A Thousand Sugar Stars, Oh Put Them in a Jar (October Catch-All)

[ricebird]

Characters: Kotori Iida [Sweet Porridge Girl], Della Duck [Icarus], Master Crane [Crane (Tsuru no Ongaeshi)], Disciple [Jekyll and Hyde], and YOU!
Campaign: Break
Format: Starting with brackets, but will match
One Open, Two Closed
Summary: Kotori comes back from a brief trip home, makes lots of tasty food with people, and wakes up at an ungodly early hour to train. (Oh, also, Hyde happens.)


A. I Looked at the World Through Apple Eyes (Closed to Della Duck and Master Crane)

[Wild and unpredictable as restoring The Little Mermaid had been, Kotori is very, VERY glad the ending turned out happy, with not a speck of mermaid-derived seafoam in sight. Coming back to the Index and seeing the city dressed in autumn colors, though… is it already close to a year since the Storyteller first brought them here? Close to a year since she last saw home… She should fix that.

So after telling a few of her closer friends and asking them to watch her place and let any other Aspects who ask know so no one panics ROXAS, she asks the Storyteller to send her home, just for a little while. By Index time, she’s only gone a few days; in Japan, it’d only been a few weeks. It was… weird being back in a completely normal world after spending a year here. Going through school, cooking more with Inuzuka-sensei and Tsumugi-chan, her mom working hard again. Shinobu had even been visiting her during lunch break lately, even if it felt a bit awkward not telling her about cooking with the Inuzukas… or this place, for that matter. The remembered it vividly for a few days, but… then started writing it off as a dream. Huh. The whole business is weird, really, like the time differences, and her feelings for…

But she can think about all that later. The Storyteller brought her back in late at night it seems, and she’s already really tired. One good thing about all her schooling being left at home is that she can sleep in as late as she wants tomorrow. …… Which, if her memories of the Index had been a little fresher, she’d remember as having scheduled a certain meeting with a certain duck. This should be interesting.]


B. And Cut Myself a Slice of Sunshine Pie (Open)

[Between this new routine of cooking sessions with the Inuzukas, her pot’s new shapeshifting ability, the pub’s brand new kitchen, and actually having a recipe collection to work with, and creating the massive feast during the ball, Kotori’s not only started getting used to cooking with other people, she’s actually starting to crave it even more than she had been. So whether she asks you herself, or you ask to come over to practice a recipe (especially for a date coming up~), from late morning to a little bit into the evening, Kotori’s available to make just about anything.

Or maybe you smelled good food inside and decided to invite yourself into this strangely cauldron-shaped pub. (Especially if it involves daikon GOBO.) Those in this category might be confused to see that the space is clean and well-kept, if rustic, there doesn't seem to be much of a crowd. In fact, the only person here is a teenage girl, in the middle of cleaning the kitchen in the back, sweeping and polishing the floors and counters up front, or sitting down at the bar for a meal for one, depending on what time of day you catch her.

Still, yes, Kotori’s door is open, so come on in, cook, and eat!]


C. I Danced with the Peanut Butterflies (Closed to Disciple)

[Of course, even with how fun these cooking lessons are, a little quite time in between is always nice. (Not to mention kitchens don’t clean themselves…) So after doing some sweeping and mopping for the day, Kotori’s sitting at the bar counter with a nice, simple dinner with a steaming bowl of nyuumen and a cup of hot green tea. Perfect for a cool, peaceful autumn day like this… ……. Okay but maybe a miniature apple charlotte after this would be nice. After seconds, of course.]


D. Till Time Went and Told Me to Say Hello but Wave Goodbye (Wildcard)

[[Got something in find other than the prompts listed here? Feel free to hit me up on Plurk or Discord so we can plot!]]

Comments

Gobo, you hobo

[ricebird]

[Said very nice smells happen to be coming from a decently sized clay pot on the stove, having just been commanded to make and stop making some rice porridge, topped with sliced apples and cranberries and pecans. (Kotori was in the mood for something sweet for breakfast.) A Silly Creature happens to be softly to herself as she scoops the porridge into a bowl for her first helping. (Yes. Yes, this is her first helping. There well be at least one more after this, probably.)

