Aelfrida carries the dishes slowly and carefully into the cookery, a very stern look on her face as she concentrates on not dropping them. There is some shuffling in the cookery, then a loud splashing of water and slight crashing sound. She calls out, "I'm all right!"
Jessandra shakes her head and moves toward the kitchen. "Washing up is one of the few things in a kitchen I'm not hopeless at. I'll help."
Aelfrida hastily grabs clothes to mop up the water she's splashed on the floor when she dropped the dishes into the basin. "There was already water in there." She grins sheepishly at Jessandra.
Jessandra chuckles. "Well, that'll make part of this easier, then. I'll just have to remember to fetch more later, so there is again."
Aelfrida chuckles, "I'm ... not great in the cookery." She looks a little rueful, "Good at buliding cookerys though!"
Jessandra grins to her. "That's a fine thing to be able to do! About all I can do in one is clean up. But I can do that."
Aelfrida nods, "I really should get back up and rest. I've been doing too much the last couple of days. Thank you for being willing to help with this lot!" She gestures vaguely at the dishes in the basin.
Jessandra nods. "Thank you for lugging them in here. Yes, go rest. There'll be plenty to do soon enough."
Aelfrida smiles warmly at Jessandra and says, "G'night!" She turns and heads up the stairs, speaking to Honeycake, "You'd be some help, licking the plates clean, but I think folks wouldn't like that much."
Eydia looks around the table as everyone leaves, which leaves her contemplating what to do. She'd pick up her mug, since that was still in her hand as dishes were collected, and she'd lift herself up from the bench. She'd nod to those she passed, making her way into the kitchen.
Eydia looks over to Jess, raising a brow; "Are you washing up?"
Jessandra nods. "That's the plan. I'm useless at cooking, and feel bad leaving a mess."
Eydia smiles, wafting her mug around a little; "Well, they missed one." She'd chuckle, moving over toward her; "I can help, if you want?" She'd pause, shaking her head; "That's not me saying you can't do it on your own, just, if you wanted an extra pair of hands."
Jessandra smiles to her. "I'll not object. I'm not that stupid!" She chuckles.
Eydia blinks, raising a brow; "Did I accidentally call you stupid? Oh, right, I didn't mean to.." She'd awkwardly rub the back of her neck, yet outstretches her hand holding the mug to place it in the basin.
Jessandra laughs, shaking her head as she accepts the mug and puts it in the water. "No, you didn't! But I would be if I said no."
Eydia sighs, shaking her head. She'd chuckle, smiling a little at her. She'd move to stand beside her at the basin, removing her gloves and placing them in the pouch on her hip, before looking to Jess; "What works best? You wash and I could dry, or do we both wash and then both dry?"
Jessandra ponders briefly. "If you'd get water in the other bucket, I can wash and you can rinse, and we can both dry after that?"
Eydia nods; "That works for me." She'd now be looking around for a bucket, since she initially assumed she would have to go to the stream to fill it up. On the other side of the roaster, tucked by the table, she'd notice a bucket already filled. She'd point at it, before picking it up, and bringing it slowly back around.
Jessandra nods with a chuckle. "Well, that explains why this one already had water, I suppose. Preparing ahead! Good."
Eydia smiles, submerging her hands into the water. She'd then look over to Jess expectantly, awaiting for her to pass over the start of the washed crockery.
Jessandra gets some cleaned up enough to pass over, and starts doing so. Thanks to the stacking order when brought in, that's a few mugs first before she gets down to plates.
Eydia takes what is passed over to her, submerging them into the bucket to rinse, and then placing them to the side. She repeats this, eventually looking over to Jess as they'd get a rhythm going with the action; "So, I assume you helped with the battle?"
Jessandra nods, flushing a bit. "I did, though I don't feel like I did all that well. It was too hard to see where I was needed most." She sighs.
Eydia quirks a brow; "How do you mean?"
Jessandra sighs again. "It was... well, there going to be signals, and I'd run for where the right whistles were, but... the orcs that made it into the stockade were too sudden. And I found myself chasing after too many, in different directions. It worked out, thanks to a literal dogpile on one of them, but it was... way too messy and close."
Eydia frowns a little; "You weren't injured or anything, were you?" She'd give her glance, checking for any visible ones herself, before looking down into the water of the bucket.
Jessandra shakes her head. "Spear, shield, and gambeson. I was fine. So was everyone else stationed within the stockade, which was... mostly the healers' tent, and a few guards and archers. Most of the fighting, and the casualties, were outside. I guess my traps helped out there, but I couldn't really tell from what I got to see."
