord of Flies and the Black Cepters ran away, the town started having a rain of sea water and fish and became a seaside town again which was nice. And my friend made us a huge feast again before we left. Um then when I got lost after the Dimension Door issue I kind of got arrested..." she rubbed the bank of her head. "Totally not my fault. But Alta and them broke me out and then the routine was mostly camping and traveling on our way to Bisteam. Joaquin made me study lots, though, and Ganz liked to tell stories. Sometimes Alta and I would fetch fire wood together. After I accidentally tried to cut down a Woodfolk none of them let me go for firewood alone. And they stopped letting me cook dinner cause I ate too much as I cooked. If they fished more there would have been plenty," she said, a bit grumpily.

She ate as she considered. "There wasn't really a routine when we were challenging the gates. And after..." her voice broke, and there was a lump in her throat that had nothing to do with stew. "After Kigi died..." she said softly, "And the Dark Lord was dealt with, we got a little lost..."

She forced herself to think more of what came after, rather than dwelling on Kigi and Bisteam. That was all still too sad.

"Tare found us and brought us to Gru.... Mistress Grubel!" she quickly corrected herself, hunching her shoulders in like she expected to be yelled at or worse. She let out a small sigh of relief when that didn't happen. "With her the routine was mostly chores chores and more chores, whatever she felt like making us do that day. But it helped, being so busy. Meant I didn't really have time to think."

She shook her head. "Then after she gave us the information for my Master, we headed home. But he was already gone. Then we got kidnapped again while waiting for him...." she considered then shook her head. "It's been a while since I've really had routine that was stable, I guess. Master Horowitz and I had just started to travel to investigate... um... something..." that she wasn't supposed to talk about. Whoops. "When I wound up here..."

Glorfindel silently refilled her bowl as it emptied, listening to everything she'd been through in such a short period of time.

Honestly, to him, it sounded as though she had some major traumas in her recent past and hadn't had the time to grieve and process them. That could definitely upset someone's sleeping rhythm. He was already glowing, and he knew his light was a balm to a disturbed soul or mind, but it could only aid in healing, not force it.

"What is your routine like here?" he asked when she was done with her story.

She'd happily keep eating. "Don't know I have one.... I get up, try to find the kitchen. Eat breakfast, gather stuff to do cooking and laundry and drag it to the garden car so I can do both at the same time, put away the food I made so people can grab it and go, eat, do cleaning..." she shrugged. "Whatever seems to need doing."

"May I make a few suggestions?" Glorfindel asked. "You have every right to reject them, of course."

She shrugged, still eating. "Sure, if you want," she said holding her spoon out for Gremlin to get a bite.

"Make a routine for yourself here. Same time to bed, sametime to rise. Make plans to have breakfast with someone routinely. Odds are that they would also appreciate something 'normal.'"

Glorfindel tilted his head to the side."Why are you doing both laundry and cooking? Teams are only assigned one or the other. Or do you not trust others' cooking?" Which would be odd considering how much of his she had eaten recently. "Or...are you doing it because you are bored and don't have lessons or other outlets for your energy?"

She shrugged a bit. "Without someone to wake me, how would I know when to get up? I can't see the sky, so how do I know what time it is, or when to go to bed?" she asked.

But to the other, she shrugged. "I'm used to doing chores, and I don't mind helping out. Seems like there is a lot to do. Besides, I know how to do these things, if that means we don't have to eat food by someone who doesn't even know how to start a fire, we're probably all better for it."

Edited 2020-05-19 12:44 (UTC)

"I understand the wrist amulets have alarms on them. You could set one for going to bed, and another for waking." [It's what *I* do!]

Glorfindel tilted his head to the side. "Why would you need to start a fire? I took lessons in the kitchen to use the e-lec-tric devices, and they are much more efficient. I have not been trained on the laundry devices yet, but will ask first, so I do not end up like Samata."

"And finding a chore buddy makes them much more enjoyable," he pointed out.

"Samata?" she asked, confused. She gave the device on her wrist an odd look, then her shoulder slumped. "This is the thing that dragged us back when we could have helped," she said shaking her head. Then she frowned and looked at him. "E-lec-tric?"

"One of the Wizards. She apparently added too much soap to the auto-matic washing machine and there were bubbles everywhere. At least the laundry room was clean when they were done?" he offered with a grin.

Glorfindel nodded. "It is a tool. While we are on the Train, it cannot drag us anywhere the Train is not already doing so, so you might as well use it."

"Apparently it is something invisible that powers the oven and cooktop...and the cold boxes, and several other things. It's what makes the stove heat up, so you can cook food on it?" Why did the fact that this sounded new to her make him wonder how she'd been cooking.

"Wow... that sounds like a lot... Maybe I just better stick to the way I know," she said with a laugh. "though it is harder to do laundry without Golligan."

Glorfindel cocked his head to the side. "There are no streams or wash houses, what way do you know that is usable on this Train?" he asked. "And why would you need a s... Oh." He put two and two together finally, realizing why there were ash marks on the deck. He hadn't smelled smoke, or he might have figured it out sooner.

"An open fire in an enclosed space is not safe, were you aware?" he asked gently.

"I keep it plenty small, and the others help me watch it and we have water on hand," she assured him. "though without the sun, drying the clothes takes forever."

If she'd been doing it for two weeks and hadn't caused any problems, then was it Glorfindel's place to tell her she could not.

"The things you do to get out of your studies," he teased her instead, gently. "Or are you at least doing that as you wait for the sunlamps to dry your clothes?" He himself did not have that problem as the sun was always with him.

"Sunlamps?" she asked, curiously. What were those? But she shook her head. "While the laundry is drying I wash out what I did the wash in, then I start cooking. Usually by the time I'm done cooking the clothes are at least dry enough to be moved out of the way so they can finish overnight."

"The lights in the Greenhouse that mimic the sun. Since aside from me, we don't have one of those on the train."

"Where are you disposing of your wash water, may I ask?" Glorfindel asked her.

"Aside... from you....?"

In the car with the plants and soil, using it to water them. She'd also been doing planting, so....

Glorfindel held up his hand that was softly glowing, as he kept a low level on most of the time these days, as his light aided in healing both the body and the soul.

His hand started to glow brighter and warmer, though not too warm.

"You haven't been around to see the sunflowers follow my path around the room, have you?" he asked with a smile.

"Whoa...." she said, staring. "That is neat! I've never seen a spell like...." Wait, was he his world's version of the Lord of Flame?! That would have scared her a lot more if she hadn't met the Lord of water.... Still... kind of a little scary. Wow.

He laughed. "It's not a spell. I'm just an elf that was granted some extra abilities by the Valar when I was reborn. I can help people heal, things grow, see a little of the future, stuff like that," he added with a shrug.

"You know... I bet if you just sat near the pot while I was cooking, you could dry the clothes and cook the food all at once! snd help the plants grow!!"

Congratulations, she now intends to drag you off to join her when she does chores. You are now in the same category as Gooligan or Knight. Useful friend.

He gives her the same flat look he used to give to the elflings when they'd make statements like that. "The Valar did not give me back my life to make your chores easier."

"Though I do enjoy spending time in the Garden Car. The flowers and plants seem to appreciate it."

"Maybe not, but we are all supposed to help with chores, aren't we? So if I do multiple people's worth of chores, and you fill your quota just by keeping me company.... that's better for everyone, right?"

Hey, she's not trying to avoid work. She's just... inventive.

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