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 Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:33 pm
Cedar dazed off, as she cooked. omelets were easy, and she was on auto pilot. Her mind started to wander. The holidays were coming up... Maybe she could have people over. They could even spend the night. Sure... most of them were still witchlings, but they couldn't be that young right? Come to think about it... How old is Lea? Might not look good if they were that much younger.. but a year or two.. Couldn't hurt right? That and... It would be the first time she'd be spending the Holidays alone. And it's not like she could just mooch of someone else, and spend it with their family. She could feel her mood starting to change, and she shook her head trying to regain herself.
With a large breath in and then bit of a wince, she exhaled. She looked down a the omelets, and she flipped them over. Adding in some spices, she turned off the burner, and let them finish cooking. She went and got the fresh orange juice, from the fridge, and then plated the food, putting napkins, and forks on a tray. Carefully lifting them, and headed back into the store front.
"Lunch is ready~" She announced as she entered. In the time that she had left, Lea seemed to have finished up the stocking. She smiled at him... She would have been there all night if it weren't for him. So the least she could do was feed him. She slide the tray onto the counter, and then dragged over two stools.
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 12:52 pm
Though he was left to work on his own at the front of the store, not once did Lea stop to skive or take a break as he worked relentlessly on lining that one last shelf with the intended products, intent on completing this particular task before lunch was finally ready. Twenty minutes. That was the amount of time he had spent this time round and the mononoke was very pleased with his progress thus far. He was starting to get the hang of it and nothing gave him greater joy than knowing that he was getting better at whatever he was doing. He would probably ask Cedar to take a last look through before commencing the process of cleaning up the mess later on in the afternoon. Just to be sure, he mused inwardly to himself as his stomach made a loud growling sound as if to protest against having been ignored the entire time in favour of completing his job instead.
And it was by a stroke of good luck as well as good timing that Cedar showed up with food and drinks on a tray, announcing her arrival a few seconds shortly after entering the room itself. "Thanks... for preparing lunch." He went over to join her at the counter, sitting himself on one of the stools as he peered at the contents of the tray. Orange juice and omelette. Hmm... not even Kei's omelettes looked half as good as this. Impressive. "So... would you care to share what's in this omelette then?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:55 pm
Settling on her stool Cedar looked over at him. She never realized how green his eyes were. She started to stare into them, they looked like emeralds...She blinked a couple times before she realized that she had dazed out some. "In the omelets?" A bit of a flush reached her cheeks and she laughed some. "Well I used some peppers, tomatoes and onions. And then some fresh cheese...And eggs of course." She grinned at him. "Only the best." She gave him the utensils, "I don't normally have meat around the store. But I will on occasion, closer to the holidays, but it's expensive to do year around." She murmured softly... Knowing he probably liked meat. Not that she was a vegetarian, but she didn't often buy it herself because of the price.
"I hope you like it. My mother taught me to cook when I was younger... More specifically baking, because of the produce. She sold baked goods, back in Clarus Arbor." She smiled fondly at the memories of her mother... More so before the pregnancy then anything. "I learned a lot about cooking when I got a job at the nearby Pub." Her expression changed, to something more normal. "Anyways, eat up before it gets cold!"
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 8:25 pm
Lea nodded at Cedar's initial questioning, somewhat oblivious to her staring as he reached across the counter to take the cutlery from her with a hint of a smile on his face. Making a cut into his omelette, he looked closely at its cross section, making a note of its light consistency as he went through the list of ingredients that had gone into the omelette itself. The greens and reds of the peppers and tomatoes were a wonderful contrast to the egg and he could barely keep himself from salivating at the aroma of freshly melted cheese that wafted through the air.
"Seems pretty convenient that you're running a fresh produce store in a way, given that you will constantly have access to all of these." It was probably a good thing that all his meals were provided for by the academy cafeteria and that he could have access to all the meat he wanted. Not that that would keep him from making his fortnightly to monthly visits to the nearby forest for fresh game, an activity that seemed to quell the feline predator within as well as provided ample opportunity for him to work out as well as hone his skills when he was in his snow leopard form. "I think it's good to have a balance of everything. Too much meat in a person's diet can't be too healthy either." He offered his honest opinion on the matter.
