Consider it practice.
RL Date: 5/11/09
IC Date: 9/17/19
Kitchen, Fort Weyr
Fort's kitchens are both immense and well-appointed, which ensures that the kitchen staff is able to feed the Weyr's populace as efficiently as possible. The counters are carved out of the native granite, smoothed and polished through turns of use; there are several stoves and ovens placed along the walls, leaving plenty of room for various cooks to do their job and not be tripping over their fellows. Any ingredients or tools they may need can be found in drawers and cabinets, either within arm's reach or within reach of drudges. Hanging from the ceiling and on hooks on the wall are copper utensils, pots, and pans, all quite well-worn, but still serviceable.
In the middle of this room are a couple of 'islands', composed of wood and with marble countertops, to allow assistants to prepare things and not need to get in the way of the cooks using the main counters. Dumb waiters are located out of the way, but still convenient for getting food down to the living cavern, rather than needing to send people down the stairs. Despite the constant motion and activity -- which slows only at night, but never fully ceases -- everything is meticulously kept clean, from top to bottom.
Most of the staff is involved in eating their own lunch about now, the preparations complete and only a small amount of actual prep-work left for dinner. Jaeyi's keeping herself occupied a little more thoroughly, off in her corner-- where she's largely out-of-sight, out-of-mind-- with the remants of her own lunch on a plate, with a busy little bounce in her step when she goes trotting off toward the spice cupboard (one Kwei should recognize!) to retrieve a few jars. Flour smudges her apron, but she's generally a pretty tidy cook, so she's not a disaster or anything.
Kwei makes his way into the kitchens, a little nervous, he's been to the baths and everything recently, his hair still slightly damp as he wends his way through the kitchen towards Jaeyi's little corner where he leans his back against the counter to await her return from the spice cupboard.
There's a blink when Jaeyi comes around the corner with both hands full of spice jars, four of them clutched in her fingers and a pair poking up out of her apron pocket. The blink is because there stands Kwei, and, for a second, her expression is blatantly confused by his presence. Quickly, she drags up a smile and a safe-seeming half-jest; "Are you lost?"
Kwei smiles and shakes his head at her reaction, hands reaching out to help with the jars if needed. "Not lost, here for my baking lesson." He explains with a grin, "Unless you'd rather I wasn't here and I should go?" He queries of her, no extra expression other than a mild curiosity.
"Ooohhhh," says Jaeyi, enlightened. She shakes her head at the help offer, much safer for her to just place those things on the countertop herself rather than risk seeing the jars fall and shatter in the change of hands. "No no no, by all means. Stay. Though-- well, I had thought something easy like those cereal bars might be best? And I'm..." She trails off, looks around her station and the counter surrounding it. "I'm not sure whether it's horribly appropriate or ironic or what but. Pies."
Kwei drops his hands away again to fold together in front of him while Jaeyi puts the stuff down on the counter. "Cereal bars sound nice and easy, though I'm willing to make a pie if you want, for this one, you are the master and I am the student here to learn." He tells her with a bit of a smile showing through, not forced by any means, but he's trying to make light of things so this doesn't disintegrate like the last time.
Divested of her things, Jaeyi leans her hip against the edge of the counter for a time to contemplate. Mostly to contemplate Kwei, something about him causing her eyes to narrow and her lips to quirk speculatively. Then it dawns on her what; "Apron. Wait here. You can make crust for me." Which sounds totally un-sexy, and she's actually a little proud of that fact while she's off to find an apron from a series of hooks, sorting through for one meant for 5'6" and not 5'9".
Kwei is happy to just watch her back while she thinks and when it comes out as apron he shakes his head. "Yeah, can't have me all floured up can we." He replies as he waits for her to pick one out for him, "Is that the easy part?" He asks about the crust, "I could just pour the filling in or something, that might be safer."
"It's actually," begins Jaeyi before she's actually come all the way back, holding up the chose apron by the upper band; although, yes, he could just duck his head through, there's an expectation that Kwei will take it and solve the tying-on himself. "Not that difficult. It's already made, just cooling a little. And it's a lot more engaging than just pouring the filling." A quick, secret tone adds, "And it'll certainly teach you not to throw yourself to the mercies of a Baker in the future, won't it?"
Kwei does indeed just duck his head down and through the neck part, though his hands do come up to take the band from her so he can settled it himself. "Bah, and here was I looking for an easy time of it." Though a couple of sevenday ago being at the mercies of this baker would have been a tempting idea. He deals with finding the strings at his sides and wraps them around behind him, finding them too short to come all the way round the front he ties them off at the back. "So as much as I hate to say this, where do you want me?"
