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Lauss would be utterly useless in helping with fiction, aside from helping with research here and there. He was a nonfiction fan through and through, and Ellandra's novels would end up reading like textbooks if he could help it. Lee and Lauss balanced each other out --or violently clashed-- in that way, though. He had facts, she had design.

Lee smiled to herself, grateful to be of some use for once. She looked up at Ellandra and shrugged her shoulders. "Any time you need me you can come over." She tugged at the ends of her hair, hoping that Ellandra really would call on her offer.

Lauss, disappointed as he was, held his head high at Ellandra's compliment, even though it wasn't totally true. He lacked the patience and understanding that was needed to teach someone like Lee, something Ellandra had and would hopefully rub off on the proto. Yes, he had a way to go before Ellandra's statement held any weight, but, of course, he didn't know that.

Lee tugged on her shorts a bit as she thought. It felt a little odd to be in such a grand house with nothing to do in it. Lee coughed nervously, finally asking, "Any suggestions?"

Lee's smile widened; eating was a past-time of hers, and while she'd honestly never attempted to bake something, this could be fun. "Alright." Much better than studying. She stood up in an instant and beckoned Ellandra to follow her, not even noticing that Lauss had already bolted for the kitchen. He'd baked once before, a pastry for Lee, and he found following the instructions almost as fun as studying. As soon as she reached him, he had the cookbook from before already in his hands. "Miss Ellandra, this instruction manual lists the steps for making desserts. We could use it." He offered the book to the guest, hopeful she would enjoy its contents as much as he had. Lee scratched her head with slight embarrassment; it was nice to see Lauss hadn't quite grown out of his oblivious little mind yet.

Lauss didn't seem to have a preference, as he wouldn't be eating any of it anyway. Lee, on the other hand, was a fan of fruit combined with dessert, and was delighted to see Ellandra mark the raspberry cheesecake page. She almost let out a small "yummm" at the sight of it. How well it'd turn out, she didn't know, and she was expecting them to go for something a little less involved -- maybe muffins or cookies, something simple -- but cheesecake was fine, too. It wasn't as if Ellandra could have known Lee had never stood in front of a stove before.

Picking another dessert to go along with the cheesecake would be a bad move for her figure, and she decided against it. "We should probably just make the cheesecake. I don't know if we'll be able to finish it all, anyway, ya know?" Lee shrugged, and Lauss took it as his cue to head for the cabinets. "What are the ingredients, Miss Ellandra?" Lee had no doubt they would find everything needed; the help kept their kitchen full of all the necessities, and then some.

Lauss placed each item on the counter as Ellandra read it, and with the woman's suggestion, Lee hopped over and started to help in the preparation, finding the proper measuring cups and utensils required. It was a bit of a task on her part, as she had no idea how to manage her way around the kitchen, even if she'd lived here her entire life. Somehow everything was found and scattered along side the ingredients, ready to be dirtied-up.

Lauss rearranged everything in a neat and orderly fashion while he awaited further instructions from Ellandra.

Ellandra was probably right in saying its more fun, but if she knew Lee, she'd probably understand the amount of damage one girl could do to a simple recipe.

"Should I turn the oven on yet?"

Lee punched in the buttons "3" "2" "5", the oven beeping with every press. A quick double check to see if she got it right... "Okay, crust, got it."

Lee washed her hands before touching anything, and Lauss followed her lead. "That's quite alright, Miss Ellandra, as you and Miss Lee will be the only ones eating." Lauss dried his hands and turned back to the counter, busying himself with measuring and other tasks. He was much more hands-on than usual, it seemed. Lee thought he'd be more interested in the reading than the participating, but she wasn't complaining. "What goes in the crust?" Lee questioned, in a much more chipper tone than usual. The evening might be as fun as she'd hoped after all.

Lauss took a handful of gram crackers and crumbled them to bits in a matter of seconds while Lee tried to figure out how she was to melt butter. The proto took her place in front of the oven, pressing a few buttons until the stovetop was heated and placing a saucepan on top. While he dumped in the butter, Lee stood by idly, both a bit embarrassed that she was was less experienced than a proto that had only been alive a month and awkward that she had nothing to do now. Lauss spun the butter around the pan, making sure none of it burned. When it was melted, he slowly stirred the gram crackers with one hand while pouring in the butter with the other. A very efficient little cook he'd become.

He offered the bowl to his master. "Miss Lee, if you'd like to press it into the pan..." Lee was a bit grateful to start helping again, though it wasn't evident on her face, and she snatched the bowl and did as she was instructed.

Looking it over when she'd finished, it was... a little uneven. "Um, you can re-do it." Lee's shoulders hunched over with defeat as she offered her place to Ellandra.

Lee gave a small smile for Ellandra; she was almost too nice to her. She continued pressing the crust into the pan, trying her hardest to make it perfect anyway. As she finished, she held it up and asked, "The fridge, right?" Lauss nodded to her. Right. She opened the fridge and cleared a spot for the early stages of their dessert and carefully placed it inside.

"The filling now?" Lee turned to Ellandra, just imagining how delicious this was going to turn out... With both Ellandra and Lauss, it was bound to be greatness.