Aziraphale's bookshop (open post)

[sohoangel]

A.Z. Fell and Co.'s bookshop has stood on the same corner in London's vibrant Soho district since it was established in 1800. The hours posted in the store window seem more like a deterrent than anything, but to anyone who was formally invited, or simply has uncanny timing, the store will miraculously be open.

The shop smells like old books, pleasantly so to welcome visitors, and occasionally like baking. If Aziraphale is not behind the till, then he will come find you soon. Seeking him out, especially if you are trying to buy something, will prove fruitless.

Comments

[sohoangel]

"It's more elaborate than what most people do for afternoon tea," Aziraphale admits with a somewhat sheepish smile. "But I wanted to offer a variety of foodstuffs to you, and it was a good excuse to do some baking. Crowley doesn't have as big an appetite as me, especially for sweets."

Aziraphale pours Nike, then himself a cup of earl grey tea. Its bergamot fragrance is distinct without being overpowering. He takes a seat opposite her, everything else being within easy reach for them both.

It's encouraging to hear that she's already taken steps towards trying human food and drink, although the results are less than ideal. "No? Were they military rations, by any chance? Those are unfortunately rarely up to snuff. I do hope you find something here you like. I have cucumber sandwiches as well as egg salad, which are both savory items. These are tea cakes with a little raspberry jam filling, and these are lemon scones, both sweet. The petit fours I picked up from the bakery down the street. As for the tea, it's traditionally consumed with milk and sugar, but it's also perfectly acceptable black. Why don't you try it plain, first, and then add a little sweetness if it isn't to your fancy?"

[magnetite_plz]

"When we are on mission then yes, the only available foodstuffs are filtered, oft recycled water and ration bars. As Blaze nor I usually require that type of sustenance, we all had to have a bit of a lesson in it to make sure Steve had what he required for anything more than day trips out for patrols." Not exactly the most decadent of first taste options. Nike had in fact felt rather self conscious about trying them at all. Steve had caught her staring at him while he ate though and had offered them out to her to sample, so. She hadn't wanted to be rude without a purpose either.

The teacup sitting in front of her is a more delicate serving vessel than the mug she'd previously received from the celestial though even that she thought was fragile in comparison to the polycarbonate or metal cups so often found in the Last City. Nike gets lost watching the steam curl and plume its fragrance once she's catalogued all of the foodstuffs Aziraphale is pointing out. It's a tad overwhelming. Impossible not to recognize Aziraphale's intentions though in providing a wide variety for statistical relevance in having a data set. The corners of her mouth twitch incrementally upward. Subtle, but there all the same.

"Which is your favorite here? And should I sample it first or save it for last?" Nike's inhuman grace is all well and good until she tries to drink the black tea hot and straight. Her eyes squeeze shut of their own accord and Aziraphale may well suspect that if her hair wasn't restrained (nor her wings so well hidden), both would be fluffing out with her reaction to the bitter notes. "It's....Interesting." Nike offers in a tiny, wobbly voice.

[sohoangel]

Aziraphale wrinkles his nose a little at the description. Food shouldn't be something that has to be rationed or presented in bar form (unless they are jam bars, candy, or certain kinds of granola), but he understands the necessity. "I hope this Steve fellow gets the opportunity to eat other things while not away on missions. Food isn't simply about nourishment, at least it isn't for most people."

The variety of options means that he is increasing the likelihood of there being something that Nike likes. And, oh, he very much hopes that she does. Being the only angel in his world who likes to eat and drink is a reminder that he is a celestial outcast. Gabriel considered him eccentric for ingesting gross matter, and though he shouldn't give a single care as to what his former superior thinks of him, the perception still stings sometimes. The more angels he meets who also like food, the less alone he feels.

"The little chocolate petit fours are my favorite, but perhaps you should save that for last, as chocolate has a very strong flavor." Not as strong as the tea, perhaps, and Aziraphale has to bite his lip to keep from smiling at Nike's frankly adorable reaction to trying it.

