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April 21st

Kami smiled widely as she watched Keanu inspect the crate incredulously, chirping curiously as he did. Upon opening her door that morning, she had finally stumblaed upon what she had been waiting for. "It's finally come!" she said, and heaved it into the house. She had been waiting for this to come, the package she had sent away for from the mainland. It contained several books, all on all sorts of different plants and herbs, and assorted packets of seeds, for later use. She planned to make a garden of some sort, not knowing what would thrive in the island atmosphere and what wouldn't.

Sitting on the couch, she flipped through one of the books, as Keanu rooted through the peanut packaging in the box. She knew Keanu was growing, and sooner or later he was going to want to take interest in his future job, which was to be an herbalist. She knew nothing of plants, or cooking, and didn't know how well the little gryphon would pay attention in his current stage. She had resolved to read and learn as much as she could herself, and prepare for when he would be more focused. It would be smart to do, as she would be able to guide him a bit better than if they both dove into it unprepared. Chuckling she glanced up to watch him. "Don't eat any of those, now..." she said, and went back to the book, shaking her head lightly.

May 11th

Kami smiled as she observed the little sprout at eye level. To her delight, the sage seeds they had planted only days before was doing very well, or so it seemed. Since then she had decided to use another pot, and both sat on the window sill, labelled with small pieces of tape, one 'Sages', and the newest one, chives. She decided she would stick with seasoning herbs for now, until she could learn more.

June 4th

June 5th

Opening her door, Kami smiled and took in a breath of fresh air. She wasn't a moment out of the house when she tripped quite suddenly, nearly propelling herself off the porch, stumbling down the step abruptly. "Ouchies!" she whimpered, and held her foot, before looking back to see what obstacle had caused her to stumble. She had suspected a rock perhaps, or maybe a toy, left by one of her mischievous charges as a joke. But no, it wasn't that at all.

She picked up the funny looking objects, which had tipped over. She hefted the bowl-like object in one hand, and picked up the smaller, piece, which had rolled a short ways. She had seen objects like these before! But she didn't know what they were called. She frowned, thinking for a moment, until she noticed the note. "Aha..." she set the items down and read over the note, eyebrows rising up slowly as her eyes progressed over the print. "Woo!!!" she picked up the items and wisked them into the house, greatly excited.

Keanu looked up sleepily, perking a small ear to listen to his mother's approaching footsteps. He had been taking a nap on his favourite windowsill...what could she want? He peered up through sleep-glazed eyes as she reached him, noticing the bowl as well. Mmm...Maybe treats! His human always put food in bowls. He got up and stretched, and cocked his head. She certainly looked more happy than usual. He chirruped shrilly, as if to inquire about the thing she held in her hand.

"Look Keanu, Alyosha's sent you a present!" she set the bowl on a table nearby. "I think it's pretty special...come have a look!" she said, beckoning him to come. She recognized the objects as tools used to grind materials. She had always thought them to be more for medecine, but guessed that they could be used in cooking as well. It was quite a cleverchoice, and was eager to see what would happen.

Keanu clicked in light annoyance. He had to get up? Oh well...he yawned again, and fluttered onto the table, still a bit clumsy in his drowsy state. He looked at the item carefully, sniffed, before moving to paw at the bowl, and look inside, moving the grinding tool back and forth in curiosity. Sooo....what was this thing supposed to be, again?

Eyes widening, Kami stumbled back a little as she watched her little one make his transformation. "Eee, Keanu!" she laughed ecstatically, and ran over to him, smiling widely as she watched. "What a handsome little guy you are!" she said, observing him with wide, admiring eyes.

Keanu shook his head as if attempting to rid himself of the dizziness, giving a very soft whimper. He was surprised to hear such a sound coming from himself, unil he realized what had happened, looking down at his wispy, almost see-through blue hands. He had grown! He tried to look himself over, looking back at his funny, smoky blue tail. He looked up at Kami and laughed. So this is what Luc must have felt like! He floated about the table, and gave a whispery laugh.

