Pomodoro

Mirin and Daz say goodbye to Sunset after some time of talking in search of Lythrum and go to the place Faye had told them they might be able to find.

Mirin: "I hope Dad is here. Maybe even mom is around. I really want to say hello to both of them."

When Daz and Mirin arrive at the kitchen area, they see two faces that are familiar to Mirin - Pomodoro is peeling some potato-onions, and Lythrum is cutting them into sticks. Their hands and knives are moving so quick they're almost a blur, but the two dragons chat effortlessly while they work.

"-with the flounder fillets, and the dipping sauces are all done, too, but I wanted to wait to start the turtle soup until tomorrow morning; what do you think?" Pomodoro is saying. "I think we've the time to start it tonight," Lythrum replies. "We'll let it simmer until just before serving, that'll help to soften the tough meat..."

"Is that them?" Daz asks Mirin, and before she can reply, Pomodoro looks up and sees them.

"Oh - Dad, look, it's Mirin!" she cries joyfully. She nearly vaults over the counter to come meet her sister, but pauses - she unties her apron, tosses it on the counter, and then jumps over. "I was wondering if I'd get to see you, we've been so busy with preparing for the feast! I'm so glad you could make it!"

Lythrum finishes the last of the potato-onion sticks and adds them to a bowl of water to soak before ambling over to greet his daughter. "Likewise," he adds, drying his claws on a towel. "And who might this be?" he asks, looking to Daz.

@Stermwind Lythrum admires Mirin's enchanted adornments. "I admit I'd wondered how you were able to arrive here - it eases my heart to know you have others looking after you, now that it's no longer my job." He gives Daz a gruff nod. "Now, what's this about your father?"

Lythrum looks a little startled at first at the revelation, but recovers quickly and taps his chin, considering. "There've been many nests over the years for me, but I think I know which Delta it is you're referring to - I'm very sorry to hear he's gone."

He inclines his head for a moment and lets out a deep breath, then draws himself up to his full height and looks Daz in the eye. "Allow me to introduce myself properly - my name is Lythrum, head chef of Sunbeam Grotto's kitchen for as long as the clan has existed. I can tell you've a good heart, 'n I'd be proud to have a place in your life as your grandfather." He holds out his claw for her to shake.

Lythrum is awed by Daz' display - that certainly didn't come from his family line, he thinks.

"If I'd known we'd meet like this, I would've tried to get some time off for the reunion," he says apologetically. "Now, though, I really ought to return to my work - the feast isn't going to cook itself, after all! If you stick around after the reunion, though, I'm sure we'll see each other - or, if you can write...I know our clans' postal workers are well acquainted!" With a wave to both Daz and Mirin - and Pomodoro, as an afterthought - he lifts the bowl of soaking potato-onion sticks and heads into the cavern leading to the kitchens.

To Mirin's question, Pomodoro only laughs. "You know, it's our mom's first family reunion, too! She's probably walking around the beach, introducing herself to people and telling them to try the cinnamon-roasted acorns!"

"That said, it's almost time for my break..." She considers the apron strewn over the counter and the pile of vegetable peels next to her knife. "...I'll clean that up later. Let's go have some fun!"

Pomodoro leads Mirin on a quick tour of the clan - it hasn't been very long since her two sisters moved away, but Pomodoro seems extremely enthusiastic to tell Mirin exactly how many travelers have passed through and to point out which of the flora on the cliffsides was recently planted. They pass through Pomodoro's den, too - the same room the triplets shared as they were growing up, an offshoot of their mother's much larger den with her considerable hoard of clothing spilling in among Pomodoro's wildly decorated space.

And, of course, a tour wouldn't be complete without a pass through the kitchens! Mirin's been acquainted with all the dragons there since she hatched, of course, and they're all kind enough to pause and say hi despite the demanding schedule.

"Won't they be jealous you get to skip out on making dinner?" Mirin can't help but ask as they exit.

"That's the point! We all tease each other like that, it's part of the fun!" Pomodoro laughs. Sensing her sister is growing fatigued by the overload of sensory input, Pomodoro steers them back to the caves - maybe they can visit the library together, or Mirin can show Pomodoro some of her old champion hide-and-seek spots.

