driftfleet | [ you can't do that right now. ]

Who: Belthazar and you!
Broadcast: Y
Action: The Goldstone.
When: After the shuffle

[action; bridge]
[This is kind of old hat to Belthazar by now, but he's still startled to be deposited on yet another ship. He hasn't been on this one before. Two long pointy ears stick straight out of his messy hair, just as strange as his glowing eyes. It's weird to have all his memories suddenly there, and he's a bit disoriented by that.

He also hates dealing with change. Dreadfully so. He takes a moment to straighten his collar and regain his composure.]

It appears I'm your new cook. You're welcome to the pudding, but a word of warning: even rats won't eat that, if given the chance.

[action; kitchen]
[One of his first acts as the new cook is to completely reorder the kitchen. However people were eating before, that is about to change. Walking in, it looks like something out of Matilda-- flour, sugar, and starch all marching along to their assigned spaces in the cupboards; pots and pans neatly slotting together and sliding into yet another cupboard; and the beginnings of a stew simmering warmly on the stovetop. Belthazar dictates all of this with one hand while the other measures some spices into the broth.

Whatever he's making smells really good, but the cook himself doesn't seem to notice anyone else walking in. He's a little too engrossed in enchanting the colanders and cake pans.]

-----

[broadcast; video]
[Once he's had dinner started (because Light knows these people have probably never had a decent meal in their lives), he sorts out his new room and his personal shopping list. If he's going down to whatever planet they're docked at, he wants to make sure he gets the necessities-- cooking utensils, meat for the freezer, fresh vegetables, spices, and whatever else they can possibly grow on their own.

As always he's doing twenty things at once, but he pauses because he really needs to see how much time has passed and if anyone he knows is still here. He fidgets a little with the device until he can turn it on again.

He hasn't grown up too much since he was last here, with a healthy amount of baby fat still in his cheeks, but his eyes are a bright gold instead of their old radioactive green.]

My name is Belthazar. I was here, once, but between all the time that's passed at home and coming back, I haven't figured out how long it's been. The food still tastes like a different four-letter word, so I suppose things haven't changed all that much.

... I feel as if I'm waking from a very long dream, but I'm not sure which one's the dream. [He runs a hand through his bangs.] Er, right, my list. [He fumbles a bit with a pen and paper and tries to pretend he isn't a graceless creature.]

Does the Iskaulit still have a greenhouse? And, is there a place in this system where I can shop for a kitchen?

[He has more questions, but food is always a good place to start.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Belthazar is so wrapped up in his concentration that the sound of footsteps completely misses him. He has elven hearing for all the good it does; he could be three chapters away from the end of a book and miss a house being dropped on him. Thus, Felix's greeting startles him right out of what he's doing. He fumbles with the salt shaker and just barely manages to catch it, but everything floating above the cupboards promptly and loudly thunks against the countertop.]

Light! [He stares at his visitor with wide eyes for a second, ears pinned back, and then he finally remembers himself.] How long have you been standing there?

[Wait, didn't he say something--]

Library? [!!!!] Wait, I think I remember... Is there still one on the Iskaulit?

[The sudden clambor of sound does makes him flinch, just slightly. But it's not enough that he would, you know, apologize]

No one has burned it down yet.

[Of course not. And Belthazar doesn't entirely expect him to. He gathers up everything again with a motion of his hands-- both of them-- and slides them into the cupboard where they ought to be.]

That's a relief. It's been so long since I visited... It used to be where I slept.

I don't know if we've met. [Finished with setting everything aside, he faces Felix and crosses his arms.] My name is Belthazar Anor'thalion. I'm the new cook.

[He is honestly impressed and, just faintly, a bit envious of the ease and power that the young elf so readily displays]

Not officially, in the very least. Felix Harrowgate...[he gestures faintly at his person, deciding not to offer his hand since Belthazar had opted for the opposite]...your engineer, for what's it's worth. I used to be a cook, actually, before I requested a transfer.

[Belthazar seems to be taking him in, but at least it's not... as bad as it could be. He's softened quite a bit over the years, but he's still... cranky...]

