Medeia takes That Muffin Is Staring At You from a large wooden beehive.

Mara takes That Muffin Is Staring At You from a large wooden beehive.

Stormbringer, the Highhill War Hound arrives, following Jasper.

It has been at least three years since the last baking event in the Laurent mansion or since the Lady Laurent celebrated her birthday. The kitchen is disproportionatly filled with food platters, savory and sweet while the kitchen island is arranged with baking stations. The Lady herself is standing by the island, looking like a rainbow, clad in smokeweave, greeting her guests to a pile of plums, "Hello, hello! Please come in, get comfortable, put on some aprons, have a plum". Mabelle is clearly not handing out the famously hallucegenic plums, its too expensive. She might have... you know what, nevermind.

Jan steps in and looks around apprehensively but she notices the copious collection of food and the tall, broad shouldered woman is coaxed in by the siren song that is the promise of sweets.

3 House Velenosa Guards, Renault, Timothe arrive, following Theo.

Medeia arrives with a smile and an effusive greeting for Mabelle, "My lady! Happy birthday! You look /marvelous/, like the most romantic sunrise over the hills, signaling a fantastic new day. How stunning. /Love/ the coral." She gives Mabelle a wink before turning to look around the rest of the kitchen. "Those bakers look like they are prepared for us to ruin their lives. I do hope that we do not do that. All in fun, yes?" With a grin, the Saik lady plucks up a plum from the offering and shifts off so others can greet the hostess. There's a nod toward Jan when she's seen.

Theo checks luck at daunting. Theo fails.

Medeia checks luck at hard. Medeia fails.

Mabelle checks luck at hard. Mabelle marginally fails.

Mara checks luck at hard. Mara fails.

Jan checks luck at hard. Critical Success! Jan is spectacularly successful.

Theo takes That Muffin Is Staring At You from a large wooden beehive.

Medeia checks composure and etiquette at daunting. Medeia fails.

Jasper gets That Muffin Is Staring At You from a large wooden beehive.

Renata steps into the kitchens to look to Mabelle with a warm smile and small wave of her fingers. Offering a nod to Jan, "Lady Jan, it's good to see you again." Slipping from her cloak to fold it carefully and hand over to her assistant. "Lady Mabelle, thank you for the invitation." While she's eyeing the plums her smile widens to Medeia's entrance "Lady Medeia. Your outfit is absolutely stunning. A sense of a siren melting into a wine?" Leaving her to take a step to the side where she might end up as a wallflower. Giving in to her stare at the plums and their red juicy smooth flesh, "These look delicious. What will the baking be Lady Mabelle?"

Renata checks luck at hard. Botch! Renata fails completely.

Renata checks composure and etiquette at daunting. Renata fails.

Jasper takes a plum, and grabs a muffin for himself, happy to be here to enjoy his friend's event. "Lady Mabelle, good to see you." With one of his rare, bright smiles, he'll find himself some corner to wallflower in on as he eats the foodstuffs.

Jasper checks luck at hard. Jasper marginally fails.

Mabelle claps her hands merrily as the ladies enter, "Why Lady Medeia, what a lovely ensamble you have on, and Princess Renata, you are looking wonderful, thank you for coming. Lady Jan, good afternoon", she wiggles her fingers and smiles at Jasper and Theo as well. "Well, today we will be baking with plums. This is of course a contest - but more importantly, we need new ideas to baked goods with plums. For reasons", she shifts her eyes with a grin. "You will be measured on three parts. The first, creating the recipe. The second, running over each other to the pantry to getting the ingredients and eventually... the final execution", she taps her lips while positioning herself safely next to the chocolate cake, "You think you have what it takes?"

Mara makes her way into the Laurent kitchen, curiously glancing over the surroundings. A smile is directed to the hostess as she echoes Medeia's greeting. "Yes, happy birthday, Lady Mabelle!" Her smile widens as she spots Renata and calls over a warm greeting, "Princess Renata, glad to see you here." Hazel eyes flick toward the food platters and cooking stations with a look that holds too much good humor to be genuine trepidation. "It's been a while since I've tested my baking skills. Let's hope for delicious outcomes today."

Mabelle grins at Mara and includes her in her greeting as well, "Well, thank you for coming, we look forward to testing your skills!".

Theo comes walking in. Hands in pockets as if he has not a care in the world. It's a party. Always a good time to have a party. Who else but to celebrate one Lady Mabelle. She gets a smile and a wave as the prince enters into the kitchen and takes in what they have going on here. He seems to know the others that have entered thus far and they get waves from him also as he looks at the plums because they have have caught his attention. Ah a challenge has been issued and Theo is laughing to himself. When was the last time he was in a kitchen? Well first time for anything, right? "Happy Birthday, Lady Mabelle!"

Jan's eyebrows shoot up "Wait. IT's a contest?" She purses her lips "Skald's balls, I'm fucked. Ah well." She takes a plum and unless stopped will take a bite and wipes juice from her chin with the back of her sleeve "Happy Birthday Lady Mabelle!"

If Mabelle's gown had an expression, it would be horrified for Jan's sleeve.

Medeia is already sinking her teeth into the plum she picked up. "Hm?" She glances at Renata and smiles, then she lifts a hand to cover her mouth as she chews the fruit. "Oh, thank you!" She looks guiltily toward Mabelle. "Was I not supposed to eat this yet?" Oops. "Lord Steelheart, Prince Theo! So lovely to see you." To the lord, she notes, "I understand congratulations are in order?" She takes another bite of the plum as her gaze lands on Mara. She stares at the redhead in blinking surprise.

