Tools of Conquest [Goblin]

[Juno]

"Alright then," she agreed, glad that there was finally peace between them as she stood to go find the books. It was a nice change from the copious amounts of bickering they'd done throughout the day. It was just as she'd turned her back to him, though, that she heard his comment about dinner. Laughing to herself, she turned her head to look back at him over her shoulder and stare for a moment.

"Wait, were you serious?" she asked, stifling any further laughter. "I really, really, really doubt you would be able to stomach what I eat for dinner. You're welcome to anything I have in the pantry, though! There isn't much, but definitely enough to piece together a meal. I didn't realize you were hungry," she shrugged as she walked across to the room to the small bookcase by the door to the bedroom. Kneeling down, she went through the small collection and plucked each of the old, worn books out as she found them before returning to the table where she set them down.

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin immediately took up the books, eager to read what was written within their pages. "Thank you," he said, waving her off. "I'm sure whatever you come up would be fine ma'am. I'm not a picky eater."

He sent her a broad smile before delving into the pages. It never occurred to him that Remina had intended for him to find his own meal. The nobleman was even oblivious to the cat returning to weave in and out between both their legs and mark them as hers.

[Juno]

Remina just stared at him as if he were crazy. Blinking silently for a few moments, she wondered if he'd even heard her at all. "Sir," she began slowly, smirking and shaking her head as she looked down at the cat with an affectionate glance. "You are a guest in my house. I am not your maid nor your cook. I only fetched you the books because I knew where they were," she explained calmly.

"I need to hunt if I will be eating tonight but I'm not sure I want to, so it seems a bit silly to get you food, see? I would have to get myself some, too, and that would be such a waste if I'm not hungry enough for it, so... I think it would be best if you just got what you wanted. You're an adult, as you say, go get your own dinner," she told him playfully as she carefully stepped over Caydence and took her seat across from him once more.

[GoblinFae]

He stared at her in complete horror and shock. "But, but, but," Benjamin chanted brokenly. "But, you're the hostess and this is your home and I don't know my way around your kitchen."

'And I don't know how to cook,' his mind cried out terrified. His eyes were pratically pleading with her to have mercy on him. 'What does being an adult have to do with cooking? I wasn't even asking her to go out and get food. She said she had food in the pantry, wherever that is. What am I going to do? She's just going to sit there and let me starve to death isn't she? The woman who is meant to protect me is going to let me die in her own home. Oh the horror! What a travesty! Oh my stomach!'

Benjamin gripped his midsection tightly, bending nearly in half as he tried to rub his grumbling middle. 'This is it. This is the end. Oh Kia, she's killed me. Oh what will mother say? What will she be told of my passing? Her own son left starving and penniless in the home of a strange woman and her giant furball. Kia have mercy! Make it quick!' With these finally thoughts, he slumped further in his chair, his face filled with utter despair at the thought that he truly was going to die of hunger.

[Juno]

"Then make yourself at home!" she insisted cheerfully, shaking her head as she watched the startled shock appearing on his face. It didn't make sense to her for anyone to not be willing to fetch their own food. She wasn't sure what to expect, really. As she listened to his thoughts, though, she took on a sympathetic expression as he seemed to just panic and panic and panic more.

"Hey," she said sharply, reaching across the table to snap her fingers in front of his face. "Why didn't you just say you didn't know how to cook?" she snorted. "Too proud? Does your mother do everything for you?" she guessed, trying to muffle the laughter bubbling in her throat at the

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin's eyes snapped open in surprise and seemed to nearly fall out of his head with how large they had gotten. "I never said I couldn't cook!" For a moment he stared at her tight-lipped but it was short-lived as his lips quickly turned downward in a defeated pout.

"But, it's true I can't. Mother doesn't let me near the kitchen. She says I cause too many explosions and scare away the few servants we have left." He slumped further in his chair, nearly placing himself on the floor with how low he was sitting in it.

"Does this mean that you will feed me though," he asked, semi-hopefully. "Take pity on the poor starving man?"

