The rest of the evening at the Blushed Pala is spent taking the lessons Umeko asked for, first some advice while they're finishing tea, and then more direct training after tea is finished. By then, Nawar has arrives, and there's plenty to keep busy until late at night. Mitsuko finds Umeko is fairly familiar with what would be considered the basics, so soon moves on to more subtle social mores and signals. Much of what Umeko is shown are skills she wasn't able to cultivate at home with the maids: the expected skills of applying makeup and scale laquer, more exotic styles of zolk and hair dressing, and refinement building on things Umeko was already taught about posture and poise. That part is more or less impenetrable to Xander. However, what Umeko might not have expected is Mitsuko explaining the business side of luxury, showing Umeko how she balances books, orders and secures food, drink, and other materials, how she organizes the girls... this part Xander might recognize from his family's business ba
background. "Don't try too hard to remember all of this," Mitsuko said, after it was time to turn in. "Much of it comes with practice, this is just a place to start." The night is spent in clean and ocmfortable floor-level beds stuffed with seed hulls... or at least they're offered. Only Nawar was actually obliged to go to bed, after she'd returned from being dressed up and doted on by hostesses that weren't on duty.
Breakfast is early and light, much of it fresh fruit and sticky rice, and by the time Umeko and Xander are ready to leave, there are bento boxes waiting for them to take for their trip. It's slightly awkward because the maids have prepared lunches at home as well when they learn that drokkar and possibly a carriage were to be made ready.
Xander is very careful not to get anything in his freshly groomed (and shiny) fur. "That was very educational and ... frustrating," the buck whispers to Umeko. "But I think Nawar can help with your makeup and such now."
Umeko realizes a way to avoid offending anyone buy graciously accepting the bento boxes from the Pala even with others prepared for the carriage. "We can give the extra good to people during travel, as a thank you for information or being kind enough to tolerate our questions," she notes quietly to Xander before he has any chance to refuse the food. "And as for frustrating, I do understand there are ways to deal with that for your kind. The pain is supposedly only temporary," she tells him. Before Xander can reply her attention shifts to Mitsuko. "Thank you once more dear friend for your hospitality. Though the visit was only a day, I will remember and treasure it," she says to the hostess as she bows, "And that also goes for your beautiful and perfectly mannered girls. Thank you all for making everyone feel welcome."
"May you return to us soon. Farewell, my friends," says Mitsuko, sharing the same bow, and soon kiriga and lapi are back home, only to prepare to go out yet again. By the time they're ready, a carriage is waiting for them, and in a concession to her parents and to her station, a guard sits at the reins. An earthy brown with black hair tied into a short top knot, he waits patiently, and smiles when he sees his passengers. "Good morning, Lady Tsuguri," he says, with the practiced enthusiasm that all the servants have. He looks cheerful enough, and while he's no Komodo, he still looks broad enough and stout enough to use the large stone club leaning in the seat next to him, carved with flat sides that keep it from rolling around.
Umeko bows slightly to the guard as a polite courtesy. "Good Morning to you, Goro. I see the year has not changed your ability to look intimidating to all except those who know you," she says to him as a playful smile creeps across her lips. "I promise to try to keep out of trouble. I know that sounds unlike me ... but the year has changed me."
Helping Nawar up into the carriage, Xander waits to see if Umeko needs a hand up or not... and wonders if the roads hold any dangers, if a guard is their driver.
Umeko, seeing that Xander is waiting to offer help actually accepts it. Perhaps this is to help convince the guard that yes, Umeko will behave herself...
Once Umeko is onto the carriage, the Lapi follows.
Thankfully, this carriage seems to be designed more for a measured pace in the countryside than then breakneck careening of a selona. A couple handsome drokkar are hitched instead, hides shining and eyes alert. Goro's smile broadens a little. "You've commanded much greater fighting men than me, mistress. I'm not sure I'd dare to tell you not to climb the fountain rocks anymore. I'll try to keep your squishy looking friends safe too, though."
"Squishy?" Xander mutters under his breath.
"I would appreciate that, thank you. The taller one has a tendency to try and explode," Umeko claims as she settles herself down in one of the benches. "Though... he did earn the respect of the mage, Pyrelighter, so that is something."
Xander grins for being considered tall. Well, taller than his little sister, but the 'tall' was in there all the same.
Xander isn't actually much shorter than Goro, though the kiriga is much broader and probably has eighty pounds on him, or so. "Well, I'm sure this will be an easy trip. It will be nice to get out into the countryside," says Goro. With his passengers bundled in, the carriage winds its way out of the Tsuguri gate. It's mid-morning, and the hustle and bustle of Jadai makes it slow going for a while, but the foot traffic thins out the further south they go, until the carriage is rolling and creaking along a dirt road passing through farmland. Peasant kirigai wade amongst their rice plants and through their millet fields or tea bushes, and the sounds and scents of the city are left behind. The road goes up and down hills more or less due south, and after several hours of a brisk pace, the coast comes in to meet them, and the road begins following it.
"Will we see plum trees?" Nawar asks, intent on hanging over the side to see as much as possible.
Umeko passed the time making small talk with Nawar about silly little nothings or looked out over the passing countryside. When the coast comes into view, she finally asks Goro, "HAs much happened in my absence? I do not know of any local news. I hope my disappearance did not cause too much of a stir or the guards too much grief. I sincerely hope you did not face my Father's anger when I went missing."
At the notion of Lord Tsuguri's anger, Xander checks Goro for obvious bite marks.
"Well, I didn't, and though I worried for Xiao, she didn't either. The head yojimbo took the blame onto himself, and was ashamed, but your father, in his wrath, would not let him commit suicide," says Goro, his normally jovial voice serious. There aren't any plum trees to be seen yet, but there is a persimmon tree that has some of the unusual tomato-like fruit still on it.
"Who is a yojimbo?" Xander has to ask, not being familiar with that position in a Jadaiian household.
"That is good. I would not wish anyone to die on the account of my actions," Umeko replies in an even tone. From the lapi's viewpoint, though, she doesn't look particularly happy with the news. "The Yojimbo is the head bodyguard of a household, Xander," Umeko answers for Goro. "I should also visit him and offer him an apology for the difficulties I caused him."
"How do you apologize for something like that?" Xander asks. "Wouldn't that.. make it worse, somehow? I'm not clear on how it works yet.."
"It is something I will have to think on," Umeko answers a bit vaguely.
"I could bake him a cake," Nawar offers.
"I am not sure that would work," Umeko admits, "But perhaps he would accept it on the fact you're not Jadaian."
"It couldn't hurt," Xander chimes in. "Do you like cake, Goro?"
Goro rolls his broad shoulders. "Now and then, though I'm not really so much for rich, sweet stuff. I don't want to get all squishy."
