Cindi strides in with a big communal pot and a variety of cleaning supplies. "OK Dusti, today is going to be hard work, I will NOT go easy on you just because you woke up We have a lot of chores around the house to do and-" She stops dead in her tracks and tenses up a bit when she sees the two of you hugging. You cant quite pinpoint the expression on her face, but it is definitely one that is trying to conceal something. Before you can ask, Sasha springs over to Cindi and latches on tho her muscular calve.
The Militant woman seems to be taken aback by this and stammers, trying to be nice, but you can tell she's not comfortable with casual conversation, especially with little girls: "S-Sasha, let go this inst --- erm, can you please let go of me?"
Sasha promptly complies, still giddy with excitement "Cindi Cindi, Mommy's awake and she's teaching me how to be a good mommy like her!"
Cindi does a double take at the non existence pile of dirty dishes in the sink and mumble under her breath "It took me like three days to put a dent in that monster how did they..." She regains herself rather quickly though and looks back to you, her gaze causing you to stand a little bit straighter on your still new paw-toes "Well, I guess you have some talent after all, but all that means is that we can get right to dinner". She just drops the cleaning supplies where she stood, and you cringe internally. You want to tell her to put them back were she found them, but you know better than to antagonize her in your first meting. You rub your paw hands together and follow her to the stovetop. She places down the heavy object with all the tact of a demolition worker. Cindi gives you the lowdown of all the food they had in the settlement, both leftovers from Earth and food scavenged and farmed in the general area. You stroke your doggy chin, forgetting that you dont have male stubble anymore, but the sleek fur works just as well, thinking that you have a pretty decent ingrediant pool. But to your suprise, Cindi says "yah its not much, so we are just going to put it all in my trusty pot and make a soup. Ill run you through the basics".
From behind you two, Sasha whines "Aw, everything soup again, but we always have that and its ichy"
Cindi snaps back "Hey I can't help that we ain't got much! and besides, this infernal thing" She lightly kicks the oven "Burnt the boar last time I tried it. Its better boiling everything to mush than risking it raw or a fire. Also, watch your mouth, that's rude." Cindi then goes back to what she was doing. She picks up a kitchen knife and an onion. She holds the knife in her hand like a machette and starts cutting the Vegtible into rough, uneven chunks.
You pipe in "did you add stock or water when you roasted the boar?"
"What?"
"You have to put boar in a liquid to stop it drying out too much. O! Also, adding some sauteed vegitibles to the mix can really enhance its flavor." You take out another onion with a big smile, and with practiced ease, even in your new foreign body, you get to work. Halving it, cutting parallel striations 7/8ths of the way up its body, leaving a little strip of flesh connecting all the stands, then finally cutting perpendicularly to get perfectly cubed onion bits. Going through these motions give you a comforting sense of nostalgia, calling back to when you made Shepard's pie for the AV club. "We could also make a cassarole, roasted brusselsproats, deviled eggs, stuffing, and definitely an apple pie... Your right! if I am going to make a good first impression on everyone I Have to start right now!"
"Yay! does that mean everything soup is cancelled?" said Sasha lifting her tiny paws up
You remember about Cindi's plan for soup and look abashedly towards your supposed guide. Ears flattened and regretting your little excited outburst. Cindi looks even more shocked than she did before, her canine eyes wide and her muzzle slightly agape in speechlessness. "Today has been a series of surprises I guess." She looks down at her ravaged onion and then your perfectly prepared one, before looking at her barely apparent baby bump with some noticeable dismay. "It seems you have a lot more experience with this kind of stuff than me... And roasted boar does sound good right about now instead of soup... I have some things I need to attend to. I'l leave dinner in your hands since you seem more than qualified for the job."
Before you can apologies for accidentally upstaging her, she swivels around on her paws and marches out the room.
You fiddle with the strings of your pink apron hoping that she didn't take too big of a blow to her Ego.
You are drawn out of your own thoughts by Sasha. "Can I help you with dinner two Mommy?" Your heart melts again and tell her "sure honey, but let mommy take care of all the dangerous stuff." She gestures in a mock salute and your attention is focused again to your wifely duties.
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