Week 21, Monday Morning: Breakfast

Ace grabbed the nearest drink bottle from the fridge and then closed the door. He smiled a superficial smile at Pavarti. It was clear in his eyes that his mood, like those around him, was low.

"Sure thing Ms. Parvati. You're cooking is the best I've tasted."

Ace glanced at the table and then chose to remain standing at ease, still not making eye contact.

*Pinkie attacked her breakfast one mouthful at a time, masticating had become somewhat more time consuming since she had upgraded her teeth. It was worth it however, and not just for the enhanced combat ability it granted her. Pinkie flinched as Darya sat down and was careful to keep the cult hunter in her sight without actually looking at Darya. Pinkie settled a gaze just short of warning/wary on Darya as she spoke and was grateful for Sosie's interjection, even though it took her translator a moment to compensate, since she herself was none too keen to confront Darya. Meeting her house mate's eye Pinkie raised her voice to just audible not even realising the thunderstorm she was keeping from her expression.*

I am fine. Ace's actions are his own, as are all of ours.

*Pinkie's statements were delivered with a finality bordering on that bestowed by an exclamation mark. Certainly she seemed to think that that put a definite end to the conversation. Pinkie did not quite smile at being bumped under the table but did give the smallest of nods to Sosie. Catching sight of her godaughter Pinkie frowned over at Bell, Okay, I understand that you can eat and need understanding but what could Parvati be....? Pinkie managed to narrowly avoid sticking a spoon into her cheek rather than her mouth as her thoughts trailed off. As she became aware of Ace's presence Pinkie spared him the briefest of glances.... followed by a nod. Good, not being that thing any more..... and I cannot afford to let it show again. Pinkie nodded to Parvati.*

Whatever takes the least time for you, if you would.

"Darya, anything for you?" she asks as she begins to move, putting the problems of the past few minutes behind her as she begins to move around the kitchen, carefully and skillfully avoiding Rico. She gathered several vegetables together and started chopping them with a skill and grace that meant that the blade seemed little more than a silver blur.

Ida couldn't help but laugh a little at the sight of Pinkie lifting Ace around in his cyberframe, but given the circumstances she tried to keep it as quiet as possible.

As Parvati began to cook for the others, Ida's breakfast finished cooking and Rico cheerfully served up the horse steaks to her on a large plate. Ida breathed in deeply, taking in the smell of the freshly-cooked meat, and began to eat hungrily. "Nothing like meat every now and then to start the day," she said in between bites. "I feel sorry for you guys, growing up without any of the good stuff."

"We had meat, very occassionally." Parvati says, her attention not drifting from her pans as she starts to toss the finely chopped vegetables in. "Mostly when one of the Agents was visiting... I think Mother would hoard it until they did." She offers her hands moving across the spice rack carefully picking out the spices she needed almost without looking.

"And it was almost always leftovers for Breakfast." She says keeping the pans moving as she talks "It gives you an odd approach to food that..."

Sosie shrugged non-committally at Ida, and looked up from her meal to watch Parvati as she spoke. She took a few more mouthfuls thoughtfully. "I've has access to real food for over 40 years. And growing up without real food isn't so bad, and bugs count. Water beetles have a little meaty chunk in their thorax that tastes pretty good, if you fry them." She didn't mention that bugs were a speciality even as a child; the first few years on the street had been theft and garbage, and when she was older, she got Violet enrolled in some Comoros school and food program and only had to worry about feeding herself.. She smiled a little as she reached for her Smork, remember how little she had to eat to live, then. She barely remembered eating at all.

Bell ignored the conversation going on behind her, and stood my Rico, asking him questions as she cooked. "Which horse did this come from? Which part of the horse is it from? How did they get this cut?" She asked questions soberly, with little enthusiasm, and nodded once or twice at every answer as she tried to make sense of how the dancing yellow and blue talking horses she saw on screen had any relation to the meat being cooked in her home.

Darya looked like she wanted to say something in reply to Pinkie, but she took the hint and turned away from the other agent, making a note to ask Sosie about why Pinkie seemed so...tense, or maybe fearful around her. "I'm okay Parvati." she said to the agent standing by the stove. As the convestation turned to past sources of food, she shrugged. "I like nutribars, but everyone says that isn't real food. I ate them all the time in Lanzas."

To punctuate her statement, she began to unwrap another one, but stopped after checking her daily food chart on her PDA. Instead, she got up from the table and joined the group standing in the kitchen area, standing next to Ace. She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed, bending down slightly to quietly say in his ear. "Do you want to come with me and Ida to the training grounds?" she asked, looking at Ace kindly. "It'll be good practise for you."