"His job is to be intimidating. That is difficult when someone can roll you home," Umeko says with a sage nod. "It was often his job to look the other way when I was doing things people disproved of. Or well, at least pretend to have not seen it."
"Umeko doesn't think I'm squishy," Xander counters, then looks at Umeko.. worried that she does think he's squishy.
Umeko's answer is to reach over and poke him in the stomach.
"That's the only squishy part," the buck claims.
"Other parts get squishy when you get tired," Umeko mutters to the lapi, then gives him a look.
"When I'm older, I will have squishy parts," Nawar claims proudly. This upsets Xander more than the poking did. "That's thankfully a long way off," the older brother notes.
"Wait... how do you know unless you're.. checking me out?" Xander asks Umeko.
"I've tired you out," Umeko remarks quietly, then elbows him.
"That's only temporary squishiness," Xander claims, then snaps his jaw shut. He doesn't know how much of the conversation Goro understands.
One can almost see Goro trying to screen this part of the conversation out of what he's hearing, and he says, "Well, Lord Tsuguri did not accept his requests to die or resign, and I think in the end he did not blame his yojimbo. After all, his job may have been to protect the family, you included, but it really isn't our place to protect you from your own decisions. Seems like it'd be presuming, you know? So he still serves, but between you and me, maybe it would be good for him to hear it from you."
"My choices are my own and I accept the consequences of them, just as I did when I led the Imperial Army," Umeko notes, "And I agree I should at the very least speak with him on the matter to lay it completely to rest."
"You could make him soup," Nawar suggests. "Wait.. I mean tea. A formal tea ceremony, like at the Pala."
Goro returns his attention to the trail, turning into a fork that brings the carriage away from the inland. The trees and hills eventually break to allow glimpses of the sea, until finally the carriage emerges to roll along the edge of a bluff overlooking the ocean, the coast broken up between stretches of rocky cliff and smooth beaches. Further down the coast, one can make out roofs against the horizon, and sails dotting the water. The stocky kiriga points a stubby finger. "Arashimura's up there, is that where your friends lived? Village in the storm, sometimes it's called the defiant village. The fishing there is very good, but it's withstood some beatings from the sea."
For the most part Umeko has grown a bit mroe silent as she watches the landscape changed. This is likely the first time she has ever seen these lands given that she was kept relatively secluded in the estate, save for when she would sneak out. "It is quite likely where they lived, given what I have learned of their family history," Umeko replies, her silence broken by the large reptile's indication of the seaside town. "Will we be viewed with distrust when we enter the village? I am not knowledgeable on the current political views of the southern coast."
"You'll stand out a bit, mistress. These are working class people," says Goro, glancing over his shoulder. "But honest ones. They'll respect you."
"Mm, perhaps I should have invested in a disguise of some sort," Umeko muses, "But then masking my appearance is not simple. Still, it sounds like there will be no hostility, which is my main concern. Respect will be mutual."
"I can smell the fish already," Nawar claims, in a not-disgusted manner. Xander seems lost in thought, but then asks, "How many fingers will they have?"
"One less than me, generally," Umeko notes, "Unless they have some noble lineage. that trait holds common to all the island as I understand it."
"Goro, what noble holds sway over these lands? It would be expected that we introduce ourselves," Umeko says.
The carriage rolls down to the village, between some modest fields that must supplement the fishermen's catches. It's very different from Jashin, even from Jashin's poorer section. It's small enough to see that the biggest structures are still very modest, and small houses dot the town limits. Structures here are built from more and heavier wood than the ones in Jashin, some even with stone, likely due to the storms. Right now, though, it's sunny, and the light is bright on plain screens and parasols. "Hm? I think it's Lord Kameishi. If I remember right, he has a summer home here, but doesn't really spend that much time administrating. He works more back at Jashin, negotiating trade for his province, so while he tries to provide for and protect his subjects, he mostly leaves them to their own devices for day to day stuff."
"It still looks pretty clean and orderly," Xander notes as he takes in the view. "Do you know if there is much crime or violence here?"
"Mm, the town magistrate will know if he is in lodging or not, then. If he is not then we need not concern ourselves with a formal introduction," Umeko muses and bobs her head in reptilian acknowledgement. She casts a glance to Xander and says, "Crime is not that common except where foreigners have come and brought outside difficulties. Our culture is one of order and honor, which keeps acts of dishonor at a minimum."
"Everyone knows their place, you mean?" the buck asks.
"You make it sound cruel. It is not so harsh as that. People are respectful of others," Umeko claims.
"Out of tradition though, not.. merit?" Xander asks, unsure of the wording. "It isn't just a matter of wealth, but actual anatomy. You are born into nobility or you aren't, and there's no earning a title if you don't have the right number of fingers, right?"
Goro nods agreement. "Actual crime in town is pretty rare. I suppose, to describe it to an outsider, it's that everyone knows everyone and there isn't much incentive to try to steal from one another. Rare bouts of violence are usually from outsiders, masterless warriors passing through and getting drunk, or dueling. The occasional group of bandits, common enough everywhere and handled by the local metsuke and okappiki."
"Not entirely so," Umeko explains, "There are tales of those who's great deeds earned them boons and position. Great acts are rewarded, regardless of current station as strength of will is a prized attribute.. There are also legends where 'love' that transcended societal position and through the efforts of both, found acceptance in their society."
The carriage rumbles down the main thoroughfare amidst the village buildings and villagers themselves, who give the riders curious looks. The main drag leads through a fish market with plenty of seafood on display, and merchants trading for it. Most of it is fish. Some of it is less recognizeable, with suction cups and tendrils and spines and so forth. There's also a few noodle stands, and an inn.
"Really? I didn't think the upper class would be very.. romantic," Xander admits. Nawar just rolls her eyes. She's more interested in the noodle stands than stories of love and heroism right now.
"The upper class also do not often sneak away on a ship and end up defeating an enemy of the empire, either," Umeko points out. "There are always exceptions."
"Well, that's just youthful enthusiasm," Xander claims with a grin.
Despite the overpowering smell of fish, the noodle stands do get through with wafts of spicy scents and steamed buns. Their owners call out in Jadian accented imperial to draw in customers.
"Do you want some noodles, Nawar?" Umeko asks as her head tilts a bit and listens to the shop criers.
"I would very much like to try some, mistress Umeko," the coney replies, and gives a little bow of her head.
Umeko reaches forward and taps Goro's shoulder. "Stop when it is convenient please," she requests.
Goro brings the carriage to a halt, turning in the seat. "Why don't I go see if the magistrate knows whether Lord Kameishi is in residence? I can drop you all here and then go stable and feed the drokar."
"That would be very helpful, thank you Goro," Umeko agrees as she rises, then delicately steps down from their wagon. She does a short and subtle bob of her entire body to get her kimono to shake out any wrinkles that may have developed during the trip. Her hands fold together and she waits for the other two to join her.
