(Untitled)

[hadyougoing]

Ava is roasting chestnuts on a somewhat-less-than-open fire.

She's not really sure what you do with the chestnuts once you roast them, so this seems to mostly entail tossing chestnuts into the fire and watching them blacken. But she also has eggnog, and has broken out her Santa hat for the occasion, and is currently tying the final ribbons onto

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[3nanashi]

Trowa is not on the list. So he probably does not get a present. :(

. . . Which is okay, since he wasn't expecting one anyhow.

The poor doomed chestnuts get an impassive sidelong look, though.

[hadyougoing]

Ava looks sidelongishly right back.

".... What?"

[3nanashi]

"That's not the best way to cook them." Mildly.

Maybe she's just burning things.

In which case, there are better things to burn than perfectly good food, but whatever. People are weird.

[hadyougoing]

"Oh," Ava says.

She considers this.

"Have you roasted chestnuts before? I was mainly just doing it because it's supposed to be seasonal."

[3nanashi]

"Yeah."

They grow wild throughout a lot of Europe. And campfire cooking is a good supplement to MREs.

Another chestnut explodes, shell fragments bouncing off the inside of the fireplace and rebounding off some sort of forcefield screen. Trowa fails to flinch.

[hadyougoing]

Ava beams at the miniature explosion.

Destruction pleases her.

"So how's it work?"

[3nanashi]

Trowa also fails to react to the beaming.

"Usually you have a roaster."

Made out of some scrap parts and wire by some enterprising and bored soul, in Trowa's experience, but he's given to understand that they're specifically made too.

[hadyougoing]

Ava looks suspicious.

"Like a long stick, or a crock pot?"

[3nanashi]

. . .

"Like a cage."

Sort of.

"To contain them."

[hadyougoing]

"Huh."

Ava considers this.

"Like a lobster trap?"

[3nanashi]

Trowa shrugs. Slightly.

Whether this is a 'yeah, sort of' or an 'I don't know, I am unfamiliar with those' is up to Ava to determine.

[hadyougoing]

"Hmmm."

Ava flashes him another bright smile.

"You're a real expert on chestnuts. Are you going to totally judge me if I just keep watching them pop?"

Pop-- pop-- pop-- goes one. It reminds her of bursting capillaries.

[3nanashi]

Yes.

But only because he judges everybody!

Trowa says: "No."

It reminds him of distant grenades. So it goes.

[hadyougoing]

"Cool," Ava giggles.

And for a moment, she listens to the popping contentedly.

"Do you have Christmas where you're from? Or do you roast chestnuts on some ... other ... holiday?"

[3nanashi]

"We have Christmas."

He wasn't actually aware of a specific Christmas chestnut-roasting tradition before this conversation, but he fails to mention that.

"We didn't roast chestnuts," he does add. Eventually.

[hadyougoing]

Ava tilts her head as if this is not only interesting but also informative.

"What do you do instead?"