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⏾⋆.˚⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚‧₊*ೃ༄⋅☽
That blessed night, they were making hot pot for dinner.
Yes as a matter of liquid fact in such a case... ˖ ࣪ ⊹yummylicious hot pot˖ ࣪ ⊹
At first, Korra’ahl had thought that they would be crafting the earthling cooking vessel from scratch, along with the help of the human’s fire to let the object set in place like the craft-smiths did back on her planet, since they wielded the element of fire.
Upon more further questions and so so, she was pleased to discover that hot pot was actually a meal.
Heck, even she couldn't believe it!
A meal!
Not a large cooking vessel, but indeed a bowl filled with delicious, hot goodness...and anywho before curiosity could kill the kitty-kat or something like that, princess was very interested in learning what this dish needed in order for it to be made.
So that very evening, as she stood by Asami’s side, blue eyes flitted left n' right as her companion diced the green vegetables with practiced ease, noting the skilled woman’s precision and how the knife sliced through the flesh of the food items, its gleaming edge shining like liquid mercury.
Korra’ahl helped of course, as enchanted as she was with Asami’s actions and the movement of her slender fingers, she didn’t just stand there like a X'hornian cactus in the deserts of Xanthra.
Once kindly asked upon, she was eager to hand the woman these things she’d called ‘ingredients,’ which greatly helped to bring a meal together into completion.
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⋆‧₊˚ ⋅𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚☁︎⋆˚࿔ ᵎᵎ
Some of them appeared both big and small, whilst others were in little glass jars, and when shook—flowed out in a powder-y form of substance. Not only that, but the starry celestial had also been very tickled to discover that they were labeled with their respective names, in cutesy stickers and imagery right across each jar or single container to make the task much easier to do.
“Hey, what is this meal called again?” Korra’ahl asked, her glowing eyes completely glued to the way Asami was currently dicing a baby carrot.
“˚. ꜝꜝKimchi Nabe𓂃 ͙͘͡ 𝜗᭪”
"Eyyy Kimchi...how yummy! The way you slice through those veggies remind me very much of a Xanthrian warrior cutting through a X'hornian maze. You possess great skill in the use of earthling's tiny weapons, Asami.”
The woman glanced at her for a moment, before letting out an amused snort. “Thanks, Korra.” After a few more slices, she set down the knife and reached for the cabbages. “Do you wanna have a go at it, too?”
“Do I?” Korra’ahl echoed eagerly. “You already know that you don’t have to ask me twice.”
Pausing to make a sonorous titter, Asami cut the cabbages into thin strips before making space for Korra’ahl. Carefully, the alien held onto the knife’s handle, slicing through the cabbage a bit shakily at first...but soon she got the hang of it, cutting across them into tiny cubes, her brows furrowed in complete concentration as she performed this action.
Around when Korra'ahl was finally done with that or thereabouts, she reached for the bunch of spring onions, and just as she was about to cut it in the same way she’d cut the cabbages previously, Asami immediately stepped in, placing her cool hands gently over her warm ones.
Star speckled irises whimsically blinked up at the woman, and Asami just chuckled at her adorable reaction. Despite the help being offered, Korra’ahl was still quite on the puzzled sida' thingz. “Am I doing it wrong?”
Waves of moonglade swished gently from side to side. “You’ll want to cut them into strips, instead of mini cubes this time.”
Cool, calm and collected as ever, she demonstrated by sectioning the onions into threes and sliced them with ease, Korra'ahl's hand moving in synchronized tandem with hers.
Much to her expense, the affected alien blushed, both from this feeling of closeness with Asami, and off the mere fact that she still felt a bit sheepish from her near-error earlier.
“… Andd voila.ᐟ彡 All finished,” came Asami's mild voice.
“This was quite the eye-opening experience, I must say,” Korra’ahl replied heartedly, that flush lingering still in her insides. “They look great!”
One swift glimpse around the counter with irrefutable enthusiasm shining behind those starry eyes happened afterwards. “So err...what do we need to add next time around?” she continued.
