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 Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:59 pm
After School Activities Tilly had finished her homework. The girl didn't really have any extracurricular activities, so she was the sort of girl was able to get home at a decent time and finish her homework at a decent time. It gave her time to do other things afterwards.
Many girls her age would use that time to fuss with technology and many more modern activities. However, fiddling with computers rarely yielded any sort of results for the blonde. Instead, the girl pulled out a pile of cloth, many colors of thread, and a pincushion riddled in needles. The girl bit nibbled on her bottom lip for a few moments before she also pulled out a box of bandages from her desk drawer.
"...I'm going to need these..." she sulked quietly to herself. With that she plucked out the first pin from the cushion and began to wedge it into the thick canvas cloth she had been working with.
"Eep!" It hadn't even been but a few seconds and already a small bead of red began to bubble up from her left pointer finger. She quickly pulled her finger away from the cloth so she wouldn't accidentally stain it with her injury. Quite quickly, she fumbled with the band-aid box and eventually had a bandage in her fingers. It was odd trying to open up the band-aid with one hand, but she was sort of used to such maneuvers.
"Tilly?" A brief knock came from her door. A woman with dark hair stood at the frame of her doorway, a long skirt and a soft looking blouse.
"Mum!" the girl squeaked out before popping up out of her seat. She scuttled forward as she wrapped up her finger with the bandage. "I did not hear you come in. How was the PTA meeting?" The girl pushed her hands in front of her thighs, pushing down her own skirt.
The woman stood there for a moment,, seeming to analyze the girl's face while maintaining a rather pleasant expression. It was hard to read Elsa because of how easily she was able to mask her own expressions. Eventually, the woman spoke up. "Tilly, why didn't you tell me about the 'Teufel Day Festival' field trip?"
With a lopsided smile of her own, the girl seemed to calmly reply "I was under the impression that the field trip was for girls who would be participating in the festivities, such as performing in the parade." The girl could feel her heart pumping slightly faster, since she didn't like the way her mother had confronted her.
The woman tilted her head to the side a bit. "Tilly, it is a school field trip. I am certain that anybody can go."
There was a slight silence, since the girl already knew if she disagreed, she'd be acting improper.
"Either way, I signed up as a volunteer for the Festival, so you will be going as well." There was no choice, not chance to disagree. Mum had decided it all for Tilly.
And Tilly was not going to argue. "Yes Mum..." There was a pause before the girl added in a hopeful manner "I f-finished with my homework early... maybe you can help me out with this project I am working on..."
The woman seemed to ignore the actual request, but the child's words seemed to remind her of something.
"Oh, that reminds me... I think I am going to invest in a tutor for you, Tilly. You have the time after school, and we know that your homework is almost always wrong."
It was blunt, but stated in such a manner that made it more convincing that this woman had indeed spoken an undeniable truth.
The girl quieted down, honey eyes submissively drifting to the ground. "...yes Mum..."
The woman once more tilted her head before dismissing herself. "That meeting lasted longer than I expected... I need to lay down..."
Mum didn't allow Tilly to close her bedroom door unless it was early morning or late evening. However, only once the woman was completely out of hearing distance, the girl muttered something. "...I don't see why I have to go... it isn't like anything different will happen this year..."
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:01 pm
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:02 pm
Mum had hinted that she would spend time with Tilly, but Tilly knew that this would yield nothing. It was a bit after 10 pm and most people had wandered towards the parade to watch. If the young teen knew her mother well enough, she was probably humoring the other PTA volunteers by entertaining them. She was probably fawning over their daughters who had ensured a spot in the parade, performing in some form or another.
The girl sighed again as she stuck another bite of funnel cake in her mouth. She had already gone through 2 other funnel cakes, all topped with strawberries and powdered sugar, and she had managed to keep her white pinafore completely clean. The third cake was cut neatly and small pieces were daintily placed into her mouth to try to satiate the feeling in the pit of her stomach.
It wasn't hunger.
