(Video)

[pupp3t]

[Li is reluctant to do this. Starting social interactions is not her forte even in the best of times, and this is very assuredly not that. Regardless, she turns on the video, takes a breath, and steels herself to try to communicate clearly and concisely.]

Hello. My name is Ya-Jing Li. Li, if you want to be formal. I'm new here and I... [what's a way to put this that doesn't make her sound dim-witted?] I'm a bit lost on what to do. Usually I operate with more of a plan than this. I think it would be wise to develop some kind of training regime so I can maintain my combat capabilities, but I'm unsure what to do with the rest of my time here. Suggestions would be appreciated.

And if anyone remembers me from the, um, dream, from before? I would like to hear from you, just to know you made it out alright.

Comments

[pupp3t]

[Li has no idea how she'll go about earning money here. Missions, likely, and... nope. That's as far ahead as her vision of the future extends. Really, a good part of why this all isn't inducing panic in her is that she can't even imagine how things might go wrong when she can't even really picture everything going right. In a way this is just as dreamlike as the dream itself was, unreal and new.

Li can cook. She's not an expert at it, but she can manage, and sometimes post-mission her body won't let her sleep until she's had protein. Eggs and rice is her go-to. In a pinch, she can make a few soups, which is greatly appreciated by her fellow Lis, who collectively have maybe five dishes they can make. Mostly, though, their handlers bring food for them and maintain a certain level of vitamin balance in their diet for them. It's one of those things she's never had to think about before.

The arts here seem varied in the way art is varied back home. That makes sense, since no one place is a monolith. Li wonders what other kinds of things are here - are ceramics a big thing here? Do the geometric patterns extend to other things made here, like blankets or clothing? She can see herself liking a geometric diamond patterned blanket. That would be a nice way to experiment with having something that grounds her, too, see if she can make connections with new objects like she'd had with her Gunayin pendant.]

I've had milk teas. They're not very popular in Northeastern China, but they're much more popular down south. Simple teas without other things are still common back home, we're just seeing a lot of people opt to buy tea ingredients from small farmers instead of big companies. Those are the expensive ones, the blends that are bits of jasmine from Jiangsu and white tea from Liaoning and lemon rinds from Fujian. I've never had those, but I love the way some of those fancy ones smell. It smells like home. My old home, I mean. [When she was still called Xiaohu and her hair hit her waist, and the world made sense.]

I admire Mikey's attitude. I try to try everything, too. I don't think it's possible to really know if you'll like something without trying it. I had bear paw's stew last New Year and it was really good, even though I didn't think it would be.

[The smell put other people off of it. Li, though, was too polite to be rude to the handler who'd gotten them something nice for the holiday, and instead sat down to dutifully eat her bowl without hesitation.]

Maybe that booth in the corner? I like the warmer lighting there, and I like that it's not visible from the windows. [In the event someone from home arrives, she needs to be able to avoid their gaze. This will definitely help.]

[purplexing]

[A way to obtain a steady source of income is something Donnie's been trying to think of as well. The mission didn't pay too bad but it's only so much, and if he wants to get some tech put together then he definitely needs something more. It's so very annoying when there's so much cool stuff and you just don't have the funds to splurge. Maybe he'll just have to worm his way into the good graces of some equally indulgent technophile until he gets a proper foothold on how the place works.]

Sounds like something Mikey would definitely be into. He's all about quality ingredients. Bear... Huh. I have never thought to wonder what bear tastes like, but then they are not exactly common in the city.

I'm not sure anyone would enjoy any smells that remind me of home though, I mean, we live in the sewers so...

[True things didn't smell as bad as they could be in the area they'd settled in, but the sewers are still sewers.]

Looks good. Let's do it. [He picks up the tray for them, giving Li a nod to start heading over to the booth in question.]

[pupp3t]

[As someone without any hobbies she's been allowed to be interested in, let alone indulge in, Li doesn't require money in the way most people do. She isn't sure she'd be able to decide on something to buy even if she did have something she wanted to get. But that, like many things, is something she can learn to do in time.]

I don't know as much as I'd like about what's a quality ingredient and what isn't. I guess that's something I'll learn more if I keep learning to cook. [Bear is... a lot. She tries to explain it succinctly.] It's chewy and savory, and tastes a little like smoke. People either like it or they hate it.

...fair point. Did you have some kind of air purifier to make it smell better, at least?

[Li leads him over to the booth, sitting down and looking around. Some degree of being on-guard is mandatory for her, it seems, but no one she recognizes is here. For once, she can relax, if only briefly. She's safe here. It took going to an alien world unexpectedly but she's finally found a place where she can just exist peacefully. It's a thought that warms here before the tea is even poured.]

[purplexing]

[Li would certainly have plenty of opportunity to explore such options. A definite upside of being in a new place is that there's practically no end of things to discover. Donatello's looking forward to really digging deep into magitech despite being sure he'd invented it and just called it something different, but hey.]

Honestly I don't either, but I figure if you're getting ingredients straight from the people who put the work into growing and developing it, then you're getting some top quality simply because they put the extra effort into things over something mass-produced.

[And then he gets sidetracked as he tries to imagine how bear would be for a pizza topping...]

Huh? Oh, I've installed all sorts of things to make our lair home but there's only so much of the sewer you can get out of well, the sewer. It's really not that bad once you get used to it.

[He can tell she's still wary, but after the things she's told him, Donnie can't find it odd. He'd keep an eye out to but he doesn't know who or what he'd be looking for, so he just follows her lead, setting down the tray once Li seems satisfied that everything is clear. Once he's seated, he turns over the empty cups and puts her donut plate in front of her before setting his before himself. He hesitates at getting the teapot.]

Ah, you want to do the honors or..?