Cooking Warrior
The wind rustled through deep foliage, making the leaves sway in the bright sunlight and creating little patterns on the greens and browns of the forest floor danced to the natural song of the chirping birds, the buzzing bees, and the gentle patter of the nearby stream that pervaded seemingly everything.
An earthy smell hung faintly in the air and the grass was still a little damp to the touch, the last remnants of yesterday's rain that had lasted well into the morning hours.
If one were so inclined, they could sit down in the shade of one of the many trees to just enjoy this simple spectacle of nature and let it carry away all their worries.
But—
"So, why are we doing this again?" S'eni asked and pulled something out from between the blades of grass.
—that wasn't what they were here for today.
"You know exactly why," Y'shtola replied a small distance away from her.
"Yes," she sighed. "I do."
They had arrived in Gridania the previous day and, having been in a more mischievous mood, she had told Y'mhitra about their arrival beforehand so that three of them could spend a nice few hours over a steaming cup of hot tea. There, the other Miqo'te had mentioned that she had finally acquired a more permanent place of residence for her extended stay in the city-state.
After giving her their congratulations, S'eni had soon gotten it into her head to throw a little house warming party with just the three of them and that they could cook something to break in the kitchen that had come with Y'mhitra's new home.
Being the owner, it was upon her lover's sister to decide what dish they would prepare.
There had just been one teeny, tiny problem that had sprung up this morning when the two of them had gone down to the market to buy the ingredients: the key one was all sold out.
So now they were out here near Bentbranch, looking for Chanterelles because some Ul'dahn merchant apparently had a great craving for mushrooms today and decided to buy every last one of them.
She supposed today was just one of those days.
"You know you don't need to be here." S'eni looked the mushroom over to make sure she had the right one, then placed it with the rest in the tiny basket she was carrying and turned towards Y'shtola. "I can do this on my own."
"No. I will stay and help," Y'shtola replied, leaned down to pick up a few as well and walked over to her. The corners of her lips curled into a smile and her eyes narrowed just ever so slightly. "Besides, I'm sure you will make it worth my while later."
"And here I thought you were helping me out of the goodness of your heart," S'eni said.
"Ah, my dear Warrior of Light. Did being an adventurer not teach you that even the tiniest of tasks requires compensation?" As if to make a point, the other Miqo'te let her hand hover over the basket for a few seconds before slowly dumping its contents into it.
"Alright." She chuckled. "And what kind of compensation did you have in mind?"
"Hmm, I believe I shall keep that to myself until our task is done."
"Oooh, mysterious." S'eni grinned.
All of a sudden, their ears perked up at the same time, picking up a very particular and almost unmistakable sound: a loud "Wark!"
Zack's to be precise.
"Well, seems like he found something. Let's go," she said and began to walk in the direction of the sound.
Falling into step next to her, Y'shtola furrowed her brows. "Sometimes I wonder if he is more hound than Chocobo."
"He's got a keen nose for sure." S'eni tapped hers. "I was actually wondering if I could teach him to hunt for truffles. Would be a nice source of extra Gil."
"Hurting for money?"
"Not really, but you never know when you might need it. Some of the things offered on the market boards can be outrageously expensive."
They found Zack near Matron's Lethe, standing in front of a series of large shrubs, digging through the dirt with his talons and beak. When he noticed their approach he stopped and turned around, doing an excited little jump.
"Let's see what you got for us," S'eni said and brushed some of the branches aside to reveal a sizable amount of leaf-like mushrooms. Beaming with pride, she reached up and patted his head. "Good job!"
"Wark!"
As she knelt down to gather them up, Zack then turned his attention towards Y'shtola. Round, black eyes stared at her in a way that could almost be described as expecting and a single white eyebrow rose in silent question as to what he wanted.
A moment passed.
And another.
And another.
Only the rustling of leaves as S'eni picked out some especially good-looking mushrooms disturbed the silence that hung between them. Then, slowly, Y'shtola reached out a hand and gave his neck a little pat.
"Wark!"
The other Miqo'te nodded in return.
"Alright," S'eni said and rose back to her feet. "This ought to be enough!"
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a handful of greens and tossed them into the air where they were immediately plucked by Zack's beak.
With ample Chanterelles now in their possession, they returned to Bentbranch Meadows to place her loyal Chocobo in the stable, then headed to the Mirror Planks to take a ferry to Y'mhitra's place of residence, the Lavender Beds.
Located at the north-eastern shore of the Mirror, the settlement had been created to accommodate the huge influx of adventurers that had decided to make Gridania their home. Like everything else in the city-state, it was built to be in harmony with the Black Shroud. From the smallest cottage to the largest estate, it was all covered in pleasant greenery, giving everything a relaxing quality that was deeply appreciated after a hard day's work.