Jaeyi demonstrates a little something: how to tie an apron in front. She unties her own, shows the length of the strings, wraps them around the back and all the way around to the front, where the bow is a lot easier to manage. Just a silent pro-tip. With a really-now look, she counters, "If you're going to lay strident little ground rules, you can't go saying things like that." But she drags her fingers along the edge of the counter. "This way," said the spider to the fly, to a spot on the counter all splattered with flour already. "Any idea what you're doing or totally virg-- green?"
Kwei ducks his head away, abashed, "Sorry." Is the simple apology, "Just trying to be more myself." He tells her as he watches the trick. "Well to be perfectly honest, yeah virgin to this endeavour." He tells her with a faint smile. "I'm from a big family, there was plenty of women around to do the cooking for us, so all I ever learned was how to handle hot pastries while I was stealing them from the cooling racks."
"Well, more yourself better think about certain turns of phrase." Jaeyi, prim, doesn't work very well, but she gives it a fighting shot with a crinkle of her nose and an emphatic little nod. Under her breath, there's a mumble about scalding little boys' fingers off if they can't keep them off hot pastries, but she doesn't qualify at an audible volume. "The idea," she continues busily, trotting around to collect a big, ceramic bowl covered loosely with cloths, bringing it heavily over to the floured surface, "is to take this big lump of dough and roll it out smooth. Feeling confident?"
Kwei follows alongside the counter till he's at the indicated spot. "I'm not going to promise I can think that fast." He replies with a grin as he looks round at the big bowl. "This is the bit where I have to roll it into submission with a rolling pin?" He checks, proud of himself at least for that part of things. "I'm sure I can manage that easily enough." Oh how little he knows about the process.
Jaeyi suggests, "Consider it practice. You won't go very far as a harper if you're not clever, will you?" With a cheery little mmmmhmn, she collects up a rolling pin for him, though she withholds it for the moment, one end in hand, the other against her shoulder. She'll make a lovely mean-old-wife some day. "The thing about pie crust. It's sticky and delicate and it likes to cling to everything it's not supposed to. --Like girls! So you should have this figured out in no time." Here, rolling pin. Here, bowl of flour. Here, she's so going to find this entertaining.
Kwei smiles and bobs his head in acknowledgement. "That's why I'm an apprentice." He states easily. "I'm still learning how to handle things properly, in case you hadn't seen that already." The later part more mumbled than said aloud, but she'll probably still catch it. "Am I allowed to peel it off again if it does get stuck?" He quips with an immediate shake of his head, "Think then open mouth." He holds his hand out for the rolling pin and turns to the bowl. "Righty, how hard can it be." His hands aim straight for the dough, first mistake.
"You can try. But you'll rip holes--" Jaeyi might make a great mean-old-wife, but she'll make a horrible teacher if they ever make the mistake of giving her an apprentice all her own. "Let's just start from square one," she suggests with a thin smile, sidling up alongside Kwei to sort of nudge him down the counter with a bump of her hips, a tilt of her shoulders. "You can't just start manhandling it. Put your hands in that bowl of flour for starters."
Kwei is nudged along with a bit of a blink but he pulls his hands out of the way quickly enough, long fingers dipping into the flour, "I did warn you I was fresh to this type of manhandling." He tells her with a bit of a laugh, reusing her own word. "That would make a right mess wouldn't it?" He checks as flour coated hands now go for the dough.
Again. "Consider it practice." She's a little brisker about collecting flour for her own fingers, Jaeyi just dusting her palms across the top of the counter in a very efficient little coating. The rolling pin-- well, she puts that away for now, sets it safely on the far side of the counter before she flattens the heel of her hand to the edge of the dough. "For future endeavors into manhandling. You need to kind of press it out flat and even first, but try not to squash it on to the counter so it breaks through the flour. Makes sense?"
Kwei watches intently as she works and she did say it was big bit of dough so he uses the heel of his hand to press into the dough, checking how it feels and reacts to his touch. He has the look of someone who is likely to keep going until it's just perfect if you let him. "It does make sense. We'll see how it works out in practice though." So it's with a look of concentration that he sets about trying to flatten it out, not paying much attention to her so he's likely to nudge her gently to the side with his hip as gradually gets into a better position to work.
With a great deal of trust, considering his lack of expertise and her very personal attachment to her cooking, Jaeyi graaaadually steps back and away, but she's going to continue peering over his shoulder for a time. At least until the meticulous way he's flattening the dough starts to emerge. "Honey. Sugar. Darling. It will take you till the next Pass if you keep at it like that. Can I--?" Do this.
Kwei is a studious worker, but lets face it when it comes to these more manual tasks he's hopeless, though it does prove good with his usually immaculately pressed clothes. "Huh?" He starts, glancing round at Jaeyi again. "Am I doing it wrong?" He asks, worried. "Ah just slow, is this actually getting used for dinner or just for my learning?" A slight hint of panic there at the thought this might get served.
