Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rhona Lee was a flurry of gossamer layered skirts and tassled accessories as she rushed around The Farmer's Daughter. Today was unexpectedly busy, and so she was bustled between vendors, fetching supplies and stocking shelves while the owners dealt with the seemingly endless stream of customers. She would have been out of breath had she stopped long enough to take stock of her own breathing but, as it stood, she didn't have the time. No one did.

It wasn't until she saw a shock of crystal-colored, pastel hair that she paused. She knew that hair... and the shape of the face that it framed. The familiar tugging of her mind drew her over to the young lady, certain that she knew her in another uniform. The question was... which one?

"I'll be right back, Heather," she called over her shoulder to the teenager currently working the espresso bar. The girl nodded, never breaking eye contact nor conversation with the customer that she was currently engaging while she made their drink. But Rhona knew who the nod was for, and so she finished stocking the ceramic cups for the coffee shop and made her way over to the curiously familiar face. And even more curiously familiar coat... Black and wool... Of course to be sure, Rhona knew the tears and discoloration to look for...

"Good afternoon," she beamed, clasping her hands before herself as she greeted the young lady.

"Welcome to The Farmer's Daughter. Is there something that I can help you find?"

"Oh, what a coincidence," Rhona grinned, "My girlfriend is Jewish, so is her brother. Well... obviously, I guess. He would be Jewish if she was." Rhona laughed brightly at herself, tossing wild curls over her shoulder as she did so. "I can give you some recipes that I make her, if you'd like! Our favorite is tamales, though. There's a story there... it's quite romantic, if you want to hear it." She tossed Kelly a light wink, blushing at the memory herself. "I don't mind the rambles if you don't dear. Maybe we can ramble to each other? First, however, let's begin with protein. Even a salad needs a protein."

Rhona, being no stranger to a kitchen, began leading Kelly over to the butcher, all the while glancing at the coat on her shoulders to confirm her suspcions. If Rhona remembered correctly, there would be a rip on the left pocket seam where she had shoved a wallet that was too big. There was also a bleach stain on the right collar lapel. Where she was now, however, it was impossible to tell.

"Fish is a really nice dinner protein. Not rich, not heavy. The Kosher fish we carry would be... let's see... Tilapia, cod, grouper, salmon, and... tuna. If you go with tuna for a salad, you can make a really delicious nicoise that would be absolutely divine, or else crumble in a little baked salmon. Of course, if you want to deviate from the salad route, there are a ton of wonderful ways to prepare fish."

So she wasn't experienced in the kitchen. Rhona smiled warmly again, nodding her understanding, and chirped, "yeah, that can be a little intimidating. That's why I never butcher myself. I always buy filets and cuts of meat." Though, if Rhona wanted to be a subsistence farmer, she'd need to learn, she supposed... but DC was rife with family operations that she could ask to do the butchering for her... there was also still the matter of killing the animals though...

Thoughts for another time, she decided.

"Of course, should you find yourself brave enough, I'd be more than willing to help you learn. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm quite the passable home cook. At least Lavender seems to think so." Rhona's voice audible changed when she said her lover's name, face shifting from that of a sunny disposition to something no less happy but a great deal more settled in itself. Deep contentment spread across her features.

"We met when I was... in a not great place. I'd buried some trauma and never dealt with it and then... I dunno, it all came screaming to the surface. I think I tried to scare her off with my demons but... she wanted to see me again after that. Even after I told her... everything... Our first date she brought tamales and we talked about everything. Tamales and cheap wine. I guess that's our thing?"

Rhona fingered a jar of spice with a warm smile before it soured suddenly and her expression turned solemn.

"But I messed it up because I always mess it up. I thought that I'd dealt with the trauma and was ready to be in a relationship, but all I'd done was rebury the wounds. And I took a lot out on her..." Just as Rhona would carry every happy memory that she had with Lavender with her for the rest of her life, that night when she'd failed her for the last time would haunt her until her dying day.

"But she came back," she sighed, forcing the sadness away because what good would dwelling on what she had done even do? These were happy days that she had, and she would be happy about them. "She came back because... God, I don't know why. Heaven knows I didn't deserve it. But... on our first date back together we had... tamales and cheap wine. And I spend every single day that I have on this earth trying to make up for my shortcomings before..."

Rhona's eyes lingered the spice jar a little longer, slender fingers picking at the label before she finally pulled it away and grinned at Kelly again.

"Anyway, vegetables. If you're going to do a salad, you're going to do it up, sis. What kinds of flavors were you thinking? Sweet and summery, light and spicy, hearty and wintery?"

