A jamming session with friends
He nodded at the mention of Vega's name.
"She menshanned dat yuh were friends." He replied conversationally, with no suggestion it was anything but a good thing.
When she offered to help with his seeds, he looked like he might burst.
"Ooooooh-oh-oh! Wud yuh really? Oh dat wud be da best, so et wud. Me want tuh make fud wid de fairy fuds so much. Me wud be glad tuh make some for yuh en return, ef dem grow." He gasped, shocked at his own accidental implication.
"OH! But af cars dem wud, wid yuh 'elp, 'ow cud dem fail?"
leaned to one side in an attempt to expose an appropriate spot. It might not be accurate to say that it could feel it physically, but the attention it craved emotionally greatly appreciated the effort and Winston loved to see
making friends.
Winston's head spun as the sound of a cat rang out. If Elizabeth was the kind of person to notice such things, there would be an edge of caution to the Cadouri's demeanour, he was just the slightest bit jumpy. He did relax again as it became clear it was friend and not foe, but his eyes read caution with no hostility. Winston waved at Storm and if Chest noticed Storm's discontent, or in fact its approach at all, it did not show it, as long as the attention continued to be shared.
"'ello Starm. Et es very gud tuh meet yuh. Me wud be eternally grateful ef yuh would please nat hunt me." He requested with a genuine hint of respect.
"Yuh an Chest bot been gifted by Saiore? Me tink, dat et is not passible tuh 'give' a persan to anodda person. In such exchanges, de gift being given is de introduction. Den ef yuh stick around, yuh must like et dere." He offered with a smile.
As Elizabeth leaned in, he replied with a conspiratorial nod.
"Me bet. Me 'ave a challenging relashanshep wid most carnivorous animals larger den meself." He said with an apologetic smile and a chuckle.
As the tour began, he looked over the crops at what was being described.
"Munny Farm? Why 'Munny'?" He asked with casual, but genuine curiosity. Whether she had a story to tell or not, he would share.
"Me like staries an' places almost always have staries hidden behind deir names." Sure enough, then next place was 'Immortal’s Embrace' and he nodded knowingly at its well chosen name.
"A name befitting entirely af ets story." He replied in compliment of the choice.
Winston revelled in the delight of the waves and welcomes. Replying in kind.
As she described the clams, Winston's ears literally pricked up.
The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: MMMmmmmm... Clam of unique flavourness.
Winston: MMMMmmmmm.... Me do like clams.
Curiosity: Oh I wonder what they taste like?
Winston: Per'aps dem wud go well wid a nice white wine?
Curiosity: Ask her for some!
Winston: Yuh cannat JUST ask people far ting mid sentence.
Curiosity: Oh My Immortals! It's not like I'm asking for a Dragon.
Winston: OK, me will ask about de clams OK.
Curiosity: Oh, ask what their shells do? I wonder if they could be used in alchemy?
Winston: Me will just ask far some and den we cun find out.
Curiosity: OK... Ask her if she has a dragon also.
Winston: No.
Curiosity: I'll best you a week's silence she DOES.
Winston: An' wat do yuh want ef yuh are right?
Curiosity: I'll take you promising to ask for a ride on it. She'll definitely say yes.
Winston: Me will see...
He said with a grin.
As she introduced each and every thing, he would seem and in fact BE interested in every detail. He made a mental note to visit the research centre. His curiosity almost certainly would not allow him to leave without doing so.
Chest trotted along beside her, with Winston atop.
As she introduced her home, he let out a sound of affection.
"Awwwwww, 'im gived yuh an 'ome. Wat a GOOD gift. 'im es vary tartful." He said with a fair amount of approval and admiration at the choice Balthazar had made.
As she described that the place was too big, he nodded, sharing in her assessment.
"Oh yus. An empty 'ome es no 'ome at all." He agreed with a grin and as they entered, he went about making sure that Chest was not traipsing half the countryside into the building on its feet and then followed her amiably now on foot himself.
As he was made to feel as though doing so was OK, he took the time to try and read the spines of a couple of the books as they passed, wondering
if they were old, new, fantasy or fiction. He admired their budding library with interest.