"That's what I thought the first time I tried it," the angel admits as he pours a healthy splash of milk into his own tea, then stirs in two spoonfuls of sugar. "Drinking it plain is an acquired taste, even for humans. Try adding some milk and sugar and see what you think then."

[magnetite_plz]

Aziraphale was kind enough to leave her room in her tea cup for her to mimic what he's done, adding milk and sugar to her cup. Nike takes half a second to clear her throat. She's grateful for the other topics she can lean on to draw attention away from her own undignified reaction.

"Steve is human. A soldier and..." Nike stares down into the teacup and watches the milk mix with the tea until it becomes something altogether different. "He is a friend to both Blaze any myself. The Exo is training him to work alongside us." Food isn't always available enough in quantities to use outside of necessity. Nike tries in her own subdued way, to paint Aziraphale a picture of the Last City. The dichotomy of ruin and rebuilding, of doing without even as people come together to make the best of what they've got. "When we're back from patrols, then he can enjoy more full meals." Nothing as decadent as this, nor what the Nexus offers, but a fair sight better than ration bars.

Nike makes note of the item she should reserve for last and instead turns her attention to these savory offerings. One of which squishes a little when she moves to lift it and startles her into withdrawing her hand. No, better the cucumber sandwich, first. It's firmer, with a lighter scent than the egg salad. She's not to know how akin to a picky child she looks when lifting the crustless sandwich to her mouth and nibbling at a corner. But her eyes widen when there's a sharp crunch! of the cucumber despite how soft the bread is. Her free hand is drawing up to her mouth to make sure she doesn't make a mess.

"I...that's so strange." Good strange, the way she's turning the sandwich to better see the sliced vegetable held within. Maybe she should try it again. Nom, nom.

(Crunch, crunch)

[sohoangel]

Based on Nike's reply, Aziraphale gets a better sense of what's available in the Last City. Of course, even in times of plenty, a soldier on active duty has limited access to the gustatory pleasures of home. "Would you like to bring some of this back with you?" he asks. "For Steve, I mean. We're only sampling, after all, and I have more scones in the icebox."

The angel can eat his fair share of food, but he is not one to indulge when there is somebody else he knows who is going without.

While Nike hesitates over the sandwiches, Aziraphale sips his tea and helps himself to a lemon scone. Miraculously warm as if fresh out of the oven, he dollops a bit of clotted cream and strawberry jam from little jars on the table, near the milk and sugar. When Nike comments on the sandwich and takes another bite, he can't help but beam. By George, she might actually like it!

"That's cucumber," he informs her happily. "A rather bland vegetable on its own, but delightfully crunchy in sandwiches."

[magnetite_plz]

Oh! Now there's a thought.

Nike glances between the fully loaded tiered display and Aziraphale several times. He'll know long before she works up the courage to nod slowly that she'd like to. It's just a matter of working up the courage to express A Want to someone else. Particularly difficult in those she views as above her station. "If...if it would keep it from going to waste." She glances down then to her tote bag before continuing to nibble at the small cucumber sandwich. It's only a few bites but she was being so delicate with it it will take her a minute to finish. "That is very generous of you and I'm certain he'll appreciate them."

Even once Nike's finished her sandwich she lingers over the empty plate, considering what she's consumed.

"I...I find its texture and subtleness enjoyable." The very first thing she's ingested that makes her content, even. The tea is also much less harsh with the milk and sugar added to it. She's still only taking tiny sips but this is after all the first time she's sat down to consume more than a mouthful of anything. Unaware of anything akin to table manners and still wary after the squish of the egg salad, the angel is scrutinizing the various biscuits on display carefully and prodding gently at them to make sure nothing else is alarmingly soft before she selects a suitably dense shortbread from the pile to set on her plate. It gets a careful corner nibble just like the cucumber sandwich did.