Chuckling softly, Kami watched her wispy little boy, sighing softly. She would have to pick up with teaching him now...and perhaps she would start looking through cookbooks. It wouldn't hurt to start fiddling around with easy cooking stuff while he was still a wisp, even though he couldn't touch anything. She giggled as he whisked about, and picked up his bonded object. "You have to keep close to this now, Kea, or you'll tire out faster than normal." she said, remembering Luc and Nyxa. She felt it would be safe, as long as he kept in the same room, at least.

Keanu nodded, and darted off to find Mazin, wanting to show off his new appearance to his friend. He smiled to himself, realizing that now they'd both be blue in color.

June 7th

Keanu watched curiously as his mother moved about the kitchen setting out all different sorts of things on the counter. He darted back and forth, looking at all of the different things that sat in cups and small bowls, to the rather large pot with oil heating up over the bottom. He blinked as he watched her finish up chopping an odd-looking bulb, which he recognized as garlic.

Turning, Kami smiled. "Keanu, I think it's about time we started teaching you a few simple recipes, even though you can't touch anything right now. Watching will be better than nothing, afterall." she said with a chuckle. "I've picked out a soup I really enjoy, we can do together for tonight, it shouldn't be too tough." she said, and checked the oil, which was just beginning to sizzle lightly.

"First we heat up a tablespoon of canola oil." she said, and motioned to several small cups of other things, and picked one up. "Then we add garlic, chopped onion, a teaspoon of oregano, and a bit of salt." she said, showing him each ingredient before adding it to the pot. "I got these from the community center kitchen, but eventually we'll have our own herbs gropwn, and maybe a little vegetable patch to go with it."

Keanu clapped his hands, and chirred delightedly, peering into the pot as he watched the onions brown.

She motioned to two piles of chopped veggies on a paper towel. "Now we can add the carrots and the tomatoes." she said, and dumped them in. "Now for the chicken broth. This comes from a can, but most broths are made of the water that the meat is boiled in. Neat, huh?" she said, and began to measure out four cups of it before adding it carefully.
She had gotten most of her ingredients out of the community kitchen, but she knew and hoped no one would mind. She had to have stuff to use to teach her little one, and she had a feeling that ramen wasn't going to cut it. She hoped that eventually, he would be cooking up food brought in by hunter Aerandir, and using flavorings and herbs that he had cultivated himself. The thought of it made her smile.

Jarring back to the task at hand, she reached iover and held up a chunk of raw meat. "Now this is the last thing we add before waiting a while. Chicken!" she said, and put it in, careful not to splash any of the hot broth out. "All we need to do is wait till the chicken cooks. It'll be a little, so...let's read while we wait." she said, and set her timer before following her wispy companion out to the living room....

~~~~A while later...~~~~

Kami jumped as she heard the loud 'DING!' emitt from the kitchen. Keanu ooked up too, and blinked, a bit confused. "The chicken should be ready!" she said, and got up, Keanu floating curiously behind. She checked the pot, and purred at the smell. "Mmm...yum!" she poked at the chicken, and speared it on her fork, plopping it down wetly onto the cutting board. "Now, there are a couple of ways we can do the chicken, and that's shredded, or chopped. I prefer chopping because it's easier to know the chicken's in there." she said, chuckling as she sliced up the tender meat.

Keanu watched closely, his mouth watering at the sight of the food. How he wished he could help eat it! He sighed sadly, and couldn't wait until he was solid again.

Kami dropped the meat back into the pot, and stirred everything slowly. "And that abut takes care of it!" she giggled, and took a taste. "Delicious Vegetable chicken soup!" she chuckled as he tried to take the spoon, and sulked. "Don't worry, little guy. It'll be overwith soon enough." she said, and potted the soup, figuring she'd have some later. She felt a bit guilty eating in front of him.

"So, how was that? we're going to try it again when we can, and you can help prepare the stuff. And I'll teach you how to work with the stove, too." she said, making a mental note to teach him about cooking safety as well.

Keanu nodded, smiling softly. It had been rather interesting, and he was eager to try it himself, hoping that he could make something that looked that good. He gave a little yawn, and hovered to and fro.

"Well...shall we get back to reading? We can go over what I just used in the soup!" Happy to oblige, Keanu followed her back to the couch quietly, looking forward to a nice quiet evening.