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The Garden of Life is bursting with energy today.
"Come here! Yes, up the ramp!" In the middle of the grassy field, Castorice leads Butterfly Cake up a handmade wooden seesaw. The little chimera's weight is just enough to tip the ramp over to the other side and they land on the grass with a small thump, bounding around Castorice's feet excitedly.
"Your little friend seems to be full of energy!" Hyacine says from nearby, where she's watching her own chimera jump across some slightly elevated stepping stones. "We might have to keep all this here after the championships are over."
With the Chimera World Tournament just a couple of days away, the people of Okhema have decided to create a little training course for their chimeras in preparation for it. The course consists of bite-sized obstacles and platforms meant to work on their agility…but honestly, Castorice thinks the chimeras see it as more of a playground than anything.
Butterfly Cake is still running loops around her, so she leads them up on the seesaw once again, much to their excitement. "I think that's a good idea," she tells Hyacine. "They're really enjoying it."
Just then, Krenabis misses their jump to the next stepping stone and lands face-first on the ground. Despite the soft grass and the fact that the platforms are barely raised off the ground, Hyacine turns to them in concern. "Are you okay? Oh, you must be tired. We've been at it for a while, huh…"
"Are you taking a break?" Castorice asks her.
"Yes, I'll go sit for a bit so we can both recharge." Hyacine scoops up her chimera and cradles them in her arms. "Little Krenabis still seems full of energy, but we've been playing for about an hour. I think this is a good time for a rest."
"Do you mind if we join you?"
"Not at all!"
The four of them take a seat a little ways away from the obstacle course. Now that the chimeras aren't playing anymore, all the energy seems to have vanished as they lay down and close their eyes. Butterfly Cake finds their way into Castorice's lap and curls up there, falling asleep almost immediately.
"All tuckered out," Hyacine says with a laugh. "How adorable."
"Are you excited for the tournaments to begin?" Castorice asks her.
"Oh, absolutely! It's all everyone's been talking about for weeks, how could I not?" She pets Krenabis idly as she talks. "I'm not here for the competition, though. Seeing everyone else excited is enough for me!"
"I might try and go for the win," Castorice muses.
"Oh, really? I'm a bit surprised you would—but wishing you the best of luck, of course!"
"I just think it would be nice if I could advance up the ranks," Castorice says. "I'm definitely not being the most competitive about it—have you seen what Cerydra has been up to?"
"No, but Professor Anaxa and Ciphie were at the training course earlier." Hyacine laughs as she remembers the scene. "They were being so serious about it! I'm looking forward to seeing who ends up winning."
Castorice hears a tiny grumbling sound and looks down to see Butterfly Cake shifting around a bit. Hyacine notices it too, tilting her head slightly. "Was that their stomach?"
"Are you hungry?" Castorice asks her chimera. "That makes sense…you were running around so much earlier."
After another second, something occurs to her. "Hm…we should make sure they get something proper to eat before the tournament, too. It's going to be a busy day for them."
"Krenabis likes snacking on berries!" Hyacine says. "I've been keeping a little pouch on me so they can have some whenever they're hungry."
"That's a good idea, but I was thinking about a full meal." Castorice hums a little bit as she thinks aloud. "Something healthy. And it needs to be filling enough for the tournaments..."
Then a realization hits her and she gets up from her spot, picking up a still-sleeping Butterfly Cake as she does.
Hyacine looks up at her curiously. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Do you know where Mydei is?"
"Um, I saw him in the bathhouses this morning. Why?"
"I'm going to go ask him about cooking something for all the chimeras—a nice dinner for tomorrow night, before the tournaments start. He knows more about that than me."
"Oh! That's really sweet of you, Cassie, I think that's a great idea."
"You said the bathhouses, right?" Hyacine nods, and Castorice sets off immediately, Butterfly Cake in tow. "Thank you, Hyacine! See you later."
It doesn't take long for Castorice to Mydei—all she does is follow the commotion.
