OOM: Oswin's Visit To Goldkrone

[herr_bookman]

The morning mist has burned away this Saturday, and the cobblestone streets glisten with dew in Goldkrone. People mill around, getting ready for the day and greeting one another. There are no cars on the streets, but the occasional horse is put to use. Autor leads Oswin through a door near his school from Milliways.

"[Remember,]" he says in French, "[I've told my mother you're coming, so try to... I don't know, act natural? But not too natural. I don't want her scandalized.]"

Comments

[souffle_girlek]

"[How natural is too natural?]" Oswin retorts, sounding confused.

Or, at least, she sounds confused until she steps out onto the cobblestones. The air is crisp and clean (and a little bit horsey). The light is utterly unlike anything found indoors (no matter how 'natural' they say the lightbulbs are).

So hopefully it's not too out of character for this faux French teacher to be bouncing and whirling in a giddy circle.

...

Oswin doesn't care much if it is the wrong thing to do.

[herr_bookman]

Autor covers his mouth to hide his laugh. "[I'm surprised you're not afraid of the outside here,]" he says, hoping that pointing it out won't scare her. The red, clay-shingled roofs shine in the frigid October morning. "[Come on, my house is this way.]"

He leads her through the streets past the bell tower to a large, yellow building with a thick wooden door, which he opens. "::Mutterchen, we're here,::" he says in German, calling out to his mother. "::I've brought Miss Oswald.::"

"::Oh, Autorchen!::" Erna, Autor's mother says as she approaches. She's a rather rotund woman, with a white apron and blouse and a brown woolen skirt, certainly not as fashionable as Oswin's current attire. Her black hair is piled atop her head in a messy bun. "::So this is the new French teacher that I've heard so much about! Welcome, welcome, please come in.::"

"[She welcomes you,]" Autor translates for Oswin.

[souffle_girlek]

The language patch gives Oswin a faintly German accent to her French - just enough to lend an air of truth to the idea that she has been making her way teaching children in Germany for at least a few years now.

"[You have a very lovely home.]" Oswin beams, "[Thank you for having me, I don't tend to get out much.]"

This is, perhaps, the understatement of the millenium.

[herr_bookman]

Autor translates for his mother, who beams at Oswin. "::Thank you,::" she says, and gestures to the hallway. "::Come, come, we'll make ourselves comfortable in the kitchen.::"

"[She wants us to follow her to the kitchen,]" Autor translates for Oswin.

The next room is a medium-sized one, with thick wooden beams supporting the ceiling and thick wooden planks making up the floors. A fire roars in the corner, keeping the neat room warm and cozy. A few of the inn's guests are reading in the plush armchairs, and one waves at the three as they walk by on their way to the kitchen.

The kitchen is small and clean, with shiny, wooden counters and terracotta tile flooring. Mugs hang over a white, cast-iron wood stove putting out almost as much heat as the fireplace in the great room. Erna sweeps through, plucking a tea kettle down from a cabinet. "::Now, tell me all about yourself. What brought you to Goldkrone?::"

"[She wants to know what brought you to Goldkrone,]" Autor translates, raising his brows.

[souffle_girlek]

"[Well, the position here was such a very good offer.]" Oswin replies earnestly, her expression one of someone taking advantage of unexpected good luck. "[The last school, the headmaster was... well, I am very glad to be here.]"

That expression belongs to the most innocent of lambs. Seriously.

[herr_bookman]

Erna fills the kettle with water from the sink as she listens to her son translate. "::Well, we are happy to have you here,::" she says, assembling tea balls with tea from a tin canister. "::My son couldn't stop talking about you.::"

"::Mutterchen, I'm not going to tell her that!::" Autor objects, taking a seat on one of the long stools present next to the counters and gesturing for Oswin to do the same.

"::Very well,::" Erna says, grinning at him. "::Tell her that I'm happy you have a chance to practice your French with her. And ask her if she'll stay for supper.::"

He adjusts his glasses and translates for Oswin. "[She's happy to have you here, and she's glad we're practicing French together. Also, she wants to feed you because she thinks you're too skinny. Well, she didn't actually say that, but she thinks everyone's too skinny and in need of feeding, so it follows. She does want you to stay for supper, though.]"

[souffle_girlek]

Oswin spots that grin, and feels she rather likes Autor's mother.

"[You do know that if I can tell when you're saying more than you're translating, your mom certainly can? And so I don't get you in more trouble, tell her I said thank you and asked her if I can help with anything.]" She refrains from smirking at Autor, but only through great restraint.

[herr_bookman]

Autor's sorely tempted to stick his tongue out at his new French teacher, but decides that would be a terrible idea. "::Mutterchen, she says thank you and wants to know if she can help with anything.::"

"::Well, certainly! She can help bake dinner rolls--you said she was a baker, right?::"

"::I did, and she is,::" Autor says, smiling a little.

"[You can help bake dinner rolls,]" Autor tells Oswin. "[Don't blow up my kitchen.]"

[souffle_girlek]

"[No promises, you knew what you were getting into.]" Oswin retorts sweetly, carefully rolling up her sleeves. "[Erm... Where's the... flour and stuff?]"

[herr_bookman]

Autor translates, and Erna chuckles. "::Here, Miss Oswald,::" she says, taking white canisters labeled Mehl and Zucker down from one of the cabinets and measuring cups from one of the drawers. She takes out a smaller tin labeled Zuckermann's Hefe and offers it to Oswin with a bowl.