"Well. Yes. The idea is that someone's going to eat it." She was, after all, cooking-for-real in here prior to Kwei's arrival. "You're not doing it wrong," Jaeyi promises, a little pet in her voice though, given floury states and hands-off issues, she doesn't actually pet him. "What if I get it nice and leveled out, and then you can do some rolling. It'll be like a sampler in crust-making, hmn?"
Kwei stammers a little at the thought. "Well yeah I knew it'd get eaten, assuming I didn't screw it up completely." He murmurs taking a single step to the side, hands going to rest on the edge of the counter after a few aborted flaps to find somewhere safe for them. "I guess so." He replies to her, only a little hurt peeking through in his tone.
It's going better than last time, at least? "Don't sound so sad. You're doing well. There's just a... mentality. It's never going to come out perfect, the idea is just to get it to a point where you can roll it out neatly." As he's got it started, it doesn't take so long of her pitching weight on to her hands, pushing out lumps, evening out gaps, and it's a square about a quarter-inch thick. "How long have you been a harper, Kwei?"
Kwei leans forward on his hands while he watches her hands work expertly away at the dough. "You're good at this, just to state the obvious." He says with a smile. "Been what six turns since I moved to the Hall rather than doing my thing at the hold." He tells her, "I was eleven when it al happened, useless for working a boat and an unwanted talent."
"I consider it practice." Occasionally, someone ought to slap Jaeyi, because that remark with that look-- yes, eyelashes and an inviting little smile-- and the business with her hands have no place in a tentative little friendship trying to reflourish. Ahem; "So, six turns as a harper and ten minutes as a baker. Don't feel bad you're not exactly pro yet. You need to put flour on that rolling pin," with a nod to it.
Kwei turns to face her just in time to catch that look and grins, eyes all a sparkle. More like how it used to be, still no touching yet. "I should be able to put my hand to anything as a Harper." He explains, completely missing the double meaning under the circumstances given it's a standard Harper saying. "We're mean t to be able to do most things if even the basics so this is all Harper training right." He reaches over for the rolling pin and holding it one end, he picks up a handful of flour and rubs it along the length of the wood, be thankful it's him and not Jaeyi on that task.
Yeah, that would be the reason that Jaeyi assigned the harper to it and not herself. Lascivious jokes about massaging dough aside... It's an echo of his earlier comment and a slightly less blatant smile when she glances over and reports, "You're good at that." A twitch of her brows and she holds out a hand for it, having learned a valuable lesson: /Demonstrate/ first. "I know some things you could put your hand to," is a little sing-song, followed by a briskness that has no place in the turn of conversation. "Pay attention."
Kwei tilts the rolling pin back towards her with a charming smile. "Why thank you." Yep, sarcasm, certainly drifting into those tones with that reply. Her second comment does have him raising his brows a touch. "I'm sure you do." Is all he says though, the look though speaks far more than what comes out of his mouth. "How could I not pay attention when you're so delightful to watch at work." Despite the playful flirty words his attention is quite firmly on her hands and the rolling pin, watching how she does it.
"Mmmn. Wait until it's time to chop carrots. You'll rethink 'delightful'." The down-south glance that accompanies that makes the parallel to the shape of carrots and certain aspects of a fellow's lap. But Jaeyi's quick to look back up, to pat her hand around the pin to ensure the powder's nice and even, and then to demonstrate how to roll out from the center, out from the center, out from the center, expanding the rectangle by degrees. Must not be a round pie? At the end, she turns to him gravely and asks, "Are you ready?"
Kwei glances back to her face. "Depends how suggestively your doing that." He says simply before he's going back to watching again. "Ready for what?" He checks, adding his own ever so sensible suggestions first. "Is that it thin enough or do you want me to continue until it is?"
Really. "How suggestively do you want me to?" Jaeyi, with nothing to do for a moment, stands to one side of where she's got Kwei working, leaning on one hand, gesturing to the crust with the other. "Oh, I think it's important that you have some hands-on experience. Finish." With the pin set in the middle of the dough, she's set to supervise.
"Not very if it involves a knife and meaningful glances at parts of my anatomy." He replies with an impishly charming wink before he sets himself to pick up the rolling pin, he was watching and paying very close attention and it's only after a few attempts to figure out how much pressure he needs to be applying that he starts in on it at a much better ate this time. "Mind and tell me when to stop, I don't know how thin it's meant to be."
