Devouring Knowledge (attn Aishe)

Aishe, hands tucked into the pockets of her sensible LL Bean windbreaker, nodded agreeably to Ana. "All right, Strange," she said, tossing her long hair out of the way as the wind whipped it into her face. "One future shopping trip for warm clothes, check!"

She looked both ways, but she wasn't horribly familiar with this section of town yet. "Soup is fine with me." Something light and warm would be perfect on a day like today. It was afternoon, just fading to evening, a bit earlier than Aishe had been getting up. She'd had a snack back at Liefde, but another one would go a long way toward keeping her sated till midnight.

"Something about soup on windy days." She turned into the wind, letting it blow her hair straight back, until it brought tears to her eyes with the chill. "It's the perfect temperature for it, don't you think?"

"Well, you're the one wearing a windbreaker, you've got to be freezing." Soup sounded like a great idea. Warming, tasty, variety. Ana saw Aishe look both ways, as if she was not sure where she was. Taking a bit of forward friendly liberty, she took Aishe's hand and wrapped it around her elbow. "I started out with the hot dog vendor on the east side of the library. Worked my way around the building," she rambled as she walked with the exotic beauty on her arm, "one side at a time. I've gotten one block out, but haven't gotten farther past that nor eaten much from the north or west sides. The soup place has been drawing me back, they just have so many choices. Stompin' Steakhouse Chili, New England or Boston Clam Chowder, Potato Au Gratin, Italian Wedding, Pasta Fagioli, oh, so many choices. Their Chicken Noodle leaves a little to be desired."

They stopped at a crosswalk and moved when traffic allowed. "They get bread from a nearby Italian bakery. SO good. They even have bread bowls!" Ana veritably bounced on her feet as she climbed the curb.

Aishe shrugged, comfortable in her windbreaker. "It's one of those microfiber polarsomething or other blends," she explained. "I don't even feel the wind in it."

She smiled at Ana, placing her gloved hand companionably on the other woman's arm. They made their way across the roads, Aishe following Ana's direction. She listened to Ana with a relaxed, open expression. It was a little funny to find someone who apparently appreciated good food like she did... it was almost like getting a taste of what she must sound like sometimes.

"You know, it always seems strange to me, to have Italian Wedding soup when there's no Italian Wedding anywhere in sight," she remarked. "I don't suppose they have a good Thai lime chicken soup, do they?"

That sounded good to her. But Aishe was an adventurous type when it came to food, and would try just about anything once.

"Ooooh! Sounds technical, and exquisite!"

Ana smirked at looked out the corner of her eye at the woman next to her. She couldn't discern features, unfortunately, but she imagined a similar twist of her companion's features when she joked about the Italian Wedding soup. "I remember seeing some Thai offerings," she mentioned, "But I don't know if it was lime chicken, and I haven't gotten that far through the menu yet."

Even in the supreme windy chill, she felt her cheeks reddening. That she would even plan on completing her half-jokingly self-promised quest to eat one bowl of every soup on the menu... was both awe-inspiring and funny! She giggled to herself as she opened the door for Aishe. "As you are my guest, after you ma'am."

Aishe gave Ana an exaggerated curtsey, holding out the hem of her oversized windbreaker as if it were a skirt. Stepping inside the restaurant, she was pleased to see it looked quite casual; something like a bistro or cafe. The inside was light, not dim and intimate, and the people sitting there seemed to be having lighthearted conversations.

Aishe held up two fingers for the hostess and followed the woman to the table, pulling off her gloves as they went. She wasted no time in picking up the menu, her green eyes searching for her current craving until she located it with an "aha!" and pointed it out to Ana.

"Right there! I love it, if they make it properly. I'll order it and you can try some, if you like," she offered.

Sharing food was big in her family; she didn't think twice about it. Every time she and her parents went out they made it a point to order something different, and when the dishes hit the table the first thing that happened was they all exchanged a bit between each plate. It was only natural for Aishe, then, to offer the same to whoever she was with.

Ana giggled at Aishe's curtsey and responded with one of her own, letting go of the door momentarily but grabbed it quickly.

She did like the atmosphere - it was more person-friendly than it was couple-friendly - but she hadn't been a patron long enough to have the hostess recognize her.

