citylogs | [closed]

[And, perhaps unsurprisingly, when she gets there, Altria is agog.]

Wow, wow, wowww! You made all of this? All by yourself? It all looks and smells amazing!

[She knew he could cook after the Convenience Store Incident, but this... this is above and beyond, surely??]

[ He hides his face with his hat—and shrugs. ]

It's just something I picked up over the years. Nothing impressive.

[ The perks with being a wanderer is that he's been all over the world. Helping here and there (scheming here and there), he's had the chance to pick up a lot of recipes from various regions of Teyvat.

It was a skill he rarely exercised during his tenure with the Harbingers, but one he utilized more as the nameless drifter. Here, he finally has a use for it. ]

I think it's really impressive!

[He can try to play it off, but Altria definitely doesn't see it that way; being able to cook not only well, but this many different recipes and items so quickly....!!]

I definitely wouldn't be able to pull off something like this... I think lots of people probably wouldn't.

[ The praise he's getting from Altria prickles on his skin. It's too much, so he stands up and starts moving towards the kitchen. He's got another dish to check on for far later. ]

Hurry up and eat already, would you? It's going to get cold if you keep standing there gawking at it.

R-right!

[Well... off he goes, towards the kitchen. She doesn't really seem to know what to do with that, waffling between looking at all of the dishes he's made and the direction he went. Eating them without him feels wrong...? But that's clearly what he wants her to do, and so...!

She moves over to the fateh first, pulled in by the inviting and easy-to-eat appearance, reaching out to carefully cut herself a (small) piece to take a bite of.

... ... ...!!! Flavor! Spices! Wowwwwww!!

She's absolutely just standing here with wide eyes, one hand holding the remainder of her slice and the other clutching her cheek.]

Why are you still standing? Sit down.

[ He's back from the kitchen, having done whatever it is he intended to do there. But now he's got a few empty dishes, some utensils and a plastic container in hand. He sets the items down at the far end of the table and gives a plate to Altria to use for the food. ]

Eat as much as you want, and if you like it, take it home for the next day.

[ He takes a seat across from Altria and leans back to watch her eat. ]

[... Oops. Her lack of manners was showing itself again, wasn't it...? Oh, how embarrassing...

She flushes a little again, and then takes a seat obediently. ... ... She plops the rest of the slice of fateh into her mouth so she can reach for the plate properly, humming a pleased little contented noise at the taste.

Mmm mm mmmmm!

When she's finally managed to swallow, though:]

I can't possibly take all of it! You made so much... and eating alone is no good either. We should eat together.

It's so, so tasty!

[ He doesn't mind her lack of manners, really, but he's starting to get the sense that she hasn't been taught many things he thought one would be taught early in life. Almost kind of how he'd been like, when he first woke as a clueless puppet. ]

You don't have to take all of it. Just what you want.

[ He's barely eaten since he arrived at this place. Aside from the chips at the convenience store, and the taste testing he did to identify ingredients and check on what he was cooking, he hasn't actually had a proper meal. ]

I don't need to eat.

[She tilts her head at him quizzically, though he curiosity and bemusement is absolutely not stopping her from taking a little bit of food from each plate to sample.

Because it all looks much too good to not try.]

I don't need to eat either.

But it's still really nice to sometimes, isn't it? Especially delicious things like this.

[ He raises an eyebrow at her admission. So she wasn't human, then. He'd been getting that vibe from her but now he has proper confirmation. ]

I suppose that explains why you weren't worried about being poisoned.

[ That's definitely a smirk on his face. He hasn't forgotten how she dived headfirst into the sweets almost immediately after arriving here, and he's not going to let it go for at least a few more jabs. ]

[Oh my god. Of course he has to bring that up again. Her cheeks flush red immediately, but she can't exactly protest given that he's right. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind...]

Having all of the food in a whole city be poisoned would've been a little extreme, wouldn't it...?

[That is...... her only defense. It took her days to come up with it.]

[ He knows several ways he could poison an entire city's supply of food with little work on his part, but he deigns not to mention it. It's not the point, anyway. And not what he wants to do—be a duplicitous schemer, that is. ]

Perhaps. But you didn't hesitate at all. Where's your sense of danger?