“It’s gonna need anchovies to make a broth, some kimchi, tofu and pork belly, some people like to add mushrooms as well, but not this girl," Asami added, season coated thumb gesturing to herself with a tiny chuckle. "It gives me super bad allergies.”
Korra’ahl made a precious "ooh" sound in a fast form of response, although she had no idea what this 'allergy' term meant, she figured she would ask about it much later whilst she waited for Asami to finish with the rest of the meal preparations.
During the period which the woman started making the spice mix, Korra’ahl’s brow rose incredulously when she saw Asami sprinkle in some sugar.
“Wait a moment, people can add sugar into this?”
“Mhmm. For that extra lil' kick.”
“How delightful,” Korra’ahl whispered. Initially, she was of the firm belief that the sweet ingredient was just a much beloved snack to pass the time but now it seemed to her that they found many a' use for the substance quite a lot on this planet.
A foreign idea which she was not really opposed to, not even in the teeniest slightest.
At long last the spicy paste was ready, and Asami set about getting it even more appealing than ever before, placing them into small, charming bowls along with their chopsticks, then handing a steaming bowl of good food to Korra’ahl, who took a whiff of the meal instantly.
“Oh my word...this smells absolutely delicious! And you have the audacity to say that you aren’t a good cook?!” Korra’ahl incredulously exclaimed in that melodious voice of hers.
Her lovely companion laughed up a ton. “Kimchi Nabe is one of the meals I’m really good at making, though. Everything else is either a hit or miss.”
“Well, I say you have more hits than misses in my opinion,” the celestial sweetly admitted, her voice carrying a certain genuine tone that Asami couldn’t ignore. “Perhaps we can make more of these meals together, and I will be your hmm...how do earthlings call it again..?”
“Like a ୭ ˚taste tester. ᵎᵎ ?ིྀ ” Asami air-quoted with an amused grin.
The alien snapped her fingers with a flourish. “Exactly that!”
Yet another hearty laugh was emitted from the other end as Asami coolly took the warm bowl out of Korra’ahl’s hands. “Alrighty taste tester, could you be a dear and help me switch off the stove whilst I take these over to the living room? I figured we could eat in there for a change tonight.”
Korra’ahl gave the woman a nod. “On it.”
After Asami carried the tray of their dinner towards the living room space, the now lone princess standing turned her attention to the stove, its dancing bluish-orange flames catching her eye at once.
Rather curiously, she held a finger near the flame’s vicinity, and as she did so, she felt a little spark course through her veins, the feeling almost electric, so to speak. Almost lethargic at first, it was an itsy sliver of faintness, but she could still feel the energy nonetheless. With boba eyes going comically wide with extreme caution, she took a step back, effectively flipping the device's switch off ᯓreal swiftly, and got the flippity heck out of there before any mishaps of any kind occurred.
Clock ticks after, she made her back way into the living room, as Asami was just about to hungrily dig into her own meal, and the woman gave her a questioning glance. “What took you so long?”
“I thought I felt something...straight from the stove,” Korra’ahl revealed to her. “Like a crackling spark.”
Much darker brows shot up in alarm. “A spark? What..from the plug?”
A shake of floofy curls ensued soon then and there. “No, right from the fire itself.”
“That’s pretty strange. Huh, maybe it has something to do with the currents. I’ll have a much closer look at it later.”
Accepting Asami's sharp knowledge of all things regarding human's electricals, so on and so forth as what was best in this situation, a satisfied Korra'ahl just took a comfortable seat beside her, reaching for her own bowl of yummy food. She herself tried a big bite, nearly moaning at its savory taste.
“Mmm this is so good!” she mumbled mid-chew. Right there, it was as if she changed her views on that bit all of a sudden because blue eyes went as wide as dish saucers when she swallowed said meal, leading her to let out a series of coughs instantly.
Asami looked her way in concern. “Oh no...is it too spicy?”
