Chapter 36 : A Day in the Galley
Bloom, seeing that the conflict among the Witches is about to turn ugly, taps Tecna's and Flora's shoulders and indicates the exit with her eyes.
"Ah! It is good to get the cramps out of my wings," sighs Tecna stretching her wings as she and the others fly about the perimetre of the site shedding a small snowstorm of faerie dust.
"I'm famished," complains Flora. "I haven't had a bite to eat all day."
"So are we all," agrees Bloom, "but our provisions are all in the Comm Station. I don't think it would be wise to go back in at this moment," and the others nod in agreement.
"I think it's time to check out Mother Alfea's jungle bounty," says Flora. "Let's head that way," she adds pointing to a group of trees towering over the lower canopy of jungle foliage.
"Girls…, err…, Bloom, Tecna, Flora, may I join you?" calls Stormy, floating up to meet them.
"Sure, says Bloom, surprised, "but why aren't you staying with the other Witches?"
"It always turns out the same way," grumbles Stormy. "They argue and in the end I'm still at the bottom of the pecking order. Right now, they are screaming and yelling at each other like toddlers fighting over who is to get the shiniest new toy or to get to play first in the sandbox. Sheesh! And then they all harsh on me and accuse me of acting like a child and just boss me around as always," she adds with rancour. "So, why should I stick around when I already know that, whatever the outcome, it will all turn out badly for me?"
"We were about to go looking for something to eat," says Bloom, deciding to let Stormy's remark slide.
"Sounds great!" exclaims Stormy, looking excited but then hesitant. "But I cannot eat what you Faeries eat."
"That's not quite true, Sweetie," says Flora. "I am an expert in these matters and I'm sure we can find something delicious that is safe for both Witches and Faeries."
"What I still can't understand," says Bloom, "is why is it on so many planets the flora and fauna tend to be so similar."
"It is part of the natural evolution of most planets with a similar type of sun and array of planets," replies Flora. "There are only so many viable combinations and permutations you can make with the material at hand. But don't make the mistake of assuming that what one finds on one planet to be the same as something similar on another planet and that it is safe to eat. An apple, for instance, on Alfea, Lymphia, Andros or Terra is safe to eat and good for you but take a bite of an apple on Solaria and you'll be dead before you can chew and swallow."
"I can relate to that," says Stormy. "My Great-Grandmother Kaena told me that when the first settlers arrived on New Witch Haven, many were fooled into eating what they thought was a potato but was so deadly toxic that it killed within seconds."
Stormy and the Faeries begin a search of the jungle and soon find berries, wild grapes, coconuts and a variety of roots and tubers. Stormy heads off a ways on her own but soon is calling excitedly. "Come looky what I've found! Something tells me that these are going to be really good," she tells the Faeries while pointing to some bushes laden with round fruit.
"Alfean breadfruit!" exclaims Flora, becoming infected with Stormy's excitement. "They are delicious but how did you know that?"
"I don't know," replies Stormy, shrugging, "it just felt right."
"How does she do that?" wonders Tecna for the thousandth time.
Flora magics forth several vine baskets which are soon filled to capacity and all fly with them to the ship. During the time when Tecna and Stormy were locked away working on decoding the Ship's language, she, Shego and Bloom spent much of their time exploring what they could of the ship. Almost immediately, they came upon the galley and a cafeteria attached to it. It was expected that the tables and countertops would be laden with dirty dishes, the remains of food and dust and dirt but there was nothing of the sort. In fact, the whole of the ship appeared to be immaculately clean. There was no food to be found but the cupboards were filled with cleaned and neatly stacked flatware and in other drawers and cupboards were cutlery, tablecloths, towels, pots and pans. The whole area looked to be in order and just waiting for the chefs and staff to march in early in the morning and start preparing breakfast for the estimated five thousand souls that may have called the ship home. Shego did some tinkering and soon had all the food keeps, stoves, aqualizers and other kitchen marvels up and running.
Upon reaching the galley, Flora soon has the baskets emptied and is assigning tasks. "Bloom, Tecna, the breadfruit needs to be boiled, peeled and mashed. There are large pots in the fourth cupboard there. Stormy, the coconuts need to be stripped of the outer fibre then use the trephine here to open them. You will need five pitchers of coconut milk and as many bowls you can fill with coconut meat. I shall take care of washing the leaves, tubers, nuts, fruit and berries for salads."
"Sheesh!" thinks Stormy somewhat resentfully, "even these pixies think they can boss me around."
"Why are we doing everything the hard way instead of using magic?" protests Stormy.
