patisserie lysitherie: preparations

[notimeforfailure]

[a. video, un: charon, ota]

Good evening, Trench. The grand opening of... [she frowns as she says the next part] the Patisserie Lysitherie is currently scheduled for November 15th, pending any horrible Trenchian incidents. So most likely, November 30th.

As we prepare for transition into our new space, I'm seeking a few things.

First, Architects or anyone good with woodworking and metalworking to remodel the existing building and to install a few necessary appliances. I need more ovens. Anyone interested in helping with the business is welcome, too, of course.

Second, if any recreational businesses are interested in a steady supply of pastries - for instance, a café or a bookstore - I'm open to partnerships.

Third, if you've got a cake or a sweet from home you're just dying to experience, I'd like to start collecting recipes from all of you Sleepers. I began this business to revive my beloved nostalgic sweets, but I realize... I'd like to be able to bring that experience to others, too.

[b. Willful Machine, early November, ota]

Augh!

[There comes a loud explosion from a rather derelict building in the middle of the Willful Machine district. A half-dozen thumps and clangs follow. ...Then the upper story of the building drops about three feet, releasing an enormous plume of smoke that settles over wary shoppers and merchants.  A girl covered in a thick layer of dust stumbles out ten seconds later and falls backwards on the ground.]

I suppose... that takes care of the rodent issue.

[The building belches out a gout of flame behind her.]

[c. Lysithea's home (Gaze), early November, for new and old customers, employees, or other general CR]

[With the bakery operations in full swing and the storefront not yet ready, Lysithea's home is in perpetual activity. Whether she's fulfilling orders, experimenting with new pastries, or bullying her employees, Lysithea works tirelessly to make her dream a reality. For the time being, her work as an Arcane Scholar in the School of Mutter is suspended as she focuses on her craft.]

Look out - hot pan behind you!

Yes, yes, of course - I can do a dozen mini-cakes for you by tomorrow; that won't be a problem.

Here to collect? If you would sign this form here and fill out what you plan to trade...

You've procured the cinnamon? Wonderful! How much did it cost us? Did you have to give up the hematite?

[Regardless of why you're here, she'll open the door with smudges of honey and chocolate all over her face and an exhausted, though satisfied expression.]

Comments

B: I resisted this for like four hours but it's a funny prompt so it's your fault

[payingfordeliverance]

[Break trundles out of the building moments after Lysithea does, much more calmly, looking decidedly put out underneath all the dust. Baltus slinks out behind him, likewise covered and growling to himself in a way that sounds mostly like a grumbling old man. Once they are safely away, the omen attempts to shake himself off, which accomplishes nothing but a horrible puff cloud.]

I promise you I could have killed it on my own. Ten feet tall and too many mouths is truly no problem, okaaaaaay.

[He is actively sulking about this. Baltus gives up and turns into transparent smoke to wait out the settling ashes, only to get mad that he can't flop on Break dramatically when he's intangible. The dog complaints resume.]

yes come to me

[notimeforfailure]

Mr. Xerxes.

[says Lysithea, her haunted eyes looking up into the gray chilly sky of November.]

If you tore down a wall to find a ball of nesting intertwined rats, I promise you would find my reaction perfectly reasonable.

That's... what it was, by the way.

[She forgets about Break's sightlessness nowadays when she's not actively instructing him.]

In the long run, we're saving on demolition fees.

[Therapy fees are another issue.]

[payingfordeliverance]

[Okay, fine, Break does accept that many rats at the same time is way more gross than one giant monster rat thanks to unfortunate previous experience in this regard, but still.]

Surely less explosive fire would have sufficed, all the same?

[Speaking of that, the heat of the flames emanating from the door reaches him, and Break tilts his head.]

...ah. Toasty. And me without any pocket marshmallows, woefully unprepared. Awful.

C

[vibing]

[ Yuri isn't the most prompt person, or the most dedicated employee. He does show up or his shift, but it's about an hour after he said he would, the sun already low in the sky when Lysithea opens the door, and he smirks at her chocolate-covered appearance ]

Someone get into the chocolate chips again?

[ He teases, one hand on his hip ]

[notimeforfailure]

Late!

[Lysithea grabs his hand and yanks him inside.]

Ten demerits! From your pay!

[Given that she pays him in cake, it's a mystery what that might mean.]

We've got a dozen orders to package before the end of the day, and I was so distressed by your absence that I had to take a chocolate break.

[.........]

[vibing]

Hey, hey! [ She packs a punch for being so small. He stumbles after her, holding up his hands with a laugh. It shouldn't be funny, but it is funny ] Eesh, sorry. Lost track of time. And, hey, chocolate break sounds great.

