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 Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:02 pm
"Oh my...It sounds like I should be worried." His tone was nervous. Lai placed the two containers down but did not shut the cupboard door. He turned to agree with her on milk's greatness, smiling lightly but stopped suddenly as the pot fell.
"Miss Shee...?"
As the woman appeared to be falling, Lai reached out and caught her, pulling her towards him, but not against him. His mouth hung open with surprise and his gray eyes were wide with worry.
"Are you all right Miss Shee?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:21 pm
She felt something against her arm, and clutched the fabric that materialized beside her tightly. The fear she had felt moments before dissipated, and relief replaced it. It wasn't that she was afraid of falling, or even of the pain that would come with her body contacting the remains of the pot that lay scattered on the floor. It was a fear of having to explain what happened after...
She loosened her grip on Lai's sleeve and blinked rapidly. She was embarassed at how... how frail she seemed to appear lately. Always falling, or looking like she was going to faint arbitrarily. Sebastien had been particularly annoying on the issue, hovering over her, and always asking if she was feeling alright. A surge of anger ran through her, and she felt like she couldn't stand the bits of her memory coming back to her so slowly, crippling her. At least... at least this one was a happy memory. Or the part she remembered seemed happy enough.
"I'm sorry, Lai! I'm OK. Just... thinking about ice cream... was not a good idea. So I'm not going to think about it anymore. Instead, I will think about how your vareniki are getting lonely and cold all by themselves over on that counter, and how I will cure their loneliness by going over there and eating them." She took a step, and satisfied that it had just been a moment of dizzyness that had now passed, she walked back over to the stool and picked up one of the small, doughy balls, scrutinizing it thoroughly before taking a bite.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:30 pm
Lai's face was still a mask of worry as he held Shee at arm's length.
"I have never seen thinking about that cause such a reaction..." He trailed off and let her go, watching to make sure she did not fall. Once Shee was at the table Lai looked down at the shattered pot.
"I will clean this up..." Lai walked over to a broom cupboard and got a broom and dust pan before going back to the mess and cleaning it up, dumping the remains in the garbage. He looked back.
"Are you certain you are all right?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:11 pm
"I'm certain! Don't worry so much, Lai! It was a momentary thing. I feel perfectly fine now."
She did feel much less shaken this time. She supposed she was getting used to it, in a twisted sort of way, or perhaps it was because she was trying so hard not to scare Lai, and just keep going on as if nothing had happened. Einar certainly hadn't reacted well... well, to anything.
Shee gave a nervous laugh. "Well, maybe I've had some sort of bad experience with ice cream in the past that I don't remember now." She took another bite, and with her mouth full, she mumbled, "thissh ish good, Lai."
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:25 pm
Lai went to wash his hands but he still turned around to watch Shee, just in case. He was a worrier after all, a quirk developed from his aunt and her mother hen tendencies towards him before and during the time he had lived with her and her family.
"I am sorry Miss Shee, I cannot help worrying. It is a little quirk I have. I hope you do not mind." Hands now clean he dried them and went back to drain the pelmeni, a quick process before putting them in a container then sticking them in the freezer. Next would be the onion, mushroom, pepper mix. At the compliment he turned from the stove.
"I am glad you like them." His face lit up, he liked getting compliments and for him they were few and far between. Most people did not like his "woman's work" talents and berated him for them. "If you have any suggestions for anything I could use to improve upon them, feel free to share."
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:42 pm
Still chewing, she shook her head in Lai and the sink's general direction. She swallowed, and noted she'd already eaten three. She figured she should probably stop soon. Picking up another and taking a large bite, she turned to Lai. "That's OK. Just... don't get together with Sebastien. One of you is plenty."
She smiled at Lai's change in expression. It was much better than his worrying face. "No! They really are very good as they are. Although..." Shee took another bite, and chewed slowly, deciding what she thought it needed. "You could put a green chili in there or two." She frowned as she recalled Midori's first and last excursion into the land of chili peppers. "Or maybe on the side would be better." She brightened as she thought of an idea. "Oh! I know! You could make something really spicy for Wraith, and that would make him happy. He's always complaining that this or that isn't spicy enough. It's a way to get on the boss's good side."
