Open | RIP Sebastian + catch all

[singlelogbridge]

CHARACTERS: Wei Wuxian, a giant dead crab, and you!
LOCATION: The kitchen/mess hall
DATE: September 17th
CONTENT: Eating crabs
WARNINGS: None at the moment



A

[The day after their return from Xrisora, Wei Wuxian can be found having taken over one of the stoves in the kitchen. Lying on the counter next to him are two crab legs—that is, two giant crab legs from a Titan Crab. How did he get them here? It is a mystery. Anyway, he’s taken over a part of the kitchen with his crab shenanigans and is slowly but surely beginning to cook one of the legs up. After a while, he makes the executive decision to freeze a leg and a half because there is absolutely no way they’ll be able to eat all of it.

Anyway, he is cooking so much crab.

At some point he is absolutely burning some of the crab. Maybe someone can supervise? Please come save the crab.]

B

[Somehow, most of the crab gets cooked without being burned or ruined in some other way, which means it is time to season it! Do you like your crab spicy? Obviously you do, why wouldn’t you? Who doesn’t like spice? Only crazy people, that’s who!

Thankfully, Wei Wuxian is friends with Itachi which means he’s aware that some people on the station can’t handle spice. This means that most of the crab is boring and only has some melted butter on it, and absolutely zero eye searing red flakes and spices.

Everyone should help themselves to crab. Their options are terrible, boring, (perfectly fine) normal crab, or delicious, stunning, wonderful (hope you didn’t need your tastebuds or your esophagus!) spicy crab.]

C
[And at some point, a text across the network.]

I’m making crab!

[That’s it, that’s the text, he doesn’t have time for this network nonsense, his pan is on fire!]

D

[Wildcard it! Crab related or other!]

Comments

[bindsthedead]

Well... I didn't, actually, before I came to the Ximilia. But there aren't any servants here, and there isn't that much need for magic between missions. So I decided I'd learn a useful skill.

[Especially since nannybot already did the cleaning. Sabriel fills the base of the steamer with water, before putting it on the stove.]

[singlelogbridge]

[Her answer generates a warm smile from Wei Wuxian and he nods in understanding.]

Certainly a good use of your time, and I'm definitely grateful. [And then, because it's one of the first things he's learned about her—not her magic or her world but just her—] Did you grow up with servants?

[bindsthedead]

My family's estate has a lot of sendings- construct servants. Almost too many.

[All of them trying to be helpful, and many acting, to quote Mogget like 'privileged family retainers who always think they know best.']

My school had servants to cook and clean, mend our clothes, and maintain the grounds. I don't think they'd have let us in the kitchen even if we asked.

[singlelogbridge]

So you went away for school then? Was it very far from home? [Most of the Yunmeng Jiang students were fairly local, but there were a handful from Meishan or even farther away. The first few weeks at Lotus Pier were always hardest on those students and Wei Wuxian liked to spoil them as much as possible in that time. Had liked to.]

I never went away for school but it was pretty common where I'm from. [His situation was rather unique, having been considered part of the main Jiang family despite not being related by blood.]

[bindsthedead]

Well, I mostly traveled with father around the Old Kingdom before he brought me to school, but- I didn't return to the Old Kingdom for thirteen years.

[It hadn't been safe. Sabriel understands this now, but at the time, she'd often asked her father if she could at least go with him over the summer holidays- until she'd learned to stop asking.]

It's not uncommon in Ancelstierre either, for people of a certain class. But they tend to go home at least a few times a year.

[singlelogbridge]

[Realizing he's been forgetting to cook, he begins to fill the steamer with crab parts before turning his attention back to Sabriel. He listens attentively, trying to picture the kind of life she's describing. It isn't so different from some people in his own world even if his life was different.]

My parents were travelers too. [He says, smiling softly.] They were wandering cultivators who made the road their home. I don't remember much about it, but I wandered right along with them for the first years of my life.

Did you like travel?

[bindsthedead]

I do. Getting to see new sights, meet new people- It's something I enjoy. And- I remember a little of traveling, when I was small. Mostly the inside of the wagons, and the campsites.

[But little of the Old Kingdom itself, or the towns they'd visited. Much of Sabriel's memories of the Old Kingdom are fare more recent.

