[SE] Yeast of the Sun, Zest of the Moon
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
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Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#1
In every season came the chance to learn something new. A new skill, a new language, a new way of looking at the world... so long as he was learning, the lorekeeper felt like he could keep going forward with his head held high. Some skills, of course, were easier to learn than others, and some skills required the right teacher... and a blend of patience, persistence, and humility.

He could usually claim two out of three, which really wasn't too bad, was it?

It was why he had asked Amalia to continue teaching him the art of baking after the Fiat Lux party had turned out such tasty treats from all of them, their loaves made with love and laughter and selling from the Devas Bakery stall at the festival. He had been delighted to see people enjoying the (slightly lumpy) bread with the crescent moons, realizing the smiles on their faces were from something he had made with his own two hands, something tangible, beyond the ephemeral 'goods' that he usually provided in story, song, and lore. He had wanted to continue to have something to offer, quietly shamed by the reminders of the world around him that the Hollowed Grounds was not a place where idle hands could be long supported. And so he worked on improving his smithing skills with Caiside, learning how to help Rory around his farm, and continuing his medical training with Vai.

And now here he was, knocking on the door of Devas Bakery once more in the hopes that his heartsister was feeling patient today as he slipped inside, Isuma trotting between his legs with her usual blithe confidence that he would avoid tripping over her as she enthusiastically Reep!ed for Amalia's attention. "Amalia?" he called hopefully. "I'm here for my lesson. And I brought the sunflower seeds you wanted." He'd felt a little like he was catching the sun while harvesting them, in fact! And now he was excited to see what they were going to make with the captured pieces of summer in the bag he carried at his side.
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#2

She's imperfect, but she tries
She is good, but she lies
She is hard on herself
She is broken and won't ask for help


Amalia is a student, not a teacher: she learns and questions and seeks and pursues. So Jigano's request had been a surprise, making her laugh in incredulity: Me? Teach? When I know nothing? Anxiety rising in her gut like a tide, she had twisted and resisted initially, believing herself utterly incompetent at educating another.

Yet her time preparing for the festival had been jovial, the resulting labors of her friends filling her with pride. To see their wares alongside her own and know that she had played a part in making that happen made Fiat Lux that much brighter. She is happy to share the magic her grandmother left her to mix and mold, turn inedible ingredients into something delicious. And if there is anyone she need not fear embarrass herself before it is the silver bard, who has followed her into fire and still stays by her side.

Thus Amalia acquiesced, and thus she finds herself today, waiting at the bakery counter for Jigano to arrive. She has devised a recipe for them to use featuring sunflower seeds and orange rind, a little ambitious but good nonetheless. The sunflower seeds make a surrogate sunlight; the orange, she hopes, will lend a warm color. They sit on the counter along with old standbys: flour and butter, eggs and sugar, nutmeg and brandy and mace. All she needs is company, and that is soon to arrive.

"Hi, Jigano," she greets him warmly, smiling as Isuma and the bard slip inside. Jyoti trills from the baker's shoulder, where she has draped herself like a starlit scarf. "I thought we would make sunflower seed cakes, and use them in our baskets to capture the sun. Unless... unless you wanted to do something else...?"

a m a l i a
She is messy, but she's kind
She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone, but she used to be mine


Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#3
As always, his eyes lit up at the sight of his little sister. It might also have had something to do with the delicious smells that always filled the bakery, of course, or the joyful brightness that was Jyoti, but mostly it was for Amalia's smile. He swept both woman and whale a chivalrous bow as Isuma made a far less restrained greeting, bouncing to rub against and twine around the baker's feet as her companion set his bag of seeds down on the counter.

"Dearest Amalia," he smiled fondly at her, reaching out to offer Jyoti a gentle scratch on her head. "I think that sounds wonderful! But I'm afraid I don't know much about how to make them beyond what you taught me in Flowerbirth," he admitted ruefully. "I can mash dough together with ingredients in a bowl, and throw it down on the table to shape it, if you can call my fumble-fingered attempts a 'shape,' but you'll largely be teaching me from scratch how to go about this. I am your willing and humble student." The declaration was accompanied by a roguish wink and a broad grin as he reached back to gather his hair into a tidy tail and loop it up to keep it out of their way. It was warm enough that he had forgone his sleeved tunic-of-many-pockets for a simpler, short-sleeved linen shirt that might have been borrowed from Rory, but the dove-gray color would hide some of the flour sure to fly, if their last adventure in baking had been any indication of what to expect!

