Cannoli swallowed her nerves as they made their way to the kitchens. Rozalyn opened the door and gestured for her to step inside. For a few moments, Cannoli’s fear of confrontation with Muzhira evaporated.
Glimmering steel countertops spanned from one end of the room to the other, flanking either side. Pots and pans that looked as if they’d never seen use hung from the walls, all sporting the same copper core as the one in Cannoli’s [Cat Pack]. Four knife blocks with ten sizes each, peppered the countertops, and two spice racks hung along both walls.
Cannoli gaped in awe, drinking it all in as her fingers tingled at the thought of cooking in such a magnificent kitchen.
“You really do like cooking, huh?” Rozalyn crossed her arms over her chest and grinned.
“It’s my favorite thing,” Cannoli murmured. “And baking, but sugar—”
Rozalyn raised an arm and pointed to an enormous container at the far end of the kitchen. “That’s filled with sugar.”
“Whaaa?” Cannoli didn’t think her chin could drop further. Her tail rapidly ticked back and forth behind her, and her ears perked up.
“Baking dessert is a part of dinner,” Rozalyn explained. “Hello, Cora.”
A squeaky greeting sounded from behind them, and Cora tiptoed around Rozalyn’s left. She hurried to a rack of aprons and pulled one over her pink pigtails.
Cannoli stepped forward and trailed her fingertips over the cool metal countertops. Her own kitchen in Junonia was a fraction of this size, and she’d always been able to make do with whatever she had on hand. From camping on San to the caverns of Catania. But this… “This is amazing!”
“Why are you standing around?” Muzhira had slipped through the door unnoticed, and her hissed words startled both Cannoli and Rozalyn. “Or are you useless here as well?”
Cannoli’s apprehension returned as a tight knot in her throat. She chewed her lip and rushed to Cora’s side, selecting an apron from the rack.
“What’s your problem?” Rozalyn snapped as she turned to face Muzhira. She was nearly a head shorter, but the anger on her face would suggest otherwise.
“Your new friend hasn’t told you?” A sharp smile spread across Muzhira’s lips.
Cannoli busied herself with the cabinets and taking inventory of the ingredients on hand. Her skin crawled at Muzhira’s tone, and she wished with every inch of her body that the girl would just disappear.
“Told me what?” Rozalyn asked.
“How she and her island’s man destroyed Ichi Island?”
Cannoli hissed beneath her breath. Rozalyn returned Muzhira’s sneer. “The way I heard it, Ichi Island’s man deserved what was coming to him.”
Muzhira’s wicked grin melted into a snarl. “You are the same, then. You understand nothing.” Venom dripped from her words.
“U-um, we should probably start cooking,” Cora murmured. She shifted her weight between her feet and toyed with one of her braids. “Tonight is roasted pikpik, so we have a lot of feathers to pluck…”
A sharp pain pinched Cannoli’s tail. She squealed and whipped around to see Muzhira standing a hand’s span away from her face, examining the tuft of white fur between her fingers. “Indeed, we do.”
Anger coated Cannoli’s fear in a red-hot blaze. What did Muzhira know? She wasn’t there to see souls shattered for the sake of others, or the duel that had likely changed Nyarlea forever. She hadn’t been trapped beneath that awful wall, watched the Ejderha die at the oasis, or been subject to Kirti’s taunts and jeers.
How dare she?
“Do not touch me again.” The voice that escaped Cannoli sounded cold and unfamiliar.
Muzhira held her fingers up, then blew a puff of air so that Cannoli’s fur bloomed in her face. “I will do as I please.”
Cannoli sneezed, and her heart sped. The throbbing in her head she’d hoped had subsided returned, and a dark haze framed her vision. “[Combat Mode],” she murmured. The hem of her silks barely kissed the floor as she procured one of the knives from the block. She snatched Muzhira’s wrist and held the blade to her throat.
Cora squealed and ducked under one of the countertops.
Rozalyn gasped. “Cannoli!”
The first flickers of doubt glittered in Muzhira’s crimson gaze as she looked from the knife to Cannoli’s armor.
“They train the finest [Assassin]s in Ichi, don’t they?” Cannoli murmured, refusing to take her eyes away from Muzhira’s face. Never in her life had she threatened another catgirl. The pulsing behind her eyes intensified. “Let me show you what I learned.”
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“You wouldn’t dare,” Muzhira whispered. But the venom was missing, replaced by hesitation. “They would never allow you to return.”
“Then perhaps this is not my place after all,” Cannoli countered. She didn’t care if Muzhira called her bluff. The seeds of uncertainty had taken root.
Cannoli counted ten heartbeats until Muzhira raised her free hand in surrender. She lowered the knife, released Muzhira’s wrist, then stepped away, muttering, “[Civilian Mode]”.
“You will regret this.” Muzhira swept two fingers across her neck; whether checking for blood or posing another threat, Cannoli couldn’t say.
Cannoli replaced the knife in the block. She inhaled deeply and tightened the strings of her apron. The headache abated as she exhaled, and she searched for the smile she’d worn with the initial excitement of the temple’s kitchen.
What was done was done. Muzhira would think twice before attacking her in the future. Besides, there were very few places to escape the watchful eyes of the sisters and prophets. Rozalyn watched her, frozen in place, as Cannoli moved to where Cora hid.
