lifeaftr | September Adventure: Rain Comes

September Adventure: Rain Comes

NEW ISLAND: NUIDAN

Who: Everyone!
What: Nuidan appears, and a new adventure begins
When: September 10th and onward
Where: Nuidan
Warnings: Tag as you go!

Reseed the Meadow So the Cows Don't Starve
As of September 10th, the mana pools on Ensō and its islets will now allow for travel to the new island of Nuidan.

Travelers will arrive on a mana pool situated on the E5 square. The temple is situated in an oasis-like backdrop of amber-colored sands circled with overhanging palm trees. From the island's center, the four corners of the island and its fixed seasonal shifts are more than obvious: to the north, the rainfall-soaked meadows of spring; to the east, the thick clusters of the trees of autumn; to the south, the snow-capped mountains of winter; and to the west, the warm summer sands and pleasant heat.

And inside the temple? The avatar of the island Nuidan is waiting.

Welcome to the new island of Nuidan! As the island is now accessible, feel free to begin preparations and explorations in this log, create new logs of your own, or use this post as a catch-all for Task completion! For further information in regards to the island, or plotting, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC info and introductory post
[ ♆ ] Active and Passive Task list
[ ♆ ] Nuidan on the Locations page
[ ♆ ] Search Requests page

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

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It's all so beyond her experience, but CT finds herself fascinated all the same. She nods along as Ignis explains, then catches herself and stops, feeling like an idiot.

But it makes sense, she supposes. She at least has enough experience cooking to remember the sound of sizzling meat on a stove or grill, and to recognize that the piece Ignis indicates has mostly tapered off.

"Okay," she says, letting him know that she's ready, that she's beside him and watching. "I'm listening." She even closes her eyes in preparation, ready to listen without the benefit of seeing.

CT might feel foolish as she catches herself doing little things she knows he can't see, but Ignis is actually quite enjoying their discussion. It's nice to have someone who is willing to listen to him--not only as he speaks about cooking--but also as he talks about how he's overcome the barriers losing his vision caused. It's too easy for him to dismiss these kinds of things in his own head, but when others are interested and actively engaging him about it? It's a lot harder.

"All right, I'm going to flip it now," Ignis follows words directly with action. He doesn't know she's closed her eyes to help strengthen the experience, but even without that, the change in sound is clear. Even more so, as time starts passing what was what a loud sizzling sound slowly starts to quiet.

"Okay."

She's more than willing to listen, as long as he seems to want to talk about it. The only thing she's afraid of is overstepping any boundaries. Reopening old wounds. He doesn't even know her, after all - it'd be understandable if he didn't want to talk about it at all. Not like it's her business.

But so far, it seems, learning how to live without sight is a safe subject with Ignis, even a welcome one. She keeps her eyes shut, tilting her head a little to listen as the meat sizzles on the grill.

Not an unfamiliar sound, by any means. But also never one she'd actually bothered to really listen to ever before. What's always before been a background sound is now the only thing she has to focus her attention on. It seems to take forever, just standing here, listening with no other cues or distractions - but even so, she manages to wait a fairly long time, the sound much quieter by the time she finally speaks. To her credit, she doesn't even consider peeking.

"...Is it done yet?"

A year ago--perhaps even as recent as a few months ago--this conversation wouldn't be happening. Ignis' injury would be too new and the wounds, indeed, would have been too fresh, but the island has forced him to come to terms with his blindness. Not only that, he's had more time here than he would have had back home to recover and learn. It's a small blessing he will never forget.

"Not yet," his voice slightly amused when he answers. Oh, he remembers this part well. By nature, he's a patient man, but learning to judge things by sound alone tried even his patience. "When you're first learning to tell anything by sound it seems like everything takes so much longer to finish. This will need a couple of minutes yet if you wish to sit back down."

"I'm fine."

