Banana Bread, Always in Season

Autumn has eased off a little, with the mists descending from the mountains, and the breeze not as biting as previous days. The monastery has loads of activity today, the monks heard chanting from down up the road, practicing their katas outside while the poor weather has mostly abated. The sound of wood being chopped is also heard, several monks working through the supply of logs and branches, turning it into manageable firewood.

The foyer is full of good smells, with lunch having recently finished, with several people chatting and enjoying hot cocoa.

Deeper inside, near the cells, the smell of something freshly baked permeates the air. Simony's door is partly open, and from the air inside her room wafts the smell of banana. Lots of banana. The Goblin is present, given the sounds of cooking inside, and the humming of a pub tune. A bawdy pub tune.

There's a knock that comes from Simony's door. Warrick in his grey overcoat with a sword strapped over his shoulder, hands full with a single cup of hot cocoa liberated from the foyer. "Did... you steal all the bananas from the druid grove to the north or something? I thought those were out of season," he quips through the door.

There are a lot of bananas. A number of bunches, seemingly picked right from the tree. They cover her desk and table. Two kegs are stored underneath her table, one full of raspberries, the other full of blueberries. Her lips and mouth area are covered in blue and red stains.

"Warrick!", she exclaims, and comes running, to leap and hug at his waist. The Gobbo is dressed down today, wearing a pair of pink pajamas, and wearing an apron that says "Kiss the Cook" on the front.

"How're you? How's Cynthia?" A little hand tugs at his, urging him inside, so that she can shut the door. "No no, I wouldn't take so many from the Grove. Telamon came by, he had a gift from his uncle, a pair of boots that can make fresh fruit plants grow, flower and bear fruit. He brought me more berries than I can eat, and I asked if he could do bananas!" She gestures to her little stovetop, where three small loaves of bread... banana bread... sit in skillets. Simony begins shaking each one back and forth quickly, before sliding each loaf onto a spot on the table, where a few other loaves cool.

Warrick winces at the sudden embrace, him shifting a bit and returning it with an arm like he usually does. "Careful there, still a bit sore on my side," he chuckles. "Doing alright, all things considered. She's fine, in school right now."

He slides inside, sipping on his drink as his gaze ambles about the room. A brow ticks up. "That is... certainly a gift," he opines evenly. "Never heard of something like that. Didn't bother looking because they're a bit out of Watch pay range. So you are making banana bread for the monastery?"

A look of concern clouds Simony's expression, and she peers up at him. "Did you want me to take a look at it? I could give you a little salve that cools or heats it, give you a bit of relief. How'd you get hurt? And that's good, she's not able to get into too much trouble, and she's safe, which is a load off your mind, hmm? How's her Oruch friend doing?"

The Gobbo laughs brightly, "It is an amazing gift. Banana bread is one of hmm, three things I can cook properly, and all of them are my ma's recipes. Banana bread is my favourite. And uh, I am making banana bread for everyone. The monastery, friends, the aerie... I'm giving you a couple. They're kind of small, given my cooking limitations here... but I'll wrap them in a cheesecloth or wax paper for you."

She sighs lightly, "They probably aren't too expensive, but probably not high on your list of priorities for magical things, right? Like, given what you do lately, that being Guild missions, a magical weapon, or armor, or healing things, those are more your concern, right?"

Warrick holds up a hand as if it would abate worries. "I'm fine, it was over a week ago, and I've had a Lancer patch me up soon after. I took an axe side," he points at his flank. "Ripped through my armor. Fine now though." He shakes his head. "She's probably getting into some kind of mess, but that's how you learn. Her Nar friend Lomi? She's fine. They're taking alchemy classes together now."

His brows tick up. "Oh. Thank you Simony, that's very kind of you. I can give one to Cynthia," he smiles.

He bobs his head, leaning against the door as he watches the gobbo flit about the room. "Yes. I am not... used to dealing with such large sums of coin. The equipment that adventurers use is... lets just say one magic sword could sustain me and my daughter for a handful of years without working."