[ Sorry Altria, your pride will have to suffer a bit more teasing. ]

[She puffs her cheeks out at him, but it really is lacking in any sort of heat considering she is absolutely still eating. She ruins any (minimal) fierceness there was in her expression by taking a big bite.

Which also means she can't respond until she finishes chewing. And swallowing.

And then finally, far-too-belatedly:]

... I... was on the look out! But--for enemies, not for poison.

[... She's all brawn and no brains.]

[ He's starting to tell what kind of person she is, although, if he had to be honest, it hasn't been very difficult understanding her so far. But that's why he's gotten along so well with her, isn't it? After one life surrounded by powerful, egotistical people, all of whom had plans upon plans working in the background, hidden in the shadows—

It's really nice, to meet a person so honest about their intentions, with no ulterior motives. At least, if her behaviour can be taken at face value. There will always be a part of him that doubts others, but he doesn't want to let it consume him again. ]

Guess you were lucky this time. You can have all the sweets you want now.

[She makes a face at him. Because, really, he says that, but:]

I think if I did that, you would just make fun of me more...

[And rightfully so.

... Still, she rallies herself a moment later, shaking her head.]

Besides, as much as I love sweets, those really have nothing on your cooking! This is much better.

[ He absolutely would, she's right. She catches on quick. There's a smirk at that, but it quickly vanishes under his hat as she begins praising his food again. ]

Of course it is. Anything is better than the garbage they serve here.

[ It's not really a boost though—the food here is just that bad, in his opinion. ]

[Hmmm....

She can't help but ask, head tilted in honest curiosity:]

Do you not like compliments?

[ He freezes for a split second—he's never actually been called out on his idiosyncrasies before. The all-knowing god that she was, Nahida would never directly say anything, even when she gave him knowing smiles. ]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Her head tilts the other way, and her eyes on him are gently contemplative.]

... It's okay if you don't. [It's said simply and rather calmly, especially for her.]

I'm only asking because I don't want to make you uncomfortable if you do not like it.

But if you really don't mind, then I'll keep saying what I think.

[ The consideration—the care in her words chafes at him even more than the compliments, and he continues to use his hat as a cover for his face, as if putting a physical barrier between them would make it any easier to bear the feeling. ]

You don't need to— [ Guh. This feels like admission of sorts, and he cuts himself off. ]

...just do as you please.

[... So that's how it is, huh? There's a sort of innocent honesty in the way he tries to brush it off without outright admitting to anything, or lying to her.]

Okay then. I'll just keep saying my true opinions, without worrying about it.

[ He gets up and heads over to the kitchen again without a word, but returns after a minute. This time, he's got more food in hand. They're smaller morsels, but a greater variety of dishes—meat and vegetable skewers, tamagoyaki, and croquettes. Clearly, he experimented with a lot of dishes.

He sets the plates down in front of Altria. ]

Here. Try these.

[ She is going to leave the restaurant absolutely stuffed. ]

[More???? This girl can eat, but she's still just a sixteen year old girl. Her eyes are wide as saucers as he brings in even more dishes, but--

Well.

She wants to try all of them! They all smell so good, and are so new and unique and different from anything she's tasted before!

What's a little potential tummyache in comparison with that?]

Got it...! I'll start... here!

[She has her battle face on. This is Serious.

And she goes for the tamagoyaki first.]

[ It's never bad, to watch someone enjoy the food he makes. On the contrary, he feels satisfied and proud to see Altria enjoy it all. Even with the terrible ingredients here, it's good to know he can still produce something delicious.

But he'll never admit it to anyone's face. ]

Like I said before, if you can't finish it, you can take some home. Don't worry about what I'll do with the leftovers.

[ He's got another party to feed anyway. He sits back down to watch her eat, once again not touching the food himself. ]

[Well, if he says so! She just nods eagerly, making her way through each and every one of the dishes--not the whole thing, of course, but bites and tastes of all of them.

And when she finally leans back with a little sigh, she considers everything and then... points to the sakura mochi.]

They were all delicious, but I think that one was my favorite of all.

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