She finds him in one of the smaller baths of Mamoreal Palace's right wing. These days, it's common to see the citizens of Okhema walking around with a few chimeras in tow. Mydei is no different. When she finds him, she discovers that his chimera has taken some…issue with the resident seals. She could hear the water splashing and the yells of two very small animals from a mile away.
"Mydei?" she asks him. "Is something the matter?"
Mydei is so engrossed in trying to break up the little scuffle that he doesn't notice Castorice until she speaks. "Oh. Hey, Castorice. It's nothing serious, it's just that this guy decided they wanted to pick a fight with the seals. They weren't even doing anything wrong."
Fig Stew lets out a particularly loud awoo! just then, and Mydei sighs defeatedly before picking them up by the scruff. "Enough. You can't be using that word all the time."
"What were they saying?"
"…A certain word from the Kremnoan language."
"I see." Castorice laughs. "Whoever could have taught them that?"
"I said it around them one time," Mydei says exasperatedly. "And now it's being passed around everywhere."
He gets up from his kneeling position, still holding Fig Stew by their fur collar. The size difference between them is so comical that Castorice has to hold back another laugh. Now that their aggressor is gone, the seals go back to lounging at the edges of the bath.
"Anyways," Mydei says. "Did you need me for something?"
"Oh, right! Yes, I was wondering if you could help me cook a meal for all the chimeras."
"…Why?"
"Well, I figured that, with all the chimeras doing their best in the championships, it might be a good idea to cook something for them in preparation! I think a healthy, nutritious meal would help since they'll be so busy in the coming days. They'll be full of energy and ready to go."
Mydei stares at her for a moment longer, surprised, before something changes in his expression and he nods, somewhat bemusedly. "Sure. Let's go to the kitchens?"
"Oh! Right now?"
"Yeah. It'll take some time to cook for all the chimeras. Their appetites aren't that big compared to us, but there's a lot of them."
Fig Stew perks their head up as if understanding what the plans are, and Mydei chuckles a little bit before setting them on the ground. "Follow me, okay? We're going somewhere else."
Hearing the commotion, Butterfly Cake finally stirs awake in Castorice's arms, and she sets them down right next to Fig Stew. "Alright. Let's go."
"So, did you have any ideas for what to cook?"
"I want it to be healthy, so…something with fruits and vegetables?" Mydei raises an eyebrow slightly at that, and Castorice flushes. "I'm sorry, nothing past that. That's why I wanted your help—you're the best chef I know."
"Oh. Well, uh, thanks for the compliment." As he thinks, Mydei looks around the kitchen. "Hm…soup is easy to make in large batches. How about a vegetable soup with chopped fruit on the side? Nothing too fancy. I think they just brought in some fresh produce today."
"Oh! Perfect, then. Yes, that works."
They decide to split up the work, with Mydei preparing the ingredients for the vegetable soup and Castorice chopping up what's needed for a fruit salad. While Mydei heats up a pot and starts cleaning the vegetables, Castorice carefully makes her way through cutting and dicing the assortment of fruits they'd retrieved from the nearby crates. She's still a novice at cooking, not nearly as proficient as her partner, so she takes a little extra time with each step.
She's trying to figure out how to slice a particularly tough fruit when Mydei comes to check on her progress. "Everything ok here?"
Castorice nods, not taking her eyes off her work. Her brows furrow as she tries to reach the fruit's insides. The outer skin is making it much more difficult, though. "Yes, just—trying to figure out how to cut this."
"Do you want help?"
She doesn't respond, determinedly pushing her knife down with more force. It's probably not the right technique, but she can feel it slowly giving way until—shink!—the blade splits the fruit clean in half. The insides are so soft in comparison that all the force Castorice had applied goes straight through and creates a deep groove in the wooden board underneath.
"Careful," Mydei says.
Castorice carefully sets the knife to the side. "That was…not the proper way to cut it, I imagine."
