Welcome to Gaia! ::

Evan frowned sympathetically as Noemi mentioned that she lived in the basement. From Nora's descriptions, it sounded more like a dungeon than extra housing for trainees. It certainly didn't seem like a place someone as timid and fragile as Noemi should be living, but at the same time, maybe it would help toughen her up a little bit. Surely there was nothing in the dungeons that was as bad as the things they often encountered in the field; it would do Noemi good to learn to be on her guard. "How much space do we need to grow basic produce? I don't see why anyone would have a problem with it, as long as we ask first. It'll get us out of the dorms, if nothing else."

He raised an eyebrow, amused, as her stomach growled. "I would like some then, please," he said. He eyed the spread of Noemi's hands as she indicated how much of the omelette she wanted, then divided it to give her more than even that. He slid both halves of the omelettes onto their respective plates, poking at them to make sure there would be room for everything else, before putting the pan and spatula into the sink. "What else do you need help with?"

"Oh, yeah?" Evan hummed, considering. There wasn't much he wouldn't give for fresh produce that he didn't have to use part of a day of leave getting. "Think we can grow potatoes, too? What do we even need to be able to do this?" The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that this could happen now that there was nothing between the earth and the sunlight the plants would need to grow except the occasional cloud.

He raised an eyebrow, curious, as Noemi practically glittered with excitement, but decided that it would be best not to ask. He decided instead to fill his own plate, leaving enough for her to get some seconds, if she wanted. From the sounds she made--and how small she was in general--she definitely needed it more than he did. "Definitely a good way to start the day," he agreed as he tried the hash browns and found them crisped to perfection.

Evan was pleased to hear that his suggestion had some merit, especially because he didn't know the first thing about actual farming. Between Noemi's expertise and experience and Evan's willingness to follow her lead and do the heavy lifting, they might actually be able to make this happen.

"Herbs sound good," he replied agreeably. "We should be able to grow those anywhere, right? We should make a list and..." he trailed off, frowning in confusion that turned into growing alarm as Noemi started choking. His fork clattered onto his plate as he dropped it and stood, reaching to awkwardly smack her on the back. "Please stop choking, please?" He didn't want to have to perform the Heimlich on her or anything--as little as she was, he was afraid he might break her ribs or something and exchange choking for punctured lungs.

For a second there, Evan had thought Noemi had stopped breathing. He heaved an audible sigh of relief as she sucked in enough air to speak. "Not a problem," he said, waving off her gratitude as he went back to his own seat though h kept a cautious eye on Noemi as she caught her breath, just in case. He didn't want to have to explain to the Lifers and Moons in the infirmary that a trainee died on his watch because they were eating too fast.

"Anytime," Evan offered. "You just let me know what we need and where we need to put it."

"Anytime," Evan replied, but she had already gone. With a sigh, he went to help her, just in case--he'd already nearly had to take her to the infirmary once today, after all.