Here she is talking about spicy??! At that dire moment, the wordless alien legit felt that poor noodle of hers burn like it was seared on a stake!
“Very much, umm speaking of spices...what spice is this exactly?” Korra'ahl managed to rasp with a profuse nod. "Just to be clear."
“Only a teaspoon of some garlic, not so much as a tablespoon helping of extra herbs, and parsley-”
A strained cough interrupted that bared thought mid-sentence yet again until something else pretty unexpected happened.
“Uhh...woahh Korra’ahl,” Asami started, her eyes wide in utter disbelief. “You’re purple!”
⠷࣪˖ ִֶָ🍲་༘🥢ྀི. . .ᐣ.ᐟ
Korra’ahl clutched her violet flushed skin in abject fear. “Oh spirits! Really?”
“Yeah but it’s just on your face," her housemate muttered slowly, eyes going rounder than a saucer by the second. "Like right all...over.”
One beyond embarrassed sound escaped the alien woman's being like a bell chime being rung far too many times to count. Korra'ahl herself almost appeared to be frightened at the new development on the very err...facial perspective of things. “Asami oh no, I feel like my entire body is heating up!!”
“Shit. Listen, maybe you’re allergic to something in the dish? That might be the probable cause.”
“Allergic?” Korra’ahl repeated in a confuddled fashion. “Whatsoever does that mean?”
“Errr...sort of a weakness to something in particular,” Asami explained further, not a second spared. Bit by bit, she managed to scooch a lil' more nearer to Korra’ahl on the couch with her plate in hand, greens examining a flushed tan face quite closely.
Forgetting her current skin flare up for just a minute second, her starry guest chose to rise a questioning brow. “So what exactly am I allergic to? And how in the flipping heck do I get rid of it??”
“I—I don’t know!” hysterical herself, Asami just abouts racked the shelves, noodles and what have you in her brain for any possible answer. “Maybe the garlic or shrimp. Does your face still feel like it's burning up?”
A firm nod emanated from curls, and Korra'ahl gently prompted Asami to feel a brightened part of her cheek. As soon as the woman felt its smooth surface with her index finger, she drew her hand back almost as fast.
“Oh fuck! It’s like your face is on fire.”
Like a fraidy cat let out of its bag of goodies and such so, Korra’ahl held her upper half again in a bit of a blue funk, a worried look gracing her features. “Does it look bad?”
“Not at all.” Asami tilted her head a lil' steer to its immediate side. “Damn...you kinda look like a cutesy beetroot right now. Pretty charming enough in my eyes if you ask me.”
Princess Korra'ahl started to hyperventilate despite her complimentary words of reassurance, and in doing so, fanned at her face in an equal show of dramatics. To be rendered beet purple forever sounded very much like a bad type of yeesh in her own naked eyes and ears, definitely not charming at all like her beloved companion had so uttered, but she needed to hear it once more from Asami's lips just to confirm her second thoughts. “Cute in a good way or a bad way??”
Greens appeared bewildered bit by air byte, verging on the realms of acute laughter. "There's a bad way to looking cute, are you so sure about that princess...?"
Bell chimes of fear followed next time around from Korra'ahl's self-conscious end whilst she poked a finger into soft ribs, and with how flushed she looked, it did make a pretty funny sight. Very rib-tickling even. Almost borderline satirical to a freaky-tee.
⤷ ゛ASAMI, COME ON♬.ᐟ ˎˊ˗
Considered speechless for the period being, the older woman just held her breath in contemplative mode. Honest to heaven, her starry-eyed housemate still looked oh-so out of this world beautiful even though her face was nearly as purple as a ripened beetroot at that moment. Sheesh! “Alright, alright. Umm...obviously in a good way. Even better, I'll say the best way!" she answered with an shaky laugh, nervous of Korra'ahl's upcoming reaction.
“But I don’t want to look like an uprooted beet for the rest of my life!” the confuddled princess whined in much needed scoops of languish.