"Definitely not. Here, I can teach you the proper way…"
Mydei takes another fruit of the same type and points to the top of it. "You can peel off the skin starting here. Saves you the trouble of cutting through it."
He hands the fruit to Castorice, and after she spends a few moments fiddling with it, sure enough, the outer skin comes off in one full, smooth peel.
"…Oops." Castorice sheepishly sets the peeled fruit down. "Well, that's certainly a learning moment. I wanted to see if I could figure it out for myself, but turns out I had it all wrong."
"Just don't hurt yourself trying. You can ask me questions if you need."
"I appreciate it, thank you. I've been trying to better my cooking on the side, but I haven't had much opportunity…I was hoping to see today as a learning experience, even if it isn't anything special."
"Well, like I said. If you have any questions, just ask me."
"Thank you, Mydei." Castorice smiles. "Let me know if I can help with what you're doing, too."
In no time at all, Mydei gets the vegetable stew simmering at a low heat, and he joins Castorice for a bit, helping her chop up the rest of the fruit and gathering it up into a bowl. Castorice watches with wide eyes as he expertly slices each fruit, at a pace much faster than her own.
Mydei notices her watching mid-way through cutting one and gives her a bemused smile. "Do you want me to show you?"
Castorice nods, and they spend some time working on her technique. Once she's gotten the hang of it, Mydei takes a step back, thinking.
"…Should we make some bread on the side?"
"Why?"
"I mean, why not? We're already in here. We can make two loaves, one each."
"Oh! Then, sure. I haven't made bread before, though."
"First time for everything, right?" Mydei heads over to the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen and starts pulling out ingredients.
"I suppose you're right…let's do it, then."
Step-by-step, Mydei walks Castorice through making the dough. Halfway through his explanations, Castorice considers pulling out some paper and taking notes because there's so much information. Her expression must be quite amusing, because Mydei laughs. "It just sounds complicated because you're doing it for the first time."
"But there's so much to keep track of," Castorice says, squinting at her dough's texture.
"You'll get a feel for it once you make more. And, if it makes you feel better, the dough is the hardest part. It gets easier once you finish that."
He's right—kneading the dough and waiting for it to rise is much simpler to keep track of. After finishing that step, Mydei checks on the vegetable stew again. Castorice, meanwhile, takes a handful of fruit from the bowl and prepares a little snack for Butterfly Cake and Fig Stew. The two chimeras have been peacefully dozing by the kitchen's windowsill, right where the sunlight is. They perk up as Castorice approaches with the food, eagerly nibbling away at the slices when she hands it to them.
Once the dough has risen, they place it in the oven to bake. After that, there's not much to do except wait. The vegetable stew is still simmering away and the fruit bowl is ready to be assembled, so the two just sit around for a bit.
"…Maybe we should have done the bread first," Mydei says.
"It's okay, I don't mind waiting." Castorice leans on the counter and takes a deep breath. It's nice to cool off after having to keep track of so many tasks while cooking.
"Is it a lot?" Mydei asks her, taking note of her expression again.
Castorice shakes her head. "Like you said, it'll get easier with time. There's just a lot to keep in mind when you start. But do you ever follow recipes by the book? Or is it more…'feel it out' once you gain experience?"
"This is for me," Mydei says, "but I don't like doing all those precise measurements and checking back and forth. So definitely more of the second. But nothing wrong with the first."
"I might need to start compiling a cookbook for myself," Castorice says, only half-jokingly.
"Nothing wrong with that. I can give you some more recipes if you want."
"I'd appreciate that. Thank you."
After a few more minutes of sitting around, Mydei gets up again. "If you still have it in you to cook a bit more, Castorice—want to make some jam for the bread? Preparation is easy, I promise."
Castorice nods. Break time's over—and she's still eager to learn more. "Freshly made jam and bread sounds lovely."
