"She takes care of herself like a man Cerez," Kadir said. "Liem has always been trustworthy. It has been a few days, I trust her Cerez, do you really need to test her?" Kadir said to his friend. The environment brought back some bad memories for him. He imagined that Cerez might feel the same way, but Liem had vouched for her already.
"I think it is best that we do not divulge everything at once. I will only when necessary. How much do you think he told her?" Cerez said as he finished the rest of the work with Kadir. It was only fair that they helped, in their opinion, since it was a shared space. Cerez helped Kadir make the bed. Nora had a habit of stripping the bed linens every morning in exchange for new ones. Nora had quickly started side project in the garden and had already helped with the meal preparation.
"He is careful, he is already keeping a huge secret from her." Kadir said. "Listen, think it out. She did not have implants before she arrived, only weird technology. It was weird in composition and had toxins in it. Do you really think she has anything to do with the existing power structure? Is that rational?"
"No. But she could change. He has. She should really know what she is really getting into, or we should protect her from it somehow," Cerez said. Kadir chuckled at his fickleness. Nora had long joined Liem in the kitchen.
"Maybe she wants to do more than us" Kadir said. "There is no harm in keeping your guard up. I can tell she is not going to hurt anyone, let alone us." Kadir said with a grunt as he tucked the sheet in. He stood and looked at Cerez. He had been asking her odd questions over the past few days. She never faltered in the way she answered.
"Cerez, That plant I found growing outside in the courtyard. I want to grow more of it. You have so much experience in horticulture, are there any detriments if I moved these plants to another zone and used an adaptive climate housing setup or should I experiment and grow them in the climate?" Nora said wistfully. She missed her morning ritual of having a cup of tea and soft-boiled eggs with toast or potatoes. She a major comfort food her sights.
"Pekoe Weed." Liem teased.
"Pekoe. Plants are not weeds. They do not control how they grow and spread. Their seeds are just taken by the wind and grow where they fall. It does not make them bad even though they are plentiful. " Nora finished. She put her hands on her hips sensitively,
'What if they saw her and her children like weeds? What if they were abnormal or had defects? He is so difficult to find out. What if he is just using me? He has been different since that night.' she thought to herself sadly.
"Sorry, that is just what mother calls them. My dad only brought a few plants initially, now they are growing everywhere." Liem said.
"It is very suitable to this climate and there is swaths of arable land in the west it could thrive well in if you wish to grow it on a large scale." Cerez answered her.
"I do not know about growing the crop on a commercial scale, I was thinking of just a small operation of hand processed and naturally fermented leaves." Nora said.
"Fermented? How?" Cerez looked on interested.
"You bruise the leaves, sometimes pounding them well and leave the paste in a suitable environment at a temperature. I'm experimenting with screens outside covered with leaves. It will take a few days for the different types to finish their stages. Some of the younger leaves I harvested require little to no handling other then slight bruising. You will be able to try them once the leaves have dried and wilted." Nora explained. Cerez made a face.
"You can steep it in hot water after and it will flavor the hot water, add fruit and or cane syrup and drink it cold in the heat. Like muddled Liotte or hot. Just wait and let me change your mind." Nora coaxed.
"I am so glad I do not have to eat it." Cerez said.
"Wait, do you think Dorien will mind how much I picked? I do not want to offend him" Nora asked as she thought. Her face changed. The plants were sentimental to him. She wanted tea, but not to stir up trouble in the Allari gardens. She just wanted familiarity and she had cravings. This had made Nora want to start to study botany since she first was served 'Simas' stalks. Finding Pekoe fired her up. She secretly hoped to find wheat to make flour. Cookies or bread would be very good. She was having cravings for carbohydrates, more specifically sweet desserts. She would have to create a mill for it.
"I do not think so." Liem said. He had guided her further into the garden in his efforts to avoid his sister and parents. Even then she was conscientious about what she picked. Cerez looked at the interaction. His trust issues were admittedly influenced more about the environment, he felt himself relax more.
