Chapter 7 - Tai Green Curry
Wheezing, I slump down onto the kitchen table, laying my head on my crossed arms like they're fluffy pillows filled with feathers.
I keep my head down as I let my chest heave in and out. My throat's painfully dry. My body's so numb that I feel like a walking corpse. Qrow wasn't kidding when he said that he wouldn't hold back on me. That quick spar with Yang earlier was kid gloves compared to that onslaught of a training regime he just put me through. He might as well have told me to lap the entire forest! I swear, I was halfway to it.
Unconsciously, I let out a rusty groan. My ears perk up slightly as the table shudders slightly and emits a small clunk. With a drowsy murmur, I tilt my head up from my arms to see a cup of water within arms length. Like a man stranded in the desert, I hastily grab for the glass, pitching it up towards my lips when a crass voice snaps.
"Hey!" I freeze immediately at Qrow's scolding tone. "Sip. Don't gulp." I flinch slightly before nodding meekly to him. One after another, I start taking small sips from my cup, savouring refreshing drop with a light gasp. I settle the glass back onto the table with a sigh, peering up at my teacher.
Qrow's sitting across from me, laxly leaning back in his chair, eyes scanning me as I finally let my body rest. As always, his trusty flask is in his hands. I don't think I've actually seen him without it the entire time he was, brutally, training me. Even when he's focused on something, he can never let go of his liquor. I can't help but pity the mess that must be his liver right about now. I can't tell if he's so good of a fighter that he managed to work through being constantly drunk, or if the alcohol has just been so prevalent in his body that it might as well be water to him.
I sigh lightly, looking over to the other man in the room with us.
Tai's by the kitchen cupboard, his fingers trilling against the counter as he surveys the contents within. Tied around his waist is a strangely designed apron. Brown with a hint of black around the edges and what looks to be some sort of yellow heart emblem emboldened on the front. There's some lettering on the front of it. Can't quite make it out, though. I shrug to myself. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a custom job or something. I turn my gaze to the gleaming windows, the sun bright enough that it makes the snow look like its glistening. Must be around lunchtime then.
Qrow puts the top back on his flask, clearing his throat with a gasp. "Alright, how are ya feeling?"
I fidget slightly. "B... Better." As far as almost collapsing from exhaustion goes, anyway. He folds his arms.
"Well, gotta give you a little credit kid, you lasted longer than I thought you would." That... doesn't sound like much of a compliment. I mean, if anybody else told me that then there might've been a bit more weight to it.
I don't think Qrow set his bars particularly high after that terrible display with Yang. I know I wouldn't in his shoes.
Qrow rolls up his sleeve, glancing at his watch before straightening himself up. "Okay, you take a little time to rest up. We'll start again in a couple of hours or so."
"Oh! Um, o-okay then." That's... rather generous of him. I was sort of expecting him to clap me on the back and say 'Your five minutes are up! Back out we go!' Then, he would start dragging me kicking and screaming out to the forest again. Lunch shouldn't take more than half an hour at the most.
Maybe he's just being lazy again.
My head tilts slightly as Qrow stands up, his chair scraping against the floor. He stretches his neck out, I can hear parts of the bone clicking together, as he grabs his sword and puts it on his back.
"If I'm not back in two, you get started ahead of me. Just repeat what we were doing this morning." He shrugs. "I won't be around all the time to teach you, anyway."
He's heading out? But Tai's just about to make lunch. Isn't he going to miss out?
"Tai," He calls out to the man shuffling bundles of food out from the cabinets. Tai stops and twists his head towards us, murmuring a 'Hm?' when he does so. "I'm heading out." Qrow points his finger towards me, "Give the kid a regular portion this time." Tai hums and nods his head.
"Okay. See you later, then." Without missing a beat, Tai goes right back to scouring the cupboards for food. I blink twice, looking between the two men as Qrow begins making his way out the room. I go to open my mouth... but I keep it shut, letting the older man leave uneventfully. It's really none of my business. It's probably nothing. He might just not be feeling hungry...
Blowing air through my nostrils, I take another sip from my glass.