"Oh, me 'ave a very modest collecshan af books. Almost entirely Recipe books." He shared with a grin, as if this was no bad thing.
"De fairy-fud one's are a lat af fun tuh read." He chuckled.
"Nat so easy tuh fallow." He said, still chuckling to himself as he turned back to the shelf beside him.
The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: Why does Saiore only teleport people to the school?
Winston: Wat now?
Curiosity: Well one school can only hold so much knowledge and learning. She should be sending people OUT to find and learn things.
Winston: Hush yuh mouth wid soch foolishness! Saiore expects people tuh put de effort en tuh find tings out demselves. De school gets em ready far de lernin. Den, yuh gats tuh go DO de lernin'.
Curiosity: Sheesh. Just sayin'. I mean, imagine what people could learn if they only had access?
Winston: ...
Winston's next words came out in the hushed tone of wonder as his hand passed over the spines of the books and he looked along one of the shelves, off into a distant point far beyond the confines of the room.
"Cun yuh jost imagine da tings we cud learn ef all de books, fram all de libraries from all af Idalso were connected? Ef a persan cud enter a library and travel to any af de libraries in de world in search af knowledge? Da things we cud share..." He blinked suddenly, realising that he was being rude, lost in thought and smiled, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Naw DAT wud be a gift far Saiore dat she wud LOVE. Me shar af dat."
As she turned to him in the kitchen, his anticipation was written all over his body.
"OH!-OH! Yes! Jam. Let's make Jam, et's so useful and yuh cun share et wid peepal. I LOVE jams. Always keep a well stocked larder of jams for pies, cakes, biscuits and... Oh yes, scones. With cream... MMMMMmmmmmm..... Yuh gat some cream?" He was well-up for some baking.
"Yes, fuel first. Ummm... Some wata, are ef yu 'ave any juice, dat wud be grand."
He was ready to go, eager to start at it and unless she objected, this is exactly what he did.
He found a stool, chair or anything he could use to clamber up onto the counter, where he sat, with his legs dangling off the edge. He would take a small bight of something yummy before calling to Chest.
"Chest mun, me booties, an apron, please!" At this, Chest opened its lid and flung out a set of clothing, including an apron, some white gloves, a hat and some little, perfectly clean booties. He put all of these things on and then stood on the counter, hands on hips and proclaimed.
"Let's JAM!"
By now, Winston had done quite well in the local Scalvaris Cooking competition being held out of Sclavaris Town, which had received quite a bit of publicity should this be something Elizabeth was likely to keep abreast of.
"Dis es a very fine kitchen yuh 'ave 'ere! We cun do wonderouse tings in dis 'ere place!" He proclaimed gleefully.
Winston might look out of place in a kitchen this size, but nothing about how he presented himself would suggest he felt it and without further ado,
he set about helping to prepare things. If there was something he needed that simply
had to be him-sized, he asked Chest for it (a spoon, a stool, a stepladder) and they didn't seem to mind. Winston was always polite regardless and Chest just sat somewhere beside a table and provided things to its companion.
It would be abundantly obvious that he loved to cook, but was in no rush to steamroll over Elizabeth's plans. Aside from which, he had no leadership quality beyond being persuasively cute.
As such, he'd fall into the role of commis chef in this kitchen, unless she requested otherwise. "'ave yuh made Jam beffa?" He asked genuinely. He would gladly lead the process or simply pitch in as they talked, grabbing pans, carry the fruit, stirring and generally speaking thoroughly enjoy getting stuck in.
As they baked, he probed politely, with genuine care, about her and Balthazar, asking things like how long they had known each-other and how they met.
"Me 'ave nat met de right persan yet, but et does sound appealin' tuh always 'ave someone tuh give gifts tuh."
His little gloves and booties kept his fur out of the mixtures and the surfaces free of his footprints.
"Deh secret tuh a lang lived jam..." He said at one point, while picking some jars to store the produce in.
"...es gud, clean jars!" He started boiling the jars to ensure they were completely clean and sterile, ready for pouring later. If Elizabeth was expecting to make a little jam just for tasting, apparently the Cadouri had larger aspirations. If it was not big enough to give as a gift, just in case, it was not worth doing.