Her expression softens again and her hands go to her hips "Still, if you need anything, Rick, please tell me. I am happy to help. I do worry for you, you know." The Gobbo nods then, "Yes, Lomi! Oooh, they're making literal mischief together, excellent!" Explosions!

Nodding, she returns to her previous activity, kneading another batch of dough, which is then cut into thirds, and each portion mashed into a skillet, and left to cook on the stove. "Oh, you're most welcome. Did you want to try a small slice?" She moves to break one of the loaves in half, and then half again, giving Warrick a quarter piece, while she quickly inhales another.

It tastes as delicious as it smells.

The Eldanar shakes his head. "I'll keep that in mind, but I haven't made it this far without being careful. The Lancer swapped out with me after that." Warrick softly sighs, smiling. "Bless Serrielites and their ability to think of a fight properly."

He sighs. "... I hope not." Seems like he's already got the gut feeling they will.

His shoulders raise, him holding out a hand for the piece. Tries it. A sigh escapes his nose. "Pretty good, Moni," he says around a half full mouth. "Your ma taught you good."

"Also taught me how to eat!" The rest of the loaf vanishes as quickly as the first section did. She hiccups lightly a few times, and punches at her chest. Canting her head, she nods. "Yes, it's a good ability, especially for uhhhh adventuring! Though, sometimes such things offer different conundrums to deal with than just fighting. I was on one with Magpie and Auranar which had a ... well, a deep conversation about the nature of good and evil, and whether devils could be reformed. We then had to fight two of them. Hah, it was amazing, we slew one and embarrassed the other so badly he ran back to the Hells with his tail between his legs."

She slams her fist into her hand.

The Gobbo's grin returns. "Well, they are teenagers, and they will get into trouble. Especially fiddling with alchemy. But it's alright, you have to know what can go wrong so that you don't do that when it's important."

Warrick can't help but laugh at that, him shaking his head. "Did she also teach you how to not taste things and almost choke?" he jabs. He tilts his head the other way. "I understand that. But when it comes to fighting, you know how I work, and having another Serrielite makes the moment to moment decisions a lot easier. There's no theatrics that some adventurers like to do."

That gets him to blink, though. "... that's new. Huh. Never heard of a devil trying to be good before. Good work on that."

He nibbles on his bread, then sips from his hot cocoa. "I was a teen once. And my parents are deaf, so it was easy to get away with quite a bit. So I'm full aware what kinds of stuff she can get in to. But she'll learn. Let her have her fun. She's only a teen once."

She snorts and prods at his leg with a finger. "Pff, I do taste it! I am just eager to get the tasting part out of the way so that my stomach can have it to digest." Simony hmms, "I suppose they've been trained in a similar fashion as you have, then? They work in a similar way? I do notice that a lot of people don't tend to listen much... I have always tried to work with you. We clerics are generally martial, as you are, in combat. Though I admit I use more spells now, to help out. Oh!"

The Goblin lifts a skinny arm, and flexes. For a moment nothing else happens, until there's a bright flash from her holy symbol around her neck. Then her muscles suddenly bulge in size, and this is mirrored on her other arm, her form generally bulking up. "I'm now able to make myself super strong! I was lifting castle wall rubble back into the hole made in the wall, on our last mission. Wanna arm wrestle?"

Simony giggles, and after a moment, her musculature begins to return back to normal. "Knowledge is strength!"

Her expression clouds, and grows thoughtful, "Yes, it was ... it was hard to parse, in my head. I'm still working on it." She tries really hard not to smile. "You? A teenager? All gawky with big feet? Never!"

Warrick snickers, shaking his head. "I know you do. Just most others do not. I'm used to working with a mixed group, so I try to at least accommodate for that. But I'm more or less referring to situations such 'running head first into a group and dancing the entire time' or 'last stands that are completely unnecessary'." A sigh escapes him.

Slate eyes widen as Simony's frame bulks up right before him. "Good gods," he gasps. "That is quite impressive, Moni. Seems Navos took that literally with you."

A brow quirks, just as he finishes off his bread slice. He snorts. "Yes, all gawky, loud as hell, and getting into much trouble with my sister. I mellowed out while she remained...." He waves a hand, as if that would explain everything.

