Patty Cake, Patty Cake! [Private, Averia Frost & Toriera, Alexander Davis Gets Last Post]

Into the kitchen...

Into the living room...

Back into the kitchen...

Into the bathroom...

Back into the kitchen...

Into the living room again...

Back into the kitchen...

This summarized poor impatient Lucy and her current objective: baking a holiday treat for her best and currently only friend, Mr. Davis. He was such a kind man, taking her into his home and making a place to stay and providing for her while her room was being arranged, and she felt that it was only fair that she not only make sure he got a gift but to make him one.

Normally this idea would lead to arts and crafts, but Lucy had no such talents, and she wanted the gift to be personal so she decided she would bake a bunch of desserts for him before he returned home. He had been gone for a while, and Lucy had made sure to keep the place tidy and to stay calm so as to not ruin anything in his absence, but Mr. Davis was returning tonight and she had to make sure everything was perfect. She had many desserts laid upon the kitchen table and counters: chocolate peanut cluster, flavored Christmas light cookies (lemon yellow, sour apple green, blueberry blue, cherry red, and mint white), chocolate-covered pretzels, fudge, Christmas-decorated brownies, and Divinity in both blue raspberry and orange flavors.

However, the most important part was not yet finished: her own custom pie! She dubbed it Captain Rhubarb's Citrus Surf, as it was a strawberry rhubarb pie that also contained key limes, kiwi, and a slight hint pineapple. Once it was done, it would all be topped with shaved coconut and her homemade whipped cream. She had just sat the pie in the oven only a minute or two ago, and currently her whipped cream was having most of the ingredients mix and get ready to slowly just breach boiling before frothing it with the egg whites so that it would be warm and rich in taste when it was ready for placing atop the pie.

However, a watched pot never almost boils, and it was required to be at ever so low a temperature. Lucy had no problem watching it to make sure it was done properly, but he was a might tired for baking all day and a bit bored as well, however she would remain diligent and watch this pot until it...

Ding-Dong!

Lucy jumped and started to panic: it couldn't be Mr, Davis, he wasn't due for a few more hours. She prayed it wasn't him as she put down her wooden spoon and left to answer the door. She quickly ran back into the kitchen and grabbed Mr. Floppsies, who had been sitting on the table and making sure that Lucy did everything properly, and his hat was a rather handsome shade of orange. She then checked the pot again to see if it had progressed any further, but it hadn't changed much at all.

DING-DONG, DING-DONG!

Startled again, and a bit extra flustered about completely forgetting the door, she rushed again towards the door. "Assurance: I'm sorry, don't worry, I'm coming!" she then undid the main lock on the door, but she was too short to peer out the peeping hole, so she did as Mr. Davis had told her and left the chain lock on and opened the door briefly so she could check to see who it was.

"Startled Greeting: H-hello! Startled Inquiry: M-may I h-help y-you?" she asked as she slowly peeked at the visitor behind the door.

To say that Toriera was annoyed would have been an understatement this evening. It was winter break and she had planned on taking it easy and avoiding work of any shape or form, but like they say there no rest for the wicked. It seemed that some forms that needed the attention of Professor Davis had been left in the academy and it was up to Toriera to save the day! Well, in reality it had been Maden Haze job to get these documents to Davis, but why should a Goddess go on a delivery run. Toriera could still hear the woman's voice repeat that in her head after she tricked Toriera into coming to the school.

"Emergency my ass! More like the lazy Goddess." She said angrily as she skated down the street. It wasn't so much the delivery that had made the rainbow hair woman angry, but rather she had been called upon to do this right before she had eaten today. Spending most of the day watching TV or playing games she had put off food till the later and like always later never came. "Oh well, nothing to do about it now. Just need to get it over with." As she kicked her Footloose into overdrive to pick up speed.

After short while Toriera slide to a stop outside of the adressed she had been given. Checking the note she had me confirmed it to be the right place as clicking the stake together, turning them back to shoes. She wore a heavy black jacket with a matching tee shirt with some vampire chick on it from a band she liked. With a pair of blue jeans and white skullcap she looked more like some punk kid than a teacher. Not wanting to waste anymore time she quickly made her way to the front door and pressed the doorbell.

Nothing. She heard nothing from the inside, but she did smell something. Something amazing! She could feel her mouth begin to water as she could smell the faint hint of sweets in the air. Someone was baking a lot of goodies, but from here she couldn't really tell. Feeling her tummy grumbling she hurriedly pressed the bell a few more times till she heard a voice at last. But it wasn't what she was expecting as it was a voice of a young girl. "Didn't know Davis had a daughter." She said to herself before the door opens up almost knocking her out with a mix of warm air and overpowering smell of sweets. I want them! She thought not even noticing the girl odd form of specking.

"Something smells so good!" She said as her stomach took over before her mind taking control back. "Oh, right! Ahm I'm Toriera Free from the academy and I have some documents that need to be given to Davis. Is your dad home?" She asked, trying her best to fight off the heavenly smell coming from inside.

"I am too kind. I'm honestly too nice. In fact, why am I not a saint yet?" The bored girl blabbered in the car while playing a game in her phone. Apparently her Survival 101 professor had a clumsy side to him as well when he left his bag from that time they had the private tutoring. While the girl could just leave it to the lost-and-found, the school was conveniently closed. She decided to wait until the class resumed but the sight of the bag on her dorm bothered her; it looked so out of place. Thus since she was on her way to do some holiday shopping anyway, why not just drop it at his house.