I look over at Tai. Looks like he finally found what he was looking for. On the counter is a, rather baffling, amount of ingredients that look they're far more suitable for tonight's dinner than it is for a simple lunch. Spring onions: tomatoes, vegetable oil and a stack of curry packets that look like they could ration a platoon of soldiers for about a week or so. Doesn't really seem fitting for a family of four. Well, technically three since Qrow left the house.
They're probably different kinds of curry packets. There's no way they'd be able to finish all them at once. That's complete insanity. Fighting against bloodthirsty monsters is one thing, but you can't beat your stomach. There's no winning that fight.
Believe me, I've tried.
"Are you alright, Eren?" Tai's sudden voice makes me realise that I've been gawking at food for a good half a minute or so. My cheeks burning slightly, I shake my head drastically.
"N-no!" I splutter. "I mean, y-yes! " ...I'll just bow my head. "Yes. I-I'm fine, sir." Tai. "Tai. Sir..." Wow. I'm so great at talking, I could make a politician cry. I avert my eyes and let the judgement commence.
"Do you want to learn how to cook?" Huh? I turn my eyes back to Tai who, instead of giving me a critical eye, is wearing a soft unthreatening smile. "You looked interested. If you want, I can teach you how to do it." That sounds...
"Um..." I shake my head. "N-no. No. Thank you but, i-it's fine."
"No. Really. I'd be more than happy to teach you." I hum to myself slightly before once again shaking my head.
"N-no. I-I appreciate the offer, I do bu-but you..." I take in a gasp of air. "You've already shown me enough kindness as it is. I-I really shouldn't push my-"
"Eren." Tai gently raises a hand to stop me. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to help. Besides, giving you a helping hand isn't going to kill me." He shoots a sunny smile. One that looks very similar to... Much be a genetic thing. I suck up a gust of air through my nose. Well, if he's -really- okay with it then, there's no real reason for me to reject the offer. I mean, cooking sounds kind of fun. I let the air out of my nose, repaying Tai's smile with my own smaller version.
"O-okay. Um, yes. I'd like to learn how to cook." I fidget slightly. "Uh, please."
"Great! Alright. I just need to grab a couple of things." He points me towards the nearby door in the room. "There should be a spare apron in the closet. Put it on and we'll get started."
I nod with a small hum in response. As I stand up, making sure that I don't knock over Warbreaker laying right next to my chair, I take off the gloves I still had on from training and I leave them in a bundle on the table. Won't be needing these for cooking.
At least, I hope I won't.
Light peers through the crack as I creak open the closet door. My eyes lean for a light switch but there's nothing to be found.
Trying my best not to crush the piles of jackets, jumpers and overcoats roughly clinging together, I clamber my way into the darkness with my arms outstretched and grasping for cloth. Past the other outdoor-wear, a bright red pops against the little light shining through. I lean closer towards it, gripping the material as soon as I reach it. I squint my eyes and I can see... a rose. A red rose highlighted in black. Looking closer, I can see a few stubborn stains determined to leave their. An apron.
Ruby's apron. I don't think it's used for cooking though. Looking closer, the stains littering the front look more like cake batter. Maybe she has separate aprons?
Well anyway, I don't think this is what Tai meant by a spare apron, though. It's far expressive to be anything other than exclusive.
"Hey Eren!" I hear Tai's voice boom through the door, "How do you like your curry? Sweet or spicy?" I blink twice. I... don't really have much of a preference, honestly. I'm not exactly the biggest curry guy in the world. Normally, I'd just take whatever was given and let the taste do the talking. I rest my fingers on my chin. If you had to twist my arm, I would go with...
"Uh, spicy please!" I call back to him.
"Spicy it is, then!" More cupboard doors bumping together. Turning my head back, I focus on the task at hand, crawling deeper into the closet.
Another colour. Yellow. Definitely yellow. I reach closer and... Well. It's definitely an apron, same as Ruby's and Tai's. Bit of a problem with it though. This one looks a bit too... charred. As in, 'I'm afraid that if I touch this thing, it'll fritter into ash in seconds.' It wears the same fire heart emblem that Yang bares on her cargo trousers. I'd... rather not know what this one's story is. Better move on.