It was envy.
Her pale honey eyes glanced to the lights and crowds further away. It wasn't that she didn't want to watch. It was just that she knew she'd just feel even worse if she had watched with the rest. Tilly couldn't really do anything that would be worthwhile in a parade. Even just marching, she'd just end up stumbling over her own two feet and feel foolish.
Since nobody was around, the girl felt she could utter what could be seen as a complaint aloud. "It would be nice if I could do something like that..." She stuck another red soaked bite of cake into her mouth, her gaze falling upon the partially eaten mass of strawberry topped funnel cake.
I can make your desire come true if you would like.
The blonde reacted as any sane person would with such a sudden surprise, jerking up rather suddenly to find an odd white creature with magenta eyes seated next to her food, staring at her. Its tail lashed about from side to side like some sort of cat. Cautiously, she moved her head to one side, noting that the creature moved its head to keep its odd gaze upon her.
"W-who said that?" she uttered as she also seemed to wonder what in the world this animal was.
Without even blinking, the creature continued to look at her intently as the reply arose. I did. If you form a contract with me and become a magical girl, I can make your wish come true.
"...a wish?" Tilly knew this couldn't be real. Some strange animal was offering to make her heart's desire come true. It was the sort of thing from storybooks, and as much as she loved stories, this felt more like fiction than reality.
The creature still continued to lash its tail back and forth, as if it was patiently waiting for the girl to make her wish. However, it continued to press her in the same strange manner of speaking. What is it you want most?
Her heart felt as if it skipped a beat, and for a brief moment that feeling in the pit of her stomach seemed to fade away. She knew in her heart of hearts what it was she wanted more than anything. The girl set down her plastic fork at the edge of her paper plate in a manner more suited for a restaurant environment. In a calm manner, she replied to the odd white animal "I wish... to be good at homemaking things... cooking, cleaning, sewing... like, really good, so I can finally get some attention for being talented at something!"
The girl remained seated, folding her hands upon her lap as she continued to look at this strange animal. How could such a creature make a wish come true? Would it even be able to do such a thing, or was she just fantasizing about all of this?Messenger of Magic  june 22, 2012.Kyuubey didn't have to say much to the girl to complete the contract. The Incubator's tail flicked nonchalantly as it made its way towards the girl's line of vision, and as it did, time seemed to slow around them. The faint sound of music near the Big Belle faded to ominous silence, and the cacophony of the crowd around Tilly disappeared.
For a second, there was no one, but the smell of sweet confections whirled around where Tilly stood, a smell so concentrated that it made her head spin. A warm yellow glow followed, and ever so slowly from her chest, a Soul Gem erupted and snaked its way towards the unwitting girl's hands, warm and wafting with the scent of freshly baked cake.
Before she could focus back towards Kyuubey, however, it had disappeared and the festival noise returned to normal. Matilda Carlsson, slightly changed, sat at the festival table wholly alone.
Click the Soul Gem for her full artwork.
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:47 pm
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 8:51 pm
The Sweetest of Dreams The Festival had been such a blur. Mum had been talking about how much fun she had, but Tilly was having a difficult time remembering everything. She had been able to remember going to get funnel cake and she was able to remember eating funnel cake. However, the girl was quite certain that there has been more to the Festival.
The girl sat in front of her homework, simply staring at the math problems on the page which needed solving. They weren't going to solve themselves, but the girl was distracted by the issue of the Festival.
"...what happened...? Hmmm... hmm... hmmmmmm..." Had she been the sort to toy around with her school utensils, she might have flicked her pencil around upon her desk. However, it remained perfectly to the right side of her paper, waiting to get picked up.
She also had to fight off the urge to try to make something in the kitchen. She knew that whatever she made wouldn't exactly be very edible, but it wasn't about making something delicious, it was about learning. Tilly was a good girl though. "You know the rules, Tilly... you need to finish your homework before playing in the kitchen..."
