[Featured characters: Alanis, Emily, Viki] Budehuc Castle: By the Lake This area sits lower than the main castle--So much so, in fact, that the only path up to the front door is up a long, narrow set of stairs. Nowhere does the castle itself look more worn down than here, where the walls are moss-covered and so well worn that defensive walls and pathways have smoothed into one. The buildings that have popped up here, however, are as beautiful and new as anything--Made of brick and white walled, with red-tiled rooves and sturdy wooden beams. Here the pathways have been repaved, as well, making a pleasant stone path that leads around the lake. A well sized outside cafe sits here, with half a dozen white tables set up in the sunlight by the lake. The lake itself is the most stunning thing here--Wide and beautiful, one can see far, far across the lake the silhoette of the mountains that sit north of Vinay del Zexay. ===== Viki was hungry. It had taken all of twenty minutes and thirty two seconds for her to understand that the sounds coming from her stomach meant that she was hungry and -not- because she had somehow conjured or teleported a musical instrument. She had been searching everywhere for it when she realized...it was waaaay past lunch time~! She was in front of Mamie's Restaurant now, impatiently hopping up and down on her feet, wand clutched tightly with both hands. Where was Mamie? She was always usually..right...here!!! "Hello????" She peers over the counter and into the kitchen. No Mamie. Not even food. Well, Viki, you -did- miss lunch time after all. But, oooooh so hungry~! Alanis usually figures out she's hungry much faster than Viki, but unlike the teleportress, she resisted the urge to run to the cafe on purpose - until now, at least, as her reading for the morning is finished. And what an annoying chapter that was - it kept referring to an old document on the Million Worlds that she just /couldn't/ find, and she'd had to ask Eike to look for it instead. She has decided, though, that since he seems to think it will take a while to find the proper book, now is a good time to take a break for lunch. After all, she can't really go any farther with that stupid tome until she reads the other thing. Sigh. But there's the cafe, and Alanis is famished! She walks quickly down the hill and past the trading post, clamping down firmly on the urge to run. It's not proper for ladies to run, if she runs, her skirt might show too much of her legs, yadda yadda yadda... her mother had really laid into her after that fountain incident. As if it was HER fault?! No. How rude of her not to even /listen/ and -- well, no, she won't think of that! She can't, because just as she steps onto the tile of the cafe dining area, she catches sight of the teleportress at the counter, and /freezes/. This can't be. Please, /not/ her again... she can't take another teleporting incident... Emily is naturally running. Well, she's a fighter, and she wears shorts, anyway... Hardly a lady or anything like that. "Hey! Hey, hold up, don't order yet!" She wants company with her food... Emily's not had many bad experiences with Viki yet, after all. Dashing over, she blinks at the counter. "Wait, where's the person behind it? You know, the one that gives the food part?" "She's...not here." Viki turns towards Emily and blinks at her, confusion clearly written on her face...along with the hunger of course. "Do you know where she went? I'm really hungry..." Her stomach groans. Really, she was feeling kind of faint! She realized she had not eaten the whole morning either. She had overslept and had been waiting for lunch, when she forgot and....Oh! She knew that pigtailed girl, didn't she? Viki waves at the girl, completely oblivious to the ..scared, fearful...glance in her direction. "Hello Alanis! Are you here for lunch too?" Great, she's been noticed. There's no graceful way to get out of it now, and it's not like red blends in with the background! Oh, if only Elliot or Melville could be here, so she would have the excuse of playing, or... or something! Alanis raises her hand with a weak wave and a weaker smile, before she picks her way through the tables to join the other two at the counter. And it appears Mamie isn't here, which is also a shame... she'd wanted to talk to the chef about her meeting with the bishop. It seems her luck isn't any good there, either. "Do you... know where she went?" she asks Viki hesitantly, looking at her out of the corner of her eye. Hm, she doesn't know the other girl... Emily scratches her head. "Well... That's odd. You'd think she'd stay out there! Is there anywhere else to eat around here, or is this it..?" Emily walks up to the counter, leaning over it and peering inside. "It's