"This is where the sweet smell was coming from..." Murmured in between little nibbles. "This is also acceptable." The growing theme here is going to be with Nike showing a clear preference toward firm and especially crunchy foods as they make their way through the biscuits. To a creature unused to eating anything, she likes having some resistance to the food so she knows how hard to bite down or hold the foodstuffs in her hands. Not everything will be a rousing success--the jams and clotted cream get disdainful expressions when she realizes they'll leave her fingers sticky though the flavors aren't poor.

It's still a nearly overwhelming learning experience.

"I...I actually brought a few things from the Tower along with. I was hoping to get some guidance or insight into them. I see now they won't be as...." Nike struggles for a word before sighing. "Complex? As the foodstuffs gathered here, but I did not know what to select when I thought about attempting to consume human foodstuffs."

[sohoangel]

Oh, Aziraphale can certainly empathize with that. Even now, it's difficult for the angel to ask directly for what he wants, preferring to make eyes at Crowley, or simply hint at something in the most passive, British way possible. But his offer is very genuine, and he looks pleased when Nike finally agrees. "It would be my pleasure to share with your friend." He can keep food from going bad indefinitely, but he would much prefer someone to eat it and enjoy it.

In others, poking at food before trying it might be perceived as boorish and unsanitary, but Aziraphale doesn't mind the behavior coming from Nike. How else is the dear girl supposed to find out what she likes? Although he draws the line at her sticking her fingers in the jam or clotted cream.

"That's shortbread," he informs her. "A kind of biscuit. Er, cookie, some people would call it. Very good with tea." He won't recommend that she dip her biscuit into it, as it would soften the crunch and probably turn her off. He's just happy that she likes a couple of the things on the table. It's an excellent start!

At her request, he smiles brightly and nods towards the tote bag. "Oh, certainly, I'd be happy to go over with you what you brought." He clears away the little jars and sugar and milk so that there is room on the table. "Please, show me."

[magnetite_plz]

They'll have to work up to table manners, clearly. For a first go of it Nike is at least determined to try as many things as she can. Nor to waste any of the food she samples. Even if she doesn't like it she's dutiful in eating it. Wasting food is unacceptable as a concept.

Likewise, Nike is careful to stack her saucer atop her plate and set both gently aside to be out of the way when she reaches down for her tote to pull up into her lap. "I was looking for dehydrated drinks that would keep while we were away on missions..." It's no surprise to see her pull out a little tin of instant cocoa given their very first interaction about food was during the Guardians' Dawning festival. The little jar of instant coffee likewise mightn't raise any eyebrows. But they're going to be joined by soup stock bases, powdered milk, and some kind of dried fish shavings in an airtight bag in fairly short order.

"Most of these require nothing more than water, although several advise it to be boiling or above tepid."

[sohoangel]

Aziraphale does admire her willingness to give everything a try. That's more than he can say for the angels on his world. And all the leftovers will go to a good home, so there's no worry about wasting anything. (Although Aziraphale will likely set one or two of the chocolate petit fours aside for later, as they are his favorite, and the bakery won't have them again until the following week.)

As Nike pulls out each little tin and sets them upon the table, Aziraphale watches curiously. He's not particularly surprised about any of the contents, once he's gotten past the phrase 'dehydrated drinks'. "And you'd like to try them all?" he asks. "I can put a kettle on, it won't take but a moment."

[magnetite_plz]

The accursed assortment sits in a neat little line from smallest container to largest in short order. Nike does have to prop the airtight sealed bag against one of the other containers to keep it from tipping over.

"I was startled there were so many options." Nike admits with a small nod. If Aziraphale doesn't mind, maybe she can learn a thing or two about human drinks. "Perhaps, like the collection here, the draw is for everyone to find a flavor they find most palatable. But looking at the ingredients I surmised there may be nutritional reasons as well..."

Trying to figure out food and drink in general is just very complex! "Have you had many of these before?"

