Charles Patricius

[Bloodedge]

Anais understood what the elf was getting at; many humans did shy away from any great quantity of flora in their diets. She then went on to list several types of people who would instead accept vegetables ─ all of whom he could easily tolerate. "Those kinds of people are interesting, I suppose. So long as someone isn't an imbecile about their intake preferences, I can always work with them. Though... I doubt I would care to do much more than what was requested of me, if this happened to be a job I was given," Ailen declared with a fair amount of thought. While he worked on the second of seven sausages, Anais took up the third to begin shaping it. From the looks of things, she was doing quite well already. "That's the way. You've got it under control," the elf commented as he moved on to number four.

Charlemagne shrugged. Maybe Anais did have a viable reason for her uncomfortable behavior during their earlier adventures; he still thought her execution was a little extreme. "You could've just been more vocal about it, you know? We could have slept in shifts or..." He paused then, remembering who their group consisted of during that recent long journey. He'd seen what an Astolfo guard shift looked like. "... You know what? Never mind. Maybe under different circumstances," he said finally. Moving on to Sakura's apparent experimentation, the goddess claimed she was done with it. "Awesome. I finished working on some of my stuff too. At least... the party buff is done, and uh... I think my sword likes it? I feel like that shouldn't make sense, but I think it makes sense."

[Apollymi]

Ailen had some pretty thoughtful things to say about being a chef and dealing with the masses. Anais could understand what he meant, and would comment while working on her sausage, which was coming together nicely. "Well, you aren't alone in that... and no one likes a picky eater," she commented knowing how he felt. If it was simply a job it would be easy not to go out of one's way to complete things. Anais could agree though she didn't have much experience with such things. What was more, the lass received more praise, which only served as motivation. "Hai!" she confirmed. Maybe she should be worried by how easily she was motivated by someone of importance telling her she was doing a good job? Or maybe she should just accept it? 'Accept it, do more work then grab the dick!~' Sinais was full of interesting quips. Oddly enough, Anais planned on doing exactly what her internal voice wanted from her. After finishing the sausage she was working on, she moved onto another... she did actually offer to help with breakfast, she should help before doing anything else.

At the same time, she was still having a friendly conversation with Charlemagne. The lad claimed she could have simply been more vocal about her distrust in that particular situation and he was right. He even suggested the potential of having slept in shifts, but took that one back after a moment of consideration under different circumstances he claimed. "Yeah, I know. I've been working on trying to speak up more. It was a little more difficult for me then..." she admitted. Their group for that extended mission was a bit more, chaotic than Anais would have normally wanted to deal with as her then self. Right now, she felt like she could handle many things much better. Her current level of comfort would have put others of their friend group at ease considering how very withdrawn she was most of the time. Moving on from this, Sakura received a bit of praise about the work she'd put in, and Charlemagne explained what he'd been doing. He said something which might have been considered odd to at least Anais the previous days, but now she understood. It would be Sakura however who commented. "It probably does like it and it makes sense. Otou-sama says that all things have souls, and weapons act as extensions of their wielders souls, depending on their nature. It is best if you and yours are getting along...." she expressed happy for him to have come up with something. "A new party buff... yours were always pretty good. I am curious about the connection to your weapon, I have a new one too now it'd probably be good to test it a bit later~" Anais offered. As she finished work on her second sausage bringing the grand total up to five. Somehow having more than reasonable dexterity made this task feel rather easy... or maybe it was something else. 'It's something else~' her internal voice was quite aggressive today. Oh well, their current trajectory would leave the pair with one each sausage to make at the end of this round.

[Bloodedge]

"I have no real issue with picky eaters. Desires of the soul are not to be argued with," Ailen clarified. If picky eaters were such due to what their souls needed for completion, he was fine with it. Ah, but there were some exceptions. "Mind you, I will not abide those... vegans. Ever," he added firmly, a flame of distaste dancing across his irises. Those individuals would never receive anything more from the elf. Nevertheless, he was content to almost mindlessly mold sausages one after another ─ soon moving on to his fourth, and one of the last two.

