Posted by Commander Shedda Mal’athar (Executive Officer) in A Day With Koro

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

Posted by Commander Shedda Mal’athar (Executive Officer) in A Day With Koro
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Harv smiled and said “That is a very good idea, Koro. A little salt makes everything come together. OK, take a pinch in your fingers and then sprinkle it across the top of rhe soup.”

His pinch was of course quite small, so it was a rather small amount that got added.

After they added the salt and stirred, Harv took the tasting spoon and sampled the broth. He then wiped the spoon and repeated the movement. “Ok, try it now.” he said, holding the spoon out to Koro.

Chef Harv

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

Koro taste the soup and then frowned. “More? It doesn’t taste like soup I’ve had before.”

~Koro

“Do it up, kid.” Harv said with a smile. “Keep going till you think it’s right.” He watched as Koro repeated the process a few times, giving him a taste each time. “So? Better?” he asked after the third.

Harv, Chef

Koro scrunched up his face a little in thought and then looked at Shedda and Harv in turned before giving a firm nod. “It’s done,” he said.

Then his little mind flipped to the bread and he wandered back to where the dough was resting in the bowl. He peeked under the towel and shock blossomed across his face. “It’s gotten bigger!”

~Koro

Shedda laughed quietly at his enthusiasm, “See, magic. It’s everywhere in Chef Harv’s kitchen.”

Harv looked at her and gave her something he had never given her before… a smile.

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

Shedda’s eyes widened slightly, but otherwise she only smiled in response. It wasn’t like she could tell anyone that Harv knew how to smile. People might start rumors. Well different rumors than there already were.

The boy smiled, he brown eyes alit. “How big will it get?” he asked with all the reverence a preschooler could manage for something that was new and fascianted him.

~Koro

Harv smiled and looked at the dough. “Well, it will get about twice that size and then we will put it in the oven. But in the meantime, we have to clean up a little. You ready?” he asked Koro.

Chef Harv

Koro nodded eagerly. “I can tidy! Mira makes me tidy up my toys everyday.” He grabbed the empty bowl and carried it to the counter next to the sink. Then he hunted for the other things they had used to make the bread and the soup, careful not to move too quickly- Harv’s lesson on mindfulness in the kitchen had stuck with him.

~Koro

Koro certainly liked to help. Shedda was sure that was because it gave him some level of control over his environment. He didn’t feel so helpless when he had something that he could do. “Anything I can do? I mean I’m decent at holding up a wall, but I don’t mind helping.”

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

Harv looked at her for a moment with an odd expression… one that was oddly nonhostile… and then said “Sure, Commander. You mind grabbing the brush and dustpan and cleaning up the table? Organic refuse over there-” and he pointed at a specially marked bin labeled ‘Compost’, “- and nonorganic in the recycler. Um, thank you.” and he turned quickly away and then began helping Koro.

“You’re welcome, Chef. I’m happy to help.” Shedda moved over to where he pointed with a brush and dustpan. She collected the nonorganic trash and carried to the recycler and then brushed, cleared, and dumped the organic waste. She found a cloth and cleaner and wiped the table down as well.

“Nicely done, K!” he said as he watched the boy move things to the sink. “Good job moving carefully. You are pretty smart, you know that?” and he tussled the boy’s hair slightly and began washing the dishes by hand. “Now Koro, a lot of people don’t wash dishes by hand. They toss them in a recycler or run them through a sonic wash. But kitchen magic needs things done a certain way. And washing dishes is part of the magic. It means you care enough to take your time.”

Harv, Chef

Koro gave a sheepish little grin. “Do I do more cleaning?” He looked at his hands. “I’m not sure my hands are big enough for dishes,” he said, chewing on his lip as he gave this situation serious consideration.

~Koro

Shedda, having finished her small task, walked over to him. “That’s okay, Koro. Your hands are big enough for some, and for the others, Chef Harv and I can handle. That’s part of the magic. Take your time and do what you can do, help each other, and if everyone does that, the result is even better.”

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

Harv gave her a look of cautious approval and the three of them began to wash dishes, Koro in the middle and Harv and Mal’athar on either side. It took some time to get things done to Harv’s standards, but the process was not unenjoyable. In fact at one point, Koro dropped a bowl and it splashed Harv with soapy water right in the face. Harv was silent a moment, slowly wiped the suds from his mouth and nose, and he looked at Koro. “You know… it’s not the adult thing to do to try and get revenge on a child.” In a flash of movement he grabbed the spray nozzle and shot Mal’athar square in the face. “So I have to get the one who is their guardian.” and he chuckled.

Harv

It wasn’t for Koro’s benefit, but the way Shedda approached life. It was how she was raised on Delotha, and that carried over into her work, her command style, what few friendships she had, and her interactions with others. Well, except Harv. The man seemed to push irritate her last nerve with an uncanny amount of magical accuracy.

Shedda was attempting to hand Harv a dry dish cloth and not even smirk at the drenched taciturn man. If it had been an hour ago she would have worried he would be mean to Koro for the accident. Now she had no such worry. She was unprepared for the sudden attack. Shedda had not expected Harv to be… playful in the kitchen. She dodged out of the spray and was quiet for a long second as she stared at him trying to reconcile this new fascit of his personality. And only slightly less contemplating how she was going to make it back to her quarters without winning a wet t-shirt contest.

Her eyes narrowed, but there was a slight smirk to the corner of her mouth. The large sopping wet, soapy sponge suddenly squelched against his features. The impact squeezed water and soap all over his face and dropped down to his jacket. “Additionally, the people making the food should be just as clean as the dishes. I had to help Harv get clean after working in dirty dish water.” Then she winked at Koro with a small grin.

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

Koro giggled and tried to stifle it with his wet hands. But he couldn’t contain it and soon was laughing openly. Being in the middle meant that Koro was under the path of attack and so he too got a little wet. “We’re all wet!” he said, giggling some more.

~Koro