storywalks | she's a work in progress

[In games. He suspects others would joke, but, it's not as if anyone had actually anticipated this sort of world happening outside of games and the occasional horror show.]

Blankets... or... break the light...

[There's not much reason to use flashlights or candles these days. At least not any safe reason. But there is one.]

Can read books... into the night... [And that's as good a reason as any.]

I guess... we'd need to... work on having... things to even...preserve... Fruits... Vegetables... Shame about... no dairy... and then... if you learn to... catch things... you'd have to... prepare it...

[He glances at her uncertainly, not sure if she can stomach such a thing.]

[Ryder learned the world through media, mostly. It's worked out so far.]

The only things I know about growing stuff -- also comes from video games. Stardew -- Valley. Harvest Moon.

[But maybe the seasonality will help, if they manage to find anything. Do seeds go bad? It just got buried right away to grow again, but they'd get killed off eventually... She'd have to be careful even before they were growing!!! Babies are tough even when they're plants.

The animals, uh... Video game shit would be less helpful with all of that.]

R-right... You'd just eat it, huh... [No delicate way to go about that. If it stopped looking like an animal, it'd be easier! But unfortunately she's the one that would have to make that possible unless Teo got a miraculous level of self-control soon.] I thought about -- raising chickens. Well -- first I thought rabbits, maybe. They -- well, you know. Multiply. But, um, eggs seemed. Easier.

Probably more... than I know...

[He's willing to admit that. He can't remember a thing about gardening, which is a shame, because he thinks that, if he truly was a chef, he would've liked using the freshest ingredients possible. Straight from a garden sounds like it'd be amazing.

Unfortunately, his new diet consists of straight from the bones instead. He grimaces as she comes to the correct conclusion and nods. He's glad that she understands and he doesn't have to explain that more. Self-control with people is tough enough.]

Oh... that's a good idea... don't have to... do much butchering... just have eggs... probably more than... could even be used... But where to... find a chicken...

[When they have their little farm hotel home, Teo deserves a gardening outfit. A cute apron, nice boots to cover in dirt, gardening gloves for physical and mental comfort both, a cute straw hat. Ryder can wear a bandana in her hair and have cargo pants to hold all their tools. Cooler boots than Teo.]

Yeah. Only when -- the birds get too old. For eggs. [Too many eggs isn't a bad problem, either. Whether they invited people to rest for a while or not, it would make good trading or even bait for other critters. Foxes eat eggs, she thinks.] We have to make a -- shopping list. What to look for as we head south.

[She lightly jogs to get a few more steps ahead and push open the door to the kitchen area, large and cluttered despite how empty it is. After you, good sir.]

But -- seriously. Don't open the freezer.

[They sure are looking snazzy in her dreams. Two punks taking to the softer life. Which, they are attempting in as much as they can, given the state of the world and everyone else in it.

On the other hand, he can't help pondering eating the potential chickens they speak of. How long does it take for them to get old? He's not sure.]

A shopping list... sounds so normal... [It makes him smile.

He steps into the kitchen, but not without giving her and the freezer a raised brow.]

...That bad...?

[He is a corpse, after all. And he's seen lots of other corpses. But, he'll take her word and take a look around the kitchen.

It's seen better days, but most things have. He checks the cupboards, knowing there won't be much for food but finding himself pleased to see there are spices left behind. Garlic powder, onion powder, chilli powder, salt, pepper. He opens another for dry goods and finds lentils. He grins.]

Can of... tomato paste... could make you... vegetarian sloppy joe...

[Hardly high cuisine, but still. He moves on, finding a pan and bringing it to a less-than-tidy stove. He holds it there, closing his eyes, imagining the sizzle and pop, the bustle and chatter just beyond, a faint ding...]

[As serious as some of their conversations have been, there has never been a moment before that Ryder has looked so intensely at Teo.]

Open it and -- we're not friends.

[That smell is going to haunt her for years, and also he doesn't need to see the puddle of barf from earlier. Her threat disappears from possibility as he takes stock of things and offers up mana from heaven.]