Ah! A bright white, as plain as bedsheets. This has to be the spare apron. The only person I know that wears white somewhere on his clothes is Qrow and... I highly doubt that he'd be the type to wear an apron.
I reach forward, ready to take the apron off from its hook and then... I stop. There's an emblem on this apron. An emblem that I've seen before yet, it feels almost completely different. There, highlighted in black, is a rose.
A white rose.
A shiver runs up my spine. I'm not sure but looking at this apron's putting me on edge. I-I don't know how to explain it exactly but, when I stare at that rose emblem, I feel like something -someone- is staring right back at me.
"Eren!" Tai. "Are you okay? Have you found an apron yet?"
"U-um..." I look to the white rose apron. There's no way in hell that I'm wearing it. That doesn't belong to me. My head darts around as I squeak back with a rushed voice. "Y-yeah! I-I-I've-" My eyes latch onto another apron. Beige, plain, and with no emblem on the front of it. Definitely a spare. Lurching forward, I practically tear the apron off from its hook. "I've found one! I'll, uh, be out in just a second!"
I close the door behind me as I leave, watching as the light fades from that bleak white emblem...
When I woke up this morning, I was expecting to be dragged through whatever hell Qrow came up with for our first training lesson. Something difficult, draining and probably very dangerous. Well, all three of them did happen today.
Didn't think it'd be because of a cooking lesson, though.
"Ow!" I hiss as the edge of the knife makes contact with my fingertips. Again. Instinctively, I drop the knife on the counter and stick the cut finger into my mouth.
"Your grip's loose." My head perks up slightly as Tai gives me his full attention again. A part of me winces as he has to move from the frying pan and focus on me. Again. He picks up the knife on the table, holding it horizontally and fully displaying the hilt. "See this?" He points at the furthest end the hilt, away from the blade. "You're holding it all the way down here. So when you're trying to cut the chicken, you put too much of your weight into it and it throws you off-centre." His eyes flash at my finger. "That's why that keeps happening." They linger on my finger just a little longer. As soon as I realise, I quickly remove it from my mouth as I silently curse myself.
Aura. Right.
"S-sorry, sir..." I bow my head slightly.
"No, no. It's fine. No harm done." He waves his hand gently. I take a look over his shoulder at the pan cooking over the fiery stove, the contents inside sizzling and cracking under the temperature. Sounds like his side of the dish is coming along well. Better than mine anyway. I sigh lightly. To think, all he wanted me to do was to cut the chicken thighs.
I hear Tai chuckle a little under his breath. I look up at him as he tries to muffle his laughter with a hand. What's he laughing about? I mean, me being a complete klutz isn't that funny, is it?
"Ah, it's nothing." He shakes his head. "I just remembered when I first tried cooking." He whistles merrily to himself. "Trust me. Whatever you do today, it's nothing compared to the disaster my first try was." My eyes widen. A disaster? Him? With cooking?
"B... But you're a good cook." He shrugs his shoulders.
"I just did what everyone did. I kept trying until I became good." He smirks. "You don't think everyone is born with their skills, do you?" I turn my head, blood rushing to my cheeks. "But, the effort was worth it in the end. Take it from me, Eren. Cooking is one of the most valuable skills you can learn. Nobody appreciates anything more than someone who knows how to cook." Oh! I see!
"L-like teammates." That's why he offered to teach me how to cook. Knowing how to feed my teammates on the field would give us one hell of an advantage. An army marches on its stomach. Even though, technically, Huntsman aren't military. At least, I don't think so.
"Uh, yeah." Tai scratches his head. "Teammates, right." He hands me back the knife. "Remember, hold it further up and keep it tightened when you're cutting."