As the black car went into a halt, Avery Frost stepped out in her white trench coat with gold buttons, black skinnies, and three-inch heeled ankle boots. She briefly eyed the humble residence in front of her. Woah. It's more normal than I thought, she noted. She was expecting it to have gigantic trees, overbearing garden and an explosion of colourful flowers but it appeared... normal. Too normal for a plant manipulator, really.

Avery casually walked to the door just then seeing a familiar person waiting in front. She removed her sunglasses and hung them on the collar of her coat. "Hmm? Miss Free? The hell are you doing here?" She asked as her mind raced for a possible explanation why a woman would be in front of Alex's house, during winter break even. Then her eyebrows raised in realization. "Oh~ Well, someone's needing to warm herself. Hehe~" she teased, playfully nudging her with her elbow.

The door opened and the smell of sweets washed over her, making her lick her lips. Her eyes shifted down to the girl that she recognised from Alex's class. And no, she wasn't his daughter. Avery knew Alex didn't have a daughter.

"O-chibi! Good morning~ Wait, what are you doing in Alex's place?" She blinked and tilted her head in thought, recalling back to the professor's actions in class when the girl first arrived in Survival 101. She didn't think much of it before, but now that she saw her here... in Alex's house, and knowing he didn't have a daughter... Avery's eyes widened in realization. "Oh my god, that bastard! I'm calling the police!"

When she peeked out the doorway, she noticed a woman with hair that was all the colors of the rainbow...and she noticed Ms. Frost. She was still nervous, as this was her first time answering the door without Mr. Davis here, so when the lady with rainbow hair mentioned she was from the academy Lucy was a bit iffy. She took out her scroll, which seemed to have more problems than it ever did, either that or she kept forgetting how to use it right. She tried to open it to scan the ladies at the door, but it kept buzzing and looking very weird so she put it away and decided to do what she always did: if she studied their faces long enough, she might be able to remember who they are.

It took her an extra moment to recognize the multi-colored hair lady who announce herself as Toriera Free, but after that moment she remembered her. "Interjection: Oh! Identification: M-Ms. Free, the D-Dust teacher at Syne Academy. Greetings: H-Hello and welcome to M-Mr. Davis's r-residence." she performed a quick curtsy and was going to continue when Ms. Frost spoke up. She wasn't sure what 'chibi' meant, but she was certain Ms. Frost was addressing her.

"Identification: M-Ms. Frost, the talented G-Glaciokinesis wielder of the noble F-Frost lineage. Greetings: Welcome t-to Mr. D-Davis's residence. Status: Mr. Davis i-is c-currently o-" Lucy was cut off by Ms. Frost who was now seemingly very upset over the situation all of a sudden, and her statement threw Lucy into a state was complete and total overwhelming fear, Mr. Floppsies's hat becoming a proper black in color as Lucy struggled to be coherent.

"Complete Exasperation: PolicenonopolicearenotneededMr.DavisisnothisparentsweremarriedtheylovedhimandhelpedhimloveplantsI'mokayresidehereuntilroomreadynotMs.DavisMr.Davisleftforamomentandbebacksoonfine
everythingfine!!" Mr. Floppsies's seemed to be sparking around his hat and a very observant eye would notice a very very faint crimson seeming to radiate from Lucy's body...not that it was easy to notice anything other than her arms flailing every which way and the fact that this made even less sense then her normal rambling, if one had encountered her during a prior ramble.

Lucy was completely lost on what to do, and every idea seemed bad, and Mr. Davis was so nice she didn't want anything bad to happen him so she was trying really hard to calm down and think of a solution...but she was having a hard time fighting through the panic. "Emergency: Umm...umm, everything is fine, fine, everything is fine, just out for a bit be back soon, what to do now Mr. Davis?!" she paced vigorously between the door and the living room for a moment before she remembered why they were both here: they had something for Mr. Davis!

"Panicked Welcoming: Mr.Davisisn'thererightnowbutfeelwelcometostayiuntilhearrivesifit'simportantitwillbeacouplehoursbutit'snotthatfaroffpleasecomeinandenjoyyourstayandrelaxandpleasenopoliceeverythingisfinefine
everythingsfine!!" she spat out in an extremely upset manner as she quickly undid the chain lock, opened the door all the way, and pulled both ladies in by grasping their wrists and walking forward. She then quickly grabbed the remote from the top of the television and kind of forced Ms. Free to take it, although she meant no harm.

"Exasperated Assurance: HerefeelfreetowatchsometelevisionwhileIgomakesomerefreshmentsforyouladiesMr.DavissayswehaveallthechannelssothereshouldbesomethingyouwouldenjoywatchingmyfavoriteistheRemnant
WildlifeChannelbutyoumaylikesomethingelsesofeelfreetowatchwhateveryoulikeI'llgointothekitchentoprepareyousomethingtoeatanddrinkbutpleasestayouthereinthelivingroomIcan'thaveanyoneinthe
kitchenasIcan'thaveanyonetakeanyofthetreatsbecauseI'mnotsurehowmanyMr.DaviswillwanttoeatorofwhichkindandIdidn'thavealotofmoneysoIhadtomakethingsworktogethimapresentforChristmasso
thisishispresentandIcan'thaveanyoneruinitforhimsopleasestayouthereinthelivingroomI'llbeoutshortlyandpleasenopolicejustsitonthecouchandwatchtelevisionyoucanevenhavemyfavoritespotwhichis
themiddleonejustdon'tgetanypoliceeverthingisfinefineeverythingisfine!!!"

Lucy then took off into the kitchen, squeezing Mr. Floppsies very tightly as she opened the refrigerator and began to get out ingredients to prepare something for her sudden guests to eat and drink while they all waited on Mr. Davis.

