castleinthemist

[Willow is on her knees in one of the open spaces of the makeshift dining room-- if it could even be called that-- frowning comically into a hollowed, blackened space used as a fire pit in the stone floor. She has a small fire going, mostly embers; that wasn't the problem. And there was a large, shiny stock pot propped on scavenged bits of metal above it, at an appropriate distance.

The problem was what to put in it. She has water in the pot, and a collection of various herb-looking things and a couple scattered, scraggly vegetable-looking things set out on the floor in front of her. She'd done enough exploring with Buffy in the past week or two to find some of the outdoor areas, and rustle up the things that looked like reasonable approximations of cooking ingredients.]

And then Willow poisoned everyone while trying to make soup, [she says to herself under her breath. No, better do an edibility-detecting spell. Was that even a thing? It was now, because she needed one.

She just needed to... do it. Yeah. She could do that. Willow continues to eye her set up, composing the spell in her mind.]

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[Cordelia had been stalking the hallways for a while now, less scared than she had been originally - this, after all, seemed to be nowhere near the part of the world she was familiar with, meaning that, hopefully, nobody knew who she was.

When she spotted the makeshift dining room - or rather, the person therein preparing to cook - she blinked. She had only heard the girl muttering to herself, but hadn't been able to make out the actual words. What she could make out was...was that a kind of magic? Or had she just been mistaken? It was possible.]

Uhm, excuse me.

[She knocked on the wall next to the entrance, in the absence of a proper door, but didn't take a step in without being invited to. ]

I couldn't help but notice, are you, perchance, a court mage...?

[She hoped she was wrong, but it probably was best to know exactly what she was dealing with in this place as soon as possible. And besides, maybe she had been wrong. That would be better for sure.]

[Wow, knocking before stepping in. Pretty formal. Willow twists around to see who it was, blinking at the question.]

I'm a witch? [she explains hesitantly, getting the feeling that they might as well be speaking different languages.] We don't have court mages where I'm from. Or, well, courts at all, really.

You can come in, by the way! It's a public area. [Willow smiles, determined to be friendly and reassure her.]

[The answer was a bit of a surprise. How did other places really work? They sure must be living far, far away from her country. ~~Or maybe they really were from different worlds.~~]

Uhm...thank you.

[The woman slowly stepped in, looking around, looking a bit less tense after Willow's words. A few years ago, she might have called the place run-down, though that was years ago...]

I'm Cordelia, I've recently woken up in the other room. Nice to, uhm, have met you, despite the circumstances

[She didn't really want to mention the buried alive part, so 'other room' it was.]

And I'm sorry for mis-identifying you, I was just wondering.
Where I'm from, things really seem to be different.

[It really is pretty drab in there, and if getting items from the spring didn't seem like such a murky, unsure, slow process to her, Willow probably would've tried to decorate a little. As it was, food seemed a higher priority.]

So there are more people in the other coffins... [She seems a bit distracted by that, biting her lip. But she has to stand by her earlier decision not to disturb any of them before they woke up on their own. And Cordelia doesn't seem any worse for the wear than she'd been.]

--Oh, no, it's okay. [She gives her an encouraging smile.] You're already a lot nicer than the other Cordelia I know, so it's forgiven, [she jokes.] We're all getting used to things here.

You're welcome, uhm, I try to be. Uhm, thanks. Another Cordelia?

[Cordelia was a bit unsure about talks like this (as she didn't have many), but she was trying, at least.]

Do you think the other coffins are also in ...use? But why would someone put people from so many different places there?

[Cordelia shook her head, then blinked.]

Oh, but I'm sorry for rambling, you're busy, uhm, do you need some help? I can't do very much but maybe I can hand you things, or something along these lines?

[Willow used to be much more awkward with socializing than confident, herself, so she doesn't hold it against her or even bat an eyelash.]

I think they have to be in use, [she confirms, a little grim.] People keep trickling in a little at a time. As for why, I only have theories. Slightly scary theories.

--You could keep me company? [Her smile returns, turning sincere and bright at the offer.] I'm no chef, but mostly I think soup takes a lot of waiting.

Really a worrying thought, though. It's not too nice to put people into coffins, as if they were dead. I really think having scary theories is only reasonable.

[Cordelia smiled at Willow's answer]

I wouldn't mind keeping you some company at all. I haven't watched someone cook in a long time, I admit. If I need to hand you something, just say so.

[She faintly remembered watching the cook in the royal kitchen a few times, pondering at the arcane things he did with herbs, butter, and other indrigents she hadn't even been able to identify. It was a nice memory.]

001 ★

I am not sure how Willow's magic works, so maybe cordelia just saw wrong!

it's cool, her magic is pretty versatile :D

Yeah, I remember now...I think. Has been a while since I watched Buffy!

haha not a problem, i can roll with it!

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