Out In the Cold

[Nami]

She could be heard even from the kitchen and as such the conversation carried on. Nami could not help but flash a smile even though he could not see it from where she was in the other room. "Thank you. I'm quite fond of the place myself though I do tend to travel along the shore so I'm hardly ever home unless I didn't wander far." The whole place shared the same theme: dragons. Not only just dragons but also the water that Nami had mentioned several times before. She loved the ocean and thus everything incorporated together. The only sound in the room besides the bubbling of a fish tank residing in the living room was the sound of Nami in the kitchen cooking.

[Kaida Shade]

Neil leant down to examine the fish in the tank. Wow, this girl really liked water. And dragons... That got him thinking. He didn't think Tarin existed in other worlds, but there were other kinds of mutants and shapeshifters out there, right? So maybe, if she was one, which he had to admit was unlikely, she could help him with his little... problem.

[Nami]

Nami stretched and sighed. "Ugh...why did I put this cabinet so high?" she complained out loud to herself with a laugh. "You'd think I'd design my own house for my height!"

[Kaida Shade]

"Need a hand?" Neil poked his head round the door, keen not to just be a dead weight kind of guest.

[Nami]

She laughed. "Yes please if you're dried off enough. I'd really appreciate the help... Saves me the time it takes to get the stepstool and climb up to get the salt. Oh by the way do you like spicy stuff or would you prefer your noodles more mildly seasoned?"

[Kaida Shade]

"Spicy's fine." Neil smiled and opened the cupboard, digging around until he found the salt and handed it to Nami.

[Nami]

She took it with a careful hand and sprinkled some into a pot of water which was currently heating up over fire. She pulled a towel off the top of a bowel which had been sitting on the counter. Inside was some dough which she pressed into some flour. After playing with it a little to soften it up she started to spin it in her hands and make folds before repeating the process several times. "I like fresh noodles," she explained as she concentrated on it. "They tend to taste much better."

[Kaida Shade]

Neil looked impressed. "I've never had anything other than the instant kind. Are they tricky to make?"

[Nami]

She shook her head and then spread her fingers after a few more times, draping the dough (which was now in strands) over a knife's edge. "Not at all!" She cut the end of the dough on both sides and then put it into the boiling water. "See? Every time I twisted and folded it it made more noodles. Now there should be plenty for both of us."

[Kaida Shade]

"Hmm." He carried on watching her cook, feeling a little awkward just standing there. It was unusually nice of this woman to take him in and feed him at the drop of a hat. No, he wasn't suspicious or anything, it was just... odd.

[Nami]

She stretched a little. "So how about you tell me a bit about yourself, Niel? Then I can tell you about me. Deal?" Nami really just wanted some way to pass the time while she waited for the noodles to cook. Until then there was no reason to get any spices out and she had some shrimp cooked from earlier that day that she could always mix in once it was time to season the whole dish anyway.

[Kaida Shade]

He shrugged. "Okay. I'm from Earth, I got sucked through some portal or something, wound up here. I grew up living with a secret organisation and I didn't know i had a brother and a sister until recently. So what about you?"

[Nami]

She nodded with interest until he finished then paused. "I'm from here in Maerinn but I didn't always live along. I have a brother and a sister myself, my sister Sakilu being the oldest and Kyo being two years younger than myself. I haven't seen either in years. I admit I'm not entirely human... And as you can see I went off alone after a while and now I live here. It's certainly beautiful down by the beach so it suits me."

[Kaida Shade]

"Hmm... Yeah i can imagine that place being nice when it's sunny but weather like this..." He pulled a face "Not so much." Scratching the back of his neck awkwardly he looked away. "I'm not entirely human either but I'd rather be."

[Nami]

"I'm glad I'm not." she laughed. "I wouldn't be me!" She glanced out the kitchen window to the still rainy sky. "I like this weather actually. Nice and wet." Nami paused, contemplating his words some more. "You're not human either? Why would you prefer to be?"