ArchivedLogs:Baked Bads

Baked Bads
Dramatis Personae Lia, Jeremy, Ducky, Sage	20 March 2014 Research Cupcakes = Worst. Cupcakes. Ever.
Location <XS> Back Porch
The back patio is a restful place to sit and relax, in most weather. Ample seating comes in the form of umbrella'd deck chairs and a cushioned porch swing, and the neighboring gardens attract butterflies and hummingbirds to make the viewing pleasant. The hot tub is usually open for use, though in snowy weather the transition in and out is a shivery one! Xavier's is crowded with students once more as classes began anew just this morning. Students /maybe/ should be doing homework already, but it also happens to be the first day of spring and a gorgeous, sunny, breezy, balmy, 50 degrees in the oh-so-tempting outdoors. As if the sunshine weren't enough of a siren call, Lia has found herself another thing to distract her from scholarly obligations. The girl is dressed in a lacy lavender vest over a silvery grey long-sleeved blouse in faux silk, black leggings, a double handkerchief-hem faery skirt in gradient from lavender at the top to rich-deep purple at the bottom, and black ankle boots. She's sitting out on the lawn with a /dog/ half in and half out of her lap, the one-eyed beagle's tongue lolling out happily as she scritches his flanks...and ears...and belly. "Good puppy. /Good/ puppy," she's been muttering along with some other unintelligible nonsense for the past few minutes. Glad of the warmer weather, for multiple reasons, Jeremy is running around like a dork in the warmer weather. Snow is melted and grass is greenish, and thus he wears comfortable tennis shoes that show a good bit of wear, holey jeans and his much loved and worn power symbol hoodie as he scampers out from the door onto the porch with a smile, and bolts to the railing so he can lean over it. With face tilted skyward he seems pleased and relaxed, then hearing talk of puppy from below, he waves vigorously towards the Lia and puppy. Spring has sprung, and the birds are absolutely /thrilled/ about it. They chirp, sing, flutter about, and generally live it up as much as the students enjoying the outside. Most of the students, anyway. As she emerges from the direction of the gardens, a rather eclectic murmuration of birds follows her, Ducky does not look as amused by the outside. The cloud of birds hovers and winds about the girl, weaving, bobbing, and moving silently as she does - it wouldn't be unusual, were it not for the fact that among them are several varieties of jays, a handful of cardinals, and numerous robins and starlings - even a few corvids thrown in to the mix. She is dressed in a pair of worn blue-jeans, the knees and cuffs permanently stained green ages ago, paired with a long sleeved gray top and a bright neon-blue hooded fleece vest, edged in bright yellow. Nestled into the hood of her vest is the one bird /not/ currently going crazy - her dappled pigeon is present as ever. Curious about the activity, she heads towards Lia and the puppy, offering a wave to the girl, and then to Jeremy, grinning lopsidedly. On her approach, the birds settle about on various surfaces, out of the way, but ever present - just watching Ducky and keeping away from the others. "Aww - is he yours?" Ducky asks with a head tilt, puzzling at the puppy in question, "Can I pet him, too?" Spending time outside now that it is nice, at least to Sage, is a good way to try and get past the /tragedy/ that has hit..mostly everyone hard recently. Dressed in a pair of jeans, a green t-shirt (even in this weather), and a pair of Converse, ATHENA strangely missing, Sage idly walks outside. Whilst it seems like she's not paying attention to anything, that's a definite lie, as she's always paying attention. As Sage spots Lia, she's heading towards her, taking a small glance to the puppy. "You found Obie. I believe the Holland-Zedners will be very happy about this, once they recover." Sage is then tipping her head to Ducky and Jeremy, her bright blue eyes clearly noticeable for once. "How is your day? I am glad it is finally becoming spring." The birds are what first draw Lia's attention from its full dedication to providing vigorous affection to the tail-wagging pup. "You look like a Disney princess. No, he is not mine. This is Obie. He is Mr. Fairyjax's puppy. I found him in a bathtub." Jeremy's waving also catches her eye as she looks up and gestures for him to come over. "They exploded the place where I lived. It was the only home I can remember before here. And someone set it all on fire. I sent an angel with the teachers to help because no one could see or breathe and it is falling down. I found some people. Most of them were bodies." Her dark little brows knit together. "I brought out the people. Then there was a bathtub with an Obie in it. Some of his fur was singey." She rolls the very tolerant dog over slightly, revealing a patch of fur near the dog's shoulder that has been shaved away with clippers, the skin beneath looking sunburned but otherwise no worse for wear. "You can pet him. He likes petting. Just not on that spot." She nods to Sage when the teacher approaches. "I rescued Obie with an angel. I am going to keep him until he can find a new home. Mr. Fairyjax rescued me and kept me until I found a new home." Her jaw sets fiercely, wide brown eyes looking a little too-wet for a moment. At the gesture, Jeremy looks towards the stairs, then shrugs and swings his feet over the rail and wiggles down and drops to the grass safely. Wiping off the grassy bits from the landing, he heads on over to the mix of puppy and birdies amidst the girls. 