OPEN

[valiantfire]

Who: Fingon
Broadcast: Fleetwide, accidental.
Action: SS Paisley
When: Morning on August 8th.

Fingon was still tired and moved somewhat slower, with more care, than his usual enthusiasm. He'd found a few scars for the trouble of dying, but otherwise had nothing to complain about. A day was all he was given to rest before he found himself on a new ship and a cake pushed into his hands in celebration.

Congratulations, you're a cook!

The assignment cheered the Elf. No leadership duties. He wouldn't be the one people looked to for orders here, outside the kitchen if at all. All he had to worry about was feeding everyone else on the ship. The first thing he'd done after being shown to his new room was to change out of his armor and into ship's clothing, though he kept the blue cloak and had it wrapped around him. He gave himself one more day to rest, holing himself up in his room.

Then it was off to acquaint himself with the kitchen! He hoped to bake for his crewmates. Barring that, he would do his absolute best to improve the taste of what food was offered. When he found his way to the kitchen, however, he stopped still, eyes growing wide in dismay.

"This cannot be all there is!"

Whether it was or not, Fingon took a deep breath before diving in, familiarizing himself with what the ship offered. It was slow going, and he burned himself more than once, but he stubbornly kept at it until he had a stew going on the stove and a tray of chocolate cookies baking in the oven.

Comments

[stefanged]

“Still.” Stefan raised his eyebrows as he leaned against the free counter. “With you around, I think that brings our total of capable cooks up to..... Three.”

At least, he's assuming that this young man is their new crewmate. The confetti and the jingle had given it up long before the scent of (yummy) cookie did.

“I'm Stefan, by the way. Sorry about all the mess. We're still in the process of fixing it up.”

[valiantfire]

"I want to have stew of some sort cooking most of the time, so people can eat when they wish. Even if I am not here at that moment, everyone should have something delicious to eat!" The Elf had plans for the kitchen, though he wondered just how much he'd be able to do.

"And cookies! Or cakes. Cakes and cookies?" Both? Both is good.

Fingon pressed a hand to his chest in greeting, bowing politely. "I am Fingon. Well met, Stefan. I do not mind the mess, I have seen worse." War tended to be messy, and soldiers and attendants had to make do with what they could carry.

[stefanged]

Grandiose plans, that was for sure. Stefan had no desire to crush them, either. This guy was the first cook the Paisley had had in well over a year, and well? Maybe he could work magic where the others couldn't.

"I could go for all of that, and you're sure about the mess? Theon's messes are pretty legendary." Stefan laughed, glancing around the kitchen and sighing at the spot where the electronic kettle used to be. (He missed it more than he had any right to. There may or may not be a contraband kettle in his room.)

Onto more pressing matters...

"It's good to meet you, Fingon. I'm gonna guess that you're our new cook? If that's the case, we've got dinosaur meat in the cargo bay. It's not hard to find; it's in one of the freezers." He paused. "Oh, uh - I'm your medic, and also technically your Captain."

[valiantfire]

Fingon might not be the best cook he knew, but he knew cakes. And he knew what he liked. There were new things he could learn, and was excited to learn.

They would be fine, right?

The Elf had a bit of a glow to his skin, shining just enough to be noticeable in a dim light. His smile didn't dim though. "I will have this room cleaned quickly, and will see if I can get replacements if I could get a list of what is missing?"

He blinked, rather startled. "Dinosaur meat? I have never tried it before!" Nor heard of dinosaurs. But that was irrelevant, he'd make do. "You are well met, Captain. I am not much of a Healer, but I offer what aid I may give should you need it."

[stefanged]

"Sure, but don't worry too much about it. Kirito - our engine guy - should be on that. Also Theon, since he technically broke half the things himself."

Has Fingon met the others yet? That's an important question too, Stefan belatedly realized. A rundown of the crew helped him when he first came on-board.

"It's good. Tastes kinda like chicken." Please say that chickens existed wherever he was from. "And thank you. I'll be sure to call upon you if I need it."

[valiantfire]

"Ah! Then I will speak with them both and see if they would be willing to help." Fingon would do his best to make the ship better supplied and its crew well fed!

Chicken existed! But no dinosaurs sorry. "I will be sure to look. Would you like a cookie? They are just about done." And he needed a taste tester.

[stefanged]

Ah, cookies! He'd almost forgotten. "Of course. This is a treat for me too. Normally I'm the one cooking everything."

Even though he doesn't need to eat, being a vampire and all. Stefan's spent too long playing human to give up that charade now, and well - blood pills don't taste very good.

He glanced over at the oven, instinctively rushing to turn it off and bring the cookies out (with potholders, of course). "What kind are they?"

