Eccentric Equinoxes

Human festivities were always approached by Belladonna with a sense of misgiving. On the one hand, they reminded her of family, of things she had lost, of pains she had suffered, because she knew her family had been wiped out and was eternally lost to her. On the other hand, they came with a sense of cheer, and Belladonna felt these were times she could let down her hair and focus on something that wasn't meting out "justice" to the deserving. And this holiday was no exception.

The season reminded her of many things, and like holidays, she had mixed feelings about the season of Autumn, or Fall. It was one of the most magical seasons, and people believed stuff about tricks and witches and cauldrons and hexes. Many considered her some sort of dark witch, what with the unnerving nature of her magic and the strange "curses" it brought to bear on her enemies. One could say that this festivity was made as a tribute to the likes of herself. But winter was coming, and snow reminded her of her past.

Focusing on the good and leaving the sour unattended to was a good way to have a good day, at least until the sour decided it was tired of being ignored and did something drastic to muck up the day. But until that time, she would enjoy the day as it came. She had actually made plans to savor this moment, and to that effect, she had sent an "invitation" to the closest person she could call a friend, Beira of Utgardr, the strange regal woman who was in the same guild as herself and had completed a mission successfully with her. Given the latter's odd fascination with human behavior and antics, Belladonna felt that it would be both amusing and entertaining for the both of them to indulge in the season's celebrations.

And so, she had chosen Hosenka, but not for a spa session (perhaps, one of these days, she would go there for some "me time"). Having included the location for their meeting, Belladonna waited under a tree at the edge of a park, watching as people made their best efforts to have fun. With what she was seeing, she was already making up plans for what she and her 'friend' could busy themselves with, but she set nothing in stone, yet. When Beira arrived, the concrete decisions could then be made.

Beira watched the humans of Hosenka, draped in her trademark traveling cloak, as she walked down a busy street. She had been invited here by a fellow guild member, and having nothing else really to do than observe and study Fiorean culture, she had decided to go. Besides, there was something gratifying about feeling that someone enjoyed one's company. And of course, Fall, with its attendant colors and cooling temperatures, made the Goddess of Winter pleased, for her favorite time of the year drew close with every passing day, as the length of days shortened. The location of the meeting however, left a little to be desired; as it was a town of hot springs, the ambient temperature was a bit higher than normal. Yet Beira was not bothered, for the cold had slowly begun to set in, and Hosenka wasn't as hot as it normally was expected to be.

It didn't take long for Beira to arrive at the park, and it took even lesser time to locate her fellow guild mate. "Greetings, Belladonna of the Blacks," the Utgardian announced, as she walked over to where the purple-haired young woman stood underneath a tree. It was a bit difficult for Beira to get used to the concept of people calling their clan names immediately after their personal names. Wait, surnames were clan names, right? "What have you brought me to this humid place to do? However Fioreans seem to have fun, I have seen that many of them choose to pit themselves against their fellows. Maybe we should do so as well."

It seemed the air was rife with competition. Yet Beira was sure she wouldn't find anyone that involved martial prowess; despite the fact that she was sure there were a good number of people stronger than she was, a duel was helpful for the fact that it allowed her to study the fighting techniques of others, without being too bent on preserving herself from losing her head. Literally. The Utgardian looked around, hopeful to see something she could easily involve herself in. And then she saw it: a cooking competition. "Come, Belladonna," she said, trying to hide her growing excitement, "do you know how to cook? I should wager I am reasonably dexterous in the art, so it should not be too hard a thing to win."

For a moment, Beira was worried that she would be a stranger to the condiments and ingredients to be used in the exercise, but she stilled herself. Her senses were extra sharp, and her tongue was impeccable. She would use even the ingredients she did not know to show her superiority.


WC: 441/1500


OOC: Yay, we're up against the Reeves.

The member 'Fraag' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Belladonna smiled brightly when Beira approached, chuckling at the way the blonde woman had arranged her name. It sounded quaint, but was still more or less accurate. She was Belladonna, from the Black family, so yes, she was Belladonna of the Blacks. "So good to see you again, Beira. How have you been?"