'Hello, it is very Disney yes.' Flopping down onto the grass next to Lia, he examines the puppy with gleeful smiles, though he does keep his mouth shut for now. Glancing between them he signs 'Class days would be much better if all end with animals.' Ducky nods emphatically at the confirmation that the dog is Jax's, flopping down beside Lia and the puppy, reaching out to pet the dog with a wide hand, "I thought so. He looked kinda familiar, s'not too many beagles that look like him." She grins cheerily, though it fades when there is further explanation of just /how/ Obie got to be here. "Yeah. Thank you for helping with the people there and the recovery and searching for people. I know a lotta people who live there. Is good you have Obie somewhere safe." She ruffles her hair, inadvertently dislodging a tiny little starling that was asleep there. The birds around her are blissfully silent, at least they are to everyone else. "Yeah. I've kinda heard that before. A lot. S'cause the birds follow me around. They don't help me with chores. Or homework, though." At the glee over spring, she crinkles her nose, scritching at Obie's tummy, "Spring sucks." "I believe the Holland-Zedners will most likely want Obie back once they have recovered." Sage says this in a tilt of the head to Lia as she mentions finding him a new home. "At least most residents survived. Not everyone was that lucky." A small frown from Sage (which, knowing Sage, should be pretty noticeable and RARE), before she goes back into 'robot' mode. "Spring is lovely. One of my favorite seasons. Better than the cold, atl east." Lia nods agreement with Jeremy, shaking off the sadface. "I like animals. It is too bad they don't do your chores, though, Ducky." She moves back to play with the beagle's ears. "Spring is nice. It is sunnier and less cold and the days are longer. It has been cold ever since I got out of the rooms." Her head tilts curiously at Sage. "Of course they will want him back. But someone burned their home all up. So they will need to find a new home. You cannot live in a place that has been exploded," the girl explains as if this /legitimately/ needed explanation. 'I wish I was there to help. It would not have burnt down. But then they would be mad I ate their computers,' Jeremy signs, then shakes his head and puts his fingers gently on the doggie in non-shaved off spots. He lets out a soft sigh through his nose, then readjusts to lay on the grass more on his side. 'I like the summer, very warm. Less sneezey pollen.' As he lays on his side he holds up a hand with a finger out, figuring it was worth a shot to see if a bird would land on him. Ducky tilts her head, nodding slowly, muttering quietly, "My friend wasn't home. S'good that he wasn't home. We just got him back. Couldn't lose him again." The birds around her chirp discordantly briefly, but then fall quiet again, as Ducky leans down to ruffle Obie's stomach, sighing softly. "Glad most people got out. S'sad about the people who didn't. S'not fair, s'not right," she mumbles under her breath, shrugging. "I don't like spring. Birdsong is pretty, but it's kinda not so pretty when you can understand the lyrics. I like that all the birds come back, but they are really noisy. It gets hard to concentrate. And it's really bad this year already." She looks up and around the birds, scooping up a pudgy little bluebird that had hopped closer to her. She pets the little bird, surprisingly docile in her presence, and deposits the bird on Jeremy's offered hand. "There you go," she offers with a giggle. "I believe a lot of people lost someone special to them.". Sage cringes as she says this, sitting down near them, her blue eyes flicking from student to student. "I believe they already have a home in place, Lia. They should be fine with that, the big issue is their health right now." Sage's eyes flash to Ducky. "Birds are fascinating. Do they say specific things? What is their opinion on the state of the world?" Sage is genuinely curious about this, seeing as someone can actually talk to them. "Oh. Jeremy, I do not think they would have been mad. The computers all burned up, too. If you saved the people and the animals and the homes I think they would be very happy, indeed." Lia spares one hand from petting Obie to pet at Jeremy's shoulder instead. "I am glad your friend is okay, Ducky. Many of my friends there are hurt." She nods rather solemnly at Sage's addition. "They said Mr. Fairyjax should not have visitors yet. So I clap for him before I go to bed. I don't know if it works from here. It works for Tinkerbell from far away, but there is a television." Her expression is briefly puzzled at the mechanics of television-based magical healing. "Does it help if you have earplugs, Ducky? They are supposed to make things less noisy. Or do you hear them in your head and not with your ears?" Amused with the little bluebird on his hand, he carefully and gently brings it down to look at it more. Holding it so Lia can see it too, he smiles broadly, and chuckles a little softly about the Tinkerbell stuff. 