"So where exactly does she live?" S'eni asked as they walked across the cobblestone path, raising her hand with a small smile when a familiar face from the guild passed by.
"We need to head north, it's not far from that huge tree over there," Y'shtola replied and pointed at a tree that quite literally dwarfed everything in the area. "It's the one with the lilacs growing in front."
"Didn't know she was into flower gardening."
"We all have our little hobbies."
"Like collecting shoes?" she smirked, drawing out a chuckle from her lover.
"Or earrings."
In the end, finding Y'mhitra cottage wasn't hard at all, not only because of the description given, but also because she was currently standing in her front yard taking care of said flowers.
"Ah, there you are!" the younger Miqo'te greeted them, dusting her hands off from the soil at her fingertips. "I was beginning to wonder if an emergency had come up."
"Something like that," S'eni replied, holding the basket of Chanterelles out towards her.
Taking it, Y'mhitra gave them a friendly smile and nodded towards the door. "Let's head inside then."
Like most houses in Gridania, the inside was made up of largely wood. Deep brown in color and prepared by some of the finest woodworkers the city-state had to offer, its smooth surface reflected the sunlight shining in through the windows. But while the style was unmistakably Gridanian, the furniture was clearly of Y'mhitra's choosing, harking back to her distant home of Sharlayan.
"Please, have a seat," Y'mhitra said and motioned towards a very comfortable looking L-shaped sofa while walking towards another door. "Tea?"
"Yes," Y'shtola replied as they sat down. "Thank you, Mhitra."
Once they were alone in the room, S'eni looked around and found herself finally voicing the question that had been burning on her mind ever since they heard that Y'mhitra had bought a house. "Hey, Shtola. Is your family rich?"
"Not particularly. Why?"
"Because the last time I checked, getting a place here was quite expensive."
"She might not be an Archon yet, but she is still a Sharlayan scholar. Our counsel is highly sought after. I'm sure she had ample opportunity to earn money while she was here," Y'shtola said.
"Huh." S'eni tapped her fingers on the armrest next to her. "The more you know, I suppose."
"I could always put in a good word should you ever desire to pursue academic studies," the other Miqo'te offered. "It's never too late to start studying."
"Duly noted."
Y'mhitra soon returned with a can of hot tea, pouring each of them a cup before sitting down next to her sister. Taking her cup, S'eni inhaled the fruity and spicy scent before blowing on it to cool it down a little.
"So, you like lilacs?" she asked after taking her first sip.
"Yes. I find them rather calming," Y'mhitra replied, leaning against the backrest. She then proceeded to tell them about how she had picked Botany as a secondary subject during her studies and had quickly taken a liking to it. More than once, simply tending to flowers had helped her during times of great stress, and if what she said was true she owed them quite a few passed exams.
By the time the younger Miqo'te was done with her story, they had finished their tea and S'eni began to rise to her feet.
"Well, I guess it's about time we get to cooking, wouldn't you say?" she looked at the other two with an eager smile on her lips.
Silence was the only response as the two sisters looked at one another, then turned their eyes towards S'eni. Y'mhitra's shoulders began to shift awkwardly. "Yes, about that…"
"What is it?"
"Neither of us can cook," Y'shtola replied matter-of-factly.
S'eni blinked once. Twice, then furrowed her brows. "Wait a minute, why did you both agree to this then?"
"You seemed rather excited about the prospect," Y'mhitra replied with a shrug.
"Indeed." Y'shtola nodded, crossing a leg over the other. "And rather adept in the kitchen. To be honest, I wanted to taste your cooking for a while now."
Narrowing her eyes, she looked between the two sisters before letting her shoulders slump with a sigh.
"Fine, I'll do it myself. Consider this—" she pointed at her lover while walking towards the kitchen. "—your compensation."
The smile she received in return, looking just like the one Y'shtola had given her earlier, told her that she was more than fine with that arrangement.
"Has a kitchen but doesn't know how to cook," she muttered under her breath and stepped through the door.
The kitchen was nothing spectacular, but it had all it needed to make a nice home-cooked meal. After putting the rest of the ingredients they had bought earlier onto the table, she began gathering the cooking utensils she needed, surprised Y'mhitra even had them now.
Probably bought them just for this occasion, S'eni thought and began washing and cutting the ingredients. After she was done with that, she put a generous slice of butter into the pot and placed it on the stove, adding the onion and garlic first when the butter had fully melted to cook them for a few minutes.
Then she added the mushrooms and thyme, sprinkling some flour on the former, waiting another few minutes before pouring in the chicken stock and covering it up to let it simmer.
Closing her eyes, she inhaled the fragrance and smiled. She wouldn't call herself an amazing cook, but she was pretty sure none of them would go hungry today.