“Cora, can you please show me how to pluck a pikpik?” Cannoli asked gently as she knelt, extending a hand toward Cora.
The poor thing had lost all color in her face, and her emerald eyes had bulged to the size of saucers.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Cannoli assured her.
Cora looked at Cannoli, then over Cannoli’s shoulder at Rozalyn. She sniffed, then reached for Cannoli’s hand. “O-okay.”
“Thank you.” Cannoli helped her to stand, then followed her to a stack of crates filled to the brim with feathered Encroachers.
Cora picked one up, her fingers trembling, and held it for Cannoli to see. “There are a-a lot of feathers on a pikpik, so we have to dunk them in h-hot water first.” She cleared her throat and rearranged the pikpik in her small hands, holding two of its scaly feet in each hand. Her tone grew more confident as her explanation continued. “Once you’ve dunked it five or six times, the feathers come off a lot easier. We hang them up over here,” Cora moved to a set of hooks behind the crates, “and just start at the feet, then work your way down. If it’s taking longer than a few minutes, you should dunk it again.”
It wasn’t much different than plucking a chicken—the pikpik just had four legs and two heads. “That sounds simple enough.” Cannoli nodded, then looked at Rozalyn and Muzhira. Rozalyn blanched and clasped one hand around her other elbow. Muzhira refused to meet Cannoli’s gaze. “Now, are you two going to help us with pikpiks or work on something else?”
Rozalyn looked at Muzhira, then shook her head. “I-I’ll start baking the pies.”
Muzhira grunted a word that sounded like ‘Soup,’ then busied herself on the other side of the kitchen.
A tinge of regret trickled through Cannoli’s chest, extinguishing the last drops of her fury. She’d made Rozalyn and Cora afraid of her. Would Rozalyn still protect Buttons? Worry stirred her heart, but there was nothing for it now.
Cora rushed to a section of the kitchen where two enormous containers filled with water stood. On the wall beside them hung a thick stack of parchment with tiny letters and images penned on their surface. Cora tore one piece away and knelt by the pots, touching them both before whispering, “[Ignite].”
The scroll in her hand vanished. Tiny bubbles rose through the water, growing in size and intensity in just a few seconds.
“You use scrolls to cook?” Cannoli marveled.
“Yes. It’s safer than an open flame,” Cora explained. “If the scrolls run out, Sister Sahzi replaces them.”
“That’s so smart!” Cannoli’s prior enthusiasm returned, and she clapped her hands together. “Please show me everything, Cora! You’re my teacher today!”
“R-really?”
“Mhm! I will follow your orders!”
Cora toed the floor, and her ears lowered against her head. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course. Anything.”
Cora gestured for Cannoli to come closer, then dropped her voice so only Cannoli could hear. “Are you really an [Assassin]?”
Cannoli touched Cora’s head between her ears and whispered her reply, “No.”
“I thought so.” Cora glanced around Cannoli and huffed a sigh before looking back up to meet Cannoli’s gaze. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course.” Cannoli bent forward and offered an ear to the girl. “What is it?”
“Muzhira’s really mean. To everyone,” Cora whispered barely above her breath. “But the sisters say we have to be patient with her.”
Cannoli’s agitation with Muzhira threatened to return. She swallowed it behind another smile. “Then let’s do our best together, okay?”
Cora blushed, then nodded. “Okay!”
They worked together to pluck and prepare the pikpiks; Cora walked Cannoli through each step with practiced hands. The ease of preparing a large meal in the temple’s kitchens continued to amaze Cannoli as they took their time with each tool at their disposal. An hour passed, and the smell of roasted meats and simmering vegetables filled the air.
While they waited for the pikpiks to roast, Cannoli moved to see what Rozalyn was working on. A dozen nyapple pies covered one of the countertops, and Rozalyn methodically moved down a line of twelve spheres of dough, rolling them flat before laying them over the nyapple slices and pinching the edges of the crust together. Her gaze was miles away as she worked, her tail unmoving between her feet.
“May I help?” Cannoli offered.
Rozalyn jerked back in surprise and gripped the rolling pin to her chest. She sucked in a few breaths and blinked away the clouds from her vision. “S-sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I should be the one apologizing.” Cannoli brushed her hands against her apron. “Anyway, the pikpiks are almost finished, and I thought I could help you with these.”
“No. Um, I’m alright. Thank you.” Rozalyn stepped away from Cannoli and set to work on the next crust without another word.
Cannoli’s shoulders fell, and her ears drooped with them.
“Cannoli! Can I show you how to put everything on the plates?” Cora called.
“Yes, of course!” She brightened and rejoined Cora.
Together, they pulled a hundred glass plates from one of the cabinets. Each plate was hand-painted with elegant gold designs, touched with specks of brilliant blue. Cora instructed Cannoli on how to organize the food on each plate so each serving of food held its own position without touching the others. It was quite the process, and it took Cannoli a few tries to understand with Cora’s careful guidance. The dinners were beautiful, albeit extravagant.
As they served the finished meals to the other initiates and adherents, Cannoli noted that nothing in the temple was how she had pictured it. She glanced over her shoulder at a silent Muzhira.
Nothing.
image [https://i.imgur.com/OTN11sa.png]