Xander steps down, helping his little sister down as well. The two Lapi seem a lot more comfortable than they did in Jashin - but this sort of town isn't so different, class-wise, from the area they grew up in Abu-Dhabi.
"Do you have preferences in the type of noodles or how spicy?" Umeko asks Nawar, "And do you remember enough imperial to order, or do you wish me to for you?"
"Hup!" Goro snaps the reins and the carriage rumbles away down the rutted street, leaving the three standing amidst the hustle and bustle of the market. Fish stare back glassy-eyed on beds of broad leaves or paper, and the mingled cries of fishmongers and other food vendors are constant. Though modest, each stand or stall has cloth flaglets draping from the eves.
"I.. there are different kinds?" the coney asks, suddenly shy. She even reaches out to hold Umeko's hand. "Not spicier than my mom's cooking.. maybe you should order for me?"
There do seem to be quite a lot of different kinds. One noodle vendor has thin looking noodles that he stir-fries with vegetable and oils (and meat, but it looks like he does different batches) in a pan that looks like it's made from something resembling a skedat shell. Another noodle vendor has a large stoneware pot in quick cooks soup with fat white noodles in a spicy-looking broth.
Another has pale white noodles that he fries crispy, and so on.
Umeko allows the lapi to take her hand, even if it isn't quite in the tradition of Jadai. She is obviously a foreigner and won't be scrutinized for variances in behavior. "There are many. Some are made from flour, others from rice. Some even from seaweed. You have given me a reference to work from, so lets see what we can find," the kiriga says as she starts walking in the market. Her gait is measured and smooth, making her appear to glide as she walks. Her earfans spread as she listens for cries that would indicate the stand specializes in mostly vegetarian noodle dishes, as Nawar or Xander would not appreciate fish. She also glances to the various flaglets. "This one looks promising," she says as she guides the two towards the stall where the thin noodles are being fried in oil with vegetables.
"She likes crunchy stuff," Xander whispers to Umeko from the other side of the Kiriga. "Good choice."
As the lapi and their kiriga guide approach, they can hear the proprietor calling out with his hand cupped to his mouth and a fistful of uncooked noodles held up. "Fresh buckwheat noodles, best quality! Come, come! Cheap and tasty! Hot fried noodles here!" It's a tan kiriga clad in an apron, his black hair bundled back and out of the way around small horns. Another kiriga works behind the stand as well, a woman in sandy colors with extra-long earfins and a webbed crest parting her hair. She expertly whisks a stoneware pan shaped like a conical dish around and around, oil being spritzed in and wisps of flame leaping up. Greens dance around in it, and what looks like chopped water chestnuts.
Xander seems fascinated by the crested woman. "Are there actually water-Kiriga?" he asks Umeko.
"Good afternoon," Umeko says to the tan Kiriga in lilting Imperial. "My young ... handmaiden has expressed her desire to partake of a noodle dish that is not too spicy. Her kind also does not consume fish or other meats well, so something with just vegetables would be preferred. Can your delightful shop provide her such? I would be most grateful." She doesn't bother asking the cost.
"There are some that bear unique body-growths that indicate some lineage to an aquatic life, yes," Umeo remarks to Xander quietly.
The noodle woman starts her reply without looking up. "Sure sure, sit. I'll cook it up with-.." When she does look up, she nearly drops the pan. "Oh! Husband!" The other kiriga doesn't notice, clearing away some bowls and making change for a customer who vacates one of the four stools in front of the stand, somewhat sheltered by the eves and flaglets. The noodle woman grabs her husband's arm and tugs. "Husband!" The other kiriga turns. "What's the ma-AH! I.. oh my goodness! What did we do?!" The other shopkeeper shakes her head quickly, and shoves her partner toward the stacks of bowls and stock. "Please, please sit! Welcome!"
"Not so different from home, eh?" Xander asks Nawar, who is more intent on watching how the Kiriga couple behave, for future reference.
Umeko releases Nawar's hand and quickly beings hers up, palms forward and fingers spread. "Please, please, you have done nothing wrong. I just wished to find a noodle dish that this child could eat," she says politely, "And you need not go to any extra effort on our behalf. She's also very thankful neither Nawar or Xander started laughing! "Ah, you two may sit," she tells the two lapi.
The two rabbits take a moment to figure out the seating style, figuring the low wooden stools are.. low wooden stools, and that they aren't supposed to kneel at the table this time.
"No, no, this is a rare honor!" insists the female cook, pouring the batch she was cooking into a clay pot and lidding it, then wiping spritzing water into her pan, making it sizzle. She wipes the smooth surface out with a clean rag. "What brings a noble to our humble stand? We don't see many, not even Lord Kameishi very often." She glances at the lapi to size them up, her crest lifting slightly. Xander's robes certainly get her attention, and she studies Nawar thoughtfully before rummaging through her jars. "Vegetables, vegetables... we can cook something delicious for your friends! Special!"
The male standkeeper has quickly gone to work as well, thumping a blob of fresh dough onto a wooden block dusted with flour. "I'll make a fresh batch, wife, just a minute!"
"I have unfortunately dragged them along with me on one of my many whims. Also, forgive my manners, I am Lady Umeko Tsuguri and these are two of my trusted friends and servants. Xander, Alumnus of the Sphere of Fire and his young sister, Nawar," Umeko admits as she finds a stool to settle herself upon. She doesn't just sit down, the way she moves makes it seem like her kimono is liquid as it flows down and around as she settles on the stool. "I am researching a family by the name of Minami. If you know anything of them I would be most grateful to learn of it."
The husband has begun quickly and expertly rolling the dough out into a flat shape using a long polished stick, which he nearly loses when he hears Xander's profession. He quickly snatches it back and tries to look like nothing happened, quickly shaping the dough into a thin rectangle. His wife has come up with several porous clay pots that were being kept cool, the sides damp. "Minami?" she says. "Why yes, there were a couple girls by that name that lived here years ago. I can't forget them, such bright silver, so pretty. They kept to themselves after their father died, it was heartbreaking. I tried to offer them a bowl for dinner once in a while, but only the younger one ever took me up, and she was very shy. Do your friends like pickles, or prefer fresh?"
"I like pickles," Nawar volunteers, recognizing the word.
Xander has been watching the food preparation more than listening. Probably thinking back to his time as a short-order cook in Enchanted Cuisine.
"They would like pickles," Umeko answers, translating to Imperial. "Yes, that would be them. The younger is now a student at the College Esoterica, focusing on the Sphere of Water. I have met her," she explains as she folds her hands into her lap. "Can you tell me much of their father or their mother?"