[ He glances over at the boxes, only half done, and a chocolate cupcake that was clearly part of said chocolate break ]

Oh, right. Flynn said I have to say that you should actually pay me.

[ You know, with stuff that isn't just cake. This is totally the time to ask for a raise, you know, when he was super late ]

c is for cinnamon

[arclightning]

Nope.

[ Mako flips a little darkly-faceted stone from his pocket, letting it slip between his fingers for a moment before he tosses it to Lysithea. He's wearing a backpack which smells.... frankly kind of amazing, and as another unexpected cotton tote slung over his shoulder. ]

Got 'em to throw it in with the sugar since the last shipment had those weird black things in there.

[ Did Mako maybe threaten to expose the vendor for something like malpractice, using a lot of cop-speak to sound intimidating?

Absolutely.

Is Mako still speaking in a much rougher dialect than he usually does, possibly because he was haggling down at the docks and hasn't yet switched back into his normal way of speaking? Also yes.

He shifts forward with a grunt to drop the massive tote onto the nearest counter. ]

Never heard of half this stuff before, but I got some spice samples for you, too. Where d'you want the cinnamon?

that's good enough for me

[notimeforfailure]

You're practically a miracle-worker, Mako.

[Lysithea breathes a sigh of satisfaction and pockets the beautiful stone.]

How do you do it? Nobody ever takes me seriously when I barter unless I threaten to blow something up. ...Which is essentially just extortion, now that I think about it. Hrm.

[Could it be that she has the appearance and stature of a fourteen year old girl? This one will be an eternal mystery.]

Right there on the counter is fine; I'll examine it for, er... black bits later. Now what do you have here...?

[The tote is pulled open carefully.]

[arclightning]

[ Mako just shrugs casually like the answer is not right there in front of them: that he is 6'2" of intimidating firebender who knows exactly how to look like he's going to use force or walk away from a deal or both. ]

Dunno. I'm good at haggling. You just have to know what your stuff is worth.

Like, this stuff. It was a mystery to me, so I didn't know if you could use it, and he wanted to keep our business so he gave it to me as a freebie. It's a bunch of different stuff—something called tonka, ube, which I've actually heard of, uh... there was pink pepper?

B

[onekindsoul]

[There's smoke. There's fire! That means Ruby Rose is on the scene as she realizes it. Except the moment she does arrive she sees Lysithea stumble out of the building and fall to the ground.

She waves her arms in the air and quickly moves to join her friend.]

Seriously!? And you didn't save any for me!?

[notimeforfailure]

S-Save... what?

[This response baffles Lysithea as she gazes up at Ruby's upside-down face.]

...Explosions?

[The building emits another little cough of smoke.]

I was... trying to install piping...

[onekindsoul]

Piping...?

You mean you weren't in some kind of crazy fight?

Because that's what it looks like.

C

[imaglyphwitch]

Lysithea!

[Here comes Luz, face beaten by the wind and her hair mussed but otherwise looking pretty energetic and ready to work].

What deliveries have you got for me?

[notimeforfailure]

Luz! Come in, yes.

[She is ushered inside to a wonderland where everything smells like sugar and the floor is dusted with a fine layer of flour.]

I haven't had a chance to clean yet, sorry. Actually - we're a little early on deliveries right now. If you want to sit and make yourself comfortable, there's time for a tea break.

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz hurried inside, getting a big whiff of everything with a dreamy look on her face. She snapped to attention when Lysithea continued on].

Oh, right, good idea!

[Luz was super happy she could at least talk and relax first. A LOT was happening right now, but Luz wasn't rude].

How've you been? Is the bakery doing well? Need help with anything else?

c.

[possessum]

( When Peter sees the video announcement, he thinks Good for her. It's really, really nice to see Lysithea doing something like this! He's happy for her! He has absolutely no skills that would be useful in actually helping, but he does make sure to spread the word if anyone might be able to assist.

However, as the month trickles on........ he starts to think maybe Paimon has been bothering her in some of the frequent, disorienting spells that Peter loses hours of his time. The demon's sneaky and seems to prefer his teenage host not being privy to what he gets up to in his personal time, but the fact they share clothes kind of makes it impossible for Peter not to notice how sometimes there's flour on his shirts (...and he wears a lot of black).

It's... an uneasy thought, but Peter knows full well that Paimon a) is a fiend for chocolate and b) has a certain attachment for the girl (god...it's so creepy how he latches onto certain people). So one afternoon, Peter pays a visit to her new business while it's still at her house. Which isn't far from his own, a couple twists and turns down Gaze's cobblestoned streets until he finds it and makes his way inside.