Toriera only sigh at the blonde joke as she felt the elbow into her side. The lack of food would make this encounter a lot harder than it needed to be. However, a sudden outburst would knock food the furthers thing from her mind. It first began with the blonde bursting into a rant about what this girl was doing in Davis house. Toriera didn't even try to hide her confusion as the two started their super panic attack. First about calling the cops, which Toriera was not in favor of as that would more than likely cause more work for herself. Which caused her to zone out a bit thinking how quickly she could get out of here if it really did come to that.

Thankfully, that theory wouldn't have to come into practice as she felt her arm get pulled on and then next thing she knew she was inside the nice and warm house. "How do I keep getting into these situations" She said to herself, looking down at the remote in her hand. She did manage to catch a few interesting glimpses of both this girl and the odd doll she was holding. There was something odd about this girl. Then again, there was something odd with all the students she had met since come back home. "Well then. Thanks for having me in then Missy" Calling out loud enough for the girl to hear from the other room before placing a hand on the Blonde head. "How about we keep the cops out of this, Okay Avery?" She said now lower so Lucy couldn't hear them.

"It's clearly upsetting her. Like, a lot! So let just try to calm the situation and hang around. Aaand if what you think is true, which I doubt, we can just kick Davis a** up and down the street." Without waiting for Avery answer she turns to follow the other girl into the what she guesses to be the kitchen and lean on the door frame. The smell only intensified with each step, making her fight the growls in her tummy.

"So you said you're living with Davis till I'm guessing they find a room for you at the dormitory. That seems a little odd to me, but I guess the academy has their reason. Also, it seems you have me at a disadvantage Missy. You know who I am, but I don't know you." She said, giving a disarming smile to the girl. It was one of the rare moment as Toriera enter grown up mood. There was something about the girl that made her want to protect her, which went against her nature of teaching independents. That aside the first thing that needed doing was to calm down the girl before she had another panic attack.

Avery raised an eyebrow as the little girl began to spout words that she barely registered. What she did notice however, was the statement previous to that. She held up a finger. "Correction: Cryokinesis." The shallow girl grinned, forgetting the matter with Alex almost immediately. She turned to the rainbow woman beside her who now stood almost the same height as the blonde what with her heels and all. "Eiii, you hear that? 'Talented'. She addressed you as a simple dust professor but I'm a talented wielder. Muwehehe."

And despite not liking being touched, Avery allowed herself to be dragged inside the house, the smell of sweets making her mouth water. She removed the teacher's hand on her head and gave her the evil eye to let her know she didn't like being patted on the head like some dog. "Yeah yeah, fine. You're just scared you won't have your fluffy bear warming you during winter. Hmm~" She grinned, nudging her with her elbow again before snatching the remote from the teacher. Unlike the latter, Avery simply settled on the couch, placing Alex's bag that she came to deliver by the side of the sofa.

Now technically she could leave but she still didn't trust Alex enough until she got a proper talk with him. Flipping a few channels on the tv, she shifted her attention to the two who were in the kitchen.

"O-chibi, are you sure you know how to cook? I mean, pfft, I don't mean to brag but I'm good at everything. I can lend you a hand if you want~ I'll transform your mediocre cooking into a high-class dish." Which was also her way of saying 'let me help so I can eat some of those sweets in the process'.

Grab the bread...

Get the cheese...

Grab the ham...

Lucy was all ready to make them some quick but tasty sandwiches, but she stopped because she realized that the ladies may not like ham. So she quickly grabbed the jam out of the fridge, and set it down then got the peanut butter out of a cupboard and set it down, and was preparing to make them sandwiches again when she stopped. Maybe one of the ladies didn't like strawberry jam, or was allergic to peanuts! Lucy shifted in place a bit as she thought of what to do, when she had the great idea of making one of each kind!

So she got to work making the sandwiches: washed her hands and dried them, grabbed a side plate for contruction, set two pieces of bread down, grabbed a butter knife, very slowly and carefully opened the jam jar, opened the peanut butter, and then grabbed a paper towel from beneath the sink. She then took one slice of bread and spread the peanut butter on it, then stopped. She took out four more slices of bread, and spread peanut butter on those before using the paper towel to wipe off her knife. She then went to get the jam, but paused for an extended moment as she stared off in another direction before looking back at the jam and giggling a little as she grabbed more bread.

"Assurance: I promise not to break and spill you this time, Mr. Jam" she said to the jar of jam as she spread jam on the other five blank slices of bread, then started putting them together to make sandwiches. She finished two, then paused for a moment, then she turned around and put the lids on both the jam and peanut butter. She put the peanut butter away first, then grabbed the jam and began to put it back in the fridge. "Justification: See, Mr. Jam, I told you I learned from the first time!" she said with a smile on her face. Shen then walked back over to the cheese and ham and took out ten more slices of bread. She quickly put together five more sandwiches, these ones being ham and cheese. She stacked them all on a carrier plate neatly, then brought them out and sat them out on the the small table in the in the living-room called the 'coffee table' even though it wasn't made with coffee at all. She then went to the table in the kitchen and picked up another plate, and brought that one out as well and sat it next to the plate with sandwiches. This plate had lots of home-baked goodies on it: white chocolate pretzels, blue raspberry and orange Divinity, very soft fudge, some Christmas light cookies, and chocolate peanut clusters.

She then went back into the kitchen with a bit of a hussle, and then opened the fridge and pulled out the bottom drawer and pulled out a big two liter of Rubyer, a popular drink in Bellmuse. Then she grabbed two plastic cups and brought them out to the table in the living room and filled them both not quite full, but mostly before twisting the cap back on and rushing back to the kitchen to put it away in the fridge.