They've already talked of emasculation, so may as well finish the job; "I could probably watch this all day. You have no idea how gratifying it is to watch." Jaeyi only twice points out a place where it needs a quick pass, where the steadily increasing translucency of the dough isn't matching. "But we'll call it good there. You go and get that bowl--" A big, gray ceramic one filled with half-spiced apples. "--and those spices, and we'll have this finished in no time." Leaving her the meticulous task of transferring the dough to the pan.
Kwei smiles over at her. "What?" He replies. "Watching someone else work at something badly?" He asks, moving the rolling pin out of the way after a few corrections. He pads off to collect the bowl and carries it back to where they're working then away again to get the spice jars, bringing them over in smaller batches than she did earlier.
Patience. Patience patience patience to watch him make two trips out of what should be a single venture. It gives Jaeyi time to get the dough neatly into the bottom of the pan, even to wait until he's returned with a quick smile. "Smell," is her quick direction, with an unlidded jar held toward his nose-- the strong, half-sweet smell of cloves from the dark, ground contents.
Kwei is just being careful, where would he be if he dropped one. "Mmmmmh." Is the long drawn out sound as he closes his eyes, breathing deeply. "Nice." He settles back onto the flats of his feet again and looks at her. "How strong do you make it usually, more or less than how it'll come out, does the cooking increase or decrease the strength of flavour?" Sensible question?
"Smell the rest," is her suggestion, the lids being left off after she sort of powders them on top of the apples. "And tell me which ones you recognize on scent alone." Cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, vanilla, very finely powdered brown sugar, and ginger (careful with that last). "It all sort of creates a stew of the apples, which then seeps in and fills them up while the get soft and cooked. So you tend to-- well, I hate to say under-spice things, but that's probably how it starts out. You have to dump in the apples, by the way." Since she dumped in the spices.
Kwei checks the others. "Cinnamon, Vanilla and Ginger." Are the ones he names and gets right, the others he gets completely wrong. "Juts pour it all in?" He double checks, moving over to lift the bowl and steps over to the tray, tipping it up gently a bit at a time to start pouring, he does stop every now and then though. "All of it or should I stop and smoosh it into the corners before adding more?"
"Mmn." With Jaeyi stepping back. Because a bunch of slightly softened apples are going to splash when they hit that crust-- in her experience. But, then, Kwei does seem to have a slightly more subdued approach to accomplishing things in the kitchen. "Pour pour pour. Then I can pet and praise you for having made two thirds of a pie," and she's all set to beam upon him like he actually accomplished something of great merit.
Kwei dumps all of it in, his immaculate clothing showing that he's careful about things like splashes, once he's finished though he takes a step away and puts the bowl down on the counter and turns, hand going to the counter while he looks at her. "That seemed easy enough, though I don't think I could do it on my own, you certainly deserve all the praise for keeping the likes of me fed." His beaming smile says it all just how appreciative he is of her, or her baking.
Jaeyi applauds, little puffs of flour flying off the ends of her fingers when they clap clap clap together. "Easy as pie, as they say," she answers back, wrinkling her nose at a phrase that clearly does not sit so well with the pie-makers. "I'll make sure to set aside a piece of your very first pie for you, promise." It's not exactly the petting she promised; though she clasps her hands, there's a sort of hopeful look sent across to him. Does he wa~nt her to? 'Cause she would. But it might be another big-step-back, all things considered.
The clapping does indeed raise his mood with a laugh coming through. "Thank you." He replies. "For everything." He adds the last as more of an appreciative murmur, he certainly looks like he'd accept more than just a clap of floury hands, he takes a step forward as if his intention is to wrap his arms around her in a hug, though he stops and glances at his hands, "Floury."
"Story of my life," points out Jaeyi, gesturing with a flip of her fingers to the general state of her apron, her own hands, the counter, pretty much 90% of the things that surround her, touch her, or get touched by her. It's only a little crook of her finger to beckon Kwei on over, though?
Kwei is going to freak when he realises he's covered in flour and wondering how easy it's going to be to get it out of his clothing but for the moment he's not caring as he takes the last step to reach her, his hands slipping round her, drawing her to him in a hug. She may have other ideas but that's how it starts.
Jaeyi's always got other ideas. See above re: story of her life. But she's made it this far, and she's not going to ruin it by jumping all over him. It's not exactly /passion/, but she settles her arms carefully around his neck, keeps her hands dangling out in the ether where flour won't get all over him (she does this a lot, remember), turns her face just a little into the curve of his neck. And that's it. Just-- just just just a hug. Dammit.
Kwei isn't quite as clued up on such things and his hands wrap around her and hold her close for a few long moments. Enough that the kitchen staff are likely to notice, but the chaste kiss that follows as he releases her and steps back shouldn't be intent enough for the gossips. "Thanks again, I'll go get myself cleaned up and see you later, dinner?" He asks as he heads off.
