2025-07-02: Lesson Planning

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<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.

As the final bell for classes rings, and students filter out of the business classroom, Miorine Rembran steps 'outside' and blinks as the light gets brighter. She grimaces as she realizes she hasn't eaten since she woke up, and makes a beeline to the school cafeteria.

Neither the Holder nor the Earth house students are with her today, so her pace is brisk, and after finding an out-of-the-way table at a far corner of the Cafeteria, away from the chattering crowds of students from various houses, she pulls out a cup of self heating instant noodles from her bag, pulls a string, and sets it down as she goes back in to fish for a pair of wooden chopsticks. They're nice, the smooth, round wooden sort that don't splinter easily, but still meant to be disposable, and she tries to keep about a dozen in her bag whenever she remembers to refill them. It's hard to deny the convenience of being able to toss them rather than needing to waste time cleaning them afterwards.

The noodles themselves aren't anything special - tomato flavored, with a hint of sweetness that feels distinctly artificial - but they're consistent, and she had multiple boxes of them piled up in her room. The noodles heat up almost instantly, a miracle of modern technology and convenience, and she takes a bite of the noodles as she scrolls through To-Witter to keep herself occupied until she can get back to the greenhouse.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly is a TA -- and also, for that matter, a student, even if her classes are technically remote through a partner university; despite being a few years older than the average Asticassia student, she does tend to eat with them.

She arrives at the cafeteria with a small bag from the local MacDaniels, looking for somewhere to sit... and then she sees her. And more importantly, sees it. Not only is she seeing Benerit's scion, she's seeing her eating instant noodles out of a cup.

The part of Milly that used to have a noble title stares dumbly at this for longer than she really ought to; she brings a hand up to her temple, giving it a couple of quick rubs before electing to walk up and sit across from Miorine. ... Besides, she's not exactly going to sit with the other high-school-aged students; she usually takes one of the out-of-the-way tables with few people in it too.

"Instant noodles in tomato soup, huh," Milly asks, trying not to judge. "Are things that busy?" ... She's trying very hard to give Miorine as much of the benefit of the doubt as possible.

<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.

Miorine startles as she hears a voice closer than she was expecting, and certainly not one she's used to hearing outside of class. Milly Ashford. They haven't spoken much, but Miorine is vaguely aware of Milly's situation.

It makes her a little jealous, if she's honest, but their situations are too distinct for the same thing to ever work for her.

The inquiry takes her a little off guard, and she looks at Milly strangely, trying to figure out what her angle is. It's not voiced like mockery, but knowing how the Jeturk hangers-on act, that's hardly enough to go off. Still, this is a TA, and someone who's got less social standing to gain or lose by trading barbs with her. She puts a pin in her suspicions and decides to take her at face value for now.

"Not any busier than usual, I think," she replies, gesturing to the line for food. "It's just easier to keep these on hand than go through all that. No point sitting in the cafeteria for longer than I need to."

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly looks down at Miorine's noodles again. Then back at Miorine. She starts unpacking her MacDaniel's meal -- a fish sandwich, fries, and a small drink in a cute pouch. "That does make sense," Milly concedes, before taking a bite of her fish sandwich. Despite her noble background, she manages to eat unpretentiously -- indeed, probably in the lower half of pretension by Asticassia standards.

Still... "If you don't want to spend any more time in the cafeteria, though, you could start learning to cook? I had to teach myself once my family lost its title... it took a bit, but I started having fun with it after a little while." She assumes Miorine has no talent for cooking despite no evidence one way or the other -- strictly on gut.

... She realizes she might be being rude by not introducing herself. Sure, she's a known quantity, but it's another thing when it's your first time formally speaking to someone. "Oh -- Milly Ashford. I'm one of the business department TAs? I think I've seen you when I've been at the department desk."

<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.

Miorine pulls the cup of noodles close to her face, scooping in a large chunk of noodles. At the proposition of learning to cook, Miorine makes a face. She's vaguely aware that some of Earth House likes to cook, and they have the facilities for it in the dorms, but she's always gotten along fine ordering delivery or takeout. And besides, cooking takes time. Still, it wouldn't hurt to have something to fill the time with, now that she's given up on planning escape attempts for the time being. "I'll consider trying that," she says after a few moments. "It can't be that hard, though I doubt I'll find many opportunities to use it," she continues, with the confidence of a girl who has never cooked in her life.

As Milly introduces herself, Miorine contemplates doing likewise, than decides against it. Even if Milly is a university student, and probably in few or none of the same circles, it's not like Miorine is an unknown quantity. Not at this school. "Nice to meet you, Milly. I don't think we've shared a classroom, though I do remember seeing you at the desk. You stand out a bit more than some of the business sort."

 <Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.
<poem>
It is at this point that Miorine's groom arrives. "Miss Miorine!" Suletta says cheerfully, waving to Miorine as she jogs up to the table. "I'm glad I made it! I had to check on Aerial and thought I'd have to miss lunch but it went fast- o-oh, sorry!" Suletta bowed sharply to Milly. "I'm Suletta! It's nice to meet you."