The way Beira described Hosenka, calling it humid, one could assume that she didn't really like the place. And perhaps that was not far from the truth. Belladonna knew that Beira used ice magic of sorts, and from her outfit beneath the thick cloak, didn't seem to consider ambient temperature much, at least as far as cold went. Still, it was obvious that Beira's mood was not dampened by the temperature, and she was game for whatever Belladonna had planned.

"Ooh, somebody is in the festival mood. Well, I'm up for whatever you have in mind, whether it be competition or otherwise."

And Beira chose an activity that Belladonna would not have quite expected her to go for. "Cooking." She raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk crossing her face. Beira was even confident of her cooking skills, and that made Belladonna somewhat intrigued. With her otherwise regal disposition to people, especially that cold way she spoke to her foes, Belladonna was of the opinion that Beira would be the type to have people do things for her. However, she knew that to judge a person at face value was to do injustice to their character, at least, most of the time. This Beira of Utgardr was indeed an interesting specimen person.

"I won't call myself a five star chef, mostly because I tend to approach cooking from an academic standpoint, as I do with lots of things I'm mildly interested in, but I think I should be able to hold my own. Provided I'm not drawn up against someone hideously good, let's see what I can accomplish."

So saying, she walked over to the booth, where people were gathering to watch the contestants engage in their culinary activities. She could see the excitement on the faces of the observers, as the judges welcomed them and stated the rules of the contest. Then the floor was open to those who were interested in showing off their cooking skills. Belladonna nodded to Beira and stepped forward, with a hand raised. She was sure she could cook a decent dish, and her heightened senses and ability to measure perfect proportions (thanks to her poison based magic) was likely to give her an edge.

She studied her contestants. So far, there seemed to be a family that was likely to be a threat: Mr and Mrs Reeves. The crowd seemed to recognize them, as they cheered the couple and clapped. A crowd favorite, huh? Belladonna could hear the crowd whispering about the couple's special chilli recipe, and some expressed disappointment that "Master Chef Ramsey" would not be attending this particular iteration of the coking contest. Well, the less experienced or talented cooks around, the more chances for her.

The competition began, and Belladonna set to work. She was familiar with most of the ingredients, and so she was in familiar territory. Perhaps she could work up something simple, but elegant. And she knew just the thing. Gathering the required ingredients to her, she ignored what everyone else was doing, and focused on her dish, reliving the good old days when she and her elder sister prepared dinner for the family. This was her dad's favorite, and anyone else who had tasted it always had something good to say about it.

In time, the contestants were through with their cooking. Belladonna presented her tray, in which were two bowls. One contained well cooked rice, carefully fashioned into neat balls, and the other bowl, slightly larger, contained a sauce with a mouth watering aroma, that had been garnished cleverly with spices, various other condiments and meat cubes.

"Here it is: Rice balls and my special curry-venison-cube sauce," she said proudly. At this point, Belladonna wasn't really bothered whether she won or lost; it was bound to happen anyway. What she was interested in was seeing the looks on the judges' faces when they ate her food. If she didn't clinch the prize, she would at least be satisfied if their reactions were very positive.

While Belladonna didn't feel too confident in her own skills, or was just trying to use modesty to hide an impressive ability, Beira was dying to see the best her competition would offer. Still, as her tutors had said back when she was a child, it was not royal behavior to show one's excitement. So she kept the well-practiced aloof expression on her face, as she walked with her fellow guild mate over to the cooking competition booth, and stepped forward as one of the cooking contestants for the competition, when the public was called to participate in the competition.