What? Really? Is that -- No, you're being hypothetical, right? [Could...could he really, actually make her that for real... Would he? Even if it wasn't warm, that would be so much more. Oh, shit, is she ruining his moment... He's doing some reminiscing, isn't he? That was the whole point of doing this, and she's getting all worked up and interrupting him.] ...You look nice. Like you -- belong.

[That first comment makes him cough his way through a laugh. All through her questions, his grin remains. He hears her, even in his daydreaming. He's not ready to open his eyes though, not ready to--

Fingers graze his skin, brushing over his cheek, pushing back the longer strands behind his ear. He sees a small, slight smile and he's not sure what to make of it.

--Wake. He blinks.]

I... do I...?

[He glances down at himself, then at the rest of the worn down kitchen. He laughs ruefully.]

Guess I do... [He smiles at her.] Help me find... tomato paste... can opener... something clean... utensil or gloves...

Edited 2021-12-07 00:39 (UTC)

[aaaaaaaaaa]

Yes, chef!

[Her mom watched those shows. It really is fun to say.

Ryder's plan, honestly, had been to hop on a counter and watch him settle in to try and remember the man he once was. Maybe prompt him with a question here or there. Now she's barely feeling the ache she'd brought onto herself, jogging lightly across the kitchen so she can get to searching. Tomato paste, tomato paste!! That was the most important part of his instructions, no matter what he believed to the contrary. She'd already searched for gloves earlier, thinking about teeth, but she'll redouble her efforts for this.]

What even is tomato paste... Paste made out of tomato, obviously. Hell, I took all the knives away...

[They were up in their room so she can't use those to open up any cans. She'll figure something out, if she can't find a can opener in any of these drawers. Oh shit, there's some more knives, actually? And some other shit. Woah, a pizza cutter. Imagine trying to fight off a zombie with that. Yeesh. Very unpleasant.]

Here's -- um, the spoon with the --

[She makes an oval with her hands, which does absolutely nothing to illuminate what she means, but luckily she can also just set it down on the counter near him a minute later. Disappearing into the pantry, now, and right back to talking to herself.]

Probably wouldn't let me use the axe. That'd be gross anyway. It's been in heads, it doesn't need to do the same thing to a can. Oh, you're red -- fucking what? Why is baby corn in a red can? That doesn't make any fucking -- hey, Teo! Is baby corn a bad idea? Like the little guys. I don't know how cooking works.

[...Eventually he'll get approximately what was on his list, as well as whatever else they deemed potentially useful.]

[Oh, now he's grinning terribly wide. It's enough to make his torn face look normal.

He listens to her babbling, torn between wanting to respond and wanting to revel in it. The way it just flows out still brings such joy. He looks too, though with less fervency. His hunger is not going to be sated with tomato paste. He can take his time to balance her frantic searching.

Eventually though, he's too caught up with her to do anything but watch and smile. And laugh.]

Baby corn... is fine... should be safe... Best for... Asian dishes... stirfry... peanut sauce... making... crispy...

[With everything gathered, and a bowl to mix things, it shouldn't take long. No real cooking involved, given the lack of fire or appliances, but still. He's careful with the spoon, making sure not to let his hands go near the actual food. It really, really looks lackluster, and he'd be sorry to give this to anyone, if it weren't the apocalypse. He's still a little sorry in truth.

The bowl is presented to her.]

It would be... better if... we could actually cook... but...

[Simple as it is and as much as it isn't technically being cooked, Ryder watches him work with such rapt attention and wonder it's as if he's doing magic. For someone that largely lived out of a microwave, it basically is. There are people out there that really use those spices! Wow! She knows one! Even more wow!!]

Are you kidding? This -- is amazing! [He made it special for her! In the dang apocalypse! She can't get over the fact that real fucking spices happened today!