She pauses a moment, then blushes. "I. Kinda. Overheard a little? Sorry. M-Miss Miorine, if you want to try learning to cook, could I join? It's on my list! Uh, if it's okay. I've never done it before."

It's a bit embarrassing to overhear when she wasn't supposed to, but what's done is done. Move forward, gain two, and this could be a chance for two checkmarks on her list. Somewhere in the middle are two related tasks: Learn to cook with her friends (a lot of her favored anime have episodes where the protagonists had a 'home economics' class! Though the piloting course didn't have those), and then to have a friend eat something she'd made for them! And while Miss Miorine has made it clear that their engagement is an arrangement of convenience (gotta remember that, don't want to presume), even if she's just a temporary groom this is the kind of thing someone in Suletta's position is expected to do right? She's never had a chance to cook before, but she won't let that stop her.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

At 'it can't be that hard,' Milly smiles. ... There's part of her that still has a kind of mean-spirited sense of humor, and the idea of putting the thumbscrews to Miorine and watch her flail about in the kitchen... is funny! It's really funny, actually. "You never know where life's going to take you," she points out.

And then -- Miorine's groom arrives. Milly is very aware of the Holder system, and of what Suletta's white uniform means. And it sounds like while Miorine is tepid on the idea, Suletta sounds quite enthusiastic. Milly looks between the two of them for a few moments, and that smile gets a little wider -- and a little sharper.

"Oh, perfect. We'll start with cooking a pretty standard three-part meal. I'm sure your girlfriend won't mind?" She's very deliberate about picking 'girlfriend' over 'bride' -- it's a deliberate effort to mess with these two. It's important to give people prompts that let them show you what they really value.

<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.

Miorine bristles at the smile, taking it as an implication that Milly doubts her. She feels a brief moment of relief as the Holder shows up, wondering if she can use Suletta to free herself from this conversation, before realizing that the exact opposite is happening. Suletta's enthusiasm, bright eyed and naive as ever, has found some kind of purchase with Milly, because Miorine swears she catches an ever so slight shift in the blonde's expression. Before she can respond to Suletta's inquiry by saying she was planning to try later, in the privacy of Earth House, Milly has invited them to an impromptu cooking lesson.

Worse, Milly calls her Suletta's girlfriend, and as she wonders if that's actually how the two of them seem, she instinctively she averts her eyes from Suletta, before realizing how that looks, and trying (and failing!) to meet Milly's gaze again.

"No, I- bride and girlfriend are entirely different things, okay?" She wonders if she can refuse the offer, but seeing Suletta's big, pleading eyes desperate to join in this unplanned boot camp, she can't find a way to escape easily. "If my groom" she emphasizes, focusing on the political aspect, as if she believed Milly was actually ignorant of it, "wants to do this, I don't mind. But I'm not letting you put any funny ideas into her head, got it?"

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

"T-That sounds like a lot to start out with, uh," Name, name, she'd said her name just a second ago...! "Miss Milly! But I can try!" Suletta smiles. Nailed it!

...Wait what was that second part? Suletta blinks a few times as the sentence processes, and then her cheeks rapidly fill with color. "G-G-Girlfriend? I-I mean I guess we're e-engaged, but that's the school rules... I-I haven't checked going on a date off t-the list yet..." Suletta trails off. It's only natural they spend a lot of time together when they're friends and she's been the Holder for months now! T-That's all.

Suletta shyly nods at Miorine's assent. "I-I think it would be nice to make something for you and the others sometime..."

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

That bright-eyed, naive enthusiasm is exciting for Milly to see; she can already see where these two are going to have some sort of effect on each other's lives. Even if the Holder system doesn't lash them together forever... something is going to come of this. She's amused.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm well aware of the sorts of political maneuvers involved here." With a twinkle in her eye, she adds, "I was a bargaining chip too, once." ... She'll leave that there for now -- no sense in really grinding it in. Let Miorine see the illusory nature of her chains on her own time.

"Hmmm, does cooking count as a date..." Milly's tone stays playful as she taps her chin thoughtfully. "No, I guess not. I could've counted it that way sometimes, but probably not in circumstances like the ones you two are in." She leans in a little closer, asking, "So! What do you two want to learn from Miss Ashford~? Really, the sky's the limit. In spite of everything I'm a pretty good cook."

Mmmm. Filet-o-Fish.

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

Suletta blushes a bit further, but is thankfully spared from turning quite as red as her hair by getting down to business. So what would she like to learn to cook? Something good for a beginner right- but something came to mind. "Oh... a Japanese bento, maybe? That could be fun to learn..." She'd seen those all the time in different stories but she'd never had a chance to try a real one! "A-And it's really portable, and Miorine was talking about how those cup noodles were convenient..." She hadn't heard all of the conversation, but Suletta had cleaned up enough empty cups to know Miorine eats a lot of them.

<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.

