abraxaslogs | Open December Catchall

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Open December Catchall

WHO: Nadine and OPEN
WHAT: Horizon and Nott catchall for the month
WHEN: December
WHERE: Nott and The Horizon
WARNINGS: Will add as needed!

Nott

When not working - and with the weather turning, she's working more hours - Nadine can be found in the common room of the inn with a warm drink and a book, or at the lake's edge with a basket and heavy boots and cloak, gathering ingredients for the herbalist she works for, or behind the inn practicing with her fire magic. And of course she can be found at Nan Maeda's Tonics and Tinctures, the herbalist healer's shop where she's found employment. She mostly collects and prepares ingredients for her elderly employer, but she's learning and that's as important as the money.

Horizon

With the coming of the cold months, Nadine's domain reflects the season. Gone are the autumn leaves and the blue skies, snow covering the little slice of New England town that she's created for herself. The sky is overcast and white string lights and garlands have begun appearing. There's a towering Christmas tree in the square in front of the white wooden church, and the shop windows have old fashioned holiday displays in them. It bears a striking resemblance to something Norman Rockwell would have painted.

Nadine herself is often in the square, at the gazebo by the skeletal carousel, or in her own little cottage at the edge of 'town'. Easily identified as hers, as it's the only home with a shoveled walk and puffs of smoke coming out of the chimney. Sometimes the smell of baking or sound of music wafts out...

(Specific starters in comments, hit me up if you'd like one!)

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[Nadine's a bit surprised at the note from Ciri, and curious. What sort of favor could the young woman want from her? She immediately assumes it's a request to send healing supplies, or something along those lines. Or maybe finding out something in Thorne, considering her location. Her mind, honed as it is by experience, assumes something's wrong.

So she's waiting at the time Ciri specified, dressed in a white knit sweater and black ankle length skirt. She's watching for the girl, and stands when she sees her approach.]

Hey. I'm fine. Is everything okay?

[ In fairness, Ciri could have specified it's nothing major, but she didn't think of that. As she approaches, she doesn't look upset, though. She looks rather cheerful, in fact. ]

Always a relief to hear. Everything's fine on our end as well.

I wanted to ask you a favor. I'd like to recreate the chocolate drink you showed me last time.

[ She says the word like it doesn't fit familiarly in her mouth, having heard it only the once before, but it seems the drink itself left an impression. ]

Will you show me how?

Oh!

[Nadine actually laughs in sudden relief. No crisis, no problems, Ciri just wants to know about hot chocolate.]

Yeah, sure. It's not hard to make, at all. A little time consuming if you do it the old fashioned way, but it's not too bad.

[She comes down the gazebo steps and gestures for Ciri to follow her. The term 'recreate it' implies more than just conjuring it up using the magic of the Horizon. This calls for a proper demonstration, one she can provide in her own little kitchen. It's...fine, to let people in her own home. She has nothing to be ashamed of and no reason to keep it some sanctuary of isolation.]

There's all sorts of things you can do with chocolate, you know.

Really?

[ Ciri's face breaks into a grin, and it makes her look younger suddenly, the hard edges softened. She walks beside Nadine with an eager energy to her steps, just hoping she'll be able to find everything she needs. ]

I asked around at market. An exotic spices merchant told me he has 'powdered cacao,' which from his description and the smell seemed similar to me. I believe the rest is milk and... sugar? It was sweet. But I thought it'd be best to go to the expert.

[ Congrats, Nadine. Now you are the hot chocolate expert. ]

Really. Chocolate cookies, chocolate cake...brownies. It's the most popular dessert where I come from.

[The amount of things Americans made with or covered in chocolate is too long to list. But the basics are a good place to start, as far as Nadine's concerned. Ciri's likely going to learn about a lot more than just a hot chocolate drink. She doesn't think the younger woman will mind, judging by her excitement.]

And that's pretty much it. Cacao, sugar, and milk makes chocolate. How much sugar and milk controls how sweet or how dark it is.

[She leads them through the decorated, snow covered town to the outskirts, where the little handful of blocks starts petering out into fields that lead to farms and woods. There's a little cottage there, with a cleared front path and a sense of lived in about it that the other residential buildings are lacking.]

