[ It wasn't at all difficult for Yuri to blend into the kitchen staff for the train, and no more so to distinguish himself. The good news is this means he isn't drawing the wrong kind of attention. The bad news is that this renders him quite in-demand.
When he sees a familiar face at one of the tables, however, he takes his break to go greet him.
...But not before intercepting a dish that includes mushrooms so he can substitute it with something An Zhe might find more agreeable. This dish he brings to the table himself as, after all, he can do as he likes during his break.
So it is that Yuri saunters over to plonk down a bowl of stew and a hunk of bread for dipping in front of the guy. ]
[An Zhe had been focused so hard on his work that he didn't notice Yuri until that bowl thumped down on the table, meaning he gives a tiny jolt of surprise before looking up at the man, needle and thread still held in his fingers.]
—Oh. Thank you. [He looks at the stew, then at Yuri, then down at the shirt he's been attempting to sew buttons onto, before putting the shirt aside and reaching for the stew instead.]
I'm working...pretty hard, I think. [This may be his first time ever sewing, but he'd been shown a button or two as an example, and now they look practically machine-sewn.] Are you?
[ Yuri sinks into the seat across from him, making himself comfortable. He's accustomed to long hours on his feet, and he's a skilled cook, but people can be demanding.
Especially the entitled sort. ]
People keep all hours on this train, so it stays busy.
[Mmm tasty stew...An Zhe takes a moment to try taking a tiny nibble out of the bread that came with it, but quickly goes back to the stew again. His favorite!]
All hours...I wonder what they do all night.
[He knows they're here on a mission and all, but sleep is important? He learned his lesson once before on that front.]
[ He made sure that bowl of stew had extra potatoes and meat, not that he'll say so. A little something for the guy whose food poverty's been at least as bad as his own. ]
All manner of things — people have different habits, after all.
[ Yuri's more the nocturnal type himself, when he has the luxury of choice. ]
Hard to say what any individual gets up to without observation, though.
[It's a refreshingly thick stew! His favorite kind! As such, An Zhe is relishing it, if at his usual slow pace.
Speaking of observation, though:] We're supposed to be looking for someone here, right? Though I don't think we were given a good description at all...
A way of testing our resourcefulness, or Aurora doesn't know it herself. Wouldn't it be terribly easy for someone with her resources if she knew just what to look for?
[ It's fine, Yuri will just reach over and relieve him of a bit of that bread, dipping what he tears off in the stew. ]
Where I'm from, we sometimes make bowls out of bread, so you'd eat it this way.
[ Tearing hunks off. When they had the means, it was a fine and filling meal that left no bowl to clean. ]
[ They both come from places where food poverty is a cruel constant, it's only natural to look for ways to improve that lot for their eventual return. ]
Don't know that I'd call it lacking, but I get the sentiment. Mine doesn't have technology like this. [ He flaps a hand at the train car around them. ] Haven't even harnessed electricity, for that matter.
[He looks around the train car in response to Yuri's handwave, gaze turning to the electric lights and things.]
We have electricity where I'm from, but they turned it off at night. There was a lot of technology, actually...it just wasn't accessible to most people.
[And yet here, the shops all have free food and the lights can stay on all day if you want...truly a prosperous world.(?)]
That's where improvisation comes in. If you know the process well enough, how it works and why it works, you can find ways to make it work with what you have.
[ Like Sylvain inventing a flamethrower using magic (no). ]
[An Zhe wants to reply to this, but thinking on it, he realizes he never quite learned what people did about torn clothes before the city got destroyed. Where did they even get new clothes? Maybe at the black market?
Depends on who you ask, really. Dimitri and I weren't actually married, it was an assigned role for a mission, but I think he got a kick out of being the little wife.
[ If someone likes the sound of it, then it works, doesn't it? ]
In earnest I'd say the sentiment matters more than the word.
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timeasmymeasure
backdated: train time
Date: 2025-02-16 04:36 am (UTC)When he sees a familiar face at one of the tables, however, he takes his break to go greet him.
...But not before intercepting a dish that includes mushrooms so he can substitute it with something An Zhe might find more agreeable. This dish he brings to the table himself as, after all, he can do as he likes during his break.
So it is that Yuri saunters over to plonk down a bowl of stew and a hunk of bread for dipping in front of the guy. ]
So, working hard?
no subject
Date: 2025-02-16 10:06 pm (UTC)—Oh. Thank you. [He looks at the stew, then at Yuri, then down at the shirt he's been attempting to sew buttons onto, before putting the shirt aside and reaching for the stew instead.]
I'm working...pretty hard, I think. [This may be his first time ever sewing, but he'd been shown a button or two as an example, and now they look practically machine-sewn.] Are you?
no subject
Date: 2025-02-18 01:44 am (UTC)[ Yuri sinks into the seat across from him, making himself comfortable. He's accustomed to long hours on his feet, and he's a skilled cook, but people can be demanding.
Especially the entitled sort. ]
People keep all hours on this train, so it stays busy.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-18 02:05 am (UTC)All hours...I wonder what they do all night.
[He knows they're here on a mission and all, but sleep is important? He learned his lesson once before on that front.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-18 05:21 am (UTC)All manner of things — people have different habits, after all.
