04 - Mulled Cider and Wine; Eel and Root Vegetable Hand Pies; Creamy Cod Chowder

[tisfinished]

1: The Milk Run, docked at Flotsam

Senshi seems unusually focused and far less chatty than usual as he serves up hearty winter fare; in addition to the headline items from this post's title, he has hot tea, coffee and cocoa available as well as pork pies and (as a vegetarian option) mushroom pies and an array of pickled vegetables.

He tries to be friendly as ever, but it's clear something weighs heavily on his mind.

2: The Vault's Practice Halls

Senshi is in need of a sparring partner. He's practicing with axe and shield - curiously, practicing with a cage strapped to his chest - and the poor wooden practice dummies he's been whaling on have been taking a serious beating.

"Think maybe I need an actual opponent," he says, his voice unusually clipped.

3: Solstice Gift-Giving

Beware: if you've done any kindnesses to the weird dwarf that loves to cook with monster meat (even more so than most Flotsam pirates, at any rate) then you're liable to find a box outside your home or apartment door wrapped in a ribbon.

While there is no name identifying who could have left them, the fact that they are exquisite, frosted gingerbread monsters narrows down the possible culprits significantly.

Comments

[theriflespiral]

Natalia nodded, setting the cleaned cups in the drying rack. "Thank you. ... Though."

She pauses. ... She has time. "Brooding over Solstice?"

She can relate.

[tisfinished]

"Hrm," he says.

Then, "One of my missions is, basically, trying to save folks from what happened to me. Mines are a dangerous place, even more so when your employers don't care about you."

[theriflespiral]

"... I see." What would someone like her even look like in this world? She paused to consider what might have been done to them to forge such a weapon.

... She did not like the idea of what stared back. "I-- am too cold, I think, for such work. I speak in... Tactical considerations. Careful assessments. Not talk to stir a heart.

"But I can tell you that you can. You have." The other steel cup rises to join its sister on the drying rack. "And you're right. Someone has to."

[tisfinished]

"...Any time you're in the area and need a hot drink, or a cool one, stop by," Senshi says. "Didn't set out to be a talker, but in this case, they'll know I know what it's like below in the dark when the canary you keep with you keels over."

[theriflespiral]

Natalia scoffed. "Only hot, I think, for a good while. Thank you, for the talk. May my gift bring joy. To many, but you especially."

She bowed, politely, and was careful to keep the hatch as shut as possible against the freezing rain that had started up outside.

Now... Where to next...? ... The Bloody Bun? ... Fine. She would go.