It's a little bewildering — people don't just do that, start conversations
over like they didn't happen — but he's relieved anyway, sighing and
deflating like a popped balloon when she closes the door.
When she opens the door again, he's ready for his third impression. "Indeed
we shall!" And he holds out his arm for her to take, trying to find his
footing as a perfect gentleman.
Harley rests her hand on the crook of his elbow and lets him lead her through the tour. He isn't allowed to rush through anything this time. She has follow up questions on everything he points out, sometimes asking for more information and sometimes pressing for his personal opinion. More than once she tugs him in a different direction because something catches her eye. Harley wants to know everything.
So different than the first time Gale rushed her through the tour, this
time he takes his time, answering all her questions in almost obnoxious
detail. When she argues, he seems to have even more fun, displaying a bit
of wit that hadn't yet been apparent.
By the time they're through, evening has fallen, and Gale looks surprised
to see the sky outside entirely dark. "Are you hungry?" he says.
Her stomach grumbles immediately at her question and it's her turn to flush red from embarrassment. She presses a hand to her gut as if she can shut it up that way.
"Are we allowed to eat off schedule?"
The last temples to take her in were very particular about rules and routines.
Gale blinks at the question like he wasn't expecting it, but then nods.
"Yes, we're allowed to eat outside of set mealtimes, but if you do, you're
on your own in preparing your food. I can make you something."
Unexpected kindness makes her imagine their wedding for a second before she can talk herself down. Someone being a little bit nice is no reason to lose her head. He probably gets extra credit for it.
Her adoring expression makes him beam. He's not entirely altruistic in his kindness, then — he is a good boy, his mother had made sure of that, but he also yearns for praise. "Then follow me, as the tour isn't yet complete!" He leads her first to the dining hall, just to show her where she would be having dinner if they hadn't run late on their tour.
Next, he heads towards the kitchens. "Apprentices are expected to help with dinner. You'll have an assigned day for kitchen work once per tenday. Whether or not you have any cooking experience, you'll have some task you can help with, and you'll pick up more skills as you go. I'll help get you acquainted with the layout." Unlike the dining room with its vaulted ceilings, this is a working kitchen not meant to impress. It is, however, large and clean, with a well stocked larder adjacent to it.
She finally releases his arm once they get to the kitchen, since he surely can't cook with her hand at his elbow. She clasps her hands behind her back and roams along the length of the counter.
"I have experience being kicked out of many kitchens. But I am fairly proficient at scrubbing!"
"A useful skill in a kitchen! What about chopping?" He heads into the larder to get what he needs, fetching onions, garlic,and tomatoes, amongst other things he nestles into a basket.
He had been holding out a knife, but at that he pulls it back to his chest,
brows furrowed. "I can't tell if you're joking. You really need all your
fingers; somatic components are more difficult without them."
He considers this for a long moment, knife still held close to his chest while he frowns. Finally he sighs, turns the knife around, and hands her the handle. "You are chaos. Let's see how chaos fairs at chopping an onion."
He gets out a cutting board and sets her up at a spot on the counter, eyeing her warily as he prepares the rest, getting out a pot, setting it over a flame he magics up, putting in a dollop of butter once he's got it heated.
She hums a tune as she chops the onion, something popular in Baldurian taverns. The cuts are rough and uneven in shape and size, but the onion is undeniably in multiple pieces. Technically a success.
The fumes sting her sinuses, so she's red-eyed and sniffly when she brings the cutting board over. If anyone asks, she will be saying that Gale's tour brought her to tears.
"Not bad," Gale agrees as he scoops the onions into the pan, where they start to sizzle. "But it will be easier if you hold the knife properly." Without asking permission, he puts his hand over hers, adjusting her grip. He also shows her how to curl the fingers of her off hand under so that she can grasp what she's cutting without risking her fingertips. He gives her peppers to chop next, standing beside her to finely chop garlic.
Something about him reaching across her and touching her hands makes her posture automatically switch to flirt mode. She stands up straighter and squeezes her arms against the sides of her ribcage, which makes her breasts plump together under her stays. She inclines her head just so to let her perfumed hair slip off her shoulder and expose the pale length of her throat. Her eyelids lower so she can peer through her lashes.
It's a cheap trick, but one that works often enough that it's become a habit.
The heat creeping up the back of her neck is entirely involuntary, however.
"So how were you selected for the grand high honor of being my guide?"
Instead, he frowns down at her hands, shaking his head.
"I know it feels awkward at first, but if you don't curve your fingers
under, you'll eventually slice the tips off. Like this." He shows her again
the way he holds the little garlic clove as he slices it.
Her question makes him frown, obviously annoyed by something, but he seems
to realize this might be offensive, so he fixes his face before continuing,
"The headmaster said that... It would be good for me, to meet new people."
He actually said it would be good for Gale to practice socializing with his
peers, but that's too embarrassing to admit.
Well, that takes the wind out of her sails. She stops trying to push her tits up to the heavens and focuses on curling her fingers out of the way as she chops peppers.
"Aha! I'm punishment." She tries to say it with light humor but there's an undercurrent of bitterness. She knew it.
"If you were intended to be punishment, then they chose poorly. If they wanted to punish me, they'd have made me spend time with Vandemaar," Gale replies evenly. The garlic and the peppers go into the skillet, and it already smells wonderful, Gale starts measuring in spices with little spoons, which ramps the smell up, but also stings their eyes a little. One way or another, he's going to keep making her cry. "Besides, what would I possibly need to be punished for?" Well, there's plenty of trouble he gets into, but he's the top student, so he gets away with most of it.