She has her own spoon that's smaller and that she thinks is supposed to be for soup if you were some kind of asshole that believed in the law of silverware. Ryder's dipped it into the concoction before she reaches to support the bowl, then quickly shoves it into her mouth to shush to her hungry stomach. Angels sing. She hears applause. She's pretty sure she made some kind of embarrassing noise in her delight.]

Oh my god, Teo. You can fucking cook! [Damn!!!] Hold on -- I know it doesn't -- make you not hungry, but can you taste things? You need to -- try it!

[It's the best thing since forever! Also despite her insistence, she's too busy making her way through more spoonfuls to force one onto him immediately.]

[She lights up like a kid at Christmas. He guesses, in a way, it is kind of the same. What more does anyone want these days but the old luxuries of good food fulfilled? She eats ravenously, but it's still not like the way he would. She is all human, silliness, noises, smiles, and enthusiasm. He half anticipates she'll start bouncing about. It's all deeply charming.

Her standards are low. He knows any praise isn't a true indication of ability. Apocalypse, minus 15 points. Regular diet of noodle cups, minus 10 points. Building him up because they're friends, minus 5 points. Still, he smiles sheepishly, pleased too.

Until the question comes and he falters.]

I... [He tries to recover.] It's okay... You need it... I wouldn't appreciate... near as much...

[Wow, Teo, you dare attack her mood with intent to kill? She leaves her spoon in her mouth, pouting around it and instead poking him. Then she realizes she wants to talk but doesn't want to stop pestering or holding the bowl, frowns to herself, then speaks anyway. Despite my not typing it out how it sounds, it's ridiculous.]

One spoonful less won't -- kill me.

[He dares!!! Sort of.

He's already squirming away from her poking with a weird noise of his own, one that becomes his standard laughing-cough as she speaks through a spoon and a mouthful. He shakes his head.]

Sharing... that spoonful... might... I'll try... what's left... but... it won't be... the same...

[She counters with what, if he is very good at this game, can be interpreted as, "Obviously I'm not sharing this spoonful. It's in my mouth. What, want me to stick my tongue out so you can grab it? I'd lose my spoon and that's really fucking gross." Frankly it's a miracle that she doesn't choke on anything. Once ensured that he's given up a sufficient amount, Ryder gives him a smug grin, then turns to lean back against the counter to continue her meal.]

For real, though. It's -- not like it's wasting it for you to eat. We can't keep it very long -- and I don't want -- my stomach bursting because it's suddenly too -- much. It -- might help! Taste and smell are linked strongly -- to memory, right? You obviously know the recipe still, so -- you know.

[He'll give that it's slightly above zombie-level communication. Slightly. But, he's also rather busy literally choking on laughter as she goes through that, somehow. Definitely a miracle she's not choking. There will be no CPR performed here.

He smiles through her explanation, but it's sad. When she's done, he sighs.]

My sense of taste... is dulled... Or altered... I'm not sure... It's the other reason... I don't bother... Guess the... sickness... decided I... didn't need that... so much...

[To be fair, having lest taste probably helps the live-eating process.]

[She hums around her spoon, then clinks it against her teeth a few times like maybe it's a drumroll leading up to her conclusion.]

So -- you're saying we should dump more spices in it. Quadruple.

[He snorts and coughs another laugh.]

Too much... and it will have... the texture of dust... but I'll try..

[With a look of absolute triumph, Ryder scoops up another large portion of beans into her mouth. The real win is having him see this as sort of fun and not focusing on the dead part so much. He liked cooking in life! Eating and enjoying was a major part of that, and she wants him to have the best chance at good memories coming back. Selfishly, she hopes even more that it's good memories being made. She switches to focusing on eating for a while, and if she tried she could probably finish the whole thing, but it really would make her sick, after getting used to smaller, blander portions for so long. It's much more worth it to offer it out to Teo.]

Alright, chef, kick -- it into overdrive. [Oh, wait.] Want -- me to get you a new spoon?

[She kinda, uh, just stuck hers in there. Sharing food is a new experience!!!]