"If I could capture your smile, I'd have a light far brighter than the Longheat sun to put in my basket," he declared gallantly, tossing a sunflower seed down to Isuma for her to crack and snack on. "But since I can't do that, these sunflower cakes sound like an excellent back up plan!"
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#4

She's imperfect, but she tries
She is good, but she lies
She is hard on herself
She is broken and won't ask for help


Rather taken aback by her friend's sudden frankness, Amalia colors a vibrant pink, only slightly slow with a rejoinder. "And if I could cleave your ponytail, I would have more silver than the moon, old man." A wink and a laugh; it is all meant in jest, good fun among good friends, the better to lighten the mood. "But I think Rory might skin me alive, if I ruin the look of his silver fox."

She still is not sure how to teach him, he who ever seems to know all. She appreciates the faith, however, will try to rise to what he expects. Dressed in a typical leaf-green tunic, Amalia's hair is in a plait, looped and braided to keep from her face, though strands continue to escape. Turning back to the kitchen, she dons her most beloved gift: an apron made by Deimos' magic, a beautiful starwhale on the front.

Clearing her throat, the girl begins. "The first thing to know about making cakes is the butter and the sugar." She gestures that he should add those ingredients to the bowl, producing a large wire whisk. "You need to mix them thoroughly - cream them, really - so air gets caught inside." It is an old lesson plan, and not her own: as ever, Amalia is reciting limericks, lines once told by a wiser woman of whom the girl is merely a shade.

a m a l i a
She is messy, but she's kind
She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone, but she used to be mine


Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#5
"Old man!" he repeated dramatically, placing a hand over his heart and looking beseechingly to Isuma for pity. "What cruel barbs from such a beautiful rose!" But he said it with a wink and a laugh for both of the ladies in his life and Amalia's teasing mention of Rory brought a flash of an unexpectedly shy grin to his face. "Would he? You might be the only one who could get away with it," he demurred, busying himself with preparing for the baking to come, though there was an undeniably pleased look about him as he did so.

"That's a lovely apron, though! Did Rexanna make it?" he asked curiously as they finished their preparations and took their places at the counter. His mobile expression fell into lines of respectful listening as Amalia began her lesson, and he added the butter first before pouring the sugar on top of it, noting how much of both were used before he slid the bowl over to his friend so she could demonstrate how to cream the mixture with the peculiar tool she had produced. "Air? What for?" His question was genuine, blue eyes alight with the eager pursuit of new information as he studied her technique.
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#6

She's imperfect, but she tries
She is good, but she lies
She is hard on herself
She is broken and won't ask for help


Unphased by the Bard's dramatics, Amalia raises an eyebrow at Isuma as though to include her in the jest. "Not cruel if it's true!" She teases mercilessly, a mischievous smile on her lips. "How old are you, anyway? Forty? Fifty?"

She flushes anew as he mentions her apron, shaking her head. "I got it in the Fae village." A truth, technically: Deimos had made it in the Undercroft, presented it to her there. Straightening it self-consciously, she cannot help the shy and poignant smile, the rosy blush which tints her cheek as she thinks about the man.

But it is time to get to work at last, and Amalia finds thoughts of nonsense abandoned as a strong work ethic takes control. "The air will make it rise better, and keep the dough from becoming too close and dense." She demonstrates how to use the whisk before passing back the bowl for him to finish combining ingredients.

Meanwhile, Amalia assembles her eggs, six in total. "Once the sugar and butter are creamed we add the eggs, which protects the air bubbles and adds moisture. They're also why cakes tend to be yellow." She cracks and egg one-handed as she talks, taking the bowl back to lightly whisk them, and gestures that Jigano should add the rest.

a m a l i a
She is messy, but she's kind
She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone, but she used to be mine


Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#7
"Wicked girl!" he admonished with a laugh. "Have you been taking lessons from Edy?" The fiery owner of the Rathskeller had made the same jokes the last time he'd seen her - well, every time he'd seen her, really. She delighted in rubbing his nose in his mortality. Though she was finally growing up, whether she wanted to or not!