"Good, there are so many foods I have been craving lately." Nora said. The food was delicious here. Just protein, cheeses, vegetables and fruits were not enough. She realised that she had taken so much for granted. There were things she never tried that might not have been discovered here. Restaurants and dishes that she may not be able to replicate. There were also things like candy, beer, bread, fish and chips. Tea would be a comfort. Culinary classes were necessary in learning what she could not learn from her own mother. They were necessary in her living alone. Nora had studied Botany among other courses. Her dream as a child was to solve world hunger among other high aspirations. She now lived in a world that could engineer the very plants she needed if she could find the required cultivars.
"Pekoe was used in folk medicine," Kadir said as he boomed behind her, causing her to jump a little. "I have only heard of it being used topically since it is very bitter. How would you process it to account for its poor taste? " Kadir asked.
"The reason I process the leaves in different manners to get different taste profiles. The fermentation and drying leads to adding different notes. There are herbal additives like other flowers or dried fruit or herbs that work with the bitter and herbaceousness of the taste. " Nora answered. Bitter was not a bad taste. Some teas actually tasted better without the addition of sweeteners. She was surprised and glad that this version was not toxic. An alternate world, yet again, presented variables in plant evolution. She had studied the ins and outs of her and the United Kingdom's favorite drink and knew of several blends of herbs to mix with it.
"Looks interesting. Is this something new?" Nora grabbed a pair of tongs and attacked some of the leftovers the platter Kadir had made earlier. She made an effort to finish a piece. Cerez laughed, looking at Nora's brow furrowing and face twisting as she chewed. She finally spat out the food. "I am sorry, but that is inedible," Nora said, grossed out.
"Those are eggs. I was going to warn you, but you were too quick. Haha. That mess is not my doing." Cerez claimed his innocence.
"It is alright, we have some time to school Kadir in the kitchen." Liem laughed while finishing cooking the fresh food he started when she went out to the entrance of the courtyard to check her Pekoe project that had been sitting under the sun.
"Such a waste." Cerez said, picking up the plate of food Kadir cooked.
"She gets impatient when she is hungry. When I first met her she had already been digging into the fruit bowl of her room. She had fruit juice all over her hands" Liem laughed, teasing her. Nora plucked an Uzuza from the bowl nearby and accurately targeted Liem. As the fruit sailed through the air and collided with his head he turned around to look at her pouting face, "Told you." Liem said aloud. Nora smiled innocently, she was thrilled that they seemed to be getting along. He filled the platter with the cooked meat. There was a lot of cheese, fruits and chopped green vegetable salad. It was day four and she had to report to Allurai for her lessons.
"The eggs?" Nora asked.
"Here." Liem said as he handed her a bowl of 6 soft boiled eggs.
"A bit much?" Nora asked. She took a hot egg with her hands, passing it from palm to palm rolling it.
"No, you will need your energy, have at least two?" Liem asked.
"Sure. But I do not believe I can eat my portion of all that." Nora said eying the platter. It was a lot of food. Especially if they wasted it. She remembered food insecurity was an issue of her home world. "I will try." Nora said. She still had to gain weight according to the doctor. She started to peel it. Kadir shook off the feeling of inadequacy from his cooking. He could do that. Other stuff could be slowly learned. It could be improved. He reached out his arms to take Nora. He picked up an egg and peeled. He placed it in front of her. He was used to delicate tasks and micro engineering. He peeled another and ate one himself.
"Here." Kadir said as he placed food in front of her. He had observed her and knew what she liked to eat. He decided that he did not need to compete with Liem and Cerez in the kitchen. Liem was busy and could not really pay attention to her while cooking. Cerez was making pressed juice for the table.
"Thank you." Nora said and smiled. He rubbed his large palm on her back. His heart fluttered as he looked on at the intimacy enviously. He found himself feeling jealous of the head start that Liem had with her. Kadir had even opened up. Affection was already clearly built up between the two. There was one field he excelled in that the two others would fail to catch up with him in that could create intimacy. Cooking. It was lucky she seemed to enjoy creating new recipes and foods, and he just did not need to be just the muscle in their relationship. He could help her make her bring her ideas into fruition. Maybe he would not feel so bad then.
"I have to go. Are you going to walk me?" Nora looked over to Liem. Liem took off the smock. He both dreaded going down there and was looking forward to it at the same time. "I will see you both soon," Nora said, and she gave them each an awkward kiss on the cheek. She was making sure to give them all the same amount of attention. Cerez smiled at Kadir when they both left.