July OTA

[heypartner]

WHO: Cobb Vanth & Others
WHERE: The Diner/Glownie Ranch/The Forge area
WHAT: Some open prompts for July.
WHEN: Various times.
WARNINGS: Cobb's general bad language. Mentions of animal slaughter.



Cooking Breakfast - OTA

It was shortly after sunrise in the diner and drifting from the kitchen was the pleasant smell of spices and baking bread. Also, soft singing.

Cobb was at the stove singing to himself as he carefully sliced up various fruits. On the counter he had already laid out a few dishes already since he’d been here for a while. There was a plate of thin sliced pan seared glownie, A bowl of arisha, fried dough balls that were savory, heavily spiced, and very common on Tatooine, and some thick slices of tigertubers mixed with chopped baconrooms.

He sang in Booce a soft song with a flowing melody that - if someone knew the language - would know was actually a terribly sad song about leaving a lover behind. Cobb was in a good mood despite the sad song and felt like singing. He kept his voice low just because it was early and if someone wandered into the diner he didn’t want to disturb them.

After arranging the various fruits on a plate he pushed it over to the counter where it join the rest of the breakfast spread. He considered the presentation for a moment and then nudged a few things. Happy with that he nodded to himself and went to the oven.

He carefully pulled out small flatbreads and laid those on a plate as well. Then it was on to making a quick dipping sauce from cumatos and spices to dip everything or drizzle over everything if people wanted.

Cobb had made enough to share.

Glownie Trouble - OTA

Cobb stood in the middle of the glownie corral with his hands braced on his thighs, breathing hard. The glownies themselves were keeping their distance from Cobb and eyeing him with suspicion. They were familiar with him, aware he fed them and looked after them but also aware when he came around one of them might leave the herd and not come back.

It was a tricky thing looking after animals for slaughter. Cobb hadn’t done it hands on like this but he had talked with Mallik and bantha herders often enough to know a thing or two about it. He had thought he’d done well making sure the glownies wouldn’t catch on about the slaughtering but they were plenty nervous around him now.

He stood up straight and put his hands on his hips looking over the herd. One watched him while the others got back to their grazing.

“Look,” he said, his tone mildly frustrated while trying to be reasonable with the herd. “I ain’t here to hurt anyone. I’m just here to do a little grooming. I want some wool. That’s it, you walkin’ light bulbs.”

He even had a comb. It was in his right hand. Nothing to worry about if the dumb animals would stop being so paranoid. Maybe he should’ve thought about this and waited for when they were in the barn but he hadn’t expected them to be so flighty.

Cobb might need a helper.

Tinkering - OTA

Cobb hadn’t spent much time in the forge section of the city which he found slightly amusing considering his background as a mechanic and general fixer. He hadn’t had a good reason lately but after these folks made him a grill and some kabob skewers an idea had been growing in the back of his head and he figured he might as well try it himself instead of asking for help again. Surely, all these folks had their own projects they were working on.

So, if he wanted a smoker to preserve meat and make some jerky he figured he had to make it himself. How hard could it be? Just needed something to make smoke, then get that smoke to the meat, and keep it trapped.

Having never been in this part of the city before Cobb was a little uncertain, actually. He had no idea if he could take any of the scrap he saw lying around. There were a few things he saw that could probably work, some tubing and some metal sheets he could weld together… if they had the means for that.

Cobb had no idea, actually, what sort of machining tools they had lying around.

“Well, kriff,” he muttered to himself.

Maybe he should’ve asked for help after all.

Comments

[heypartner]

"Don't worry, I was kidding about that. I'm perfectly capable of punching people myself." Cobb preferred to handle most fights on his own anyway. It went over Lauri-Ell's head though. He'd tried to turn down the sarcasm.

"Well, I didn't make that spicy." He wanted it to balance out the other flavors, not add heat on top of heat. He might do that on his own but not when he was cooking for other people.

He set a pan aside after washing it, leaving it to dry. "You need something to drink?"

[kree_soldieress]

Ah, well that was good. Except for the punching thing. But she wasn't going to say things that it wasn't her place to say.