"Request: Feel free to enjoy any of the sweets on this tray, but I ask you to please leave any of the treats in the kitchen alone, p-please! Explanation: They are all my C-Christmas presents for Mr. Davis, and I'm not sure how much he'll w-want, so I have to make sure there is enough for him. Courtesy: I hope you enjoy everything, Mr. Davis said that the Rubyer was really tasty and was only f-for special occasions, s-so I figured guests w-were a special o-occasion." she said, bowing over and over the entire time.

Then she realized that Ms. Free had been trying to talk to her the entire time she had been prepping the refreshments. "Apologies: Oh M-Ms. Free, I'm so sorry, I-I-I did not mean to ignore you. Explanation: I-I was just very focused on getting y-your refreshments! Introduction: My name is Lucille Annabelle Klug, b-but you may call me Lucy if you like. Backstory: I come from the h-higher end residences of Bellmuse, not far from M-Ms. Frost's residence as it turns out, as I have come across Mr. and Mrs. Frost before. Memory: They are very nice people, th-they paid for my ice cream when a man had pick-pocketed me!" she smiled, remembering how nice they were to her. "Affirmation: Yes, I'm s-staying with Mr. Davis b-because my dorm room is being prepared, as he his my e-escort for my stay at the academy. Appreciation: Mr. Davis has been so kind to me, and I'm v-very grateful for his kindness and assistance!" she said very happily, squeezing Mr. Floppsies and swinging side to side.

Suddenly, a shocked look covered Lucy's face. "Exclamation: Entertainment! Clarification: I-I need to find s-something for m-my guests to do! Assurance: Oh, I know what to get, don't worry I'll be right back!" Lucy turned around and took off towards her bedroom, but she turned too quick and hit the doorframe of her bedroom. She fell on her bottom, but quickly picked Mr. Floppsies and stood back up and rushed into her bedroom and started to rustle through her closet. A studious eye may have noticed Mr. Floppsies's hat
had changed from a proper black to a endearing blue-ish green, then to a handsome shade of orange, and then to a rather dapper yellow between the tasks Lucy was accomplishing.

Goodies!:

(Rubyer is rootbeer in Remnant according to my creative brain, and in case you've never had Divinity it is very soft to bite into, but it's literally 2 parts sugar and 1 part egg whites. They would taste like the Jolly Rancher equivalent of their flavor, however most people can only handle one as they are very VERY sweet.)

From her spot at the door Toriera watched the girl at work like a researcher would watch it subject studying it. The way the girl went about her work with such focus, delicacy, and precision was impressive if nothing else. It had all but made the woman forget she had ever asked the girl anything at all. "Wonder if Davis would let me borrow her..." She whisper to herself as Lucy brought in the plates of food. Once more Toriera could feel her stomach begin to wake up from the smell of sweets in the air and the sight of the sandwitches.

Yet, she couldn't take her eyes off the girl as she worked. She seemed awfully happy here, which allowed Toriera to put her mind at ease, at least for now. She even let out a few laughs as she watched the girl talked to objects from time to time. "Quite a cutie isn't she?" She said to Avery before Lucy returned to the room with drinks. Gratefully she took the cup just as it seemed the girl notice she been asked questions and once more her mouth went to work as it ran.

It seemed all the food were meant for Davis which honestly made the woman a bit green with envy. Mostly cause she wanted to eat it all herself. It was only now that Toriera noticed the girl odd speaking habit. How Lucy constantly gave a sort of exposition before each sentence made the woman a bit curious. I'll have to ask Mr. Davis about that later in private she thought as she smiled listening to Lucy. However, at the part about Avery parents, she looked back, giving the girl a look as if to ask how the apple fell so far from the tree.

"Well, Lucy I'm just glad it seemed you're enjoying your...and there she goes." She trailed off as the girl suddenly ran off talking about finding some entertainment for her guests. Walking back to the couch Toriera wasted no time digging into the food. Within second two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were gone along with a ham and cheese. She only meant to eat one, but the tease tuned out to be far better than she thought and couldn't stop her hands.

Taking a bite of divinity Toriera couldn't help but grin ear to ear from the sweetness. "Oh wow.... I think I'm in love!" She said more to herself than Avery as she sat down at the opposite end. "That girl going to be a great wife one day!" But she kelp her eyes on the hallway watching to see what Lucy had went off to get.

Avery stood up and unbuttoned her coat revealing a white long lace sleeve blouse inside. After hanging the article on the rack beside the door, she moved back to the couch in time to see the girl placing sweet treats on the table. "Ah, how nice." Avery smiled as she took a seat on the sofa and waited until the little fluff was done bringing all the plates out. As she realised they were all finger food, she dug in her bag and took out her sanitizer. She heard the teacher's comment about the girl being a 'cutie' and she raised an eyebrow suspiciously but nodded anyway. While applying the sanitizer, Avery tilted her head at Lucy mentioning something about her parents and them buying the girl ice cream.

The blonde chuckled. Yeah, she'd pay to see that. The head powerhouse of Atlas wouldn't associate themselves with lowlifes especially those from a small country like Bellmuse. The 'Mr. Frost' the girl mentioned must've been Av's butler and standing guardian, which made sense since Lucy didn't know her real last name. But who was Mrs. Frost? Avery's eyes sparkled. Is he dating someone behind my back? Ha! This is juicy. She noted to ask him later.

