[It's true she has become a bit lost. A lifetime of fighting just to survive, only to go onto fighting for others' survival meant that kept Jill more than busy. She had a goal while being at Clive's side, but here, even as a Corsair, she hasn't done much fighting or booty plundering. Instead, she's spent the last few weeks living in a state of constant anxiety that she'll lose those she loves all over again, never to see them for however long, if not forever.
And baking.
Baking a lot. Baking too much, actually. But it's cheaper and more familiar of a concept to her than therapy.]
I don't understand. [Dropping down into the chair across from Kaveh, she furrows her brow.] Are you sure you're asking the right person about this?
[Jill suddenly clears her throat because she's just been absolutely called out. Not as much as she could have been considering that wad of dough she was working on is actually number ten. But what Kaveh doesn't know won't hurt him and he certainly can't use it as ammunition.]
It's rather... gracious of you to consider me, but I can't say I've ever considered baking as profession. For me, that is. As a matter of fact, I've only begun doing it in the last few weeks, so surely there's someone else much more qualified out there.
[Safe to say, Jill doesn't think she's particularly good at it as well, what with things still coming out lopsided and straight up burnt because she misjudged the baking time. She especially doesn't think she's good enough to be employed in a bakery, much less as a baker. And she's seen what Kaveh's cafe looks like. It deserves proper baked goods for its customers to buy, not whatever disasters Jill stress bakes and offloads to innocent victims for free.]
Hmm...well, let me put it this way, Jill. I'm an architect by trade--I've never run a cafe before, much less baked for it. And if it's a matter of practice, I don't mind teaching you what I know.
[He smiles gently, tilting his head.] But if I have a chance to help someone spread their wings, why wouldn't I offer it? I think you have the diligence to make talent bloom already.
But surely you had some knowledge of how things should work before you opened the cafe? I've never even held a vocation.
[And he knows why, so Jill doesn't even need to explain that part of her past. Still though, she feels like Kaveh deserves the best for his business and she can't quite picture herself as part of that. This wouldn't be cakes and treats she's shoving at friends because she's too sad to do anything else but bake. These would be goods people pay for and she can't imagine facing the embarrassment and shame of someone asking for a refund on a poor quality muffin.]
I must ask: what if my performance tarnishes your reputation? Certainly your customers have come to expect a certain level of quality. I cannot bear to be the reason behind the cafe's downfall.
I don't think you'll be any stain on our reputation. People come there to read and relax...and I don't mind if you want to give them away for free until you have more confidence. Azul might grumble a little, but there's nothing wrong with testing the watters.
I'm not hearing you say you don't want to bake for the cafe as a concept, you know.
[For Founder's sake. Jill never thought Kaveh a stupid man, but he's clearly far more perceptive than she's ever given him credit for. He's right; she hasn't said no. She's given excuse on top of excuse of why there's a better choice for a potential employee, but no outright refusal. Saying no has never been a problem for her in the past. Why can't she just say it now?]
I believe you're truly making a mistake here, Kaveh.
[Again, no refusal, just sidestepping. In truth, she has nothing to lose. Kaveh has given her an out to every one of her worries, even at the cost of losing profit. He has faith in her. Where is the faith in herself?
She looks away from him and sighs, staring at the wall as her shoulders slump in surrender.]
You have no intention of taking no for an answer, do you?
Can't take it as an answer if you never actually say it.
[Kaveh is cheerful, utterly unrepentant, because the truth is the second Jill told him she didn't want to do this, he'd drop it. But he also knows if she was going to say it, she would have already.]
The nice thing about growing up in the Nation of Wisdom is I learned pretty young that mistakes are how we learn. You can't go through life never making any mistakes, and you rarely get to choose what they are. When I'm given the opportunity...a mistake that can bring fresh blooms doesn't feel like much of mistake, don't you think?