[sohoangel]

"Humans have created all sorts of powdered drinks and dehydrated foods for convenience sake," Aziraphale replies confidently. At least, he's fairly certain that's the case. It can't be to improve the flavor. When Nike asks if he's tried such things, his mouth twists into a funny little line, but only briefly. He doesn't want to discourage Nike from trying new things, especially if they are the only ones available on her missions.

"I've had instant coffee and cocoa before. They're serviceable, although I prefer to make my own cocoa. And I've had chicken bouillon before, but only in recipes, not on its own. I'm not entirely familiar with some of the others you have here, you'll have to tell me what they are."

But first! The hot water. Aziraphale excuses himself from the table and heads to the little kitchenette and fills the teakettle with water. Setting it on the little stovetop, he turns on the burner, although the kettle begins whistling far sooner than expected. A watched pot does boil, apparently, so long as it's an angel watching it.

[magnetite_plz]

"I do not have necessary cooking implements in my quarters, nor would it be efficient to keep what fresh ingredients I could find there. We are out so often they would spoil and others would make actual nutritional use of the items." Thankfully, The City is not so lean on supplies that Nike would not countenance taking even this for herself to try. They have enough that even the strange pseudo-Guardian can sample their culture from the sidelines.

"I have powdered milk here, powdered chicken soup base with spices, this jar is a concentrated mushroom stock, and the bagged goods were instructed 'for dashi' which I was assured was a constant through many meals such as ramen. I'm unsure if all of these are to be heated before using?" Not everything comes with instructions on the labels.

[sohoangel]

"I understand, dear. You can always experiment in my kitchen, if you so desire. It's in my flat upstairs, I just use the kitchenette here for making hot drinks." Aziraphale has already given another angel a baking lesson, and he suspects that Nike would be even better at following directions than Balthazar. There'd be far fewer bawdier sidebars, at the very least.

The powdered milk gets a quiet 'ah' from Aziraphale, as he has read a few recipes that call for it, although he has yet to make one of those himself. His expression brightens considerably at the mention of dashi, and he returns with the kettle and a hot pad to set it on the table so they have plenty of hot water available. "I've had dashi as well, it makes a delicious base for ramen and many other soups. I think powdered milk might be the only exception to being combined with hot water, I can fetch you a glass if you're curious."

Taking another brief trip to the kitchenette for more clean mugs (all white and angel-winged like the one he gifted Nike), he sits back down and gestures to the items Nike has set on the table. "Well? Which would you like to try first?"

[magnetite_plz]

A kind offer.

More generous that she'd expected. Aziraphale seems to do that a lot--being so much more than Nike expected. The offer lacks the implicit urging for her to take him up on it that she's grown accustomed to dealing with others both in the Last City and in the Nexus. It's simply an offer and dropped just as quickly.

Something to mull over later if her curiosity gnaws at her too fiercely.

"Please." A glass for each of them, all lined up as if they were performing a bizarre set of science experiments. So many contrary options brewing all at once are going to flood the room with competing smells, not all of which play nicely together. Nike's expression doesn't change much, though a particularly strong whiff of the diluted mushroom stock has her brow furrowing ever so slightly. Some of this stuff is downright pungent. But...

"I've smelled some of these in the city before. I can recognize it now, when it's got the water added." She's reaching for the glass of milk first, mostly because she was cautioned it wasn't to be taken with hot water like the rest. For so dainty and graceful a creature Nike isn't accustomed to food and drink much. She rasps a bit the way people who inhale soup from a spoon do when she tastes the milk from the glass, only to hold it away from her quickly while her mouth works. Her frown is immediate when a little sloshes over the rim and splashes her hand.

"Why does it linger? It coats the tongue like a thin wet blanket..."

[sohoangel]

Aziraphale simply isn't the pushy type, either for an angel or the humans he lives among, but his offers are always sincere. Besides, he knows how much courage it likely took Nike to come here in the first place, he's not about to scare her off by being too insistent.