Lauri-Ell lifted the piece of bread and took a bite. And then was left making a noise that could only be taken one way. Someone that had suddenly met spicy food.

"Water," she gasped out, gesturing eagerly.

[heypartner]

Maybe he put more spice in it than he thought.

"You don't want water, actually. Makes the burn worse." Cobb set the dishes aside for the moment and went to the cold box. "Eat some of the plain flatbread. It'll do more for you."

While he left her to that, Cobb got some powdered blue milk from the cabinets and made a glass for her. The milk would do even more for her. "And drink this. It'll cool things off."

He dipped a pinky in the sauce and tasted it again. Hm, seemed mild to him.

[kree_soldieress]

No, he did not. It was just that Lauri-Ell had never had spicy food before in her life, and the sensation was truly new. But with his instruction she does so, taking careful bites until her tongue felt a bit better.

Once she had calmed her tongue she smiled up at him.

"That was an amazing experience!"

She sipped the milk before taking another bite. Again she made the noises but she was smiling around them.

[heypartner]

"Yeah, it's a rush the first few times." Cobb chuckled, glad he hadn't upset the warrior. "But the ahrisa is spicier than that so watch out. Same with the glownie."

Because he'd spiced those to his tastes which liked heat. He was a desert man. Everything was hot.

"Glad you like it though." Cobb got back to washing the remaining dishes. There weren't many left for him to deal with. Once he finished, he went to get a little percolator he'd brought back from Coruscant. Time to make some caf.

[kree_soldieress]

"Which is the ahrisa?" she asked. And then paused. Glownie? There was glownie meat here? That sounded, well, worrying. But at the same time, she supposed it made snese. Food was to be had, wasn't it?

"Spicier. Does that mean it burns more? I should like to try that."

[heypartner]

"Those there." He pointed to the fried balls of dough with flecks of black seeds in them. "And yeah, it'll burn more. Probably feel it in the back of your throat and your nose."

The sort of spice had a real whole body kick. Cobb mixed the grains of caf with some water and put the percolator on the stove to brew. He had a cup back home before he set out but it was always a good time for caf.

"They don't have spicy food where you're from?"

[kree_soldieress]

The fried balls go into her mouth now. The noises of pain and discomfort only grows and yet she still seems very happy with it. This was wonderful and when she had followed it with flatbread and fruit and milk she smiled at him. When she spoke she had to pause to breath every few words.

"No. I was a soldier. I ate rations."

[heypartner]

"Thought they fed soldiers well." Cobb had never actually spent a lot of time around soldiers. He'd seen those in charge around him eat well which included the Stormtroopers.

Not everyone served a tyrannical government but it made sense to feed the folks fighting for you well. Just kept them fighting longer.

"If you want I'll make you a little spice blend you can sprinkle over food. I can't promise everything will be good spicy but you can try." Why not? She was clearly enjoying herself even in pain.

[kree_soldieress]

"We are fed efficiently," Lauri-Ell answered. "I never had hunger."

But she never had things as flavorful as this. It is wonderful, to eat well.

"That would be nice. I shall try it many ways!"

[heypartner]

That was more than Cobb could say about his life. There were plenty of times he went hungry. Denying food was a favorite punishment of his masters.

"Alright, give me a minute." Cobb poured himself a cup of caf which was bitter and strong, the way he preferred it.

Then he started gathering little bottles and bags of spices to mix together for her. "You ever want to learn to cook for yourself?"

[kree_soldieress]

Ooh, she knows that scent.

"Is that the dark bitter brew Cayde has made before? Is there enough for two? If there is not I do not wish to take it, it would be wrong. But if I can have a sip, it would be nice."

Cook for herself? Lauri-Ell looks shocked.

"I am a soldier. I work to protect others, and I should not take from that. I also try and train others."

Surely she cannot do both.

[heypartner]

"We call it caf." Cobb got down a second mug and poured one for Lauri-Ell. Was there enough for two? There always was. They each got a little less but they got some.

He slid the mug towards her. "If it's too bitter you can add a little milk to soften the taste."

