2019-09-03: Would You Like Green Eggs And Ham
- Log: Would You Like Green Eggs And Ham?
- Cast: Xantia, Fei Fong Wong
- Where: Guadosalam
- Date: September 03, 2019
- Summary: Xantia springs a surprise breakfast on Fei. Which she prepared herself. Could this be the end of Fei Fong Wong?
===============================<* Guadosalam *>=============================== Guadosalam is an underground that sits on the path from the north bank of the Moonflow and the southern trail of the Thunder Plains. The city is found inside an underground cavern, where the walls and walkways are composed of the twisted roots of the trees of the Moonflow's north bank, giving the entire area the faint resemblance of an underground swamp. Guadosalam is the ancient home of the Guado, a race of Beastman-appearing humans who, until recently, lived outside the grace of Yevon. This changed with the coming of Lord Jyscal Guado, who brought his people into Bevelle's fold; following Jyscal's death, his son Seymour - also a Maester of Yevon - now rules the Guado people both temporally and spiritually. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmcCd1eCJq4
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Drifter life tends to lead one to be no stranger to getting up at the crack of dawn. But it's sure nice when that isn't necessary! Xantia doesn't tend towards sleeping particularly late, but dawn? That's just way too early. She's undoubtedly mentioned on occasions where she had to that she couldn't imagine anybody would actually choose to get up at dawn.
But sometimes... sometimes circumstances just don't leave one with any choice but to wake up around that time. And sometimes it's not Xantia those circumstances happen to. Sometimes it's Fei Fong Wong. And sometimes the circumstances are a hand being suddenly pressed over his mouth. A kidnapping?!
Probably not, as opening his eyes reveals Xantia standing there, dressed in her familiar old casual outfit for once, holding the index finger of her other hand pressed against her lips. She cautions in a whisper, "Shhh. Don't make any loud noises. We don't want to wake up anybody else."
She removes her hand from his mouth at that point, because she trusts Fei to go along with this. Also, because she needs both hands to pick up the tray she'd put down by the bedside. Slightly louder, but still in a low voice, she proclaims triumphantly, "If anybody else did wake up, they might want some of this too!" And down comes the tray onto Fei's lap.
There's cutlery and a plate on the tray, and on that plate is... what might be bacon and eggs. Except it's hard to tell their exact nature, since they're... well, they're green. And not a cat in a hat in sight.
At least it smells like bacon and eggs. Sort of. It's reasonably close. Just... sharper. Perhaps it has something to do with the unidentifiable brown stuff that's been sprinkled all over it. And to top it all off, there's some baked mystery mushrooms off to the side.
"Ta-da~" Xantia says softly but proudly. There can be no doubt: she made this herself. And she expects Fei to eat it.
All things considered, a fair question might be asked regarding this situation. Is this how you die, Fei Fong Wong?
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong snoozes. It sure is nice being someone who gets to sleep until he is no longer tired and can get up when he wants and if he wants to sleep in, well, he can do that most days too. It's an incredible fantasy, the ability to sleep for as long as you wish to sleep, only available in this roleplay format!
But not today. Today reality crashes upon the foolish Fei Fong Wong! A hand is placed over Fei's mouth and he quickly jostles awake and tries to shout something but it's immediately muffled by Xantia's powerful grip so it just comes out as, "Mmmmpphh!?" But then he blinks in groggy confusion as he sees who it is. Has Xantia been usurped by the other Xantia to destroy him?!
No it seems Xantia herself wishes to destroy him with breakfast. He blinks and calms down. Oh it's just Xantia.
"Xan?" He whispers. "What's going on?"
A tray drops into his lap and Fei looks at it, still trying to catch his mind up to current events. He's still kind of thinking about why someone thought it would be a good idea to cover his mouth while he was sleeping.
