deercountry | November Catch-All (Mostly Closed)

"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?"

Venti sighs again, this one through the gap between almost closed teeth. But this one accompanies a smile, a shrug, and then another soft sound. Yes, it's worth a shot to amend some of those broken relationships. To forge new ones in a much more dangerous place is preferable compared to trying to travel far in order to do so. Sending envoys wouldn't do much, not to mention just trying to find each other...

"I might try that."

Anyway. He shakes off the thoughtfulness that threatens to weigh him down further, and exhales sharply. No reason to get any further caught up internally.

"Anyway. They smell good... the mushrooms, I mean. Almost like the ones that grew beneath the trees..."

"Come here, give them a taste test."

He quickly moves to grab a wooden spoon and scoops out a few from the pan he'd been making the filling in. Handing it over to Venti, he hopes that it'll be satisfactory to the archon, but he's very confident in his own cooking skills. He tilts his head with curiosity, to see if he'd approve.

If he makes them well enough to remind Venti of home, then he'd say he accomplished exactly what he was going for today.

"I've never had the opportunity to truly explore Mondstadt, but I'd be honored to know if I've gotten even moderately close to making something that would resemble home for you."

Venti takes the spoon, lifts the contents of it up to his nose and gives it a very careful sniff. It's all very savory and delicious and his mouth is already watering! Maybe it's just him being pretty hungry to begin with, but the longer that he keeps it in front of himself the thinner his patience is becoming. Which is why, after a few more seconds, he's more than happy to take that taste.

A few thoughtful chews later and he passes the clean spoon back to Childe.

"... I love them."

Yep, he approves. Wholeheartedly.

"It doesn't have to taste like home, you know? It just has to come from a good place. But I appreciate that you're thinking of me in that regard."

Childe hums thoughtfully back at Venti, pleased with his approval of the mushrooms. They're pretty much done at this point, so he now gestures over towards the dough that Venti had been working on. Time to put it all together before it was all thrown into the oven for a little bit.

"I'm glad to hear that. I bet you didn't think that one day, a Fatui Harbinger would be serving you a homecooked dinner, did you?"

He chuckles, the idea of that happening in Teyvat seemingly so far away, like it was a dream. A dream he'd never return to.

He starts rolling out the dough, into balls, giving Venti half of them to do himself. He shows he archon how to press them down flat into a circle and fill them with the mushroom filling. Pinching each shut, he throws them all onto a baking sheet to put them in the oven once they're done.

"Now we make the pie."

The best part, right?

"No. Not at all, actually!"

Hopefully he doesn't have to sound surprised, because he genuinely is. What the Fatui represent is still somewhat of a mystery to him; after all even if the way he watches over Mondstadt isn't as traditional as the other Archons may do their duties, he still must maintain his presence in some way. Not that they would forget who he is or what he represents, but that he promised to never allow tyranny to take hold and force the skies to become obfuscated with clouds and storms ever again.

"But I'm glad it's happening now."

He does his best to imitate what he sees Childe do. Despite being pretty good with his hands and fingers, there are just some things that require an equal amount of practice. The filling is a little uneven in some, but he does his best.

"Mm? Yeah! Pie... mmm."

Certainly makes him smile even wider. He's excited to get to the real important food...

"Hahahahaha."

Venti's expression makes him laugh. He now knows where the real priorities lie with his archon friend. Apple pie, probably apple anything for that matter. Childe makes a note to look for more apple recipes in the future, perhaps some that he could even find here in the darkest of realities. He wouldn't mind adding more recipes to his regimen.

"That's what you're really waiting for, isn't it? Don't worry, I'm going to make that pie myself. Baking is a precise art, and so I'll be taking care of it. I guarantee you won't be impressed with anyone else's after trying mine."

The little meat pies are now thrown into the oven, and he shoos Venti off for the time being.

"I'll be out shortly. Give me a moment to make the pie, and by then the food will almost be done."

Apples are the best things to him. Rarely disappointing and very versatile: if only the world could be like this all the time? That he could enjoy something sweet that puts apple in the limelight, while also something savory that the same fruit can sort of help add a slight twist to... and let's not forget that an apple here is almost the same kind of apple anywhere.

"Sure. In the meantime, I'm going to go back out and check on that shed. Don't worry, I won't leave you alone for too long."

Because he also wants a little taste of what happens to be stored. Not that he's going to gorge himself on booze when Childe is the best kind of company: the kind that's teaching him how to be a better cook. Maybe in that regard, a better person as well?

Imagine a Harbinger doing that for him...

November Catch-All (Mostly Closed)

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looks at the links... gets hungry

i want to make all these recipes ;;

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we can jump ahead to dinner after this, and maybe start to wrap it up?

sounds good to me!

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wanna end it here?

shore!