"Food tastes much better prepared by hand," Flora tells her, "and because of the love you put into it."
"Ah, and here I thought that it was the precise combination of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme that makes food taste good," snarks Stormy.
"Stormy, don't be that way," chides Bloom gently. "I'm sure that even your mother didn't use magic to make meals. And I bet that each dish was delicious because of the love she put into it for you, your father and your sisters."
"Well," admits Stormy with a dreamy look, "my mother cooks a really savoury zebra stew and her three berry pie is to die for. And when Darcy and I were good, Grandmother Fiona would make saltwater licorice drops for us. And among us Trix, Icy is a very much cook-from-scratch Witch and the aroma of her pasta fagioli makes you drool."
"Saltwater licorice?" exclaims Bloom. "I love saltwater licorice, although, on Terra, the best saltwater licorice comes from the Netherlands."
"Three berry pie sounds delicious!" smiles Flora. "Do you have a recipe for it, Stormy? Or, better still, could you bake one for us?"
"To each her own," thinks Tecna, deciding to keep her opinions to herself, "just don't offer me any of that zebra stew."
Stormy watches as Flora cuts leaves into small squares and then puts them into a garlic press to squeeze and collect the juice in a small glass. "What is that for?" she asks.
"It is like vegetable rennet," explains Flora. "I shall use it in some of the coconut milk you have so kindly poured out into pitchers for me. I shall put the rennet into two of these which will cause the coconut milk to clot and separate from the water. After I drain the water I shall heat some of it to make warm coconut cream to fold into the breadfruit pudding. The rest I will add some New Witch Haven saffron to then put into a mould to ferment and eventually turn into coconut cheese."
"When Darcy and I were children," says Stormy, "we would help harvest New Witch Haven saffron along with our parents. We exported it from New Witch Haven as a dyestuff and for its unique flavour. We would all remain stained orange for weeks after the harvest," she laughs. "My mother used to put it into every dish she made but here on Alfea it costs you several hundred Solidi for just a few grams."
"Yes," says Flora. "We thought that we could grow it on Lymphia but when we got the seed all it grew was very commonplace saffron which was hardly worth the effort of trying to cultivate. The unique flavour comes from something found only on New Witch Haven."
"Well, the salads are just about ready," interrupts Bloom. "I hope everyone's hungry. Ok, we have mesclun salad, carrots and raisin salad with coconut cream, pasta salad, flower petal salad, fruit and nuts salad and to go with it oil and vinegar dressing and blueberry and raspberry dressing. And here is a little something especially for you, Stormy" and places before her a bowl of what looks to be four golden cubes in a broth. "It is a dish from Terra called Agedashi Tofu. I hope you'll like it."
"What is in it?" asks Stormy softly.
"Deep fried corn starch coated tofu in a vegetable dashi sauce. Dashi is usually a fish bouillon but I can't eat it so I have used Alfean blue kelp to imitate it which my human adaptive parents say is a dead-ringer for the taste. But eat up before it gets cold," replies Bloom.
"Thank you," whispers Stormy and the Faeries see tears flooding from her eyes.
"What's the matter, Sweetie?" exclaims Flora.
"I would have never expected this in my entire life!" sobs Stormy. "You have all been so kind to me while I have been so mean to you. I thought all you would want from me is revenge."
"There is no need for you to think that, Stormy," consoles Bloom. "It is not in our nature to seek revenge against anyone and especially not against someone who has so sincerely apologized to us."
"Thank you," mumbles Stormy through tears. "Sometimes I feel so small and unimportant. Icy does treat me kindly but to her I'm her 'precious little one' and I feel like I'm her china doll and not a woman. And Darcy hardly speaks to me or, when she does, it is as if she thinks that my idea of an inkling is a baby fountain pen and that I'm too stupid to even know how to boil water to cook rice. And Shego is a harsh instructor."
"You are small only in stature, Stormy, but not in importance," assures Tecna. "Look at what you have done. Who else could have powered up the Ship's electrical systems if not you? And who had these unbelievable insights into the Ship's language that allowed us to come to an understanding of it and many other things. That is a wonderful talent to have and develop. I'm almost jealous of you for being able to see in ways I simply can not."
"I have never thought of it that way," cries Stormy. "It just seems natural to me as does making thunder, lightning and storms. I never thought of it as anything special."
"Believe me, it is," replies Tecna. "You should feel blessed."
"Dry your tears now, Sweetie," says Flora softly, "and let's get to our meals before they become cold or lose their flavour."
"And no matter what," adds Bloom, gently squeezing Stormy's hand, "we shall always be sisters."