He raised a brow at hearing she got in the Fae Village, looking over the length of it against her tall, elegant body. "Bit big for a Fae apron, isn't it?" he murmured slyly as he followed her directions and added butter and sugar, watching Amalia until she handed him the tools of her trade and he did his best to echo her movements with the whisk.

"Ah, the difference between a heavy bread and a fluffy cake?" he asked hopefully, making the connections once she offered her expertise in clearing up his confusion. He handed the bowl back easily as Isuma peeped mournfully at Jyoti for the starwhale to come down and play with her. "This seems like a great many eggs... though I suppose if it's to add moisture..." He tilted his head in fascination for a moment as he watched the process and the batter starting to smooth out as the first egg was whisked in. After a moment he realized that Amalia wanted him to add the rest and he hurried to do her bidding, long fingers elegantly cracking each egg with a firm, controlled movement and dropping the contents into the bowl with nary a scrap of shell to be found.

"So: butter, sugar, eggs... what else is needed to make the perfect Devas Bakery delight?" he asked, teasing lightly once more.
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#8

She's imperfect, but she tries
She is good, but she lies
She is hard on herself
She is broken and won't ask for help


She only shrugs at his gentle ribbing, coloring brighter beneath the tease. It is easier to answer questions about baking, where at least she knows just where she stands. "Part of the difference." It is a little more complicated than even she knows, the magic of breads, things coming from disparate ingredients into a food. For now she does not have a better answer except to nod and agree.

Jyoti replies to Isuma's peeping with her own melodious coo, rising at last from Amalia's shoulder to join the griffin in play. "The number of eggs varies a lot. For seed cake they're one of the only liquids, and they help it rise even more, so we use a bunch." As a child Amalia loved cracking eggs, though she struggled with it at times. "Make sure you smell them before you add them, though!" Once she had broken seven eggs into a mixture of cookie dough, only to add the eighth without a scent test. The result was one of the most sickening things she had ever smelled, and the whole batch had to be scrapped, the bowl soaked and scoured, and the bake begun again.

With the eggs fully incorporated, it is time for Amalia's favorite part. "Now we'll add in the spices. You can pick what you want- the only thing that's mandatory is sunflower seeds and orange." Amalia gestures to the overloaded spice rack, and Jyoti cheerfully leads the way. As Jigano picks out flavors the baker adds the seeds and rind, as well as a splash of deep brown brandy and a little molasses as well.

a m a l i a
She is messy, but she's kind
She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone, but she used to be mine


Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#9
He listened with rapt attention as she explained the magic of eggs and seed loafs, belatedly checking the eggs he was cracking after the third one had already gone in. Luckily they all seemed whole and healthy, and he busied himself cleaning up the shells while his teacher whisked the batter to the perfect combination of smooth and lumpy. The mention of spices had him raiding his brow, and a laugh escaped as he gave a wry shake of his head. "What if I pick a bad combination?" he asked, only half in jest. "I don't want to ruin this batch we're working so hard on..."

He wandered over to the spices, humming thoughtfully as he perused the options, tilting his head at the many strange and familiar names on the shelf. "What does well with orange...?" Isuma chirruped as she fluttered and hopped beneath Jyoti, batting at the little stars the whale calf left in her wake. "Lemon zest?" he hazarded. "And... cardamom?" Light flavors, sunshine and flowers, he hoped, as he pulled the cardamom from the shelf and went poking around for a lemon to mangle.

"What are your favorite spices and flavors?" he asked curiously.
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#10

She's imperfect, but she tries
She is good, but she lies
She is hard on herself
She is broken and won't ask for help


Amalia grins at his uncertainty, though in a way that can only be read as kind. "I'm sure you won't," she answers encouragingly, a teasing smile on her lips. "And if you do I will only be disappointed a little." She laughs, watching as Isuma chases Jyoti, who spins tight circles in the air around the griffin, releasing a shower of sparkling stars.

Leaning on the counter top, Amalia waits for her friend to decide. Cardamom in particular gets an approving nod, being one of the girl's own favorite flavors. Taking the spice while he works on the lemon, the baker adds it to the batter, thoughtfully considering his question. "Hmm... maybe lavender and cardamom for sweet, rosemary and thyme for savory?"

