(no subject)

[god_of_the_arena]

Work started early.

Gannicus didn't have a problem with early mornings, but sometimes they had a problem with him. Especially if he'd been drinking the night before... and he was almost always drinking the night before. But this morning had not been awful, and their small farm was developing into something more substantial now that there was actual livestock. Tending the sheep before coming here somehow made him almost chipper.

Or at least, he didn't object so much when his boss had him work the front counter after a few hours of actual butchering. At least now the technology and customs were not so alien to him, and he could get along well with most customers. And he had a mug of coffee tucked behind the register that he revisited often as he restocked the display counter.

He glanced up when the bell over the door rang.

"Good morning."

Comments

[god_of_the_arena]

The curtsy made him chuckle, and before the girl could look too offended, he said, "No one back home bowed to the likes of me."

Gannicus left the back of the display case open but peeled off the gloves he'd been using and tossed them.

"Then it is good you found us. Many have told me the same." Some of them simply didn't trust meat that had a mysterious origin - the butchers in the grocery store didn't exactly allow customers to see into the meat locker or butcher counter in the back.

[mettle_some]

She listens to his voice, the cadence of his words, and can't help a small smile.

"Forgive me for asking, but you aren't from here, are you?"

[god_of_the_arena]

Gannicus chuckled again and shook his head. "No, I come from a place called Rome, and the mountains before that. I have been here two years."

[mettle_some]

"Rome," she echoes. "I've never heard of such a place. But, I am from a rather small island, myself." Two years. She can't imagine being away from home that long, even as the possibility feels more real every day.

[god_of_the_arena]

"We may not be from the same world." That had been a hard lesson to learn here, but not as hard as he'd expected. Perhaps waking up in a strange future had softened the blow of other adjustments.

"What can I help you with this morning?"

[mettle_some]

"Oh!" She nods and turns to the meats she can see on display. "I'm looking to make a hearty stew. Do you have any recommendations?" May-ma was the proper cook in her family. She doesn't know much of cooking beyond what helps sick folk need to get better.

[god_of_the_arena]

"My man would have more say in that," he said with a quiet laugh. "Beef, mutton, lamb, pork all offer good stew cuts."

Gannicus moved over to the display case so he could show Tansy the different meats. "Pork will offer your a texture nearer to chicken," he said. "It is not as red a meat as beef or lamb and mutton, which both have proper stew cuts." He paused to gesture at the trays of pre-cut lamb and beef, in small chunks, perfect for a stew.

"I think they taste better when mixed with carrots and potatoes in a dish like that. Pork does better with other flavors."

[mettle_some]

"I think I'll have the lamb," she says after some consideration. "Do you know a good place to get some roots?" Carrots and potatoes sound lovely, she decides, and she'll pick some up on her way back to the apartment.