[ Yuri's more the nocturnal type himself, when he has the luxury of choice. ]
Hard to say what any individual gets up to without observation, though.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-18 01:49 pm (UTC)Speaking of observation, though:] We're supposed to be looking for someone here, right? Though I don't think we were given a good description at all...
no subject
Date: 2025-02-21 01:45 am (UTC)[ It'd explain the general vagueness of it all. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-21 01:36 pm (UTC)[Confusion!! Also he appears to have abandoned the bread.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-22 02:18 am (UTC)[ It's fine, Yuri will just reach over and relieve him of a bit of that bread, dipping what he tears off in the stew. ]
Where I'm from, we sometimes make bowls out of bread, so you'd eat it this way.
[ Tearing hunks off. When they had the means, it was a fine and filling meal that left no bowl to clean. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-24 01:51 pm (UTC)[Makes sense! Also he watches Yuri dip the bread, fascinated by the idea he just described. A bowl made of food......]
I don't think we had bread, where I was before. Or if there was, most people couldn't afford it...
[Maybe he should try dipping it too! Just gonna copy Yuri and also tear off a tiny piece there.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-25 12:33 am (UTC)Certain kinds of bread are pretty accessible, even for the poor.
[ In fact, sometimes it was all they had, aside whatever they might forage. ]
Tell you what — after this mission's behind us, I'll show you how it's done. Could be your people just need the right method.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-25 05:17 pm (UTC)[Also this bread tastes pretty good with soup...he definitely wants to try a bread bowl sometime.]
Everyone comes from such different worlds...mine seems very lacking in comparison.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-25 05:52 pm (UTC)[ They both come from places where food poverty is a cruel constant, it's only natural to look for ways to improve that lot for their eventual return. ]
Don't know that I'd call it lacking, but I get the sentiment. Mine doesn't have technology like this. [ He flaps a hand at the train car around them. ] Haven't even harnessed electricity, for that matter.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-25 09:37 pm (UTC)We have electricity where I'm from, but they turned it off at night. There was a lot of technology, actually...it just wasn't accessible to most people.
[And yet here, the shops all have free food and the lights can stay on all day if you want...truly a prosperous world.(?)]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-26 01:10 am (UTC)[ That's the way Yuri sees it, and he knows Dimitri felt the same. Their homeworlds may struggle, but the right knowledge could change that.
Well, at least if no one thinks them raving madmen, but one step at a time. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-26 04:43 am (UTC)I could bring back knowledge, but...what if the resources don't exist back home?
[How will he make bread without bread ingredients....!]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-26 04:56 am (UTC)[ Like Sylvain inventing a flamethrower using magic (no). ]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-26 05:21 am (UTC)I wonder if you can make bread out of potatoes...
[Somehow it always comes back to potatoes.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-26 05:52 am (UTC)[ Faerghus is soon to begin growing potatoes, so Yuri wouldn't mind knowing that answer for himself as well. ]
It's worth trying, seeing as you do have potatoes back home.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-26 02:22 pm (UTC)[Bias!]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-27 03:08 am (UTC)[ They're a new, novel discovery for Faerghus. ]
We can find out how many recipes can be made with them. We've got the time.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-27 02:21 pm (UTC)I've been learning a lot since coming here. When I go back, I'll be able to share all the new recipes I learned...and mend clothes, too.
[Specifically sharing with Lu Feng, but. Everyone else, too! Of course!]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-28 05:14 am (UTC)[ Poor Dimitri, bending needles despite his best efforts. ]
It was before your tenure, but my first mission proper had us playing house. My little wife certainly tried, but the results...
no subject
Date: 2025-03-01 04:45 am (UTC)But also...his little wife?]
What is a wife?
no subject
Date: 2025-03-01 05:16 am (UTC)[ Yuri can only guess. ]
How about marriage, you know that one?
no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 01:53 am (UTC)[ At least, they do in his world. To keep it simple he just sticks with that. ]
And that person's your wife. Or husband.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 09:48 pm (UTC)In that case...I also have a wife. Or husband.
[Unsure which??]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-04 01:42 am (UTC)[ Yuri, no. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-04 01:43 pm (UTC)[He gets the feeling Lu Feng would bully him if he used the wrong one...]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-05 01:25 am (UTC)[ If someone likes the sound of it, then it works, doesn't it? ]
In earnest I'd say the sentiment matters more than the word.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-05 06:10 am (UTC)Oh. [He has another contemplative spoonful of soup. Then another. And another—]
...Did you make all this yourself?
no subject
Date: 2025-03-05 11:23 pm (UTC)[ Which...hey. He's used to being the (crime) boss, it's fine. Lord of the Kitchen is Yuri. ]
Stews aren't too difficult to make in large quantites, and they tend to be filling.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-06 06:02 am (UTC)[Said with total sincerity!]
It would have been nice to get a job in the kitchen...but learning to mend clothes will be helpful too, eventually.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-06 06:37 am (UTC)[ The thing he's proudest of is what he can do with less, really, which suits their homeworld needs more. ]
Mending clothes is a handy skill. You can even apply some of that to cooking and baking.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-07 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-03-07 10:59 pm (UTC)[ He'll have to come up with one to share with An Zhe when they get back. ]