sugarcube | psl || and something sweet

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psl || and something sweet

[natalia is a lovely princess. she's adored by her people, headstrong in all things politics so long as it means that she can take care of her country, and holds a lifetime's worth of grace in her pinky finger.

there are plenty of days that she's happy to be doted on and taken care of by the castle, given that she's been looked after since she was only a baby. she accepts having knights at her side when she's traveling, even though she's a plenty accomplished archer in her own right. however given that a holiday is approaching especially for extending personal affection, and individual attention, she can't help but think that it would be very wrong indeed for her to ask someone else to prepare chocolates for her to give out.

which is what leads us to today's predicament.

kurikara can probably smell smoke from a way's away.]

Oh no, no no no.

[that doesn't sound great]

How could this happen? I thought it said - only that long?!

[help]

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[ that's what she's worried about?? that's - well. it's fine. she's starting over anyway. though now he's lowkey dreading having to open the oven once it's good to go. what kind of monstrosity did she put in there? ]

The oven would have been fine for that.

[ if it hadn't caught on fire. ]

Spices... won't replace a campfire, but the right ones are okay with chocolate. [ he squints at the ones natalia's pulled out and sighs. of course. ] ...Not these.

[it's bad, it probably looks like a tar pit inside. they're going to have their work cut out for them once they have to clean.

but that's a problem for later! for right now natalia just nods her head in thought and she honestly wishes that she'd brought a paper and pen to take notes?

wait, this looks like an opportunity]

Do you like spices in your chocolate?

[she just barely manages to keep from sounding Too Eager, but she still sounds. fairly eager to hear his answer.]

[ maybe someone else would pick up on that but ookurikara absolutely doesn't, the fool. she's always this excitable when she drags him out, isn't she? it's probably just another fun experiment for her.

to her question, he merely shrugs. ]

Sure. Cayenne goes well with it.

Cayenne it is!

[it's amazing that he doesn't notice, but she's going to take it as a blessing. she wanders over to the cabinets to open it, looking for spices.

... and then she closes it, because they weren't there. then she'll open the cabinets next to them, because maybe the spices are there? she can't seem to remember where she grabbed the original ones she picked out from. well, she'll keep searching.]

Are there any other flavors you're partial to?

The spices are over there.

[ he points out the correct cabinet, but... how does he know this. why isn't he noticing these strangely probing questions. the world may never know.

instead he's focused on the next question, though he's still eyeing the rest of the ingredients on the counter with something like distrust. what other flavors...? ookurikara is hardly a picky eater, but what would go well with what natalia's trying to make? it'll take a bit for him to settle on an answer. ]

...Caramel, [ is the one he decides on with a nod. ] It's good with both chocolate and cayenne.

Oh! Thank you.

[she'll head over to that cabinet to reach for the spices. though admittedly she does take a second to find cayenne. there are a few where she thinks 'ah, isn't this close enough?' but also. kara is right there and she would like to do her best for him, so she will procure the cayenne.]

Caramel...

[she parrots softly and

looks around the kitchen

because to be honest she has... no idea where she would find caramel.]

[ they should probably put the rest of this away, shouldn't they? it would give them a leg up on the cleaning, which... actually, he should probably check the oven, huh. the smoke's started to fade, so maybe it's alright now. ]

The cooks probably make the caramel fresh instead of storing it.

[ which means natalia will have to make it herself if she's that determined. rip. ]

But if you're making s'mores, it might be better to leave it out. They're messy enough on their own.

[ peering cautiously through the remaining smoke and into the oven, ookurikara already pities the poor soul who's on the receiving end of... this. whatever it is, it's definitely not fit to be called s'mores. he sighs and closes it again, content to leave it to its fate for now. ]

Hmm... I wonder where I can find a recipe book for caramel. I can ask one of the attendants to check the library.

[what did he say? leaving it out? no, he said caramel so that means natalia has to go and make it happen! she's actually about to head out the kitchen to go and do exactly as she's said before glancing back to ookurikara]

Unless you dreadfully mind mess?