"Oh my! Is that why a mage is with you? He looks very regal in those robes. For a mammal. So exotic!" The crested kiriga smiles at Xander and Nawar, and then produces what looks like a few tiny crackers glazed in something sweet-smelling, offering them to the coney. The husband, meanwhile, has folded and layered his dough, dusted with flour, and begun chopping the edges rapidly with a ceramic cleaver, chokchokchokchokchokchokchokchokchokchok. Before long, a pile of raw noodles has grown, and they get the flour dusted away and a light twist. The wife continues, "I wish I could say I knew them well. I didn't see much of their mother, I heard she was frail and in poor health. She seemed sweet and kind the rare times I saw her. Their father was out at sea most of the time, the fishermen would have known him better."
Nawar knows a cookie when it's offered to her, and bows gratefully as she accepts the treats. Xander is still straining his neck to watch the noodle preparation with interest.
"Why Mage Xander is with me is a very long story that I should not take up too much of your time with," Umeko says with a polite smile, "It was more that I was with him when he was taking his latest test there. We had just returned from a rather trying trip. It was there that I met and befriended the young Minami. I have taken an interest in their family, for both personal and historical reasons and have been seeking out what I can of them. From what little you knew of their father and mother, would you have called them an honorable family?"
The female cook ladles some oil into her clean pan, which smokes a bit, still hot from earlier use, and she briskly swishes it around to coat it evenly. Crushed garlic is tossed in, soon followed by pickled veggies of various kinds. A dollop of redder oil and some shakes of dried spice go in as well, the scent rising from the sizzling pan spicy and savory. Stoneware as it is, the pan must be quite heavy, but the woman's arms seem to have been built up from the practice. "Well, they were a little withdrawn, I'm not sure why. From what I could tell, though, they were just as honest as any other villager in Arashimura. It's not easy making a living on that ocean, so every man that goes out there is working hard no matter what. The Minami woman kept a neat house from what I could tell. It's on the edge of town toward the docks. I guess empty, now. Pity."
"Mm, I will have to go see it. There may be keepsakes one of the daughters would want," Umeko says after some careful consideration. "Do you know what happened to the father? My understanding was he was lost at sea?"
The buck can't help it, and stands up. He moves closer to the food preparation area, and then bows to the husband. "Forgive my intrusion - but I was never able to get noodles right when I was a cook. May I watch?"
The woman nods gravely. "There was a terrible storm. Arashimura is the village in the storm's path, and we are proud of how strong our seafarers are, but the sea is powerful too, and some of our fishermen did not come back that day, among them Minami-san. This is a fact of life that we live with." The vegetables in the pan have been browned on a few sides, onions gone translucent. The woman takes the handful of noodles her husband had prepared, and drops them into the pan, tossing them so that the oil coats them well as they cook. The kiriga man looks up from his work to look back at Xander, tilting his head a little and bowing in return. After following Xander's eyes down, he says, "Ah!" He holds up a hand, then rummages under the stand, coming up back up with bowls of buckwheat and a lighter flour, making sure Xander is watching when he mixes them in a specific proportion.
"Mine always fell apart," Xander explains, as he watches.. slightly jealous that the reptile doesn't have to wear gloves to work with flower like a Lapi does.
"Life itself is never predictable and fickle with lives," Umeko says with a sage nod about the storm that came. "And many have to stand in its path and be lost in the storm to protect others. This is true of the sea, of war, and even of simpler things. It is the hard times that define us and that make the sweeter ones all the better when they come."
The mixed flour does look crumbly, but the noodle man lifts a pitcher of water to show Xander, and begins pouring some in a little at a time, then mixing with his hands, adding more, mixing, gradually adding water until the doe has become a smooth consistency. The way he mooshes it together seems to be from the base up and then the top down. The consistency seems to make it hold together fairly well despite the less sticky nature of the dough. He's quick to take the blob out and begin the flattening process, showing Xander a stick with about half an inch marked by the reptile's thumb.
"It is just so," says the noodlematron, nodding sage agreement. "I am lucky, and my husband and I are fairly safe making our noodles up and away from the sea, but even we've seen storms that blow down houses and bring the sea rushing in almost to the rice fields."
"I hope that your stall never finds itself without its ingredients. You have taken noodles to an art and it would be a crime to have it destroyed. I am certain I could never equal the skill at which you prepare them. I also hope that you have a family that will take up your traditions? It is always a time of sorrow when any skill, art, or history, is lost to the decay of time," Umeko says.
"Ah, I always followed a recipe, and mixed the water in all at once.." Xander notes, smiling as he figures out the problem.
The woman laughs, barely looking at her pan as she tosses the contents around, cooking them evenly until the noodles have a certain crispness to them, but are soft enough to still bend. They form a bed for the vegetables when the woman slides the meal onto a square wooden plate, arranged surprisingly neatly for being a big pile of noodles and veggies. The woman puts a bright red daub of chili sauce in the corner, and a thin slice of carrot cut into a spiral to decorate the edge. "Well, I don't really get to cook like this very often, most of the fishermen and merchants aren't looking for anything fancy. We'll be here for the rest of our lives, and happy that way. I have a daughter in law that's learning, my son dives for seaweed and clams." A pair of chopsticks are placed alongside the dish, and a finishing touch of sesame seeds is dusted over the dish. It smells peppery and savory, with a hint of tartness from the pickled tidbits.
Mr. Noodles has meanwhile spread the dough out again with that big rolling-pin-log of his, and squared off the edges. When he folds it into layers, he shows Xander how he adds a dusting of flour between them, and a little section where he didn't add flour and the dough stuck. Folded like this, he's able to chop along the edges with his cleaver held at a slight angle, and noodles simply fall right off into a growing pile.
"There is your answer about water-Kiriga," Umeko tells Xander when the woman speaks of her diving son. To the woman, she says, "I envy the simplicity of your life and the ease at which you find happiness. Mine is ... complicated. Many expectations and obligations. I can only pray that some day I will be as content as you and your husband are."
"You make it look so simple," Xander admits, grinning. "I had to do it from a description in a book."
"The most skilled indovidual will always make the task seem effortless," Umeko waxes, "Though to make it seem simple, years must be invested in perfecting the technique."
"There is skill in teaching as well," Xander notes. "I'm sure he has slowed it down and simplified it a bit for me.."
Umeko politely does not comment on Xander and being slow...
"It looks very pretty, like art," Nawar notes of the dish.
"Everything is art, Nawar. Now eat your noodles before they get cold," Umeko tells the small lapi.
The kirigai man beams, certainly catching the general idea of the impression he's made. He reaches under the stand for a sheet of clean white paper, and efficiently wraps the bundle of fresh noodles up, tying it off with a bit of string and offering it with both hands to Xander.
The Lapi returns the bow and accepts the noodles, thinking of how to cook them later. "I like this town," he notes to Umeko.
