Seek the water of life.

No, not a child. Maybe it looked like one, or perhaps it was one once. Yet even she could tell that something about it was horrifically wrong. Unnatural.

Was it a creature? Undead? No... no undead she'd seen had ever spoken or ever moved like that. Somehow that thing was alive and healthy in this godforsaken nightmare-- and that just made it even worse.

It was a long time spent alone in the dark before she was mobile again, moving as quietly as possible in the opposite direction than the things that passed. At least she could take solace in the fact that none of this was real - the impossible things she'd seen in this place made it all too clear she must be having some terrible dream.

"You know, you don’t need to mother me over everything," Aerith replied with a bit of a laugh.

    It was humorous the way the other working so hard to split their attention between the flower girl and cooking. Her reputation for her poor cooking skills must have really proceeded her. She had to wonder if Tulreth and thoroughly investigated before taking on the challenge.

    An embarrassed blush bloomed over her face. She could just see it now. The Yuke questioning all her friends, especially Cloud. He’d been subject to many of her cooking attempts. One day in particular had made her feel horrible. After eating he had refused to come out of his room for an entire day.

    That was probably one of the biggest reasons she wanted to learn so badly. There was also the fact that a special day was coming up in just a month. The flower girl really wanted to surprise him with something special.

"Pasta sauce? Oh no! Did we get any? Where did we put it?!" Aerith tossed the cloth on the counter as she started sorting through everything they’d bought. They’d been so thorough at the store. Even had a list to check off items as they went.    Yet as luck would have it the pasta sauce was missing. The Cetra tried to stay positive. There had to be something they could use. If anyone could figure out what her friend probably could.

She murmured, looking down at their newly bought supplies and drumming her fingers on the counter thoughtfully. Could they use something else? She had half a mind to travel all the way back to the store and just buy another jar, but it was a good few miles away. Not to mention that getting Aerith to agree to this in the first place had taken a while, and the Yuke feared stopping cold mid-cooking might kill the flower girl's momentum and discourage her. That was the last thing Tulreth wanted.

No, no, there has to be a way to make this work.

"Well..." She started, palming thoughtfully over the other supplies and glancing to her partner. "Ah, this place has flour, and milk...and I'm sure there's other basic ingredients around somewhere. Maybe some tomato paste? It always seems like most households have an unused can of that hiding in the depths of one cupboard or another. Maybe some garlic salt? And with everything else we picked up-"

The woman's chest seemed to tighten at a realization. Originally the recipe would have been easy enough to follow, it was for an easy spaghetti she'd made a hundred times previously. Despite knowing the mechanics of how not to screw up majorly, she wasn't exactly a chef and had relied on knowledge ingrained by her own mother's teachings thus far. But without any pre-made sauce they'd have to create their own. A process she was only mildly familiar with. Was it worth trying her limited experience and risking upsetting the Cetra by failing?

...Oh screw it. Never know if you don't try. Have to get Aerith to see things that way though..

Tulreth turned to the woman with a hand raised to her chin.

"Aerith. I think we can make some kind of replacement sauce, but...look. We've both been on adventures, right? Helped people? Risked our well being for the sake of others? I'm willing to bet that at least some of that time, both of us were more or less winging it. Making it up as we went."

Both hands raised to rest on Aerith's shoulders. With an oddly serious look the mage seemed to stare dead on into her friends eyes.

"And you know what? Sometimes it's just what you have to do. Sometimes you have no choice but to get out there, and take a risk. I will not lie to you. I only kind of know what I'm doing, but I have a rough idea of how to make this work. I think...we can do this." 

Come on, put some more soul into it.

"In fact," Her hands dropped to rest on her hips defiantly, tone shifting from serious to confident. Almost too confident.

"I know we can get something done here today. Something big! Admittedly, It might be great, or it might be awful. Who knows? But you never get better at anything if you don't step outside of your comfort zone and give it your best shot! Everyone makes mistakes at some point, and mistakes exist to be learned from. So they're not even that bad as long as you can accept them."

She seemed to really be getting into wherever this monologue was going, balling up a fist and holding it close to her chest.

"Life is full of chances milady, and I'm not going to give up and be defeated by food when I've faced down a Gigas lord and a Malboro with nothing more than a hammer and some magicite. And from what I hear you had to deal with some monstrosities yourself. So I say we do our best! What do you say?"

