"Young fish taken at the surface in mid-ocean.
A.) Young of the Giant Sun-Fish (Mola mola)
B.) Young of an unknown soldier-fish
C.) Young of an unknown Pomfret."
The Arcturus Adventure: an Account of the New York Zoological Society's First Oceanographic Expedition. Written by William Beebe. 1926.
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[ffxivwrite2023] prompt 13: check
“I do apologize, but your meal has already been taken care of.”
D’zinhla looked up from her coinpurse with a frown. “Excuse me?”
The server, an Arkasodara youth, ducked his head apologetically. “Your meal, it has already been paid for, so there is no need for me to collect your payment.”
Airraim gave her an amused glance. “So much for ‘maybe we won’t be recognized if we dine near the docks’,” she said.
D’zinhla flicked an ear in a hopefully-neutral response; the server didn’t need any reason to think she was annoyed at him, which was likely if she had made a face at Airraim’s words. “I see! May I inquire as to the identity of this generous patron?”
The youth clasped his hands behind his back diffidently, casting a gaze toward the kitchen before he spoke again. “My father, the cook,” he said in a lowered tone. “He recognized you, and what you did for all of us, especially when you routed the blasphemies. His good friend is alive because of you, so he feels it would dishonor the gods’ blessings you have already given us if he charged you for a simple meal.”
Simple meal? D’zinhla’s ears snapped alert at that. Her meal had been remarkable! A local fish served whole, marinated in lemon juice, yoghurt, and a dazzling combination of Thavnairian spices, then baked in a special clay oven. It was by far one of her favorite Thavnairian meals to date, and even though she’d polished off her plate and felt comfortably full, she still felt as if she’d happily eat more just because it tasted so good.
Airraim had asked for a meal she was already familiar with, jhinga curry, but by presentation alone D’zinhla could tell it was prepared somewhat differently from the jhinga curries they’d already enjoyed at Mehryde’s Meyhane. According to her wife, there seemed to be more emphasis on the coconut in this variation, and the spice blend had been slightly different, but most of all she’d appreciated the amra slices that gave a burst of sweetness.
Shaking her head, D’zinhla smiled softly at the youth. “Please tell your father that I appreciate his good heart. I would still like to pay for our meals, because I am comfortable in the means to do so, but I don’t want to besmirch his act of gratitude. Could I instead ask him a question?”
It was hard for her to judge Arkasodara age, but the youth seemed to be in his early adolescent years, not much more than a boy himself. His trunk curled in what she thought might be an expression of nerves, before he bowed his head. “I’ll go get him,” he said, before pausing. “Oh. Can I-” he gestured at their plates uncertainly, as if he had just remembered that detail of his job, and the unusual circumstances had thrown him off a bit.
“Of course!” D’zinhla sat back, lifting hers up to the boy, while Airraim passed hers over for him to carry back as well.
As he departed for the kitchen, Airraim gave her a look. “You’re going to go out of your way to make sure that this man isn’t worse off for giving you a free meal, aren’t you?”
Denying it would do no good, so she just shrugged her shoulders with a wry smile. “Things are picking up in Radz-at-Han, but they’ve still got so much to recover from! Besides, I think I have an idea that would line right up with my plans, anyway.”
Airraim raised her brows. “And how do you plan to accomplish that?”
“Well,” and she grinned slowly, “I think I can come up with a way to supply this excellent cook with the very freshest seafood for his establishment, because after dining upon that pomfret, there’s nothing I want more than to fish up some more to learn more about them! And since I was going to go fishing anyway…”
Airraim rolled her eyes, but there was definite amusement in her expression. “Fishing. You could have just told me your plan involved fishing.”
“And then you’d have complained at how little that clears it up, given how often I make excuses to do it!”
Her wife chuckled softly. “I suppose you’ve got me there. Alright, you win, you aren’t going out of your way this time.”
Smirking at her victory, D’zinhla held back any verbal response, as an Arkasodara man who was undoubtedly the cook and the server’s father approached their table. She needed to shift back into “gracious hero of the realm” mode, and that didn’t have much room for “playfully teasing wife” mode.
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I think Taiga Kodama-Pomfret was invited to neither Mariinsky nor bolshoi and is going to Stanislavsky. Do you think it’s because of his height? If so, it’s such a shame because from all I’ve seen, he‘s been the star of the graduation performances..
Yes, I think Fateyev was probably kicking himself a bit after seeing Taiga in the graduation shows! Kodama-Pomfret is a bit short, though he was able to partner Koshkareva, who is probably 5'6" or 5'7". His proportions aren't amazing either, his arms are a bit short for his torso. But he was definitely the star male dancer in the graduation shows, I agree. Sometimes, proportions aren't perfect, but the dancer is great enough that these things shouldn't matter.
However, hopefully he will get even more opportunities at Stanislavsky, which is a very strong theatre in its own right, than he would at the Mariinsky or the Bolshoi.
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I actually preferred Garlic Chives (青龙菜) with bean sprouts stir-fry but sis doesn’t like the latter. Mum added some minced pork and prawns to sweeten the vegetable. Two medium sized Black Pomfret (Parastromateus niger) with heads removed and pan-fried. Love the sweet and soft flesh of this fish.
At the same time, mum also cooked a pot of Pork Ribs Soup with Yong Tau Foo (酿豆腐) and baby carrots. To add extra sweetness to the soup, she added some dried scallops. That is all, time to dig in.
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