deercountry | November Catch-All (Mostly Closed)

"Hahaha, it certainly is. It's quite the nice new perk I've picked up. My blood powers aren't as strong as say, a coldblood, but it gives me at least that hidden advantage."

He'd try to make it as strong one day, but that's neither here nor there right now. There's so many mushrooms littering the ground now, and he can already think of a few dishes he could easily cook with them all. Besides, they'd have to clean up this mess before they could build the shed anyway. He sighs, placing arms akimbo, to look at it.

"You rascal, laying a trap for me like this- but on the bright side, I can make mushroom julienne from all these mushrooms. Bet you've never had good Snezhnayan cuisine before, have you?"

He's already on top of this--- again, using the power of Anemo to his advantage. To gather them up in an almost translucent bowl, carried by the wind itself in front of Childe. It's a simple feat for him and pretty much something that comes naturally, but not something he'd often do in front of others. Flexing the powers of an Archon in front of the people of Mondstadt? While under this guise??? Impossible. Improbable.

"I haven't," and Venti flashes a smile. "I'd say mushrooms are a kind of food I haven't had too many of."

As he floats the 'shrooms back toward the house, eyes focusing on where they're carried instead of where they currently are, he snorts softly.

"Part of me has wished to travel. To be free to be in other places! But that's... it'd be irresponsible of me. Do you understand?"

Would he?

Childe looks on in amusement as Venti floats the mushrooms into the house, listening to to Venti as he speaks. He's decided to make that mushroom julienne later after they construct the shed, paired along with some other kind of main course. He's sure Venti will like it. He hasn't met anyone who's disliked any of his meals yet, even though they do look questionable at times. Laughing through his nose, he places a hand on his hip, thinking on Venti's wishes to travel.

"Well, perhaps it is a little bit. But you're not asking the right person if you want me to tell you to stay in one place forever. That sounds like something Mr. Zhongli would say. I, on the other hand, think that going to see other lands is part of the beauty of life- an opportunity for new experiences, and new battles too."

He turns and examines the wall against the house one more time. Yeah, this'll do. He'll make sure Venti is okay with putting it here.

"So I don't think taking a little vacation from time to time is all that bad."

He can see it now: the shed would use the existing wall here, which would provide it some stability, as well as some protection from some climate-oriented problems. Close enough so that he wouldn't have to brave a chill or a sweltering wave of heat for too long either! But he certainly wouldn't want to put a door to create easy access... he has to learn some semblance of control. Probably. Maybe.

"A vacation..."

Still. It's the fact that his desire to return back to Mondstadt has been somewhat shelved, replaced by the need to make this place... more like home. Numbed. Dulled? Even if he slept for another hundred or so years, where would his duties lie?

Oh right. With the booze. Ehe.

"The new experiences and new battles might be a little too much for a bard like me. So maybe I'll focus on new drinks."

A twinkle in his eyes, as he closes them.

"You know... I still owe you something, don't I?"

He has to laugh to himself, Venti suggesting that drinks would be his primary focus. As one of the Seven, he wonders on how many experiences and battles he's already seen in his lifetime. Far more than the Harbinger is sure that he could imagine, envious of the bard's position in that respect. Not that he's unaware that even an archon can suffer through hardships as well...but the idea of living so long that you can fight and eat and experience the world time and time again...that sounds wonderful.

Childe looks over his shoulder back to Venti with a devilish, yet playful grin- yes. He hasn't forgotten the sparring session he's owed, and just thinking about it makes his heart race a little faster with excitement.

"Indeed. Though I didn't intend to redeem it today, unless you're willing and prepared to duke it out with me for a little bit. If you do, I'll make you a feast afterwards that you'll never forget...but after we get your shed up. Speaking of which, as the god of wind, could you float that lumber back here so we can start?"

"I'll do you one better."

The bard closes his eyes. That lumber is close enough where he thinks he can use that blood magic of his to move it to them quicker than his wind would--- after all, the stronger the wind the more it might whip around more dirt and dust! That, and such a localized phenomenon might attract all kinds of attention. Not saying his power as a Darkblood wouldn't do the same, but...