Heaving a sigh, the girl picked up her pencil and set to work. Well, sort of. The blonde wasn't completely ignorant. She already knew that she'd probably get a majority of the math problems wrong even if she tried her best to solve them. So instead of trying, she merely just filled in a bunch of numbers, mere guesses as to what the answers were. No work was shown, which made it even more obvious that she was guessing, but it didn't matter. Her fingers were itching to try baking something. Quickly, the girl put all her school materials away in their proper places, neat and tidy. She usually was able to put her things away, but for some odd reason, it seemed easier today.
Skipping out of her room, the girl was humming as she rounded down the hallway to the stairs. As she hopped down the steps, skipping two steps at a time, she mused "I think chocolate chip cookies would be a good place to start... " She had already butchered the recipe so many times, but thanks to the many failed attempts, she had the basic recipe memorized.
Once down the steps, she trotted to the kitchen, pulling out the mixing bowls, the flour bin, the various sugar canisters, and a package of chocolate chips, she started to set up. The door to the refrigerator swung open and the butter and eggs were pulled out. Usually Tilly would accidentally drop at least one egg, but today seemed to be her lucky day, all of them safely making their way to the counter. There were other odds and ends that she had to pull out, and soon the girl was working on mixing ingredients into the bowl. Her fingers rather nimbly picked up the eggs when needed and with a single tap along the edge of the metal bowl, it cracked quite easily.
"...hmmm...?" That was odd. Usually eggs were something she struggled with when it came to cracking them. The girl shrugged it off and continued to work. Before starting to use the mixer, the girl seemed to twirl towards the over and began to get it ready to preheat.
She then set the mixer on a lower setting, starting to mix all the various ingredients together. On a typical day, even setting the mixer on low would have resulted in a mess of goop on the counter. Today it seemed she was just particularly lucky. No mess! Daringly, she set the speed up to medium. She skillfully moved the bowl a bit with one hand while mixing with the other. And there was still no mess.
"...this is... weird..."
With her batter all ready to go, the girl pulled out several cookie sheets and began to scoop out the dough. They practically formed perfect circles upon the sheets. She popped open the oven and put the cookies in to bake before spinning on a heel to gather up all of her utensils and bowls she needed to clean.
She really wasn't even thinking and acting more on instinct as she began to wonder aloud "...what's going on today?"
Briefly, her mind seemed to flicker an image of a strange white creature with piercing magenta eyes. It was familiar, as were the words which came to mind.
What is it you want most?
The girl nearly dropped the bowl she had at hand, but caught it before it clattered against the base of the sink. Slowly, she repeated words she had said before, almost as if in a daze. "I wish... to be good at homemaking things... cooking, cleaning, sewing... like really good so I can finally get some attention for being talented at something..."
The girl set the newly cleaned bowl down on a drying rack, then looked over her hands. She hadn't really been paying attention before, but there was a foreign ring nestled upon her finger with a pale colored stone. "...did... that really happen?"
The smell of freshly baked cookies started to fill the air, as if to answer the girl's questions. They didn't smell burnt, and in fact, smelled quite delicious.
The girl's wish had come true! Tilly heaved in an optimistic breath before rushing to get the oven mitts. The cookies were ready! She couldn't wait to tell Mum about the good batch of cookies!
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 12:11 pm
Making a Believer The proof had been left out on the cooling rack. Tilly felt absolutely giddy all the way down to the pit of her stomach.
She had baked cookies! She, Tilly Carlsson, had baked cookies! Not only that, she had managed to clean up after herself sufficiently so that the kitchen sparkled as if she hadn't raided it and baked sweet things while Mum had been out!
The blonde girl was nearly pacing in the kitchen, but frequently would stop when she realized that she was doing such. Young ladies don't pace she reminded herself. However, it was hard to wait around downstairs in the kitchen, waiting for Mum to get home. Soon enough the girl decided to shift from the kitchen to the living room, starting to tidy up and clean out of a need to do something. While cleaning, she had picked up one of the snowglobes and began to clean the glass when she heard the front door.
