(no subject)

[grandstanding]

Who: All aboard the SS Heron, crew and visitors
Broadcast: N/A
Action: SS Heron
When: any time in March

[It's a mingle! People to see, things to do, gumballs to sit around in crates for a little while longer.]

Comments

ii

[astrobleme]

[More new arrivals. It's a bittersweet thing to see replacements for people--and it's stressful, too. Shinji isn't at ease around a stranger, so he spends a while kind of spying on Pyrrha, trying to divine if she's a good person or not. The smell of food is too delicious to resist, though.]

Something?

[He's soft-spoken and indecisive, lurking in the kitchen's doorway.]

It smells good...

[achillesheels]

Something simple. I tried to make something as close to a curry as I could, since we have the curry flavoring... but I'm not sure how well I managed. It's a bit odd compared to what I've done before, but I think I managed.

[Her voice is warm, and she seems fairly cheerful—though she seems a bit distracted too, mostly by kitchen things because she wants to make everything as good as she can.]

Would you like some? There's enough for everyone.

[astrobleme]

[Oh snap. Someone else who knows what curry is. Shinji had to explain curry to a different member of the crew not that long ago. It's one of his favorite foods of all time. Still, he's hesitant when stepping into the kitchen and approaching the counter.]

If you made a decent curry out of this slop, you're a miracle worker. I'm serious. My last attempt didn't go so well...

[He retrieves some bowls for everyone to make use of.]

I'd like to give it a try. Thank you very much.

[achillesheels]

My augment is for cooking, so I hope I managed something. I doubt I'm as good as one of my old teammates, but hopefully... this augment helped with this stuff a little.

[She seems a bit sheepish, and while she's confident it tastes good, it doesn't quite look good, and therein lies the problem. It's still not as good as it could be in the appearance sense.]

Let me know how it tastes! The materials they give us are difficult to work with. You need to get creative with what we have.

[astrobleme]

[Oh. The augment. That does make sense. Shinji kind of wishes he had a more practical augment like Pyrrha's.]

I have a piloting augment, but I used to cook at home pretty often. I miss being able to make a decent meal... [Daily dollops of peanut butter-flavored gel take some of the zest out of living in space.

He pulls out a handful of spoons and then sidles up to the steaming cookware. Aesthetically, the curry does leave a lot to be desired, but the smell is too sumptuous to pass up. Once he's spooned enough curry for himself, he murmurs another thank you before having a taste.

Tasting.

More tasting.

His eyes have widened, but not from disgust.]

This is a miracle, [he says, softly pleased.] I mean, I can tell it's... not homemade, but it's better than those boxes of instant curry. Probably as good as it can get.

[achillesheels]

[That gets a genuine smile, because something that tastes good is what she was aiming for—and she wasn't sure how legit the augments were. Ren could still probably make better, but Ren's not here to do the cooking.]

I'm glad you like it! I really wasn't sure how it would turn out, so this is a relief.

[astrobleme]

[Shinji is embarrassed by his own candor, but he has to ask,] May I have some more? I haven't eaten anything decent in... in... I don't even know how long...

[achillesheels]

Of course! I made more than enough, you're welcome to take as much as you want.

[Shh, it's okay Shinji. Just enjoy your good food.]

[astrobleme]

[Shinji has to be extremely conscientious about how much food he takes for himself. Even though he's--abruptly, shockingly--hungry as hell, he wants to make sure everyone else has their fair share. He starts eating in a dainty yet ravenous way, the bowl near his face, just barely remembering his manners.

It's about a minute later when he says,] Did you know how to cook before the augment?

[achillesheels]

[She shakes her head.]

I didn't. Not really. One of my teammates handled that sort of thing, or we just ate whatever school gave us. I could only hope to be as good as him, even with the augment.

[astrobleme]

I'm surprised. [And disturbed. Shinji doesn't want to think about mind-warping brain surgery or whatever the hell.] I wouldn't have guessed that, really...

[He looks down at the floor, thoughtful and curious.]

My school had some pretty gross lunches. I had to make food for all of my friends, just so they weren't subjected to that. Feels weird to think about that now.