[Jokes on her, he's already enjoying the fact that she's enjoying this. Her obvious pleasure, the knowledge that he's done something good, that alone makes him smile. He's not thinking that she could eat too much-- that's become impossible to his mind-- so he's glad she gets a good dent in before she decides it's time for their experiment.]

Probably should... if you ever want to... use that again...

[In the meantime, he's going to gather up those spices. He squints at them, pondering the best combination for flavor without creating horrible texture. He can't simmer it together either, which would help the grittiness, though part of him blunty reminds that he's eaten much, much worse. About two three more shakes of Chili and... a touch of oil to blend it in. He mixes it using her spoon, not particularly worried about catching anything from her, then he trades the spoon off for whatever new one she can find. Or his fingers, if he's got to.]

[She rolls her eyes again at yet another (valid, correct) reminder that oh no, he's infectious, but she takes her spoon back without any more fuss than that when he's done, making a short noise as she sticks it in her mouth. It almost immediately comes back out for her to stare at. Buhh??? How is More become Less tolerable? There can be too much flavor in flavor town? But that sounds fake!! Well, whatever, she never actually searched because she was fascinated by watching him do more "cooking", oops.]

[Well, watch him roll his eyes at her eyeroll! Safety first, Ryder!!!

Though, on that note, he really should just use his fingers. Well, here goes. He dips in his pointer and middle finger to try and scoop up a bit of the lentil-joe. It's weird to eat without the usual blinding frenzy that takes over. He stares at it a moment, shrugs his shoulders helplessly, then licks it off his fingers.

He pauses a moment, head tilting to compensate for a lack of cheek on one side. He brings his hand up to cover when he's got to, brows furrowed as he tries to determine what it is he tastes and feels. After he swallows, the only thing he can do is snort and laugh. He shakes his head.]

That... sure was... some uncooked lentils and... tomato paste with spice... I'm sorry, Ryder... That was... a sad, sad meal... I'm ashamed... I fed you that...

[And yet, he laughs helplessly in quiet wheezes.]

But you were right... about the spice... helped...

Huh?

[What? Sorry? What did he say? Just suddenly his mouth wasn't doing what it had been doing when she zoned the fuck out, and part of her absolutely hates that. The other part is busy hating herself, because what the fuck is she doing watching him lick his fingers like that? God. Maybe she'll do another sweep of the hotel and see if anyone packed a vibrator, if she doesn't calm the hell down on this weirdass train of thought. She's found the batteries. Is it being in a hotel? Is that it? Having another body so close at night? Maybe. It doesn't matter. Jesus, just stop thinking and remember what the words that came out of his mouth were.]

Dude, seriously. [A weak punch to his sternum.] You are underestimating yourself. Maybe -- it's because apocalypse food, sure, but it -- was more than I ever thought -- I'd have again. [She liked her weird lentil and tomato paste mash!!!] Anyway -- anything?

[Apparently, while he was busy with food, Ryder had been elsewhere. He smiles crookedly for that. He lets out another wheeze at her punch, one that may or may not be another laugh.]

I guess it's... decent for... apocalypse food...

[Better than what he's doing. But, he really is glad to have given her something more than she's been having... however long it's been.

He shakes his head.]

No specific memory... Sorry... Don't think it was... significant... maybe just... something made before...

[Ryder wants back on food planet. She's mortified. There is something seriously wrong with her!! Being enamored by The Shape of Water was one thing, but this is next level freak...and he didn't even remember anything.]

Mmm. So not -- first time cooking for a partner -- kind of dish. [Really, Ry?

Well, at least they sort of can guess that he knew a vegetarian. Hopefully he hadn't been one himself. That would be a pretty cruel twist, due to his new diet.] I mean, it was worth a -- shot even if it hadn't meant I got a kickass breakfast.

[RIP Ryder.

He laughs, then shakes his head.]

No... nothing like that... [He pauses moment, eyes closing. First times...] Always made... breakfast... for partners... anyone... maybe family... I remember... the sounds the lights... would make... That doesn't... make much sense.

[He opens his eyes and smiles sheepishly.]

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