[From here] @peerlessscowl
He couldn't help himself: at her joke, Raven allowed her a laugh, the smile coming up to crinkle his eyes. She was such a sweet child, so proud of the work they had done to dispatch the bear, proud of the herb selection she had gotten from the greenhouse, of her home and her family, it was difficult not to be endeared.
"Taste tester, huh? You're awfully willing to risk my life, aren't you?" he joked back. "I suppose for such an easy job I wouldn't be able to complain no matter what was put in front of me. I guess it's good I'm not too particular, then."
Though truth be told, over the last few years, he couldn't have afforded to complain anyhow – between the questionable stews-of-the-day at a roadside inn, to foraged forest berries and the occasional hare, it wasn't as though his diet had been a consistent backbone of his day-to-day life, and moreso when he had made the decision to come to the monastery, forgoing what he might have otherwise subsisted on for a time, leaning out some of the bulk he had accumulated in his years of hard work on his own.
The shift from that, to the dining hall after his acceptance, had been perhaps the most difficult part of the transition. But now, before the spit and cookfire, he felt the comfortable motions of cooking one's own food come back to him easily.
"The cloves are good for this kind of thing," he said, gesturing for her to hand him some before he grabbed a piece of the meat, studding the thing with cloves before skewering it and propping it over the fire. "Gamey meats, I mean."
His family had done much of their own hunting, less for sport and more for victuals, and when the rains had hit hardest during autumn he could recall the same sharp, sweet scent from the kitchens as came from the fire before them now, the roasted meats and mulled wines a defining note of the season.
Cocking his head, his eyes flicked to Lilina's injuries before back to the fire. "Medicine, too. I'd be surprised if the infirmary doesn't keep a supply for themselves."
You’re awfully willing to risk my life.
Though she senses it is a joke if the rest of the sentence does not clue her in, his words sting her worse than she’d like to admit. A duty of a knight or anyone sworn under their liege, but does that make it right to willingly die? To treat their life as disposable? Lilina does not hide her emotions well as much as she tries, she lets go a pathetic half-hearted laugh.
She is grateful when he changes the subject allowing her mind to be put to use elsewhere. Wordlessly, she watches, leaning in slightly, as he skewers and seasons the meat and sticks it over the fire. “Smells good already…” She mutters, amazed at how a few simple ingredients could waft such a fragrant aroma. She scooches a little closer to the fire, placing her hands near it. Scintillations of flame flick off in every direction and the smokey air brings her comfort for moments at a time.
That is, until he mentions medicine and she does not miss the glance her way. Conscious of this, she tugs at the hem of her skirt. She had been advised by the medics to avoid any particularly suffocating articles of clothing as her bandages needed to be changed regularly so her wounds, her weaknesses, were on display for all. She shakes her head, crossing her arms.
“What they gave me at the infirmary initially has helped—Ah! Did… you need some? I might have some left or, um,” she pauses twirling with the ends of her hair. A sneaky smile tugs at her expression. “The nurse there, she would be ecstatic to see you again, I’m sure.”
After she revels in what enjoyment she gets out of teasing him, she grows much quieter. “I’m sorry by the way, Raymond. Really, asking you to risk your life without even considering…” If he had a family, a little sister like he did.
Though she previously allowed herself to be distracted, tried telling herself that it was nothing to obsess over, it eats at her the longer she allows it to fester. Then, she stands and starts pacing, stuttering, clenching her fists and unclenching. “I mean, how could I be so… so stupid?!”
