Chapter 33 - Career Change?

Holly had no frame of reference for what her evening would entail. All she knew was that they cooked food and sold it to people. The means of production and distribution were totally unknown to her. To say this would be a learning experience was an understatement.

For starters, when they left the MA Office, Vivi and Solana carried huge bags on their backs, filled to the brim with supplies. They craftily used their larger profiles to block Holly from view, getting the quartet out of the building with no one being any the wiser.

Even with the luggage the two girls carried, Holly didn’t think it was enough to be able to run a whole evening dining experience. Another sign her stave had changed was the lack of burning curiosity; it was still there, but far more subdued. It was weird having her priorities so different now.

They boarded a bus, Solana paying for herself and her duo, while Holly covered her own bus fare.

It was much earlier than she was used to leaving for hunts. For one, the sun was still out, though the bright blue afternoon was quickly losing ground to the orange hues of evening.

“How are you feeling dear?” asked Solana, who Holly shared her bus seat with.

“I’m fine.” The zalavan kept her gaze out the window. Her mind was still abuzz like it had been before – her neutral stave must have changed to knowledge, making her weakness emotion. It tracked given what a mess she had been before; and what a bigger mess she was now. The little plant wondered if she’d ever go back to her original stave.

The bus ride was short and they ended up reaching the hunting ground a little after five in the evening. It was a far different experience arriving early. Rather than swarms of hunters, a legion of merchants moved about, talking with one another and the familiar uniformed Maestro Affairs staff.

Solana led the trio of Resonators to an empty booth. There was a front counter to greet patrons and an island in the back where there was space for the magic to happen. Holly watched Solana and Vivi set down their big bags and the trio got to work setting up for the evening’s festivities. In the span of thirty minutes, the zalavan witnessed an entire kitchen spring up out of nothing but the bags on their backs.

They had heating elements, pots, pans, utensils, spices, non-perishables – the works. Lee was the water supply – Solana having called the utility spell Mani Nell'acqua with a Rubato modifier. Holly pieced together it must have been a play on the Staccato modifier given how she watched Lee freely adjust the flow of gentle water that flowed from his hands.

Before not too long, their booth was approached. A uniformed man and a couple of similarly dressed Resonators carrying massive boxes walked up to the makeshift kitchen.

“Delivery for Ms. Leduc,” announced the man.

Solana grimaced, a shiver running down her entire body as her full name was spoken. She shakily turned to face the man. “Th-that’s me…” she spoke reluctantly.

Holly raised a brow at the peculiar reaction. It appeared to be attached to her name? She didn’t like her name; that was the conclusion the zalavan reached (at least from her currently limited information).

Either way, Solana signed something on a tablet-looking computer device the deliveryman provided her and they were left with two big boxes.

Vivi and Solana worked together to move the boxes into the back. Lee was up again, this time with Ghiacclio also in Rubato. He created many small orbs of ice to fill the spaces in the containers. What was held within was food – the food they’d be serving.

“So what are you making?” asked Holly.
“We,” Solana corrected. “You’re going to help,” she clarified.

“I… don’t know how to cook,” admitted the zalavan.
“How good are you with a knife?” asked the chef.

Holly shot a glance at the hidden blade ever present on her waist. “Depends,” she decided.

“Lee, be a dear and show her please,” Solana requested of her water element.
“Of course.” The axolotl stopped what he was doing and reached into another box. A big bag of potatoes was what the water element drew from within the container.

The nature element hummed and tilted her head. Using his water, Lee washed one of the potatoes, and then quickly cut the potato into a dozen or so rectangles. “Fries they’re called,” he held one up to show her.

She lit up at the revelation – they were going to teach her how to make one of her favorite foods!

Lee stepped aside and allowed Holly a turn at the cutting board. The zalavan approached the tall island, but thankfully it was up to just under her arms, allowing her an okay reach of the cutting board and potatoes.

“Hmm, perhaps we can look into getting you a step stool so you’re more comfortable,” Lee mused.
“Don’t worry about me,” Holly waved him off. She turned and focused on the task at hand. One potato, one knife.

She knew knife safety from her seed sewing classes. She knew how to cut into many different types of plants, fruits, and vegetables. While she didn’t cut them in this specific manner, she still had the dexterity from years of practice. This was just a different method of seed sewing (though she would get no seeds from this endeavor).

With practiced precision, Holly was able to emulate what Lee had done with ease.

“How’s that?” she asked, allowing herself a confident grin.

“Very good Lady Holly!” Lee clapped. “Now comes my turn – Lady Solana,” he called to his Maestro.

Solana worked on something at the front of the stall, but she still heeded her Resonator’s request. “Prigione di Ghiaccio, Rubato!” she cast, never deviating from her own work for even a second.

“There we are,” Lee chuckled. With a burst of ice magic, the freshly cut potatoes were flash-frozen.

“Why?” asked Holly – it seemed counter-intuitive to the cooking process.

“Freezing them helps drive some of the excess moisture out, allowing them to steam better when fried. It also preserves them for longer allowing our fries to be as fresh as can be,” explained the axolotl. “Come now, we need to make much more than this to be ready for tonight.”

It seemed to make sense to her, so Holly shrugged and got to work.

Time passed so quickly when she was dedicated to a task. She just chopped the raw potatoes into their distinctive fry shapes while Lee handled cleaning and flash freezing.

By the time Holly and Lee were done, the sun had long set and hunters were now crowding around.

“Just in time,” Vivi commented.

The linsang had many balls of fire around her, so much so that they didn’t need any other light source. Tiny balls of Fuoco Fatuo floated around aimlessly, while seven larger balls of purple flames circled the Resonator at the ready.

“What’s that one?” wondered Holly.

“Magifiamma, it is the fire-lunar ossia spell. Quite useful in the kitchen since it allows a much greater degree of control over Fuoco Fatuo,” Lee explained.

“Hrm… why didn’t I learn it?” came the next curiosity.
“You’re a nature element, you can only learn an ossia if you share one of the elements of the spell,” Lee added.

Holly nodded slowly. “That makes sense, I think.”

Either way, it was time to watch Vivi work. One ball of fire was dedicated to boiling a small vat of oil. That was where the potatoes were turned into crispy golden-brown fries. Lee was the one to manage the fry basket. It didn’t require his full attention, so he also managed plate assembly as well.

Vivi handled the main course. She fried patties of meat on a skillet, several at a time, using her flames as the burner. When the meats had reached a nice crispy brown, they were topped with a lovely slice of cheese, and a slice of fried onion before being deposited onto a bun she quickly toasted with one of her Magifiammas.

The two experienced Resonators worked masterfully – despite the number of tasks each of them were doing, they never once wavered in their processes. Solana barked orders from the front, almost speaking a different language. Every call she made was met with a hearty and loud “Yes chef!”

Poor Holly felt out of place. Not contributing much to the process outside of the prep work she had completed.

“You can save Lee some time and energy if you bring the plates from the back up here,” Solana suggested.

So Holly did just that, becoming a Resonator conveyor belt that moved the completed meals up to the front. It gave her a tiny sense of satisfaction, being able to take a small burden off of them. It did make her wonder how they managed before she fell into their lives and how they would manage when they eventually parted ways.

Her curiosity was further piqued when she caught a view of the line. She had no appreciation for how popular this little makeshift kitchen would be. The hungry customers had formed a queue at least thirty people deep – it was actually longer than the registration line!

…who were these people?