Seated, she'd barely picked up the menu when Aishe pointed out her choice - the Thai lime chicken. "I'd love to try some, if you don't mind. My dad is - was - used to be big on holding a spoon or fork-full of something across the table so I could taste it. So, you're more than welcome to taste my... Hang on..." Ana flipped to the second page and counted down the rows of soups. "Some of my dill-topped parmesan and meatball chowder." She arched an eyebrow, then raised her gaze to Aishe. "Sounds positively deadly. From an overly luscious, artery-clogging point of view. Any bread? I like their fresh rye, but the multi-grain wheat is good, hot with butter. Stay away from the pumpernickel, though, it's really dry for some reason."

Ana shucked her jacket and stuffed it into the corner of their both. "This is my treat, by the way," she said, touching Aishe's hand to get her attention, "since I asked you out." She smiled sincerely, unblushingly.

"Parmesan and meatball ... chowder?" Aishe did a double-take at her menu and then shrugged and looked back up at Ana with a grin. "Well, all right. Oh, and whole grain wheat bread sounds lovely."

She removed her windbreaker as Ana was taking off her coat and did the same, stuffing it into a corner and tossing her purse on top of it. Ana's touch to her hand made her look up. When Ana let her know she was treating, Aishe's initial reaction was to object and at the very least go dutch, but she bit her lip and stifled it. Ana's face was quite sincere and Aishe was reluctant to hurt or insult her by refusing.

"Your treat, then, O Finder of Dusty Tomes," she intoned, "but next time is my turn."

The waitress appeared to get their drink order, but Aishe tackled her for food as well since they'd decided on what to get. She ordered a cherry coke and her lime chicken soup, and waited for Ana to order.

Shrugging, Ana replied, "Well, it's next on the menu alphabetically. I told myself when I started coming here I would have one bowl of every single soup on their menu. I figure the offerings will change, so I kept a copy of last week's menu and I check the date at the bottom of the next-to-last page to make sure I'm not missing any new styles." She blinked with a realization. "But if they take a style off, I either need to hurry and get here to see if they have any left in the back, or can make it fresh, or just never try it. So, dill-topped chowder is next."

Nodding at herself with the logicality of it, she grinned at Aishe's new title for her. "Deal."

Ana also placed her order. "Dill-topped parmesan and meatball, two mini wheat loaves, warm, butter, and a Sprite please."

Ana explained the size of the loaves as the waitress took away their menus. "They're about the size of two fists thumb-to-thumb. Quite filling." She leaned on the table, her chin in her left palm. "Since you're obviously not from Nachton, what brings you to the city other than research?"

Aishe chuckled at Ana's fervent adherence to her menu-sampling plan. "Now that's determination," she said with admiration.

The question of why she was in Nachton was bound to happen sooner or later, but Aishe had been dodging the issue for a while and was actually growing used to it.

"Oh, don't let the accent fool you," she said easily. "I've never managed to get rid of it, but my family actually moved here from Egypt when I was a teenager. After college I went to Egypt to do some studies with my professor, and when we returned I decided to relocate someplace where I might be able to find work and continue my studies. I suppose I could have gone to DC, or to New York, but Nachton was the closest to home."

Then she shrugged. "Not that it ended up mattering. My parents have since decided their duty to procreation has been fulfilled and moved back to Egypt. I like it here, though. How about you? What brings you here?"

The waitress brought their drinks, and two warm rolls that smelled absolutely divine, and Aishe occupied herself with that as she looked at Ana with interest.

In response to Aishe's comment about moving when she was a teenager, she said, "Oh. Well if you have a crowbar in your pocket I'd like to pry my leg from my mouth. And your accent's not so noticable, really. It's quite mellifluous. You should come to our weekend childrens' reading times, you'd be a great hit! We have this one lady with a wonderful British accent. Her sessions are always packed."

She giggled at the "duty to procreation" comment while picking at her roll. "Both of my parents have passed; my mother when I was eleven and my father just a year ago. I had come down to Nachton back in December to visit and possibly live with a friend, but due to certain events, that never happened." Ana had accepted this only recently, but she knew now that life was what you make of it. She wasn't going to dwell on what might have been, and instead focus on what would be. "I was offered a research job out of the blue by a woman I met - actually at the same time I met Fallon - and took the libary job for a steady income. Found a place to live over at the University, and now I'm building a life here. New York was nice and all, but I never had much luck with anything except going to work, coming home, and living a sedentary life. It's nice to be..."

The waitress had returned with a tray. She set both steaming bowls of soup in front of the women, as well as a brown dish of butter. Looking down to move her roll, Ana realized she'd nibbled through most of it while speaking. "When you get a chance, could we please get some extra napkins and two more rolls?"

The woman nodded and moved away, and Ana looked down into her bowl. The concoction was a steamy brown-orange conglomeration with flecks of chopped dill on the surface. Arching an eyebrow, she looked at Aishe, made a show of looking into her companion's bowl, then looked at her face. "Care for a taste?"

