seleniahymn | ♪ sixteenth hymn. [voice/action]

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♪ sixteenth hymn. [voice/action]

[It's been some days since Anise left, and for the most part Tear has been taking it in stride. She did feel sadness, especially knowing what the younger girl would be returning to back in Auldrant, but it isn't as heavy as she thought it would be. Perhaps it was because the last time Anise had left the enclosure, it had been within days of Natalia's departure and she had been so new to Luceti herself, so the weight of not having two of her closest friends had been that much more palpable.

But she knows better than to dwell too much on it now, surely the fon master guardian would be pouting at her like she so often did when she deemed her as being too gloomy. So she's going to try her hand more at something she knew she would have liked.]

If there's anyone who knows how to make chiffon cake, or is willing to help me make some... I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Her friend might not be here to appreciate it herself, but she could at least try to make it for the benefit of her friends who did remain.]

Or any form of baking really, even if it's just helping to taste it. Maybe later today or at another time.

[Call it a whim.]

[In the meantime she'll be making her way through the shops like she usually does, but she's drawing more attention to anything seemingly cute today, without even trying to hide it. And since Colonel decided to accompany her for a time this afternoon, some might overhear her occasionally asking him of particular items she finds even though it's more musing to herself rather than truly seeking his opinion.]

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[Eley notices that frown and it seems to confuse him somewhat.]

Is that not a good thing? I would have thought that enjoyment of your products is what you should ultimately strive for whenever you come to make something. You should be proud of what you have achieved so far.

It's not that. [She offers a brief reassuring smile, since she hadn't meant to confuse him and her body language just now did contradict what she had been saying.]

When I learned, well... One of my closest friends was very disbelieving, thinking that it was another of my female companions who made it because he doesn't think it suits me.

[That... actually seems to amuse Eley a little. Something about the way she explained that, he supposed he might consider it 'cute', as humans tended to put it.

He was never really sure when that word was appropriate...]

I do not believe it is a matter of 'suiting' someone. I am sure the more you work at it, the more he will be convinced if he is not already. Sometimes it is not always a bad thing to surprise someone.

[He'll learn soon enough that the word applies to himself nearly all the time. For now she smiles, appreciating his comfort. Even if the result of that certain incident hadn't been the most mature...]

Thank you, though I suppose in some ways I'm predictable. At this point he does know better and seems to enjoy what I make, but back then I refused to let him have any after the comment.

At least he seems to have learned his lesson for now.

[He muses. Then looks at the spread of ingredients they now have before them. It seemed strange that so many different things could be brought together to combine into one end product that was totally different to everything that had gone into it before. Oddly enough he began to wonder if he had been created in the same way...

But enough of that.]

We had best begin. Where should we start?

I read and memorized a few recipes before coming, though perhaps it would have been better to bring the book with me for this. [It's a bit late for that now, since she didn't want to spend the afternoon going back and forth fetching things. She'll have to trust her memory, and at the very least she had all the ingredients here.]

First we would have to preheat the oven... Also, do you have any objection against chocolate?

...it does not matter. Try to recall what you can and we will... experiment a little.

[It would be fun, yes? That was part of the point of this after all.]

Ah, no. Chocolate is something I have tried and I will admit that I do find the taste rather pleasant. [In other words, chocolate yes please.]

Yes, we could do that. [But somewhere in the far reaches of her mind, there is an ominous feeling that 'experimenting' might be more than just throwing ingredients together...]

Then you'll be glad to know that this recipe is for a chocolate variation. [She'll be heating up the stove as she says that, grabbing some bags of dry ingredients and placing them on the table beside the bowls.] Don't forget to wash your hands first.

[Follow by example!]

[In Eley's case... it was quite possible. He'll follow her instructions for now though, trusting her judgement more than his own. The Spirit gives a nod at her reminder, rolling up his sleeves and heading for the sink to wash his hands.

It was so therapeutic to be a Spirit and doing something.]

All right, I believe I am ready.

Then I want you to take the pan and spread butter— [She'll be pointing to a handful of sticks of butter, which would hopefully be softened if not melting given the warmer weather.] ... onto this pan.

[Have a pan!] When you're done spreading it, take some of the flour and coat it, so that the cake will come out of the pan in one piece once it's done. I'll start sifting the dry ingredients meanwhile.

[Hopefully he knows which one is the flour...]

[Eley accepts the pan, taking in her words and following her finger to the sticks of butter. He takes one of the sticks now and places it in the pan... but then pauses, wondering exactly how he's supposed to spread it.

Well, it seems soft enough so how about he just squishes it with his hands and spreads it out with his fingers? Oh, except now it's stuck on his fingers too... and seems to be 'spreading' into a lumpy mess.

He hasn't even got to the flour yet.]

[At first Tear doesn't notice since her attention is focused on sifting through the dry ingredients, but when she notices that Eley hasn't asked anything about what to do next yet she looks over to see what he was up to, pausing in her own task.

... Oh dear.] Eley? Are you having trouble?

[Eley might be blushing slightly at her question. He does have a certain amount of pride and doesn't really want to admit that he has no idea what he's doing and seems to have gotten into a mess...

...on the other hand he wants to learn. And he does need help, before he makes things any worse.]

I... am not sure if I used the correct technique to accomplish what you asked. [He says, holding up his sticky hands.]

Its a... technique, though not the neatest one. [She has to hold back a laugh as she puts down her own things, reaching over to grab the pan from Eley and a new stick of butter, unwrapping it to prepare for a proper demonstration (good thing she brought extra).]

The most common way is to just grab the butter and rub it over the inside of the pan, like this. Some people spread it with the fingers, sort of like you were.

[Well... now he feels a bit silly that it was that simple, even if there were people who seemed to like the messier option.]

I see... I suppose I was trying to complicate something that was not really complicated at all.

[He washes the butter off his hands before doing anything else.]

Then next we need a flower? I do not see anything resembling such a thing here.

[Confused Eley is confused.]

I could have explained better, I didn't realize you would be going with such a method. [At least he learned quickly enough, though now she has to wonder where else he might need help.

... Like right now.] The flour is right here, I've been sifting some of it.

[And pointing to the bag, though it occurs to her a split second later what he thought he meant. She can't hold back the smile completely this time, though it was a bit more affectionate.] Sometimes flowers are used in recipes, but this is not one of them. The one usually used is this.

[Oops... well at least he wasn't entirely wrong in thinking that flowers could supposedly be used for cooking. And now he knows that flour = white powder. Got it!

He takes a handful of it and sprinkles it liberally over the butter in the pan.]

Like this? [He asks, looking to her for confirmation.]

That works just fine. [At least there's no worry about getting the cake out of the pan later, with how much preparation Eley has put into it.

But then there's the next task...!] Do you know how to whisk ingredients?

[Are the egg yolks doomed...]

[The egg yolks and the general vicinity are quite possibly doomed... as are the people standing in it.

The Spirit shakes his head, looking expectant for an explanation.]

I am afraid not.

[Good thing she's already put all the wet ingredients in a bowl, she can demonstrate exactly how to start whisking them! And she does start doing so as a demonstration, though she does try to give a verbal explanation as well.]

Simply put, you use the force in your wrist to beat the ingredients together until they're blended smoothly. If you're not used to it it can get tiring, but if you truly want to we can find a mixer somewhere.

[Though is giving Eley a mixer a good idea...]

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♪ sixteenth hymn. [voice/action]

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