I nod to him. "R-right." Back to it then. The knife's blade wavers over the chicken thigh. Biting my tongue, I focus all of my attention on the slice. The blade's perfectly align- Wait. I move it slightly to the left. Alright, now it's- No. No. Wait, I move it a bit more towards the right and- Damn. No. That's not it. It's not quite right yet. Move it a bit down and-
I growl slightly. No, no! It doesn't feel right. I can't cut it from this angle. I let out a mute huff. Let's try it from... this direction? Maybe? I look up at Tai, still there watching me work.
"Yeah, that's good. Cut it there." With one nod, I knead pressure into the back of the blade and roughly cut the thigh into two separate pieces. I let out a gust of air, looking over the first proper piece I've cut. It... still doesn't quite look right to me but, if Tai says it's good then that means that it's good. Mimicking the last cut, I move the knife up the board and start cutting into the rest of the chicken.
"Eren." I keep the knife held over the next spot, answering Tai with a quiet 'Y-yes?' "Where did you get those gloves?" Huh. She asked me the exact same thing this morning. I put down the knife, peering over my shoulder at the fingerless gloves on the table.
"Them? Um, Ruby gave them to me for my test. Yang told me that I could keep them." Which is strange, considering that they're the house gloves. Shouldn't they run it by Tai first? I'm assuming that it's just a spare pair keep around for the Winter, maybe a little gardening or something during the Spring. I mean, why else would Ruby give them to me if nobody else was using them?
"That explains a lot." Tai says. I have to tilt my head slightly at that. Explain what? What's going on with these gloves? Tai folds his arms, "Ahem." Huh? Is he talking to me? But he already has my attention. "I know you're there. I heard you come down the stairs." His eyes gleaming, he switches his attention from me to the kitchen door. Behind the frame I can hear a small 'Crap,' muttered ruefully under a feminine breath. Footsteps and out from the back of the door is a figure that I only just sparred with a few hours ago.
Only this time, she looks far worse for wear.
Creases cover the fabric of her clothes. The right arm of her jacket is left dangling as -for some reason- Yang decided to take her arm out of the sleeve and left the rest looking like it's going to limply fall off of her shoulder just barely keeping it together. While there's a distinct lack of bruises or cuts on her body, no reward for guessing why, her hair is sticking up like crazy. Before, her hair only had a single strand of hair sticking at the top of her head. Now, she looks like she's been cradling a plasma ball in her arms.
I can't tell what's more surprising: the fact that she's been listening to us for god knows how long, or that someone as unbelievably strong as her looks like she's just survived three consecutive car crashes.
Taiyang folds his arms and gives his daughter the 'Parental stare.' It's very similar to the one Mum gives me all the time whenever I do something wrong. Must be a secret technique among parents. "How long have you been eavesdropping, Yang?" He asks, his stance unwavering.
"A while." Yang replies, hand on her side. Tai responds with a hollow 'Mm-hm.'
"And have you finished cleaning up the pair of you made upstairs?" Yang groans lightly and rolls her eyes.
"Yes." She drawls. I don't have a single clue what they're talking about. The amount of questions I need answering have quadrupled ever since I got here. Part of me just wants to let the smaller questions go but...
"U-um..." I open my mouth and a slur of uncombined noises escape before I can shut it again. The pair of them look at me, Yang raising an eyebrow while Tai unfolds his arm. I avert my eyes, heat swelling to my face. Better just keep my mouth shut. It's none of my business anyway.
A mirthful chuckle from Tai. My eyes jerk back to him as he shines a grin at me. "It's nothing to worry about, Eren." He dismisses. "I'll have that hole in the glove patched up for you before you head out to train with Qrow again." I blink twice. Did he know what I was going to ask? How he figure that out? Am I really that easy to read?
Worry about that later. Just thank him. "Th-thank you, sir." Tai. "Tai."
Suddenly, a sharp hissing sound flares from the frying pan. Gritting a curse, Tai races towards the assortment of vegetables and spices in an attempt to sort it. As Tai cracks away at his side of the work, Yang closes the gap between us.
"Wow, you've been pretty busy today. As soon as you catch a break from Uncle Qrow, you start cooking with Dad?" She smiles cheerfully. "You must be a glutton for punishment, huh?"
