The shock of the sudden explosion dazes Kleia as she rolls against the wall, seeing stars. Just as she begins considering whether she should just jump into the ocea, the light darkens as she sees a mixture of sand and dust cover up the sky. Great. That's probably going to put out the fire. And bury her alive. Why did this day have to go this wrong?
If anyone had remembered a certain task nailed to the board a while back, regarding the rather spoopy cellar that had been sus, they might've realized a few things, namely that: The ship's cellar was mightily close to the tavern, being one floor lower but practically overlapping on a map of the ship in the overhead view. Because of recent events, the rear of the cellar had been largely left unattended, causing dust to settle in what was a confined space to begin with. The recent shipment of flour had been stacked at the interior of said cellar. Now, had the fire been a typical one, the rescue efforts would've quenched the flames. Even if certain unintentional actions worsened the situation, the damage would've been limited to the tavern. That said... When a certain chimera exploded one of the tavern walls, the resulting disarray had torn open a hole in the flooring, exposing part of the cellars below to the mania above and stirring up clouds of dust. Now that'd have been fine had the fire been extinguished by then, but... *Screeeeeeeeeee* Having inhaled a little too much flames for the moment, the overfed Honoka couldn't help but burp loudly, letting loose the smell of charcoal and a veritable jet of flame from her mouth. Though they quickly dissipated in the air, the initial explosion had caused the sacks below to spill, emptying the contents into the already dusty cellar. Now for the million dollar question: What happens when large amounts of flour ignites? Raising her head, Honoka instinctively yelled three words despite not knowing their meaning. "BOOM BOOM BAKUDAN!"
The warmth of the place reached all the way to the corner Rayu was sleeping. Nobody knows how, but she had managed to smuggle four barrels worth of hay, highly flammable hay, in the ship and had spent the past days merrily snuggling and sleeping with her prized possessions. Even now, with the wind blowing the heat of the surroundings to her direction, she only did as much as curl up to thoroughly enjoy her sleeping time. Spoiler: Pic Related
Xue'er, upon realizing that her delicious food was now covered in sand, started dusting off the sand to no avail. Her previously wagging tail was now drooping sadly, and her eyes started watering. Is it impossible to simply eat a meal here? No, let's not overreact yet. I can just go and order another steak! Upon that realization, the fox spirit stood up and...finally saw what happened around her. She saw the destruction, the scorch marks, and me wielding her fan. But more than anything, she saw the kitchen putting up a sign that read, "Closed for Repairs." Just like that, the floodgates burst open and she began crying.
Noticing a person crying in front of the kitchen, Nyann wondered if she could help in anyway " What are you doing here ? The kitchens are closed for now .You're going to get injured ! " Seeing the fox spirit so sad ,made her want to do something " Your eyes are going dry , stop crying ! " *Oups , that came out harsher then I thought , Kinda feel bad for her now ... * " I'll make a delicious feast ! What do you think ? " Nyann waited and thought for a second ," And in return please look after my cat for a day ." Cooking a fest for someones , might not be all that bad . I do need to get the ingredients ready , and with the kitchen under repairs , there's only one other place I could cook. I'm feeling lucky today , so the food might just as well be perfect .
A man walks in, looking to be around 30 years of age with a few scars. He quickly sees the mess this place has become and the sign upon the kitchen area. "I just wanted some grub..." The man turns around and immediately leaves, sadder than before.
"Look kid, I don't have much food on me. And I don't know how to cook none either. I'll have to eat from my stash of rations until this place gets fixed up." The man slips the girl a granola bar as he continues exiting. "Enjoy that, it's my last peanut butter one."
Sniffling, Xiao Xue looks up at the woman in front of her and says, "Really?" Her eyes are still watery, but her tail and tears have both perked up. She must really like food to cheer up so quickly. "Will you really cook for me? A nice, juicy steak?" Slowly, her mind seems to drift into dreamland as drool leaks from the corner of her mouth. Soon after, she snaps back to reality and wipes her mouth with the sleeve of her hanfu, her expression loosened considerably.
Titling her head slightly , Nyann smiled and said " Of course !" Seeing Xiao Xue drooling already she took out a bag of jerky for her bad and let out a laugh. " Here , eat this for now . The steak will take some time so satisfy yourself with this while waiting " she winked at her and said " There's no shame in being hungry ! Now let's get this steak going before you finish eating " . Nyann confidently held out her hand to Xiao Xue asking if her would accompany her to her own quarters.
*stares at granola bar* ... *shakes head* *crawls after you* *pokes your hand again* *lifts up the granola bar*
"Oh, you're not hungry?" The man looks at the girl quizzingly and takes back the granola bar. "What do you want then?"
*puts hand on her chin* ... *pokes your hand again* ... *puts hand on chin again while tilting her head*
"I don't understand." The man then yells out to the rest of the people inside while pointing at the girl. "Does anyone know what this girl is trying to say?"
“Thanks, kind stranger!” Xue’er grabs the jerky and starts scarfing it down. She quickly stops, however, and turns towards me shouting, “Yaolong, I’ll be going with this kind stranger!” The fox then follows along. I just nod along before turning to the other newcomer. “No clue. I think she just likes poking hands. Almost killed someone due to that obsession too. He’s the knight that looks like he exploded that’s being carried out on a stretcher. He’s also maybe the reason why the tavern caught fire causing the kitchen to shut down.” I explained to him, barely sparing a glance at the poor knight.
" Let's go get the cooking supplies and equipment in my room ! " Thinking back Xiao Xue wanted steak , steak could grilled on the balcony " Steak it is ! " Nyaan exclaims all whilst thinking about what it would go well with it . " Fire Buffalo steak, fresh goat cheese on freshly backed bread with Common Glacier Salad drizzled with a mix of crystal bee and apple salt all that will be accompanied by a nice cool drink " Nyann turns her head towards the fox squints her eyes , wondering if she is of age to drink
"I guess that's as good as answer as I'll get." "Even though this one seems to deny it." The man reaches his hand out to the girl, seeking a handshake. "My name's Benjamin, and you are?"