not right for people to just let others starve, is it? I'm really hungry, too..." Viki shakes her head, a slight frown on her face. "No, I don't know where she is." Her stomach groans again and she flattens her left palm against it as if to dull the sound. "Umm, I'd really hungry too. Eh heh." She gives a sheepish laugh, a little embrassed at the loud noise her stomach was making. And then her eyes widen and she opens her mouth, because she just had the most wonderful idea~! "We can...go in the kitchen and help ourselves! I'm sure Mamie won't mind!" And then, she places both hands on the counter, wand securely under her arm, and hoists herself up and over it. CRASH~! ...And manages to enter headfirst into the kitchen and right into the pots and pans. "Oh wow..." A muffled voice. "I'm stronger than I thought...." Alanis winces at the thunderous banging, and she can't help thinking... that had to be expected, with Viki and her bright ideas. She glances at the taller girl next to her, wondering if she should introduce herself, but her concern for their general well-being overrides her good manners - if she doesn't get the teleportress out of there NOW, or at the very least on her feet, they might find themselves at the other end of yet /another/ misfired teleportation. The thought makes her shudder. She hurries around to the side of the building where the door is and yanks it open. Well, Mamie didn't lock it - she must just be out for a walk or something! Hopefully this can all be straightened out before she comes back. Please, please, please! The chant repeats itself frantically in her head as she rushes inside to help Viki up. Emily just hops over the counter, far more... Gracefully... than Viki. And, ignoring the other girl's pleight, she immediately starts looking at ingrediants... "Ah, what did you guys want? Something simple might be best, she has some really... confusing.. recipes here..." Emily cooks as a hobby, and she's okay at it, but.. Not great. "I'm fine, Alanis!" Viki chirps brightly, struggling to her feet. She picks her wand off the floor, straightens her dress, and takes a look around the kitchen. And...nearly squeals with delight when she spots a basket full of strawberries~! Viki loved loved LOVED strawberries. She swipes the basket off the table and brings them over to Emily. "Can you make strawberry shortcake? Or strawberry muffins? I'll help!" Viki then thrusts the basket at Emily, nearly poking the girl's eye out and then starts to roll up her sleeves. "Alanis! Can you get that bowl over there please?" What did one put in a cake anyway? Eggs and...flour..and...hmmm maybe some of this...? And..that? And...that? This is truly a nightmare. Alanis hadn't imagined /anything/ like this was going to happen when she woke up this morning. The horror stories and mysteries can go on and on about how frightening ghosts and chains and bloody knives are, but nothing is quite as chilling as the idea of letting Viki cook. She rushes over and grabs Viki's arm, trying to be polite and firm at the same time. "We really shouldn't you know, I mean, Mamie might not like that we're messing around in her kitchen, and if we get caughtshecouldgetreallymad--" She's not making much sense anymore. Her mind is frantically urging her to get. Viki. OUT. Emily says "Well, I was really wanting some meat... Hmm, there's some... sort of fish. Not sure exactly what. Viki, you and Alanis make the cake, I'll cook the fish..." She starts in on it, too, proficiently enough for not seeming to have any clue what kind of fish it is. Doesn't matter, she figures, you can fry anything meat! Viki continues to add things into a large bowl and begins to stir it rather vigorously, sending flour and egg everywhere. "Don't worry so much Alanis. I'm sure Mamie will be okay. I mean, you're hungry too aren't you?" She smiles reassuringly at her, the effect ruined by the flour stains on her face and in her hair. "What are you making?" She turns towards Emily. Whatever she was working on, it looked interesting! And tastey! Maybe she should add whatever it is to her cake? Viki stops stirring and takes a handful of whatever Emily had been using and throws it into her cake batter. There, now stir stir stir! That brings a wince to Alanis's face, and she can't hide it this time. /Fish/, in /cake/? Blessed runes, that will be absolutely /deadly/! She isn't much of a cook herself, but she can prepare meals passably, and she seems to have a much better idea of what to do in here than the mage. "Ah..." She's wasting her breath - it's obvious. But she has to make one more attempt to save Mamie's kitchen. "Viki... you know, maybe you should... err... use a recipe?" Most people can get by without blowing their kitchen