"E-eh, u-um... I-I was..." My head and my mouth squabble over a proper response. With the class of a wet fart, the best response I can muster is the meek and horrifically awkward, "H-hi..." Yang just chortles lightly.
"Sup." She leans over to the side, over my shoulder, to eye up my cut slices of chicken laying there on the chopping board. I step aside, hands behind my back as Yang observes my work. Swallowing down, I clear my throat.
"I-I... Uh, Your Dad's done most of the work. I was j-just told to cut the chicken and uh..." I shut my mouth again. Yang faces me.
"You're running a little slow. I can show you how to cut them faster?" Before I can say anything, Yang swoops up the knife and haphazardly starts chopping the chicken into misshapen pieces. I don't know a whole lot about cooking myself but I can tell that the technique she's using lacks any skill whatsoever and it's primary focus seems to be pure speed. She's like the stereotypical butcher fully-realised. It's almost painful to watch.
Before I have any chance to stop her, she settles the knife down, dusts off her hands and proudly rests her hands on her waist. "There you go. One down." I'm... pretty sure it's supposed to look like strips, not fine paste. I don't even know how she did that, she was using a knife!
"U-um... thank you?" But of course, I don't have the courage to tell her that. She waves me off.
"Don't mention it." I'd best not. I have no idea how Tai's going to react to... this. Yang leans forward, "Actually, I was wondering about a few things Eren." My shoulders tense slightly. "Where did you say you were-"
"Yang." Tai interrupts her immediately. His voice sudden and steel-like. "A word." Uh-oh. I have absolutely no idea what this is about but the scowl on Yang's says enough for me to stay out of the way. Still, it can't be over the chicken, can it? I mean, yeah it's a mess now but, I can always carve up another one for them. It's only one chicken thigh. Yang follows her father into the living-room. Tai calls back to me, "I left another few packets on the side, just grab one of them and keep going until I get back."
"O-okay." Another few packets? We don't need that many, do we? I mean, how many packets could we possibly need for one curry?
That's a big bowl.
A really, really big bowl. Seriously, if I stood it up side by side with me, it'd take up both of my legs combined. I think i finally realise what Qrow meant earlier by 'Regular portion.' I thought it was just a slip of the tongue or something but this. This.
Inside, the curry sauce wells into thick bubbles of spicy delight. Onions and spices darts around the surface like hapless stranglers stranded in the middle of nowhere with chilli peppers and several slices of chicken bobbing out of the sauce like ships. It's a sea of curry, a monolith akin to other gigantic food could only be found in some decrepit, unhealthy fast food restaurant. This isn't a spicy chicken curry; this is a spicy chicken curry monster!
And Ruby and Yang are digging into it like rabid dogs. We're supposed to be having lunch!
This family is absolutely, one hundred-percent, crazy!
Tai settles my bowl after he's finished dishing it out, he notices how awestruck I am by these goliaths. He scratches the back of his neck, "Ah, right. You haven't had Aura for that long." He clears his throat. "Well, the thing is, when you have Aura for a certain amount of time it tends to have a few side-effects. Nothing too horrible or anything but it can still have a pretty big effect on your life." He looks over his two children eating like pigs. "This just happens to be one of them. I've heard of a few guys I used to work with back in the day who almost ate themselves out of house and home."
I shudder slightly. Oh god, I'm not going to be like that when I get home, am I?! Mum's going to be so pissed! I'll end up eating the entire house by the end of the week!
Tai chuckles lightly before pushing the bowl towards me, "Better get used to it. Unless somebody figures out how to stuff your Aura back in, you're stuck with it." He pats on the bowl. "For the rest of your life." I sigh heavily to myself. Should've known better. I figured that having Aura wouldn't have any downsides. Well, at least I'll actually be eating properly now. I take the hefty bowl from Tai's arms.
"T-thank you, Tai-sir." He nods his head.
"And thank you for giving me a hand. I don't know if I'm any good at teaching people how to cook but, it was nice having someone to help out and not have anything blow up for a change." I don't think i need to question that any further. Still, what he said does bring up something I've been meaning to ask for a while.