The sound of the door opening behind her made her glance over her shoulder to see Y'shtola walking in, teapot in hand. "Something smells good."
"Yeah. It'll be a little while still," S'eni replied.
"I see. Mind if I make more tea?"
"Go ahead." She stepped to the side to let the other woman do so. After placing the newly filled kettle next to the pan on the stove, Y'shtola looked at her.
"I'm sorry, by the way."
"Don't worry. I'm not mad. In fact, I should've probably expected it. You Sharlayans have your noses between books all the time, it's little wonder none of you can cook." She chuckled. In fact, she was pretty sure only Thancred and Lyse had any sort of culinary skills, and the former most likely out of necessity than anything else. "Makes me wonder how you and Matoya managed inside her cave."
"There are many uses for familiars."
That was true, she supposed. The old woman seemed to get by just fine with hers.
A teasing little smile then danced across her lips as she looked at her lover. "So, did you have a familiar as well?"
"Well—" Y'shtola mirrored her expression. "Who can say?"
The kettle began to whistle.
"I suppose that is my cue," the other woman said, taking the kettle off the stove to fill the teapot with its steaming hot content. Once done, she took the finely crafted ceramic ware and began to walk past her.
Clicking her tongue with a little grin as the door closed again, S'eni returned her attention to the task at hand. Fortunately, there was not a lot that needed to be done now other than stirring in the milk until it had the right amount of creamy thickness and seasoning it a little bit more as it simmered.
After taking a little taste test, and finding it to her liking, she closed the stove's air vents for the fire to die down and walked over to the door to tell the others that their meal was ready. She had just placed her hand on top of the door handle when her ears perked up at the words coming from the other side.
"So how are things with S'eni going?" she heard Y'mhitra ask.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Please, we may not share the same mother, but you're still my sister. Did you really believe I wouldn't notice how you act when she's around?"
"And how am I, as you put it, acting around her?" Y'shtola asked right back.
"You're less guarded and much more relaxed whenever she's there."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, and before you claim that I'm just imagining things, care to explain your reaction on the day you were pulled out of the Lifestream? The way you only looked at her when they walked through the door?"
Silence followed, broken only by the sound of a cup being placed on a saucer.
"It's obvious you care for her, and I can tell she cares about you too. Would it be such a bad thing to have her at your side?"
More silence.
"Just..." the younger woman sighed. "...think about it, alright? At the very least it would make me rest easier."
"Fine," Y'shtola said with a huff. "I will. Now can we change the subject?"
S'eni couldn't help the chuckle at the irony of the situation. If only Y'mhitra knew...
She waited for a few moments longer, then pushed the door open. "Food's ready!"
It was only later that night when they were both lying in bed and S'eni was staring at the ceiling, that she thought back on that conversation from earlier and found herself asking, "Should we tell the others?"
"About us, you mean?"
She turned onto her side to look at Y'shtola, who was leaning against the headrest and reading a book. "Yeah."
"You heard what Mhitra said then, I take it?" her lover asked.
"I didn't mean to, but yes."
Putting a finger between the pages, Y'shtola closed the book and returned her look. "And now you are wondering if perhaps you would have spared me an awkward conversation with my sister. I can assure you it would have just been replaced with another."
"Hm, but still…"
"Do you want to tell them?"
"I don't know, to be honest," S'eni admitted. "A part of me likes it like this. You know, it being just between us."
"And Krile."
"And Krile." She wisely decided to hold her tongue that Matoya had figured them out from the get-go. "Yet another part wants for the others to know, but I don't know if it's the right time."
The liberation of Ala Mhigo was still rather fresh and she was sure that before long, the Garlean Empire would rear its head once more. And who could tell when they would have a quiet moment again when that happened?
"Then we shall wait until the time is right," Y'shtola said and opened the book once more. "So no need to worry on my part. And for the record, I too enjoy our little secret to its fullest."
Hearing those words, a soft smile formed on S'eni's lips and cuddled up to the other woman, releasing a content little purr as an arm came to rest around her shoulders.
"By the way, what are you reading?"
Y'shtola's glanced at her for a second, before returning to attention to the page in front of her. The corners of her lips quirked upward. "Just a book about Eorzean cuisine. Should I ever desire to have you cook for me again."
"Oh, is that so? Well, I should have you know that I require quite a bit of compensation for that."
"I'm sure we can come to a satisfying arrangement for both of us."
"Maybe." she stifled a yawn and closed her eyes. "But how about we get some sleep for now?"
With a chuckle, her lover placed the book on the nightstand next to her and shut off the lamp.
And with this we've concluded this little side excursion away from the plot. Next week we'll continue our regular scheduled journey.
Have a nice weekend!