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 8:15 pm
"Sebastien?" The Russian did not know of this person. "One of me?" Again, confused as he scooped the veggie mix into one large container then stowed it away before getting another for the frying potatoes. As Shee started to speak again he turned back.
"Hmm...Chili peppers? Sounds like it would make for an interesting twist, though I have never used them before. Definitely not a Russian food." He smiled at her. "His good side? I would have to look in the library for a suitable cookbook. I am sure there must be a tome on spicy foods in there."
The Russian paused to think over if he had seen any cooking books on his visits to the library. Come to think of it, he had never even looked. Odd, he thought he would have gone looking for those first. He hoped he could find some. New recipes from past and future would be nice to add to his mind.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:19 pm
"Oh. I keep forgetting that you're new. So you wouldn't have met anyone, really. Well, Sebastien's a French noble from the 1600's. He probably practically royalty, but he doesn't really care. He just... worries so much sometimes. It can be overbearing. He is awfully good with a sword though. So--who have you met so far?"
Shee laughed as Lai began to talk about chili peppers. "Well, you should learn! We love them. Well, me and Wraith and Lhamu do. I actually don't think anyone else does." Shee nodded as he continued. "Yeah! There must be a book in there somewhere like that. Sorry I can't help more," Shee said, smiling apologetically, "but I try not to spend very much time in the library."
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:39 am
"He sounds like an interesting character. I worry, but I hope I am not overbearing. I was just...Well, once I had moved to live with my aunt, I was worried over by my her, so I think it rubbed off after the second or third embrace." He laughed a little, remembering his aunt sticking up for him and going insane over one small cut to his finger. "I do not know how she would react to this," He pointed to his face. "But I think it would be just like all the times before, maybe worse."
Lai walked to the fridge with one container full of potatoes before thinking it over. "So far? Just you, Einar, and the Father." He got another container and filled it with the remainder of the vegetables then turned that burner off.
"I shall learn. I think a little later I will head over to the library and see what I can find. I am not one for ingesting spicy foods, but I will gladly make any for those who want them. And do not worry, you have helped me out well enough." Another smile as he turned the steaks on the broiler pan.
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:26 pm
"No! You're not overbearing! Sorry. I didn't mean to say that you were." Shee replied hastily. "Oh? You lived with your aunt? It does seem like she took good care of you though." She laughed as she pictured Lai being crushed by a large, bear-like aunt crudely drawn in her head. She frowned as he drew attention to his face again. "Well, I'd be with her on this one. That does look pretty bad. Maybe I can get something to help with swelling? At the very least, it'll make you smell good!"
"Hmm. Einar and Asmadai. You'll have to meet more people then, because that's not very many. But I do hope you enjoyed their company; it wouldn't be good if recruits didn't particularly like each other. Administrative nightmare, apparently."
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:51 pm
"It is quite all right. I think I must be sometimes though. I do not notice it, so if I am being so, please tell me and I will try to hold back." He nodded. "Yes. My aunt, my uncle, and," He paused, a grimace going over his face. "Sasha. My cousin. Though I only lived with them when I was twelve then up until I was twenty-one."
He shook his head politely to her. "The swelling has gone down. The cream Einar put on it helped a lot and it does not sting anymore. Actually, it stopped once the cream hit the skin." He laughed. "And I do not smell good now?" He was teasing of course, he more than likely smelled like smoke, steam, and cooking things.
"I am sure I will meet up with more. I guess it depends on time and place to meet new faces. Maybe if there were an event or something, that would better chances of meeting different people. Not that I do not like the Father and Einar of course."
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 4:14 pm
Shee laughed as Lai spoke. "Alright, I'll point it out."