"Actually, sir." I settle the bowl back on the counter. "Um, well, I-I was... I was wondering something."
"Yes?" I shuffle from place to place.
"Well, uh, I was wondering that, um... Well, um..." Deep breath. Deep breath. "I..." I bow my head slightly. "What can I do to pay you back?" I keep my head down, awaiting an answer from him. I've been mooching off of him and his family for almost two weeks now. It's about time that I stop taking them for granted and start working to pay them back for everything they've done for me.
"Oh geez..." I gaze up slightly to see Tai massaging his temples. "She really wasn't kidding." He stops, takes another look at me for whatever reason before chuckling lightly to himself. "You really want to pay us back?" I nod.
"Yes." There's no doubt about it.
"Alright then." Tai eyes the clock. "Come back here after you're finished training with Qrow. From now on," he smiles. "You're going to help me cook dinner every day." He folds his arms. "Does that sound alright to you?" I nod back at him, a sneaky smile passes my lips.
"Y-yes!" Honestly, it doesn't really matter if it sounded alright to me or not. I'm going to do it regardless. There's nothing I hate more than not paying my debts.
"Good. In the meantime." He pushes the bowl towards me. "Your food's getting cold." Oh! Right! I snap up the bowl in my arms, lowering my head slightly as I take it.
"S-sorry!" Tai moves himself towards the pot, grabbing the ladle inside and preparing to pour what's left of the contents into his bowl.
"Don't worry about it." I'm about to turn around and head for the door but Tai opens his mouth to say something else. "You know..." He leans back against the counter. "You don't have to eat it upstairs. We've got an extra seat here if you want to join us?" That's... That's very...
No. I shouldn't. I shake my head. "Th-thank you but, I-I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" A pause.
"Y-yeah. Really. I'm fine. Thanks for offering." I'd feel out of place, anyway. It's very kind of him to offer but it's not my table to sit at. Tai looks at me for a second.
"Well... Alright then. Enjoy your meal, Eren." I bow my head to him.
"Thank you." I turn my back to him, walking towards the door with the bowl in hand when...
"Later, Eren." I halt my steps, the curry almost spilling out from the bowl. I turn my head to see a face down Yang holding her arm into the air in a departing manner. With her mouth full of curry, Ruby does the same while letting out a muffled 'See you Eren!'
At least, I think that's what she's trying to say. From here, it sounds more like, "Mffh euh, Meeffree." That earns her a quick scolding from Yang to swallow her food.
I... give them a polite smile before I leave the room.
Here I sit. On the floor in the middle of the guest room with a spoon in hand, staring at a overflowing bowl of spicy chicken curry.
Downstairs, I can hear a roar of laughter coming from the kitchen table. Talks of how their day has gone, what they were doing, who they've been talking to, sharing jokes about events that I have absolutely no idea about, random names that I've never heard of. I can still hear them going.
I take another look at my bowl. Sucking in my breath, I take my spoon and I scoop up one of the chicken pieces cover in a spicy sauce. Sighing softly, I open wide and take a bite. Chew. Chew. I'm waiting for the hot spice to burn my tongue but... I don't taste it. It doesn't taste spicy at all. It actually tastes kind of...
Bitter.
A/N: I'm free! And wow, I had a surprising amount of trouble writing this chapter. Bit strange considering that this one of the few chapters I had an exact plan for before I started this story but whatever.
Not exactly the most explosive chapter to return with, in-fact I thought it was going to be one of the shortest, but I think I covered all the bases I was meaning to cover so there we go.
Taiyang was surprisingly easy and surprisingly difficult to write for. We know more about him that Raven and Summer currently but the full scope of his personality so far has been amounted to 'Kind of crazy,' and 'Best Dad in RWBY fite me bruv.' I hope I wrote him alright all the same. Now that I'm free from Uni for the summer, I'll be back to releasing chapters on a weekly basis again.
As always, thanks for reading and if you have any opinions on the story, character portrayals or anything good, bad or 'I want to throw you off a cliff' let me know in the reviews and send me any PMs if you have any questions you want answered.