[Juno]

"Explosions...?" Remina covered her smile with her hand and turned her head away slightly as she shook her head in amusement. "You must get up to some strange things. It takes a lot to cause a fire, let alone an explosion. At least in my opinion." Looking him up and down for a moment, though, she mulled over his question and gave the possibility some serious thought.

"I guess I could make you some soup," she finally sighed before warning him playfully. "But you owe me. I'm not hungry for soup, and you can't eat what I want. So...I'm doing you a favor," she concluded, a bit proud of herself for a singular selfless act as she rose from her seat to go to the kitchen. "Or if you don't want soup, you better tell what it is you'll eat."

[GoblinFae]

"Fires are relatively easy to create if you know what you're doing," he grumbled defensively. "Cooking is just an unpredictable sport. No knowing what can happen at any given time. And what do you mean I owe you?"

Benjamin's head shot up in surprise. "It's not under the whole, protect and take care of me clause?" Quickly reconsidering though given that she was willing to make him food at all he hastened to reassure her. "No, no, soup is fine! Soup would be wonderful. Whatever edible thing you want to make would be wonderful. Just careful with the salt is all I ask. Too much and I smell up like a bullfrog," he informed her while imitating the reaction by puffing out his cheeks.

[Juno]

Remina was skeptical of the way he spoke of fires. She figured he might have had a singular unfortunate issue in the kitchen that had set him off of it for life. It probably wasn't an issue for him anyway, for he truly did seem spoiled in her eyes, so he was probably well taken care of.

"No, there's no clause," she told him, rolling her eyes. "I'm letting you stay here so that I am confident that you won't do anything stupid or upset the city's guards," she explained as she began pulling ingredients together and starting the fire under the pot. "I'll be careful with the salt, though. Wouldn't want you getting sick or....swelling up," she giggled. "Do you prefer meat or no meat?"

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin watched her with mildly curiosity as she began to prepare to cook. He had admittedly never seen anyone cook before and was interested to see how it was done. "Well thank you for your consideration towards my health at least. I am extremely grateful," the nobleman thanked her honestly.

He made a noncommittal sound though at the idea of meat. It was not that he was against meat, just that he knew it could be a very wrong move to accept it both physically and mentally. It could either make him sick if it was bad or it could cause his hostess to rail at him considering meat could be quite a pricey commodity.

Slowly, as if talking to a wild animal, Benjamin gave her her reply. "Whatever you think is best."

[Juno]

"Hmmm," she hummed thoughtfully, truly pondering the merits and flaws of both options as she continued preparing the rest of the ingredients. "I'll go with adding meat. It'll make it heartier at least, hopefully more satisfying."

Adding everything together in the pot, she fetched a chunk of salted stag meat and chopped it up before putting it in with everything else and covering the pot to let everything simmer. "It will take a little while," she told him honestly. "But it should be very tasty for your patience. Would you like some bread while you wait?" she wondered as she looked back at him over her shoulder.

[GoblinFae]

"Oh yes thank you! You're very kind," he eagerly said with the broadest of smiles lighting up his features. Benjamin was incredibly content now with his situation. Much of their earlier conflicts had been forgotten in the face of a warm meal and books full of potential knowledge.

Remembering the books, he quickly busied himself with delving within their pages. It was with great care that he slowly read the words of his hostess' family member and extreme reverence for something so cherished that it had been passed down from generation to generation. He drank the words in like a fine wine, letting them ring out clearly in his mind as if he were speaking them aloud.

[Juno]

His small praise of her only served to stroke her pride and confidence tremendously. Any little bit helped, but it was especially sweet to hear it coming from someone who had been throwing insults her way earlier. It certainly felt like a victory whether he truly meant it or not.

"Why thank you," she murmured as she retrieved and set out some bread for him at the table. Glancing at the books open in front of him, she wondered aloud as she walked back to the hearth and prepared a kettle, "Have you found anything interesting? ...would you like any tea? Coffee?"