[ Ciri has no idea what brownies are, but at this point, she doesn't ask. It's already a lot of information, and she doesn't want to distract from her mission. There is an important task at hand!

She follows, peering around at the little village with its slightly strange buildings and unfamiliar architecture; even so, it does feel homey, even if it is empty. ]

Thanks. I can definitely get all those ingredients. If it's so simple to make, I doubt I'll need to take up much of your time.

It's fine, I'm not busy.

[A warm smile accompanies the words, as though in reassurance. Nadine leads Ciri into her little house, front door opening into a tidy little kitchen. There's a few garlands strung about, and red and white candles set up decoratively.]

Come on in.

[There isn't much more to the little cottage - a door leads to the main living room, in the same style as the kitchen, the furniture mostly white and muted pinks and pale browns. There's more personal touches there, a bookshelf is visible from the doorway, and a few framed photos are set on the side table by the old fashioned looking couch. The stairs go from the kitchen up to the loft bedroom.]

Make yourself comfortable, I'll get things set up.

[ The decor may be nothing too lavish, but it's a nice place, even if it is a bit odd to Ciri's eyes and experience. It reminds her of Sam's house. She's picked up by now on the fact that Sam, Julie and Nadine seem to be from similar worlds. ]

I appreciate your hospitality.

[ Ciri nods as she steps into Nadine's home, looking around curiously. She peeks at the framed pictures (Sam's had to explain this concept to her too, the fact they are not paintings) and the decorations before settling into one of the stools at the counter. It does not occur to her to remove her boots, but at least she's not wearing a sword. ]

Is this like your home was, or something new?

Oh, it's no problem.

[The photographs depict two separate subjects - one is a blond man in denim and the other is a boy of about ten or eleven. Nadine's busying herself getting a pot and ingredients out of the cupboard, and setting it all on the counter by the window.]

Uh...sort of an idealized version of home. My house wasn't as nice as this. It's...a lot of things I saw in magazines and store windows. The kind of house I wish I had, you know?

[With the ability to create whatever she wanted at her fingertips, she'd found herself mostly just wanting the familiar. But a better version. Why not? This place isn't real, it doesn't have reflect reality in everything.]

[ Ciri doesn't ask. They are clearly memories, and they are for Nadine; she's not going to be nosy about the woman's whole life story or the people she's probably missing from home.

She also has no idea what a magazine is, but the context is clear. Ciri nods, leaning her elbows on the counter while she watches Nadine move around the kitchen. ]

Considering you can create anything you want here, that makes perfect sense to me.

At first, I admit I was hesitant, but it is nice... being able to come to the Horizon and visit even those who are far away like you and Julie, in a little piece of something you wanted to exist here from yourself.

I know what you mean. I still don't like using the mental connection to send messages, but the Horizon...

[It's different, somehow. Words traveling through the ether like that...there's too many associations for Nadine to be comfortable just communicating with anyone that way. Here is her place, and the way they manifest here...it feels real. All of this feels real, even if it's not.]

It's nice, to have something familiar. Be able to stay in contact with people spread across the continent. And do things like this. [A gesture to the chocolate and sugar and whatnot on the counter.] Alright, there's a few different ways to make hot chocolate. There's the really basic way, using powdered cocoa, and then there's the fancy way using actual chocolate.

[She holds up a bar of dark chocolate for Ciri to inspect.]

[ Ciri leans over to take a closer look, giving the chocolate bar a sniff. She puts out her hand, taking a piece to try it.

Oh. That is. Very good. ]

I was only able to find the powder at market. This is made with the powder too?

You can make this with the powder. For really simple solid chocolate, you need butter and sugar and honey. Melt the butter, stir in the powder and sugar until it's a smooth dark brown color, then add the honey. But you have to keep stirring the whole time, it can burn really easily.

[Nadine is sure there are more complicated recipes that make the sort of chocolate she's used to, but this is the only way she's ever actually learned. If 'saw it on a youtube video' counts as learning.]

You get a much richer and heavier chocolate drink if you melt this down into milk. It's definitely a once in a while kind of thing. For a milder and lighter cocoa, just use the cocoa powder and sugar in hot milk. If you really want to go wild, you can add other flavors.

[While talking, Nadine puts a pot on the stove to heat up the milk.]

What sort of desserts do they have where you come from?