With his hands wrapped around his for the warmth - it was so chilly in the mornings - Cobb leaned a hip against the counter. "Pretty sure you can train 'em during the day and learn to cook at night. Don't have to be one thing your whole life."

[kree_soldieress]

Caf. She files away the word for further use.

"Cayde, when he gave me something that smelled similar, said you addressed that with sugar. Is that not true?"

She accepts her mug and takes a sip while she considers his word.

"Protecting is all I have ever done."

[heypartner]

"You can put sugar in it. I don't." Because sugar was a luxury item on Tatooine and ridiculously expensive. Cobb could rarely afford it. He brewed his coffee strong and bitter.

Would've been better if he could've brewed it Tattoine style but that was tricky to do in the diner.

"Who says you can't do both? One way of protectin' people is to make sure they have what they need like food and water." Cobb shrugged. "Learn a little cooking and if you don't like it back to protecting."

[kree_soldieress]

Well, she doesn't know where the sugar is, so she doesn't 'taint' the brew with it.

"There are many here with better skill for that, and few who have been created to be a soldier and protector. Surely I am better for that."

[heypartner]

"Who cares what you're better for, what do you want to be?" Cobb rolled his eyes at that idea. He was a strong believer in choice and damn what other people told you to be.

Probably had something to do with most people on Tatooine saying he should still be a slave but maybe not.

"If you wanna learn to cook, learn it and fuck anyone who says you shouldn't." Seriously, he had a lot of feelings about this.

[kree_soldieress]

Choice was hardly something Lauri-Ell was ever afforded in her life time. It would not be fully accurate to say that she had been a slave of her people. But it wouldn't be entirely correct. It was complicated.

"But what is gained by learning to cook? The talent already exists here."

She was very confused.

[heypartner]

"Well, one, you learn how to cook," he pointed out with a little smile. "And maybe you gain some joy from doing it. Sometimes, you gotta do somethin' because it makes you feel good and no other reason."

Cobb felt a wave of home sickness. He missed his speeder and riding across the dunes because he could.

"Not everything has to be practical."

[kree_soldieress]

Well that was an obvious answer that Lauri-Ell hadn't thought of. Yes, learning to could would render her able to cook. That was a very good point.

"I train to feel good," Lauri-Ell admitted. "It is what I was made for. My biology is meant to reinforce what I do. Other than that, I like flowers."

[heypartner]

"It rare to see flowers were I come from." He remembered encountering her in the gardens on Coruscant, actually, where they'd both enjoyed the green. Cobb might miss the water and the green most of all when he eventually got back home.

"Maybe you could learn to grow 'em. Not with the data point thing but in general. They just need water and soil right?" It couldn't be that hard when there was plenty of water to grow things.

At least, that's how Cobb saw it.

[kree_soldieress]

"Yes. I think you mentioned that," Lauri-Ell agreed, remembering that same day with a smile.

"I do not know. I have never learned much about plants. I would see them on the worlds I was stationed on."

[heypartner]

"Might as well get on that. We've got time while we're here." Cobb didn't think she spent all her time training. Folks had to do other things with their day including her.

"Or anything else you've always wanted to try." Cobb was learning a lot about keeping animals in between fixing up houses.

[kree_soldieress]

Lauri-Ell is silent, thinking. She doesn't really have an answer for that. Then she sighed and tried to explain.

"I do not know many things, Cobb. My people made me. I was a genetic experiment, created of a great warrior and a great scientist. I was raised in accelerated growth systems, and trained to be a soldier. Before this world, I had only had two days of 'leave' days when I did live as a soldier. I did not have many days to learn myself, even if I wanted."

[heypartner]

Cobb listened sympathetically. He understood her life more than most people would. "Yeah, I used to only get a half-day off back before I was a Marshal."

He had fought hard to define himself his whole life instead of being just a slave. Even when he was a slave, he had struggled to retain any shred of humanity his masters wanted beaten out of him.

"Your people made you but now you can make yourself, Lauri-Ell. No one's here to tell you to stop." Cobb didn't know if she would but he believed there was something to trying. She could learn a lot about herself.