Once Jigano has sufficiently brutalized the lemon she gestures to the flour that still awaits. "We want to add the flour slowly, and not mix it up too hard. Fold it- like this." She moves the wooden spoon in a large circle before dragging it down the middle of the mixture, then up and around and down again. It is a method her grandmother always used, thorough and gentle on the developing gluten strands. "If we mix it too little there will be lumps, but if we over-mix the cake will be too dense."

a m a l i a
She is messy, but she's kind
She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone, but she used to be mine


Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#11
"Your disappointment would be a scar upon my pride," he proclaimed dramatically. "Wounding me long after this day has passed! A hint, please, my Amalia?" he begged, and was rewarded with a nod when he mentioned cardamom. He found a stray lemon to try and zest without taking either the skin of his own fingers off, or too much of the white part of the rind. He was moderately successful, and hummed thoughtful notes as she mentioned her own favored flavors. "Rosemary and thyme are some of mine as well," he admitted with a smile. "Though I've found that Isuma has a particular sweet tooth... which is quite impressive for a creature without teeth!" he added with a laugh for the gryphlet, who was dancing on her hind legs beneath the playful Jyoti.

Of course there was flour, and he felt a little sheepish for not thinking of it earlier. There was always flour in baking, wasn't there? He rejoined his mentor and watched her fold the flour carefully into the egg-sugar-butter batter they had already mixed. "How can you tell when you're getting too close to it being overmixed?" he asked curiously. "Do you want it to be smooth, or still a little lumpy by the time you're done?"
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#12

She's imperfect, but she tries
She is good, but she lies
She is hard on herself
She is broken and won't ask for help


"A little bit of both." It is not a particularly helpful answer, but it is the best she can do. The dough has to be only just mixed, a useless modifier which always annoyed her as a youth. "You want to mix it until you can't see any more flour, but not much longer than that because you'll get rid of all your precious air bubbles." She passes the bowl to Jigano to finish and retreats into the back, confident that he will bring the batter to an adequate level of completion.

Returning minutes later, Amalia produces two small pans. Circular, they are shaped to resemble suns, with designs embossed delicately on the bottom. The baker has already greased them both. Setting them on the counter between them, Amalia grins up at her friend. "Ready to pour? Half in each - it should fill it up to just about three quarters." The oven, as always, is ready and hot, gaping and waiting to go to work.

a m a l i a
She is messy, but she's kind
She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone, but she used to be mine


Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#13
"Helpful," he sassed drily, unconsciously echoing her thoughts, but listened carefully as she clarified. "Air bubbles are indeed a useful thing," he murmured, lips twitching with a joke that he suspected wouldn't make sense to someone not of Golarion. He wasn't expecting her to pass the bowl to him and leave him alone with the batter, and he almost protested as she began to walk away. Only his dignity and the weight of her trust in his mixing skills stilled his tongue, and he looked mournfully to Isuma for assistance, only to find her happily bouncing after Jyoti as the pair played merrily throughout the bakery.

Left alone to his own devices he stirred cautiously, wary now of going too far. Perhaps it was that very slowness that made the batter a fine mix of smooth and faint lumps by the time Amalia returned with her pans, and his eyes lit up as she presented them. "What beautiful designs! Were they your grandmother's?" he asked gently, a smile in his eyes as he admired them for a moment before proceeding to pour the batter as directed. This, at least, he felt confident in doing, and only a few small drops went astray as the batter folded cleanly into the two containers. "How long do we have to wait for them to be done?" And if there was eagerness in his question, well, who could blame him when the scent of cardamom and citrus rose to tease their noses.
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#14

She's imperfect, but she tries
She is good, but she lies
She is hard on herself
She is broken and won't ask for help


"My great-grandmother's, actually." There is a distinct note of pride in her voice as she looks over the pans. Amalia never expected to be taking over the family legacy; certainly her mother would have let Devas Bakery fall away and rot. But despite her deeply set misgivings the youngest Chandrakant has settled into her role with surprising ease, as though it was an old dress, once left behind as childish but now found to fit better than it ever has.

She watches as Jigano pours in the battery, ever entranced by the folding waves of dough. When both pans are filled Amalia takes the first to the oven, returning swiftly to collect number two. As she works she muses softly, thinking over his question. "Hmm... Maybe half an hour, maybe more. Once we can smell them we'll take a peek; they'll be golden and spongey when they're done."

a m a l i a
She is messy, but she's kind
She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone, but she used to be mine




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