And of course, it's not like it's her choice whether she travels or not.]

But it doesn't matter. My work as Abhorsen means I'm going to spend much of my life traveling, going wherever I'm needed.

[singlelogbridge]

[He smiles as she shares, clearly enjoying hearing about it and trying to picture it in his head. A much younger Sabriel, wandering the country with a father he can't picture. His smile fades a little at her last comment though, and he wonders if she would have preferred a different sort of life for herself if it was her choice.

For the moment, he puts it out of his mind.

It's a long while later when they've just finished the latest batch of crab and Sabriel's broth has long been completed that finds them sitting and snacking on their own hard work. Wei Wuxian's crab is spiced exactly the way he likes it, and Sabriel seems to be enjoying her own (not eye searingly spiced) food as well. Still, it seems to be missing something, and Wei Wuxian rises from his seat to look through some of the cabinets.

After a quiet sound of triumph, he returns to the table with several jars that he sets down and begins to unwind.]

What we need with all of this is a good wine! [It isn't Emperor's Smile, he hasn't been able to bring himself to ask for that quite yet, but it's a good wine from home nonetheless.]

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel looks up from her own bowl curiously. She's had wine before- Wyverley College had served it to Fifth and Sixth form girls at any meal that was remotely formal, and she's certainly had it since then. But this looks different- in ceramic bottles, rather than glass, for one.]

Something from your home? We have glasses here somewhere-

[Sabriel opens a cabinet and reaches for some- a standard glass for red wine, rather than a champagne coupe, flute, sherry glass, or... any of the other myriad shapes she had to memorize for etiquette class. As long as it can hold a reasonable serving, it really doesn't matter, does it?]

I don't think I've tried this kind before- it's not strong, is it?

[singlelogbridge]

[Before he can stop her, she's up for glasses and he lets her be. When he's not eating out and admittedly sometimes when he is, he tends to drink from the jar. But Sabriel is more polite company so glasses will be fine.

It's a strangely shaped glass, but who cares as long as it holds the wine?]

It is! Not my favorite, but still a good one. [As for if it's strong...] Hmm. I don't think it's very strong? It's very smooth! If you don't drink often, I think you'll still like the flavor. [He used to drink so many jars without even feeling a buzz. Granted he had a golden core back then but who's thinking about that small detail?]

[bindsthedead]

Oh, I drink wine often enough. Our school would serve it whenever we had a remotely formal dinner. Because we were supposed to know which kind of wine went with which sort of dish, and what kind of glass it was supposed to go in.

[But all of that fussiness in irrelevant here, so Sabriel just pours them each a glass, and takes a sip.]

It tastes- if I had to compare it to anything, I'd say it tastes a bit like sherry. And you're right- it is very smooth!

[So of course, she takes another sip.]

[singlelogbridge]

It's good, right? [He grins, delighted that she likes it. It doesn't take him very long to polish off his glass and he's quick to serve himself another, holding up the jar in offer to serve her more as well.]

I was wondering about something you said earlier. About not having a choice whether you'd travel or not. Did you always want to be an Abhorsen?

[bindsthedead]

Yes!

[Sabriel holds up her own, which is... not empty, but more than halfway there.]

Well, I thought Abhorsen was just Father's name for the longest time. No one ever called him anything else.

[Sabriel takes a long drink from her glass.]

I didn't find out it was a title I was heir to until he was trapped in Death and I went to rescue him.

[singlelogbridge]

[He happily refills her cup.]

Trapped in death! Is that a story you feel up to? It sounds like an adventurous one.[She said she'd gone to rescue him so he assumes it didn't end in tragedy but he doesn't want her to feel obligated to talk about something sad if it did.]

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriels smile wavers and falls, and she shakes her head, even as she gets started on the next glass.]

Another time, perhaps. There are other stories I would tell of my father.

[Happier ones, from the times he'd visit her at school, or contact her through other means. When he'd tell her stories about the Old Kingdom, or talk to her about her schoolwork.]

Like how he'd always bring spellbooks for me to study, whenever he visited.

[singlelogbridge]

[Oh, well. He called that one wrong. Dumbass. He winces and nods his head in understanding before speaking softly.]

My apologies, Sabriel.

[And then, not dwelling on it and catching onto the slight subject change] Did you inherit your voracious love of studying and learning from him?