up if they have a recipe... although with this one, who knows? "And... put your wand down, it'll help..." Please, PLEASE put your wand down! Emily blinks as Viki takes part of the fish meat she'd been cutting into strips to fry and adds it to the cake... "You're not supposed to put meat in cake, you know! I'm making fish." And she puts the strips in a pan, adding proper oils and butters and those sorts of thing - she's a reasonable cook, her player is NOT, so here's a sentence where she's doing the proper cooking thing, you just can't see it. "Recipe? I -am- using a recipe!" Viki points a flour covered finger at the cookbook opened on her feet. "I'm just adding stuff to make it taste better!" She turns to give Emily a confused look. "I know fish doesn't go in cake. That would taste awful!" She grimaces, imagining what fish would taste like in a cake. And then continues to beat at the batter, splattering the table and the walls and the floor.....all the while whistling happily. Viki was always in a good mood when cooking. Lalala, let's add in a few more eggs and more strawberries. Okay, done~! She slowly pours her chunky cake batter -a weird pinkish orangeish color- into a baking pan. "Alanis, can you open the oven for me, please?" Alanis's hands twitch at her sides as she stares in barely concealed horror. Calm. Breathe. Maybe she's just overreacting. The worst that can happen is that Viki will get sick from her own food, and she can do that out on the patio, right? And Alanis will clean this mess, because letting the other girl near it might result in the disappearance of half the facility. Emily, at least, seems to have an idea of what she's doing, so that's only half of the disaster to worry about. "Ah... right..." Is she actually /agreeing/ to this abomination? Oh dear. That makes her an accomplice, doesn't it? So be it - she walks over to the oven and peers at it uncertainly. It seems to still be lit... She opens the door and turns her face aside from the wave of heat. "Be careful..." Emily hmms at Viki. "I just watched you put fish in that cake, though.... Well, that's fine, I guess." She just won't eat any - Emily's not stupid, you know! And she is doing rather a good job cooking the fish, probably because there's nothing she has to worry about breaking involved. Those eggs are just so weak! She tries to ignore Viki's little disaster. Neeever happened.. "I'm always careful!" She grabs the pan with a small dishtowel and practically -tosses- everything -towel and all- into the oven. Batter falls over the sides and unto the bottom of the oven. Viki uses her hip to close the oven door, clapping her hands together, signaling that she was -done-. She smiles happily at Alanis. "Now we wait a few minutes for it to cook, then we get to eat it!" She leans back against the table and watches Emily finish up her cooking. "That looks really good too! But...." Viki sniffs the air, her face set in confusion. "Is it supposed to smell burnt like that?" That burning smell is /probably/ the batter Viki slopped over the side of the pan, in the oven. Alanis cracks the door and peeks in to make sure, but it doesn't look ready to explode - yet. She lets it close again and tries to edge away from it without letting the other two on to what she's doing, glancing around to find something to occupy herself with. Like cleaning! That's right, Viki made a huge mess of the counter. Alanis scurries over to the back shelf, where she finds a bucket of water and a bunch of dishtowels. She wets two of them and makes her way back to the place where the teleportress was mixing her batter, and starts cleaning. Please, oh /please/ let Mamie be on a very long walk! Emily shakes her head, listening to Viki. "It's not the fish - this isn't even done yet, you know? It's probably all that mess you made... You can help the little girl clean it up, can't you? None of that mess should be left on there, or the person who really works here will get mad at us, you know? So make sure it's all gone..." There's a great way to phrase it, no? Viki blinks at Emily for a second, or two....and then nods slowly. Okay, so she just asked her to clean right? Well, okay, Viki could do that. She looks around and spots Alanis already at work on the floor. "No, no, don't do it the hard way! I can just teleport some soapy water!" She gives Alanis a -hopefuly- reassuring smile. Because her teleporting did work 60% of the time you know? Viki didn't have time to wonder about the other 40%. There were more important matters at hand. She gives her wand -which was always in her hand- an expert twirl and ignoring any protests -not that there would be any-, she shouts "SHAZAM!" Pause. Silence. "Hmm, I guess it didn't work. let me try aga----oh