[Her entire past is littered with mistakes, though Jill is more likely to call them atrocities. But she's never been her biggest fan and he's right, no one gets to choose their mistakes. So what if a loaf of bread comes out lumpy or a cupcake falls apart in a customer's hand? It's nothing compared to the things she's done and no one will lose their life in the midst of her baking. Maybe they'll suffer a bit of food poisoning, but with how many taverns and eateries in this world have questionable hygiene standards, who's to say that the cafe is to blame?]
I'll have to let Clive know.
[Not in order to get his permission, but to let the man know his woman is about to make her own way in life soon.]
[She hasn't visited said cafe yet, but Jill supposes that her first day of work is a good as excuse as any to pop her head in there. Though if she wasn't anxious before this conversation, she certainly is now at this new road in life.]
[Jill sits and watches Kaveh do his things, shaking her head in disbelief. How did she even get here? Taking up baking was just something she did after burning through all the books on her bookshelf because it was easier than being an adult and dealing with her feelings, now it's a job?]
Oh good. That way I won't have to walk too far to throw myself into the sea when I inevitably burn down your kitchen.
Then I'd invite you to stop by for coffee sometime, and keep making what baked goods I can myself. We currently don't offer too many, since it's just me. Mehrak takes instructions a little too literally to be trusted in the kitchen.
[Kaveh smiles a bit.] You were never under any obligation to accept, Miss Jill. But I think...that having something tangible to work on will set your mind at ease. Archons know I go crazy when I don't have anything to do.
But it's not what you're used to, and you've too much time to think, right?
[Kaveh should have been an archer, because the man never misses.]
Mehrak doesn't really need hands, but I'd need to program her for finer manipulation than she currently does, and I'm not really sure how well it would turn out.
I've been slightly worried they might take her apart to see how she works if I ever left her behind at the Roost.
[He's joking!
Probably!
Mehrak is metal and so is slightly cool to the touch, but beeps and wiggles a little in greeting at being poked.] She can understand what we say, though she doesn't really understand complex concepts...or any sort of idiom.
Only slightly? I'd be a bit more worried now that Mehrak is within five yalms of Mid's hammer on a regular basis with or without you.
[She's joking, she's joking. Jill hopes the girl has some self-restraint.]
So the saying "kill two chocobos with one stone" would be lost on her? [Another poke, but softer, more friendlier this time to see if she can get the briefcase to wiggle again.] I'll keep that in mind.
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And baking.
Baking a lot. Baking too much, actually. But it's cheaper and more familiar of a concept to her than therapy.]
I don't understand. [Dropping down into the chair across from Kaveh, she furrows her brow.] Are you sure you're asking the right person about this?
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[Counting.] Her eighth baked good of the day, I don't think I've got the wrong person?
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It's rather... gracious of you to consider me, but I can't say I've ever considered baking as profession. For me, that is. As a matter of fact, I've only begun doing it in the last few weeks, so surely there's someone else much more qualified out there.
[Safe to say, Jill doesn't think she's particularly good at it as well, what with things still coming out lopsided and straight up burnt because she misjudged the baking time. She especially doesn't think she's good enough to be employed in a bakery, much less as a baker. And she's seen what Kaveh's cafe looks like. It deserves proper baked goods for its customers to buy, not whatever disasters Jill stress bakes and offloads to innocent victims for free.]
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[He smiles gently, tilting his head.] But if I have a chance to help someone spread their wings, why wouldn't I offer it? I think you have the diligence to make talent bloom already.
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[And he knows why, so Jill doesn't even need to explain that part of her past. Still though, she feels like Kaveh deserves the best for his business and she can't quite picture herself as part of that. This wouldn't be cakes and treats she's shoving at friends because she's too sad to do anything else but bake. These would be goods people pay for and she can't imagine facing the embarrassment and shame of someone asking for a refund on a poor quality muffin.]
I must ask: what if my performance tarnishes your reputation? Certainly your customers have come to expect a certain level of quality. I cannot bear to be the reason behind the cafe's downfall.