"[She's offering you the yeast,]" Autor explains. "[Mehl stands for flour and zucker is sugar.]"

[souffle_girlek]

Yeeep, yeast rolls. Oswin tamps down panic before it can show on her face. She's got this. She's got this! They're just... yeast. In rolls. No worries. Oswin takes the various canisters and bowls and implements as they're given over, setting them out carefully so she doesn't loose track of which is which.

"[Um. Do I ask for butter or shortening? Or lard? Or... something else?]" She doesn't give him a less-suspicious question to ask, because honestly she can't remember what kind of fat source might be available and it's worrisome.

[herr_bookman]

"[Shortening, I think,]" Autor says, and inquires of his mother, who nods. She retrieves another tin canister for Oswin to use. Autor turns to her. "[Do you need a recipe?]"

The tea kettle whistles, and Erna fills three mugs with the near-boiling water. After draping the tea balls and their chains in the mugs, she sets the kettle aside.

She disappears into the pantry and reappears with five eggplants, a collection of mushrooms, and a can of breadcrumbs carried in her apron. "::Tell her not to worry,::" Erna says, smiling.

"[She says not to worry,]" Autor says, resisting the urge to offer his friend a hug.

[souffle_girlek]

"[Worry? Who's worrying? You're projecting, clearly. You stop worrying.]" She takes the flour firmly in hand, wishing she'd thought to try out some German recipes before she came here. "[But a recipe might be good, yeah.]"

[herr_bookman]

Autor confers with his mother, who plucks a recipe from a small wooden box in one of the cabinets. "::Here you are, Miss Oswald,::" she says with a small smile. "::Autorchen, can you go pick out some potatoes and green beans, please?::"

"::Yes, Mutterchen,::" Autor says, and disappears into the pantry. He returns a few moments later with an armful of potatoes and a woolen bag of green beans. "[Do you need any help with that recipe, Miss Oswald? You should probably make a double; we're feeding the inn's guests as well.]"

[souffle_girlek]

Oswin gives Autor a wide-eyed stare when she's sure that his mother can't see. What does he mean, feeding the inn's guests? What if the baking goes badly? Is he insane?

"[Oh, then I'm going to need a bigger bowl.]" She tells him. Because she's so going to thwap him over the head with this one.

[herr_bookman]

Autor gets a bigger bowl out of the cabinet for her as his mother starts washing eggplants. "[Here you are,]" he says.

"::Autorchen, ask her if this is her first time in Germany, please,::" Erna says, heading into the pantry again.

"[My mother wants to know if coming to Goldkrone is your first time in Germany,]" Autor translates, raising a brow.

[souffle_girlek]

Since Oswin knows precious little about Germany, she decides that it is not in her best interests to profess any sort of especial knowledge of it.

"[Oh, no, not much anyway, my previous posts have been along the border.]"

[herr_bookman]

Autor translates for his mother as she returns from the pantry carrying green onions and olive oil. "::Ah, I see,::" she says, nodding. "::What do you think of Goldkrone?::"

"[She wants to know what you think of Goldkrone thus far,]" Autor says.

[souffle_girlek]

"[You are enjoying this way too much. And I think it's lovely, what little I've seen of it so far.]" She retorts, and... honestly, it's true. This place has more of an identity, a feel than Milliways ever has. It feels more real.

She supposes she ought to apologize to Autor, later.

[herr_bookman]

"[I am, truly,]" Autor says, grinning at her. He translates for his mother, who nods.

A little, black-haired girl hovers by the doorway, unsure if she should enter the kitchen.

"::Hello, sleepyhead! It's nearly lunchtime!::" Autor says to his sister, encouraging her to come inside with a gesture. She enters the kitchen shyly at first, but soon her steps turn into skipping.

"::I wasn't sleeping, I was playing with my dolls,::" Clara says, sticking her tongue out at him. "::Who is your friend?::"

"::This is Miss Oswald, my new French teacher,::" Autor says, and then turns to Oswin. "[Miss Oswald, this is Clara, my sister.]"

"Bonjour," Clara says, lighting up with a smile. "::That's all the French I know.::"

"[She says she doesn't know anymore French.]"

[souffle_girlek]

Okay, so the kid is adorable, she really is. Oswin never had siblings, so she's isn't quite sure what to do with a kid.

...

Though...

"[Did Autor tell you about me? Surely he must have. Do you know, I invented fish?]"

[herr_bookman]

Autor gives her an incredulous look, but translates that for Clara. Her eyes widen. "::No, you didn't,::" she says. "::Why would you want to invent fish? They're yucky.::"

"[She says fish are gross and wants to know why you'd invent them,]" Autor says, smiling.

[souffle_girlek]

"[Well, of course, I never want to swim alone.]" Oswin replies as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

[herr_bookman]

Clara giggles once Autor explains what was said. "::You're funny,::" she says, beaming up at Oswin.

"[She thinks you're funny,]" Autor starts, until Clara tugs on his blazer.

"::And tell her she's pretty, too!::"

"[And she thinks you're pretty, too,]" Autor says, a little shyly.

[souffle_girlek]

"[She has better taste than you, Autor.]" Oswin points out, keeping 'arch' out of her tone mostly by sheer force of will. "[Do you want to help bake, Clara?]"