“If people participate in the cooking then they’d know what ingredient went into what dish.” Sasha’s lips pursed, considering. “I think we’re going to bear the brunt of the work for this one. Actually, maybe we should look into hosting the meeting off campus for extra measure. The locals can be surprisingly friendly to us lost sheep.” She made a small sweeping gesture at the crowds and bustle around them. “We probably couldn’t commandeer anybody’s kitchen, but there’s probably an eatery around that would let us use a pair of tables.”
The notion of prizes was a good one, Sasha admitted. It sweetened the pot. “What sort of prize could we offer? Money would kill the mood, and a certificate or some such is…dull. Cookware would only appeal to active cooks, which might fall flat with whatever eaters we invite. Something sweet and silly, maybe, like a wedding cake? We’ll have to think about it—and how to publicize.”
The thought of occupation, of business, was a cheering one.
“I do not break out,” Sasha declared haughtily. But a moment later her mouth turned wry, ruining the hauteur. “I can freak out like a sideshow, though. But a good dose of chocolate has been known to do wonder for it. And if you tell anybody that, I’ll have to kill you. Or shave your eyebrows.”
How fast did elementals mature, Sasha wonder, observing Ita’s childlike delight. Tori was a poor example; Sasha had never known met anybody who’d know the woman during her “childhood”. Plus she was a synthetic (as Josiah classified): made, not born. When you makers were made—what did it make you?
What is such difference worth? Leaning next to Ita, she caught sight of her own pale hand next to the girl’s. The tidy manicure made Sasha’s smaller hand look somehow…less genuine. Artificial, like the paw of a doll.
Oh, please, her common sense chimed in. Identity issues when you’re standing neck deep in fritters and kerchiefs? As if.
“Do you think they have anything to color hair as well?” Sasha smiled, touching her friend fair mane lightly. “You could get something really vivid—it’d be magic. You’d look like something out of a fairy tale.”