The shift in Cedar's facial expression as she reminisced her memories of her mother was not lost on Lea and he gave her his full attention during the entire time when she spoke, a pensive expression on his face as he too tried to recall what little he could remember of his family. The images had gotten fuzzy over the years and he quickly dismissed them from his mind lest they started affecting his demeanour. Picking up a piece of omelette with his fork, he placed it in his mouth and took his time in savouring the flavour before chewing and then swallowing it. "It smells as well as tastes good. I'm sure that your mother must have been a great teacher and that she too would be proud of all of your creations if they turn out as good as this." He finally complimented with a sheepish smile.
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 7:46 pm
"Well... I do still own the farm. I think I deserve all the food I want." She laughed. "But it is nice knowing I have what I need... Granted when the season changes so will the produce." She looked down at her food, poking it with a fork before she sliced into it, and took a bite. She smiled a bit as she tasted it, and swallowed. She sighed softly as she suddenly wasn't feeling very hungry.
"Yeah I'm sure she would have..." She trailed off, lost in her own thoughts, not the fondest of memories. When she realized what she had done, she blinked, and looks at him, hoping she hadn't missed something... That was very rude of her to have done. "Ah... What about your family?" She inquired, not knowing about his past. "Kei and Lulu, I believe you called them?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 11:20 pm
"Of course. That would certainly make sense." Lea agreed with Cedar, the smile that was already on his face widening ever so slightly as evident by the upward curling of the edges of his lips. "It is nature's way of gifting us with variety, be it in terms of food, colours or climate. The season's change I mean... wouldn't you agree?" He helped himself to another serving of the omelette, reaching for his glass of juice to wash it down with as emeralds took in the introspective expression on her face. She looked a little lost. Maybe even forlorn if he was reading things right and he was starting to wonder if it had been a good idea for him to talk about her mother in the first place.
"So which is your favourite season then?" A feeble attempt at changing the topic on his part and then it was his turn to start pushing what was left of his omelette around on his plate at the question about his family. "Yes. They're kind of like my adoptive family since they took me in back when I had nowhere to go." He had no qualms whatsoever with regards to talking about Kei and Lulu. "Kei resides in Clarus Arbor. He's an Ars Lilium and he taught me most of what I know prior to my enrolling into the academy." He had nothing to hide after all. When it came to them that is. "Lulu is his cat familiar."
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:27 pm
"Yes I do... The gifts of nature." She waved her fork a little bit. "Well I would think my favorite season was obvious, but it's Autumn." She smiled at him. She pondered over his comment about having no where else to go... But she was a bit more intuitive and figured now wasn't the time to ask about it.
"Well they sound lovely." She nodded, so Lulu was a familiar... For some reason she was a bit relieved about that. "I would like to meet them some day. I'd like to be an Ars Lilium when I get older, and ready for the quest." She changed the topic... Smoothly she thought.
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Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 6:27 pm
Autumn. Her answer didn't really surprise Lea any, given the colours Cedar had donned the very first time the both of them had crossed paths back in Lumena. Orange and brown. Still, it wasn't very polite to assume things about others even if they were obvious. Kei had taught him that.
"They are. Kei's like a father to me and Lulu... a mother perhaps though I suppose it'll seem odd to most, if not all, people since she's a familiar." He could so picture in his mind Lulu looking flabbergasted initially, should she ever learn that there were times when he probably looked upon her as a mother figure of sorts, before lapsing back into her routine litany of what he should be doing and gently reminding him that he should visit them more often. He missed them lots during his time at the academy and it was heartwarming to know that the feeling was mutual too.
"I'm planning to pay them a visit during the coming winter break for Christmas and New Year." He paused for a few seconds to finish the last of his omelette. "I know that Kei will be more than pleased to share with you his life stories as an Ars Lilium so maybe you'd like to um... consider making the trip with me..?" He offered gently, hoping that he had managed to give her ample leeway to not feel obliged towards accepting his offer.
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:56 pm
Cedar munched on her cooling food as she listened to him talk. It sounded nice... Almost picturesque in it's own way. She tried to picture the scenes he talked about, and as she finished eating, she slide down from her stool, and started to gather the plates.
"Oh yeah? I'm sure it'll be nice." She said, keeping her eyes low. She was jealous... Sure, her family life had gotten a bit rough after the death of her brother. But... She still had the good memories. And this year the memories would be all that she had. And it welled up inside her. It did hurt, but it's not like her parents died suddenly or anything. She was so into her own thoughts that she had almost missed Lea's following statement.
"Me? For the Holidays?" She was actually surprised. She laughed a bit, suddenly feeling on the spot. "Well... I'll consider it. It would be very helpful to talk with an Ars lilium to help with my path..." She quickly gathered the plates, trying her best not to crash them together, and she vanished into the back room to clean up.