Fei blinks a few times at the tray and particularly the food in question. "...Hey Xan, do you normally cook for yourself?" Fei asks hesitantly. He doesn't want to hurt Xan, and maybe the food just looks this way because it's from Lunar? He has mostly been eating fish, not eggs and bacon. He sniffs the food faintly. It smells mostly okay.
"Sorry, just, ah, give me a minute. I wasn't uh, expecting this. You sure surprised me, Xan...!" Fei laughs awkwardly before looking back down at it. "I didn't know you cooked."
He picks up a fork and adds, "It's really sweet for you to do this..." He doesn't have the heart to tell her that he nearly had a heart attack himself.
"I haven't seen these mushrooms before. What kind are they?" Fei asks, avoiding the mushrooms for the moment to scoop up some of the eggs.
Maybe, Fei thinks, it's like one of those meals that looks really unappetizing but is actually really delicious. Maybe Xantia is a culinary genius! And Fei is hungry.
That's his secret, he's always hungry.
And he decides to try the bacon first. That's probably the least likely to kill him or give him food poisoning. He patiently cuts it up, weirdly patiently for Fei, and tries a piece.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is obviously quite pleased with herself. Her little plan is going off without a hitch! ...It's kind of unusual for her to make any plans at all to begin with, but this one would have needed some preparation. While the results may look... questionable, she undeniably put effort into this little surprise. At least it's very much a Xantia thing to do something unexpected completely out of nowhere. And to not worry about little things like covering people's mouths while they sleep. Makes sense if you want someone to wake up quietly, right?
And, of course, when asked if she normally cooks for herself, she answers readily, "Nope! This is my first time!" Dear oh dear. While Fei tries to get some composure going, she goes on to explain, "I've been thinking about it for a while, I just never get around to it. I'm always so hungry that I just want to eat food, not prepare it. So then I thought, that's it, I'll just eat something myself and make something for someone else!"
Definitely Regular Xantia and not Other Xantia, if there was any doubt at this point. Curbing her enthusiasm a bit, she folds her arms behind her back, smile still bright but just a little bit uncertain. "I'm glad I could surprise you... I just wanted to do something nice for you. I really hope I didn't mess it up." Asked about the mushrooms, she can only shake her head. "I don't know what they're called. They don't normally look like all brownish like this, that just happened, in the baking. They're edible though, don't worry, I know what's poisonous and what isn't."
That's something, at least. The question is, how poisonous did her preparations make all this? And the answer... might subvert all expectations.
It's delicious. The meat has been cooked to perfection, and actually does taste more or less like a lean kind of bacon. It's just normal meat - its green coating turns out to actually be some sort of mixed vegetable marinade, and whatever spices she used give the ensemble a zesty aftertaste.
And yet, Xantia seems to have no idea, inquiring nervously, "Is... is it good?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
munch munch....gulp!
Fei's eyes widen as if in horror as flavor city fills him. He rides the wave of a meat miracle as he is showered in marinade. Fei exhales out slowly and carefully sets down the utensil, turning to give Xantia a serious look.
"Sis..." Fei says, narrowing his eyes with determination. He takes a spare utensil and guides a slice of the bacon towards Xantia.
"You must try this." Fei says. "It may change your life...as it has changed mine...!"
Tears are streaming from Fei's eyes. He didn't actually answer Xantia's question though??? TURNABOUT IS FAIR PLAY????
"Taste it and you will understand...!"
Fei's eyes are wide....A revelation!?!?!?
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Turnabout may be fair play, but Xantia's reaction to being presented with her own food is more akin to that of a character from a game involving turnabouts being presented with decisive evidence. "Wh-whaaaaa? You want ME to try it? But, but that's meant for you, I want to know your honest opinion!"
Her shock doesn't last very long, however. Although she may have initially wanted Fei's appraisal before anything else, this is still food she's being offered. She would never say no to that, even if she doesn't understand why Fei's eyes are watering. Apparently, all she has to do is taste it to understand. So be it. "Well, if you're sure..." is her final warning, before she leans forward to nom the meat off the presented fork.