Logfile from Envoy. (OOC) Log start: d:\logs\2011-6-25_umeko_xander_southern_jadai.htmlThe rest of the evening at the Blushed Pala is spent taking the lessons Umeko asked for, first some advice while they're finishing tea, and then more direct training after tea is finished. By then, Nawar has arrives, and there's plenty to keep busy until late at night. Mitsuko finds Umeko is fairly familiar with what would be considered the basics, so soon moves on to more subtle social mores and signals. Much of what Umeko is shown are skills she wasn't able to cultivate at home with the maids: the expected skills of applying makeup and scale laquer, more exotic styles of zolk and hair dressing, and refinement building on things Umeko was already taught about posture and poise. That part is more or less impenetrable to Xander. However, what Umeko might not have expected is Mitsuko explaining the business side of luxury, showing Umeko how she balances books, orders and secures food, drink, and other materials, how she organizes the girls... this part Xander might recognize from his family's business ba
background. "Don't try too hard to remember all of this," Mitsuko said, after it was time to turn in. "Much of it comes with practice, this is just a place to start." The night is spent in clean and ocmfortable floor-level beds stuffed with seed hulls... or at least they're offered. Only Nawar was actually obliged to go to bed, after she'd returned from being dressed up and doted on by hostesses that weren't on duty.
Breakfast is early and light, much of it fresh fruit and sticky rice, and by the time Umeko and Xander are ready to leave, there are bento boxes waiting for them to take for their trip. It's slightly awkward because the maids have prepared lunches at home as well when they learn that drokkar and possibly a carriage were to be made ready.
Xander is very careful not to get anything in his freshly groomed (and shiny) fur. "That was very educational and ... frustrating," the buck whispers to Umeko. "But I think Nawar can help with your makeup and such now."
Umeko realizes a way to avoid offending anyone buy graciously accepting the bento boxes from the Pala even with others prepared for the carriage. "We can give the extra good to people during travel, as a thank you for information or being kind enough to tolerate our questions," she notes quietly to Xander before he has any chance to refuse the food. "And as for frustrating, I do understand there are ways to deal with that for your kind. The pain is supposedly only temporary," she tells him. Before Xander can reply her attention shifts to Mitsuko. "Thank you once more dear friend for your hospitality. Though the visit was only a day, I will remember and treasure it," she says to the hostess as she bows, "And that also goes for your beautiful and perfectly mannered girls. Thank you all for making everyone feel welcome."
"May you return to us soon. Farewell, my friends," says Mitsuko, sharing the same bow, and soon kiriga and lapi are back home, only to prepare to go out yet again. By the time they're ready, a carriage is waiting for them, and in a concession to her parents and to her station, a guard sits at the reins. An earthy brown with black hair tied into a short top knot, he waits patiently, and smiles when he sees his passengers. "Good morning, Lady Tsuguri," he says, with the practiced enthusiasm that all the servants have. He looks cheerful enough, and while he's no Komodo, he still looks broad enough and stout enough to use the large stone club leaning in the seat next to him, carved with flat sides that keep it from rolling around.
Umeko bows slightly to the guard as a polite courtesy. "Good Morning to you, Goro. I see the year has not changed your ability to look intimidating to all except those who know you," she says to him as a playful smile creeps across her lips. "I promise to try to keep out of trouble. I know that sounds unlike me ... but the year has changed me."
Helping Nawar up into the carriage, Xander waits to see if Umeko needs a hand up or not... and wonders if the roads hold any dangers, if a guard is their driver.
Umeko, seeing that Xander is waiting to offer help actually accepts it. Perhaps this is to help convince the guard that yes, Umeko will behave herself...
Once Umeko is onto the carriage, the Lapi follows.
Thankfully, this carriage seems to be designed more for a measured pace in the countryside than then breakneck careening of a selona. A couple handsome drokkar are hitched instead, hides shining and eyes alert. Goro's smile broadens a little. "You've commanded much greater fighting men than me, mistress. I'm not sure I'd dare to tell you not to climb the fountain rocks anymore. I'll try to keep your squishy looking friends safe too, though."
"Squishy?" Xander mutters under his breath.
"I would appreciate that, thank you. The taller one has a tendency to try and explode," Umeko claims as she settles herself down in one of the benches. "Though... he did earn the respect of the mage, Pyrelighter, so that is something."
Xander grins for being considered tall. Well, taller than his little sister, but the 'tall' was in there all the same.
Xander isn't actually much shorter than Goro, though the kiriga is much broader and probably has eighty pounds on him, or so. "Well, I'm sure this will be an easy trip. It will be nice to get out into the countryside," says Goro. With his passengers bundled in, the carriage winds its way out of the Tsuguri gate. It's mid-morning, and the hustle and bustle of Jadai makes it slow going for a while, but the foot traffic thins out the further south they go, until the carriage is rolling and creaking along a dirt road passing through farmland. Peasant kirigai wade amongst their rice plants and through their millet fields or tea bushes, and the sounds and scents of the city are left behind. The road goes up and down hills more or less due south, and after several hours of a brisk pace, the coast comes in to meet them, and the road begins following it.
"Will we see plum trees?" Nawar asks, intent on hanging over the side to see as much as possible.
Umeko passed the time making small talk with Nawar about silly little nothings or looked out over the passing countryside. When the coast comes into view, she finally asks Goro, "HAs much happened in my absence? I do not know of any local news. I hope my disappearance did not cause too much of a stir or the guards too much grief. I sincerely hope you did not face my Father's anger when I went missing."
At the notion of Lord Tsuguri's anger, Xander checks Goro for obvious bite marks.
"Well, I didn't, and though I worried for Xiao, she didn't either. The head yojimbo took the blame onto himself, and was ashamed, but your father, in his wrath, would not let him commit suicide," says Goro, his normally jovial voice serious. There aren't any plum trees to be seen yet, but there is a persimmon tree that has some of the unusual tomato-like fruit still on it.
"Who is a yojimbo?" Xander has to ask, not being familiar with that position in a Jadaiian household.
"That is good. I would not wish anyone to die on the account of my actions," Umeko replies in an even tone. From the lapi's viewpoint, though, she doesn't look particularly happy with the news. "The Yojimbo is the head bodyguard of a household, Xander," Umeko answers for Goro. "I should also visit him and offer him an apology for the difficulties I caused him."
"How do you apologize for something like that?" Xander asks. "Wouldn't that.. make it worse, somehow? I'm not clear on how it works yet.."
"It is something I will have to think on," Umeko answers a bit vaguely.
"I could bake him a cake," Nawar offers.
"I am not sure that would work," Umeko admits, "But perhaps he would accept it on the fact you're not Jadaian."
"It couldn't hurt," Xander chimes in. "Do you like cake, Goro?"
Goro rolls his broad shoulders. "Now and then, though I'm not really so much for rich, sweet stuff. I don't want to get all squishy."