IC Date: 9/17/19
Kitchen, Fort Weyr
Fort's kitchens are both immense and well-appointed, which ensures that the kitchen staff is able to feed the Weyr's populace as efficiently as possible. The counters are carved out of the native granite, smoothed and polished through turns of use; there are several stoves and ovens placed along the walls, leaving plenty of room for various cooks to do their job and not be tripping over their fellows. Any ingredients or tools they may need can be found in drawers and cabinets, either within arm's reach or within reach of drudges. Hanging from the ceiling and on hooks on the wall are copper utensils, pots, and pans, all quite well-worn, but still serviceable.
In the middle of this room are a couple of 'islands', composed of wood and with marble countertops, to allow assistants to prepare things and not need to get in the way of the cooks using the main counters. Dumb waiters are located out of the way, but still convenient for getting food down to the living cavern, rather than needing to send people down the stairs. Despite the constant motion and activity -- which slows only at night, but never fully ceases -- everything is meticulously kept clean, from top to bottom.
Most of the staff is involved in eating their own lunch about now, the preparations complete and only a small amount of actual prep-work left for dinner. Jaeyi's keeping herself occupied a little more thoroughly, off in her corner-- where she's largely out-of-sight, out-of-mind-- with the remants of her own lunch on a plate, with a busy little bounce in her step when she goes trotting off toward the spice cupboard (one Kwei should recognize!) to retrieve a few jars. Flour smudges her apron, but she's generally a pretty tidy cook, so she's not a disaster or anything.
Kwei makes his way into the kitchens, a little nervous, he's been to the baths and everything recently, his hair still slightly damp as he wends his way through the kitchen towards Jaeyi's little corner where he leans his back against the counter to await her return from the spice cupboard.
There's a blink when Jaeyi comes around the corner with both hands full of spice jars, four of them clutched in her fingers and a pair poking up out of her apron pocket. The blink is because there stands Kwei, and, for a second, her expression is blatantly confused by his presence. Quickly, she drags up a smile and a safe-seeming half-jest; "Are you lost?"
Kwei smiles and shakes his head at her reaction, hands reaching out to help with the jars if needed. "Not lost, here for my baking lesson." He explains with a grin, "Unless you'd rather I wasn't here and I should go?" He queries of her, no extra expression other than a mild curiosity.
"Ooohhhh," says Jaeyi, enlightened. She shakes her head at the help offer, much safer for her to just place those things on the countertop herself rather than risk seeing the jars fall and shatter in the change of hands. "No no no, by all means. Stay. Though-- well, I had thought something easy like those cereal bars might be best? And I'm..." She trails off, looks around her station and the counter surrounding it. "I'm not sure whether it's horribly appropriate or ironic or what but. Pies."
Kwei drops his hands away again to fold together in front of him while Jaeyi puts the stuff down on the counter. "Cereal bars sound nice and easy, though I'm willing to make a pie if you want, for this one, you are the master and I am the student here to learn." He tells her with a bit of a smile showing through, not forced by any means, but he's trying to make light of things so this doesn't disintegrate like the last time.
Divested of her things, Jaeyi leans her hip against the edge of the counter for a time to contemplate. Mostly to contemplate Kwei, something about him causing her eyes to narrow and her lips to quirk speculatively. Then it dawns on her what; "Apron. Wait here. You can make crust for me." Which sounds totally un-sexy, and she's actually a little proud of that fact while she's off to find an apron from a series of hooks, sorting through for one meant for 5'6" and not 5'9".
Kwei is happy to just watch her back while she thinks and when it comes out as apron he shakes his head. "Yeah, can't have me all floured up can we." He replies as he waits for her to pick one out for him, "Is that the easy part?" He asks about the crust, "I could just pour the filling in or something, that might be safer."
"It's actually," begins Jaeyi before she's actually come all the way back, holding up the chose apron by the upper band; although, yes, he could just duck his head through, there's an expectation that Kwei will take it and solve the tying-on himself. "Not that difficult. It's already made, just cooling a little. And it's a lot more engaging than just pouring the filling." A quick, secret tone adds, "And it'll certainly teach you not to throw yourself to the mercies of a Baker in the future, won't it?"
Kwei does indeed just duck his head down and through the neck part, though his hands do come up to take the band from her so he can settled it himself. "Bah, and here was I looking for an easy time of it." Though a couple of sevenday ago being at the mercies of this baker would have been a tempting idea. He deals with finding the strings at his sides and wraps them around behind him, finding them too short to come all the way round the front he ties them off at the back. "So as much as I hate to say this, where do you want me?"