"Welcome home, Mum!" she called out from the living room.
The sound of high heels clicking along tile in a steady rhythm filled the hallway nearby and soon enough a dark haired woman peered in curiously. "Tilly, what are you doing? I would have thought you'd still be working on your homework, young lady."
"I finished my homework, Mum! I... I wanted to show you something!" The blonde girl turned to her mother, still holding the snowglobe carefully in her hand.
"Goodness, Tilly! Haven't I told you before that you can't just play with those! They are easy to break..."
The girl couldn't help but bite at the edge of her lip. "I... was just cleaning them... they had fingerprints on them." She paused before adding "I was being very careful..."
"As you should be!" the woman snapped slightly before rushing over and snatching the snowglobe from her child's hands. With a certain tenderness, the woman placed her prized possession back upon the shelf. "So what is it you wanted to show me, Tilly?"
The girl put the rag she had just been using to clean with and the spritzer bottle with cleaning solution under one arm, then took the elder woman by the hand. "If you would come with me to the kitchen, Mum..." In a quiet, meek manner, the girl began to steer her mother by the hand. She was not yanking or tugging at her hand like a child, but walking with her, side-by-side, ever aware of her own conduct.
It might have seemed cynical, but as they walked, the woman asked "Did you buy some cookies and heat them up in the microwave to share?" There was an undeniable scent of chocolate chip cookies in the air, and she did know her own daughter. Chocolate chip cookies tended to get burnt by her, even many times when just heating up premade ones.
The girl shook her head from side to side with a polite "No, Mum." She did not have to explain at that moment, since they had just entered the kitchen. The kitchen was cleaner than it had been a few hours ago when the woman had left, and now there were cookies upon a cooling rack.
Tilly let go of her Mum's hand, and the woman stepped forward almost cautiously. Something didn't seem right about all of this to her. "...Did you have friends over earlier who helped you make cookies, Tilly?"
"No, Mum." Mum should have known that her daughter was not exactly very popular in school. Friends were a rarity at best.
The woman picked up one of the cookies, still quite warm and soft, but not overly hot. She was familiar with the usual sorts of cookies her daughter would order in for delivery, fresh from the bakery. These weren't any of those sorts of cookies.
In fact, it looked like the recipe her own mother had passed down to her.
"Tilly... did you bake these cookies?"
With an eager nod of her head, she replied "Yes, Mum!" There were lots of things she wanted to say, but she stifled herself so she didn't come across like a child. Her mother had merely asked one question, and she answered that one question very simply. However, even in her hushed state, Tilly was absolutely beaming, quite proud of her achievement.
Taking a small piece of cookie between her fingers, the woman popped the piece into her mouth. There had been multiple occasions where Tilly made something that looked right, but tasted absolutely wrong. She chewed, and as the flavor spread across her mouth, she found something odd.
The cookies tasted right!
After swallowing down the small amount of food in her mouth, the woman leaned forward, crouching down very slightly so she could be at eye level with her daughter. There was some hesitance in her voice as she prodded "Tilly... sweety...how... did you do this?"
The girl beamed once more, a smile as sweet as the cookies she just baked. "I... I guess that Grandmum's recipe finally just stuck!" Mum didn't need to know about that weird white creature with the deep pink eyes. Mum wouldn't understand something so amazing.
The woman smiled gently to the girl before pulling her in for a hug. "...Grandmum would be proud of you, Tilly!" She had to stifle a sniffle from herself. The cookies tasted perfect, just the way her own mother used to make. Even she had never been able to get the recipe perfect, but that had been a secret she never shared with anyone, including her own daughter, Tilly.
Amidst the hugging, the girl managed to squeak out "Mum... m-maybe... tomorrow, after I finish my homework... maybe we can try and bake more things... together?"
The woman looked to her daughter's pale honey eyes with a sort of pride that had not been seen in years. "Yes... we can do that, sweety!"
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