"Oh! You have a cousin too? What is he like? Did you guys do fun stuff together all the time?" Shee wished she could remember an cousins she might or might not have had. All she had now was Wraith, and she couldn't remember any fun brother-sister type things that they might or might not have done before time had broken. And now Wraith was always so serious; she did concede that they didn't quite have all that much time for fun.
"Well, you smell sort of like food, and food smells good. So I suppose you smell alright." As Lai continued, Shee brightened, and excitement filled her eyes. Shee squeaked and clapped her hands. "Oh! That's a great idea, Lai! Let's have a party! And then we can all mingle and meet each other and dance and eat and have so much fun!"
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 4:26 pm
"Thank you." He trusted that Shee would. Hopefully more politely than people in the past had done. As she asked him about his cousin he shrugged.
"Sasha is...Sasha. He is loud, egotistical, a big brute who always gets into trouble, but he is loyal when called upon and he enjoys making people laugh, though he can be quite vulgar." Lai could imagine the older man's loud laughter in his head when he thought about it. And ever since leaving Tomsk, before the time break, he had wondered how the now thirty year old man and the rest of his small family were doing. Lai would have to write to them sometime.
At the asking of fun things he nodded. "There were times that were fun with Sasha. He taught me to ride a bicycle and to shoot arrows a little, though I always missed on the latter. He tried to teach me to fight by roughhousing, but being eight years older and considerably larger he always won." Lai laughed. "It would always end with me on my belly with Sasha sitting on my back and telling me what I did wrong. He would say it was for my own good, but like I said, he is egotistical."
"I meant that in a joking way Miss Shee." Lai said with good humor in his voice while commenting on her observation of his scent. "I will probably be better later after a shower." As she got excited about the prospect of a party, he felt relieved that someone liked his proposal. He nodded to her. "That does sound like a good time. But when would it be held? It is almost the end of September already."
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Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 4:03 pm
"Oh. vulgar's not very good, is it. But he does seem like he can be fun! Ah!" Shee gasped slightly. "I know! He reminds me of Neph. You haven't met Eknephias yet, have you? He was away when you arrived."
They were due back any day now. LOTUS had seemed a little less alive without most of it's core members; but they were doing important things-- Shee sulked as she remembered how Wraith hadn't let her go along.
"Bicycles are fun. I know I used to have one-- because I can ride one and I don't know why... it's either luck or just my bad memory." Shee smiled a little. If only she could figure out some of the more important things so easily. "It's good you know how to fight though. You never know when that can come in handy. So I suppose Sasha was right, in a twisted sort of way. I mean, you ended up joining LOTUS after all."
She tilted her head in thought as Lai ruminated on the party idea. "But it's perfect timing! Some of our members have been away, and they're supposed to be back really soon! We could have a sort of welcome back party. Ah! And it's almost Halloween too! Laiii... why didn't you think of this before? We have so much work to do!"
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Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 4:19 pm
He shook his head as Shee talked about being vulgar.
"I agree, but then again Sasha was never a dainty child." He grinned. "I think he would be married by now though. Last time I saw him he was engaged." The Russian thought back to the last time he had even heard his cousin's future wife's name. "I think her name is Nataliya."
At the mention of another recruit he shook his head again. "No Miss Shee. Only yourself, the Father, and Einar. And I am not really one for fighting. I am a pacifist." He figured his flighty nature and somewhat calm appearance would automatically point that out about him. At the mention of Shee once having her own bicycle his face lit up, pushing fighting out of his mind.
"I happen to have my own bicycle. If you like, you can borrow it when you fancy. Though, I think it might be too late in the season to ride around. Winter is coming, I can feel it." He really needed to write home and ask his aunt for some changes of clothes and sewing materials. He'd freeze wearing what he had on now in the dead of winter. Plus, he believed he left his reading glasses back in St. Petersburg, so he'd need another pair.
"Perfect timing?" A small crease appeared between his eyebrows. "Hallo-ween?" What an odd word, he clearly did not know what it meant or what it was. "I do not know what that is Miss Shee. What is Hallo-ween?"
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