Charlemagne could only wonder how their most recent party became such a ragtag group, even among the Peers who already fit that particular bill as a collective. Just about any other combination of their members would have created a better set to guard one another in shifts. Anais may have been the most balanced option among them, but the other two... "Astolfo Crash!" Speaking of the other two, one happened to be entering the sitting room at present. Specifically, the pink-haired lad was being... launched? Somehow, he was flying straight into the space between Charlemagne and Sakura, squeezing rapidly between the two and crashing the table... and, worse still, accidentally hitting the flat of Charlemagne's sword with his forehead. "Owowowowow!" he chanted as Charlemagne scooted away. "Yeah, I think I'm understanding that whole 'extension of soul' thing," he said, as if to credit his sword for striking the invasive Astolfo. "Just one time, can you just... do a normal thing? You know, like maybe walking into a room?"

[Apollymi]

Ah, Ailen thought that picky eaters weren't really problematic because of the desires of the soul. That was likely true, even so they were annoying as people. Still, the elf had a hard no to offer, and it was to vegans. Anais looked up from the work of her hands to see the pure distaste dancing across the man's eyes. "Alright, Shishou's not allowed internet access~" she murmured. If he didn't want to encounter vegans keeping him away from the unfiltered chaos of the internet and vegans as a whole. She supposed all of this was fine and was soon forming her last sausage just in time to see Astolfo's major entrance.

Sakura also saw this entrance, and soon found the lad launching himself between herself and Charlemagne. A gentle movement would have her sliding to the side as the lad's head hit the flat part of Charlemagne's sword. She looked confused, as his announcement included his name an the action that went along with it. Though he seemed a bit hurt by the physical damage he didn't seem at all discouraged. "Curious, that reaction implies this is normal..." Sakura observed. "Though why did he choose between us?" Sakura wondered aloud. Perhaps the amount of invasive someone like Astolfo was would remain lost upon her. "Very normal... and he likely can't stop, as for why, that one is up in the air. I'm going to friend jail for not noticing how familiar this is," Anais said closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Good morning, Asta. Are you hurt or do you count that as your normal brain jarring wake up?" Anais added, though she made sure to ask the lad about his wellness. She wouldn't let him suffer, even if it was his own fault. She wasn't rude even when she was distressed by the strange antics of her friends. Just the same she finished the last of the sausages and then went on to wash her hands of any implied residue in so doing, she had a proper look around and being plotting against the elf at her side. 'Fuck friend jail, slut hell we're ruining Shishou's breakfast making~' mused Sinais.

[Bloodedge]

Whatever the internet was, Ailen would avoid it like the next plague if it had anything to do with those vegan creatures. Anything so repulsive could be kept far, far away from him. "That sounds excellent, given what I've managed to interpret," he said as the final sausages were placed. Anais went on to begin washing her hands, and the elf had one final thing to do before joining her. He moved all seven sausages onto a large tray of ice, which would eventually force them to maintain their form... among other things. "That's all of the sausages," he surmised while joining Anais in handwashing.

After Astolfo landed between the pair, both Charlemagne and Sakura were shifting away. No one could really understand why he did the things he did... including Astolfo himself. "Sometimes, it's better not to question it," Charlemagne stated. Astolfo rubbed his forehead repeatedly, feeling a lump forming from that sudden impact. Anais was the only one checking his wellbeing, yet... all he could do was smile. "That one felt like Olga!" was all he said. Apparently, Astolfo was fine. Charlemagne expected as much, and was already moving to the other side of the table ─ all to avoid any further Astolfoisms. "So anyway, everything's finally coming along at a reasonable pace, I think. It's pretty refreshing."