So that stack of wood does come toward them without the telltale signs of Anemo, without the wind that Venti holds near and dear to his heart. A testament to the work he's been doing, not relying so heavily on what makes him an Archon, but what makes him himself. Though the stack shakes and seems like it might drop at any second, it makes to them both safely without issue.

He wipes his brow and snickers softly.

"There. It doesn't come as naturally, but maybe in time..."

Childe's ears visibly perk up and a big smile appears on his face. The entire stack of wood comes floating over to them, without the aid of the wind, and settles down next to their work area. He starts clapping for Venti, genuinely impressed. That was cool and that power was incredibly useful. One of the few things he's thankful for here in this new world- the addition of their blood powers.

"Ah, splendid! You must have Darkblood running through your veins then...not bad. I'm impressed! I can't wait to see what you do with that power. There's been whispers on the streets of what truly powerful Darkbloods can do...it would be beyond exciting to see it for myself."

"I've heard the same things. I think it'll take some time, but I hope that I can rely on it much as I could rely on the wind."

Which, frankly, might take him a very long time? Or it could take him even less time than he expects. It really depends on how much he uses it and how much he wants to make it work. Archons can be stubborn creatures in general! Just not him. Venti is totally the exception (that we know of).

"But really? You've had your fill of Anemo already?"

Venti laughs, one hand on his hips as he leans to one side with a curious grin on his face.

Childe shoots back a playful grin. Tired of Anemo? Oh no. If anything, things just got even more interesting and exciting.

"Of course not. You're just setting my expectations higher and higher. I expect you to utilize both in your fight against me; and I hope you don't disappoint."

He begins to set up the planks of wood to begin building the shed. It would take them at least a few hours...at least.

He pretty much follows Childe's lead. What would an Archon know about building anything in the first place? Still, the more pieces of wood that are brought together and nailed and put in some kind of order... it does start to look more and more like something that could hold his current and future cider inventory.

"I won't disappoint you. I'm still an Archon, after all... we're not exactly your run of the mill adventurer."

He was about to say traveler, but that description has other connotations. Of a very important person, of someone he trusted beyond words and song and even his mortal façade.

"Huh! It's really coming together."

After some time, the shed really has come together. Childe checks to make sure the hinges on the doors were secure, and it was large enough to have a rack on each wall that held nine barrels on each rack- almost enough space for an entire month's worth of cider. It's not painted of course, but that can be taken care of anytime. The Harbinger wipes the sweat from his brow, surveying their work and nodding to Venti.

"You might have to keep a few barrels in the house, but, it looks pretty good. I trust you can handle putting the barrels in there?"

After all, it's either easy for a wind god to manipulate the wind to get them in there, or more practice for his darkblood powers. Or he can carry them in. He doesn't care, really. All he can think about now is dinner, because he's worked up an appetite.

It doesn't actually take that long, which is both surprising and not surprising.

"Huh... yeah, I can."

As he gives each rack a gentle tug to see how sturdy they are, Venti can't help but be impressed. Taking stock of the entire shed and all? He can see Childe take a second to rid his brow of sweat, and it would be wrong to not give him a little bit of a helping hand with that too.

A breeze, to cool him off. Just slightly.

"Was building things part of your training as a Harbinger?" Not said mockingly; he's genuinely curious. "And cooking?"

It's not like he had a bad opinion of everyone. Nope. Just of her.

She's a good person to have a bad opinion of, if you ask Childe.

The breeze is appreciated, and feels good on his face. For now, he steps out of the shed, letting Venti follow before he closes the doors. Their work done, he gestures towards the house- he'd like to go inside now to relax for a moment while he chats with Venti.

"Hahaha, not at all, really. I've helped my old man out with a few things back at home in Sneznhaya, and I learned to cook to help take care of my siblings. Don't get me wrong- I do enjoy these things, especially cooking. Which, I would be delighted in sharing with you, if you'd like."

The idea of Childe being such a family-oriented person... it's not that hard to imagine. People aren't brought into this world with the sole purpose of fighting. Someone or something normally directs you to such a place. At least, this is what Venti wants to believe; to let the wind guide a person to where they belong, regardless of what one does with their circumstances.