[valiantfire]

"I was often too busy to cook, and there were many others who were better than I," being a King and leader of armies kind of took precedence. "I can't wait to learn more here! If you have suggestions, I am quite happy to listen."

Fingon stepped out of Stefan's way, watching how the oven was turned off - he'd managed to turn it on, which was its own accomplishment. "Chocolate chip!" Because chocolate was hard to mess up, right? One taste had made the Elf brighten, and now he wanted to see just what else he could put chocolate in.

[stefanged]

Suddenly those cookies seem a little less appetizing. Stefan blinks back surprise - well, Fingon can't be as bad as Chie. (No one could be as bad as Chie.) Nothing was on fire; nothing smelled smoky; and well, the cookies were golden.

"Sounds perfect," he said, glancing over at the cookies. "Your augment should help with the whole cooking part. I usually try to freeze meat whenever we're planet-side too. I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of the protein pastes."

[valiantfire]

A blink and Fingon recognized he might have made his new captain a bit nervous. "Ah! When I was much younger I would bake cookies and cakes for my family! I do not think it much different here."

It was really just the actual cooking that he had to work on, and learning to use all the strange machines in the kitchen. And what he had to work with. "The augment does help, yes!" Paste? "The paste is supposed to be edible?" Oops...

[stefanged]

"Then you were being modest. I should've assumed."

Stefan couldn't help his laughter, though he tried valiantly to hide it behind his hand. Better that than a disaster of a kitchen, and well? Considering the track record of the Paisley, it wouldn't be a stretch. Half the modern appliances weren't around anyway.

His smile only grew wider at the mention of paste. "Yep. Those dispensers were all we had to eat when I first came on board, and let me tell you - it was the worst."

[valiantfire]

An apologetic little look. But Stefan's laughter brightened the Elf right back up. He didn't mind being laughed at when it didn't sound mean or all that mocking.

He wrinkled his nose. "You will not have to eat that while I am here, or near if I transfer to another ship."

[stefanged]

"Oh? You know other people here?"

That's always exciting. Stefan wouldn't blame him, either, if the transfer took place. He knows he'd rather be with people from home (if and when that opportunity ever presented itself).

[valiantfire]

Fingon didn't try to hide the quiet joy when he spoke. "I have family here, on other ships. Three cousins, and my grandfather."

A grandfather who should be just as dead as Fingon himself. And two of his closest friends, who had always been there for him. He'd gone through literal hell for them.

[stefanged]

A grandfather?? Don't mind Stefan staring. He'd expected to hear of friends or siblings, maybe even some uncles or aunts given the Fleet's population but a grandfather? That was almost ludicrous.

“No kidding.” There's a moment of hesitation on his end. “Have you looked at the transfer paperwork? I could help you with that.”

[valiantfire]

A shy smile grew. "I wouldn't. He is here." Granted Fingon's grandfather looked the same age as any of the other Elves in the Fleet, but that was just how they were.

He stared at Stefan then the smile softened gratefully. "Would you mind?"

[stefanged]

Stefan shook his head. "Not at all. Family's important, and if I had any here - I would've transferred in a heartbeat."

He's almost envious. Almost, because he knows that the only person the multiverse would bring is his older brother, and that would bring far more complicated emotions. Maybe it's for the best that he's alone.

[valiantfire]

"Thank you. You are very kind," Fingon considered himself very lucky. Both in crewmates, and in the family that had been brought.

"I hope your family does come. Be they by blood or choice."

[stefanged]

"I don't know about kind," Stefan counters, right as Fingon brings up his own family.

He ducks his head out of embarrassment. "Thanks, but... at this point, I can't say I'd wish this place on them."

[valiantfire]

"From what you have shown to me so far, I stand by my words," but Fingon spoke gently. The smile remained, though the Elf shrugged elegantly.

"I would not be breathing now if not for this place. Not until I am Reborn. So I have much to be thankful for this place, even if it might not be ideal."

[stefanged]

Well, that. Was sure an honest and true confession.

Stefan blinks back surprise, before he finally manages to say, "Reborn? What do you mean by that?"

[valiantfire]

Enjoy? Fingon didn't intend to speak much about his death. But sometimes somethings must be said.

"My people are Immortal, though we may be slain. In time our...spirits are expected to heal, and when that happens we are Reborn."

[stefanged]

He folds his arms, like he's not invested in the answer (except he totally is).

"Like a reincarnation?"

[valiantfire]

Fingon didn't mind talking about it a little.

"A bit. We are supposed to remember our past lives and be returned much as we were before death. I have not yet met any Reborn."

[stefanged]

"Do you, by chance, ever get reborn as a human?"

He knows he's prying, but he has his reasons, and the almost-desperate tone in his voice indicates it.