"Who is Vandemaar?" She sensed the glimmering thread of gossip and can't resist tugging those strings.
She also, after such a successful turn as sous chef, nicks her finger while rinsing the knife. She hisses a little foul language and sucks on her knuckle.
Gale frowns, adding tomatoes to the pan with the previous ingredients.
While he talks, he slices bread and starts it toasting. "Someone who
doesn't focus nearly as much on his studies as he should. At this rate,
he'll never finish his education. He'll be here his entire life. Yet he's
all the more popular for it, which is entirely—" She curses, and he turns
to rush over, demanding, "Let me see. How bad is it?"
It seems to Harley that Vandemaar is probably more fun at parties than Gale, and that Gale might think a party should involve at least two hours of diligent note taking. That train of thought might have contributed to her distraction.
She startles at Gale suddenly getting bossy at her and hides her hand behind her back.
Gale frowns at that. As a rule, teenage boys don't like being called
mother. "A wizard ought to be more careful with his or her hands." He takes
out an embroidered handkerchief and presses it to her fingers, then starts
looking through a cabinet. "Hold that. There should be a potion or two for
kitchen accidents."
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It's a little bewildering — people don't just do that, start conversations over like they didn't happen — but he's relieved anyway, sighing and deflating like a popped balloon when she closes the door.
When she opens the door again, he's ready for his third impression. "Indeed we shall!" And he holds out his arm for her to take, trying to find his footing as a perfect gentleman.
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So different than the first time Gale rushed her through the tour, this time he takes his time, answering all her questions in almost obnoxious detail. When she argues, he seems to have even more fun, displaying a bit of wit that hadn't yet been apparent.
By the time they're through, evening has fallen, and Gale looks surprised to see the sky outside entirely dark. "Are you hungry?" he says.
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"Are we allowed to eat off schedule?"
The last temples to take her in were very particular about rules and routines.
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Gale blinks at the question like he wasn't expecting it, but then nods. "Yes, we're allowed to eat outside of set mealtimes, but if you do, you're on your own in preparing your food. I can make you something."
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Unexpected kindness makes her imagine their wedding for a second before she can talk herself down. Someone being a little bit nice is no reason to lose her head. He probably gets extra credit for it.
"I mean, I'm not going to turn that down!"
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Next, he heads towards the kitchens. "Apprentices are expected to help with dinner. You'll have an assigned day for kitchen work once per tenday. Whether or not you have any cooking experience, you'll have some task you can help with, and you'll pick up more skills as you go. I'll help get you acquainted with the layout." Unlike the dining room with its vaulted ceilings, this is a working kitchen not meant to impress. It is, however, large and clean, with a well stocked larder adjacent to it.
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"I have experience being kicked out of many kitchens. But I am fairly proficient at scrubbing!"
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She's made it this far in life without severing any noticeable parts, so she's probably not all that bad. Probably.
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He had been holding out a knife, but at that he pulls it back to his chest, brows furrowed. "I can't tell if you're joking. You really need all your fingers; somatic components are more difficult without them."
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"S'pose we'll find out together."
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He gets out a cutting board and sets her up at a spot on the counter, eyeing her warily as he prepares the rest, getting out a pot, setting it over a flame he magics up, putting in a dollop of butter once he's got it heated.
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The fumes sting her sinuses, so she's red-eyed and sniffly when she brings the cutting board over. If anyone asks, she will be saying that Gale's tour brought her to tears.
"Still got ten fingers. Not bad."
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Something about him reaching across her and touching her hands makes her posture automatically switch to flirt mode. She stands up straighter and squeezes her arms against the sides of her ribcage, which makes her breasts plump together under her stays. She inclines her head just so to let her perfumed hair slip off her shoulder and expose the pale length of her throat. Her eyelids lower so she can peer through her lashes.
It's a cheap trick, but one that works often enough that it's become a habit.
The heat creeping up the back of her neck is entirely involuntary, however.
"So how were you selected for the grand high honor of being my guide?"
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Gale doesn't notice the change in posture.
Instead, he frowns down at her hands, shaking his head.
"I know it feels awkward at first, but if you don't curve your fingers under, you'll eventually slice the tips off. Like this." He shows her again the way he holds the little garlic clove as he slices it.
Her question makes him frown, obviously annoyed by something, but he seems to realize this might be offensive, so he fixes his face before continuing, "The headmaster said that... It would be good for me, to meet new people." He actually said it would be good for Gale to practice socializing with his peers, but that's too embarrassing to admit.
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"Aha! I'm punishment." She tries to say it with light humor but there's an undercurrent of bitterness. She knew it.
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She also, after such a successful turn as sous chef, nicks her finger while rinsing the knife. She hisses a little foul language and sucks on her knuckle.
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Gale frowns, adding tomatoes to the pan with the previous ingredients. While he talks, he slices bread and starts it toasting. "Someone who doesn't focus nearly as much on his studies as he should. At this rate, he'll never finish his education. He'll be here his entire life. Yet he's all the more popular for it, which is entirely—" She curses, and he turns to rush over, demanding, "Let me see. How bad is it?"
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She startles at Gale suddenly getting bossy at her and hides her hand behind her back.
"It's fine!"
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"Why are you hiding?" He asks, holding out his hand expectantly, now convinced that it most be really bad. "Let me see."
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"It's nothing, mother Gale."
The cut is shallow but fingers do be bleeding.
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Gale frowns at that. As a rule, teenage boys don't like being called mother. "A wizard ought to be more careful with his or her hands." He takes out an embroidered handkerchief and presses it to her fingers, then starts looking through a cabinet. "Hold that. There should be a potion or two for kitchen accidents."
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