She clearly seems busy — face smudged with chocolate, tired in a particular-looking way. Kind of like his mom when she'd been up all night working on her miniatures before a big art project deadline. )

Hey, Lysithea! ( Peter greets her with a shy, but warm smile (that, and the fact he can actually say her name is a sure sign this is not the clucky one.) )

Sorry to bug you — you're probably crazy busy. I just wanted to come see how it's going.

( ....And make sure Paimon's not bugging the fuck out of her, but he figures he'll like, try to casually slip that into conversation somehow. He's trying to actually be slightly normal for once. )

[notimeforfailure]

Oh, that's fine. You weren't schedu --

[Lysithea's words spill out a bit too quickly when she opens the door. Her expression is distracted - it takes her a full second before her eyes focus on Peter, and she realizes who, exactly, is greeting her at the door. All the same, Peter's suspicions are likely confirmed.]

Apologies. I thought you were... Hello, Peter.

[A smile leaps to her face, more at ease than it ever appears for Paimon, despite that the demon is improving steadily in most metrics (sociability, batter mixing, selling-without-yelling)]

It's been a while. Ah -- come in!

[She steps aside and allows him to enter the workshop, which appears to be gently coated in a fine floury silt. It does not escape her that Peter's greeting was... also far more sociable than his usual manner.]

[possessum]

( Hold the phone....

Contrary to popular belief (and very valid assumptions), Peter isn't actually as oblivious as he might seem. It's mostly that he conveniently chooses to zonk out when he has the choice (unless he's involuntarily doing it). But this... even he can't pretend to not understand what the implications of this are......

He doesn't immediately freak out about it, however, which is... an improvement for him. No, the boy just steps through the door as invited, like the most awkward vampire, looking around at the sights of the home business. Lysithea's own smile makes it all a little easier, too. She's always made him feel... like it's okay.

When he turns back to her he's still smiling, despite the anxiety associated with the thought that Paimon has most likely been here getting up to who-knows-what (Peter's mental image is, of course, the demon terrorising the poor girl... throwing shit everywhere and stealing things. Setting customers on fire). )

This is really nice...! Is it going okay so far? Running a business seems pretty tough, dang.

( He genuinely wants to know — hanging onto the glimpses of normalcy before he brings up... The Bad One. )

a - un: lumine

[traversal]

i have a couple i was hoping to make, but no idea if i could find the ingredients here.

maybe you can help?

[notimeforfailure]

Of course. That's exactly the kind of situation I hope to rectify. Why don't you go ahead and describe what you're looking for?

[traversal]

have you heard of the recipe almond tofu? it's a cold dessert that's like a white pudding and you add fruit to it.

A un: R.BECKET

[righthemisphere]

Late to the party but if you're still looking for a contractor I've got back history in construction and metalwork.

[notimeforfailure]

Oh no! Not late in the slightest. Your offer comes at the most opportune time!

...You see, I was about to start screwing in pipes myself.

[this would have ended poorly]

I would be willing to trade any number of goods for your services.

c | i'm so sorry this is late!

[creidim]

[ There's been a sharp uptake in the amount of sweet-treats and pastries which have been brought back to the townhouse she shares with Peter Graham (and his demonic house guest). Luna tries not to look a gift-Abraxan in the mouth, especially when something sweet is concerned — but she's certainly been curious as to why there's been these gifts left for her.

It turns out Paimon's been the one leaving them for her, and it takes very little probing to get a name — the demon only too happy to report his new endeavours. He's not always so adept at explaining himself, but he's enthusiastic about it, proud even. Even that in itself feels like a good thing, pleased that the demon's found a new contentedness. The name Lysithea is not one which crops up often, and so she wonders if this might be the same girl from another time. Curiosity gets the better of her, and it brings her across Gaze to find out. ]

Oh, hello—! No, sorry— [ She shakes her head, smiling a little at the smudges of honey across the girl's cheek. ] I'm afraid I'm not here to collect.

[ There's a vague recollection of her face; she remembers speaking to her once before, some time ago now. At least a year. Something on the network in Deerington. But the girl in front of her seems more around her own age than looking a fair bit younger than her. ]

...Oh, you've gotten much older.

no worries, we talked!

[notimeforfailure]

[Well, that's rude! Lysithea, on the verge of politely asking what the girl wants, instead gapes at her momentarily with a partially-opened mouth. Her brows knit in a frown.]

Either you're a very harsh critic of strangers or you remember me from Deerington.

[She peers at the girl.]

Hmmmm, I do know you. Once or twice on the network, I think. Though I don't recall the specifics...

Ah! Yes, something about a potion once?

[Was that it? She really couldn't recall.]

Well, I assume you stopped by for some business or another. Come in.