[F01 - PP] Ghosts of Christmases Past

[Yukiro 0]

'Especially not you two'..? Yukiro tilted his head slightly at the comment, but didn't ask any of the questions that went through his head. "Well, I'm glad it's happening now, at least," he smiled and nodded, "Feel free to summon me any time you'd like."

Once everyone was back in the kitchen, Yukiro realized he was the only one unable to help prepare the food. And, odds were, he was also the reason so much help was needed. He muttered a quick apology and sat still, watching his friends get to work. He could ask to be taught so it at least felt like he was doing something, but... he didn't want to get in the way. Ah, why had he agreed to this...

"Um, is there anything I can do to help?" he finally convinced himself to ask at the risk of distracting someone, "I can't help much with food, but I can help in other ways. Or perhaps take upon myself a simpler task?" He gave a polite bow as he asked. 

@Koga

[Koga 0]

Koga followed NIGHT into the kitchen and behind the counter where she pulled out enough food to feed an entire army of players, and Koga couldn't help but be amazed by the fact that they still had any room to prepare anything. Of course, everyone in the room, except for perhaps DAY, knew that it was because they had a veritable monster to feed.

"I'll uh...send you some Col for all this," Koga whispered to NIGHT as he picked up the knife and began to chop the vegetables. The steel clicked and clacked against the wood board as he diced some onions and he looked over to Yuki. NIGHT would have something for him to do, surely. Set the table, or something.

"Man, when was the last time we all hung out together?" Koga asked, attempting to lighten the mood. "And I don't mean punching that stupid rock, or killing mobs, I mean just actually hanging out."

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

"You and what pocket money?" NIGHT returned under her breath; a jest, rather than a prick of resentment. The moment her eyes caught the gleam of the dagger in his hands, the player shifted away, collecting bottles of spices on her way out. Season the meat, broil it afterwards; the task wasn't difficult, so she was sure to have it completed in a matter of minutes.

DAY was undoubtedly faster. Dicing came with ease to the entity, and soon what scraps and vegetables had been collected into a pot. "Ah," she piped up, after a glance to her busied original. "The table needs setting, I think. They're on the top shelf in the corner; I think it'll be easy for you to reach it."

Time for waiting passed by in the blink of an eye when it came to cooking in Aincrad. The construct was soon able to set aside one of the prepared compliments of their dinner, whilst NIGHT moved quicker to set the different slabs onto the oven. "The pan," she reminded her other, rising from her squat as she adjusted the roaster's door. A nod and a materialization of metalware was enough to complete the woman's orders; the player set the stove alight with the twist of a knob.

The player acted quickly to sear their sides, before setting them upon a tray to be slid into the oven. Next on the pan were vegetables, if only to simmer in what was left from the browning process; she let her other watch over it before scanning the room.

"There's dessert, but you'd usually want to serve them last, wouldn't you...?" Her thumb rested on her chin for a moment, before her gaze went to Yukiro. "There's some drinks in the fridge, too. Err... it's not like I've had alcohol before, though. I can't guarantee that it's good, but you're free to give it a try at your pick."

As much as NIGHT would've loved to agree with Koga, the poor woman was desperately racking her brain, still not used to handling this many dishes, instructions and ingredients in her head at once. "I don't remember; was it the boulder you had us beat up?" She returned her friend a pained smile, hoping she got her memory right, before the oven called for her attention once again.

Back to work.

[Yukiro 0]

Nodding readily to DAY as she directed him to set the table, Yukiro went about his task a little more satisfied than before. He gave the other players a wide berth as he walked around them, not wanted to disturb anyone too much. As the ruby-eyed giant collected enough dishes for everyone in the group, he nodded to Koga's comment. 
"I'm not sure I can quite recall which was the last time. It must have been far too long ago," he pondered aloud, quickly following his thoughts up with, "Regardless, we should try to make this a more consistent habit. Ah, perhaps not always a meal, though." He smiled apologetically to his friends as he moved to set up the table. 
Nodding to NIGHT's mention of drinks, Yukiro quickly finished setting the table. It was set up in a way that felt almost too proper for the casual setting, though Yukiro didn't seem to notice. "I suppose we'll find out together. I've never had it either," he mentioned as he summoned the drink form inside the fridge and brought it over to the table. 

@Koga

[Koga 0]

Koga chuckled quietly at NIGHT's response. True, he didn't have much cash, but he'd find some way to pay her back. He didn't like to leave debts unsettled afterall.

To say that the speed of DAY's chopping and dicing was terrifying would be an understatement. 'She's a freaking machine!' the swordsman thought to himself, knowing full well the irony of the thought. In the time he'd cut four onions, the AI had gotten through almost all of what had been assigned to her.

As DAY directed Yuki to the plates, Koga moved to the carrots next, peeling and slicing them as quickly as he reasonably could without chopping off his fingers. Not that blood would be an issue here. He tried to remember the last time they'd all interacted as friends, knowing that the information was there, but for some reason he just couldn't access it. He subtly shrugged to himself before agreeing with Yuki. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind hanging more often either. I feel like all we do is kill stuff, it'd be nice to actually relax every once in a while."

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

NIGHT felt the need to roll her eyes at her friends' quips, but the tiny smile on her face spelled out a different story to her perception. "Maybe if you two got out of the house more." Though the truth was that she, too, barely left her home for relaxation either.

