it's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake

[allconsumed]

Who: Velvet Crowe & Waver Velvet (aka The Victim)
Where: Floor 6, Room 1 of the apartment building
When: Day 178-ish
Open/Closed: Closed

[The kitchenette doesn't offer much counter space, but it shouldn't be an issue; Velvet has cooked with much worse conditions to contend with. She has most of the dry ingredients out and ready, along with the butter, which has been softening outside of the fridge. The oven is in the process of preheating, and Velvet has a nice shiny pan for them to use. It's all arranged rather neatly.

There's nothing left to prepare, so Velvet folds her arms and waits for The Victim to arrive. It ought to be an entertaining, and perhaps messy, afternoon.]

Comments

[allconsumed]

I believe you.

If you're refusing to back down even when everything is stacked against you, then at least you're made of the right stuff for someone who could make a difference. Just don't be stupid and think you can do it all yourself.

[Yep, now he's getting an angry pep talk.]

[teratias]

Yeah well, finding people to help is the problem. Everyone else benefits and--

...so wait, do you guys have jerk mages that don't do anything too?

[allconsumed]

It should be worth the effort. Track down some other weirdos you can get along with.

[She pauses to consider how to approach his question.]

… We had some jerks. They wanted to control everyone, to turn us into emotionless husks devoted only to reason. Had – because I killed the ones mattered.

[teratias]

You make it sound way, way goddamn easier than it is. [Waver grunts. She's practically telling him off for not finding anyone and...


...well then. Waver blinks, but you know what? He nods in approval.]

In the end, that was probably the only way to stop people with that kind of a mindset.

[allconsumed]

[Kind of hypocritical of her considering she more or less lucked into meeting the folks that fought alongside her. But hey, she'll drop it – especially since she's gone and gotten grouchy again over the second topic.]

What happened happened. It's pointless to debate whether it was the right thing to do.

… You've chopped enough. Start the meting now.

[teratias]

....Oh...kaaaaaaay.

[Waver's happy to move on and dump the chocolate into the designated melting bowl.]

How long should this bit take?

can i type??

[allconsumed]

I don't exactly know.

Keep an eye on it and turn the heat down before it's all completely melted. The bowl will still be hot enough at the end and we don't want to burn it – especially after all that time you put in.

[She's not dropping that, apparently. Their talk about killing people from a few seconds ago makes the ensuing silence more awkward.]

we just don't know!

[teratias]

[Well, the chocolate's melting fairly fast, so Waver turn downs the gas quickly. The silence though...he can live with that. He keeps living with it until all the chocolate's been melted, and he removes the bowl from the heat quickly.]

There, that much is done.

rhetorical question tbh

[allconsumed]

[In the meantime, Velvet has readied another pot and melted butter in it. She also has some more sugar measured out.]

Mix this sugar in with the butter. Then when you combine those with the chocolate, pour a little at a time and stir it in. Keep doing that in stages until it's all together.

i knew that

[teratias]

[Waver takes the sugar wordlessly, and starts to mix it with the butter. The mixture is stiff, and Waver grunts unhappily as he tries to stir it]

Ugh, are you kidding me?

[This kid isn't cut out for the creaming method.]

[allconsumed]

[Velvet thinks that's pretty funny.]

Having some trouble? Take a break if you need it.

[She is no doubt instilling him with a love of baking.]

[teratias]

...Oh, shut up. I'm fine, I don't need a break!

[HE'S GONNA DEFEAT THIS CAKE!]

[allconsumed]

[That's the spirit!]

No more whining, then. Do it right and she'll like the result, trust me.

[teratias]

I wasn't whining I was just....filling the silence with something instead of more silence.

[That's literally the worst excuse buddy try again.]

[allconsumed]

[Truly an endearingly bad excuse.]

Is that so. Instead I could have filled your head with all the gritty details about how I killed those exorcists.

[teratias]

....Hey, I didn't say do that! That's way too much information and I've seen enough weird magical crap for a while.

[Waver holds both hands up, trying to placate.]

[allconsumed]

Some other time, then.

[Alright, alright. Temporarily placated. Except, now that he has his hands out…]

Keep stirring.

[teratias]

--Shit, sorry.

[Waver lets out a soft little hrumph, then turns back to the mixture in question. He has to wonder when he allowed himself to be pushed around this much but...fuck it. At least there's cake at the end of this.

As he stirs, Waver sniffs at the air.]

How much time is left on the oven?

[allconsumed]

It's alright.

[She's not always so bossy, this just happens to be an arena that brings the bossiness out.

… No, just kidding. She is almost always this bossy. At least it's starting to smell nice. Velvet refers to the clock.]

Should be a few more minutes, but I'll check on it.

[And she does, opening the oven and taking a look. Not quite ready, as expected.] Yeah. It always pays to be patient when you're baking.

[teratias]

[Waver just keeps on working with his new assignment, and trying not to inhale the air around him. It smells amazing, and it's hard to believe he's actually had a hand in making it happen. Usually any attempt at using a kitchen is a disaster.]

About how much longer then, do you reckon?

[allconsumed]

[She's happy to help! In this case. Plus, he did most of the work.]

Let's give it one more minute.

[Velvet goes into a drawer for a large spoon and a spreading knife, then offers him both.]

The frosting looks ready to me. Just one last thing for you to do, but let it cool some first.

[Once it's ready, she does the honors of taking the cake out, and she places it in front of him. There's not much left he can screw up now.]

[teratias]

[While Velvet takes the cake out, Waver sticks a finger into the frosting just to see what it tastes like. He'll probably be yelled at, but fuck it.

And it's good frosting. He smiles a little in satisfaction, before walking over to observe the cake itself.]

It actually looks good.

[allconsumed]

[She clears her throat when he puts his finger in, but doesn't raise a stink. It's fair for a cook to taste something he just made. As long as he doesn't dip the same finger back in again…]

Actually?

[She raises her eyebrows and puts a hand on her hip.]

There was nothing to worry about. I would have let you know if you'd screwed something up, trust me, and it's almost too bad you didn't. Imagine the look on your face if we'd had to start over.

[teratias]

....Actually I kind of figured you'd give me a black eye if something went wrong.

[Waver pauses so he can grab another spoon, and he dips a little bit of the tip in the frosting. He then holds the same spoon outwards, offering it.]

[allconsumed]

Failing is part of learning.

[That doesn't confirm or deny what she would have done, but whatever. She waves away the spoon.]

It's pointless. I won't be able to taste it.