One more sputtered string of laughter emitted from Asami. "L-listen, I did say it was the best way!"
ೃ࿐Long feigned sniffleeeee...🍶⋆⑅ ᩙ.ᐣᧆ
“Hey, hey - calm down for just a sec, okay?" the inventor cut in gently. "Let me go check if I’ve got any milk, or yogurt to help. Maybe even ice,” she eventually said, getting up. “...whichever one works in this odd case.”
“Alrighty, I’m a-okay...I'm calm,” Korra'ahl muttered as she took steady breaths in, and out with one hand flat on her chest, more to herself than anybody else. "Totally not freaking out right now."
Mere seconds after Asami left on a mission of the unknown into the warmth of their adjoining kitchen, a rather puzzled Korra'ahl picked up her bowl and inspected the food inside, taking a little cautionary whiff of its steam. And just as soon as she did, she felt something stir up within her, something quite strange.
Swifter than moonshine, Korra'ahl placed the food down back, and began to take more wary breaths, in and out they went, almost as if she wanted to let something rip right out of her.
A few minutes thenwards, Asami got back with an ice pack and a minitub of yogurt in hand. Taking in the new developments, she silently observed the princess’ change of outward demeanor in astute concern. “Uhh Korra...what’s going on now?”
The longest wheeze ever heard to womankind left Korra’ahl's lips whilst she made weak points to the bowl of noodles in front of her. “This!!! Just try to perceive t-this meal, and its super strong scent! Aēe spirits my head, it’s making me feel like I almost want to ahH-hmm.”
Her worried housemate was quick to go round to Korra’ahl’s side in her aid. “Want to what..?”
"I'm trying so hard to contain it but I feel like a dam about to burst into flames," Korra cried dramatically. "I don't aHh-huh..."
Alerted to the situation, Asami gasped, hands already soothing her friend's back. "Take deep breaths with me, in...out, heyyyy Korra you're not breathing anymore, what's about to-"
Preemptively right before the kindred twosome could even blink nor breathe twice, Korra’ahl turned even more purple than ever before as she let the strange feeling out of her in the form of a big ᯓAcHooeY-choo-chOoo⋅.˳˳.⋅ˋ°•*⁀➷⭑.ᐟ the crackling, bluish-purple starbolt ricocheting off the walls, doing freakishly impressive moves by bouncing around the room in a topsy-turvy delight of unbelievably tipsy trickery that made Asami go woah for a second.
But then again, in a uno reverso switch up of penultimately whacko, upside-down fuckery, it started to head straight towards a very alarmed Asami who was certainly NOT expecting that!
"Korra'ahl, what on earth is happening???" came Asami's next mousey squeak, her entire frame that'd already inched back by now, ashook with fear.
Bamboozled past her wit's end, the poor alien could not give her a clear reason as to why. "Uhh yeah, no time to think about what is or what isn't—I think what you need to do right abouts now is D.U.C.K, and fast!!!"
︶ ⏝ ︶ ୨୧ ⋆.˚Q U A C K 𓅰⋆.˚︶ ⏝ ︶
Utterly surprised at the bolt's change in course, Asami practically bursted forth with a resounding shriek and ducked out of its way, the shiny, varicolored bolt of energy missing her by just a frigging noodly string of that moonglade hair.
At long last and thank heavens for that, the silly starbolt skrrrting off the walls finally hit something else, however—its destination being the less than fortunate curtains right behind her, searing a hole clean through one of the curtain’s fabric.
Periodically relieved of her inner battle of turmoil at both their not-so-ideal sitches, the princess gave the woman an apologetic look. “Hah...um so sorry about all that. I take full responsibility for the unfortunate frying you just experienced.”
With eyes going wider than a ball socket, the affected Asami got off the floor, and dusted herself, her companion's apology left on read awhile. “Oh my goodness! What the heck was THAT?”
Barred at a loss of any available words whatsoever due to the chain of shocking events, the seated alien's shoulders went lift-off into a shrug. “I-I don’t know! It just happened when I-”
“When you sneezed," Asami cutely finished for her, their minds in a locked link. "It kinda looked like a bolt of light.”