However... Gobo's nose might also detect something interesting, if he's not distracted by the sweet porridge. Something... distinctly vegetal. And coming from a small (for a human) door set in the floor of one corner of the kitchen.]

[gobetween]

[He does watch her for a few moments, swallowing a little at the sight of the food. When was the last time he ate anything? Must've only been early this morning before he started out-...

Then a more tantalizing, closer odor tickled across his nose. He sniffed quietly and turned his head, spying the hatch. Aha, down there~ A hesitating glance at the Silly Creature to make sure she was completely occupied, and then he stole out from underneath the table. Silent hustle across the floor, pause at the hatch to open it, ease himself down inside and let it shut behind him. Simpler than taking radishes from under the Gorgs' noses!

'Course, the door did briefly shut on the end of his tail because he didn't pull it after him fast enough, and THAT hurt. He pushed the door back up, pulled the tail in, and then let it shut again. From there it was a simple slide descent, and he was in the cellar proper. Now, let's find that delicious scent...]

[ricebird]

[Said trap door leads down a short-enough flight of stairs cut into the earth, down into a cellar about as big as the first floor above. Years ago it used to hold huge barrels and casks and dozens of bottle of ales and wines and meads, along with just an numerous shelves of preserves and pickles and hard-to-perish fruits and vegetables. Most of the alcohol is gone now (not that Kotori NEEDS much beyond cooking spirits like sake, mirin, and the occasional wine), but there are still quite a few of the latter things. Especially vegetables. And one of the middle-high shelf has some root vegetables on it. Round starchy potatoes and taro, short but thick carrots paired with longer and thinner ones, turnips, sweet potatoes, onions. But there are two very large specimens sharing the shelf with them. Longer than the shelf is wide. Nearly as long as Gobo himself. Almost as WIDE too. And the scent... smells almost like a cleaner, sweeter version... of a radish.

But perhaps Gobo should have taken the time to shut that door more gently. Kotori hears a thud and starts a bit towards the sound. Did... something come up...? Or go down...? Hm... She commands Nabe-chan to stop (and thanks it, of course) before grabbing a frying pan and slowly, caaaarefully approaching the cellar door. She looks around... it doesn't look like anything came OUT... so... giiingerly she opens it. QUiet as she is, Gobo might notice more light coming into the room. ... You know, if he's not too distracted.]

[gobetween]

[If there's one thing living underground gave him, even a place littered with bioluminescence like Fraggle Rock, is good eyesight in dimly lit places. He explores the first part of the room curiously, but his nose led him deeper and more upward, so off he went. It was an easy climb up to one of the shelves, and THERE. There's where the scent is coming from! A veritable smorgasbord of all the best root vegetables, but one certainly caught his attention more than anything else. It was a radish, or it smelled like one, but he'd never seen one quite like that-!

His head turned quickly when the light flooded into the room, and he saw someone start to descend. Oh no, it must be the Silly Creature! Thinking rapidly, he hauled up the giant weird-radish, lost his balance a moment, then recovered and hopped down, unfortunately landing harder than he otherwise might've because he's carrying double his weight.

By the time Kotori gets all the way down, the cellar seems like it's all quiet on the western front. There was definitely the movement of the door though, not to mention the dull thump only moments ago. And further investigation will reveal one of her biggest daikon was now missing. But there seemed to be no sign of the culprit now, so where was he...?]

[ricebird]

[Even as Kotori opened the door, her hand touched something... fuzzy. Is that... fuchsia fur...?]

What the heck...?

[Veeery slowly she creeps down the stairs. Did... some kind of creature come down here? She doesn't SEE anything right away... and frankly, she's almost scared to look.]

I-I know you're down here... Whoever or... whatever you are... I-I won't hurt you... Well, as long as you don't hurt me... So... come out, please...?

