Day 6: Blood- Thaeril doesn’t make traditional food for non-Bosmer after being stung one too many times by the reaction to it and what it’s made from. But Ralof asks if she will, and she agrees to make something for him to try. Pre/Early relationship. Trying to think of interesting cuisine for Green Pact adherent Bosmer and different ideas for food.
(Note: the recipe used here is based on Sorpotel (Goan Pork Offal Stew), the Indian version of a Portuguese recipe, which uses blood and various offal in the way I thought would be interesting and make sense here. I’ve obviously tweaked things a bit, but kept the basic ingredients and methods of the dish. I have no idea if this version would actually work, but we’re assuming it will.)
Prompts by @tes-summer-fest
Bosmer OC x Ralof
Warnings- Blood (but we're butchering/cooking, not fighting)
Wordcount- around 2.1K
(all of my characters have first-rate RBFs. Description in alt text)
***
Ralof sat up gingerly, watching as Thaeril came in with a large, wild goat slung across her shoulders. She was grinning, her angular face lit up like a child in a sweets store.
“Look at this! We will eat like royalty tonight!” She cried. “It led me on a good chase, too. It was a good hunt.”
“Well you won’t see me complain.”
“I’ll roast it up.” She laughed, a little sadly. “I won’t do anything too… weird with it, don’t worry.”
Something twinged in Ralof’s chest. There was hurt behind her words, he was certain of it. “I’ve honestly never eaten anything made the proper Bosmer way. Would you… would you want to cook some of it the way your people would? I’d be interested to try it.”
“Really? Ohhh… I’d want to do something different than stew, then. I think I have some bone flour I could make flatbreads and then I should have enough spices to make a curry and… and that should be good?”
“That doesn’t sound ‘weird’ at all.”
“Would it make a difference if I said that the base for the sauce is blood?”
“Not at all. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m sure a lot of people would be strange about it, but your culture is so important to you. The least I can do is try it, right?”
Thaeril’s smile alone was worth it, but Ralof had to admit he was intrigued by the idea. There had been plenty of time to talk when he’d been more badly injured and Thaeril had stayed by his side almost constantly. She’d explained the Green Pact to him and what it meant for her people. But she’d never really made much Bosmer food, preferring to try and make things she thought he’d find more palatable. But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to see the real thing for himself, try it for himself.
So he watched her hang the beast from its back feet and drain its blood into a large jar. Putting that to the side, she began skinning and dressing the carcass with breathtaking efficiency. In the short time they’d known each other, Ralof had very quickly noticed just how completely and staggeringly competent Thaeril was in seemingly everything she did. He didn’t just think that because she’d saved his life; it was obvious in even the smallest tasks.
Now she was digging through her bag, pulling out a pouch and sorting through small jars of spices. Some went back into the pouch and others she put to the side. Once she had all the ones she wanted, she began adding various amounts of each one to a bowl. All of this was splashed with a little vinegar from yet another bottle and mixed into a paste.
“That smells quite intriguing!” He pulled himself a little closer, moving carefully to not jog his wounds.
“I didn’t go too wild. I don’t want to make your first Bosmer meal so spicy you can’t eat it.”
“I’ll be fine. It’ll be good for me.”
“Well, this is going to ferment and do its thing while I get some meat and bits cut up.” She set it to the side and stood, taking out her knife again. She moved with unhurried grace, knowing precisely what she needed. First, a good, solid chunk of meat from the shoulder went into the pot. After that, she inspected and threw in a little fat. He could see why, the meat itself was quite lean without it. After that she was into the beast’s belly. Into the pot went the heart, a kidney, a lung, the tongue, and a chunk of the liver. After adding a little more fat, she cut everything up into more manageable pieces. To this, she added enough blood cut with water to cover everything and fill the pot most of the way. It went onto the fire, first right over, and then pulled back once it had boiled.
“That’s going to simmer for a while.” She sat back, satisfied. “Then I’ll have to do the next steps. For now, I’ll start taking apart the rest of this and start some preserving.”
She took the haunches and set them up over the fire to roast. Other parts she began to slice up for smoking and drying. Ralof watched for a few minutes before asking. “Is there something I can do to help?”
Thaeril froze. His question had thrown her for a loop. She hadn’t had anyone ask if they could help her with anything for a long time, and it took her a moment to think and reply.
“Well, if you can cut up pieces for drying, that would free me up to do some other things. That would probably work best. Um, thank you, for offering.”
“Of course. I might as well be useful while I’m sitting here.”
So they worked together for a while in companionable quiet. Thaeril couldn’t help but smile at the big Nord, carefully and diligently working away. It’d been a long time since she’d shared a task like this, she was far more used to doing everything for herself.
Eventually, she had to put this out of her mind and concentrate on their meal's next steps. Draining the broth into a bowl, she put the meat and offal back over the fire until it sizzled, filling the cave with a mouthwatering smell. It even slowed Ralof’s hands as he looked over.
“Well that smells wonderful!” He grinned. “I think I’m going to like this recipe of yours.”