"Absolutely." Aishe exchanged tastes with Ana, but she had to say she preferred her soup better... for one, the color was certainly more attractive. It was a chicken base with a little bit of spice in it, some coconut milk, and a tangy lime flavor. Onion, mushrooms, and bits of tofu floated around along with sprigs of Thai basil. It was a very good soup for a restaurant that didn't specialize in Thai. "I like this," she said. "Just perfect for tonight!"

She raised an eyebrow at Ana. "Brave, aren't we?" She wasn't about to make obscene noises at the table, but she didn't think she was going to be eating any meatball and dill chowder anytime soon.

"I'm glad you decided to hang around in Nachton," she said. "Between you and Fallon, I've already made good friends here. I'm happy to be here. I wasn't sure I'd really stay long, but between the folks I've met and the fact that my own family has moved away, it really helped me make up my mind."

Ana smiled and gently sipped from the spoon she swished through Aishe's bowl. The sparkly-tangy chicken was really really good. "Now see I might have to alter my order somewhat and get that next time." She winked playfully, only half serious.

Then she looked into her own bowl and noticed Aishe's lack of commenting on her own soup. "That bad? Or just strange?" she asked, indicating her bowl.

Ana dipped her soup spoon gently into the steaming liquid, catching some of the floating flecks of dill, and brought it too her lips. Tilting the spoon, she allowed her breath to go out a little to cool as she sipped it.

Wow, what a weird conglomeration. Pickly, from the dill, but sharp from the parmesan and chunky from the chowder and meatballs. There was a slight undertone of beef grease, and Ana felt the slippery smushiness of bits of over-boiled onion slide across her tongue. Swallowing it carefully, she made her decision. "It's not bad, but I'm never eating it again. Remind me to mark it off my list, please."

Arching an eyebrow as she waited for the soup to cool somewhat, she plied Aishe with questions. "I'm glad I decided to stay too. The people have been so interesting. I'll give you my cell number and work schedule before we leave. It varies from week to week, and I do enjoy helping you. Especially the look of reverence you get when handling the books."

She brought another mouthful of soup, then asked, "So why those books?"

Aishe looked at Ana and winced slightly. "Why don't you share mine with me? I'm really not hungry enough to finish all of it." She was perfectly sincere in that; she didn't mind sharing at all.

"I'd love to come back while you're there, especially since you know what I'm looking for. It those two books in particular, because studying the point at which hieroglyphics gave way to other forms of writing, like coptic, and eventually Greek and Latin. It's a good indicator of how the culture shifted. I'm no linguist, really, although I read hieroglyphics as well as the others I mentioned. I don't do the analysis... I just find the artifacts. I enjoy the languages though. There's nothing as exciting as finding a part of a culture's written record. It's like touching the people who actually lived then; in this case, my own ancestors."

Aishe took a few sips of her soup, now that it had cooled a bit.

"So what was your degree in? Did you want to work in a library? It seems like such a fun job. Myself, I thought I might apply at Meridian as well as some of the museums in the area. Meridian's such a prestigious company, I don't know that my resume is good enough to land me a job, but you know - nothing ventured, nothing gained."

"No no, that's quite alright, it's edible, it's just not something I'd eat a whole lot of on a regular basis. Thank you though!" Ana was quite sincere, and she could tell Aishe was being sincere as well. She sipped from her soup, frowned, then said, "Excuse me for a moment." Standing, she walked over to a small counter nearby, picked up a couple containers of spices, and returned. She upended the oregano, sprinkling a good amount on, then followed with some salt. "Nothing a few spices can't fix!"

Ana smiled as Aishe became animated and passionate about her chosen path. Stirring her soup idly, she related, "My own degree was in Library Information Sciences, with minors in English and Computer Information Systems. They pretty much don't let you out the door if you don't have a little bit of training in databases and such." Sampling her soup, she smiled. "Much better. Anyway, I did want to work in a library. Ever since I was a girl - wait, I'm still a girl, just older - ever since I was young, I've loved books. Worked in the school library, then after graduation I got a job as one of the assistants in the New York Public Library. Quite fun. Big place, lots of books." Using her clean spoon as a pointer she waggled it at Aishe as if to illustrate her point, "Tell you a bit of a secret." She leaned forward. "The smell of books makes me shivery. I just love smelling old books. New books. Magazines. Stuff like that. Whether it's the ink or the paper, I don't know, but I really enjoy it. Kind of like I enjoy lemon scented candles." She winked at Aishe conspiratorially.