Rhona smiled at Kelly's words, and she knew she was right. Maybe... maybe it was time to come clean with Lavender. It was just the timing was so... and how did she even begin to tell her what she'd done? Would Lavender leave her for good then? Condemn her for the murders she'd committed? Or something else? Something... somehow altogether worse.

"You're sweet, kid," Rhona finally sighed, shoving her hands in her pockets and wiping the moisture from her eyes.

"Anyway, are you married to the idea of dried strawberries? If you are, that's totally cool, but that's more of a summer flavor and so I'd pair that with... let's see... other dried berries, walnuts and... oh yeah, fennel. Otherwise, if you want to do a more wintery flavor, I'd sub out the strawberries from some dried cranberries, goat cheese, and kale."

She was already leading the way to the dry goods -- a large display of bulk items from cerals and grains to organic sweets and savory snacks. Rhona flipped a baggie open and peered into the bins, tapping her chin with one hand as she shot a hip out and rested her other hand on it.

"The nice thing about salads is that there are no rules. You can literally put anything you want in them and they'll be hella good. So I'd honestly say... I mean honestly, I'd drop the idea of a flavor story and just... pick like three dry ingredients that you like, we can then head over to pick out cheese, and then match it all to a dressing if you even want that."

"Why are you shaming that salad, girl, that sounds dope as ********. I might just make one like that for myself!" God knew she had all of the fixings right at her fingertips. And Rhona was also suddenly very aware that she had skipped lunch to help with the rush.

"But you're right, bacon might not be kosher. Even if you get the fake kind."

That being said, Rhona wasn't totally sure about that...

"Of course, we have our own cheesemonger here. Local cows and local artisans!"

While Kelly chose ingredients for her wonderful salad, Rhona got a chance to inspect the coat she was wearing more carefully. First, there would be a bleach stain on the lapel... there it was. A small pinprick of orange against the black wool. And then, fi she circled around to the back... a messy seam fix where Rhona had accidentally caught a nail hulk-busted out of the back when she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. And the tear on the left pocket? Yes. Where a white moon had grabbed her this winter in an attempt to keep her still, but only succeeded in ripping her coat.

"This coat looks nice on you," She muttered just loud enough for Kelly to hear her above the din. "Why don't you keep it... Kibirev?"

Rhona's laughter was loud and musical and wracked her whole body. But it was not malicious.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. I should have gone about that differently, shouldn't I have? What can I say, ask Lavender when you meet her. I have a flair for the dramatic." She winked at the cheesemonger who only shook her head with a wide smile, stating that she wasn't sure what I whispered in that girl's ear, but it must have been a doozy. Rhona only pulled a comical face and pulled the cheese from Kelly's lips.

"Don't be so shocked, Kelly," she grinned, pulling her mouth open by her chin so that she could deposit the rest of the cheese on the other girl's tongue. "I employ a fair few of our family members here. Mostly new recruits or turncoats," her voice was low enough that only Kelly could hear her. "Though there are some higher level senshi here who just want a place to belong. Like her." Rhona nodded to a smiling girl upselling a jar of chutney by a bread baker's stall. "An eternal who needed a job. Or... him." She nodded to a young man wrapping a fish for an elderly woman. "A super saving for a school trip."

She tweaked Kelly's nose affectionately.

"I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I hope we can be friends. I was just... so worried about you after we came back. I was so scared you'd gone and... and left us..."

Lavender often chided Rhona for failure to communicate, and it seems like this was no different. Rhona blushed suddenly, noticing her mistake, and cleared her throat.

"Erm, sorry. I guess that is important information, isn't it?" Rhona took a quick peek around, and the only ears who might be able to hear already knew what she was about to say. Still, she was nervous. Rhona knew that Kibirev wasn't Acubens' biggest fan, and why should she be? It was easy to see why Kibirev loved queen Altea so. She had been a victim, after all. A victim who threatened their home, but a victim none the less. The choice to stop her, no matter the cost, hadn't been easy, but it was the choice they had all made.

Well, most of them had made.

So Rhona smoothed her skirts out, cleared her throat, and braced herself.

"I'm Acubens, dear. This is who I usually am."

A year ago, Rhona would have said the reverse. It was freeing, actually, to realize that she'd finally done what she set out to do. Put down roots. Started a life. become Rhona who occasionally dons the mantle of Acubens and not the other way around.

"I hope you can forgive me. I wasn't certain it was you until I got a closer look at the coat. I want you to keep it, though. It suits you."