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 3:23 am
There was a grim expression on Lea's face the moment Cedar was out of sight, his gaze lowered and unfocused as he played back the entire conversation that had just transpired in his mind. Cedar appeared preoccupied... no, more like unhappy during the later part of the conversation and he was pretty sure that it must have been over something he had said. Perhaps his decision to invite her along for the trip was a bad idea in the first place and she was somewhat offended by his proposal? Now that he thought of it, he was beginning to seriously wonder what had possessed him to do that in the first place.
Twitching his ears, he gave an inaudible sigh as he considered their circumstances. The both of them weren't exactly very close and here he was, suggesting that they go on a trip together to meet Kei and Lulu, the only 2 individuals in the world whom he considered the closest to family at this point in time, for the coming holidays as if they had been best buddies for months. Yeah, that had to be it since it made perfect sense. Kei wasn't exactly kidding when he said that he needed to spend more time interacting with his peers so that he would come to learn what was or was not socially acceptable.
Glancing up at where Cedar had disappeared to, Lea began to wonder how she was doing and if she needed any help. He definitely owed her an apology at some point for rambling thoughtlessly and stepping out of line awhile back. Maybe when the both of them were done for the day.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 5:01 pm
Cedar silently washed the dishes. She knew she came off as if she just brushed off the idea. But... She was really tempted to go. She wanted to be around love, even if she wasn't in the family. Just the love that fills the room... But what was holding her back was that, she and Lea didn't know each other very long, it could look bad if the two of them went on a trip like that.
She didn't care so much about what other people thought but more so that it seemed improper. She chewed on her lower lip as she thought it over washing the dishes and drying them.
After a short while she made her way back into the store front, and it seemed like they really were almost done. She cleared her throat started to pick up some of the mess, and she kept glancing at Lea. As time passed the store started to become cleaner and cleaner from their efforts. When they had finished she finally turned to him.
"You know... I think I would like to go with you."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:20 am
The silence that hung in the air as both Cedar and Lea continued working tirelessly on getting the shop front stocked up and organized was stifling. And Lea knew that it was none other than his fault and something that he needed to act on. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought of how he should go about it. In fact, the snow leopard mononoke already had it all planned out. Right down to what he should do as well as what Cedar's responses would be like. He just hadn't had the opportunity to put his plan in action thus far.
When the young witch finally turned to address him, the words that made up the apology which he had been rehearsing over and over in his mind the entire afternoon left his lips even before he heard her concur to his earlier proposed idea. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said something as stupid as that. You really don't have to go if you don't want to." The young witchling smiled sheepishly, having finally gotten the chance to say his piece. There. That should do the... He opened his mouth and gaped in disbelief over Cedar's words when what she had said eventually hit home. "I... you... I mean... are you sure about this?" Nice going Lea. Nice going...
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:33 pm
Cedar gave him a smile. "Yeah, I was thinking about it... It would be nice to meet an Ars and to spend the holidays with someone." Spending the holidays alone seemed to really bother her. She really needed to come to terms that her family was now gone. She gave him a big smile, putting the tools away, and doing a couple last minute touch ups, finishing the store off.
He was cute bursting out like he did. She wondered if he was naturally flustered, or if it was just the situation, but she liked Lea. She hoped that she would get to spend more time with him. "What day do you leave?" Oddly enough time would start to fly.
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:10 pm
Not wanting to appear any more silly or rude than he already had been, Lea quickly shut his mouth, his usual calm and composed disposition back in place by the time Cedar posed her question to him. "It may not be much since it's usually a simple affair for us, but I'm pretty sure that both Kei and Lulu would love to have you over." He nodded with a smile, hands reaching behind his back to undo the apron strings now that the task was completed. Upon removing the apron, he folded it neatly before handing it back to Cedar.
"I can't really remember offhand the exact date right now. Perhaps I can get back to you on that the next time I come over?" A pause followed by another question. "Speaking of which, which days and what time would you like me to come by? Assuming that I'm um... hired I mean..." He added sheepishly.
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:40 pm
Cedar smiled and nodded. "That would be fine." And then blinked at him as he handed her the apron back. "Oh?" She tilted her head and then offered the apron back to him, since it was now his. "Of course you are. And I wouldn't mind daily, after your classes are over for the day. And we can work with days you need off for studying and such. When things settle down, you can take even more time then." She smiled.
And with that, the store opened officially the next day, and everything went smoothly.
(( DONE ))
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