"His job is to be intimidating. That is difficult when someone can roll you home," Umeko says with a sage nod. "It was often his job to look the other way when I was doing things people disproved of. Or well, at least pretend to have not seen it."
"Umeko doesn't think I'm squishy," Xander counters, then looks at Umeko.. worried that she does think he's squishy.
Umeko's answer is to reach over and poke him in the stomach.
"That's the only squishy part," the buck claims.
"Other parts get squishy when you get tired," Umeko mutters to the lapi, then gives him a look.
"When I'm older, I will have squishy parts," Nawar claims proudly. This upsets Xander more than the poking did. "That's thankfully a long way off," the older brother notes.
"Wait... how do you know unless you're.. checking me out?" Xander asks Umeko.
"I've tired you out," Umeko remarks quietly, then elbows him.
"That's only temporary squishiness," Xander claims, then snaps his jaw shut. He doesn't know how much of the conversation Goro understands.
One can almost see Goro trying to screen this part of the conversation out of what he's hearing, and he says, "Well, Lord Tsuguri did not accept his requests to die or resign, and I think in the end he did not blame his yojimbo. After all, his job may have been to protect the family, you included, but it really isn't our place to protect you from your own decisions. Seems like it'd be presuming, you know? So he still serves, but between you and me, maybe it would be good for him to hear it from you."
"My choices are my own and I accept the consequences of them, just as I did when I led the Imperial Army," Umeko notes, "And I agree I should at the very least speak with him on the matter to lay it completely to rest."
"You could make him soup," Nawar suggests. "Wait.. I mean tea. A formal tea ceremony, like at the Pala."
Goro returns his attention to the trail, turning into a fork that brings the carriage away from the inland. The trees and hills eventually break to allow glimpses of the sea, until finally the carriage emerges to roll along the edge of a bluff overlooking the ocean, the coast broken up between stretches of rocky cliff and smooth beaches. Further down the coast, one can make out roofs against the horizon, and sails dotting the water. The stocky kiriga points a stubby finger. "Arashimura's up there, is that where your friends lived? Village in the storm, sometimes it's called the defiant village. The fishing there is very good, but it's withstood some beatings from the sea."
For the most part Umeko has grown a bit mroe silent as she watches the landscape changed. This is likely the first time she has ever seen these lands given that she was kept relatively secluded in the estate, save for when she would sneak out. "It is quite likely where they lived, given what I have learned of their family history," Umeko replies, her silence broken by the large reptile's indication of the seaside town. "Will we be viewed with distrust when we enter the village? I am not knowledgeable on the current political views of the southern coast."
"You'll stand out a bit, mistress. These are working class people," says Goro, glancing over his shoulder. "But honest ones. They'll respect you."
"Mm, perhaps I should have invested in a disguise of some sort," Umeko muses, "But then masking my appearance is not simple. Still, it sounds like there will be no hostility, which is my main concern. Respect will be mutual."
"I can smell the fish already," Nawar claims, in a not-disgusted manner. Xander seems lost in thought, but then asks, "How many fingers will they have?"
"One less than me, generally," Umeko notes, "Unless they have some noble lineage. that trait holds common to all the island as I understand it."
"Goro, what noble holds sway over these lands? It would be expected that we introduce ourselves," Umeko says.
The carriage rolls down to the village, between some modest fields that must supplement the fishermen's catches. It's very different from Jashin, even from Jashin's poorer section. It's small enough to see that the biggest structures are still very modest, and small houses dot the town limits. Structures here are built from more and heavier wood than the ones in Jashin, some even with stone, likely due to the storms. Right now, though, it's sunny, and the light is bright on plain screens and parasols. "Hm? I think it's Lord Kameishi. If I remember right, he has a summer home here, but doesn't really spend that much time administrating. He works more back at Jashin, negotiating trade for his province, so while he tries to provide for and protect his subjects, he mostly leaves them to their own devices for day to day stuff."
"It still looks pretty clean and orderly," Xander notes as he takes in the view. "Do you know if there is much crime or violence here?"
"Mm, the town magistrate will know if he is in lodging or not, then. If he is not then we need not concern ourselves with a formal introduction," Umeko muses and bobs her head in reptilian acknowledgement. She casts a glance to Xander and says, "Crime is not that common except where foreigners have come and brought outside difficulties. Our culture is one of order and honor, which keeps acts of dishonor at a minimum."
"Everyone knows their place, you mean?" the buck asks.
"You make it sound cruel. It is not so harsh as that. People are respectful of others," Umeko claims.
"Out of tradition though, not.. merit?" Xander asks, unsure of the wording. "It isn't just a matter of wealth, but actual anatomy. You are born into nobility or you aren't, and there's no earning a title if you don't have the right number of fingers, right?"
Goro nods agreement. "Actual crime in town is pretty rare. I suppose, to describe it to an outsider, it's that everyone knows everyone and there isn't much incentive to try to steal from one another. Rare bouts of violence are usually from outsiders, masterless warriors passing through and getting drunk, or dueling. The occasional group of bandits, common enough everywhere and handled by the local metsuke and okappiki."
"Not entirely so," Umeko explains, "There are tales of those who's great deeds earned them boons and position. Great acts are rewarded, regardless of current station as strength of will is a prized attribute.. There are also legends where 'love' that transcended societal position and through the efforts of both, found acceptance in their society."
The carriage rumbles down the main thoroughfare amidst the village buildings and villagers themselves, who give the riders curious looks. The main drag leads through a fish market with plenty of seafood on display, and merchants trading for it. Most of it is fish. Some of it is less recognizeable, with suction cups and tendrils and spines and so forth. There's also a few noodle stands, and an inn.
"Really? I didn't think the upper class would be very.. romantic," Xander admits. Nawar just rolls her eyes. She's more interested in the noodle stands than stories of love and heroism right now.
"The upper class also do not often sneak away on a ship and end up defeating an enemy of the empire, either," Umeko points out. "There are always exceptions."
"Well, that's just youthful enthusiasm," Xander claims with a grin.
Despite the overpowering smell of fish, the noodle stands do get through with wafts of spicy scents and steamed buns. Their owners call out in Jadian accented imperial to draw in customers.
"Do you want some noodles, Nawar?" Umeko asks as her head tilts a bit and listens to the shop criers.
"I would very much like to try some, mistress Umeko," the coney replies, and gives a little bow of her head.
Umeko reaches forward and taps Goro's shoulder. "Stop when it is convenient please," she requests.
Goro brings the carriage to a halt, turning in the seat. "Why don't I go see if the magistrate knows whether Lord Kameishi is in residence? I can drop you all here and then go stable and feed the drokar."