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin nodded distractedly, his finger following the lines he was reading. "Tea would be wonderful, thank you." He resumed his readings diligently before looking up at the woman in curiosity. "Can you tell me about the man who wrote this? I am interested to know his personality and any other attributes you might know. I have some ideas about him but I think it would be better coming from you than from speculation, that is, if you don't mind me prying of course."

[Juno]

Nodding and mindlessly going about preparing the tea for him, Remina glanced back to see what book he was even talking about but couldn't really tell in the dim light. "Well the green one...I'm actually not sure I remember who wrote that. I'd have to ask if anyone else remembers him. But the brown one there -I'm not sure how far in you are- but it has different handwriting? Everyone in the family has added bits and pieces to it. Although most of the more recent additions to it were done by my father.

"Did you want to know about him?" she wondered, amused as she poured and brought his cup of tea to him.

[GoblinFae]

"And have you added anything to it?" he asked, flipping towards the back of the book to note the handwriting changes she had mentioned, his index finger still marking the page he had left off reading on. "Or has your brother for that matter? I would be very interested to hear about the lives of your family members especially with respect to your species. I'm sure it would help you pass the time as cook too," he offered believing that he was being quite helpful with his suggestion.

Taking the tea from her he
Smiled and blew experimentally in it. "Thank you for this."

[Juno]

"Mhm. A bit here and there, mostly to update things about my brother and myself, though a bit of our parents as well. I've kept the book for a while, so probably the last things before mine were what my brother and father added when we were much younger... Caden, my brother, was still just a boy," she explained, smiling a bit for his thanks. "Of course.

"About my immediate family, though... We all sort of live our own individual lives now," she began as she checked on the soup-turned-stew, unsure how to really explain what had happened to someone she barely knew, or even how much she should share.

"What did you want to hear from me exactly? Abilities? Where we've lived? Actual lineage? My father is a pureblood, but my mother came from a mixed background, so my brother and I look very different...and we really don't have many similarities, but that's alright," she rambled.

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin nodded his head as listened. "Well I'm particularly interested in anything related to your uh specialness. Abilities, lineage, differences between groups, habits, anything and everything you could tell me would be extremely helpful. I cannot thank you enough for assisting me with my research," the nobleman stated, forgetting in his thirst for knowledge that he had only just acquired in the last few minutes.

"Also I am curious about the author of the green text however I think one thing at a time would be best, don't you?"

[Juno]

"Research?" she chuckled, curious what kind of research he could possibly be doing that involved demons he had never heard of before today. "Yeah, one at a time," she agreed, getting a bowl and spoon out well ahead of time. "There's plenty to tell for both. I think. Though, I will admit I don't know much about the other author personally. Never knew him.

"We each have certain...magical abilities, though. I suppose I actually don't know the extent to which for everyone because I haven't personally seen my brother or mother 'in action,'" she explained, making air quotes. "As far as habits go, though, there are two clearly defined groups, at least in my family. The men have strayed from tradition and the women have kept to it. Tradition being...our hunting styles. We hunt children," she told him nonchalantly, not really wishing to make things uncomfortable by going into any further detail about it when she was about to serve him dinner.

"We have very long lifespans," she offered while checking and stirring the stew a bit. "Excellent night vision and hearing, though I think I might have mentioned that already. I'm a bit of a psychic myself." She tried to downplay that as much as possible as she poured herself some tea while she waited.

[GoblinFae]

"Oh so you prefer eating things like veal then?" he responded, misunderstanding what she meant by children. "Can't say I blame you, the meat is actually quite tender and if prepared right is a masterpiece to savor. Although I do admit surprise that it is the males in your family that veer away from such meals. I would have thought the women would be the more baby animal friendly and not the men. Is your society a matriarch-driven one by any chance?"

He was bubbling with questions and trying to remember them all at once so that as new ones cropped up he did not forget the previous ones. 'What does she mean a physic? Is she claiming to be some kind of soothsayer then? Long lifespans eh? How old does that make you then? I doubt you're all that old to begin with. Must be a very young member of their species, perhaps even adolescent if not then most likely just left that phase.'