Miorine isn't sure how to take Milly's bargaining chip comment. Is she rubbing it in, or trying to be friendly? After dozens of failed escape attempts, Miorine is more aware than anyone that her own situation isn't one she can break out of alone. She lets the comment slide, though. If nothing else, maybe Milly actually does understand her situation, at least a little. That's better than can be said for most of the others at Asticassia.

Suletta's proposal takes her by surprise. It shouldn't really, now that she thinks about the sorts of shows Suletta talks about, but the reasoning is what really gets her. Was she just saying it because it was on the mind, or...

"Sure, that actually sounds pretty useful to know how to make. Do you think you're up to the task of teaching that, Miss Ashford?" Miorine challenges.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly realizes with horror that somewhere along the line she became old enough to get 'Miss Ashford' and not 'Milly' from high schoolers. There's a split second where she stares down into her half-eaten sandwich with a creeping sense of existential dread.

Fortunately, she doesn't have the chance to stay that way. Suletta did in fact make a request. "A bento is perfect, actually!" she says, brightly. "Bento are a great way to get a decent proportion of the three basic components of a meal you cook yourself. You want to build around the idea that you have a starch, vegetables, and protein. Of course, if you've got a dish that overlaps you can just make more of it and eat more of the same thing..." She lets that trail off before saying, "... but that's not very cute."

She starts trying to spin that one up. "Rice is a great foundation for that, obviously, and it'll get you used to boiling things..." A sip of her drink follows as she turns that over. "We can get you two used to pan-frying, baking, or boiling with some fish or steak..." That just leaves the vegetables. "What kind of vegetables do you two like?" ... Better to leave that part up to them.

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

Suletta nods along as she tries to commit the lesson to memory - Miss Milly is taking the time to teach them when it isn't even a class, so it would be unthinkably rude to forget it. As for the question of vegetables... "Miss Miorine has been growing tomatoes! They're a really good type." ...They are vegetables right. Or fruit that you use like vegetables...? Suletta's still getting used to produce that isn't names on flavor packets. But it's an obvious thing to try and include - better to use them properly even if they're good enough to just bite into.

<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.

Miorine listens to Milly's short informational speech in spite of herself. She considers the concept of basic components of a meal, and considers how she's doing in her own meals. Instant noodles do have some dried vegetables, and most have some kind of meat broth, or pieces of meat. So, realistically, they're not all too bad.

In response to Milly's inquiry, Miorine thinks for a moment. There is an easy answer, which Suletta gives readily. Fresh tomatoes aren't easy to find on the orbital ring, and the easiest source is her mother's tomatoes, which she doesn't like giving out to strangers. Still, Suletta wants to do this, and it's only a few. And Milly... seems worth getting to know, maybe. After a few moments of a clear struggle playing out visually across her face, she appears to come to a decision. "We could use some of my tomatoes, I suppose," she says, with a faint twinge of hesitancy. "They are probably better than most of the ones you can buy here, anyway."


 <Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
<poem>
Milly has a teacher's inclinations, in a lot of ways. "Oooh, tomatoes are a good pick," Milly affirms, as Suletta brings up the tomatoes. But are they a fruit or a vegetable? "... For meal planning, I think they count as vegetables," she answers. She only thinks that, though; she isn't actually sure. "Miorine's right. Homegrown food is always going to be the best for you," she adds. ... not that she actually eats much of it, but, do as I say, not as I do.

It's around now, though, that she realizes they haven't exactly been introduced. Milly knows Suletta's name well enough from paying attention to her Holder status, but that doesn't mean some 'first-time-meeting' pleasantries are skippable... "You're from... Shin Sei, I think?" She looks her over once, and says, "It's nice to finally meet you instead of just hearing about you from campus gossip."

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

"Y-Yes! That's right. Mom works for them! It's nice to meet you too." Suletta says. She's not really what one might expect from a Holder - the stutters and stammers (and the fact at some point she ended up with Miorine between herself and Milly) say as much. "Thank you for t-taking the time to talk with us, Miss Milly. Sorry for barging into yours and Miss Miorine's conversation..." She didn't look mad, but Suletta had learned that some people don't show their feelings very clearly in Asticassia, so an apology just in case.

<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.

After hearing the redhead's apology, Miorine mutters under her breath, "Be more assertive, Suletta. Don't forget you're the Holder." Then, she gives Milly a polite nod, sensing she's going to hear from her again sooner or later, whether she likes it or not. "I can give you my contact information, but you probably already know how to get a hold of me if you're a TA. When you're ready to give my groom a lesson, let us know."

As she tugs gently on Suletta's sleeve, a signal to leave, she considers whether she's made a mistake in agreeing. Strangely, she thinks it might be worth their time, and she can't quite place why she feels that way. She chalks it up to a useful potential contact, and tries to put out of her mind that it will no doubt be a more intimate affair than a larger classroom setting.

After all, she spends plenty of time alone with Suletta as it is. There's nothing embarrassing about that. As long as she doesn't let Milly get in their heads.