& the fourth

[quu]

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[yowokomete]

The last several months of traveling have been ample time for Shonagon to acclimate herself to the knife and fork. She helps herself carefully to salmon and vegetables (she's tempted by the beef, and hesitates in front of it for a heartbeat before moving on), stopping before the potatoes au gratin. She's never seen either of the ingredients before.

"May I ask what this is?" She indicates the dish in question.

[tigerbomb]

That.. is a potato covered in cheese.

[yowokomete]

Neither of those words have any meaning to her. Shonagon frowns. She needs both hands to manage her plate and utensils as she serves herself, so she's finally sacrificed propriety and tucked her fan up her sleeve.

"A potato?" she repeats, the syllables turning to a flat staccato in her mouth. "Cheese? I've never heard of such things."

[tigerbomb]

"Don't have em on your side of the world?", the question was asked without condescension. "A potato's an edible starch that grows underground, then cheese is made from milk. You do something or other to it, then let it age for a while and it gets that kind of tang to it. So if you're lactose intolerant, i wouldn't eat it."

He shrugged, then started devouring his plate, ears open for any other questions about the lovely subject of food.

[hagswallop]

"It's better with curdled ox-cheese and not so mushy," Cludig whines. She's getting a second helping of the garnish one plate over.

[tigerbomb]

"...whats an ox?"

It was his turn to be confused.

[hagswallop]

"It's big, stubborn, horned, and doesn't float well alive. But if you keep them on land, you can use their milk to make cheese."

Dead they floated pretty well after a day or so, but then the cheese getting gets messy.

[tigerbomb]

"Ohhhhhh... Huh. That sounds neat."

[nicecollarbones]

He hesitates, just a moment, before answering (frankly, he's not very pleased with the proposal business, but alienating her isn't going to help, either.)

"It's a root," he finally explains. "It's very... filling."

[yowokomete]

Well, that's a more understandable explanation. Shonagon serves herself a small portion, struck by the sharp, salty smell.

"But what is that on it?"

[nicecollarbones]

It's odd, realizing that she doesn't know -- he wonders what sort of food she's accustomed to.

"Do you have cows where you're from? Or goats?" She must at least be familiar with mammals, right?

[yowokomete]

Hey, don't judge. It's only like 998 A.D. where she's from.

She frowns. "Cows? Yes. They're work animals; they pull the carts. They have such darling eyes, even if they're not very intelligent."

[nicecollarbones]

He smiles! A shy, warm smile that surely has only the best intentions behind it!

"This is their milk! Ah, but it has to be left for a while... eventually, if you leave it in the heat, it will develop a smell and turn solid, and then it's called cheese." He pauses for a moment, then adds, helpfully, "There are many different sorts of it; some of them are made to grow mold, even, to give it a special taste."

One most note that Hei, while being a connoisseur of all things edible, does not have a very good idea of how cheese is, in fact, made. But neither does she, so it hardly matters.

[yowokomete]

By the end of Hei's explanation, Shonagon has gone rather pale. She desperately wishes she could hold up her fan to conceal the expression of faint horror on her face.

She leans closer to Hei, lowering her voice. "I...see. Thank you; you do seem to be very knowledgeable about this sort of thing. And since you're such an enthusiast, perhaps I could offer you my portion?"