[#nailed-it]

[gobetween]

[Where Gobo was was behind one of the remaining barrels in the cellar. He'd crouched down out of sight, holding the daikon to himself, trying to keep his breathing under control.

Hearing her speak wasn't quite what he had expected, though. He hesitated, then turned his head a bit, though not yet enough to see behind the barrel.]

I-I won't hurt you either... Deal..? I only came down here because I was hungry.

[ricebird]

[Oh... dang, the voice sounds small and young. Some little boy, maybe?]

Oh... well, if you were hungry, you could have just asked me. [You know, with knocking on the front door first, but details.] Breaking into people's houses and stealing food and get you into a lot of trouble.

[Seriously, he doesn't want to get on the wrong side of Hyde or a cranky Shizuo. ....... Maybe Magica, but Kotori doesn't know about her yet.]

[gobetween]

I didn't think about that. I just saw the open window and came inside.

[He drummed his fingers on the daikon, inhaling deeply. Then he sighed and shifted a bit, walking out from behind the barrel. He hefted it up with a soft "oof" under his breath, and held it out some.]

Here, you can have it back, I'm sorry about the whole mess.

[ricebird]

[..... Wait a minute. Small... hairy (although DEFINITELY not black)... young-sounding... striped shirt.]

A... zashiki-warashi...?

[gobetween]

[Blank look. Gesundheit]

Uh. No...? I'm a Fraggle.

[ricebird]

A... Fraggle...? Huh, I can't say I've really heard of those before.

[Post-2000s kid most likely, and localization, man.]

[gobetween]

[Still holding the daikon, he lightly thumped it in the palm of one hand. Not trying to be threatening- he's a foot and a half tall and he's orange, how threatening could he be? -just more of a thoughtful, idle action.]

Yeah, I don't think I've met a single person who knows what a Fraggle is. Not that I really expect them too, I guess. Not even Doc back home knew, and he lived right outside Fraggle Rock.

[He paused.]

Of course, he couldn't really see us, apparently...

[ricebird]

[Huh. Yeah, that definitely sounds like zashiki-warashi magic too...]

I see... Um, does... that mean you're alone?

[She hopes not; being in a house with someone who can't see you SOUNDS lonely.]

[gobetween]

Here? Yeah, I'm the only Fraggle here, so far as I know.

[One of the others would be great, but he's pretty sure he was the only one approached.]

[ricebird]

Oh, are there more... Fraggles, then?

[That's a bit of a relief, and her smile starts to come back.]

[gobetween]

There's plenty more Fraggles! Probably a couple thousand, if not more.

[ricebird]

Ow wow, that is a lot!

[In the whole world, or-- no wait!]

A-ah, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kotori Iida.

[gobetween]

[He blinked, then laughed softly. Right, being polite is a thing.

Thought the little creature holding purloined produce still.]

My name's Gobo Fraggle.

[ricebird]

Gobou?

[Like burdock root? Oh no, that's really cute, if that's what he means, she can't help but smile, even if she tries to cover it so he doesn't think she's laughing at him.]

That's a really nice name. It's nice to meet you, Gobou-kun?

[gobetween]

Thank you, I think. [He chuckled a bit.] I was named after my great-uncle.

It's nice to meet you, too.

[ricebird]

Anyway... like I was saying, you can probably just ask me if you can share breakfast with me. Do you like porridge?

[gobetween]

Sure! What's in it?

[ricebird]

It's rice porridge, but it has buttery toasted pecans, tart dried cranberries, and crisp apple slices on top!

[gobetween]

Wow yeah, that sounds great! Thank you.

[Especially since he broke in and tried to steal one of her daikon.]

[ricebird]

[True, but as a chef's daughter, she'd also be remiss if she just let the little guy STARVE. (Not to mention even if he's QUITE one, it's EXTREMELY bad luck for a house and its inhabitants to treat a zashiki-warashi poorly.)]

You're welcome~ [She climbs the steps and lifts the door up for them to enter the kitchen again.] After you!