❝hey, ingrid! would you be a sweetie and try this stew i made?❞ sure enough, the pot is filled with a brown stew inside, mixed with onion, cubes of beef, and pepper. now, dorothea might have messed up cutting the onions a little, but now she understands that peeling onion skin brings out tears. the beef also looks a little red, but oh, some knights love their meat rare! ❝i'm trying to practice so i can make the professor her favorite food, and since you enjoy anything, i figured, here!❞
“Anything? I think that’s a bit of a stretch, Thea.”
But - what was that smell? A strong, zesty scent reaches Ingrid’s nostrils, and she walks over to inspect the pot’s contents. It looks like some kind of variant on the stew the chefs often prepare in the mess hall, the broth warm and promising. Ingrid takes another sniff, although this time the scent goes up her nose latching onto her sinuses.
“This is, uh... strong.” Nevertheless, she reaches for one of the spoons in one of the baskets set on the table. “But I’m starving after training today, so I’ll do us both a favor.” She fills the spoon up, making sure to scoop up a particularly large chunk of beef.
“My compliments to the chef,” Ingrid says, giving Dorothea a smile one might expect from a five-year-old about to ride her first horse. She raises the spoon to her mouth, tilting her head to let the stew in, taking a few bites, and...
“Oh!” Ingrid chews down a few times, swallowing past the lingering salty aftertaste in her mouth. “Wow. I... you said this is for the professor?”
Her eyes find Dorothea’s, who’s leaning forward, eyes sparkling and her lips parted in suspense, as if the climax of a play’s final act is hanging on Ingrid’s verdict. She can’t bring herself to chide Dorothea for it. She won’t kill the mood. But this wasn’t just about her taste buds not agreeing!
Pursing her lips, she places a hand on Dorothea’s forearm. “You think they have a tough stomach, too? I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised, but I think the average person probably doesn’t want six different kinds of spices in their soup.”