Jaeyi demonstrates a little something: how to tie an apron in front. She unties her own, shows the length of the strings, wraps them around the back and all the way around to the front, where the bow is a lot easier to manage. Just a silent pro-tip. With a really-now look, she counters, "If you're going to lay strident little ground rules, you can't go saying things like that." But she drags her fingers along the edge of the counter. "This way," said the spider to the fly, to a spot on the counter all splattered with flour already. "Any idea what you're doing or totally virg-- green?"
Kwei ducks his head away, abashed, "Sorry." Is the simple apology, "Just trying to be more myself." He tells her as he watches the trick. "Well to be perfectly honest, yeah virgin to this endeavour." He tells her with a faint smile. "I'm from a big family, there was plenty of women around to do the cooking for us, so all I ever learned was how to handle hot pastries while I was stealing them from the cooling racks."
"Well, more yourself better think about certain turns of phrase." Jaeyi, prim, doesn't work very well, but she gives it a fighting shot with a crinkle of her nose and an emphatic little nod. Under her breath, there's a mumble about scalding little boys' fingers off if they can't keep them off hot pastries, but she doesn't qualify at an audible volume. "The idea," she continues busily, trotting around to collect a big, ceramic bowl covered loosely with cloths, bringing it heavily over to the floured surface, "is to take this big lump of dough and roll it out smooth. Feeling confident?"
Kwei follows alongside the counter till he's at the indicated spot. "I'm not going to promise I can think that fast." He replies with a grin as he looks round at the big bowl. "This is the bit where I have to roll it into submission with a rolling pin?" He checks, proud of himself at least for that part of things. "I'm sure I can manage that easily enough." Oh how little he knows about the process.
Jaeyi suggests, "Consider it practice. You won't go very far as a harper if you're not clever, will you?" With a cheery little mmmmhmn, she collects up a rolling pin for him, though she withholds it for the moment, one end in hand, the other against her shoulder. She'll make a lovely mean-old-wife some day. "The thing about pie crust. It's sticky and delicate and it likes to cling to everything it's not supposed to. --Like girls! So you should have this figured out in no time." Here, rolling pin. Here, bowl of flour. Here, she's so going to find this entertaining.
Kwei smiles and bobs his head in acknowledgement. "That's why I'm an apprentice." He states easily. "I'm still learning how to handle things properly, in case you hadn't seen that already." The later part more mumbled than said aloud, but she'll probably still catch it. "Am I allowed to peel it off again if it does get stuck?" He quips with an immediate shake of his head, "Think then open mouth." He holds his hand out for the rolling pin and turns to the bowl. "Righty, how hard can it be." His hands aim straight for the dough, first mistake.
"You can try. But you'll rip holes--" Jaeyi might make a great mean-old-wife, but she'll make a horrible teacher if they ever make the mistake of giving her an apprentice all her own. "Let's just start from square one," she suggests with a thin smile, sidling up alongside Kwei to sort of nudge him down the counter with a bump of her hips, a tilt of her shoulders. "You can't just start manhandling it. Put your hands in that bowl of flour for starters."
Kwei is nudged along with a bit of a blink but he pulls his hands out of the way quickly enough, long fingers dipping into the flour, "I did warn you I was fresh to this type of manhandling." He tells her with a bit of a laugh, reusing her own word. "That would make a right mess wouldn't it?" He checks as flour coated hands now go for the dough.
Again. "Consider it practice." She's a little brisker about collecting flour for her own fingers, Jaeyi just dusting her palms across the top of the counter in a very efficient little coating. The rolling pin-- well, she puts that away for now, sets it safely on the far side of the counter before she flattens the heel of her hand to the edge of the dough. "For future endeavors into manhandling. You need to kind of press it out flat and even first, but try not to squash it on to the counter so it breaks through the flour. Makes sense?"
Kwei watches intently as she works and she did say it was big bit of dough so he uses the heel of his hand to press into the dough, checking how it feels and reacts to his touch. He has the look of someone who is likely to keep going until it's just perfect if you let him. "It does make sense. We'll see how it works out in practice though." So it's with a look of concentration that he sets about trying to flatten it out, not paying much attention to her so he's likely to nudge her gently to the side with his hip as gradually gets into a better position to work.
With a great deal of trust, considering his lack of expertise and her very personal attachment to her cooking, Jaeyi graaaadually steps back and away, but she's going to continue peering over his shoulder for a time. At least until the meticulous way he's flattening the dough starts to emerge. "Honey. Sugar. Darling. It will take you till the next Pass if you keep at it like that. Can I--?" Do this.
Kwei is a studious worker, but lets face it when it comes to these more manual tasks he's hopeless, though it does prove good with his usually immaculately pressed clothes. "Huh?" He starts, glancing round at Jaeyi again. "Am I doing it wrong?" He asks, worried. "Ah just slow, is this actually getting used for dinner or just for my learning?" A slight hint of panic there at the thought this might get served.
