✚✚✚ franky — @wanderingmechanichick
Law took offence, but not of the stranger’s blatant ignorance a kinder someone might understand as simple candidness verbalised. The wrongdoer here was much more minute, effortlessly hidden in a concerned remark. It was no woman’s fault if such harmless words were forever bound to rub a man’s ego the wrong way.
Until it was, in fact, her fault when all subtlety was dropped in favour of a direct insult, even if unwanted. She did not hesitate before pointing out Law’s inadequacy to handle the spicy food to the other diners by outright calling it “too hot” for his digestive system to handle.
Law resented this. His body’s failures were his failures, therefore he perceived physiological malfunctions as personal weaknesses when pointed out by others. Besides, there was nothing wrong with any of his body’s structures, even though his respiratory system could benefit from the dropping of tobacco and an upgrade to the Tang’s oxygen generator. But that is beyond the point.
She had misunderstood his commentary — Law had no trouble with hot food; he had trouble with poorly-made curry. It was too runny, as if the cook had purposely added more water than needed in order to stretch out the servings. Not even the Tang’s cook would do that to feed the crew their captain’s beloved dish and mind, submarine cuisine could get pretty inventive at times.
❝ If you call this curry. ❞ He returned the snickering with a scornful expression of his own, a lifted eyebrow and a smirk. The food, however, he eyed with sorrow. The salesman, with irritation. ❝ There’s more to curry than heat. ❞
The more Law chewed on her words (not the curry), the more intolerable he found her. God, this woman had managed to annoy him in a variety of ways by speaking so little. Seemed like everyone was a medic these days.
❝ Piece of advice. If you’re so determined to give strangers unrequested counsel, then do it right. Drinking water won’t relieve a burning mouth, you need milk to dissolve the capsaicin. ❞