For now, she helped herself to a christmas light cookie; they looked so cute she just had to try it first. Next was the divinity 'cause it was pink, then to the pretzels. Avery wasn't into sweets but she had to admit, the goods weren't half bad. She was about to have a drink of Rubyer when she noticed the cup. She raised it up and examined it in fascination. Woah, it really is made of plastic. she thought. Noticing Lucy went off to find entertainment for them, Avery was quick to dismiss it.

"Hey, no need to bother yourself. We're fine with the TV," she said but the girl already vanished. She sighed then gave a side glance at the teacher. "In love?" She muttered lowly, suspicions raising until Free said the final statement.

"Dude, not cool! She's a minor. Have you no shame?" Avery scoffed and shook her head in disappointment, knowing this particular teacher's personality. She then reached for the rest of the treats but purposely avoided the ham and cheese sandwich while waiting for the girl to come out.

There were still more rustling sounds to be heard, and even once it could have been heard that Lucy had asked Mr. Floppsies for help finding the object that she desired. It seemed she must have found it, because she hustled herself out holding a box.

"Discovery: I found it! Identification: It's called 'Pet-Opoly!' Explanation: It plays like regular Monopoly, only instead of buying streets and places, you buy pets! Assurance: I have the rules right here, so if you aren't sure or get confused, we can just check the rules!" Lucy was rather uppity in her mood, much more cheery, and Mr. Floppsies's light-green hat agreed with it's lovely hue. She unpacked the box of all it's contents, set up the board, and made sure that the play money was distributed properly to all of them. She told them she would go first, so that she could lead by example. She chose that player piece that was a kitty cat (only because there wasn't one for a bunny rabbit) and placed her piece where it said 'Start' then, she rolled the two dice and got a total of 5, so she moved her piece five spaces and landed on a gerbil. She told she didn't want the gerbil, so she wouldn't pay for it, and her turn was over. Ms. Frost and Ms. Free followed suit, and within a few turns they seemed to have the hang of it. Time passed, and it seemed that Ms. Frost was a natural for business, as she owned most of the spots on the board...although it didn't help that Ms. Free had really bad luck: not only did she keep going to the vet (which was jail) and having to pay to get out, but she even landed on expensive spaces and had to pay Ms. Frost money a lot, and she even had bad luck when it came to the critter cards (chance cards)! Ms. Free tried to trade with Ms. Frost to get better pets, but Ms. Frost rejected her while rambling about 'global pet domination' or something. Lucy traded with Ms. Free, even though it wasn't to her advantage, as she was happy so long as she kept the fluffy bunnies property!

In fact, she never had so much delight, so much...fun...with other people outside of Mr. Davis, and she was very happy to spend time with new people...that was, until Ms. Free mentioned that something smelled bad and Lucy heard the beeping. "Confusion: Beeping? Inquiry: But why would there be beepin- Interjection: OH NO!" Lucy quickly stood up and ran into the kitchen, but was paralyzed by the loud beeps coming from the fire alarm. She threw her hands up and covered her ears, but couldn't move. It wasn't until Ms. Free used a chair to mute the fire alarm that Lucy took her hands off her ears and ran over to the oven. She quickly put on some oven mitts, then checked the pot on the stove, then opened the door to the oven. Black smoke billowed out and took up a good chunk of the kitchen, and Lucy held her eyes shut and started coughing. Then the fire alarm went off again, and Lucy's oven-mitt hands flew to her ears again, but she was still close to the oven so she knocked off the over-boiled and sticky contents onto the floor where they flowed and covered the right half of the kitchen floor. The alarm went off again, and Lucy started gibbering about 'everything is bad' and 'Ms. Kitchen please stop beeping and smoking' before reaching into the oven and pulling out her pie.

"Desperate Plee: Oh please oh please oh please, Mr. Captain Rhubarb's Citrus Surf, please be okay please be okay!" she begged in a high-pitched tone filled with panic. The smoke had been all but dispersed, and Lucy looked at the pie she had worked so hard to bake for Mr. Davis...and it was nothing but burnt black junk, crumbling within it's tin...and Lucy's heart crumbled with it. Her grip automatically loosened, and the pie tin filled with burnt crust hit the ground. Mr. Floppsies's hat made an electric sound, then faded from yellow to...clear...just empty. Lucy then hunched over, and slowly turned around, then proceeded to slowly sulk out of the kitchen and over to a solitary corner of the living room...and there she sat, holding Mr. Floppsies's and rocking herself in that corner, tears streaming down her face and not saying a single word.

So maybe she wasn't the best when it came to money. So maybe she wasn't the luckiest when it came to the roll of the dice. She never was good with these sorts of game while growing up and even less so in her later years. Even now her deepest desire was no more than to simply flip the board over and walk away. After all have there ever been a game of Monopoly, theme or not, that didn't end with a fight or someone slapping the board over? Thankfully, she didn't have to act out these dark thoughts as the house after a time filled with the screams of beeps. At once Toriera knew what the sounds were as she stood and hunted for its source.

"You didn't have anything cooking did you?" She asked before watching the small girl run into the kitchen. It seemed the sound was more than the girl could handle so Toriera made sure to quickly remove the alarm from the wall. It also seemed she was right in guessing the girl had had something cooking. Did she forget about it when they showed up? Toriera had assumed the girl was done so never bother to question it. Now it seemed she should have asked Lucy before they had started playing.

However, things only went from bad to far worse as another beeping started screaming from the kitchen once more as well as black smoke and the horrible smell of burnt food. Although Toriera didn't see what happen, she heard it all from the sound of pot and pan fell to the ground along with Lucy trying to beg with the food to "please be okay". Sadly, without even looking Toriera could tell that there were no saving anything from this. This seemed to be a breaking point for the girl as Toriera heard a popping sound and watched as Lucy walked away to cry in a corner.