I'll have to try it sometime. But I'll start with the drink, first.

[ It's not too complicated, at least. She can remember this much. Probably will take some trial and error to get the proportions right, but she'll watch Nadine closely here before trying to replicate it. ]

Oh, all sorts! I just hadn't heard of a cacao plant before, but perhaps it grows in a region I'm less familiar with if it does grow on my sphere.

We have cakes and puddings of all kinds, often with fruit and honey. Jams, custards... hard candy, candy floss...

[ She shrugs. There are too many desserts to name. Chocolate is a novelty, but the concept of something similar isn't mind-boggling; just the flavor itself is new to her. ]

It's a bean plant, cacao powder is made from dried beans. I'm...honestly not entirely sure where it grows, I think in warm climates.

[Pretty sure it's warm climates. She opens the jar of cocoa powder and shows Ciri the size scoop inside.]

The easiest hot cocoa is three of these scoops of the cocoa powder and two of sugar. Or more sugar, if you want it really sweet. So what are your favorite desserts back home?

[It's just mild curiosity, a chance for a glimpse into another world and maybe learn a little more about Ciri in the process.]

[ Once Nadine starts actually making it, Ciri hops off the stool and comes around the counter to get a closer look, peering into the jar when Nadine shows her. The plastic scoop gets a quizzical look, as she tries to eyeball how much it actually fits inside. ]

Can you show me with a regular metal spoon? I want to make sure the proportions are similar.

Oh, and I want to taste the powder by itself.

[ So she can compare. One has to go about these things methodically! ]

I like honey cakes. And sweet rolls. And paczki. [ She laughs. There are a lot of options. ] You really can't go wrong when it comes to sweet bread and custard or jam, in most shapes.

Oh, sure. Hang on.

[Nadine rummages in a drawer for a standard metal spoon. It's one of those things that just doesn't occur to her, that other worlds have other ways of measuring things.]

And, uh, you really don't want to taste the powder by itself. Without a sweetener, it's really bitter. I'm not going to stop you, but you won't be happy with the decision.

[She produces the spoon and measures out the appropriate amount that way, making sure Ciri can see what she's doing.]

But you're right about custard in pastries, you really can't go wrong. We have something where I come from called an éclair, it's sweet pastry bread with custard in the middle and a chocolate glaze on top.

I want to know how it's supposed to taste so I can be certain I'm getting the correct spice at market. It's a gift, so I want to make sure I get it right.

[ Ciri insists, though she appreciates the warning. She doesn't want to be ripped off with a subpar product! (She also thinks it's a spice because it's... a strongly flavored powder. But don't worry about that.) ]

A custard-filled pastry is familiar. Adding chocolate sounds brilliant.

[ Once Nadine measures the appropriate amount (which Ciri notes), she reaches over to take a little pinch of powder and lick her fingers. The strong flavor makes her brow furrow, but she's not surprised, of course. She doesn't complain, just commits it to memory. ]

A gift? Do your people have a winter gift giving tradition, too?

[It seems like one of those things that is standard across a vast number of cultures and worlds. A holiday in the dark part of the year, celebrated with warmth and gifting. It makes sense.]

Well, if it's a gift, you can get a little fancy with it. Add some other spices that really compliment the chocolate flavor. Cinnamon's popular.

[She just laughs a little when Ciri, despite warnings, does indeed taste the raw cocoa powder.]

Oh, no. It's not for that.

[ Ciri waves off the question. The traditions vary, anyway. And gifts are largely for children, trinkets and toys. This has nothing to do with Yule, except the timing. ]

I simply wanted to do something for him. Things have been... difficult, lately. As you know. I thought it might bring him some cheer.

I'll buy some cinnamon too.

I think that's a really sweet idea.

[Nadine offers a smile. It is sweet, and she's glad she can help with this.]

And I definitely recommend sweet treats to make somebody feel a little bit better. Alright, so you want the milk just below boiling, where it's steaming and frothing a little but it's not bubbling. You immediately cut the heat to it and stir in the main powdered ingredients, the cocoa and the sugar. You try it.

[She steps aside and gestures to the measured ingredients and the milk on the stovetop. Hands on learning, in Nadine's opinion, is some of the best type of learning.]

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Open December Catchall

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