Mirin:
She really enjoys spending time with her sister and talking to her about all kinds of things. While the two of them walk a bit past the Library and the places where Mirin used to hang out when she still lived here and couldn't go out in the sun. Has a slight view of a cave entrance in the distance.

(It's the cave she roamed before she first met her friend Haki and they started talking. I don't know if Pomodoro knows about Mirin's girlfriend, so I'll write it this way and let you decide if Pomodoro knows about it or not. Maybe you would like to involve Haki somehow. It just came to me spontaneously and I thought it was kind of good to include Mirin thinking about her friend now that she's coming to visit, especially.)

While her sisters prepared to leave Sunbeam Grotto to find their destinies, Pomodoro relaxed on the cool morning sand, watching the ocean come to life as the sun rose over the cliffs. Her unofficial apprenticeship in the kitchens would become official at noon, just in time to help serve lunch while her nestmates would be taking flight from the shores of the clan for the first time. She focused on a rock visible beneath the shallow water, stationary as the sand swirled in the moving waves around and past it. It felt as if only yesterday she and her sisters were crawling out of the nest for the first time - and now they were old enough to leave the clan! Neither Mirin nor Harissa had found a passion of their own quite yet, leaving Pomodoro as the only one with the option to stay home. When her aunt Delphina had explained her options with no small amount of gravitas, Pomodoro had immediately agreed to working with her father and his team, but now...a small part of her felt stuck in the nest while her sisters waved and swirled around and away.

"What's up, buttercup?" a familiar voice echoed from behind. Phoebe flopped down next to Pomodoro, sending a spray of sand over her scales. Pomodoro easily shook it off, but her cousin's teasing smile seemed less infectious than usual. She turned back to the sea - a little fish poked around the rock before quickly darting away with a flash of sunny scales.

"Hard to see 'em go, huh?" Phoebe assessed her little cousin's melancholy manner. "I know it's not the same, but I was really worried when Taio left for his apprenticeship. It was only two weeks, but we'd never even been apart for a whole day before!" She paused, contemplative.

"I was worried he would be a totally different dragon when he came back. And when he came back, he really had changed - he had muscles, and a tattoo for Tidelord's sake! He acted different around everyone else, too - he wasn't the same shy little brother. But he was still my little brother! And we're a lot busier now that we're both grown up, but...it's not a bad change. It was always going to happen, you know? Growing up...best we can do is try to steer things in the right direction."

Pomodoro sniffled. "Didn't you feel like you were getting left behind?"

"Yes!" Phoebe laughed. "And no one took me seriously! The only one who would've understood was Taio, but I didn't want to ruin his trip by making him worry about me the whole time, so I didn't even tell him. But when he came back, he said he was thinking about me the whole time anyway, like 'oh, Phoebe would love this!' or 'I know what Phoebe would say about that...' just goes to show, we're always connected, even when we're apart!" Her eyes blew wide suddenly, as if a lightbulb had just gone off. "That reminds me, I was s'posed to give you something!"

Phoebe reached into the pocket of her skirt, tucked under her legs so it wouldn't billow unnecessarily, and pulled out a folded green silk. At her prompting, Pomodoro took it from her hands, feeling a light but solid weight within. The smooth fabric easily slid aside to reveal a bright golden locket, emblazoned with a shining sun. It caught the early morning light and reflected tones of green and yellow upon the sand.

Kelly Green Locket Apparel Tiny bits and bobs can be stored within the pop-open casing of this shining locket. 1250

"I saw Mirin wearing one just like this this morning," Pomodoro said quietly. "She wasn't trying to make a big deal out of it, but she kept touching it and fiddling with it, and I thought...our mom has one, and her mom and sisters and...it was just another way I was gonna be left behind."

Phoebe nodded gently, allowing her cousin to have her moment.

"You know," she said after a while, "I wonder if Harissa and Mirin feel a little uncertain about leaving, too. I'll bet they're worrying about you just as much. You don't have to report to the kitchens for a few hours yet, so...once you're ready, you really should go and spend the morning with them!"

"I think so too," Pomodoro said, leaning back into a full-body stretch with a pleased sigh. "But first, will you help me put this on?"

Phoebe happily acquiesced, and together the two walked back to their family den. Harissa crowed her approval at Pomodoro's new locket, pointing to her own decorated neck, and the three little sisters erupted into giggles and chatter as the excitement of the day washed over them anew.