Eydia nods; "Well, that is a good thing. That you weren't hurt, I mean." She'd then nod again; "Oh! I heard about the traps, but only through talk, so I hadn't realised it was you who was in charge of that."
Jessandra nods as she scrubs and hands more items across, still working, but getting close to done. "Mmhm. Trap-making is what I do. Well, most of what I'm best at, anyway." She chuckles softly, with a fond smile. "Tree-Walker started calling me Trap-Wright. Said she doesn't like using people's names even when it's our custom."
Eydia smiles back, reaching over the bucket to place the crockery further away, since she had stupidly placed all them too close to her and she didn't want to start piling them up; "Trap-Wright has a ring to it, but I like Jess too. Which would you prefer?" She'd chuckle, looking to her expectantly.
Jessandra shrugs. "I'm fine with either, at least here. It's... I don't really fit in right anywhere any more. Not after the battle. But maybe a little better here, these days."
Eydia frowns, shaking her head; "Why do you think that? I'm sure that's not the case!"
Jessandra shakes her head, finally finding the last few things in her bucket and finishing up, handing them across. "It's... well, Marney - have you met her? Archer - says it's because I've changed, and it's more that I don't know how I fit now." She ponders a bit. "She's older than Tree-Walker. Maybe as old as Hound-Friend. Has a girl about my age, anyway."
Eydia rinses the final pieces in the bucket, laying them out afterward. As she did so, she incline her head as Jess spoke, and admits; "I don't really know anyone here, so, I don't know her. I didn't even know most of the people around the table, so you probably fit here more than I do." She'd smile reassuringly at her, before removing her hands from the bucket, playfully flicking some of the water from her hands at her, laughing as she did.
Jessandra chuckles, shaking her head and wiping at the splatters. "They do make me feel more at home than I'd expected. I'm just not sure how... well, how much feeling unsettled is going to last." She shrugs as she moves the bucket aside for the moment and finds the drying cloths.
Eydia looks to her robe, and then to her hands, shrugging a little as she wiped them on the fabric. She'd then move her bucket, putting some of the washed crockery in its place; "If you have somewhere to stay, and feel welcomed here, what do you have to feel unsettled about?"
Jessandra sighs. "It's... working, and working with people, and wondering... well. I guess I'm unsettled about me. And about how to not be that way."
Eydia nods; "And you don't know how to change that?"
Jessandra shakes her head as she starts wiping dishes with her cloth, and stacking them. "No. I don't. And I don't feel like I even know who to ask. Or, well, more like the ones I'd like to ask are too hurt or don't have the time."
Eydia nods, looking to the crockery, and then to Jess; "Is there another cloth?" If so, she would have held her hand out to accept it, before she'd carry on; "They might make time if they know you need it. Have you asked them?"
Jessandra hands one over, then shakes her head, flushing some. "I... well, Hound-Friend's had his chieftain duties, until know, and is busy with Leohna... I was going to ask Tree-Walker, but she's too hurt, and... umm. And I feel stupid about needing to ask." That last trailed off, but was still audible.
Eydia smiles as she passed the cloth. She then takes a plate into her hands and begins drying, yet looks to Jess as she did; "Well, I don't know if I can help, but perhaps I can listen? But, of course, you don't have to." She'd hesitate, placing the plate down before taking another; "You don't know me, so I wouldn't be offended if you didn't."
Jessandra smiles weakly as she keeps working. "I don't know what your experience is with that sort of combat. And I know they have that. That's really why I was hoping to ask them."
Eydia shakes her head; "I don't, since I farm. So, it's probably best waiting to ask them."
Jessandra nods. The drying goes pretty fast, as usual. "Thank you for even wanting to listen, though. That... that helps, some."
Eydia nods, placing the last few pieces of crockery on the table, stacking them up as she went. She'd smile; "It's alright." She'd hesitate, wiping any excess water on the cloth she dried with, but it wouldn't be anything significant; "Even though I don't have much I need to do tomorrow, since my role here hasn't been established yet, I should probably head up to sleep."
Jessandra nods, reaching to take the cloth, intending to hang both of them near enough the fires to dry. "I should, too, but I'll dump these and get fresh water first. Sleep well, Raven."
Eydia leans over to hand her the cloth, smiling; "You too, when you do sleep, Jess." She'd then turn, making her way upstairs to her room.