"Well. Yes. The idea is that someone's going to eat it." She was, after all, cooking-for-real in here prior to Kwei's arrival. "You're not doing it wrong," Jaeyi promises, a little pet in her voice though, given floury states and hands-off issues, she doesn't actually pet him. "What if I get it nice and leveled out, and then you can do some rolling. It'll be like a sampler in crust-making, hmn?"
Kwei stammers a little at the thought. "Well yeah I knew it'd get eaten, assuming I didn't screw it up completely." He murmurs taking a single step to the side, hands going to rest on the edge of the counter after a few aborted flaps to find somewhere safe for them. "I guess so." He replies to her, only a little hurt peeking through in his tone.
It's going better than last time, at least? "Don't sound so sad. You're doing well. There's just a... mentality. It's never going to come out perfect, the idea is just to get it to a point where you can roll it out neatly." As he's got it started, it doesn't take so long of her pitching weight on to her hands, pushing out lumps, evening out gaps, and it's a square about a quarter-inch thick. "How long have you been a harper, Kwei?"
Kwei leans forward on his hands while he watches her hands work expertly away at the dough. "You're good at this, just to state the obvious." He says with a smile. "Been what six turns since I moved to the Hall rather than doing my thing at the hold." He tells her, "I was eleven when it al happened, useless for working a boat and an unwanted talent."
"I consider it practice." Occasionally, someone ought to slap Jaeyi, because that remark with that look-- yes, eyelashes and an inviting little smile-- and the business with her hands have no place in a tentative little friendship trying to reflourish. Ahem; "So, six turns as a harper and ten minutes as a baker. Don't feel bad you're not exactly pro yet. You need to put flour on that rolling pin," with a nod to it.
Kwei turns to face her just in time to catch that look and grins, eyes all a sparkle. More like how it used to be, still no touching yet. "I should be able to put my hand to anything as a Harper." He explains, completely missing the double meaning under the circumstances given it's a standard Harper saying. "We're mean t to be able to do most things if even the basics so this is all Harper training right." He reaches over for the rolling pin and holding it one end, he picks up a handful of flour and rubs it along the length of the wood, be thankful it's him and not Jaeyi on that task.
Yeah, that would be the reason that Jaeyi assigned the harper to it and not herself. Lascivious jokes about massaging dough aside... It's an echo of his earlier comment and a slightly less blatant smile when she glances over and reports, "You're good at that." A twitch of her brows and she holds out a hand for it, having learned a valuable lesson: /Demonstrate/ first. "I know some things you could put your hand to," is a little sing-song, followed by a briskness that has no place in the turn of conversation. "Pay attention."
Kwei tilts the rolling pin back towards her with a charming smile. "Why thank you." Yep, sarcasm, certainly drifting into those tones with that reply. Her second comment does have him raising his brows a touch. "I'm sure you do." Is all he says though, the look though speaks far more than what comes out of his mouth. "How could I not pay attention when you're so delightful to watch at work." Despite the playful flirty words his attention is quite firmly on her hands and the rolling pin, watching how she does it.
"Mmmn. Wait until it's time to chop carrots. You'll rethink 'delightful'." The down-south glance that accompanies that makes the parallel to the shape of carrots and certain aspects of a fellow's lap. But Jaeyi's quick to look back up, to pat her hand around the pin to ensure the powder's nice and even, and then to demonstrate how to roll out from the center, out from the center, out from the center, expanding the rectangle by degrees. Must not be a round pie? At the end, she turns to him gravely and asks, "Are you ready?"
Kwei glances back to her face. "Depends how suggestively your doing that." He says simply before he's going back to watching again. "Ready for what?" He checks, adding his own ever so sensible suggestions first. "Is that it thin enough or do you want me to continue until it is?"
Really. "How suggestively do you want me to?" Jaeyi, with nothing to do for a moment, stands to one side of where she's got Kwei working, leaning on one hand, gesturing to the crust with the other. "Oh, I think it's important that you have some hands-on experience. Finish." With the pin set in the middle of the dough, she's set to supervise.
"Not very if it involves a knife and meaningful glances at parts of my anatomy." He replies with an impishly charming wink before he sets himself to pick up the rolling pin, he was watching and paying very close attention and it's only after a few attempts to figure out how much pressure he needs to be applying that he starts in on it at a much better ate this time. "Mind and tell me when to stop, I don't know how thin it's meant to be."
