deercountry | patisserie lysitherie: preparations

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patisserie lysitherie: preparations

[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.]

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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.]

[ 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?

Pink... pepper?

[There is a collection of mystery satchels inside the tote. She pulls one out and gingerly peeks inside.]

I would say that I'm not sure what kind of cake has pepper in it, but if they threw it in for free, I have no complaints.

Do you want to keep it for cooking?

[She sniffs her bag, which proves to be full of purple powder. It has a lightly earthy, sweet scent. There might be uses.]

Weird, right? It smells fruitier than the peppers I'm used to. Don't know what I'd use it for, but I'll take it.

Oh—

[ Mako squats to start unloading the cinnamon, of which there is... a lot. He has to haul each individual twined-together bundle of the sticks out, and then they'll need to grind them down into powder... oh well. He'll start that process once it's all unloaded. ]

—got a tip from the merchant, though. The next vanilla shipment's coming in early, and they managed to pick up a bunch of sugar with it, too. If we get there early enough we could stock up for the whole month.

Early?

[Though this is presented as good news, Lysithea appears faintly panicked. Her hand reaches out for something that ends up not being there; she glances around for a moment or two before locating a notebook covered in flour.]

Early, early... Hmm. How early?

Sorry, let me figure this out. If it comes in too early... yes, this is Aric on Orion, right? I've promised him the osprey flight feathers in exchange for access to the hold, but we're not getting the feathers until...

[She taps a page.]

The 10th?

Ugh, trading! This is your forte, isn't it, Mr. Accountant? Check my work.

[She tosses him their ledger.]

Yeah, it's Aric, they're coming three or four days early.

[ Mako half-pivots, holding up a hand to catch the ledger. Some of the pages crumple, but he manage it at least, and peers down at her spidery writing. Osprey feathers on the tenth in exchange for some of the cakes, but... ]

Hm. He was interested in those shiny [ He means iridescent ] flight feathers, the black ones? And we still have the hematite. We could just give him more of those and use the osprey ones for his next shipment. Like a future-claim.

Ah.

...Yes, of course that's possible. I ought to have thought of that.

[Lysithea is too practical to voice her secret desires, even if her face gives away the fact that she had hoped to hold on to the hematite if at all possible. Extended exposure to Trench had given her a vague appreciation for shiny stones.]

The violet hematite is our ace-in-the-hole, as they say. But if the shipment is as lucrative as you suggest, this is a worthy expenditure.

...We've got a good system going, don't we, Mako?

[ Mako pauses from his flip-through of their book, a little surprised and... pleased? Is that what he's feeling? ]

...yeah. We really do.

Let's see if he'll do it for just the black feathers. You're right. We can use the hematite only if we really need it.

[ Because it's going to be a bit until they're really profitable. Maybe he should talk to Lysithea about raising their price standards... Mako makes a mental note of that, stretches up to put the book on a counter, and returns to stacking cinnamon sticks. ]

Does managing inventory count as a hobby, you think?

Inventory is definitely a job.

[She smiles indulgently.]

...But you can love your job, too, you know.

If you're going to call it a hobby, it sounds more like you have a passion for trading and bargain hunting. I heard the way you were speaking when you walked in.

[a faint pause]

Although... perhaps you didn't.

[She is aware that one changes one's persona to fit the need - sometimes unconsciously.]

No, I... think you're right. It's like.

[ With a quiet grunt, Mako gets his arms around as much of the stacked cinnamon as possible and maneuvers gracelessly around to lift it. It... doesn't actually take that much effort, it's just bulky and slippy. But that's okay, half of it's going to get ground down anyway. Maybe he should get Bolin to help... ]

It is kind of fun. Thinking on your feet, you know? Solving a problem with what you have. Negotiating without a lot of resources is something I got pretty good at. Feels good to use that skill, I guess.

I suppose the trouble is that those skills don't lend themselves so easily to a hobby. You could do puzzles.

[That seems a bit like a waste of time, though.]

But if this occupation satisfies your needs in some way, I wouldn't complain.

[Mostly because she gets to watch him stack up cinnamon instead of trying to manage it herself, a task which is liable to take ages and require more strength than she actually possesses.]

Perhaps you can be a sort of detective for satisfying conundrums. ...I don't mean menial labor - I mean like those people who take out advertisements claiming to be able to resolve all your worldly issues, whether it's a spat with your lover or a missing heirloom.

[ Mako lets out a surprised huff of laughter at the idea as he shoves the stacks onto a crate of flour in the corner. ]

What, like a therapist-slash-PI? I'll fix your marriage and your debt troubles in four weeks or less or your money back.

Well, probably not their money back, or that's a waste of time.

If Mako can't resolve your life crises, then they probably aren't solvable, anyway.

[Lysithea finishes fishing out the little satchels of powder from the tote bag.]

If it's all the same to you, though, perhaps you can stick with this line of work a little while longer.

Have you given the whole thing any more thought?

What, hobbies?