'Yes, clapping is good," he signs, then brings his hand together to make the sound of one hand clapping, very zen. 'Maybe we should make him cupcakes. Or cookies. He brings them for us, it would be good for him. I don't know who will teach cooking though.' He tilts his head looking to the others to see if they think it is a good idea, and looks to the birdy figuring he must think it is a good idea. Ducky looks crestfallen when the others mention the others, nodding slowly, "I have a lot of friends who were hurt, too. It's not fair or right what happened." She ruffles her hair, the birds making low mournful noises around her, more of them fluttering towards into the area, even though she doesn't seem to do anything else. Her knees pull up to her chest wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her head on her knees, falling quiet. "We do have access to the kitchens. Can make baked goods to send to him. It's possible, I mean, there's cookbooks and stuff in the library, right?" she offers quietly, eyes unfocusing as another bird lands on her shoulder. Her eyes focus on the little bird she set on Jeremy's hand, the faint whisper of a smile tugging at her lips briefly, but staying quiet - the birds are barely even rustling feathers at this point. "That sounds pleasant. I am positive he would love that." Sage tips her head, before getting up again. "I must part. Have a lovely afternoon, all of you." And then she parts, a frown on her face. “No. It is very much a Bad Thing. I don't know why people do so many Bad Things...” Then Jeremy is holding out a bluebird on his finger, and Lia's eyes widen that impossible-wide way that they do when something strikes her suddenly. “Jeremy! You are also a princess!” Then she is back to looking thoughtful at the mention of baking. “They have said he did not wake up yet the last time someone said. But it is nice to have cupcakes. Maybe he would wake up for them. And if not, there are people waiting with him who might need cupcakes, too. I...don't know how to cupcake,” she admits sadly. “I know how to make tea /and/ cocoa. Mr. Fairyjax taught me. Does anyone else know how to cupcake?” A small wave acknowledges Sage's abrupt departure. Giving Sage a little wave goodbye as she goes, Jeremy tilts his head looking at the bird. Signing to Lia with a smile 'I do not think I am a princess. They sing pretty. If I sing all the birds would fly away.' He nods though as he sits up, the effort to not use his hand to shift the bird making it a little awkward for the movement. 'Baking is just following directions. We follow the directions, we will have cupcakes.' He glances at the bird in his hand, then looks to Ducky. 'I don't think the bird is allowed inside though. It is cute.' Ducky raises her hand to wave goodbye to Sage, a fat, red breasted robin lights on her fingers, offering a greeting chirp, to which Ducky snorts and shakes her head. "I think I know how to make cupcakes. I mean... I've made cake from a mixed box before, so should be, um, easy?" Ducky offers, sounding like the height of confidence in her cooking abilities. "But... but I'm sure if we tried, it should be okay? Or, um, well, baking's kinda like chemistry right? Maybe we can ask the chemistry teacher to help," she nods emphatically, slowing down, "Maybe. Um, worth a shot?" She watches the little birds gathering around her and the others, giggling at the princess comment. "Could be a prince if you wanted. Princes can like birds, too. But no, the only bird who can go inside is Kushi." She gestures towards the bird nestled comfortably in her hood, who peeks up to look at Jeremy and Lia with wide eyes, before cuddling back into the fleece of her hood. "Jeremy. You can /so/ sing. And pretty." Lia's hands finally leave the petting-bliss nap-attacked pup in her lap to sign the lyrics to The Carpenters' 'Close To You' with /enthusiasm/. Though she must have two completely different tracks in her brain because she somehow...keeps doing this even as she resumes speaking aloud. "Where do we get cupcake directions? Oh. Oh. Also, Mr. Fairyjax is the kind of fairy that can't eat any animal things. No meat or eggs or milk or even honey. I think they make him sick. Like when Peter's medicine was poisoned. And he's already a hurtfairy. Do cupcakes have those things?" She chews at her lower lip for a moment in thought. "We could go ask the librarian. She helps me find things about things I don't know. With books and computers." Frowning in thought, Jeremy finally nods. 'We will consult the internet. Google vegan cupcakes.' He offers the little blue bird to Ducky and stands up, brushing random grass things off him. 'And then we find ingredients. Yes. We can do this.' He nods with confidence at this, though part of this may simply be the fact he will put food things into his face as a result no matter what happens. 'Also, we can ask the cook lady. Chavan. She makes food for everyone, even the people who are vegan.'