BEAUTY AND THE BEAST AU 1

[enigmaster]

Comments

[agoodname]

I could, but it would be disgusting and I'd probably get sick. [he waves a hand at the bucket] Help yourself. Waste not, want not, after all. [and while Edward's doing that, he's going to go take a look at the butchered rabbit pieces from last night.]

[enigmaster]

Really? It tastes fine. ...I guess you probably don't drink blood either, though. [Un...like him. That's a normal fact to throw in casually. But Edward's absolutely going to take that bucket and just... snack on the contents. Food can be hard to come by in the winter and he's pretty damn hungry. He just kind of plops down on the floor while he eats.]

[agoodname]

[.........what the fuck]

....no, I don't. I'm assuming that you do, then?

[enigmaster]

Sure. [He just kind of looks up, while he's eating.] I mean, usually I just eat what I catch raw, but... sometimes I'll drink blood instead. From cows or other bigger animals. When I can't find anything else... [It's hard to get enough blood to be a proper meal, but in a pinch it'll do.]

[agoodname]

[.......] Dully noted. [dryly] Why not just kill the cow and take it with you?

[enigmaster]

...It's too big. [Super not the whole reason.]

[agoodname]

[....yeah no that's not the whole reason. But Oswald will let it go for now] Fair enough. [he hums, examining the meat] Alright, I think we're ready to prepare all this. I thought I saw some empty jars in the pantry; would you grab them for me? Oh, and more salt.

[enigmaster]

[Edward pauses in his eating of those rabbit guts, quickly wiping at his snout to be sure there's nothing on there, and stands up.] Mhm, okay...

[agoodname]

[...omg he wiped his snout this time. Ok. Granted the guts probably wouldn't have been as cute as the porridge but details???] I think it's best if we can about half of this, salt a quarter of it, and then use the other quarter for soup for today. Was there ever a garden on the grounds?

[enigmaster]

[Edward thinks for a moment and shrugs.] I think so... It hasn't really been attended to in, um... in a long time, though.

[agoodname]

That’s fine. Even if a garden’s been abandoned, you can sometimes still find some things growing that have gone wild. After you grab the jars, would you mind taking a look? [how biddable are you, Edward time to find out]

[enigmaster]

[Edward tilts his head a little, in thought... but he nods.] ...Alright. I can check. [For now, he's gonna get the things Oswald asked for and bring them over.]

[agoodname]

Thank you, Edward. I appreciate it. [yeah he sure is going to smile up at him because this is a very good foundation. Apparently, he’s biddable enough that Oswald can make him go out into the cold snow to dig for vegetables that probably aren’t even there. It’ll be a good measure to a.) see if he can find anything and, more importantly, b.) see if he’ll be pissy when he gets back inside.]

[enigmaster]

[Oswald smiles at him and that gesture is so foreign, still, that Edward's just staring a moment. Before he kind of nods.] Um... sure. [YEP THAT'S HIM HE'S JUST A HELPER even if he's not sure how all this even happened. He should be trying to get Oswald out, now, and yet... ... Well, that's not something to think about now.] I'll go take a look... [He's not fond of snow, but. Well. Maybe Oswald's right, and there really is something. So he disappears to outside.]

[agoodname]

[apparently yes, Edward, you are very much a helper. Oswald watches him go outside, humming in consideration. Yes, this is very good to know. He turns back to the task at hand, digging around the kitchen until he comes up with a pot, which he fills with some snow from the windowsil and places on the stove. Which is definitely not lit. Well, depending on Edward’s mood when he comes back, he might ask him to do that. In the meantime, he’s going to drain the meat and divide it into separate bowls in the portions he said, before trying to locate a knife and chopping board. When edward comes back, he’ll find Oswald with a rabbit thigh, slowly slicing the meat into thin strips before laying them out on a baking sheet in rows]

[enigmaster]

[Digging through snow isn't what he thought he'd be doing today, but here he is, all the same. It's getting brighter, too, which is... not ideal. The sunrise is not Edward's favorite time of day and he flinches a little as it becomes lighter out. Still, he persists for a bit, managing to scrounge up... not a lot, but a little bit. So, when Edward returns to the kitchen, he puts down some... maybe not amazing looking carrots, but edible enough, as well as a few turnips. Hey, it's something.] There wasn't really a lot out there... [He squints and rubs at his eyes a little. Too bright...]

[agoodname]

[Oswald blinks--and does visibly brighten] Those will be absolutely perfect for the soup. [he offers Edward another smile, this one far more honest, beaming a bit. He is very pleased. For more than one reason.] These are wonderful, Edward, thank you. [he pauses, glancing over as the sun starts to rise] Ah, sunrise. [he glances at Edward] Do you need to sleep again soon? I remember you said the sun hurts your eyes...

[enigmaster]

Oh... Sure. No problem... [Edward... brightens a little himself, at that praise. Ah...] Maybe, yeah... [He rubs at his eyes a little more.] I'm kind of supposed to be nocturnal. But I already slept a lot... [:c]

[agoodname]

Oh. [he glances at the curtains] We should certainly close those curtains at least. I'd hate for the light to hurt your eyes.

[enigmaster]

Mhm... [He nods again. It's getting kind of bad, now, so he's just hiding his face a little to block out the light. He'll head over and close those, though... That's why they're there.]

[agoodname]

[Edward closes the curtains as Oswald half watches him out of the corner of his eye]

If you're not planning on sleeping, would you mind lighting a fire in the stove? We can start boiling the meat, then and get it ready for caning and for the soup.

[enigmaster]

[Edward nods and just... gets to that, without even thinking about it, really.]

[agoodname]

[....very, very biddable, it seems. Which is fascinating. Oswald considers this as he finishes slicing up the meat, then laying down a layer of salt to lay it on on the baking sheet, then another layer over it. He'll then start to inspect the rest of the butchered rabbit for any impurities--humming quietly while he works]

[enigmaster]

[Edward's gonna perch on a stool again, so he can watch. He's very interested, okay. Especially when Oswald starts humming. His ears go up a little at the sound.]

[agoodname]

[lskdhfs that's...far too cute to be reasonable. It shouldn't be cute at all, really.

But he'll focus on the task, managing to wrangle two large pots of snow inside--and he means to put them on the stove, really he does. And normally it wouldn't be a problem but...once he's back inside, he sits down heavily at the table in the kitchen, breathing hard, winded just from that.

Yeah his body really didn't like that]