On the inside Toriera wanted to tell the girl to get over it and move on. Accidents happen and you just had to deal with them. But she held her tongue this time as she guesses that it would be just adding more gas to the fire. As well as she didn't really know what to do with the girl. She never had been very good with dealing with other feelings in these times. So she did what she did best in these sorts of situations: drop it on to another.

"Hey, Avery!" She said making a point to use her real name. "Can you keep an eye on her? I'm going to check up in here and make use the house don't burn down. Okay? Okay." And with that she slipped away into the kitchen to evaluate the mess.

It seem in her panic Lucy made a right mess in here, but could you really blame her? After all, she was trying to make something special for a special someone. "Someone special hmm..." After putting such thought away Toriera set fort clearing up the mess as well as checking up on the damage of the oven. Giving it a quickly over told her there were no harm to it. Once the mess was dealt with Toriera did something a bit uncharacteristic of herself as she started to pick up where Lucy had stopped at.

Although she might not look it Toriera is quite skilled when it came to cooking and with a little help of some fire dust started up a speed bake. It might not be the same as Lucy doing it herself, but in the end it was still part of her fault the girl had burnt the pie to begin with. So leaving the crying girl in Avery hands Toriera set off to see that the pie would be done by the time Davis returned.

It would seem Avy excelled at this type of game though it's not something that came 'naturally'. Her background had a lot to do with it and while she wasn't one to hype over money, the fact that it was a pet version made her enthusiastic of owning all pets in that world. In the middle of enjoying the game though, a beeping sound resonated followed by the fire alarm. Ah. Seems the girl burned her pie judging from the chaos coming from the kitchen. That's too bad.

Since Avy didn't have anything to do with it, she casually laid back on the couch and watched in silence... only to be given responsibility by this rainbow teacher. She looked at the little girl beside her. Sure she was cute and all, but what the hell does Avy know about dealing with crying kids?

A few moments of silence and Avy sighed. "You know... I learned the hard way that crying doesn't solve anything." She took out her handkerchief and placed it beside the girl. "Something like this shouldn't stop you from giving Alex your present, yea? You still have a new pie to make. With the three of us, you can finish it in time." she said calmly, though she herself knew nothing about baking. That didn't mean she couldn't find a way around it though. Digging into her pocket, she flipped her phone and pressed speed dial.

"It's me. No, I wasn't kidnapped; I'm waiting for Alex. Just park the car and get over here." She ended the call and walked to the front door. A few minutes later, she heard the knock. Avy was quick to the open the door, take off the middle-aged man's coat and dragged him to the kitchen. "Assist the rainbow girl over there. Explanations later. Chop chop."

And so despite his confusion, the man easily understood the situation with the burnt cake on the floor. He moved fluidly, clearing the mess and organizing the ingredients in the counter tops, basically acting as a sous chef to the teacher who was busy speed baking. Meanwhile, Avy turned to the little girl. "Well? Are you gonna help them or what? It's your pie to give after all."

Lucy was absolutely destroyed: her beautiful pie she was making for the most important person in her life had burnt to many a crisp. It was unfix-able, and even though she had plenty of other treats made for him, that pie was the most important as she had made the whole thing herself - recipe and all. Sure, she had the supplies to make another one, she was always careful about things like that just in case she messed up like this...but she couldn't make more time. Mr. Davis was one his way home right now, he would be here in forty-five minutes or less, and there was no way she could remake the pie in time to have it ready for his arrival. This broke poor Lucy's heart into pieces, as she cared for Mr. Davis so much and wanted to give him a special Christmas gift, and now it felt like everything was ruined...like she failed him.

"Apologies: I'm so sorry, Mr. Davis, I didn't mean to fail you. Pleading: Please, please don't hate me, you're my only friend...my professor friend...please please, don't hate me. Apologies: I'm so so sorry, Mr. Davis, I'm so so sorry." she repeated over and over, rocking herself back in forth in the corner, tears flowing down her face non-stop. Her mind was filled with images of worst-case scenarios: Mr. Davis yelling at her angrily, Mr. Davis telling her he didn't like her any more, Mr. Davis telling her to leave, Mr. Davis telling her he never wanted to see her again, Mr. Davis saying he wished he had never met her. These things flooded her mind as she kept rocking herself in the corner, trying her absolute best to calm down...but she just couldn't.

Ms. Frost had said something to her, but Lucy only caught parts of it, shaking her head from side to side and responding with out even turning around to look at her. "Defeated: No, I can't do it, it's not possible, I failed him. Explanation: Can't do it, no time to fix it, Mr. Davis hates me now." she kept rocking back in forth, but when someone knocked at the door she almost got up to answer it, but Ms. Frost got to it first and it was someone she knew. She kept rocking and repeating to herself, stuck in her own horrible little world of failure until Ms. Frost said one last thing to her.

"Well? Are you gonna help them or what? It's your pie to give after all."

Mr. Floppsies made a buzzing noise, and a very dim white light began to pulsate from his hat, and Lucy was about to tell Ms. Frost the same thing she did before, but she noticed that there where two people in the kitchen...and they were prepping to bake! Mr. Floppsies's hat then grew bright yellow, and Lucy suddenly stood up and started waving her arms.