Xantia's expression is complicated, as she chews the meat. This isn't typical, she tends to overtly enjoy her food, and not spend nearly this much time chewing. Looks like she's taking her time to be self-critical. And when she finally swallows...
Well, she's happy it tastes this good, of course. The smile says it all. But the expected exuberance at her success doesn't happen. Rather, she sounds a little wistful in her response. "I knew it."
Xantia isn't one to fake her reactions. She actually was expecting this. She's also expecting that to be questioned, so she preemptively explains as best she can. "I just... had a feeling that I knew how to cook. That all I had to do was to try doing what felt right, and it would work out somehow. That's how it usually turns out, isn't it?" She's still smiling on the outside, but perhaps not on the inside.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei says, "Yeah! You appreciate a good meal, right??" to Xantia. "This is amazing! I had no idea you were such a great chef! You've a real talent for it, Xan!" Fei has already started shoveling his face in. He's not exactly Goku but he might be able to pull off a Gohan's eating habit. Nom nom nom nom nom.
"You should try making Elly something." Fei suggests. "You might blow her mind." She's been eating a lot of fish meals but they haven't been able to manage anything quite like this!
Fei does pause as he notices Xantia's reaction to her own talent and he frowns, "Hey Xan, you okay?" He reaches up to place a hand on her shoulder and he's serious enough to not keep chowing down even though this is Fei Fong Wong.
"Are you worried...about where your talent came from? Or... just that it's a talent?" He is uncertain as to what precisely might be bothering here though he does have some ideas--he doesn't want to be caught assuming too much. Xan has a way of defying expectations so it's best to just be patient and allow the situation to play out a bit.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Even as Fei is showering her with compliments, Xantia is questioning whether that's what she wanted out of this. Well yes, she totally wanted Fei to praise her, that was definitely a good deal of the motivation. But this was also an experiment to see if she could, or rather, see if the outcome would be as she expected. Yet now that her feeling's been proven right... it somehow doesn't make her happy.
Sure, it's easy enough to keep smiling, seeing how much Fei is enjoying what she made. But it's also easy enough to tell in the lack of enthusiasm when the possibility of making Elly something is brought up that something's bothering her. "...Maybe someday."
When questioned further, Xantia's smile falters with every iteration of the word 'talent'. She shakes her head. "I don't know... it doesn't feel right. Some people study their entire life to become good at one thing. And here I am, just... trying a thing once and I'm already great at it. Or, well, I guess I could have practiced it and I just don't remember, but I can still do it. Like fighting. Or using Ether. Piloting a Gear. ...Dancing, apparently. And now this."
Having too much talent feels like a weird thing to complain about, and yet, that's exactly what's bothering her right now. With a soft sigh, Xantia sits down on the side of Fei's bed. "Not making it any easier to figure out who I used to be."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei considers this. It's a strange situation but he can definitely understand. "...I too, I mean, when I've found out I could do something, or understand a language I never learned... It never felt quite right either." Fei admits, setting aside the food for a moment. "But I'm not sure I understand entirely either. Isn't it a good thing if whomever you used to be was a good chef? It means she was someone who cared a lot about other people--cared enough to be able to make a meal like this that others could enjoy. That's something, right? If she was only good at fighting...well, maybe it means that when you do remember who you used to be you won't be someone who needs to fight us, but someone who can appreciate all your memories, new and old."
He rubs at his neck, "At least, I'd hope you could. It's still important to you to find out who you used to be, right?"
He lets his hand drop.
"'Course, we could try to find out skills you're bad at too... Maybe find something you've struggled with, or are struggling with... Like maybe...tennis?"
