paradisabeyond | (no subject)

[Good evening, explorers! After departing from Cair Paradisa, the path was south at first, but turned west fairly early on. Skirting well south of Eldritch Forest, the travelers had camped near the edge of the Amber Steppe, not quite within sight of the forest that marks the Totem Coast. The grasses are parched brown by the heat, though greener patches mark the presence of water. It's near one of these - a small, bubbling stream leading west that Raine has chosen to follow as it will almost certainly run into the river marked on her map - that the travelers have made their camp.

The carts and wagons are arranged in a defensive circle, though the campers are free to set up their tents outside them as well as inside wher ethe rest of them are. There are small cooking fires scattered around as well as a large bonfire in the center for socializing.

Play music? Sing? Teach those poor non-Earth kids how to make s'mores? Or just sit around and socialize with others.

Or hide in your tent and ignore everyone, if you really want to.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[breathing is for people who don't get excited about EVERYTHING even remotely related to expeditions and discoveries and adventure, Arya! he plucks a marshmallow out of the bag and holds it out]

Just stick it on the end, make sure it's on there good. But don't push it down too far, because then the stick catches on fire, and you don't really want that. You just want to toast the marshmallow.

I know how to cook with fire. [ Gosh. ]

[he holds up his free hand] Sorry. I just - well. Some people here haven't even done that, so it's hard to know who knows what. What about marshmallows, you know how to roast those?

I've never seen them before.

Oh! Well, they're a sort of candy - only, well. Squishy. Go on and take it, and you'll see what I mean. If you hold it over the fire long enough, the outside gets crispy and the inside gets all gooey.

[ She takes one and squeezes it between her fingers a few times. Impaling it on her stick, she holds it over the flames. She snatches it back before it catches fire. ]

You can hold it just over the fire, too. [he'll start one of his own so he can demonstrate] This is kinda where personal preference comes in. Some people only like 'em toasted a little bit, some people like 'em so warm that they're almost falling off the stick ... [he makes a face that says EXACTLY what he thinks of the last example] And some people like to let 'em catch fire and turn black.

Some people are mad.

[ She holds it over the fire again until it looks...well she has no idea what it's supposed to look like. But she'll take it. ]

[while she's roasting it, he grabs a sheet of graham crackers and breaks it in half, and readies a bit of chocolate] Okay, now, take the chocolate and use it to slide the marshmallow off the stick onto the cracker.

The brown thing is the chocolate?

Yep. .....Wait, you've never had chocolate before, either? [clearly a travesty]

Hadn't heard of it until the carnival.

Well, this is one of the best ways you can have it. [he smiles. NEVER MIND ARYA, Ray will teach you ALL the wonders of junk food and your childhood will be complete]

Once you've got the marshmallow on there, just put the other cracker on top, like a sandwich.

[ Thankfully, Cinna taught her about sandwiches or she might break Ray's brain asking what one is.

Arya does so, raising an eyebrow at the gooey mess. ]

[he grins] Ta-dah! You've made your first s'more. Now you just, yanno. Eat it.

[and he'll finish making up his own while she's trying it, because well, you don't stare at people while they eat, it's rude]

[ He misses the scrunching of her nose then as she tastes it. The marshmallow has a strange texture and it's a little too sweet for her tastes. But it's edible. She swallows it in a couple of bites. ]