[Apollymi]

Apparently Ailen was fine to avoid the internet if it allowed him to avoid vegans. A smile came to Anais's face as she realized that this would help but there were few ways to completely avoid human stupidity. "Hai hai, there are some nuances to that... you might actually enjoy the internet, a bit but supervision at least~" she corrected herself. As a person who liked learning the internet could be used as an effective tool, avoiding the echo chambers of stupidity only required a bit of navigational guidance. And soon after they were standing side by side washing their hands. It was quite nice, spending this kind of time with her mentor, Anais quite enjoyed it. What was more he concluded that all of the sausages had been handled and Anais smiled, just a little smirk as her inner self spoke once more, 'Not yours, Shishou~ But don't worry, we'll take care of that~' her internal self teased. Of course, Anais was also aboard of this.

Meanwhile, Sakura followed Charlemagne's lead moving to join him on the other side of the table. She didn't know why he did this, but decided to follow his lead when dealing with Astolfo in these more normal situation. In fact, she tended to follow Charlemagne about dealing with his friends in the first place as she didn't have much to go on about them. "Sou ka," Sakura said to the idea that it was sometimes better not to question Astolfo's actions. At the same time, Astolfo seemed to answer Anais's question. "Sou ka, so you're fine then," she said knowing Olga a bit better than some of the others as she did initially squire for her. Olga was the type to toss Astolfo around for groping her, but not with enough force to actually hurt him... though she did have the strength given her own fighting ability. Moving on though, Hands were washed and dried and now Anais was waiting looking at her mentor with wide eyes as they moved on to the next thing. "How bad is pacing normally?" Sakura asked curious about the nature of things.

[Bloodedge]

Ailen hesitated after hearing there were nuances to the internet. He didn't know why it was a big deal at all, but he would trust whatever Anais had to say on the matter. "Then I will leave myself in your care, if you believe it is something worth pursuing," he said with a curt nod, willing to follow whatever the elafia suggested. Moving on, he began drying his hands before pulling forward a jar of sparkling grains to begin the crepe batter. "The sausages should cook themselves from within. When exposed to cold, the meat moves all of its warmth inward and amplifies it. When the ice is melted, we will know they've been cooked thoroughly," he explained.

Astolfo was perfectly fine, as made obvious by the way he received a blade to the forehead. On the other hand, he could never be called fine mentally. Charlemagne knew this well enough that he fled to the opposite side of their dinner table, only to be joined by Sakura. 'Good choice,' he thought, sighing aloud at the other male. As for Sakura, she wondered how the pacing of these things usually went. Frankly, Charlemagne could only call it... askew. How could he explain it properly? It all began with a single elevated finger. "Make the plan," he said before lifting a second finger. "Execute the plan," he added. With that, there was a third finger raised. "Expect the plan to go off the rails," he tossed in. Finally, a fourth finger was lifted. "Throw away the plan. Those are the four steps of the Survivors, now the Peers. Most times, we go through steps three and four without finishing step two. That's normal pacing, and... pretty much the reason step three exists in the first place."

[Apollymi]

Ailen was placing his faith in his apprentice. She'd easily help him navigate most things from her own world. She couldn't help but feel pleased by his faith in her, even if it was her plan to torture him, she liked being trusted. "Hai~" Anais said a grin growing on her face. What else was happening here? Well, after hands were dried an explanation was given about the cooking of the sausages. Apparently they could be cold cooked, or rather being exposed to cold would make the sausages cook themselves from the inside out. "That is an interesting method of cooking..." Anais managed to say. She watched as he pulled out his next set of ingredients and figured it would be best to allow him to set up his next aspect of cooking before attacking him.

In the meantime, Charlemagne was explaining to Sakura how their group normally progressed and why... he found his current progression refreshing. She heard out his apparent steps and nodded her understanding. It would seem there was an expected amount of failure and flexibility expected. "It sounds like there are more variables than I would expect for a plan with such a solid basis," she said carefully. "Yeah, step three is part of all plans for.. volatile variables," Anais confirmed for the girl. She looked to Astolfo and wondered if he counted as a volatile variable, given Charlemagne's expression she could assume that. Perhaps there were more things at play when planning activities around humans? She'd have to give that a bit of thought when she offered advice perhaps more observation was needed. She understood people to be easily distracted by their desires. She was watching Anais wrestle hers, seemingly waiting for the right moment to quietly attack her father. "Having to throw away a plan before you can execute it sounds problematic and maybe illogical..." said said seeming to be thinking about it. Her own abilities could be used to keep certain things in line but she needed to understand fully these volatile variables. "How do you know when you need to throw it out?" she questioned, that information would help her better use her own abilities.