He winces a bit because he really hopes that's not the best he could do.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
"Huh..." Xantia hadn't considered things from that angle. She tends to get stuck on 'why would I know about that' and fail to come up with any good answers, or too many possible answers. Either way all it gets her is frustration. But what Fei is saying makes a lot of sense. She certainly doesn't see why it would be important to know how to cook that well if it was just for herself - she has trouble believing that she used to care more about the quality than the quantity of her meals. But if she cooked for others... if she used to enjoy the thought of making people happy with good food as much as she did when making this food for Fei...
"Maybe that's it. Wow." That's a whole new way of feeling intimidated by the person you might have been. A rare positive way. Looks like this notion has effectively averted her getting lost the possibilities. She chuckles. "I guess this is kind of a nice thing to find out about, then. And here I was thinking that it'd be another random thing that I wouldn't know what to do with." She doesn't hesitate to nod, though, affirming, "I do want to know the truth, still. I'm pretty done with the break I was taking from that. So... I'm glad I could find out this much."
Fei suggests something she might not be good at, prompting a blank stare from Xantia for a moment. And then she laughs. "Really, Tennis? I think I'd be mostly worried about breaking the rackets." Go figure, she actually does know what Tennis is. With a wry smile, she admits, "What I seem to be the worst at is figuring how to use the other elements that I know I can do." That's literally the only thing that sticks in her mind that she's put a lot of effort into without feeling like she's getting any closer. Maybe that's just something that's always going to take special circumstances, like that time with Id.
And now that her mind's gone there... she turns to look Fei in the eyes with a sudden serious expression, stating, "I have a bit of a weird question." Oh boy. If even Xantia thinks it's weird, you know this is going to be a doozy. And indeed...
"When you eat something, can Id taste it too?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
It's only natural for Fei to want to see the best in that inner Xantia. After all, Xantia has done nothing but the same for him and Id. He doesn't think he can quite manage Xantia's level here but he can still approach it. Even now it's hard for him to imagine Xantia being a cruel person...
...Though he can't help but imagine that something cruel was done to her. And that's a sobering thought. Who would be cruel to Xantia, one of the sweetest people in the galaxy? He's not sure but well sometimes kindness doesn't really deter the hurt from coming.
Fei goes back to eating. It's not because he cares more about the food than Xantia obviously but he doesn't want it to go to waste--especially since Xantia worked so hard on it. Even if it was effortless hard work.
"That's great, though! I'm glad the break helped. Taking time off isn't the same as giving up. And I think...I'll be ready to get back to work myself too. Once we get back to Filgaia, I'm going to see about visiting the Valeria household."
He tilts his head. "How about you? Going to go back to Ignas? You could come with if you want, but I know you feel your strongest connection in Ignas."
If their paths do diverge, he figures they'll find their way back to one another. They're family now after all. Even the asshole inside of him agrees even if, okay, that asshole has a more complex understanding of what 'family' is.
Speaking of Id, Xantia has a weird question about him. Fei blinks a few times and rubs at his neck. "Erm... I'm not sure."
What do you think, Id?
Shut up and finish eating
"Maybe...?" Fei offers.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is far too preoccupied with wondering about who she used to be to worry about what anybody might have done to make her that way. Perhaps she should, given what she found out the hard way already, what with Jolen's involvement in losing who she used to be. It may be a difficult road to track down what Xantia considers to be her True Self.
But then, she does tend towards simplifying things as much as possible. That may just be the kind of mindset she needs to hold on to that virtually limitless supply of optimism she seems to have.
And she'd be the last person to blame anybody for choosing to eat at any given time, for any reason. She couldn't be that much of a hypocrite if she tried, in part because she probably doesn't understand that word.
"I think I understand what a vacation is now, and why you need one sometimes," Xantia concludes, even though she really didn't do very much differently than she usually does. It was more of a mental vacation, trying to put her mind elsewhere. Which was going alright, but war has a way of spoiling vacations. She's soon distracted from that thought by something she wasn't expecting to hear from Fei. "Really? You want to start looking again too? And you think there's something at the Valeria place?"