[ With all the cinnamon stacked up and ready to be stored, Mako pulls a bundle free and starts turning around, looking for—there. The mortar, a heavy thing he'd pulled from the market one day that he and Wu won't actually use. The accompanying pestle doesn't actually match, is definitely from a different set, but it doesn't matter. It's heavy and it'll get the job done, and Mako dumps a bunch of the sticks into it to start smashing them. ]

I don't know. Guess I got pretty caught up in the whole opening thing, and then this... I really wouldn't mind doing stuff like this all the time. What about you? Is actually running a bakery what you thought it'd be?

[Lysithea wordlessly hands him a pair of rubber gloves and apron in case he doesn't want cinnamon sparkles getting all over his hands and clothing.]

Yes and no.

[She pauses.]

You'll laugh, but I initially had some sort of fantasy where all the hard work just accomplished itself while I reaped the benefits of standing at a counter and handing out delicious sweets.

But I feel I've handled it adequately so far, if I might be so modest as to say so. If I can apply myself to learning magical theory day and night, I can do the same for baking technique - and basic economics - and... I suppose, engineering.

That one's not working out as well.

[Lysithea did have a sort of genius for learning new skills, even if she had rarely applied them to other pursuits in the past.]

[ Bless Lysithea for being so practical. Mako shoots her a small grateful smile and pauses his smashing to tug them on. ]

Don't think that makes you any different from Wu. He was willing to put in the work too, but I'm pretty sure he thought it'd be like... one mover-montage worth of cleaning and then just all shows all the time.

[ Smash, smash, it's kind of loud but at least it works and Mako isn't getting cinnamon all over his hands. He pauses again to tug his scarf up over his nose. ]

You don't need to engineer a cake, though. Why d'you need to know that?

No one offered to help install the oven.

[Lysithea responds flatly with the faintly injured tones of a martyr.]

It's not that difficult, of course. I mean, the principles of heat convection are the same in any world over. The issue is more...

[She makes a vague swooping hand gesture at the ceiling which is entirely uninterpretable, but which she intends to mean 'construction.']

Fortunately, somebody just responded affirmatively, so I think I'll allow them to take things from here.

...You don't have to do all of that, Mako. I technically just asked you for negotiations and accounting, you know.

Yeah, but I'm here, aren't I?

[ Translation: so I may as well, because working is the only thing I know how to do in order to show love.

Also, smashing cinnamon is kind of fun. ]

That is a weird thing about this place. Something I didn't think would carry over from Deerington. Everyone's so willing to help each other.

Does that mean you want to wash all the dirty dishes, too?

[Lysithea cheerfully gestures towards the sink overflowing with pans covered with crusty batter.]

Without making light of your contributions, though... thank you, Mako.

[A simple acknowledgment for a simple gesture.]

I believe we've all lived through what one might call a traumatic experience together. It was much the same with the war, really.

Sure.

[ Mako glances at them too, pauses, and then adds on: ]

With help. I didn't make all that mess.

But that's the thing, all these new people have the same impulse, you know? I get it when you say it like that, everyone who was in the dream knows what's at stake, but the new ones?

That was a joke. Don't wash the dirty dishes, Mako.

[Though Lysithea does file away the fact that Mako is willing to do absolutely anything she asks when in her employment.]

The new people?

[This she echoes with some surprise.]

...I haven't given that much thought. Apart from wondering why there are new people at all if we're divorced from Julia's dream and the need to seek her salvation. But surely -- well, Deerington always liked to bring in what I referred to as the 'hero-types.'

[This term definitely encompasses Mako. Lysithea seems to believe herself above it.]

Perhaps Trench, in an effort to promote its own welfare, prefers to bring in the helpful types.

You really think the city's some sentient thing?

[ It's actually kind of nice to have something to do with his hands while he thinks through this. Mako's been trying to pin down the patterns for weeks now and gotten nowhere fast. ]

I've been wondering about that, too. Why we're here. Why people are being yanked here. You'd figure there'd be some kind of pattern beyond "helpful people, probably." And if that was the rule, you wouldn't have a couple people who just... keep murdering everyone.

Something must be making a choice, right? Before it was Julia - and we know that her subconscious tried to draw in people to help her. Now... I suspect some Pthumerian or other must be involved.

[If Mako's going to actually try to do the dishes, Lysithea supposes she had better pre-empt that. Or at least assist. She turns on the water and begins to look under the sink for some more gloves.]

Let's, er, call Darth Maul an oversight. Not every choice is guaranteed to be perfect.

...Why do you think Trench is still drawing in people, then?

I don't have an answer that isn't more than half conjecture.

[ He leaves the but unspoken, because he does in fact have a theory. ]

I think this world needs us somehow.

Can't say how, and don't know why, but... you've heard how the locals talk about us. Like we're a step below the Pthumerians, even though we're just people. Nobody does anything as big and complicated as stealing people from other worlds without getting something out of it, so obviously us being here has to be doing something.

That, or I'm completely wrong and this is just some cosmic side-effect leftover from the dream. Like a faucet nobody can turn off.

Needs us?

[Lysithea pauses in the fitting of the gloves.]

Do you mean in a sort of cosmic... energy type of way or a more practical 'we can do something good here' way? I dimly remember there was some occasion where we realized we were powering the dream in some way, back in Deerington.

[The water comes on.]

If that's the case, it would probably work to our benefit to obfuscate that goal. I don't mind the helping bit, though.

patisserie lysitherie: preparations

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