She continued sipping soup more animatedly between sentences, as it was starting to get too cool for true enjoyment. "What's Meridian?"

Aishe raised her eyebrows. "You've never heard of Meridian? Meridian Apex Enterprises," she clarified. "It's one of the oldest dealers of artifacts and records in the country. Probably the world. They started out ages ago as a group that found and dealt in antiques, you know, to museums and collectors and the like. They do that and much more now. I know they've branched into pretty much every area of science and development, but they're still very well known for funding digs, both to their own archaeologists as well as outside archaeologists, and for their loan program. Half the artifacts in the Museum of Natural History in New York City are actually on loan from Meridian."

Aishe was excited just talking about it. It wasn't just the fact that she belonged to Evenhet and they ran Meridian, it was really a great opportunity. She had no reason to believe that her association with the clan would in any way contribute to her gaining a job with Meridian and she didn't expect it to. She wanted to be employed by virtue of her own merit.

Ana shook her head. "No, I haven't. Sheltered life, new in town. The only places I've been have been a block and a half radius from the library, the Piazza, Vesper Gardens, and the Police Department."

That's great, stewpid. Advertise that you spent an hour with a Nachton city detective getting interrogated about your dead friend. Rubbing her forehead with her thumb, she tilted her soupbowl and almost finished its contents. She idly pushed a tiny marble-sized meatball around. "Oh, and the University and University Apartments. Since I live there." She giggled.

Aishe nodded. "I've been to pretty much the same places." Then she did a bit of a doubletake. "The police department? And here I thought you were just a mild-mannered librarian. Have you been breaking the law already?"

She meant to tease just a bit, since Ana looked a little... well, off... after saying that. She certainly wouldn't pry, but she hoped Ana really hadn't been in any trouble since arriving here.

She knew the question would come up at some point of meeting a new friend. Thankfully, it wasn't as painful as the first time, that first night, but it still shoved a pang of regret, loss, and helplessness through her being. "I am just a mild-mannered librarian," she said with a comforting smile. Then the shadow built over her disposition as she continued, "One who lacks quite a few social graces, a marked misunderstanding of fashion, as well as an inability to understand certain modes of relationships... And also one whose best friend had been brutally murdered the week of December 12th."

She hadn't meant it to be so blunt. Nothing could retract what she'd said, so she instead reached for her second roll and tore it in half, then picked up a plastic butterknife and began slathering butter on it. It wasn't warm so much anymore, but she felt she needed to fill her mouth with something other than words.

And where had her much-vaunted habit of listening more than talking disappeared to?

It was right about that time Aishe decided maybe her foot would fit into her mouth after all.

She didn't respond for a moment... practicality made her take things in stride. She generally tried to think it through before responding. In this case, she stirred her soup, sipped and then looked back up at Ana.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly. "What a terrible thing to have happen. Do you want to tell me about it, or should we stop at a pharmacy, grab some nerf bats, and pound the hell out of the nearest tree?"

Ana appreciated Aishe's sympathy, and told her so. "Thank you for offering to listen, but not right now, I don't think."

They continued to eat, Ana nibbling on her roll, Aishe sipping her soup. "It" just started to pour out of her. Her mother, how she was killed. Nothing gory, just quiet, calm facts. Ana had come to terms with her mother's death years ago, but she still felt the pangs of the loss for opportunities missed, knowledge that a mother should pass on to her daughter but did not. Her teenhood without her mother, and having to rely on those of friends for certain feminine inquiries. School, college, her father's slide into the bottle, his death. Her own addiction. About having met Olivia, and how her angel in Nachton saved her from a dive into nothingness just as terminal as the one her father had explored. And then how she had found her angel, torn apart like a proverbial cartoon cat shreds a pillow.

Ana had been talking for almost half an hour. Two extra drink glasses sat in front of each woman, and a pile of balled up napkins filled Ana's empty soup bowl. She found herself staring at the white pile of fluff. "Yeah, wow. I uhm... I apologize. Maybe I shouldn't cover my entire life story in a restaurant or all at one time, because then my eyes just leak like a rusty pipe. But..." She looked up at Aishe, gratitude in her bloodshot eyes. Reaching across the table, she squeezed the exotic woman's olive-skinned hand softly. "I feel so much better than I have in the last two and a half months. Thank you."

She moved all their empty glasses together to the edge of the table, sliding their bowls next to them. "I don't have any spots on my shirt, do I? Or streaks on my cheeks? Do you have any plans for the rest of the night?"