Althea hadn't been much of a cook before, but her mother had instructed her in the basics. As in line with the Tradition of presenting a Meal to her betrothed on the wedding night was a part of the ceremony. Anything made by servants would paint her as lazy and unfit for the homely duties of her station.

And now her she was slaving away like a mere servant in a hovel of sticks piled on top of each other, making lunch for a pair. Strangers that had taken her in.

She tossed a few choice leaves into the pot and stirred it. At least there were some herbs here she recognized. Otherwise, this would have been a disaster. She found all the usual suspects, onion, garlic, and ginger root. Bundles of thyme and bag of mustard seeds. There were some dried greens as well, but she couldn't tell what they were and decided against using them.

It wasn't the elaborate dish her mother had taught her, but it was within her abilities to cobble together. An egg would have been a blessing right now, but there wasn't a basket set aside for such things.

Stupid barbarians.

She did however find a surprising ingredient that all at once filled her with intense emotions. A small humble sprig buried in a back corner, brown and withered but with a slight spicey smell to it. She'd found it while cursing out the lack of flour for bread, A proper bread.

She scooped it up and cradled it in her palm as if it would break or vanish in an instant. She could hardly express the mixture of relief and homesickness that tried to escape her. A sliver of familiarity that tugged at some of her earliest memories of home.

Her first Ode awakening, her father encouraging her to raise the same root in the herb garden, to make it strong, and then brewing the bitter thing into a tea and forcing her to drink it all. His face when her Ode unfurled for the first time, the simple pride of it. the sensation of the soft fire in her veins as it came to life.

She wiped a tear away from her eye as it escaped her. her reminiscing over. She tried not to crumble any further and set the precious sprig on the table away from everything else.

Taking a breath, she tried focusing on the stew pot and the task ahead of her.

The stalk of the precious herb-filled her mind, greater than the scent of the food.

Her mind began to turn, awakened from its sluggish prison. Thoughts of repairing The Ode inside her, thoughts of escaping homewards, of leaving these lands entirely.

She shook her head, no, such thoughts were foolish. The Ode couldn't cure all ill's, merely alleviate them from time to time. But the thought of having her strength back, that subtle power filling her frame once more. Tantalizingly close, and seemingly ignored by these crude people.

Ir was the luck of the gods she found it, her ancestors must still care for her. She would burn much incense in thanks when she got back.

Then a simply terrible thought appeared in her head. If she took the stem, they might learn of its properties. Take it from her and use it for their gains, she could become the prisoner to a pair of monsters. Monsters that would've been crafted by her hands.

She slapped herself awake from such a silly nightmare, if they had known what it was they would've used it by now and recognized the Ode power growing inside her. But since they didn't know it meant that if they were to suddenly realize its potential, she would still have the upper hand inexperience. Not by much, but enough to deal with them in that sense.

She glanced over her shoulder towards the simple, crumbling sample. She parsed, there was already so little of it, barely enough to prompt her own needs, let alone awaken the two men.

But maybe if she used it sparingly, Maybe.

She pursed her lips again, it would be slow going and would require a once of deception on her part. But, there was a chance.

She felt her Ode inside her, it was stronger than it had been, but still not ready for a reemergence. A small touch of this plant's subtle power could bring it to the tipping edge.

Freeing up a small portion for other uses.

She started to bite at her lip in an old habit, given leeway by her indecision. She rubbed her neck for a moment before finally making a decision based on nothing but a wild gamble.

Taking a knife, she cut the all-important plant into pieces or at least tried to. The little thing crumbled into powder instead of being cut. So taking as much of it as she could, ground it down and separated it into three unequal portions. One large and two smaller ones.

The Two she dumped into the stew to boil with the rest of the mixture, while she swallowed the rest.

It would take time for the weakened tincture to have a noticeable effect, but hopefully, that would be a benefit. She made a note to sneak away and find more, but it would be a difficult task under the winter snow to locate the wild stalks.

Stirring the soupy mixture again, she made sure that all the crushed powder was safely obscured before taking a sigh of relief in her new mission.