Initially, it seemed Beira was set for disaster. Since interacting with the other contestants was disallowed, most likely due to the fact that the organizers wanted to prevent cheating, she called one of the judges and asked a bunch of obvious questions like, "What is this white powder? Is this made from wheat? What's this called?" Then she went round sniffing at , and tasting all the ingredients made available to her. By now, the crowd was in a frenzy, roaring with laughter. They mostly thought that this pretty stranger in scandalous dress had just come to create a humorous scene. After all, there were many jesters around, doing all sorts of things. Beira hated being laughed at, but she coolly held her peace, mastering the smells and tastes of all that was set before her, as she used her impeccable culinary sense and her sharpened Slayer faculties to correctly determine what she would use and what she would avoid, as well as the quantities to be used. Then she began.

As most people in the crowd had concentrated on the apparent comic relief for the day, almost all eyes were on the Utgardian as she began her culinary miracle. What was initially amusement soon turned into surprise, and then wonder, as the God Slayer revealed that she was nothing to be laughed at, as far as matters of food were concerned. She, for her part, being motivated by admiration, even went so far as to do a little showboating, like toss ingredients with surprising accuracy into pots and pans, juggle knives as she shredded meat, and other sleights of hand, all the while moving with a captivating grace that left the audience spellbound. Soon, not a soul was laughing, as the Utgardian plied her trade. By the time she had put things on the boil or in the oven, people were already salivating.

The dishes were served, and the judges began tasting. Beira leaned against a post quietly watching the judges as they sampled the dishes. The couple from the Reeves clan seemed to have done well, judging by the response of the judges, and Beira noted with some degree of pride that Belladonna's own recipe seemed to elicit rather positive reactions as well. Then one of the judges paused before her dish. It was simply bread and stew, though as someone of royal upbringing, Beira knew the importance of appearances, and had been careful to decorate her dish with what she could, making it appear quite impressive in a rather exotic fashion. "What do you call this?" the judge asked, tearing off a bit of bread and looking quizzically at the Utgardian. "Utgardian bread and beef stew," Beira replied, wondering if she shouldn't have opted for a flashier name. Well, it was likely that nobody except herself knew what Utgardr was, so maybe that could add the bit of pizzazz to the dish's name.

The judge did her tasting, and her face lit up as she nodded her head. A judge beside her tasted something else that had been cooked, and spat violently. The crowd roared as hilarity ensued. Beira remained silent and calm. After a bit, the judges having tasted all the dishes, and carefully avoiding the one that had elicited such a passionate response, the results were called out. Beira expected to be probably second, as she was sure she had done quite well, but humans tended to prefer things they were most familiar with. Belladonna's name was instead called, beating the Reeves. With mild surprise but certain delight, Beira heard her name called as the best cook of the day, as the judges invited her up and gave her two tokens as a prize, and asked if she had anything to say. Being well-trained in oratory, the Utgardian stroked the general Fiorean ego and left the platform to a loud ovation of cheers and applause. She immediately located Belladonna, a glad smile on her face.

"That went awfully well," Beira said elatedly. "But I should very much like to sample your rice dish one of these days."


WC: 782 words
Total: 1223/1500

Rolling for the next contest [Eating Contest]...

DaMn!!! 5...

The member 'Digit' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Normal Dice' :

Belladonna was rather surprised when she was informed that her special dish had usurped the crowd favorite to bag second place. She expected Beira's to come higher than hers, and so wasn't surprised when Beira took the first position. After their prizes had been handed to them, Belladonna gave Beira a quick hug, in the way of congratulations. The blonde woman was clearly happy to have been the winner, and Belladonna was happy for her.

"Congrats, Beira. I should likewise love to have a taste of your food, somewhere along the line."

Speaking of food, all the cooking and rich aromas had made Belladonna quite hungry, and she saw a means by which she could solve the present issue very close by: an eating contest. Now, Belladonna was no glutton, and she didn't often think of herself as having a very massive appetite, but this was a way to get some free food, which hopefully, had been well cooked.

"Look! There's an eating contest! What better way to sate one's appetite after all the cooking and stuff?"

With that, she took Beira by the hand and led her towards the venue of the contest, provided the Utgardian felt like it. They arrived right on time, for the judges were just announcing that interested contestants could step forward. Belladonna did so, and was directed to a long table, on which were placed five plates of delicious looking food. The rules were simple: finish the food in the five plates. Whoever finished first, or ate more than the others would be the champion. Glancing around, she noticed that there were four other participants, besides Beira and herself.