[she asks, like that's not making it all the more obvious what she's doing,]

I've dealt with worse.

[ case in point - the one in the oven, right now, that he's going to have to clean before anything else can safely go in there. otherwise the cooks will kill him for letting the situation get even worse.

first thing's first: they have to remove... that. so while natalia is looking for caramel or a recipe book or whatever, he's going to try to find a potholder or oven mitts so he can set it out to air. ]

[she's getting a recipe book. more specifically she'll excuse herself for a moment to ask for a passing butler to get a recipe book, and then she'll go back into the kitchen. as they wait for it, she'll also... go to inspect the oven....

and frown deeply when she comes face to face with her frankenstein chocolate creation.]

I wonder if I could...

[heal it? what if she heals it.]

You are not eating this.

[ because he never thinks about her healing outside of battle - and why would anyone even try that on food, anyway? ]

Well I'd meant to heal it perhaps...

[this isn't a burn wound, natalia]

But I suppose it truly is beyond saving then.

[yes, one glance should be able to tell her that much

and yet,]

Heal it...?

[ glancing between natalia and the absolute wreck wreck of food on the stovetop, he. actually wonders if that's possible. none of the ingredients were ever really alive, except as plants. would it make them plants again, or just fix the burning, assuming it does anything at all? how does healing magic even work? ookurikara has his doubts, but... ]

Would that work?

[ why is he even considering this- ]

I can't say whether it would or wouldn't, but it might be worth a try?

[and she'll focus her energy into her right hand, her fingertips emitting a green glow before she extends her hand out to the absolutely destroyed mess of a baking attempt in front of her

she holds her hand there.]

[ . . . . . .

it does nothing.]

Oh drat.

[why,]

Ah.

[ that's. probably for the best, judging from all the things she'd left on the counter. if all of that was in this mess, it would've been inedible no matter how perfect it might look. (it probably wouldn't look perfect, either, but who's he to tell the princess that.) ookurikara stares down at it for a moment in disdain, trying not to imagine how it might have tasted. ]

Trash, then.

[ and you know what? he's not going to bother trying to scrape it out of the container - the whole thing is going into the garbage. the cooks can find a new one. maybe they'll even thank him for saving them the trouble of trying to clean this mess. ]

... in any case, I'm sure this next attempt will go much better.

[where does she get all this baseless confidence from?

but she's confident anyway, for some reason. she gets a small glint in her eyes, but otherwise sets her hands on her hips as she surveys the rest of the ingredients. she probably... doesn't need everything that she gathered, from the sound of it, but better safe than sorry. (no.)

she'll set about grabbing new bowls so she can start mixing the other ingredients while waiting for the recipe book for the caramel.]

I hope you didn't have anything else pressing to do today while I borrowed you.

[ good confidence, but... he has a concern or two. ookurikara might be a decent cook, but he's no mitsutada - there's only so much he can do to mitigate the damage if things go so badly on the second try. natalia looks determined, though, so maybe if he just keeps a close eye on her and what she's throwing into those bowls, it'll turn out okay this time? ]

Nothing important. Training, mostly.

[ they'll excuse him for missing guard duty if he's busy watching natalia, right? right. ]

Oh, I see. Then certainly you can be excused momentarily. If anyone asks, I'll assure them it was all my idea.

[she's on the exact same wavelength,, she's happy to steal him away and cover for him. natalia doesn't get away with everything, but she can get away with a lot.

though as she thinks of that, she tilts her head]

And if you would still like to train later, I'll happily spar with you.

[she's an archer? but also.

what if she tries anyway.]

[ such an offer from the princess shouldn't surprise him after all the times she's made him sneak out with her and yet - ookurikara looks relieved, maybe even a little pleased if you tilt your head and squint. as long as natalia is willing to cover for him, he only has to worry about the wrath of the head cook.

on the other hand... ]

You're an archer, princess, not a swordswoman. You wouldn't be much of a challenge.

[ wow way to respect his liege,, ]

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psl || and something sweet

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