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 Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 9:20 pm
Maia set the sugar on the counter, then took out the baking soda. She turned to smile at Michael. "You're good at this," she said. "I think you'll be really good at baking, Michael. We could teach you to make Christmas cookies, too." Or winter cookies, if Michael didn't celebrate Christmas?
"I promised to make him strawberry shortcake next time, Toby. Can we?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 1:20 pm
Michael just smiled and nodded. it had been more than a century since he'd been able to celebrate Christmas beyond living in HQ with its various decorated halls and cubicles. He would like to do it again.
"Yeah, of course," Toby said, "Easy-peasey."
Baking was fun, and Michael enjoyed the scent of the cake as it warmed in the oven. Dinner itself started off more interesting than pleasant. Michael wasn't used to these flavors, nor to this type of cooking, but after the second or third mouthful his palate calmed down and he was able to enjoy his first stir-fry from within Maia's mind.
Then it came time to ice the cake, and Michael watched Toby move with a practiced hand as he frosted it with their home-made sugary paste. When Toby was done, he turned to the plates that Maia had brought and began to cut slices.
"Guests first," he said, handing a nice big slice to Maia and thus to Michael. Maia would likely be able to feel the ghost's excitement, and he took a big whiff of the fresh-baked chocolatey scent. If he remembered right, it even smelled different.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 1:35 pm
Michael really seemed to like baking. She'd have to invite him to do this again. Christmas cookies, definitely. Had they done cutout cookies back when Michael had been alive? Oh... she ought to ask Toby if the ghost could come with them to New England. What did one even get a ghost for Christmas? Maybe she could take him to a store and buy something he liked.
"Go on, Michael," Maia encouraged. He already seemed to be enjoying it, and he hadn't tried it yet! She picked up her fork.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 1:41 pm
Even with all that he had been told, Michael was expecting something relatively bitter when he took his fork to the cake and lifted it to his mouth. What he got instead was moist and soft and sweet, but still tasted a bit like the chocolate he had known in some strange way. He smiled, chewed and swallowed, and then turned to Toby with a big smile. He didn't want to speak again, it had seemed to upset the werewolf before.
Maia would feel the warmth and excitement and joy in her body as Michael went to take another bite.
"Good, huh?" Toby asked, sitting down at the table with Dari with their own slices of cake. Michael nodded.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 1:54 pm
It was a bit unusual for Luca to decide to go grocery shopping mid-week, but he'd written Lori a note promising sweets when he returned. It'd been signed with "I love you!".
The back door leading to the yard was wide open. There were footsteps sounding in the kitchen. The sound of a plastic container hitting the floor sounded. "Oops," muttered a voice. Definitely feminine. A burglar?
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 2:01 pm
Lori returned from work to the sounds of someone rummaging around inside. it sounded suspicious, not like Luca at all. He checked the door and it was still locked. What in the hell? He unlocked it and stepped inside to find someone who was assuredly not Luca rummaging around in the kitchen.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 2:11 pm
The girl looked up. She was blonde with a green tinge to her hair, and green eyes. She looked about fifteen. She didn't address Lori immediately, instead climbing up on the counter to reach the higher cupboards.
Wasn't there anything good to eat in this house? She looked back towards Lori. "Hey. I'm hungry," she said. "Make something to eat."
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 2:15 pm
The Nymph. It had to be. Lori had never met her properly, and this wasn't exactly the best first introduction.
"Hi. Get off my counter." Some guard dog Rosie was, just laying on the couch.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 2:24 pm
The nymph hopped off the counter and studied Lori for a moment. She turned to the fridge and opened it. "Are you hungry?" She asked, then. What did elves even eat? Presumedly whatever elves bought and stuck in their refrigerators. She selected a loaf of bread, a head of lettuce, a bag of carrots...
"What would you like?" She asked.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 2:36 pm
Lori just stood there a moment, watching her, unsure of what to do. She had definitely pissed him off, but then she'd listened in a way that nature spirits tended to not want to. Now she was just unpacking some food.
"I'm fine for now. Luca's out grocery shopping, so if it can wait he'll be back soon enough with more food." He gestured to the note Luca had left, but you could never assume that an entity could read. Did this nymph even have to eat? The vast majority did not, ever, but there was a new thing found every day.
"I'd like it if you didn't just break in when nobody was home. The dog doesn't use a crate, and Seamus would make a break for it, and that would be pretty bad."
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 3:01 pm
The nymph glanced at the note, but not long enough to read it. Her brow furrowed, and she stopped unpacking the fridge. He wasn't hungry? Really? He'd probably eaten already then! "I'm hungry," she said again. "But I can wait for Lucasii." She climbed back up onto the counter and sat, looking to Lori.
"Alright," she agreed. The dog getting out was definitely a bad thing. And an escaping cat? Cats were awful! They liked sharpening their claws on her tree. Or climbing up in it.
"What do we do now?" She asked.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 3:36 pm
"If you're hungry, you can eat, but a lettuce-and-carrot sandwich doesn't seem like a great meal," Lori said. The girl sitting on the counter hadn't bothered him. It had been her feet and knees on it. It only struck him then that it was winter. Of course she had to eat. She lived in a domestically-kept tree.
"You know, if your tree needs more care in the winter, we can do it. I mean, nothing toxic to animals but there's a lot that isn't." He paused. "Do you have a name?" Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't. Some, like Holly, were named by others. Some were born knowing. It all depended on the type.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 3:49 pm
"There isn't anything else good," the nymph looked towards the fridge and sighed. She didn't eat meat. "What else is there?" She asked.
"Really?" She asked. "I'm always starved this time of the year." She'd never really understood why. Maybe it was the effect of less sunlight. Maybe it was having less leaves on her tree. "You wouldn't be able to pronounce it," she muttered. "Not really. I don't care what you guys call me."
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 4:04 pm
"You vegetarian?" Most nymphs were. He went to the fridge and looked through, then started through the cabinets. "Tomatoes, cheese, ice cream, you could have cereal? We have cereal and milk. I could make you some pasta?" Pasta he could do. Baking was the hard one. It was so precise!
"Eh, tell me it anyway. People say they can't pronounce my last name either."
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 4:21 pm
"Yes," she said, and smiled. This elf was smart, after all. Luca had said he was, when he'd first been interested. She was glad she'd encouraged him! "Pasta? I've never had pasta." She hopped off of the counter and went over to Lori.
"I don't really have one," she admitted. "Lucasi never named me. He brings me things, though." And that was nice. Really.
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