When confronted with the thought of going back to Ignas, she hesitates. Clearly not very comfortable about that. She lowers her gaze, right now only willing to go so far as, "...Maybe. Not right away. Ever since that day... I feel like it's been easier for me to remember things. Like this whole cooking thing. So, I think that there's still things I can learn about myself by going to new places, without... you know. Taking the risk."
Xantia is normally not averse to taking any number of crazy risks, but the thought of ending up hurting her friends again... that's one risk she isn't prepared to take, if she may not absolutely have to.
She'd much prefer to talk about Id, as always. When Fei seems unsure, and with Xantia unable to hear Id like this, she wonders aloud, "Has he spoken to you at all? You know, since my... visit." A visit which is probably still a bit of a mystery to Fei, since Xantia didn't really say anything much about it other than 'I saw him'.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei offers Xantia a fistbump upon her now understanding the meaning... of vacations...! This is a true and important step in both their development! Fei too had to learn how to relax and not involve himself (too much) into some war! And it was a good lesson too! It went just as badly as it would have even if he had gotten involved! He didn't make it worse! He wouldn't have made it better! What good he's done for Spira is what he was going to get done.
Fei nods once. "That makes sense." He's finished with the meal by now and he bows his head. "Thank you for the meal!" He sets the tray aside. "This was one surprising way to wake up too!" He doesn't seem to have any hard feelings about that, judging by how he laughs it off. Despite it ... uh ... being pretty terrifying actually.
"Yeah he's been pretty quiet but...he hasn't been trying to cause any trouble."
On the other matter, "Yeah one of the---one of my old 'selves' seemed to know a man named Harthcourt Valeria. I am hoping they might have some records or information about the guy. Maybe I could learn a little more."
He smiles sheepishly. "It's really my only lead that doesn't want to kill the people I love, so... gonna give it a shot, you know?"
He nods as well to Xantia's concern regarding her own search and points out, "You seemed to remember something new over in Spira, so maybe you'll learn something new in Aquvy too. Only one way to find out. Besides, I hear it's pretty nice over there. It could be fun!"
Or full of problems now that Odessa has been running rampant unchecked for a while now but Fei doesn't need to worry about that right now.
"Maybe Id's on vacation too," Fei remarks mildly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I wonder...what he feels about what we remembered." Pause. "If he still remembers it. But I guess if he forgot, I'd have forgotten too...?"
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia has also come to understand the meaning of fistbumps, which is even more important! Well, at any time when somebody offers you one, anyway. She just needs to raise her skill level a bit more for her fistbump to no longer do any damage. At least she's managed to get it down to single digit HP, that's something.
Beaming, she replies, "You're welcome for the meal!" Then she giggles, promising, "I won't make a habit of waking you up like that." Not because it was terrifying obviously, what was terrifying about that? It's just that being forced to get up quite that early isn't something she could see anybody being much of a fan of. She may have forced that on Fei, but she got up even earlier still to prepare the food. If this goes like it usually does, she'll probably be found having dozed off in an odd place at some point later in the day.
Her eyes widen at this revelation of Fei's, feeling about as excited about it as she would finding a solid new lead about her own past. "You remembered the name of a person you used to know? That's amazing! I want to go, I want to know if they know something too!" With a grin, she adds, "It's not like we weren't planning to go to Aquvy already anyway, right? It should be fun, I hear that's where all the weird people are from!" That's apparently a plus in her book. Now they just need to do something about the whole displacement thing.
Regarding Id, she pauses, recomposing herself a bit. "I think he's... sort of on vacation," she says, without explaining. For his sake, too, she wants to find a way back as soon as possible. Id's made it quite clear that he doesn't want to be here. She soon smiles again, ruffling Fei's hair. "Maybe we can ask him later, when he's back from vacation. As for right now, you should do something about that hair, you look silly." She didn't do anything to improve that bed hair, but never mind that.