Good. Evil. Whatever's in between. Like booze and mushrooms, for starters.

"Of course I would!" He is hungry. That's one thing he's been getting used to--- eating more. "I don't really know what to do with my kitchen... it's mostly been for whatever apples I can get."

For some reason, he is not surprised at all that Venti probably doesn't cook all that much. He hopes that Venti's kitchen at least has the utensils needed to make some traditional Snezhnayan food, and he's already ready to have to go out and get whatever ingredients he'll need. He doubts Venti will have it all.

"Heh, apples you say? That gives me a great idea for dessert. Let me survey your kitchen and see what I might need. Since we have more mushrooms than we know what to do with, and apples to boot, I think I've got a good idea of what we can have for dinner. And, with some luck, perhaps it'll give you a better idea of what you'd like to do with your kitchen."

Easy to lead Childe back inside and toward the corner kitchen. It's simple and somewhat working--- not in the greatest condition, but it could always be worse. His cabinets have been stocked with simple ingredients of modest amounts, nothing excessive but not lacking. Staples of all kinds, some of which lend themselves to pastries and desserts over the savory, but whatever Childe needs? Venti probably has it.

"I asked some people around here what a kitchen normally would have... and I think they were mostly honest."

And by that, the regulars in the bars all around Trench.

"It's probably not a surprise to you that I've never had to worry about such things."

He helps himself, looking through cupboards and his stock, finding it satisfactory. It'll be everything he needs to make them a great dinner, so he turns to answer his friend in kind.

"Not the least bit surprising. Either way, I think everything I'll need is here. I was thinking I could utilize a few similar things to make dinner. What do you think of having Pirozhki, which is a beef and mushroom mini-pie accompanied by mushroom julienne for a side? Then I could make us my mother's own recipe for apple pie as dessert."

Beef? Sounds fine. Mushrooms? He's already agreed to eating some--- and he prefers them over some of the other vegetables and food options out there. If anything, he might as well enjoy them while he can. The vast amounts that have covered their immediate areas basically begs for some kind of cooking.

But apple pie...!

"That all sounds amazing!" If his eyes weren't sparkling already, they sure are now. He immediately goes to Childe's side, mostly watching him go through everything that he has, and is more than happy to sort of just... soak everything in.

"And a lot, too... I wouldn't want any of it to go to waste. Maybe it'd be worth bringing some to others as well?"

Especially because there's no way that Venti isn't going to help out and just drink and kick back and watch. Nope! Hands on learning experiences for the archon.

He's already setting out utensils and other cookware that he'll need to make everything, thankful that they weren't that complicated to make and that he'd already memorized the recipes. Taking his jacket off, sets it far off to the side before returning to the counter and getting ready to do all the prep needed to bring this dinner together. He smiles back to Venti- if he was willing to spare the ingredients, he certainly didn't mind making enough for more than just the two of them.

"I can certainly make enough to go around. I'm pretty used to cooking for a lot of people...when you've got a family as big as mine, you have to plan to feed a lot of mouths. But since I lack having them here, cooking for all of our friends from Teyvat and even beyond will suffice."

He can't help but laugh, Venti looks as excited as a small child in wonder.

"Do you want to give me a hand? I can teach you these recipes if you'd like."

"Of course I do! Like I'd let you do all the work."

Venti watches carefully--- he keeps in mind what Childe pulls out of the cabinets, what he sets out ready to be used in probably what will be in a few moments. That there's a sort of quiet confidence that comes from experience, a hand that grabs each cooking implement with purpose. Even if it's the most gentle and most subtle of movements, Venti can tell.

"So... how big is your family?"

Family... he could sort of relate. The closest he had were the other Archons, and the state of them being what they are? Very rough.

Childe begins to start mixing things into a bowl for the pastry portion of the recipe he'd be using for their mini pies, but then he thinks better of it and steps to the side, inviting Venti to. It's not hard, and it's a good first step to let him help out while he preps other things.

"Here, mix the baking powder and flour salt together. Then add the butter, it'll start flaking. Just make sure to break it apart with your fingers, we want a good breadcrumb consistency for this."