Making the jam is all down to Castorice. The preparation is simple—they use berries, so she doesn't even have to chop up the fruit before putting it in the pot. The technique lies in managing the heat to maintain the jam's consistency. Although cooking does take quite a while, Castorice finds herself eyeing the fire every other minute or so, just to make sure things are alright.
While she's stirring the jam, the bread finishes, and Mydei takes it out for it to cool. Castorice laughs as she sees him nudging Fig Stew and Butterfly Cake a little to the right to make room for the bread on the windowsill.
"You're bothering their sleep," she says in a false accusatory tone.
"It's fine, it's fine, they're still in the sunlight. Just needed to make some extra room."
Castorice extinguishes the fire for the jam shortly after, and while waiting for it to cool, she joins Mydei in assembling two small plates for their chimeras.
She can't help but laugh at the tiny portions. "You're right, this food can serve up a lot of chimeras."
"It'll be gone immediately once everyone else has their share, you just wait," Mydei says with a chuckle. "Let's put everything else away before it spoils."
Once they've cleaned up a little, Castorice brings the plates over to Fig Stew and Butterfly Cake, who have cuddled up together so they can stay in the full reach of the sunlight. The sky is gradually dimming outside—they've been in the kitchen for a good portion of the day, and it'll be getting dark soon.
"Here you are," she says softly, placing the plates in front of the chimeras and tapping them lightly to wake them up. "You've been smelling the food all this time, it's about time you had some, right?"
The two chimeras groggily wake up from their nap, but once they see the food laid out in front of them they happily dig in. Judging by the awoo!'s they let out after taking a bite, Castorice wagers it's a success. She can't tamp down the proud smile as she watches them eat.
"Want some bread?" Mydei joins Castorice by the windowsill and picks up the two loaves, placing them on the countertop and slicing off a few pieces. "Your jam should be ready by now, too."
The taste of the jam is wonderful and pairs nicely with the bread. Its consistency is a bit thicker than normal, though, Castorice feels—and asking Mydei confirms it.
"Probably left it on the stovetop for a little longer than it should have been," he says. "But still good. You did well for your first time."
"Really?"
Mydei raises an eyebrow at that. "What, am I someone to sugarcoat words?"
"Ah." Castorice laughs before shaking her head. "No, you aren't. Thank you for the feedback, I'll have to remember that for next time."
"But, hey. Tastes good, right?"
"Absolutely. It's so sweet!"
They separate the jam into individual jars—they'd made quite a surplus, so Castorice takes two for herself. When she turns to check back in on Fig Stew and Butterfly Cake, she's amused—and proud—to see they've licked their plates clean.
"I think it's safe to say today was a success," she tells Mydei, who nods in response. "I'm excited to serve up everyone else tomorrow night."
Something clicks in Mydei's expression at that. "Oh, right, we have to serve up everyone else…"
Castorice laughs. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing. That's just…a lot of plates, now that I think about it."
"I'll enlist some help from the others," Castorice reassures him with an amused smile.
Mydei scoffs a bit. "Sure, if you can pry them away from all that training they're doing for the tournament."
"Ah, right. Easier said than done, most likely. Speaking of, though—are you going to try and go for the trophy?"
"Of course," Mydei says immediately. "Just because I'm not practicing like they are doesn't mean I'm taking the championships easy."
"I see." Castorice nods, smiling. "Well, I wish you and Fig Stew the best of luck."
"What about you?"
"If I advance higher in the ranks, I'll be happy. But I'm not aiming for the win. It'd be nice if did, though." She thinks for a moment, then laughs. "Maybe Butterfly Cake and Fig Stew will have an advantage because they're getting two servings of this meal. One today, and one tomorrow."
"We're rigging the competition now? What happened to honorable battles, huh?"
"I suppose I'll see you in the finals, Mydei," Castorice teases.
After a long day's worth of hard work cooking, it's nice to finally sit back and savor the finished product. the two enjoy their newly baked bread and jam and talk about their plans for the upcoming days as the sun slowly sets, letting the warm golden hour light seep in through the windowsill.