ic mailbox / messages

[vertrauen]

Hello, you've reach the mailbox of Petra Ral. Leave me a message, and I'll write back! And then you turn it off, like this?

Comments

[copia]

Well, he expects the adults to work, but that's to support the family for like, clothes and stuff. Kids can work as long as they're 14 and up, and sometimes he posts jobs that any age can do. But the adults don't have to worry about paying for electricity or anything like that.

[ "Corpses" makes Kaede think "zombies" and how gross they look. Ew, she hopes that never happens in Holly Heights. ]

Oh, no! You just get brought back to life and your wounds are completely healed; it's like you never really...died.

[vertrauen]

That would explain a bit, if he can somehow reanimate anything that he likes.

[Her words come out more bitter than she would have liked. She would probably have more questions about jobs and other things, but the part about about being brought back to life jars her. It's terrifying to image anyone with that kind of power.

But she's quick to recover, forcing a smile back on her face.] I'm sorry, I'm not being of much help right now, am I? Tell me what I can do next to help.

[copia]

He can also change our surroundings. During the summer, we were a set of islands. He wields a lot of power...

[ Kaede notes the bitterness in Petra's tone, and she can understand why she would feel that way. Death not being permanent here is something that the preteen is still conflicted over, but that topic is for another time. She looks over the counter at the various vegetables strewn about after tossing the strips of beef into the pan. ]

Hm, I think we only have water to drink. Should we make tea or lemonade?

[vertrauen]

What a terrifying person...

[But there's more immediate things to focus on--no need to linger on that person longer than need be, especially if there's nothing that can be done.]

Water will do for now. Let's have tea after dinner. What kind of tea do you like?

[copia]

Green tea is what I normally have, but I like to try other varieties! What about you? [ Liquid mixture going into the pan now... ]

[vertrauen]

Green tea? I haven't really tried that. My captain was fond of black tea, so we mostly had that.

[Just watching Kaede, seeing how she handles the kitchen. Most everything seems familiar to her, but it's still strange.]

[copia]

So how about we try green tea together?

[ The preteen gradually adds the remaining contents of the dish so she doesn't splash hot liquid on herself or Petra. She does not want to deal with a burn anytime soon, thank you! ]

And you mentioned your captain; is he also in Holly Heights?

[vertrauen]

That would be nice. And yes, he's here. It was surprising to see him, He's been here for a month already, and I had just seen him this morning...

[She hadn't expected to ever see him again, so it was a good surprise once she realized that he wasn't dead!]

[copia]

Oh! What's his name, if you do not mind my asking?

[ It's always nice to see someone dead again, but then it makes it all the more painful once they leave that one realizes s/he will never see the dead person again. It leaves a bitter taste in Kaede's mouth that the dead are given a second chance at life, but once the Landlord finds them boring/not fitting into his perfect image of family life, they are whisked back to being dead once more. ]

[vertrauen]

His name is Levi. People call him Humanity's Strongest, though he's a bit different when you get to know him in person.

[are you offering Petra the chance to brag about her captain, because she'll totally will.]

[copia]

"Humanity's Strongest" — that's a pretty important-sounding title...

[ She may have opened the door for Petra to brag about her captain. ]

[vertrauen]

He's amazingly skilled, there's no one else who can handle titans like he can. I heard stories about him while I was in training about his feats, and I couldn't believe it until I saw it in person. It's a bit of a shock when you first meet him, though. He's mostly seen when he's on horse, so it's a shock to realize he's actually very short!

[Not that Petra has too much space to talk on height...]

[copia]

[ She laughs lightly as she reheats some white rice, imagining this Mr. Legend-type figure...and then shaving a few inches off of him. ]

It sounds like he's your town's hero, which is great. Has he taken down a lot of titans?

[vertrauen]

So many that they've stopped counting. And he mostly has solo kills, on top of that.

[She pauses, remembering her manners for a brief moment.]

Tell me how you want the table set, and I'll do that while you finish this.

[copia]

They stopped counting? Wow...

[ Now she has in mind this short-yet-dashing small town hero demolishing these "titans" — she's thinking giant monsters — like Levi is Barnaby. He keeps the town safe, he defeats the enemy, and he has a plethora of fans.

She has to stop imagining Levi to think about what they need, and then: ]

We need four small bowls — two for each of us. And... [ face is turning pink ] this is going to sound silly, and I don't mean to offend you, but do you use chopsticks?

[vertrauen]

[Well, Levi tends to crush the expectations of most people he meets; at least Petra has learned how to handle it by now.

Kaede's questions baffles Petra for a moment--another thing that she's never heard of. At some point, she'd get the hang of everything in the town, right?]

I don't know what they are.

[copia]

[ PHEW, okay. Better to just outright ask than assume. ]

Okay, so we need a serving fork, a serving spoon, and... [ a pause ] I think a regular fork will work just fine in place of chopsticks! [ And there's the sound of the microwave signaling that the rice is done. She'll take the container over to the table with the help of oven mitts. ]

[vertrauen]

[The sound of the microwave startles Petra; if it weren't for years of practice, she may have dropped the bowls she was pulling from the cabinets.]

This place... is different.

[copia]

Is it the technology?

[ She'll be bringing the tea over along with two teacups. ]

[vertrauen]

Yes. So much of this is new to me, it's hard to know where to begin. At least, a stove is still a stove. You just start it differently.

[Setting out the bowls and utensils. It smells good...]

[copia]

They're not hard to use, I promise! All the refrigerator does is keep things cold so they last longer, like milk and ice cream.

[ She comes over with two more bowls, two non-cracked eggs resting in one and a bottle of soy sauce in the other. She overlooks the table before coming over with the bowl of raw shrimp. ]

All right, we can start eating!

[vertrauen]

I like the idea of that.

[Though Petra doesn't quite know what ice cream is. Oh well, that can be changed when it's warmer.

She sits at the table, cautiously watching the things Kaede brings out. Eggs she knows, of course, though Petra' not entirely how they're going to be served--she's seen other soldiers eat raw eggs as part of a muscle building exercise, but other than that... Well, Kaede knows what's she's doing, surely, and so Petra will follow her on this.]

[copia]

[ Warmer? Ice cream can be had any time!

Kaede hands off one bowl with an egg to Petra, and she explains how to eat their first dinner together. It feels like she is back in Oriental Town, thinking of her grandmother and uncle at the table with her for dinner, and sometimes her dad, too, and it makes her smile warmly as she picks up a shrimp from the pot. ]

What do you think of sukiyaki so far?

[vertrauen]

This is good, thank you for making it for me. [The meat is good quality, as are the vegetables. Petra hasn't had a meal like this in some time.]

You said your grandmother made this where you're from?

[copia]

You're welcome! I'm really glad you like it.

[ She nods as she finishes chewing some rice before speaking. ]

She does, yes. She has her own vegetable garden in our backyard, so a lot of our dishes involve homegrown produce.

Is there a favorite food or meal you might make here?