[ open ] #throwbackthursday

[aeturnus]

who: Cain (now Romulus), Anyone
what: During the effects of the Temporal Chalice, Cain gets to explore some of his much, much earlier years. He's in his early twenties, not immortal, shy and gentle, and goes by his birth name: Romulus. Oops.
when: 15th until the event ends.
where: Housing during the day (floor six + around), and out in the Quarantine at night mostly. Specific starters upon request.
warnings: Romulus at this point in his life is a slave. Mentioned of free vs not, expectations of having lesser value, and possible other related subjects are very likely. More will be edited in if necessary.

i. Housing. Floor six.
[ He's not sure what to do with himself here. One of the first things Romulus did when he came to was familiarize himself with the device he carries around with him, because he remembers that being important, and notices that the job he only vaguely recalls sent a message to not show up if you couldn't do the work citing distraction to the other workers who were still in their right minds. He supposes that means he should stay away from the place and he intends to. It just doesn't leave him a whole lot to do aside from putter around the floor he knows he belongs in, even if most of his belongings feel foreign and familiar at the same time. Sparse, too. Some technology to work, small knickknacks here and there, and nothing that really speaks to who he is. All except for a plain lantern hanging from the bedpost with scenery drawn on it that makes him feel more at home. It's familiar to him, only a breath away, if he were back home at all. That lantern is lit every night to help him sleep.

Either way, Romulus putters. Messes around in the kitchen to try and make food but plenty of the products are foreign and confusing and he sticks with what he knows, basic fruits and vegetables and puts together simpler things with simpler tools and methods. He's not going for anything fancy, just subsiding on what he can until he figures out what he's doing here anymore. What he doesn't do is actively bother anyone. Finds his own supplies and makes sure whatever he uses is communal and doesn't belong to anyone in particular, shops with the money he's found for himself to buy things he can't find.

It's probably easier to ignore the guy who's suddenly turned wallflower around floor six, or even in the rest of the building where he comes and goes quite often out to explore the city. Except... he didn't used to be like this, not at all, entire demeanor changed. Not that he's the only one but it's pretty radical and noticeable. Kinda sad, really. ]

ii. Quarantine.
[ Mostly, he goes out at night. Lots of people don't notice the nervous ones at night because crime still exists but Quarantine is better protected and managed than most cities in other universes, apparently, and a lot of the older residents expect the nervous ones to calm down eventually. Romulus isn't nervous because of crime, but instead because it feels like a lie. He shouldn't be out here without a cause or an order or a reason given to him to explain if anyone catches him out — but he's not doing anything wrong. There's no master here, no one holding him in their hands and certainly no one to say he can't explore or shop or live.

It's freedom, and it has his heart constantly in his throat. What do you do with freedom?

Either way, he stumbles into people because he's not paying attention, lost in thought. Flinches back and swerves to press nearer to the walls or almost walks into the street sometimes and has to get fished out of the way. It's all very nerve-wracking, but again, people expect it more in the darkness for whatever reason. Sometimes he does go out in the day, too, but this is easier for him. ]

I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to run into you—forgive me.

[ He doesn't meet many peoples' eyes in the dark of the night, either. ]

iii. Wild Card.
[ Romulus gets places he shouldn't. Curiosity is certainly his vice and that's never gotten him anyplace good. It's usually up to Remus to keep him from wandering and Remus isn't here. He doesn't go into dangerous-looking places, but stores or odd streets or stopping to watch something odd? There's no reason not to. ]

[ Make something up, and I'll work a response in! Contact at plurk or at biomagnet#1925 @ disco to discuss more if necessary. ]

Comments

[greyjane]

Could be next to none, could be forever. Might as well spend it doing something you'd enjoy.

[Her smile is crooked, but present nevertheless and she stands up in a smooth motion. Everything she does - physically at least - seems deliberate, no wasted motion. Bit of a predator instinct, with her.

Her hair's about as dry as it ever gets, she twists it up into a loose bun at the nape of her neck and heads for the kitchen.]

C'mon, I'll teach you how to make pansheer viala.

[aeturnus]

[ He doesn't have much more to say on that subject because she's right. It's hard to say what will happen tomorrow even if this sort of existence he has now is bound to be reset sooner or later. It isn't scary so much as just... inevitable.

Romulus follows quietly, peering around the kitchen as if it might have changed while he was gone. ]

What does pansheer viala entail?

[greyjane]

Pan-seared tofu with spices and sauce. I'll work out a mild variation of the recipe so it doesn't kill you outright.

[She says it playfully, aimed more at making him a little less twitchy. She does hand him a cutting board, though, and a construct knife which she passes to him with her fingers on the blade so he can take the handle gingerly. (Her knives are sharper than anything storebought, she can make them finer on a molecular scale than anything man-made.)]

Here. Know how to use one of these?

[Touching the construct is a bit... electric, there's a living thrum of energy to it.]

[aeturnus]

[ Trusting her by now is easy, or rather he isn't quite sure how to mistrust and do anything about it, so he takes the handle of the knife. Shoulders raising as if with the feeling of the hairs on the back of his neck, he looks down to stare at it and acclimate to the energy. His eyes are glittering again with obvious interest and curiosity and wonder.

It takes a moment for him to remember what she asked. ] Yeah, I've used knives before.

[greyjane]

Excellent. If you wouldn't mind chopping the vegetables, I'll get started on the base for the sauce. Just-- grab whatever looks tasty out of the fridge. It's a bit of a hodge-podge.