The answer comes automatically, but she means it. If he can wait, if this is what it's like all the time for him, she can wait too. She falls silent, just listening to the sizzle of the meat, trying not to count the seconds. She doesn't say anything else, fearful of distracting Ignis, or her voice drowning out what they're meant to be listening for - and besides, she is listening, trying hard to imagine what "done" might sound like.

The certainty with which she answers keeps Ignis from insisting. Instead, he just gives a soft 'all right,' in answer before falling silent himself. He knows what he's listening for, so when the sizzle hits a certain level, he flips the meat once more--without warning, so he can truly test what she's hearing.

"Do you hear the difference between the two sides? This one is done. When I flip back, the other will need about a minute more to hit the same level."

She does hear the difference when he flips it, tilting her head in sudden interest - the change is too stark for the meat simply to have finished cooking. Ignis flipping it over to demonstrate makes much more sense. She nods, then remembers herself and answers aloud, her own eyes still shut and brow furrowed with concentration, trying to memorize the sound.

"Yeah. I hear it."

There's satisfaction in Ignis' smile as he flips the meat back over to allow the unfinished side to cook once more. The sizzling grows louder again before slowly quieting as it moves toward done.

"There's a lot of subtleties to learn, but most of it is a process much like this. It helps that I did a lot of cooking before coming here, so I can also use my knowledge of how things smell at the beginning of the cooking process versus to how they smell at the end. I think without even really having paid attention to it before, you can agree that cooked meat smells much different from raw."

Well, yeah. Even she knows that much, though she's sure Ignis' sense of it is much more nuanced than "barbecue" versus "raw beef." Or whatever kind of meat this is.

"Yeah, it does," she agrees, finally opening her eyes to look. "I guess that would help too." She tilts her head, thinking. Trying to imagine getting by with just four senses.

"I guess it'd be harder if you had a cold and couldn't smell anything...but then nobody really feels like cooking when they're sick, anyway."

Ignis chuckles at that, "Perhaps not, but sometimes one doesn't have a choice. Not if they wish their friends to be fed and the kitchen to remain intact."

Boy, sure sounds like he's talking from experience, doesn't it?

"Now that you've listened to me ramble, would you like to try what you've been smelling all this time?"

"You'd think they'd pick up the slack for you."

But he's right, it does smell amazing, and her stomach rumbles as if in response. She laughs, a little embarrassed.

"Sorry...I'd love some. But only if you have some too."

"Yes, well I must admit part of that is my own fault. I do tend to be pretty stubborn about handling things on my own. If I'm not so ill I can't get out of bed, I'm going to try and take care of my duties no matter what they are," Ignis bows his head slightly, a self-conscious smile on his face. That smile becomes a true one when she suggests he eat too.

"I should probably do that, yes. I'm not sure how long it's been since I actually stopped to eat."

It doesn't take him long to plate up two portions and then hold one out to her, "I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

She frowns, thinking immediately of Varric - hiding his own grief over Hawke, turning the conversation away from himself and back to CT and her problems. Never once reaching out, asking for help for himself.

At least Varric had had the good sense to stop and eat. She takes the plate with a murmur of thanks, checking to make sure Ignis had kept plenty for himself.

"It looks just as good, too. You should definitely try it."

Good sense. If asked Ignis' friends would say he has a lot of sense, just not a lot of good sense when it comes to taking care of himself. Care of himself has always been second to taking care of those he cares about. At least, that is slowly starting to change, though it's a battle he will probably end up fighting for the rest of his life.

"That's good to hear. I try my best to make sure what I cook still looks good, but that part has proven much harder for me to master," he smiles and sets to cutting off a bite-sized piece of meat. "Off you go, now. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think."

"I don't think I'd bother. If anyone complained, they could shove it." If it tastes good, and the chef can't see it, why should he worry about how it looks?

Luckily for CT, though, Ignis has more exacting standards. She takes a bite, pausing for a moment to savor it before humming appreciatively.

"Shit...that tastes amazing."

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September Adventure: Rain Comes

I barely know more than CT does, it's all good!

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