Baby blues blinked in a trice. “Precisely.” Thence, said gems of eyes travelled even lower, Asami's in tow right alongside for the ride. “This has never occurred to me before.”
From where she stood gracefully akimbo, Asami quickly whipped up, and made an audible gasp. “Really? So this whole thing you do when you...”
“When I sneeze,” Korra’ahl came to conclusion with a heartwarming smile. “Yes. It is all new to me. But extremely fascinating, nonetheless!”
Seemed like allergies weren't the only ones on the same flowery page as of now.
“Of course it is,” Asami teased with a pearly grin of her very own. She stared down at the shattered ice pack on the floor. “Hmmph, I suppose I have to go get another one of these. And a cold drink because heaven knows how much I need one after all this...explosive excitement."
"Ouu I'd really fancy one too!"
"Gotcha. Welp, sneeze ya mucho later.”
Later zippily soon found them, because when the woman left for the kitchen once more, a mischievous idea lit up like a sparkly bulb in Korra’ahl's mindspace, leading her to let out a giggle behind her hand.
So whence the unsuspecting Asami returned just in time, yet again...she was quite surprised to see Korra’ahl prepare to pop out with another colossal sneeze, and a near cartoonish sound ensued from her side next, a scared shitless 𓏲˖Oh no࿐࿔ making its convenient debut in her hurried wake, before she fearfully ducked behind the soft solace of the nearby couch for safety, drinks-in-arms sloshing shakily in agreement.
A roar of laughter slash one half cackling sound left mocha lips as their owner clutched her stomach in pure mirth. “Oh, sweet Raa'va! I simply cannot believe you fell for it!”
Scurrying from behind the couch of calm, Asami's face was the parallel opposite as it plainly tinged red with embarrassment. “Hey! This isn’t funny, Korra. The last one almost burnt off a strand of the precious hair on my freaking head!!”
“Oopsie,” Korra’ahl said mid-cackle. “You should see the look on your face though. Absolutely hilarious!”
“Meanwhile, you still look like an uprooted beet!” Asami shot back with a wicked chortle of her own.
Quitting her bubbly bout of laughter before it would whisk her spirited being elsewhere, Korra'ahl clutched her face off the wall in a panic, her widened blues zipping around in alarm. “For reals? Where?”
Having said that, those tanned hands soon fell off her abashed face nonetheless, when she heard Asami let out another amused sound in ridicule. “Uh oh...I fell for it, didn’t I?”
Bare rose stretched into a smug grin. “Hook, line and sinker.”
“Whoopty doo...you got me there,” the mischievous alien responded with a lackadaisical huffle puff, and tirelessly sunk back onto the couch like a worn out otter.
Asami sat down beside her, and felt the now-cool surface of the celestial’s soft cheek with a caring hand. “On the brighter sida' things, at least your face isn’t heating up anymore. Was worried we might have to drive you off to the doc's but I seriously doubt they'd know what to do about beet-face syndrome in the spur of the moment.”
“Haaa, isn't that just great. Also mmn...your hand feels really cold right now,” Korra’ahl murmured adorably, already sipping on yummy apple juice. "I'd like them to linger for a lil' more longer, while my face temperature switches back to normal."
“Super-duper special courtesy of the ice pack, of course,” Asami replied in the interspace between them. In the company of a lethargic sigh, she turned back mid-sip, taking in the devastated condition of the now-destroyed parlour curtains. “Guess I have to call the drapery store for some new ones soon.”
Little bit after that was said, a drape still feeling the effects of the starbolted incident duly drooped in the zany manner of a frown and the observant empyrean sent a cheeky grin coupled with extra twinkly eyes her way. “Yes indeed. Chop chop!”
The inventor glanced in her direction with an arch expression before letting out a hearty laugh. Her cherished guest from the wide blue yonder really was something else, wasn’t she?
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──