"Just bear with Master Clyde, in the meantime. He is quite grumpy at times, but he is not always like that. He is really a nice man, believe me."
Naomi said in his master defense while he tried his best to move the burnt casserole over the gas range towards the empty countertop.
The casserole was almost as big as the size of the cat's body itself so the other party was having a hard time carrying it. Seeing this, Syra came to his rescue.
"If this happened to a normal household, this would call forth an emergency situation. But from how you guys handled it, it seemed that this was not new anymore."
Syra could not help but comment as she took the casserole from Naomi's paws.
"Well, explosions were indeed a common thing whenever Master Clyde was trying to concoct new potions. He is not good at cooking anything in general."
"Err???? Then how did he managed to survive until now? I mean, how was he able to eat without knowing how to cook? Don't tell me you also, cook for him?"
Syra insinuated as she was reminded how the other party brought her dinner the other night. However, instead of answering her question directly, Naomi only asked her back with a question of his own.
"Hooman, have you ever seen a fish climbing a tree before???"
Syra had no idea why the cat asked her that out of the box question all of sudden, but she still replied to him.
"Of course not. Where could I even find such a weird animal in the first place? In fact, if I haven't met you, I would probably not get a chance to meet a talking cat ever in my life."
"That is what I am trying to say, little girl. Seeing me cook by myself is as nearly as impossible as meeting a fish that could climb a tree. I could reheat food for sure. But cooking one was out of my league."
"Alright, I get it. But if that is the case, then how do you guys eat on a daily basis? Did Clyde just have to snap his finger and a sumptuous meal would appear in instant??"
When that thought crossed Syra's mind, she felt excited. However, her excitement did not last long because Naomi denied it right away.
"First things first, don't let Master Clyde heard you calling him on a first-name basis. He would not like it. And I must say, you mortals sure knew how to make your imagination run wild. If getting food is as easy as that, do you think Master Clyde would even bother working in the kitchen for his food? Come to think of that."
"Errrr... I have not thought about that. Alright, I will quit guessing now, so tell me. How do you get food?"
"Panda Express."
Naomi replied with a shrug as though that was the most normal answer to expect from him.
"Panda Express???"
Syra, on the other hand, repeated Naomi's answer with her intonation rising an octave higher to insinuate a question as she felt the need to reconfirm if she really heard him right or not.
"Yes, Panda Express. Haven't you heard of it before??? I thought you should have at least familiar with it. It is some kind of food delivery service that you mortals offer in exchange for some bucks."
"Yes, I do know Panda Express. I even worked as a part-timer there before. But it is just that I never imagined a warlock ordering to-go menus."
"Why? Have you met any other warlocks before?"
"Err.. Not exactly."
"Precisely, that is why you have no idea."
While the two were busy talking among themselves, they also did not dally. Despite their long conversation, Syra and Naomi were still able to finish cleaning the kitchen as well as Clyde's workplace because they also did not stop wiping and scrubbing the place clean and free of any grime or dirt.