"Interjection: Oh no! Matter-Of-Fact: They don't know how to make the pie! Pleading: Wait, please don't touch anything, you don't know the recipe and you could ruin everything even more!" Lucy rushed into the kitchen and noticed the mess she had made had been completely cleaned up, and it upset her that someone cleaned up her mess instead of her, but she was thankful...sort of. She then rushed in and guided Ms. Free and the man she didn't recognize into making the pie. The reason the pie was so difficult to make was because of how...well, complex it was. You had to evenly spread out a very small amount of each of the strawberries, key limes, kiwis, and even less of the pineapple, while using mainly rhubarb as the base. Also, the crust was very specific: it was designed to be sweet, yet salty, and was mixed with a hint of fresh orange squeeze...but it couldn't be too much of any of those ingredients, or it wouldn't taste right or it would fall apart.

She had Ms. Free and the man she didn't know chop and mash the fruits and other ingredients required to make the base of the pie and it's crust, but when it came to mixing them Lucy took over...and did pretty much everything else, as she wanted the pie to be perfect and she didn't want it's possible next failure to rest on anyone's shoulders but hers. She prepared the crust and fit it to the pan, then she evenly spread the all the fruit base, starting with the rhubarb and ending with the very small amount of pineapple. Then she topped the crust and put it in to bake, and began preparing her own whipped topping: it was being made fresh, and since it was started at the same time as the pie went in, it would be done just five minutes after the pie. It was home-made whipped cream, mixed with a hint of lemon squeeze for that extra flavor.

While she didn't let them do much, they saved her a valuable fifteen minutes, and she let them all enjoy playing Pet-Opoly or watching the television while she sat on a stool and stared at the oven and pan atop, determined to not take her eye off the pie until it was finished. So she sat there for forty-five minutes, her eyes occasionally drooping shut for a moment or two before she suddenly opened them and shook for a moment, like she was afraid she had truly slept too long.

The timing was perfect: by the time that the pie was done and taken out of the oven, and topped with shredded coconut and the lemon-flavored whipped cream, there was a twist of a doorknob...and Lucy's heart fluttered. She worked hard to provide Mr. Davis with all these sweets, and she hoped that he would be happy with his Christmas presents. She began to shake a bit under the pressure and tension, but she held Mr. Floppsies's tight and hoped in her mind that everything would be okay.

That's when Mr. Davis came in with bags of things he bought, and was intrigued by not only the delicious smells, but also the three other people in the house. He was about to ask Lucy what was going when Lucy came up to greet him as he approached the kitchen. It was obvious to tell that not only had she been crying pretty hard, but that she was very tired, but she still closed her eyes and welcomed him with a warm smile.

"Greetings: We...Welcome home, Mr. Davis! Holiday Greetings: M...Merry Christmas! Explanation: I k...know that today is ac...actually Christmas Eve, but I didn't have any other ch-chance to m...make your presents, so I'm sorry that they are early." she bowed, and had a bit of trouble standing back up but she managed it, then she held out her hands to the side to draw attention to all the treats around her.

"Explanation: These are all..." she was cut off by a yawn, but she covered her mouth with her hand, then continued "Continuation: ...for you, Mr. Davis, and I made sure no one else touched them so you could have as many as you wish! Surprise: I...I even made you something of my own design!" she slowed walked over and picked up the pie, then brought it to so Mr. Davis.

"Identification: It's Mr. Captain Rhubarb's Citrus Surf! Explanation: I came up with the recipe early this morning, and now here it is! Anecdote: I...I had one almost ready for you, but I had to accommodate guests and I let myself get distracted, so it didn't make it the first time...but with the help of Ms. Free, Ms. Frost and her friend, we were able to make a new one in time for your arrival! Anticipation: I...I really hope that...that you enjoy all your gifts I made you Mr. Davis!" Her face was scrunched up and she shuffled in place a bit, but even that had little energy behind it. She was relieved that he was satisfied with her gifts, and they all decided to celebrate by watching a Christmas show on the television and sharing the pie that they had made.

They all gathered around the television and Ms. Free sliced up the pie so that everyone got a piece, and she was about to give Lucy her piece at the same time that Mr. Davis was going to let her open a gift he bought her early, but they were both greeted by a Lucy that was deep in sleep. Little did they know that she had been up before the sun had rose, working on making the perfect recipe for a pie for Mr. Davis, and had gotten little sleep, spending the whole day working hard in the kitchen. Her head resting on Mr. Davis shoulder, her chest rose and fell at a steady pace.

In her dreams, she played Pet-Opoly with everyone, but they actually got the pets they bought so everyone was happy and playing together. She shared her pie with everyone, including the pets, and then Mr. Davis showed up. He set his hand on her head and said 'You did a great job.' and she looked up at him with a genuine smile...and that smile lit up her actual face as she slept deeply and happily...



Today was a good day...

[Aspergerbot, OUT~!]

If nothing else Toriera was impressed with the blonde brat way of handing the crying girl. Toriera never was very good with that human level of interaction and if her theory was right about the girl it slight made her a bit worried about her own humanity. Still the good news was the fact Lucy wasn't crying anymore. What's more, she quickly took control back of the kitchen from Toriera and even set both the new guy and herself to work. The man who she guesses was Av butler. Poor guy.

Time seems to fly by as they worked with getting the pie done in time. Even if she didn't look Toriera was pretty good in the kitchen. Years of having to feed herself had taught her much. Even she was impressed with the girl recipe as this was the first time she seen a pie like this. It was enough to make her a little sad she wouldn't be able to have to pie to herself, but made a note of the recipe in the back of her mind for later.

Now with the pie all but done with they only needed to bake it. This time it seemed Lucy was dead determined not to take her eyes off the oven this time. Leaving Av and the man to their own devices Toriera made it a point to stay close to the kitchen just in order to keep an eye on both the pie as well as the determine girl. It seemed she was about ready to pass out a few times, but fought through each and every time. She was a cute thing in the less.

