Sanctuary [Open]

[Aster]

Kitana set about cleaning the wooden floor of The Golden Wok. It was not a long task, seeing how the floor was not dirty to begin with. Of course, that could only be expected when one had cleaned the floor not more than half an hour ago, and then the hour before that as well. Still, Kit managed to find a flaw within the floor that needed to be taken care of.

Some might call this obsessive cleaning a sign that Kitana of Carmine Tower had finally hit rock bottom. If the death of her husband four years earlier hadn't driven her over the edge, the failure of being able to run her recently opened restaurant certainly would. Yes, her restaurant was still in it's begining stages, but to have no customers for the first week of it's opening? Kit took that as a bad omen and could only stifle her worries with chores-constant, endless chores.

Kitana walked over to the sliding doors of her restaurant, sat on her knees, and opened the doors to the midday sun. She watched a few moments as people hurried past, ignoring the feeling that a few of them were avoiding eye contact with her. Hopefully the breeze would fill The Golden Wok and remove the stuffy feeling that was begining to come over Kit. If she didn't get any business soon, it made no sense for her to wait around the rest of the day when she could be home tending to her herb garden. So the young woman made her way to the back of the restaurant to wait it out. If anything would be able relax her nerves, it would be Kit's own little sanctuary called the kitchen.

[Jazz]

[Hmmmnnnn.... Let's say, the day after they arrive?]

Jasminai of Carmine Tower looked up at the sign outside of the Golden Wok, making sure that she had the right place. It was still in it's first week, so Jazz had never been here before. Asserting that this was, in fact, the restuarant owned by her sister, she pushed the doors open and stepped inside. She was slightly shocked to be met but open air. Nobody at all was inside... no, there was someone. Jazz heard sounds from the kitchen. Yes, that was her sister, Kitana. Jasmin didn't need her magical links to tell her so.

She was alone, as it was early morning and she wanted sometime to think. Sapphire, of course, was spending some time with her own family, and the other Tortallans were well looked after in the Emperor's palace. Jasmin was happy to finally see her family - she'd been far to weak to travel in the past month, and there was the war before that... really, the only family she'd seen was Katya. It was good to be back. Taking of her forest green cloak, she made her was to the Kitchen.

"Kitana? Is that you?" she asked, before her sister came into view. She hadn't had time the day before, what with being part of the delegation and all.

[Aster]

jazz said:

"Kitana? Is that you?"

Kitana smiled, recognizing the voice of her older sister. She put down the pot full of water she had been about to boil and turned towards Jazz. "Of course it's me. I've missed you so much." She gave the knight a tight hug and then stepped back to have a proper look. "How was your journey? No one was hurt, I hope. That storm was terrible! And Claw and Katya, how are they?"

She went about continuing her task as she listened to her sister go over current events. Kit put the pot on to boil and got into the cupboards for ingredients, pulling out some spices. Kit set the supplies onto the wooden counter and then went over to a metal barrel, lifting the heavy lid and scooping out a bowl full of rice.

[Jazz]

"Of course it's me. I've missed you so much."

Jazz grinned as she looked upon her sister's familiar face and embraced Kitana tightly. Kit stepped back to asses her, and Jasmin did the same. It had been too long. The smile on her face was still there. They were in private now, she didn't have to keep it clean of emotion. "I've missed you too," she said, running a hand through her short curls, "Oh, it's been ages! The kitchen was clean, immaculate, but Jazz barely took in her surrounding before her eyes were averted back to her sister. Sisters were too close to have to be so far apart, for so long.

"How was your journey? No one was hurt, I hope. That storm was terrible! And Claw and Katya, how are they?"

"Slow down!" she exclaimed jokingly. "One at a time, please!" She looked around, then found a stool and dragged it over to where Kit was cooking. There was a time when she'd have sat on the counter, but she knew her sister hated that, and besides, she was much to old to do that now. "Yeah, the storm was bad. We all got hurled around, bruises, muscle strains, nothing big," she began as her sister put the pot to boil. She was a knight, and what she thought of as 'nothing bad' wasn't always the same as others of different professions. "Rhinna was injured, but she okay now, and Claw broke his spine. That's why Katya isn't with me, she's making sure he'll heal properly. Crashed through the deck, but he'll heal fine."

[Aster]

"Escuse me?" Kitana asked, sure that her mouth was hanging wide open for the flies. "Nothing big?" she asked, putting quotation marks in the air. "Jazz, if you weren't so stubborn I'd try to talk some sense into you. It's a miracle that some of you knights have survived as long as you have."

Kit poured the rice into the boiling water and stirred it around a little, shaking her head. "I don't know how you do it all. And Claw with a broken spine! This calls for some rice soup." she said, already making herself busy with preparing the dish.

[Jazz]

"Escuse me? 'Nothing big?' Jazz, if you weren't so stubborn I'd try to talk some sense into you. It's a miracle that some of you knights have survived as long as you have."

Jasmin waved her off. "Pfft," she said, rolling her eyes in true Jazz fashion, "I'll admit that a broken spine is something to be worried about, but muscle injuries and bruises are nothing big, to a knight. I've had much worse." She shook her head. She knew that petty inuries might not be seen as such, but honestly. It was only a bit of bruising. It was, however, a sister's duty to be overprotective, so she didn't push it. It didn't matter if the sister was younger than you.

"I don't know how you do it all. And Claw with a broken spine! This calls for some rice soup."

