Posted by Civilian Char’les Harv (Officer’s Mess Chef) in A Day With Koro

Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in A Day With Koro

Posted by Commander Shedda Mal’athar (Executive Officer) in A Day With Koro
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“Okay! ” Koro said with an eager grin. He couldn’t quite reach his plate after sliding it up onto the counter, but he was trying.

A moment later, the swing doors moved and admitted Sair, dressed in her usual work garb (black trousers and a ‘medical blue’ coloured tunic. She wasn’t sure what to expect when she saw that Koro and Shedda were in the Officer’s Mess, and Shedda didn’t know about the tension between her and Harv, but none of that appeared anywhere on the Kobliad’s expression. There was still a couple of hours before she was to pick up Koro.

“Mira!” Koro said, running over and throwing himself at her legs. “Is it time to go?”

She laughed and crouched down, wrapping her arms around him, as if she just needed to feel his solid presence for a moment. “No, sweetheart, I just needed to talk to Shedda for a moment,” Sair said as she ran a hand over his mop of hair. “What are you up to?”

“Magic!” he breathed.

A quizzical look passed over her face as she parsed the Standard word that really didn’t have a Kobliad equivalent. At least not in their contemporary dialect. “Tell me about this magic.”

“We’re doing kitchen magic!” he said, suddenly very serious.

Understanding bloomed on her face and she nodded gravely. “Oh that is a special sort of thing for sure. Don’t let me stop your work. I can’t wait to hear all about it later, okay?”

Koro nodded eagerly and gave her a big hun before bouncing back over to Harv. “How do we make sure everything is clean and ready?” he asked him.

“First, we wash all our dishes and tools.” Harv said and began leading him back to the deep sink. Unlike every other ship kitchen, Harv’s didn’t replicate cookware. Every pot, pan, skillet, spatula, whisk, spoon, and knife were his. “Once we are clean, we decide what we will need to make the magic… and what form the magic will take.” Harv said and soon they were engrossed in the intricacies of washing dishes in the methodical and thorough manner of a high-end kitchen.

“What sort of forms can it take?” Koro asked seriously.

“Why… it can be almost anything!” Harv said. “It can be a cake. A drink. A soup, a candy, a bread, a casserole, a bowl of ice cream… ANYTHING!” he finished with a grin.

Sair watched for a moment with nothing short of awe on her face before she turned to Shedda. “Do you have a moment?”

~Sair Songz, CNS

Shedda was grinning as well. Who knew the gruff, abrasive cook would be good with kids? Shedda didn’t say that though or show it on her face. She turned to look at Sair, “Of course.”

Shedda

Sair stepped to the side and dropped her voice. “I know I was going to pick up Koro soon, but would it be possible for Koro to stay longer? Maybe two or three hours?” She was doing her best to keep her face neutral, but the tightness around her mouth told a different story.

~Sair Songz, CNS

Harv

Shedda nodded, “Of course, I’d be happy to do so. Anything about his afternoon routine I should know?”

Shedda

Sair drew in a deep breath. “He’s not napping anymore, but I try to get him to have a bit of quiet time mid-afternoon, otherwise he’s either too tired for food or still running about wanting to do this and that he doesn’t want to sit long enough to eat. Either way, you end up with a hungry and cranky child on your hands.”

Shedda nodded, “I’ll make sure he gets it. If you need the extra time, I’ll make sure he eats.” Shedda put a hand in her arm. “I know this is a very private and personal thing, but you aren’t alone. You just have to tell us what you need, alright?”

Having conferred with Shedda, Sair moved over to where Koro and Harv was working. “Koro, Love. Would it be okay if you stayed with Shedda longer and then I come get you before dinner?”

He nodded his little head. “Are you working?”
Sair crouched down. “Something like that. I just need to be somewhere for awhile.”
“I have the shal… no, shawl for Mirane. Can I give it to her?” Koro said.
She nodded, doing her best to hold back her emotions and stuff it behind the mask she had worn as a physician and therapist for so many years. “You now what? I think she’d really like it if we took it to her after dinner.”
“Maybe we can use the magic to make something for her?” Koro said, looking up at Harv.
It was so heartbreakingly sweet and Sair wanted nothing more than to scoop her son up and spend this time with him, but someone else needed her right now. She felt torn a lot lately, her attention split. So far, Koro didn’t seem upset by her diverted focus, but was it only time? “If she’s up for eating it, sure. But just know that she might not be.”

~Sair & Koro

Harv looked at the Counselor and said “I have just the thing. I’d be happy to teach the boy how to make it.” He looked down at Koro and his face was weighted with seriousness. “It sounds like your mee-maw isn’t feeling too good. So… think you can help me make some serious kitchen magic? It will be hard work, but I promise it will help her feel better.”

Chef Harv

Shedda stood out of the way while Sair spoke with Koro. He was such a sweet and sensitive little boy. She smiled slightly seeing Harv had a similar idea with the food that she’d had with having Koro choose a blanket. It provided Koro a way to help when he knew something was wrong.

Shedda