With that she extended a hand to the Cetra, like they were to seal some bizzare deal. A hint of the seriousness returned underneath to burning ambition on display.

"I will not give up if you do not.

If we can do this, then great. If not, tis' a learning experience. 

    “You’re right. This doesn’t have to be a disaster. Maybe that’s one of my problems. I think too much if something starts to go wrong.”

The woman chided bemusedly, flicking a hand at the corrected temperature dial above the hot plates. 

"Like it was supposed to be when you first heated up the water? Though I can swear we discussed lowering it once the pasta was added...The only reason to ever have the stovetop at it's hottest is when you need to boil plain water quickly. Anything else will react badly, as you've seen."

She tried to keep the explanations simple as they went to work around the place, recalling the horrific rumors about the flower girl's cooking prowess. It was like keeping an eye on a child - making sure they didn't just add ingredients or spices they thought seemed good at the time, double checking that they were doing things in the right order, didn't manage to hurt themselves---

"Oh, do be careful! Both the burner and the liquid are still very hot, try not to let it touch your skin. And any water too close to the heat will evaporate away so don't try to get at it. Managed to set my hand aflame once that way."

She warned as Aerith was wiping down the burner. Perhaps a bit overbearing yes, but she didn't feel like taking much in the way of chances. 

It seemed odd and a little sad that such a kind woman would have a history of nearly poisoning people, yet the Yuke would have a surprisingly high tolerance for whatever might go wrong. Growing up with alchemists for parents had acclimated her to many scientific experiments and their occasionally violent reactions upon failure. Flames, acidic mixtures, explosions- egads there was a minor explosion every other week back home, usually from her father's work in the basement lab. The things people could get accustomed to were astounding. Surely trying to make food couldn't be as bad in comparison?  

She retrieved a wooden spoon and stirred the noodles to check that none had burned to the metal pot, finding that there were only a few sticking points that needed to be scraped at. Good. Her next job was to stroll to a nearby counter where there sat half unpacked paper grocery bags with several different foods from their recent shopping trip, and began rummaging through them.

"The noodles still need time to cook through. Still too stiff. We can put them back on medium heat after about a half minute and add a few shakes of salt, that should help it boil more calmly. 

Starting over? It wouldn't be too big of a problem, even if we did. We should have plenty of supplies, fortunately noodles can be rather forgiving if you keep a close watch on them...

Where did that jar of pasta sauce go?"

    The others concerned words caused her to look up at the Yuke. She gave a disheartened sigh and wiped the few tears from her cheeks. This was getting so frustrating.

    “I’m alright. I really don’t know if I’m cut out for this. Every time I try nothing comes out right. I just wanted to be able to make something special for everyone. Something that wouldn’t make the others sick for once.”

A hand clapped heartily on the Cetra's back.

Despite the other's downtrodden attitude, Tulreth seemed oddly cheery in the face of their imminent screw up.

"It's just a little boil-over, happens all the time. That's the worst thing about pots, they won't boil if you watch, but if you don't watch they have a chance to get out of control."

As the mage spoke she reached out to turn the heat dial down to medium, then moved abruptly to another section of the kitchen and began opening drawers in a search. After fiddling with several she soon turned around with a large rag in hand- "Catch." -and tossed it towards Aerith!

    The other’s words soothed her. Slowly her sobbing faded to simple tears which also soon passed. Aerith eventually raised her head and gazed at the Yuke. The tender gesture the other displayed by wiping away her tears only reinforced how kindly her friend was.     “I’m so sorry Tulreth. I was being a fool. Perhaps I should have voiced my feelings much earlier than this. It’s hard seeing someone you love struggling. So frustrating and draining because in the end my words can only do so much. It’s their actions that determine change.”     Her eyes were sore and slightly red from crying. The Cetra leaned forward and draped her arms around the caravaner into a gentle hug. She was so thankful for her friend at this moment. What she may have done with out their intervention may have damaged her relationship with him. Now she had a chance to calm and better take grasp of the situation.

"Now now, tis' quite alright. After all is said and done it is not so unusual to lose control of your emotions in times of stress. And it is not wrong or weak to cry - such catharsis can help you feel better, no?"