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I don't think you'll be any stain on our reputation. People come there to read and relax...and I don't mind if you want to give them away for free until you have more confidence. Azul might grumble a little, but there's nothing wrong with testing the watters.
I'm not hearing you say you don't want to bake for the cafe as a concept, you know.
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I believe you're truly making a mistake here, Kaveh.
[Again, no refusal, just sidestepping. In truth, she has nothing to lose. Kaveh has given her an out to every one of her worries, even at the cost of losing profit. He has faith in her. Where is the faith in herself?
She looks away from him and sighs, staring at the wall as her shoulders slump in surrender.]
You have no intention of taking no for an answer, do you?
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[Kaveh is cheerful, utterly unrepentant, because the truth is the second Jill told him she didn't want to do this, he'd drop it. But he also knows if she was going to say it, she would have already.]
The nice thing about growing up in the Nation of Wisdom is I learned pretty young that mistakes are how we learn. You can't go through life never making any mistakes, and you rarely get to choose what they are. When I'm given the opportunity...a mistake that can bring fresh blooms doesn't feel like much of mistake, don't you think?
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[Her entire past is littered with mistakes, though Jill is more likely to call them atrocities. But she's never been her biggest fan and he's right, no one gets to choose their mistakes. So what if a loaf of bread comes out lumpy or a cupcake falls apart in a customer's hand? It's nothing compared to the things she's done and no one will lose their life in the midst of her baking. Maybe they'll suffer a bit of food poisoning, but with how many taverns and eateries in this world have questionable hygiene standards, who's to say that the cafe is to blame?]
I'll have to let Clive know.
[Not in order to get his permission, but to let the man know his woman is about to make her own way in life soon.]
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[He'll have to introduce her to Azul and some of the regulars...but Kaveh's sure she'll do just fine.]
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[She hasn't visited said cafe yet, but Jill supposes that her first day of work is a good as excuse as any to pop her head in there. Though if she wasn't anxious before this conversation, she certainly is now at this new road in life.]
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[He is in fact getting a piece of paper from Mehrak as he speaks. This is about to be a ridiculously pretty map given Kaveh's handwriting.]
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Oh good. That way I won't have to walk too far to throw myself into the sea when I inevitably burn down your kitchen.
[Dramatic? Yes. Let her have this moment.]
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Oh, don't be silly. [A beat.] I have fire safety systems installed.
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What if I had said no?
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[Kaveh smiles a bit.] You were never under any obligation to accept, Miss Jill. But I think...that having something tangible to work on will set your mind at ease. Archons know I go crazy when I don't have anything to do.
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Well, that and it has no hands. Quite difficult to knead bread with no hands.
[As for the rest of his speech...]
It's not that I don't have anything to do...
[Except sink into denial apparently.]
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[Kaveh should have been an archer, because the man never misses.]
Mehrak doesn't really need hands, but I'd need to program her for finer manipulation than she currently does, and I'm not really sure how well it would turn out.
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[Jill almost never curses, but she is certainly calling Kaveh everything but his name in her head. He is too good at this whole calling her out thing.
Her? She? Guess Mehrak's referred to as such like some captains refer to their ships as she. Oh well. Jill will roll with it.]
Oh... she. Apologies.
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[Mehrak makes a ^_^ face and beeps cheerfully at Jill. Hello friend!]
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No, but I wouldn't put it past Cid or Mid to figure out how to create one.
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[He's joking!
Probably!
Mehrak is metal and so is slightly cool to the touch, but beeps and wiggles a little in greeting at being poked.] She can understand what we say, though she doesn't really understand complex concepts...or any sort of idiom.
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[She's joking, she's joking. Jill hopes the girl has some self-restraint.]
So the saying "kill two chocobos with one stone" would be lost on her? [Another poke, but softer, more friendlier this time to see if she can get the briefcase to wiggle again.] I'll keep that in mind.