With the return of Davis she made a point handing off the documents to him and tired to excuse herself, but drawn back in at Lucy request. It was... nice. A nice get together with others. So this was a "Christmas eve" is meant to feel like? She could get a little used to this. However, it seemed little Lucy couldn't last much longer as they soon found her passed out on the couch. After giving her goodbyes to everyone, pocketing a good bit of the sweets, as well drop a hint to Davis that she wanted to talk to him about Lucy one day Toriera took her leave.

Once back outside in the cold Toriera oddly felt a little alone for the first time in a long time. "Maybe I should stop by the Orphanage... See how everyone is doing." She said to herself before skating off into the night.

Meh. Seems the little girl was able to get back on her feet and help out the two. Avery would like to think she didn't handle that too badly. At least she didn't make her wail or something. Nonetheless, with the three busy with the pie, Avery did the best thing she could do in that situation: stay put. She flopped down on the couch and played with the pet-opoly to entertain herself. With her light temperament and destructive personality, she'd just make a bigger mess of things if she even as much as try to get close to the kitchen.

In due time, the scent of sweets overflowed throughout the house as the girl took out the pie from the oven. After a few more additions, she finished it just in time as Alex arrived home. Then all was rainbows and sunshines, spending the night together and eating the pie. Avery glanced briefly at her watch. As much as this was a nice get-together, she had plans for the rest of the night. She actually had plans from the whole day but it's not like she could say no to the adorable girl.

After everyone's finished their pie, Avy stood up and took both their coats. "Well, I'm only supposed to drop Alex's bag anyway, so we'll take our leave early. Thank you for the treats. Enjoy the rest of your night and happy holidays," she stated with a small smile before walking out to the car parked outside.

"Are you sure you want to leave? We can stay a little longer," she heard the man say just as he opened the door for her.

"Nah. They'll be fine," She responded as she settled on the backseat and folded her arms. "We'll be late for our reservation and I'm not missing that for the world. I'm sorry I had you help out when I promised we'd spend the whole day to ourselves. I just couldn't leave the girl in that state, you know." She chuckled and looked out the window. "However, I already did my part in helping her with her present. It's time I spend the eve with my family."

Avery turned to the man in the driver's seat and smiled before leaning forward to hug him from behind and give him a light kiss on the cheek. "As always, Merry Christmas."

[exit]

It had been a long day For Alex. He was sore, tired, and could only think of going to sleep. Despite it being Christmas Eve he didn't really get the day off thanks to a Grimm charging into Bellmuse when he had gone there to pick up the gift he had made for Lucy. Well two gifts actually. One was a lily shaped brooch made from a special plastic that was virtually unbreakable, but instead of having jewels or other fancy stuff being held in the settings, the brooch was holding onto preserved seeds that had been polished to a shine. This was intended both as a beautiful gift and so he could have seeds on her at all times so he could still protect her from a distance. The other gift was a stuffed animal to and to her growing collection of those. It was a white bunny with small fangs, the main character from one of Lucy's favorite books series. He hoped she'd like it.

However thanks to the grimm invading Bellmuse Alex had gone to help kill the beast, only to hear that Professor Haze had wanted to capture the creatures alive for her classes when they resumed. When Alex heard this he couldn't believe his ears, and was forced to attempt to herd the beast into a cage that was on the outskirts of Bellmuse. While he could've killed it in a matter of moments, he had to herd it out of the city instead. Apparently the person that was supposed to catch the creature messed up and ran for the closest place he could find for shelter which just happened to be the city. Alex had to keep moving all over that side of town to make sure the grimm didn't harm anyone while the catcher tried to get the grimm into the cage. Right when Alex decided just to kill the thing the catcher finally got the Grimm in the cage. As for the reason Haze wanted the creature, Alex didn't know and quite frankly he didn't care. If she wanted to catch these things she should do it herself!

By the time Alex finally got home he was surprised to see other vehicles in his driveway, and one of them was a limo. Did someone come to kidnap Lucy while he was gone? Oh that wasn't going to fly. With Oblivinator drawn Alex quickly entered his house. "Lucy, are you... wait wut?" Alex had started to ask if the android girl was alright, only to see Averia, an man that looked like a butler, and professor Toriera playing Pet-opoly with Lucy. "Oh, it's you guys. Had me worried that I had a home invaders at first!" Alex expressed with a hint of exhaustion at first while he folded up his weapon into backpack form and slung it over his shoulder, then presented the gift box he had to Lucy.

It was only then that the smell of all the sweets registered in his nose, and he realized what was going on. "Lucy... did you make all of this? Wow! Thank you!" he exclaimed as he dropped to his knees to give the girl a hug. Soon the group of hunters were enjoying the pie and candy that Lucy had made, and Alex found himself smiling, truly smiling out of joy, which he hadn't done in a long time. When Lucy fell asleep on his arm Alex couldn't help but smile down at her and brushed her hair away from her face. Hearing that Tori wanted to talk later on, Alex nodded and placed the paperwork on the table. When everyone had left Alex wrapped his vines around his body to give him the strength needed to pick up the robotic child and carried her to her bed where he tucked her in and placed the wrapped gift box on her nightstand. The fact that she fell asleep on his arm like that told him that she had been up and moving constantly all day, trying to make Christmas perfect for him.

Now he felt like the gifts he bought for her weren't up to par. Popping a small cookie into his mouth, Alex opened the files that Haze had wanted to give him, and gritted his teeth. "Good grief... No Haze, I'm not going to give an approval for you to have a statue of yourself in the courtyard." Alex remarked and stuffed the papers into the paper shredder.

((Professor Alex in... and OUT!))