Faye shifted the crate in her arms after visiting her quarters and Tess (who was likely to never know Fay was supposed to be on vacation at this rate) and arrived at the Mess Hall, where Dag and her mom would be meeting her. They were having lunch while they made the hasperat for the wake later tonight. Normally a social event like that would make Faye squirm with unease, but this was different. It was Tracken after all. Somehow invoking her former home and the community spirit it embodied made everything easier.

Moving through the Mess to the kitchen, Faye stopped dead in her tracks, brows raised. “I thought we had an agreement?”

Shara stood there with a chef’s knife in hand, an entirely innocent expression on her face. “I promised I wouldn’t cook, but you have a list of ingredients to prep and a knife I do know how to use. Just call me your sous chef, Lieutenant, ma’am,” she said, snapping off a salute with her left hand.

“You’re hilarious,” Faye said dryly, moving over to another prep surface and setting down the crate so she could unpack the items.

“Says the woman who wants to be a captain. Ohh! Will you make them all come to attention and shout ‘Captain on the Bridge’ when you enter?” Shara said, eyes gleaming.

“Don’t make me stab you with that knife.”
“Matricide already and it’s only Noon,” Shara said.
Faye snorted, pulling items out. “I’m on vacation and feeling a bit lazy.”
“Early bird gets the worm,” Shara bantered back, chopping some more vegetables on the list Faye gave her.

“Where’s Dag when I need him?” the younger Calloway bemoaned, knowing the man was joining them very shortly. She had asked for a few minutes with her mom first to touch base before they did the whole ‘meet the mom’ thing… again. Properly.

“Exactly where he needs to be, I’m sure,” Shara said, though her expression was warmer, less bantering.
Faye unpacked the last item and set the crate underneath the counter. “Ohhh, she approves!”
It was Shara’s turn to snort. “Like you were asking in the first place.”
“Says the woman who stalked my boyfriend just to establish the parameters.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Shara said with a laugh.
Faye unscrewed the jar with the super spicy brine and inhaled. “You’re just lucky he gets it. Can’t say it would have gone over well with others.”
“The others were schmucks. Not good enough,” Shara said firmly. “What can I say? Hammor and I have an understanding.”
“Well… fine. But… wait, since there won’t be a next time, I can’t say don’t do it again. Huh,” Faye mused, surprising herself.

More chopping, the knife moving cleanly through the vegetables. Shara went silent, and Faye wasn’t sure what to make of that.

~The Calloway Women