[Bloodedge]

Ailen nodded once more. This particular meat was among the most interesting to cook, if only due to how it was prepared. Very few foods could make their own cooking conditions. "Isn't it? There are so many fascinating things, and this is far from an exception. Just think of what the mana is doing inside those sausages right now; it's exciting!" he chanted. Meanwhile, the elf busied himself with that glimmering grain, gently mixing a few scoops of it into a bowl of milk until it began to form a thin batter. "You'll have to pardon my wristwork. I hear the people of France are very particular about the texture of a crepe," he said, stirring as a careful alchemist always would.

Meanwhile, Astolfo remained oblivious to being nearly singled-out. He did, however, listen intently to a very familiar mantra... and an even more familiar group name. "Ooh, we should go back to Survivors! Y'know, cos... we survived and stuff!" he insisted. Charlemagne sighed upon hearing the other male's suggestion, but... "That's a surprisingly good reason, but we're way past that now. How would that even work? We become the Survivors with a sub-group of the Twice-Survivors? As if!" he countered. Regardless, Sakura had more to add to their current, more relevant discussion. She found the act of throwing away a plan illogical, just as Charlemagne figured she would. The young Child of Wisdom had much learning to do yet. "People aren't logical," he said plainly. As for how one knew when to throw a plan away, Charlemagne figured an example could be produced easily enough. "Hmm. Let's put it this way! Let's say I'm a terrible guy who's running my village into poverty due to my own gluttonous ways, but you were commissioned by my very innocent children to help the village without taking me out entirely. What's your plan?"

[Apollymi]

Ailen was definitely a scientist first and foremost. He held a certain amount of excitement towards the differing method of cooking the particular ingredient he'd chosen. He was excited by the way it worked and that was... cute to Anais. She enjoyed anyone who could get excited or passionate about things, and her mentor would be no exception. It made Anais quite happy and a bit frisky beyond her existing thoughts. With Ailen's hands busy and her other friends engaged in active conversation the lass absently used the hand closest to Ailen to free his cock from his breeches while commenting on his supposed wrist work, she'd take up her own wrist work and explain the finer details of French crepe making as she understood it. With her current positioning blocking the elf and her now steadily moving hand from view. Gentle initially was her stroke but it had a graceful rhythm with an oddly precise and new technique including the movement of her thumb occasionally over his tip. "Wristwork is quite important, Shishou..." she teased gently. "Crepes are apparently supposed to be quite delicate. You simply don't want to create too many bubbles in the batter and according to Livvy, who makes the best ones by far. You have to be quite precise in the mixture and then let it rest a bit before cooking so the rest of the bubbles have time to disperse...." she added. There was no reason she couldn't actually help him out...while helping him out. All the while she managed to look as innocent as she did when she entered the kitchen in the first place.

At the same time, Sakura knew and understood what was now happening in the kitchen. Humans did lack logic but at least some made sense to her. Still now that she understood this play of dangerous but uncaught, she'd make sure not to comment on the activities of the elafia and the elf within the kitchen. Happily they could continue while, "Hm, I suppose it would be odd to take back a name like that. Though I do like the idea of a story like that..." Sakura mentioned. Anais to the surprise of Sakura also made a random comment, if only to avoid being unusually quiet. "Name might need a bit of workshopping~" she spoke those words while her hand took on a slightly firmer grip with its constant rhythm. Soon after, Sakura was given a thought exercise which she'd gladly undertake. "If killing is off the table, then the next best option is imprisoning the bad leader, and making sure the resources get to the individuals who need them... So, I would likely recommend imprisoning him while he sleeps and doing everything to help the rest of the village while he is locked away. Or exiled I suppose that would work as well," she said. Her thought process being pretty sound assuming a logical progression.