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel pushes on with the subject change, taking another sip.]

Yes. My father was a skilled mage and necromancer. He tutored me in both, and- that was part of the reason he chose the school he did. Because they offered lessons in magic, if students got their parent's permission- Charter magic anyway, not necromancy. Wyverley is the only school south of the Wall where such things are taught.

[Because it was close enough to the Wall that magic still worked, and in an area where more than a few local families traced their descent from the Old Kingdom, and still practiced its traditions.

And had for a long time, given the age of the protective spells in the basement.]

But- yes. He was always willing to talk about magic during all of his visits, and he took a keen interest in my studies- and even though necromancy wasn't on the syllabus, he made sure I started learning when I was old enough.

[singlelogbridge]

[He smiles to hear it, as it's clear Sabriel not only loved her father a lot but also seemed to admire him and his work. He's glad she has such fond memories of him and that she's apparently been able to carry on his work.]

Was it hard when you began learning? Or frightening? I know there are some big difference between demonic cultivation and necromancy and I don't know what it looks like to learn necromancy. [Especially for someone so young.] Demonic cultivation requires a steady mind and strong control of your emotions, so teaching a child would be...inadvisable. Is necromancy like that?

[bindsthedead]

Well, I was twelve when he started teaching me so- yes, I was scared at first. But the book I studied from made me forget the worst parts, until I needed to remember them. How old were you when you started learning?

[Sabriel pauses, before she continues, taking a gulp of wine to fill up the silence.]

Necromancy requires that as well- since it's a kind of Free Magic, you need a strong will, or the magic will control you instead of you controlling it. And it also requires musical skill, because even without the bells, that's how the power is channeled. Tone deaf necromancers don't live very long.

[singlelogbridge]

[He almost laughs, in shock not mockery, but manages to reign it in. How old were you when you started learning. There's a simple answer to that of course, but it's not what she's implying it is. Not like it was for her. There were no books or study rooms, no teachers or lessons.

There was only him and a mountain of corpses, grief and revenge and helplessness burning hot in his chest. "They'll never find your body. Your soul will never escape. You're going to die here and be trapped here forever and no one will ever know what happened to you."

He knocks back the full cup he'd just served and laughs lightly.]

I was seventeen. It's neat how they both involve music, isn't it?

[bindsthedead]

Well, that's a reasonable age to learn it. Old enough to know it's dangerous, anyway.

Yes- so does weather magic, although I have less experience with that.

[Although it is a far, far more pleasant topic than necromancy, so Sabriel's much more willing to talk about it.]

Beyond crashing a paperwing, anyway. I've gotten a little better since then.

[singlelogbridge]

[Sensing her desire to move on, and feeling the pleasant buzz of alcohol starting to numb some of the darker feelings that had started to creep in at his words moments before, he smiles and follows along, happy to move into safer waters.]

Weather magic! Now that sounds interesting and I'm sure very difficult!

[bindsthedead]

It's music- you have to be able to whistle to do it, and calling up a single wind is easy enough but-

[Sabriel gestures vaguely, and nearly spills some wine in the process.]

You can't make something from nothing and everything's connected. So if you try to make one thin happen, you can set off a chain reaction. Try to clear some clouds away and end up summoning a windstorm, that sort of thing. Or all the clouds clump up in the same place and you get a thunderstorm a few dozen leagues away from where you wanted to make clear skies.

[singlelogbridge]

[He nods at that, fascinated by it all.]

Mmmhmm. It sounds tricky. I bet it could go very poorly very easily. [Cause a drought or flood even.

And then] I can whistle! [He then proceeds to whistle a tune just to show her. Definitely feeling that buzz now.]

When I first started controlling resentful energy, that was all I had before I carved Chenqing from the rotted bamboo trees—that was my first flute. Before that I used whistling alone.

[bindsthedead]

[And because Sabriel has just enough of a buzz to not consider how things could go wrong- she whistles too. And a glowing mark slips from her pursed lips as she does so, as a strong breeze rushes into the room- not enough to tip anything over, but plates and silverware rattle.]

Really? Father brought panpipes for me to practice with, before he let me handle the bells. But... I got to study normal music in school. And Elli- my friends would sneak records in.