Cooking wine, vinegar, soy sauce, mirin and garlic -- each of these ingredients were added to the gravy on the woman's behalf, mixed well before being brought to a boil. The simmering process, in tandem with the meat, only took a fraction of its intended waiting process to be brought to its intended state of delicacy. All it took was a player's touch to bring it all together with taste.

The first few platters were set upon the table; multiple servings of roast beef, paired with a complex sour sauce, alongside roast potatoes and a healthy amount of stir-fried vegetables once NIGHT set her attention to the pan again.

With a little extra time and work, then came the stuffed mushrooms from DAY's handiwork, and french onion soup invigilated by her original. The carrots picked up from Koga's effort were glazed with butter and simmered. Had this been the world outside, it would've taken a few hours; in here, only but a handful of minutes.

"Yukiro, please tell me you managed to prepare bowls too."

Though the woman had stamina for battle, for some reason an exhaustion in the kitchen was hitting her hard. It had to be the urgency of their course, or the amount of chopping that appeared to be going on in her presence. In most other scenarios, stir fry or steamed would've been her preference, and only with an amount made for serving two at best.

Mittens wrapped around the handles of an orange pot, NIGHT set down the soup on one side of the table, hoping it would be enough to appease the friendly giant. Meanwhile, the entity was attempting to confer with Koga about the desserts.

"I'd do it myself," DAY mentioned, watching the concoction of ingredients simmer in some saucepans, "But it wouldn't taste the same, unless I had some higher-quality ingredients." Two metal bowls were peeled from the ether and set to a side, before the construct summoned a whisk with a confident grin. "I doubt this part of the process would be fun for any of you, though. Hand over what you're mixing when it darkens; I'll take care of the next part myself. Then... you should go eat; the food going to get cold if you keep cooking here."

[Yukiro 0]

Yukiro froze for the briefest of moments before rushing to add bowls to the table's setup. "Sorry," he quickly apologized, "I'll do that now. Thanks for the reminder." As he moved swiftly the kitchen, he managed to keep mostly out of anybody's way. As he was setting a bowl on top of each of the plates, he took a look into the pot NIGHT had brought to the table. It looked amazing, and smelled even better than that. "Good job on the meal, it looks splendid," he congratulated his friends with a grin, "I promise to only eat my share, unless there are leftovers." Though his tone was mostly jovial, it was laced with what he hoped was a lighthearted apology. He'd have to try and restrain himself at least a little; after all, he had to try and leave a good impression on DAY. Or, maybe because she was an NPC... 
Well, he could decide once they were all ready to eat. 

@Koga

[Koga 0]

Koga nodded to DAY as his arm moved in rapid circles, mixing...whatever he was mixing? What was this anyways? The chaos of the kitchen was something he usually was able to keep good track of, but with this amount of food, he was left just doing whatever he was told to. "You sure?" he replied to the woman. "I don't mind sticking around to help. I'd feel bad leaving you to tackle this alone." On second thought, she was probably better off without him, Koga was certain he was only slowing the AI down, but still, the offer hung in the air.

It struck the man that he was treating the construct the same as he would any other flesh and blood person. For a moment, he thought it slightly odd, but then pushed the sensation aside. She had the same intelligence as any of them. Probably more so. That should be enough, shouldn't it?

Yukiro's comment about only eating more if there were leftovers made Koga chuckle. Looking around them, there would be more leftovers than he reckoned even Yuki could handle.

[NIGHT 0]

DAY returned a hum of affirmation to Koga, certain about her abilities. If there was anything not to be questioned or trifled with, it would be Cardinal itself. "I'm more than capable," was her reassurance, taking the bowl from the player and pushing back the corners of her cloak. "This'll be done in a cinch."

On Yukiro's appetite? NIGHT would bet their leftovers would be dis-satisfactory otherwise, having been left with little after her paid meal the other while. Monstrous was the word that consistently came to mind. But they could make extras later, if he needed it. Or he could clean out the player's fridge of desserts, for despite the woman's planning for fresh mousse to be made, it didn't change the fact that Yuki's bundle of vanity stock were still taking up inventory space in the kitchen.

Brown butter carrots on a white ceramic plate, lightly heated as to NIGHT's expectations. She passed the entity by, tapping Koga on the shoulder and directing him to a seat at the table. "We're just about done," she breathed, mildly light-headed. Not enough to stumble, to stall for minutes at a time, but winded from the mental challenge course. "You too, Yukiro. We can handle the finishing touches."

So that's how it was. Chocolate mousse with fresh cream and peppermint bits, served alongside the players' full course meal. As an added bonus, DAY had managed to sneak a set of sugar cookies past the player without her notice (how?! the players had been so careful--) and they lined up in neat rows on a round plate, warmed comfortably by the oven.

(It had been on coincidence that NIGHT's place was beside her Gemini's. Not that the woman had noticed, too focused on their chaos to have been this attentive to social dynamics.)

Out of all the food she'd dig into for the hour, NIGHT's first instinct was to sample DAY's handiwork. The sugar cookies were adequate at best. The mousse was flavourful in their comparison, but still wasn't amazing despite their best efforts. Damn the system's limitations, she'd wanted to say, but decided a warning would be better instead. "Just don't expect them to match a Grandmaster's level," the player quipped, backed up with the construct's nodding, "and we'd be even."