She smiled, her tongue relaxing into the fluent Yamani she knew so well. It had been so long since she'd been able to converse in her mother tongue [well, one of, seeing as Common is also her mother togue]. Even with fhire, they were often surrounded by others so they could not speak in the difficult language. It had been a bit disconcerting, revert back to it. But she was more confortable now. "Lots of gruelling training," she pointed out, "And a heck of a lot of faith in Katya, Fhire and Rose. Rice soup helps. Especially your rice soup. I swear, you could cure a blind man."

[Aster]

"And a heck of a lot of faith in Katya, Fhire and Rose. Rice soup helps. Especially your rice soup. I swear, you could cure a blind man."

Kitana laughed. "Well, I'm not sure about being able to cure a blind man, but I'd sure try. I'll make extra soup for Claw, Katya, and everyone else. " she said, slipping into the Yamani tongue as well. It was so great being able to just chat, instead of all the business nonsense she was always having to deal with. Especially since the person she was talking to was one of her sisters, whom she hadn't seen in such a long time. "I'm going home early today. With the lack of customers all week I don't see why I'd be needed here. It will give me time to get started on a welcome feast for tonight."

Kit added some more ingredients to her soup, her hands quickly falling into the familiar movements. She looked up at her sister. "Do you think Fhire, Rose, and them would want to join us?"

[Jazz]

"Well, I'm not sure about being able to cure a blind man, but I'd sure try. I'll make extra soup for Claw, Katya, and everyone else. I'm going home early today. With the lack of customers all week I don't see why I'd be needed here. It will give me time to get started on a welcome feast for tonight. Do you think Fhire, Rose, and them would want to join us?"

"I'm sure they will. That does sound good," Jazz replied with a grin, leaning backwards and tilting the stool at an angle, so that she was balanced only on two of the four legs, and her elbows that rested on the tabletop. "But you aren't advertising properly, Kit," she said, "Now, quite honestly, your cooking is amazing, but you aren't flaunting it. I'll tell you what, we'll come early. We'll have to, quite honestly, there's some function we have to attend, but it only starts late, thank Yama. We'll come early, the whole lot of us. If our amazing and wonderful presence doesn't make customers flock, I don't know what will."

Jasminai smiled, biting her bottom lip out of habit. Her sister was a wonderful cook, but she was also quiet and shy. She doubted she'd advertised like the restuarants in Tortall; there, brightly painted signs adorned windows, proclaiming 'The Best in Town, for Best Prices!' or the like. She also knew that Kit's selection of dishes, those of traditional Tortallan and Yamani, could cause strife in the older, stuffier families. But Jazz was an expert at ignoring those that stuck their noses up. people were probably only scared to be the first to try.

[Aster]

"Now, quite honestly, your cooking is amazing, but you aren't flaunting it. I'll tell you what, we'll come early. We'll have to, quite honestly, there's some function we have to attend, but it only starts late, thank Yama. We'll come early, the whole lot of us. If our amazing and wonderful presence doesn't make customers flock, I don't know what will."

Kitana smiled and lifted a brow. "Now, someone seems a bit full of themselves...." she said with a laugh, then continued, "but I just don't know about that plan. I thought the sign I posted would surely be enough.....Oh I don't know anymore."

The cook mage was begining to think that maybe it had been a bad idea to try and bring such a change to the island just yet. The Yamani people just didn't seem ready for what Kitana had in mind, but then, when would they ever be? In ten years? She doubted that she could wait that long. What would Sanyu do, she thought. Well, first of all, he wouldn't need to be hearing Jazz's advice right now, since he would have already handled everything. But I'm not like him. Never was, and probably never will be.

"Perhaps you should bring everyone down tomorrow." She said after a while. "I could use all the help I can get."

[Jazz]

"Now, someone seems a bit full of themselves... But I just don't know about that plan. I thought the sign I posted would surely be enough.....Oh I don't know anymore."

She smiled, shaking her head. "I am not full of myself," she retorted, "I'm right. What we've got here is something different. Don't get me wrong, different is good. But people don't want to be the first to do something different. Occasionally someone like you or me comes along and storis things up. Not all people are against it, they're interested. But they don't want to be the first. They want to see someone else do something before they do, if you get me meaning." It had been long-winded, but she was essentially right. She just hoped she'd managed to convey what she meant.

"Perhaps you should bring everyone down tomorrow. I could use all the help I can get."

Jasmin frowned. Not at her sister, but the sort of frown that meant she was exasperated. "I'll try to get away," she said, shrugging apologetically, "But tomorrow there's introductions and meetings and such. We can get away tonight, as I've said, but I don't know about tomorrow. If we can't, maybe Kaidreni and Rhianna and the others that don't have to be at the meetings could come. but I don't know. I'm sorry."

[Aster]

"But tomorrow there's introductions and meetings and such. We can get away tonight, as I've said, but I don't know about tomorrow. If we can't, maybe Kaidreni and Rhianna and the others that don't have to be at the meetings could come. but I don't know. I'm sorry."

Kitana gave a small smile. "It's fine. Really. I know your party didn't come here just to visit. You have important matters to attend to. Work must come first" she said, thinking of how she had been concentrating on nothing but work for the past four years. When had her life stopped being about living? Oh, she knew when, but that was a subject that was still too painful to remember.

She took the soup off of the heat and set it aside, and then began preparing some tea, filling the tiny kitchen with delicious scents. "Whoever you can get to come will be great. Anything is better than the state this place is currently in. Though, I am starting to think that I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. You shouldn't be worrying about me. This is my restaurant and I knew what I'd be getting into when I opened it."