As they parted she listened and nodded appreciatively. Tea sounded like a splendid idea, yet she couldn't help but cast a sidelong glance at the previously guarded exit. Despite it's emotional weight the whole debacle had lasted perhaps a minute and a half. Might he still be nearby?

"Ah, but Miss Aerith...you were so angry as he was leaving. Parting on harsh terms can be unpleasant, no matter the reason. Are you quite sure you want to leave things as they are?"

    The flower girl looked back upon her companion. Their words rang clear, breaking through the haze of her anger. The Yuke was right. Aerith really hadn’t been thinking clearly.      “I just…,” Her body began to tremble and tears started to brim in her emerald eyes. With her anger starting to subside a feeling of sadness began to over take her.     “I feel as though my words are lost on him! That they just fall on deaf ears. What can I do? I just don’t know. I try so hard for everyone, most of all him. I care about him so much! But I can’t…I can’t….,” The flower girl knew she was just babbling by this point.

She could do little but stare at first, stunned as Aerith's facade of anger so easily gave way to despair. However as the Yuke listened to her friend's words the situation began to make sense and with new understanding came a creeping sense of guilt. She hadn't intended to bring the woman to tears, of course. Yet in the attempt to mitigate what she believed to be misplaced anger the real cause had been shown - and it looked to hurt the flower girl deeply.

She stepped away from her guarding position with little thought, gingerly approaching as the woman sobbed. 

"H-hey now. Tis' alright."

A concerned hand moved to rest on the Cetra's shoulder once she drew close enough, the commanding chill from her earlier comments long since abandoned. She paused to try and consider the best thing to say, but words did not come easily as she stood beside the maiden vainly trying to cover the tears that streaked her face. Though Tulreth cared very much for the girl, she knew little of her other relations. What right did she have to offer advice or judge?

"Oh...honey. Some people just cannot be helped, even if only because they cannot properly ask for or accept it. And no matter how much you care for someone you cannot control their actions for them. The best one might wish for is that your concerns get taken into account..."

She sighed softly. Spoken in that manner it sounded too...clinical, even to her. Damning vocabulary habits aside, she tried again.

"I mean, even if it seems like someone you care for doesn't listen to your...advice, it doesn't mean that they're ignoring you, or your advice, or the underlying fact that you care a hell of a lot for them and must worry for their sake. Sometimes people just brush worries off like it's nothing serious because...well, that's their way of dealing with the situation, I suppose. Making light of things can make them seem less frightening-"

For a short disconcerting moment her mind blanked - swimming in memories of preparing to leave for her yearly journeys and the nearly ritual practice of telling all her loved ones that there was nothing for them to worry about. That she had the situation under control, easily. That she would be able to take care of herself. That she would return safely...

"-And when you're the one who's being worried for, sometimes you just don't want people to brood about it. You don't want them to feel bad about what you've chosen to do, because you care about how they feel - so you play it off as no big deal. Trying to soothe their fears, even...even if they're well deserved."

She stopped for a time to wonder if her words made any sense. It could be so difficult to convey ones own thoughts! Still she tried to move onward, carefully reaching her spare hand to take one of Aerith's own away from her reddening eyes. While doing so her soft striped fur brushed the woman's cheek and smudged the tear trails there. The Yuke stooped and angled her head, trying to establish eye contact again.

"Miss Aerith. You are so...wonderful. So kind to and caring for so very many people, and they surely realize that even if they do not outwardly show it. Please do not dare to think your concerns are not valid, or recognized. I think..people probably listen to you more than you know.

In their stead she gently squeezed the flower girl's hand that held her own, head bowed appreciatively at the gesture.

"Ew why do you carry this around it’s disgusting, do you have any other disgusting powder with you?" She was curious about it she wanted to try out more.

"I keep it around because it's tastes wonderful - if you sprinkle it on meat or fish instead of eating it raw. And well, not exactly. I'm always roaming around the country and usually have to keep cooking supplies and such nearby, but that's the only one in my pack right now."

She admitted while screwing the cap back on the bottle before tossing it back into her bag. 

"It's just a condiment though. I'm sure you could find several different kinds of those at any grocer."

And then it was her first turn. Tulreth considered the two options carefully, before nodding.