one is one too many cooks [OPEN]

[worthpraise]

Characters: Amaterasu (worthpraise) and anyone else!
Setting/Location: The caravan kitchen on level 2
Date & Time: Day 2
Summary: Amaterasu has been officially appointed as one of the caravan cooks! Let's see what Iron Chef Ammy can cook up...

Comments

[worthpraise]

Smelled like a person. Amaterasu tilted her head, allowing the pot to slide off and hit the ground, where it bounced once before wobbling to a stop. She watched him steadily, trying to read his expression. Hopefully he wasn't one of those people who would scream and run away if she got close to him, wailing pleas about how not-tasty and tough he was. Amaterasu couldn't hold back a slight snort of derision. People sometimes.

So with a bored-looking yawn, she simply lay down, letting her head come down to rest on her front paws. She didn't close her eyes, instead just staying put in the most "look at me I'm completely harmless" manner she had. She wasn't entirely good at it - she was anything but completely harmless and she usually didn't try to hide that fact. But she was an official Caravan Cook and Member of the Defense Force, and the very last thing she wanted was for people to make a fuss about her presence here. She didn't think they would kick her out of the caravan - not when they had let her on in the first place, but it was awfully hard to protect people when they thought they needed protection from you.

[worthpraise]

Amaterasu's eyes followed Yuki as he approached, but that was the only indication that she was even aware of his presence. She sighed softly, ears going back into a relaxed, slightly plaintive position. That's right, just go about your business, she seemed to say. She would suffer this lack of attention and scratches nobly.

This was an age-old tactic, as Yuki had unfortunately found out with his neighbor's dog. Like a bird pretending its wing was broken to draw predators away from the nest before flying away out of reach, Amaterasu was trying to draw Yuki by appearing as normal and harmless as possible. But at least she wasn't like that dog - she wasn't getting him to trust her so she could turn on him; she just wanted him to trust her!

She almost sighed. Somehow fighting demons had been less complicated than traveling on this caravan was turning out to be. Here she was a diplomat more than a warrior, and this form was not the most suitable for the role.

[worthpraise]

As soon as Yuki stood in front of her, Amaterasu started wagging her tail. That had to be a universal sign of friendliness, right? She lifted her head off her paws when he crouched down and gave him the least teeth-showing smile she had when he greeted her.

But how to answer his question... She looked over at the pot which was still sitting a few feet away, then back at Yuki. Her ears went back against her head as she gave him a more pleading expression. Most likely he'd assume that she'd just been looking for food, but "kitchen/food" and "trouble" were the best things she could think of to convey. Maybe if they actually went into the kitchen she could show him that she'd been trying to cook and not just eat.

[worthpraise]

Amaterasu looked at Yuki in clear surprise, ears swiveling back and then forward again. Then she nodded slowly, making sure the gesture was clear. He'd caught on to that much faster than she had expected - and as much as she wanted to, she was pretty sure she couldn't say it was due to her not-so-stellar miming skills.

Again slowly, trying not to startle him, she rose up to a sitting position, head tilted and watching him slightly. Hello? she said as a test - normal humans couldn't hear her, but she was learning more and more that she couldn't just assume people couldn't hear her. Or maybe he was just an unusually perceptive person.

In case he couldn't hear her, she didn't want him to freak out about her sitting there, staring at him and waiting for a reply. Instead she picked up the pot's handle gently in her teeth and turned to head back into the kitchen.

[worthpraise]

Amaterasu turned back in the doorway, pot still clenched between her teeth. Unfortunately for Yuki, her thoughts jumbled together for a moment, a mix of surprise and a sort of satisfaction that her earlier suspicion had been correct.

So you can hear me, she said, studying him slightly. Most people cannot. I have fallen out of the habit of actually speaking to most.

And with that she headed back into the kitchen. The pots and pans weren't going to clean themselves up, and this pot wasn't the most comfortable thing to be holding onto. Even if he didn't want to help, they could talk while she fixed things.

[worthpraise]

Amaterasu looked a Yuki with a puzzled expression. And why would I not be able to understand you? Even regular dogs could understand a certain amount; more than humans usually gave them credit for, she assumed.

Unfortunately, Amaterasu had no special way, no secret methods, no magical cooking powers. She just had her paws, a very large sword, and her regular magical powers. Which did not bring her any closer to having a stew.

She sighed, her ears going back. Yes. She sounded frustrated. It would be bad enough if she had wanted to cook something but found she couldn't - to be charged with a cook's position and be unable to fill it... That was an even worse failure, of a sort she couldn't accept.