No one wanted to know what training looked like for an Avox. The shrewd could guess, but why waste the effort on it? So long as they served their function, silent and composed and about as distracting as the nearest appliance, able to perform on cue but otherwise unobtrusive, it was fine. Jarvis could remember every second of it, every lesson bruised into his brain- and that was all after the tongue, which when cut made a sound sort of like wet silk being torn, and that was the last real noise Jarvis could claim from that particular muscle.
It didn’t matter. Master Stark wasn’t interested in the particulars, though he was smart enough to suss them out on his own. He was also smart enough to know that he couldn’t get rid of Jarvis in the conventional way, though he was still well within his rights to administer punishment in any form he chose. That was what Jarvis had braced himself for, and the weight of those sharp eyes on him felt like it was going to crush the rest of the air from his lungs; fitting, since he’d breathed too loudly and probably ought to learn not to do that again. Ever. He’d gotten distracted in all the strangeness and forgotten himself a moment, and wow, that smile wasn’t reassuring in the least. Too many teeth, making Jarvis skitter away from the counter as soon as he had permission, peel snatched up in thin hands and carted away to the bin for disposal.
All right. It was a laughable notion, but Jarvis wasn’t laughing. He was diligently pulling out options to fulfill the request for a meal. Cooking hadn’t really been his purview either, but he could do it. The basics had been taught to him and he’d always sort of enjoyed the methodology of assembling pieces into a greater whole, following the specifications of a recipe down to the last pinch or dash or garnish. Master Stark’s appetite never tended to be large but food was stocked in impressive quantities all the same, and Jarvis quickly assembled the makings of chicken and roasted potatoes; nothing fancy, but hopefully quick, easy, and satisfying enough to chase his unusual guest back to one of the more appropriate areas of the apartment to enjoy his meal.