[Action]

[ledbythewind]

[Richard is up early this morning, out and about before most of the rest of the household is even awake. He's not about to let his odd sensitivity to any sort of wind stop him from getting things done-- instead, he simply bundles himself up until he looks more like a walking pile of coats and scarves than anything else before making his way in to the center of town for a shopping trip. Of course, the downside of said bundle of outer layers is that it's a bit hard for him to see, meaning that he might occasionally stumble into people or objects before he even realizes it...

His first stop is the grocery store, where he can be found consulting a list and selecting ingredients. Okay, maybe making a black forest cake is a bit ambitious on his end, but he wants to give it a shot anyway. It SOUNDS delicious, if nothing else.

Then he heads to the item store to grab a few more things, even though he'd already picked out his main present some time ago. Perhaps a new toy for Tiger Festival as well...

Of course, then he realizes that his recipe calls for cherry liqueur, which requires a stop by Good Spirits to pick some of that up.

Finally, he heads back home to House 28, where housemates will find him in the kitchen baking something that smells very delicious and very chocolatey. The end result may be a little lopsided and the frosting job definitely leaves something to be desired (maybe he should've whipped that whipped cream a bit more, it seems a little runny), but at least it smells good?]

Comments

[ledbythewind]

Perhaps that is the proper spelling in the world it comes from.

[Hi, Jean. Hope you don't mind a sudden Richard peering over your shoulder at the very brightly-colored box. Although now that he sees what the other man is looking at for himself... well, it does look a bit questionable as far as edibility is concerned.]

Is that supposed to be some sort of breakfast cereal?

[The picture shows it in a bowl with milk the way one would usually eat cereal, but it certainly doesn't look like any kind of cereal Richard has ever seen before.]

[wipesfaith]

[His shoulders jump in surprise, and he turns to face Richard - still a walking pile of coats, he sees - rather than let his personal space be invaded.]

Breakfast cereal? [He looks over the box. "Sweetened multigrain cereal," it reads.] Guess so...

It's made out of some kind of grain, but they were too lazy to be more specific.

[ledbythewind]

[Richard's response is a smile of greeting, though he makes no move to step any closer. He's had his fun already; now he's just curious about the strange cereal.]

I don't know of any kind of grain that would produce cereal that color. It almost seems too bright to be natural...

[action]

[ledbythewind]

[It's his once Richard has finished getting that last taste of it. All bets are off until then.]

You still have that little faith in my cooking ability after all this time?

[wipesfaith]

Maybe it's because there's fruit mixed in with it... [It's right in the name, after all.]

But I dunno any fruit that are these colors. [He points to the picture on the box.] Sure, apples are red, but they're not that red, and it's just the skin that's red anyway.

[Jean you fucking plebe, the red ones are cherry flavored.]

[godbent]

More or less. I have less people to give gifts to, but that's a part of being here longer -- but who cares! The important thing is that you're a king!

[ Animatedly, she bounces on the balls of her feet a little, letting a little childish excitement set in ]

[action]

[musubi]

Ah, but this isn't cooked yet, is it?

[He smirks, licking the spoon anyway.]

[action]

[ledbythewind]

It won't be made by Sanji, but...

[And here his face falls slightly. He'd usually left the cake-baking for Isamu's birthday to Sanji, but with the chef gone, the thought of just picking up a cake from the bakery didn't seem right.]

[ledbythewind]

Are you certain it's supposed to taste like apples?

[He peers at the box, searching for any sort of image of an apple on it to use as a hint.]

It would make more sense for it to be strawberry- or cherry-flavored instead. Those are the flavors one would usually associate with red-colored foods.

[ledbythewind]

[Richard's expression shifts slightly, his tone acquiring the faintest colder edge to it as he regards her. Years of being used for his status have rendered him wary of anyone who approaches him with a reference to his status, even if it is meaningless here in Luceti.]

That's right. What makes you bring that up?

[action]

[ledbythewind]

I'll have you know I've been taste-testing it every step of the way to ensure its quality and safety.

[action]

[musubi]

So it's just got your germs all in it. Gotcha.

[godbent]

You'd never mentioned it before! And I heard about it from Asbel.

[action]

[untrueheart]

[The instant she tries to bend to help him, the pressure in her head drives her to stand up again. Ugh.]

Well...well if you insist.

[ledbythewind]

From Asbel... I see.

[Mentally making a note to have a few words with Asbel about this.]

Might I ask how it came up in conversation?

[action]

[ledbythewind]

You say that as if you aren't exposed to them on a regular basis.

[... noooo one of his cherries is falling off the top!]

[action]

[ledbythewind]

[And insist he does-- no sooner does she say that than he's bending down again to start scooping the wayward pieces of fruit into his arms. It takes him several armloads, standing to replace them once his arms are full, but at last all of the fruit is back in its proper place on the stand, and he turns to her with a smile.]

There. Nothing to worry about.

[action]

[musubi]

Mmm. Kingly cooties.

[Isamu reaches over to nab the cherry, popping it into his mouth.]

[wipesfaith]

Really?

[He scrutinizes the box again.]

Why's that? [Neither cherries nor strawberries are terribly common where he's from, so to him it makes way more sense to just use apples.]

[action]

[drawnbythesword]

... I'm sure the cake will taste just as good, regardless if it's by his hand or by yours.

[ledbythewind]

Because most red candies that I've tasted are cherry-flavored, or sometimes strawberry. Cherry seems to be the default flavor for something that's dyed red.

[It had been a bizarre thing to him too when he first arrived; while food coloring exists in his world, it isn't used anywhere near as often as it is in the food that shows up in the grocery store here.]

[action]

[ledbythewind]

Thank you, Asbel. I just don't want him to feel forgotten now that so many of his other friends are gone.

[godbent]

We were just talking. Look, why does that matter? [She waves a hand dismissively. In part because it's embarrassing] The point is, when you're trying to make an impression on someone you should really play to your strengths!

[ledbythewind]

And if I said that wasn't the impression I wanted to make?

[He arches an eyebrow, wavering somewhere between being amused and being annoyed.]

[godbent]

Then you're stupid. Why wouldn't you here? [She sighs, and then goes on to explain, as if she were explaining simple math to a child] It's not like it has any duty or danger you need to go through here and it just sounds impressive.