[Sort of meant to be made from whatever's in the fridge at the time. God, the strange, familiar domesticity of this makes her ache. The last time she cooked a meal with anyone else was with her parents - both mothers and her father all pitching in. It's a strange, dizzying sensation.

Which, of course, she ignores in favour of grabbing garlic, and a few things out of the cupboard to add to the sauce.]

[aeturnus]

Of course. That's simple enough.

[ It isn't a boast, but some way to let her know that he can handle the task. Setting the cutting board out, he retrieves whatever vegetables he recognizes (some of the ones he'd purchased earlier that day) and begins to work on slicing them down. He has to pause every now and then to stretch his hand, unused to the sensation entirely, but it's almost invigorating at the same time. ]

[greyjane]

[Shai Has A Lot Of Feelings About Cooking™.

She tweaks the sauce a bit so it's less of an assault on the senses (she likes hot food, okay) and it's not too long before the kitchen is filled with the aromatic smell of food.

The dish itself is quick - the sauce takes the most work and prep, and she's cheerful and informative about explaining it to him at each new step - and then she tosses the vegetables in to let the whole thing simmer a bit.]

Of a mind to help me with the dishes? Goes quicker with two.

[She's being very careful about how she phrases things, mostly to ensure he doesn't try to just do it all himself.]

[aeturnus]

[ The smell is incredibly pleasant, if a bit foreign and takes time to get used to, and he's already moved to put things to their proper places like near the sink while rounding up other utensils that they've finished using when she asks.

He pauses, looks up at her and takes in a breath or two before nodding. ]

Yes. Of course. Please.

[greyjane]

[He gets a look for that 'please'.]

Sweetheart, nothing I say's an order. Mean it. You can tell me to go jump off a bridge if you'd like, I wouldn't take it personal.

[aeturnus]

[ That gets a slight hunch to his shoulders, but he also can't help looking at her in surprised shock. ]

I could what?

[greyjane]

[Gently,]

You're allowed to get mad. I ever do something that ticks you off, I want to hear about it. Okay? Yell all you like in that case.

[aeturnus]

[ Romulus ducks his head down, processing that and hiding it behind a veneer of respect and training. Getting mad isn't really in his repertoire and usually his anger turns inward and painful. Remus is the one who lashes out in response to the treatment he usually takes to protect both of them. It's... not ideal, and not something Romulus can look at head-on with the idea that he might go back home and be unable to do such a thing anymore. This one seems dangerous.

Eventually he loses some of the tension his body seems to always be holding in some way or another, however. ]

I'll... do my best.

[greyjane]

Atta boy.

[Trying is all she can ask of him, in any case. She knows full well it's hard. She bumps his shoulder companionably with her own when she passes him by on her way to the sink, which she fills with water. Not much for dishwashing machines, her.]

Most of my fondest memories were in the kitchen back home. My culture is big on culinary expression.

[aeturnus]

[ He stumbles just slightly at the shoulder bump, lips curling up into a smile while he turns to follow her example with the dishes. It's not like he knows what a dishwasher would look like or be for, so even if there's one around here, Romulus has no qualms about washing things by hand. Having the water so easily accessible if a dream. ]

And... strong food?

[greyjane]

[A bit of a laugh.]

That's just an Eyteri thing in general. Excessive flavour. In everything.

[aeturnus]

Excessive is a good word, I think.

[greyjane]

Especially when it comes to spices.

[She's her mothers' daughter. Her father was from Shivanas, he used to joke that his wives' penchant for spice would be the death of him.

But honestly, she couldn't handle much in the way of anything but the blandest food for months after Evichta, so at least she understands his issue, and has no problem being considerate of it.]

[aeturnus]

So it's because of where you're from?

[ Poor boy doesn't possibly think he could get used to that. It was just... so much. ]

[greyjane]

Mm.

[It's a little noise of agreement. Cheerful enough. She's learned to appreciate the happiness of the memories, and to ignore the shadow of grief that follows at its heels.]

Place I'm from had a strong horticulturalist bent, going back a few thousand years. The most diverse herbs and spices on the planet could be found there. Once genetic splicing entered the mix - and other tech - things ended up even more refined. Some folks were more traditional, of course, and preferred selective germination to scientific tinkering, but I never much cared either way. Food's food.

[aeturnus]

[ Wow. That's a lot that Romulus has to go over to try and put together via the context. He's rather good at that, thankfully, because to ask seems like to focus on the wrong parts of what she's telling him. ]

But for all of that choice... no meats?

[ It's such a luxurious item that seems so plentiful here, he has a hard time believing anyone wouldn't want to include it with everything. Well, perhaps not everything but he was in her fridge earlier and hasn't seen much sign of it anywhere. ]

[greyjane]

[She flaps a hand.]

Plenty of folks ate meat. It was just a personal choice for my family to abstain. I've eaten it before myself.

[Starving is starving. She has pride, but not on that account.]

[aeturnus]

Oh.

[ Seems weird to him, but he really isn't one to talk. ]

Were some of these... other kinds of herbs and spices even better?

[greyjane]

Than meat?

[Be specific, kid, come on.]

[aeturnus]

Uh, yes, better than meat.

[ Okay. >: He will be. ]

[greyjane]

I always thought so. Bit biased, me.

[She shrugs. It's a loose, easy motion.]

Folks like what they're going to like.