The Ode of these two would help bolster chances of survival but also would make them sensitive to the subtle powers around them. Her world. And with that new sense, a means of communication would open up and allow her to explain herself to them. But also, reveal her power over them.

It would be a simple, but long plan as she would have to wait for them to awaken to the Ode inside them, but she didn't think they would be going anywhere soon. At least, not during winter. Surely, they weren't stupid in addition to backward.

A nervous laugh made her tremble, She couldn't imagine anything that could make them leave this place of safety, dingy as it was. Especially if the wolves were all as vicious as the ones from last night.

A shiver of dread crept up her spine as the sound of wretched howling filled the space between her ears. She shook her head, trying to dispel the shadows of fear from her mind.

It was while she was trembling that the door knocked open and her plan came to a front. She stiffened in surprise at the sound of wood beating wood but slowly allowed herself to relax partially.

One of them, the Wild animal, made a straight line for the bubbling pot and start rummaging around for a bowl to serve himself. While the Second, took his time to make a gesture of thanks, retrieving a bowl for himself and her before dipping into the pots.

A motion of relief crossed her face, but it was short-lived, The difficult part was soon to come, the evidence of her tampering would either escape them or expose her to danger and suspicion.

She waited for the first bite to be taken.

Vir was hungry, but he was also curious as to the strangers cooking. So he was being a touch discerning. the girl was also staring intently at him.

"What?!" he demanded, more annoyed than anything. Tolan glanced to his side, the strange girl glanced downwards, avoiding his gaze, Vir continued to stare back. at her Tolan shrugged and placed a spoon into the bowl, he raised it to his mouth and then stopped.

"Vir?"

"What?" he snapped back.

Tolan gave him a strange look "What are you doing?"

He huffed "She's Staring at me!" Tolan shook his head "Maybe there is something ugly on your face, maybe bug has latched onto your brow again." Vir's hand shot up to his face for a brief moment before he noticed Tolan was chuckling at him.

"Very funny."

"No, it isn't, Bugs are better suited for the ground," Tolan replied. He stirred his soup for a moment before stopping. "Ah, I almost forgot to give Thanks, Vir bow your head." Vir sighed and did as commanded, giving a huff. Tolan waited until Vir had closed his eyes until he began.

The strange girl also seemed to recognize the ritual and followed his actions. Tolan smiled at this, he started with a low voice and kept one eye slightly open.

"Sacred Birds, Emissaries of the Heavens, the beating of your wings cast the shadow of your mercies. We come to give our thanks for these provisions and for-" Tolan slapped Vir's hand as it darted out towards his bowl "-Protection against the Follies of our fellow man." finishing in a stern tone as Vir sulked back his plate. Tolan watched him for a long moment before continuing.

"And guide us according to Heaven's right Path. As it is written for all to see., so it will be." Tolan finished his prayer and gave a glare towards Vir as they took up the spoons, Tolan nudged the lady, she jumped a little before taking up her spoon.

"I think she was falling asleep Tolan, maybe you woke her up." Vir jeered, Tolan snorted in contempt as he took the first bite. Vir also took a sip of the stew, they each stopped and considered what exactly they were tasting.

Vir cast himself to the side a spewed wildly, Tolan merely grimaced and quietly swallowed. Vir wiped his face clear. "That witch, She's trying to kill us! Tolan did you see that!" Tolan nodded, straining to restrain his stomach.

"It's, certainly not a typical stew. No. But I-up- wouldn't call it poison, just yet." A small gurgling sound of pitiful protest rumbled from his stomach.

Vir looked down in disgust at the mixture. Tolan went down for another bite. Vir gave him a horrified expression. "What are you doing?" he begged. Tolan merely put a hand to his mouth and spoke quickly

"We can't afford to waste food Vir, and since she went through the trouble of making this, meal, it would be wrong to reject the gesture." he paused again as he grimaced once more.

"But it's foul!" Vir Protested, Tolan gave him a look of dignified wrath. "And If you don't eat, I'll make you swallow the whole Pot by yourself!" he pointed. Vir gulped, it was a credible threat. He tentatively picked up his spoon again and placed it in his mouth. He grimaced once more and forced himself to swallow.

It was still a terrible soup.