"You know... maybe we should do some training together, some sparring too? So if we're in the thick of things together again, we'll be more in sync. Maybe some sort of camp for it, get others into your way of thinking. Maybe there'll be less 'hey diddle diddle straight up the middle' reactions from some?" Simony rubs at her chin. "Maybe we could get a few of our friends, and have support from the Guild? Guild Camp!" She sighs as well. "So much pain wasted on unnecessary tactics."

The Gobbo smiles brightly. "Well, Navos is a god of strength, just.. most people don't realize or look at him that way. But yes, it is working well for me." She leans in closer. "It's pretty amazing to be the strongest in the room sometimes, even if I'm the shortest." Her giggle lasts for a little while, until she remembers something, and rushes to the stove.

"Well, you know what they say...", she says while checking out the banana bread. "Whew. Uhm, yeah, you /have/ to grow old, but you don't have to grow up."

Warrick rubs his chin. "A training session with the Guild is a good idea. We can do something like that. A camp, as well as you and I training." His eyes drift to the window. "As drab as it sounds, I see every person in a fight like a piece on a board. I know what they're capable of, I know what they're weak to. There's a certain... I don't know how to describe it. Pleasure? When all the moves end in a checkmate."

Spoken like a true Serrielite.

He bobs his head, smirking lightly. "I'm not the strongest, but I can understand that feeling. I... don't mean to brag, but I've out shot Sildanyari archers back in the Watch. So I get it."

A chuckle escapes. "That describes my sister Vanessa to the letter."

The Goblin rubs her hands together. "Excellent, that would be very good. And I have noticed you have a very analytical mind. And I can see how it would be a distinct pleasure to see things going as planned, everyone playing their part correctly, where even a few missteps are easily accounted for and countered. Like chess!"

She nods enthusiastically. "I've seen you shoot before. You do good work in our missions. And you saved me. Among others on a whole bunch of missions. But it's that part I remember most."

Three more cooked banana bread loaves are set aside, and she sighs. "Going to leave it here." Four of the round loaves are pulled out, and she begins to wrap them in wax paper, making them look like big sandwiches in how she folds the paper. "Siblings like that do bring a certain... fun to life, you know? Even when you're rolling your eyes and wishing they'd act like an adult, you can't help but smile at most of their antics.

"Exactly like chess," Warrick nods, finishing up his cocoa and setting it aside. His gaze softens. "Well, you've saved me too. You kind of give up keeping track of who's covered who's ass after a while. That's comradery."

He chuckles, finding a chair to sit in as Simony wraps up bread. "For sure. I enjoy it. She's a lot like me. Logic minded, numbers. But far more... outgoing. She runs my parents shop far better because of it."

He leans over, taking up another piece of the banana bread that's his as he rifles around in his coat. And produces a notebook. "So. While those cool. I have some ideas for a tattoo and will need some help drafting it..."

"Rick, it was the first time I'd ever been in real trouble, and felt terrible pain. I'd been hurt before, but nothing like that. To see you respond, and Tlan as well, was like watching an angel come to my rescue. Maybe over time we'll save each other many times, but that first time endeared you to me, and that will never change." She hugs at his good side, this time, and giggles lightly. "You do need someone who is hmm... a bit more of an extrovert, for certain. But I get the feeling that you would know all the numbers. How low you could allow someone to haggle, the timing of new shipments, the intrinsic value of things so that people would trade other goods with you and so on. You'd be a very well informed shopkeeper!" She elbows his (good) side gently. "And besides, you /do/ have a sense of humor, it just takes a little bit of time to get to that, you know?"

Her ears perk up then, and she grins broadly. "Oh? Please, do go on!" She settles in a seat beside him, her ears wiggling in anticipation.

Warrick just ruffles Simony's hair at the hug. "Thanks," he intones. Blinks at the colors. "The dyes look well." There is a small nod. "That's what my wife was like, very, very outgoing." He smiles wanly at the memory. But shakes his head, chuckling. "Can run the shop if I really have to. But, I do. Sometimes."

He flips open the notepad. "Right, so I was thinking..."

-End Scene-