"That would be very helpful, thank you Goro," Umeko agrees as she rises, then delicately steps down from their wagon. She does a short and subtle bob of her entire body to get her kimono to shake out any wrinkles that may have developed during the trip. Her hands fold together and she waits for the other two to join her.
Xander steps down, helping his little sister down as well. The two Lapi seem a lot more comfortable than they did in Jashin - but this sort of town isn't so different, class-wise, from the area they grew up in Abu-Dhabi.
"Do you have preferences in the type of noodles or how spicy?" Umeko asks Nawar, "And do you remember enough imperial to order, or do you wish me to for you?"
"Hup!" Goro snaps the reins and the carriage rumbles away down the rutted street, leaving the three standing amidst the hustle and bustle of the market. Fish stare back glassy-eyed on beds of broad leaves or paper, and the mingled cries of fishmongers and other food vendors are constant. Though modest, each stand or stall has cloth flaglets draping from the eves.
"I.. there are different kinds?" the coney asks, suddenly shy. She even reaches out to hold Umeko's hand. "Not spicier than my mom's cooking.. maybe you should order for me?"
There do seem to be quite a lot of different kinds. One noodle vendor has thin looking noodles that he stir-fries with vegetable and oils (and meat, but it looks like he does different batches) in a pan that looks like it's made from something resembling a skedat shell. Another noodle vendor has a large stoneware pot in quick cooks soup with fat white noodles in a spicy-looking broth.
Another has pale white noodles that he fries crispy, and so on.
Umeko allows the lapi to take her hand, even if it isn't quite in the tradition of Jadai. She is obviously a foreigner and won't be scrutinized for variances in behavior. "There are many. Some are made from flour, others from rice. Some even from seaweed. You have given me a reference to work from, so lets see what we can find," the kiriga says as she starts walking in the market. Her gait is measured and smooth, making her appear to glide as she walks. Her earfans spread as she listens for cries that would indicate the stand specializes in mostly vegetarian noodle dishes, as Nawar or Xander would not appreciate fish. She also glances to the various flaglets. "This one looks promising," she says as she guides the two towards the stall where the thin noodles are being fried in oil with vegetables.
"She likes crunchy stuff," Xander whispers to Umeko from the other side of the Kiriga. "Good choice."
As the lapi and their kiriga guide approach, they can hear the proprietor calling out with his hand cupped to his mouth and a fistful of uncooked noodles held up. "Fresh buckwheat noodles, best quality! Come, come! Cheap and tasty! Hot fried noodles here!" It's a tan kiriga clad in an apron, his black hair bundled back and out of the way around small horns. Another kiriga works behind the stand as well, a woman in sandy colors with extra-long earfins and a webbed crest parting her hair. She expertly whisks a stoneware pan shaped like a conical dish around and around, oil being spritzed in and wisps of flame leaping up. Greens dance around in it, and what looks like chopped water chestnuts.
Xander seems fascinated by the crested woman. "Are there actually water-Kiriga?" he asks Umeko.
"Good afternoon," Umeko says to the tan Kiriga in lilting Imperial. "My young ... handmaiden has expressed her desire to partake of a noodle dish that is not too spicy. Her kind also does not consume fish or other meats well, so something with just vegetables would be preferred. Can your delightful shop provide her such? I would be most grateful." She doesn't bother asking the cost.
"There are some that bear unique body-growths that indicate some lineage to an aquatic life, yes," Umeo remarks to Xander quietly.
The noodle woman starts her reply without looking up. "Sure sure, sit. I'll cook it up with-.." When she does look up, she nearly drops the pan. "Oh! Husband!" The other kiriga doesn't notice, clearing away some bowls and making change for a customer who vacates one of the four stools in front of the stand, somewhat sheltered by the eves and flaglets. The noodle woman grabs her husband's arm and tugs. "Husband!" The other kiriga turns. "What's the ma-AH! I.. oh my goodness! What did we do?!" The other shopkeeper shakes her head quickly, and shoves her partner toward the stacks of bowls and stock. "Please, please sit! Welcome!"
"Not so different from home, eh?" Xander asks Nawar, who is more intent on watching how the Kiriga couple behave, for future reference.
Umeko releases Nawar's hand and quickly beings hers up, palms forward and fingers spread. "Please, please, you have done nothing wrong. I just wished to find a noodle dish that this child could eat," she says politely, "And you need not go to any extra effort on our behalf. She's also very thankful neither Nawar or Xander started laughing! "Ah, you two may sit," she tells the two lapi.
The two rabbits take a moment to figure out the seating style, figuring the low wooden stools are.. low wooden stools, and that they aren't supposed to kneel at the table this time.
"No, no, this is a rare honor!" insists the female cook, pouring the batch she was cooking into a clay pot and lidding it, then wiping spritzing water into her pan, making it sizzle. She wipes the smooth surface out with a clean rag. "What brings a noble to our humble stand? We don't see many, not even Lord Kameishi very often." She glances at the lapi to size them up, her crest lifting slightly. Xander's robes certainly get her attention, and she studies Nawar thoughtfully before rummaging through her jars. "Vegetables, vegetables... we can cook something delicious for your friends! Special!"
The male standkeeper has quickly gone to work as well, thumping a blob of fresh dough onto a wooden block dusted with flour. "I'll make a fresh batch, wife, just a minute!"
"I have unfortunately dragged them along with me on one of my many whims. Also, forgive my manners, I am Lady Umeko Tsuguri and these are two of my trusted friends and servants. Xander, Alumnus of the Sphere of Fire and his young sister, Nawar," Umeko admits as she finds a stool to settle herself upon. She doesn't just sit down, the way she moves makes it seem like her kimono is liquid as it flows down and around as she settles on the stool. "I am researching a family by the name of Minami. If you know anything of them I would be most grateful to learn of it."
The husband has begun quickly and expertly rolling the dough out into a flat shape using a long polished stick, which he nearly loses when he hears Xander's profession. He quickly snatches it back and tries to look like nothing happened, quickly shaping the dough into a thin rectangle. His wife has come up with several porous clay pots that were being kept cool, the sides damp. "Minami?" she says. "Why yes, there were a couple girls by that name that lived here years ago. I can't forget them, such bright silver, so pretty. They kept to themselves after their father died, it was heartbreaking. I tried to offer them a bowl for dinner once in a while, but only the younger one ever took me up, and she was very shy. Do your friends like pickles, or prefer fresh?"
"I like pickles," Nawar volunteers, recognizing the word.
Xander has been watching the food preparation more than listening. Probably thinking back to his time as a short-order cook in Enchanted Cuisine.
"They would like pickles," Umeko answers, translating to Imperial. "Yes, that would be them. The younger is now a student at the College Esoterica, focusing on the Sphere of Water. I have met her," she explains as she folds her hands into her lap. "Can you tell me much of their father or their mother?"