"Begin!" one of the judges yelled.

And so it started. The food was actually nice, and Belladonna had high hopes of at least making it to the last plate. Before long, the first plate was done, and she pushed it aside to reach for another plate. However, one of the judges pointed, and she noticed that somehow, the plate she had just cleared was still full of food.

"What on earth...?!"

Somehow, the judges didn't seem to suspect anything foul was afoot, and they continued presiding over the event like nothing happened. Belladonna scowled at the plate, then came to a conclusion. Somebody was cheating. At this moment, a powerful urge to outsmart whoever this was took over Belladonna, and she decided that fair play was out of this game.

"Cheating, are we? I can also play this game."

Quietly, furtively, Belladonna began to release a very dilute version of her Mal Aria airborne toxin, which, being too weak to be seen visibly, soon enveloped the eating table. The participants, except Beira, who Belladonna did not suspect of any underhand tactics, began to feel nauseous and lose their appetites. Belladonna finished the second plate, then placed the empty plate beneath a full one. There was no way the food would be replacing itself, seeing as another plate was on it.

She began on the next plate, then while a contestant at the far end of the table groaned loudly, and pushed his plate away, Belladonna used the distraction to quickly cast an eroding spell, the Touch of Decay, on another full plate. As its contents turned to ashes, she quickly drew it and slid it beneath the full plate, beneath which she had stashed the first empty plate. Then she attacked the food.

By now, people were roaring and cheering in disbelief, because only Belladonna and Beira seemed to be the only ones intent on seeing this to the end. Finishing the next plate, which was atop the other two, she turned them all upside down. With the plates firmly set against the table, it would be too obvious if any one of them sprouted food again. It would be clear that something was afoot.

With an exultant cry, Belladonna stood, a hand still firmly pressed on the turned over plates. The others had, at the very best, only gone through a plate and a half. Belladonna had finished three. Well, actually finished three, had one replaced, and turned one to ash. So, officially, it was three.

Receiving her prize from the judges, she waited for Beira, before leaving with a satisfied smile on her face. There were still other activities to enjoy, and the day was still young. Best to enjoy each good moment as it came.

Belladonna seemed interested in participating in another competition, and Beira was in a good mood, so the Utgardian felt minded to oblige her and tag along. Surprisingly, the competition to be had was one of eating. Initially, Beira was filled with uncertainty, as she was not sure how she would excel in something as inelegant as an eating competition. With people cramming food into their mouths and eating like pigs, just thinking of it made the Utgardian uneasy. Yet Belladonna was good company, so Beira decided to just tag along, more out of solidarity than a desire to win. Besides, it was hard to refuse when she was already being dragged along to the eating competition venue.

Seated at the spot on the large table designated for her, Beira looked at the plates of food before her. The food looked relatively delicious, and the God Slayer hadn't eaten much today. Maybe this would be fun. At the call from one of the judges to begin, Beira picked a fork and daintily speared a piece of meat without any sense of hurry, placing the morsel in her mouth. Decent taste. As the young woman finished the first plate and turned to the second, out of the corner of her eye, she noted to her surprise that the first plate was full again, looking like she'd never eaten anything. The God Slayer raised an eyebrow. She immediately understood the trick behind this competition. What followed after would not be so entertaining for the crowd.

Crossing her legs and making herself rather comfortable, Beira ate slowly and leisurely, not bothered in the least, as her food kept replacing itself. Her eyes half-closed, she ignored the boos people tossed in her direction to stimulate her to go faster. She paid no attention to anything else, until the cry of Belladonna alerted her that the competition was over. Rising to her feet, she daintily cleaned her lips with a napkin, took the token offered her for merely competing, and moved off unbothered. She would probably spend the rest of the day sightseeing alone or with Belladonna. She'd had enough of competitions for a single day.



WC: 361 words
Total: 1584/1500