Before he answers the question, he begins working on the meat and mushrooms for both of the dishes. The apple pie will come as soon as Venti's made their pastry dough.

"Anyhow, I have a good number of brothers and sisters. I have three younger siblings, two older brothers and a few older sisters. My old man and mother are still with us too, so you can imagine how hectic that house can get on the holidays."

His eyes fall, reminiscing on those times spent around the fire, missing them horribly- but he chose to come here to the Waking World, and he knows he has to follow through with his mission here before he could ever think to return home.

It sounds easy enough. Obviously, they're making some kind of dough for the pie and the crust is certainly a very important part of the completed dish. Getting his hands dirty isn't a problem, especially as he carefully combines the dry ingredients before adding the butter in little pieces, the greasiness of the butter feeling a little peculiar in between his fingers.

Again, it's the concept of Childe having a family and having that warmth and familiarity of loved ones that acts as a gentle shock and reminder to his own system. That he should do better in casting aside those biases and just enjoy these moments while he can.

Which is why... he's probably overmixing a little.

"You must be busy though. Do you see them often?"

Prepping the meat isn't so hard, which is good because thankfully he catches Venti overmixing a little bit and waves for him to stop. They didn't want their crust to become goo, and he laughs at the idea of that.

"Careful now, we don't want meat pie pudding for dinner. Here, add this egg and sour cream to it, and mix it. It's going to look like dough pretty quickly, and then we can put it in the fridge for now."

Letting Venti do that, he takes out two pans to put on the stove- one for each dish. He can make both at the same time, he's had lot's of practice.

"But yes...I don't see them as often as I like. Not to bring up bad memories, but the quest laid out by Her Majesty the Tsaritsa takes a good majority of my time. I try to send letters and gifts back home as often as I can for my siblings, to at least stay in contact with them. In turn, they send me letters back."

He begins frying the filling and starting the mushroom julienne, feeling like he's really just talked about himself too much now.

"But I wonder, if you're willing to share- who do the divine call family, in an age after the Archon War? I know of the Four Winds who stand at your side in Mondstadt, but...surely there must be more."

He guesses...he can't imagine what it's like to live for so long, as mortals waste away and new ones replace them. Who do the gods call family?

The idea of anything that's pudding that isn't sweet and custardy and tasty makes Venti's stomach automatically turn and spin around in circles. Not that it's easy to make him flinch or anything; one has to be able to keep their 'balance' while in the sky, being able to turn in all matter of directions while also spinning if needing to.

The mentioning of the Tsaritsa... it makes him flinch instinctively. His next breath catches, and his chest aches--- but he can't recall why. Unknown guilt? Or known betrayal? Either way, Venti is more than happy to move onto another subject as he mixes in more wet ingredients and watching the frying happen.

"We... don't." The corners of his lips firm, and the Anemo archon sighs. "Relations are still somewhat strained after the events of... you know."

And then he hums, rocking back on his heels.

"I hadn't seen some of the other Archons for years. A ton of those, actually. Not until recently."

If anyone could figure out their identities, it would be Childe. In fact--- he would certainly bet every last mora on that. After a careful inspect, he feels that he should probably stop focusing on mixing for now.

"But I'm glad you've tried your best to maintain some kind of bond with them.

He looks over from the mushrooms that are frying in his pan, hearing the sadness in his voice. The duties and events from Teyvat seem so far away now, after he's been gone for so long. So it's not hard for him to separate the two lives he's lived now. He knows what Venti is talking about, that horrible event that shattered the lives of so many. It's not surprising to hear that it had ruined relations.

They'd lost a few of their own, after all.

"I'm genuinely sorry to hear that. It was hard on everyone, from the gods themselves to the most innocent child. I hope that you'll be able to connect once again with them, since Morax and Her Excellency the Raiden Shogun are here as well."

He is trying to sound optimistic, if just for Venti's sake. He doesn't know how their relationships were with each other, but at least there was a change for reconciliation.

"I've always found that even the smallest bit of communication always helps the bonds you have with your loved ones stay strong. If you haven't already, maybe you could send letters of your own to your fellow Archons. It's worth a shot, is it not?"

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looks at the links... gets hungry

i want to make all these recipes ;;

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