"Oh my! Is that why a mage is with you? He looks very regal in those robes. For a mammal. So exotic!" The crested kiriga smiles at Xander and Nawar, and then produces what looks like a few tiny crackers glazed in something sweet-smelling, offering them to the coney. The husband, meanwhile, has folded and layered his dough, dusted with flour, and begun chopping the edges rapidly with a ceramic cleaver, chokchokchokchokchokchokchokchokchokchok. Before long, a pile of raw noodles has grown, and they get the flour dusted away and a light twist. The wife continues, "I wish I could say I knew them well. I didn't see much of their mother, I heard she was frail and in poor health. She seemed sweet and kind the rare times I saw her. Their father was out at sea most of the time, the fishermen would have known him better."
Nawar knows a cookie when it's offered to her, and bows gratefully as she accepts the treats. Xander is still straining his neck to watch the noodle preparation with interest.
"Why Mage Xander is with me is a very long story that I should not take up too much of your time with," Umeko says with a polite smile, "It was more that I was with him when he was taking his latest test there. We had just returned from a rather trying trip. It was there that I met and befriended the young Minami. I have taken an interest in their family, for both personal and historical reasons and have been seeking out what I can of them. From what little you knew of their father and mother, would you have called them an honorable family?"
The female cook ladles some oil into her clean pan, which smokes a bit, still hot from earlier use, and she briskly swishes it around to coat it evenly. Crushed garlic is tossed in, soon followed by pickled veggies of various kinds. A dollop of redder oil and some shakes of dried spice go in as well, the scent rising from the sizzling pan spicy and savory. Stoneware as it is, the pan must be quite heavy, but the woman's arms seem to have been built up from the practice. "Well, they were a little withdrawn, I'm not sure why. From what I could tell, though, they were just as honest as any other villager in Arashimura. It's not easy making a living on that ocean, so every man that goes out there is working hard no matter what. The Minami woman kept a neat house from what I could tell. It's on the edge of town toward the docks. I guess empty, now. Pity."
"Mm, I will have to go see it. There may be keepsakes one of the daughters would want," Umeko says after some careful consideration. "Do you know what happened to the father? My understanding was he was lost at sea?"
The buck can't help it, and stands up. He moves closer to the food preparation area, and then bows to the husband. "Forgive my intrusion - but I was never able to get noodles right when I was a cook. May I watch?"
The woman nods gravely. "There was a terrible storm. Arashimura is the village in the storm's path, and we are proud of how strong our seafarers are, but the sea is powerful too, and some of our fishermen did not come back that day, among them Minami-san. This is a fact of life that we live with." The vegetables in the pan have been browned on a few sides, onions gone translucent. The woman takes the handful of noodles her husband had prepared, and drops them into the pan, tossing them so that the oil coats them well as they cook. The kiriga man looks up from his work to look back at Xander, tilting his head a little and bowing in return. After following Xander's eyes down, he says, "Ah!" He holds up a hand, then rummages under the stand, coming up back up with bowls of buckwheat and a lighter flour, making sure Xander is watching when he mixes them in a specific proportion.
"Mine always fell apart," Xander explains, as he watches.. slightly jealous that the reptile doesn't have to wear gloves to work with flower like a Lapi does.
"Life itself is never predictable and fickle with lives," Umeko says with a sage nod about the storm that came. "And many have to stand in its path and be lost in the storm to protect others. This is true of the sea, of war, and even of simpler things. It is the hard times that define us and that make the sweeter ones all the better when they come."
The mixed flour does look crumbly, but the noodle man lifts a pitcher of water to show Xander, and begins pouring some in a little at a time, then mixing with his hands, adding more, mixing, gradually adding water until the doe has become a smooth consistency. The way he mooshes it together seems to be from the base up and then the top down. The consistency seems to make it hold together fairly well despite the less sticky nature of the dough. He's quick to take the blob out and begin the flattening process, showing Xander a stick with about half an inch marked by the reptile's thumb.
"It is just so," says the noodlematron, nodding sage agreement. "I am lucky, and my husband and I are fairly safe making our noodles up and away from the sea, but even we've seen storms that blow down houses and bring the sea rushing in almost to the rice fields."
"I hope that your stall never finds itself without its ingredients. You have taken noodles to an art and it would be a crime to have it destroyed. I am certain I could never equal the skill at which you prepare them. I also hope that you have a family that will take up your traditions? It is always a time of sorrow when any skill, art, or history, is lost to the decay of time," Umeko says.
"Ah, I always followed a recipe, and mixed the water in all at once.." Xander notes, smiling as he figures out the problem.
The woman laughs, barely looking at her pan as she tosses the contents around, cooking them evenly until the noodles have a certain crispness to them, but are soft enough to still bend. They form a bed for the vegetables when the woman slides the meal onto a square wooden plate, arranged surprisingly neatly for being a big pile of noodles and veggies. The woman puts a bright red daub of chili sauce in the corner, and a thin slice of carrot cut into a spiral to decorate the edge. "Well, I don't really get to cook like this very often, most of the fishermen and merchants aren't looking for anything fancy. We'll be here for the rest of our lives, and happy that way. I have a daughter in law that's learning, my son dives for seaweed and clams." A pair of chopsticks are placed alongside the dish, and a finishing touch of sesame seeds is dusted over the dish. It smells peppery and savory, with a hint of tartness from the pickled tidbits.
Mr. Noodles has meanwhile spread the dough out again with that big rolling-pin-log of his, and squared off the edges. When he folds it into layers, he shows Xander how he adds a dusting of flour between them, and a little section where he didn't add flour and the dough stuck. Folded like this, he's able to chop along the edges with his cleaver held at a slight angle, and noodles simply fall right off into a growing pile.
"There is your answer about water-Kiriga," Umeko tells Xander when the woman speaks of her diving son. To the woman, she says, "I envy the simplicity of your life and the ease at which you find happiness. Mine is ... complicated. Many expectations and obligations. I can only pray that some day I will be as content as you and your husband are."
"You make it look so simple," Xander admits, grinning. "I had to do it from a description in a book."
"The most skilled indovidual will always make the task seem effortless," Umeko waxes, "Though to make it seem simple, years must be invested in perfecting the technique."
"There is skill in teaching as well," Xander notes. "I'm sure he has slowed it down and simplified it a bit for me.."
Umeko politely does not comment on Xander and being slow...
"It looks very pretty, like art," Nawar notes of the dish.
"Everything is art, Nawar. Now eat your noodles before they get cold," Umeko tells the small lapi.
The kirigai man beams, certainly catching the general idea of the impression he's made. He reaches under the stand for a sheet of clean white paper, and efficiently wraps the bundle of fresh noodles up, tying it off with a bit of string and offering it with both hands to Xander.
The Lapi returns the bow and accepts the noodles, thinking of how to cook them later. "I like this town," he notes to Umeko.