The line up of glasses and mugs reminds him a little of a beer flight, although that's where the similarities end. Gamely, he takes a sip from his glass of milk, his nose wrinkling a little before the liquid even touches his lips. Oh, that is really subpar compared to a fresh glass of milk, but he tries to school his expression, not wanting to influence Nike's opinion.

"That's the fat, although there is not too much of it. Here -- " He offers her a plain glass of water that has somehow appeared among all the others. "Water should wash that sensation away a little if it bothers you."

[magnetite_plz]

It's the very first time Nike has reached for a food or drink with full eagerness and taken more than a tiny taste while doing so. She closes her hands round the glass of water and nearly spills it down the front of her dress to wash out the lingering milk from her mouth. She's all calm and grace once more when she pulls away from the glass to daintily set it aside. Her expression sours when she spies the innocuous glass of rehydrated milk.

"I do not think I wish to have more of it by itself. It was...it made the tea better before. But alone...." She shakes her head. "How strange. To be good in one way but not another."

[sohoangel]

Wow, someone really doesn't like milk. Not that Aziraphale can blame her, if this is her first experience of the stuff on her own.

"You aren't the only one to feel that way," he says reassuringly. "In fact, there are entire human cultures that rarely, if ever, drink milk regularly. But what you've discovered is true with many foods. What might taste undesirable on its own can be quite nice when combined with other ingredients."

He sets the offending rehydrated milk glasses aside. "Now, what should we try first? I'm curious about the mushroom stock, I don't think I've ever had that on my own."

[magnetite_plz]

A ripple of unease washes over Nike now. If the milk was that bad, how much worse could some of these other mixing scents taste? The milk didn't smell terribly strong compared to the others though. Maybe the more pungent odors will yield better results?

"I don't know that I've ever seen it served as a drink before, though I never paid much attention to it." The stock clearly isn't made to be taken by the glass. The instructions on it will advise for how many grams to be added to a Soup Pot. She shifts a little in her seat before sitting up straighter to reach for the mug Aziraphale will point to her as the right one.

"I did ask. I will drink it." Though now it sounds more as if she's resigning herself to a sentence more than anything. She takes a timid little sip of what is effectively a broth before setting the mug down while she ponders its contents. "Is this a kind of tea then? Drink made from plant matter?"

[sohoangel]

"No, it's usually used as a base for soup. It's a nice alternative to beef broth, I find I prefer the flavor in some dishes as it doesn't overwhelm the other flavors."

Aziraphale picks up one of the mugs, leaving the other for Nike. It is a little strange to be sipping the stock on its own as if it were a savory tea, but hearing the resigned note in Nike's voice, he lifts his mug and sips gamely, wanting to be a good role model for her curiosity. And... it's not bad! A little too salty to just sip on its own, but he's impressed that the stock has retained its complex flavors despite having been dehydrated.

"Technically, tea is a drink made specifically from the leaves of a tea plant. The definition has been expanded to include beverages brewed from flowers or pieces of dried fruit. There is such a thing as mushroom tea, but it's not the same as mushroom stock."

For one thing, mushroom tea frequently uses psychedelic mushrooms. Aziraphale only needed to make that mistake once.

[magnetite_plz]

"And soup is...any liquid meal? Some of them contain solids though, as I recall." So many different words and terms for what appears to the angel to be only minute changes in the edible dishes. But then, when consumption is so integral to the Human experience she supposes a robust variety of words must be necessary for efficient organization. After a moment's consideration she does take a second small sip of the mushroom broth.

It is deemed acceptable for consumption.

"Much of the fruit we see in the Last City is dried or preserved in some way. There are greenhouses where some specimens are cultivated for the greater populace's consumption but rarely are such fruits used fresh. The Dawning celebration is really the only exception to this from what I can tell."

"Rediscovering Golden Age food production data and vegetation samples that can be turned to human consumption is one of the more sought after side jobs the Guardians take on when they're not fighting off hostile invaders."

