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[darkov]

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latest status update 3/6/2018

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[h2no]

Hmmm.

[he hums thoughtfully as he watches the steam rise off the bowl.]

A couple ways. When I still lived at home I was taught by my parents, when I left - kids in my world leave home to travel when they're about eleven - I learned through necessity and the odd class in the cities I journeyed through. Then when I got older it was just... experimenting and following recipes. [he shrugs a shoulder.] It's not as hard as it looks, when you get the basics down.

[how do darkovs learn, he thinks? definitely not by choice. it seems like none of them have a choice in anything, no matter how big or small it seems. for archie, cooking is second nature, with many aspects of it he was able to specialise in simply because he could.]

...And adapting. Did I tell you I lived in a cave before I was ported in?

[darkov]

[while Archie explains, Martin quietly scrubs at his eyes -- not with the tissues which is what they were brought for. gremlins.

there's a weird, weak understanding in him at some of the things Archie speaks on, particularly that of the family. there's pieces of memories from other people still floating around in his head, mementos of the power Woden gave him for a time...a good number of them with families. cooking with them, big dinners...

his own experiences can bleed into those now, though, can't they? every month there's so many people packed in to eat...and helping Andy cook this time around...]

What...? [he looks back over with a sniff, surprised to hear something-something cave.] Live...in? Why?

[h2no]

[he nudges them towards martin, trying to remind him that they're there. he's reminded of d33 almost hurting himself when he was crying, because he was so intent on not showing any of what he thought was weakness. such a horrible way to raise anyone, he thinks. a horrible habit to fall into; denying yourself the most basic emotions.]

I wanted to, [he says, with a shrug. there's more to it than that, but he won't bring any of that up.] It was nicer than you'd think. Especially when we'd decorated it.

[he puffs his cheeks up.]

The first couple of months were rough. That was back to basics of skewering everything on a kebab stick and cooking it over an open fire. Though honestly? Cooking food like that is always tastier than using the oven or stove.

[darkov]

[obediently, Martin picks up one of the tissues and wipes at his nose while he listens.

a fire in a cave...

Martin frowns, remembering the compound kitchen back home.]

Wouldn't it get all...all smoky and hard to breathe? In a cave, with fire...

[h2no]

[he snorts, laughing a little.]

Yeah. It stopped us procrastinating on the ventilation right quick.

[darkov]

So... [he sniffs.] Your whole family? Lives in a cave? [because they want to?]

[h2no]

They weren't my family, [he says, quietly-- it's not a snap admonishment. just a quiet admittance. it had felt like they were, for a long while, but even with shelly... archie drove a wedge in between them all.] But we did work together. They worked for me, actually.

[anyway.]

Yeah, anyway-- we all stayed in the cave. It was a big one. Hidden away, just because we could.

[darkov]

[a cave, all together...]

...Was it nice?

[h2no]

[was it nice? archie doesn't regret the time in team aqua. he regrets going too far, but they really did have good times.]

Yeah. [and he ruined it, the way he ruins everything.] --Have you had a bonfire here, yet? Roasted marshmallows and the like?

[darkov]

[he shakes his head a little, slowly folding up the unused tissues still in his lap.]

[h2no]

Hmm, well, maybe we can do that some time. You can get little BBQ boxes to set up in the garden.

[he holds his hands out about a foot apart.]

About this big. It makes for a fun afternoon, for sure.

[which... he's aware martin probably doesn't want to think about anything other than the now, with rex gone. was this a bad idea? is it going to make martin thing that he's planning for a future without rex in his life? he is, sort of. archie knows that he can prepare himself for a huge change like this pretty quickly and pretty well, but what does that matter? martin can't, and he's still suffering.]

...Well, we can talk about that some other time. [he settles on, awkwardly trailing off.]

[darkov]

Oh... [his gaze trails away from Archie's hands.] Alright.

[he hesitates.]

If...other people can do it, too, then...that'd be good.

[h2no]

[he wants to ask why other people wouldn't be able to do it, but as usual, holds it back. he's not the one suffering, so why should he put martin on the spot? just push down everything about himself and focus on the gremlin.]

Yeah. 'Course they can. We can think about that some other time, though.

[darkov]

Alright...

[if it's for later, than he supposes he'll just leave it for later. if later comes at all. Martin swallows, shaking his head a little as if that'll clear out the thought, fidgeting a little under mightyena's weight.]