(no subject)

[electro_kinetic]

Noriko is in the kitchen today, trying to both balance on her crutches and go about making the meal she wants to make; it's proving difficult. However, she's got everything more or less assembled in front of her, so she has to do the least traversing of the kitchen as is possible.

Roasted eggplant dip should not be this much trouble to make. Really.

Comments

[quick_clean_pure]

Graverobber stops by the kitchen solely for nabbing at food, only spotting Noriko beginning to go to work when he spots the precarious balance as she moves back and forth.

"You gonna be okay doing that on crutches?"

[electro_kinetic]

She's currently leaning on the counter, uninjured foot supporting her weight as she stuffs sprigs of rosemary into half an eggplant.

"Well, if I fall over, I'll yell for something."

[quick_clean_pure]

"Okay," he says, watching her prop herself on the counter. "I mean, just don't expect, like, medical assistance from me or anything because I think that'll just make it all way, way worse."

[electro_kinetic]

Noriko gives him a dry smile and shrugs carefully. "I mean...I'm not expecting a whole lot out of anyone at this point, given it's hard for anyone to help short of picking me up directly."

This, while tempting to some, is a bad idea. The narration does not recommend trying it.

"I'm just bad at keeping them under my arms without using my hands, and they keep falling over, and it's just frustrating." Hence the stragetic leaning pose. Which is far more strenuous than it looks.

[quick_clean_pure]

Never fear, Graverobber does not have a death wish and will not attempt to hoist up Noriko. He knows enough women to know that his death would be painful and agonizing.

"Okay, but like -- " he gestures vaguely at the strategic leaning pose. "I dunno, that seems like tempting fate. You want someone to just hold something so you can keep the crutches in place or something?"

[electro_kinetic]

She chuckles, huffing out a last laugh. "It's just more that if I adjust them taller, they're uncomfortable for walking, but they don't stay in place otherwise. And I'm not sure that if I had someone hold anything it wouldn't end up being me, and that's weird."

She shrugs one-shouldered.

[quick_clean_pure]

"Fair enough," he says. "Have you tried asking the bar for like a tall chair or something? Asking only because I feel like this is a recipe for some potential food explosion disaster on the floor possibly and trying to clean that up on crutches would be a humongous pain in the ass."

[electro_kinetic]

Noriko shakes her head. "I would, but I have to move around too much to make sitting down something feasible," she says. "Besides, if I spill...I'll beg forgiveness from the waitrats."

Beat.

"Or you could help if you're that concerned."

[quick_clean_pure]

"Sure, I mean, that's what I was half-way attempting to offer anyhow," he says. "Unless you prefer treacherous food preparation for the challenge of it or something."

[cook_the_rude]

Dr. Hannibal Lecter walks into the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, carrying a tray of empty plates and glasses.

[electro_kinetic]

Noriko--just Noriko, no titles, no nothing--is standing on her uninjured foot, leaning against one crutch and with the other propped under the bend of her cast knee. That forty-degree angle is getting really old already.

She has two cut eggplants in front of her, trying to work out how to crosshatch them with a knife and hold them in her free hand and not topple over. Not going real well so far.

[cook_the_rude]

"Can I help you with anything?"

[electro_kinetic]

"I don't know, can you?" she asks. She has her phone set up to play a video of a man (blonde, older, white, and apparently either quite animated or quite angry about something) making what she's attempting to recreate.

"This is supposed to be easy." Though she has no idea how she'll go about getting a hot pan out of the oven, much less getting wet ingredients into one on the cooktop.

[cook_the_rude]

"Of course I can help you, if you will let me," Hannibal says. "Let me start with getting that, shall I?"

[electro_kinetic]

"It's vegetarian, so sure," she says, picking up her other crutch and swiveling, carefully, out of the way. "It's supposed to be eggplant dip. Aubergine caviar, according to the recipe."

She shrugs as best she can.

"Gordon Ramsay."

[cook_the_rude]

"I think I heard the name," Hannibal says. "A very nice and helpful Brit who transforms into a raging maniac on American TV."

Calmly, he starts following the instructions.

"Any special occasion, or did you just feel like the challenge of taking on Mr. Ramsay?"

[electro_kinetic]

"I didn't really think it was all that much of a challenge," she says honestly. "I mean...I like eggplant, and his recipe doesn't have any weird shit in it."

She carefully maneuvers around him on her crutches, being careful not to slip on the tile. "I don't have to talk to him to make his food."

[imthepilot]

Bodhi has a tray of seed-cakes just coming out of the oven. He glances over to Noriko. "Would you like a hand?"

[electro_kinetic]

"A foot might be better," she murmurs, eyeballing the distance to the oven; she has the stuff she needs to assemble, she just doesn't know how she's gonna get it to where it needs to go. And she'd like to have that figured out before the necessary moment.

[imthepilot]

"I don't have one of those to spare but I can help if you need it."

[electro_kinetic]

She sighs: she hates feeling so helpless, like because of this one lasting injury she can't do anything. "If you'd help me open the oven? And move things, which is the harder part of this whole predicament."

[imthepilot]

Bodhi steps around her to hold open the over, happy to help however she needs. Without being in her way.

[electro_kinetic]

"Thanks," she says, sliding the tray with her wrapped eggplants on it towards the oven, and having to readjust to put them in.

[imthepilot]

"What are you making?" He looks at the eggplants with interest.

[electro_kinetic]

"Eggplant," Noriko replies, having some interesting issues with straightening up using only one leg and a brace. "Aubergine caviar, according to the recipe, which is basically vegetable mixed with herbs and sour cream. It tastes pretty good, if you like eggplant."