[sohoangel]

"A soup is any meal where the liquid portion is a broth or broth-like, but it can contain any number of other foods," Aziraphale explains patiently. It's not the most technical definition, as it doesn't allow for certain exceptions, but 'liquid meal' is far too broad a term. The angel remembers one evening in particular in which he and Crowley drunkenly argued whether cereal was a soup or not and he doesn't want dear Nike to go through that same nonsense.

At any rate, he's glad to see the mushroom stock is acceptable to her palate.

"That used to be the way of it here, too," he remarks after Nike explains the fruit situation in the Last City. "Fresh fruit only lasts so long without proper refrigeration techniques. Well... outside of Eden, anyway. The fruit was always perfectly ripened on the tree or vine, never rotting. But, you know, some fruit tastes even better preserved. It concentrates the flavor."

[magnetite_plz]

May Nike be spared the fate of discovering a meal where Milk alone is the liquid responsible for carrying the rest of the dish. She might cause some kind of a scene or repulse right out of her seat and that rather would give the game away where pretending to be human is concerned.

"Ridding extraneous water provides a richer flavor, but then reintroducing water brings it out?" This seems complicated. Yet she was advised not to consume any of the samples she has here as-is so some water must be necessary. "I did not realize that flavor was a factor in the preservation process. I assumed it was simply to make things last longer."

Humans, while perishable themselves, do rely on even more perishable nutrition to sustain themselves. The whole process seems rather fraught in Nike's eyes.

[sohoangel]

Aziraphale is not really a cereal with milk sort of angel, so Nike does not have to worry about such an unfortunate surprise here. Breakfast is the time for scones, or a good fry-up, in his opinion.

"Well, yes, extending the shelf life of a food is the driving force behind most preservation techniques, but it's pointless if no one wants to eat it afterwards. There's also the matter of convenience." He gestures to all the full mugs before them. "Imagine having to carry everything fresh with you wherever you go."

Not that it's a burden for him, but not everyone can snap their fingers and miracle up something from their icebox.

"Are you done with the stock, dear? Would you like to try something else?"

[magnetite_plz]

Nike is sniffing curiously between the mushroom stock in the mug nearest to her and the bonito-dashi steeping in another. Similar scents but such different origins. Do they taste the same? She's reaching for it almost before Aziraphale asks. Her gaze flits up at the question.

"I never considered people Wanting to eat anything. It is a function of survival. The energy I sustain on does not Taste and I have never craved its absorption beyond a...fear of perishing." Other demons though, Nike has seen their depravity all too often. "I never gave thought to humans being any different."

Perhaps it makes more sense to learn their sustenance serves secondary functions. Aziraphale will have to show her how to remove the strainer from her mug lest she attempt to drink the broth through it. But once done, she takes a sip unprompted this time. Similar indeed to her extremely untrained palate. "Does the high sodium content serve a function? This is not bad but..." She has to clear her throat a little. Strange how one drink makes her wish for another, just of water instead.

[sohoangel]

"The angels here never consider that, either, and the demons just take advantage of it, perverting a human's pleasure of food and drink into gluttony. Perhaps it's because of my corporation, but I've learned to understand why humans enjoy food so much. It's a major aspect of humanity, like their desire for companionship, or their seemingly unquenchable curiosity. I think the more time you spend with them, the more you'll be able to understand them, too."

Aziraphale always thought that was the biggest problem for most angels, that they barely spent any time on Earth, and when they did, it was all Wings and Eyes and Spinning Wheels on Fire while they issued proclamations. Not exactly getting to know the natives.

As soon as he sees Nike lifting her glass of broth, he's quick to instruct her to remove the strainer so she doesn't end up with a mouthful of soggy fish flakes and seaweed. He does the same with his own mug and takes a small sip. It is indeed salty, but also rich with umami, a good base for a hearty noodle soup.

"Oh... well, salt adds flavor, but I think sodium is also important for human health... something to do with their electrolytes? I'm not sure, exactly." Nutrition is not really something that Aziraphale has ever concerned himself with. "It could probably stand to be diluted a bit more."