They've already talked of emasculation, so may as well finish the job; "I could probably watch this all day. You have no idea how gratifying it is to watch." Jaeyi only twice points out a place where it needs a quick pass, where the steadily increasing translucency of the dough isn't matching. "But we'll call it good there. You go and get that bowl--" A big, gray ceramic one filled with half-spiced apples. "--and those spices, and we'll have this finished in no time." Leaving her the meticulous task of transferring the dough to the pan.
Kwei smiles over at her. "What?" He replies. "Watching someone else work at something badly?" He asks, moving the rolling pin out of the way after a few corrections. He pads off to collect the bowl and carries it back to where they're working then away again to get the spice jars, bringing them over in smaller batches than she did earlier.
Patience. Patience patience patience to watch him make two trips out of what should be a single venture. It gives Jaeyi time to get the dough neatly into the bottom of the pan, even to wait until he's returned with a quick smile. "Smell," is her quick direction, with an unlidded jar held toward his nose-- the strong, half-sweet smell of cloves from the dark, ground contents.
Kwei is just being careful, where would he be if he dropped one. "Mmmmmh." Is the long drawn out sound as he closes his eyes, breathing deeply. "Nice." He settles back onto the flats of his feet again and looks at her. "How strong do you make it usually, more or less than how it'll come out, does the cooking increase or decrease the strength of flavour?" Sensible question?
"Smell the rest," is her suggestion, the lids being left off after she sort of powders them on top of the apples. "And tell me which ones you recognize on scent alone." Cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, vanilla, very finely powdered brown sugar, and ginger (careful with that last). "It all sort of creates a stew of the apples, which then seeps in and fills them up while the get soft and cooked. So you tend to-- well, I hate to say under-spice things, but that's probably how it starts out. You have to dump in the apples, by the way." Since she dumped in the spices.
Kwei checks the others. "Cinnamon, Vanilla and Ginger." Are the ones he names and gets right, the others he gets completely wrong. "Juts pour it all in?" He double checks, moving over to lift the bowl and steps over to the tray, tipping it up gently a bit at a time to start pouring, he does stop every now and then though. "All of it or should I stop and smoosh it into the corners before adding more?"
"Mmn." With Jaeyi stepping back. Because a bunch of slightly softened apples are going to splash when they hit that crust-- in her experience. But, then, Kwei does seem to have a slightly more subdued approach to accomplishing things in the kitchen. "Pour pour pour. Then I can pet and praise you for having made two thirds of a pie," and she's all set to beam upon him like he actually accomplished something of great merit.
Kwei dumps all of it in, his immaculate clothing showing that he's careful about things like splashes, once he's finished though he takes a step away and puts the bowl down on the counter and turns, hand going to the counter while he looks at her. "That seemed easy enough, though I don't think I could do it on my own, you certainly deserve all the praise for keeping the likes of me fed." His beaming smile says it all just how appreciative he is of her, or her baking.
Jaeyi applauds, little puffs of flour flying off the ends of her fingers when they clap clap clap together. "Easy as pie, as they say," she answers back, wrinkling her nose at a phrase that clearly does not sit so well with the pie-makers. "I'll make sure to set aside a piece of your very first pie for you, promise." It's not exactly the petting she promised; though she clasps her hands, there's a sort of hopeful look sent across to him. Does he wa~nt her to? 'Cause she would. But it might be another big-step-back, all things considered.
The clapping does indeed raise his mood with a laugh coming through. "Thank you." He replies. "For everything." He adds the last as more of an appreciative murmur, he certainly looks like he'd accept more than just a clap of floury hands, he takes a step forward as if his intention is to wrap his arms around her in a hug, though he stops and glances at his hands, "Floury."
"Story of my life," points out Jaeyi, gesturing with a flip of her fingers to the general state of her apron, her own hands, the counter, pretty much 90% of the things that surround her, touch her, or get touched by her. It's only a little crook of her finger to beckon Kwei on over, though?
Kwei is going to freak when he realises he's covered in flour and wondering how easy it's going to be to get it out of his clothing but for the moment he's not caring as he takes the last step to reach her, his hands slipping round her, drawing her to him in a hug. She may have other ideas but that's how it starts.
Jaeyi's always got other ideas. See above re: story of her life. But she's made it this far, and she's not going to ruin it by jumping all over him. It's not exactly /passion/, but she settles her arms carefully around his neck, keeps her hands dangling out in the ether where flour won't get all over him (she does this a lot, remember), turns her face just a little into the curve of his neck. And that's it. Just-- just just just a hug. Dammit.
Kwei isn't quite as clued up on such things and his hands wrap around her and hold her close for a few long moments. Enough that the kitchen staff are likely to notice, but the chaste kiss that follows as he releases her and steps back shouldn't be intent enough for the gossips. "Thanks again, I'll go get myself cleaned up and see you later, dinner?" He asks as he heads off.