Thaeril found herself looking down, paying very close attention to the bottom of the cooking pot. At least that way she could say it was the heat from the fire making her face red and not Ralof’s words. But soon enough it was time to add the spice paste, and soon an even more divine aroma wafted around them.
She let that cook for a little while before adding the blood broth back in. A little bit of bone flour mixed with water went in as well. Just enough that it would help thicken up the broth a bit. She certainly didn’t want to ruin the dish by having the sauce too thin. Not when she was sharing it with Ralof, and this was his introduction to Bosmer food. It had to be perfect.
Once the curry was mixed and ready, she pulled it back a little from the heat of the fire and let it simmer again. It would give her time to finish up the preservation of the rest of the carcass, and hopefully it would be done by the time food was ready.
Taking her drying rack outside, she made another small fire beneath it. Ralof had done a fine job of getting things ready on his end, and she had a lot of meat prepared to smoke. As she arranged the strips of meat to her liking, she couldn’t help but smile. She’d acted out of instinct when she’d saved Ralof. A lone man, outnumbered, the rest of his squad dead, and fighting impossible odds. But fighting magnificently. She’d jumped in, not willing to watch this warrior die so ignobly to a treacherous blade. That was before she’d known how sweet and kind he was in addition to his prowess.
“Thank Y’ffre I was there at that moment,” she said softly to herself.
***
By the time she needed to make the flatbread, she and Ralof had gotten the rest of the goat prepared. The fire beneath the drying rack chugged out smoke at a nice pace, and Thaeril knew it was going to be good jerky. The rest of the organs were drying in the air, each strip strung onto a long line to keep good airflow between them.
Now she put some of her bone flour into her bowl. To this, she added a couple of eggs, a little salt and honey, and enough water to mix it all. Letting it sit for a moment, she moved a skillet right over the hottest part of the fire and threw a little of the goat fat in. As the pan heated up, she rolled chunks of the bread dough into thin discs. When the fat started to sizzle in the pan, she put in the first disc of dough. They cooked quickly, and it was barely a minute before she flipped it over and then out of the pan completely. She’d made enough dough for six flatbreads, and as soon as one came out, a little more fat and another one went in. In only a few short minutes, they were all finished.
With that done, she checked the curry one last time. Taking a quick taste, she smiled. It had turned out perfect. So at least if Ralof didn’t like it, she’d have plenty of very delicious food to eat for the next couple of days. But she really hoped that wouldn’t be the case.
She put the thought out of her mind and looked over. “Everything’s ready. Would you like to try it?”
“I’d love to!”
A little nervously, Thaeril filled their bowls. They sat together, each now with some curry and a flatbread. Thaeril watched with trepidation as Ralof studied and sniffed his portion curiously. Then, he tore off a piece of the bread and took a bite. With a nod, he dipped it into his bowl like a scoop. Not a small taste either, but big chunks of meat and offal and a good amount of the sauce. For a split second, her heart leapt into her throat. But only for a split second.
Ralof's eyes went wide as he tried this first taste. Once his mouth was empty again, he laughed. "Shor's bones, that's a fine meal! The meat is so tender… most people don't know how to cook organ meat properly and it's tough but this! Gods, and the spices! And this bread! I wasn't sure how these would even work, but I can't imagine better to go with the meal. Thaeril, this is amazing! Can you make more Bosmer food from now on?"
Thaeril stared. "Do you mean that?"
"Of course! This is as fine a meal as anyone could ask for." He frowned a little. "Someone like me doesn't usually say things like that, do they?"
"Yeah. Usually we don't get past the ingredients. You don't know how many times I've been told how we eat like animals, that our food is fit only for dogs. That we're disgusting cannibals."
He reached out and gently rubbed her arm. "We men and mer aren't very good at understanding other customs, are we? I'm sorry people have told you that. When you explained everything to me, it made so much sense. And it's important to you. Even if someone doesn't like something, why be cruel?"
Tears welled in her eyes. "How are you so nice?"
He shrugged. "I’m just me. And plenty of folks don't like my people's customs. They think we're brutish, they don't like our gods. I'd never hurt you like that. And… and this is really good."
"Thank you." She blinked back tears as she pulled him into a gentle, one-armed hug. "And if you want, I'll cook lots more Bosmer food for you to try until you're all healed up."
"I hope you'll make some after that, too." Ralof's face went pink the moment the words left his lips. Both had avoided talking about later, when he was healed and they would presumably part ways. He stammered a little. "I mean, I might need an escort back to Windhelm. Even healed, I'm not going to be at my best right away."
"I've been a bodyguard before, I might be convinced to do so again." She gave him a small smile.
"I'll keep that in mind. In the meantime, what other recipes have you got? I know we'll have this goat for a few days, but after that we'll have to think of something. Maybe by then I can help hunt?"
So Thaeril began to explain other things they could try as Ralof listened attentively. He asked many thoughtful and respectful questions, truly curious and wanting to understand. She could feel the flush rise in her face. No one had ever taken such interest in her culture before. Not only that, but Ralof ate two helpings of the curry and bread as they talked. And for the second time that day, Thaeril thanked Y'ffre with all her heart that she'd been in the right place at the right time.