Engineers help keep the ship running, so we're fortunate you switched. Cooking has always been something of a hobby so I am fine with the lot I was given. I have some talent for alchemy, but that only halfway applies to the infirmary officer, I think...

Regardless, you're welcome to cook if you'd like. Do you have any allergies, or know of anyone with a special diet? Previously I had a horse for a shipmate and had to cook vegetarian to accommodate.

[He doesn't show much pause at the mention of a horse as a shipmate]

I cooked largely out of necessity, so you're welcome to it. I don't think I have much talent for it, without the augment to assist, though maybe I can say the same for my current position - I simply appreciate being in a ship that's less likely to be shot down. But to answer your question, no, not that I'm aware. It's never come up.

What sort of alchemy do you practice?

Understandable. There are perks to having a cook on board, and everything runs much better when people are well-fed, so I do not anticipate switching my augment anytime soon unless absolutely necessary.

[No special diets, hmm... That's good. That leaves Belthazar as the only one with certain... unusual needs.]

I practice herbology with both magical and mundane plants, and use those properties to make elixirs with desirable effects. It began as a way to make up for my lack of healing magic, but I can make mana potions and things of that sort if I have the right materials.

I'm not certain what those materials might be, though I have a small alchemy lab located in the Iskaulit, should you want to make use of it. As I don't practice the art myself I can't be sure of what you need, though I've taken a rudimentary attempt at stocking it.

[He frowns thoughtfully]

It still seems strange to me that simple plants can have such interesting effects.

[His expression brightens somewhat.]

Anything is better than nothing. I had a modest collection myself before I vanished last time, and potions too.

[Comfortable enough, he turns around to continue placing stuff back in the cupboard, though with a little less magic. Just a little. Some stuff must be floated to the high shelf, but he doesn't want to risk clocking Felix in the head while he's here.]

On Azeroth-- my world-- mana is in just about everything. Some creatures are made entirely of it, like dragons and elementals. If a plant grows near a leyline or some magical fountain it's likely to carry some magical property, like when you pour a kind of coloring in a flower pot to make the blossoms change color.

[He appreciates the lack of head injuries]

I suppose that makes sense. Magic is incredibly permeable to the environment, especially the longer it it used there - at least in my own world. But it isn't everywhere. I imagine in a world with mana...that it would have that kind of effect. Have you tried it since you've gotten to the fleet, by any chance?

Tried what? Imbuing a plant with magic?

[He carefully levitates a jar of dried beans to a higher shelf.]

Enchanting something is a different art entirely. I'm well-versed in it, but enchanting living things takes more energy, and I have a finite amount of mana. The return just doesn't justify the means.

[He pauses. He should... probably tell Felix, though the admitting is always the hardest part.]

I meant potion-making, but on the other hand it's interesting to know such a thing is even possible, albeit rather stupid.

[He eyes the floating cans, now taking more note of the process than he had when he first walked in]

How fast does your mana replenish?

[For someone has finite mana, Belth seems to use a lot]

Oh. Yes. I haven't been able to make anything good, though-- just salves and sleeping tonics. And not-sleeping tonics.

[Belth hesitates again.]

It... ah... it doesn't. Not enough to sustain myself.

[Felix's thoughts on the mysteries of potions and the working of spells are pulled away by this second bit of hesitation and into a distant memory. It's been a long...long time since he had known Liadrin.]

I see.

[A small pause of his own]

You're a blood elf, aren't you?

[Belthazar's ears stick straight up. He whirls around.]

... I am. You know about my people? About what they-- what we've done?

Only some of it. I was friends with one of your people once, a long time ago and another universe away. She didn't tell me all of it, but I do recall that she needed to absorb magic or she would get sick.

[The words 'what we've done' stick with him. Worry at him. But there were few people that were beyond reproach. He pauses only slightly before he continues.]

Is that still true?

[There's understanding in his eyes. Belth, too, had friends another universe away. But he's not fortunate enough to consort with enemy princes. Not ever.]

It is. We have the fountain of mana we need-- restored about ten years ago. But I can't feel it here, and so I've had to look for alternatives.

[ you can't do that right now. ]

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