okay here we are!" Viki taps the floor with her foot, the floor that was somehow slowly filling up with water. She beams at them all, while the water continues to fill the room, with no intention of stopping. "No, wait--" Too late. Alanis holds her breath, and is almost about to let it out in relief when water begins welling onto the floor. Instead, it's a sigh torn somewhat between terror and exasperation, as she snatches the cookbook up off the floor and stands on her tiptoes to shove it onto a very high shelf. There is a lesson to be learned from this, and her previous experiences with Viki - water and teleporting are not meant to be mixed. Ever. It is something she will keep in mind, if she ever has the occasion to use a Blinking rune. For now, she says, surprisingly calmly, "I don't suppose you can make it stop...?" Because yes, now that the water is lapping at their ankles, there is /more/ than enough to do the job. Emily blinks down at the floor, as her feet start to get damp. "Ah, ah, hey, that's worse! You might drown us, you know, or ruin the food.. And it's allllmost done, too. Just give me about four more minutes, okay, and we'll all have nice hot fried fish to eat... But, only if the water's gone, right?" Viki coughs. And fidgets. And looks uncomfortable. "Umm, I can't really teleport the water out until it umm stops." And that was really bad, seeing as the water was now up to ther knees and climbing even further now. "I guess we can open the door? Let the water out?" Because that's the sensible thing to do right? And umm was the oven rattling? Viki blinks and turns towards her cake, when the door to the oven -flies- open and literally spits out the cake batter. Unto the ceiling, the walls, the tables and all over the girls. Well....Viki wipes the batter from her eyes and looks at the water that was now at her thighs. "At least the water's stopped...." She's evil - she must be. That must be a carefully constructed mask of ignorance! How else could this happen again, and again, and again! The water may only be up to Viki's thighs, but she's taller than Alanis, who is submerged to her waist. It's a good thing she doesn't wear white. "Well... if it's stopped..." She waves her hands a little bit, splashing water onto the grill and making it sizzle and steam. Oops. Not that it matters, when the entire place is flooded. "Can you.... wait, never mind." What is she /thinking/, asking Viki to teleport /again/? Alanis starts wading over to the door, calling over her shoulder, "I'll let it out this way, so don't do anything!" Emily jumps in surprise as she's completely covered in batter... But, she pulls the fish out of the frying pan, even as she gets soaked - though thankfully she wears black and orange. "This is done... You won't be able to get that door open, though! It opens inwards, all the water's pressing against it. Even I couldn't budge it right now... So, let's eat. And if the water's stopped, can you get rid of it...?" She's just trying to not have a stroke right now, really. That or kill Viki... Viki slowly licks the batter off her hand. It actually tasted good! It was a pity the oven was broken. Viki sighs and turns towards the other girls. "I'm much better at teleporting people. So, I'll get us out of here! " With a grand gesture, which was kind of hard to pull off covered in batter and water and stuff, she lifts her wand a second time and calls out a clear, "SHAZAM~!" ...Only to remember a second too late that she didn't specify where she was going! But, where? Water...was blue....and ummm. Yeah, uh oh. Viki hoped that she hadn't teleported them to some unknown island...which wouldn't be a first for her. Right? Not that she even remembered. She opens her eyes to find herself in a nice, luxurious room with a mostly blue interior and design. It looked familiar. But, hey, it was blue, right? "I think....we're in the Bishop's room...." She whispers. Then, immediately chirpy again, she plops herself into a chair and grins at the others, gesturing towards the fish Emily was still carrying. "The bishop won't mind, he's a nice man. Let's eat!" Well. The bishop's quarters? Of course. Of course! Leave it to Viki to find the /worst possible place/ to drop them when they're wet, covered in batter, and ready to eat fish! And just after she'd been assured that he does /not/, in fact, execute people for just offending him. He'd seemed rather nice, really, but how nice is he going to be when he finds them in his room like this? No! Her parents are going to KILL HER. And worse, she's still hungry. That fish smells good, and she finds herself eyeing it with interest, and then looking up at Emily. Well... if they're going to die... they might as well have a good last meal.