steepwithdead | Folkmore

Very tragic for your sense of peace. [He arches an eye ridge back at that. With everything chopped, stirred and the noodles in the process, Leonardo has a moment to lean against the edge of the counter.

A thought occurs to him.]

Wait. Quessstiionn, have you eaten pizza before? Cause I'd be happy to make you a killer grilled cheese, but pizza takes priority.

[Caduceus blinks back at him, not quite clueless, but obviously missing the immediate passion that comes from someone who knows and loves pizza.]

I've heard of it.

If I was not making you soba, I would take you out for pizza ASAP. [This man is embarrassingly dedicated to pizza.] It is The Food of all time.

Cheese, toppings of your choice, crust that could have cheese in it!

Ah.

[Such unexpected passion for the Unknown Food! He'll have to remember that.]

You'll have to guide me on the toppings, then. I wouldn't know where to start.

[Leo is going to stir those noodles, checking to see if they're ready yet, whilst talking about pizza.]

Given you're vegetarian, I'm gonna have to think about that. [He mentally flips through a few options.] Maybe a Margherita pizza? Its cheese, sauce, more cheese and some basil.

I'm not opposed, though that might be too much cheese...

[He hasn't had a lot of dairy growing up! Even cow milk is fairly new for him.]

What do you usually have on yours?

The crust usually can balance out the cheese, but we'll see.

I like a good Hawaiian pizza. [That will mean NOTHING to him, you stupid twunk-] Pineapple and ham. Sweet and salty combo.

I haven't had a chance to try pineapple, either.

[Just a whole pile of firsts are coming your way, forest man.]

You can have mushrooms, bell peppers, pineapple, spinach- your options are pretty endless.

[He's happy to show Cad the wonders of pizza.]

Cad's eyes brighten.]

I do love mushrooms. Peppers and spinach sounds good, too.

[He's being won over on pizza. (Like it's hard.)]

[The power of pizza compels us all.]

See, you already got a perfect pizza in mind. We just gotta make it. [he's going to stir the soba noodles.] These feel almost ready.

Next time, then.

[Or whenever. Caduceus pushes away from the counter and fetches some oven mitts, crouching to open the oven.]

Good timing, the buns are about done. They'll be fresh and cool enough to eat by the time it's plated.

Definitely next time. [he just needs to find a pizza dough recipe. Maybe Mikey has one...]

Perfect. I can bet dipping the buns into the sauce will be good too. [He hangs back as Caduceus moves to free the buns from the oven.]

[The tray comes out and they look amazing, perfectly puffed and golden. This baker knows what he's doing, for sure. (Though he should. Even if he hadn't been cooking for decades before coming here, he's been doing it solo for years in this world now.)]

I think you may be right. Bread's always belonged with noodle sauce. And soups, of course.

[Mmmmmsoup.]

Bread is essentially a perfect food for nearly all occasions. [He agrees readily. Being able to actually eat all this food is his favorite.

Leonardo gives the soba noodles another gentle stir. Thankfully per-tag montage rules, it won't take long to get the soba set up. Much handwaving involved. It looks like he can dole the noodles out at this rate.]

Could you bring the bowls a little closer?

Edited 2025-09-28 20:44 (UTC)

Of course.

[Caduceus fetches the bowls and brings them over, setting them up for Leonardo. Once that's sorted he collects a handful of the fresh buns into a woven basket, carrying it and some cutlery to the dining room.]

What're you thirsty for? Or should I ask, what goes well with this recipe?

[He works on draining the noodles, glad they turned out well. Leo is really glad he made this beforehand.]

Do you have any juice or tea? I think that'd work. This is a bit zesty and sweet, but not over powering. [He figures a mellow juice could work. He doles the noodles into their bowls, mixing in the sauce. Followed by layering sliced avocados, watermelon radishes, mint leaves, and the blanched snap peas.]

Oh, I've always got tea. [This is the tea house with the tea man. Best believe there's tea.] How about iced? I've got a nice fruit blend that's near enough to juice that'd fall squarely in between.

[He'll fetch a pitcher, with a gradient of red and orange within.]

That sounds perfect. [Best of both worlds in his mind. Leonardo figures that would fit the meal just fine.

Once Leo is satisfied with the bowls. He has a dilemma of how to carry them both. If he was back at the apartment, he'd just stand at the kitchen counter eating until he was done.]

I can bring you your bowl at least and go back for mine. Just gimme a sec- [He's at least picking one bowl to balance in his hand.]

Don't worry about it, I've got a spare hand. Let me help.

[Leonardo did all the cooking, and most of the stuff is already out there! Caduceus shoos him towards the dining room and picks up the second bowl, the pitcher in his other hand.]

[The turtle can't help but chuckle a little at that.]

Alright, alright- [He accepts his shoo-ing, walking in the direction of the dining room. He wanted to bring the food over to the firbolg, but clearly Caduceus wasn't having it.

He walks over to the table, setting the bowl down carefully. Once he's sure it won't tip over, he's going to sit down.]

[Caduceus follows him, setting his own stuff down and sitting adjacent to Leonardo, finally peering down properly at the bowl before him.]

Hey, it looks great! Thanks for doing this.

Hey, I wanted to. [He insists easily, relieved there is a fork he can use on the table. He could not work much else right now.]

I felt like having a normal time to talk and hang out would be better than the gem gauntlet we went through.

It's true, this is much better than all of that. As much as I like moss and florals, the lack of drama and explosions is nice.

[Not a big fan of explosions, this guy.]

Note to self, no explosions for Caduceus. [He playfully mimes writing a note before going back to his food. Yes, he's digging in. He's hungry.] No firework displays for you, or anything explosion adjacent.

We can stick to cooking, talking, probably causing mild mischief if necessary.

straight up forgot 'ass' in lmao was a curse for a bit until I thought about it

lol

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