Theo checks composure and etiquette at daunting. Theo fails.

Renata is a small bite into a ripe juicy red plum without any care to where juices are slipping over her lips and chin. Her assistant trying to get closer to dap at the princesses chin with a napkin while Renata waves her away. Only to turn with wide grin towards Medeia making a hard swallow and raise of her hand to lips. "But it tastes so good." A second to Medeia's 'oops' while she stares at Theo for a moment then turns quickly to Mara with a finger wave. "Mara!" Reaching out with sticky fingers to the woman, "You can come be by me. It's been a very long time since I've attempted to play in a kitchen."

With a smile to Medeia, Jasper inclines his head affirmatively. "Indeed, Ophelia and I were wed very recently, in Lenosia. Thank you, my Lady." With a bright smile to her, he eats a bite of his plum and considers the fruit. Seems like he wasn't supposed to eat the ingredient? Well, then. "I don't suppose I-- yes, I'm with Lady Jan here. Asking me to cook something is to invite yourself to a fire hazard."

3 Thrax Guards, 1 Thrax Elite Guards, Gula, a fat gila monster wearing a tricorn arrive, following Fatima.

Fatima gets That Muffin Is Staring At You from a large wooden beehive.

Fatima checks luck at hard. Fatima fails.

Mabelle smiles amusedly at Jan, "Of course its a contest, at least this time your chances of bleeding to death trying to get a honey diamond out of a beehive", she looks all innocent at that. "This is Mara Striga from Ischia", she introduces the woman to Medeia, "Worry not, my bakers are here to help you".

Jan ahhs and bows her head politely and offfers a wave with the hand not holding a plum "Lady Jan Kennex. Congratulations and best wishes to you and your new bride, my lord." She smiles towards Renata "I believe the word is work, your highness. Perhaps you are right and it is play when we attempt it."

Medeia peels her attention away from Mara for just a moment to look back at Jasper. "Oh!" Her cheeks color slightly. "My apologies, Your Highness, I had only heard the betro-" Mabelle's introduction of Mara snaps her attention back to the redhead, eyes wide. "No? It cannot... Mara? Really?"

Mabelle blinks at Jasper, "I missed the actual wedding? I love weddings", she pouts. "That could have been my birthday gift".

Mara selects a plum of her own, wasting no time in taking her first bite, then another. She sends a grateful look to Renata, glad for the familiar face, and moves to stand beside the Pravus princess. "This might be quite a memorable day in the kitchen, depending on how things go," she muses aloud before fastening eye upon Medeia. Her eyes widen with a jolt of surprise and her mouth opens and closes wordlessly for a moment before she manages to answer. "Medeia? It's been- well, too many years! How lucky to find you here in the city."

Renata is left with a warm smile to Jan as she continues to take larger bites of the plum, any sense of being polite in eating the juicy fruit is gone.

Theo is slow in the uptake of things as he takes a moment to observe what is going on here. People are getting plums so he does that. Studying the plum as if its got a story to tell. Does he realize Renata is staring at him? If so he pays no attention to that but instead greets Medeia formally, "Milady, it is good to see here. Hopefully, this birthday celebration will go much better." Saying it just loud enough for Renata or even Sparrow to hear. A nod to Jasper when there is congratulations being offered, "Congratulations, may it be a happy one."

Princess Fatima Thrax arrives a little bit late, but she does arrive. It's unlikely that she would normally show up in any kitchen, but she couldn't resist the pull of Mabelle's plumstravaganza. She arrives with her hair in an elegant updo, and clothing suited to work in a kitchen. She arrives just in time to hear Mabelle explain the contest. She looks a little bit amused, and eventually inclines her head to Mabelle. "Lady Mabelle, the happiest of natalities to you." She picks up a plum and calmly bites into it, glancing around with curious sea green eyes, as if she's never been in a kitchen in her life. Maybe she hasn't. She gives Jasper a curve of the lips, and then leans against one of the station counters while she eats her plum.

Claps her hands eagerly, "So are you ready? Are you ready? You need to come up with the recipe! There are some examples on the island but you need... to spruce them up and change them. Are you ready?! Lets start!" She gazes at Fatima as she enters, with a grin, "Just in time! Pick a station! Also thank you!!!!", she's very energetic. You would think she's high.

Medeia checked perception + streetwise at difficulty 25, rolling 21 higher.

Fatima checked wits + streetwise at difficulty 25, rolling 28 higher.

Renata checked wits + riddles at difficulty 25, rolling 4 lower.

Jan checked wits + streetwise at difficulty 25, rolling 2 lower.

Mara checked perception + streetwise at difficulty 25, rolling 16 higher.

Theo checked perception + streetwise at difficulty 25, rolling 5 higher.

Jasper checked perception + streetwise at difficulty 25, rolling 4 lower.

It seems like Medeia might be rooted to her spot until Mara acknowledges her, not even breathing. And then she beaming. "Cousin! I did not even know you were /alive/, where have you been?!" Being half-Argento is a very good reason to maybe not be alive. "By the gods, it is good to see you. You know Princess Renata?" And then she's turning to Theo. "Oh? My birthday party was perfection, Your Highness. I do not know what you could be referring to. A lady loves to see a prince have a drink thrown in his face from time to time." She hustles over to a baking station at Mabelle's prompting, taking another bite of the plum. "Lady... Mabelle..." She blinks over at the Laurent woman. "What... What am I tasting? Oh. We are..." Whatever she was about to say trails off as she thinks and starts to try to understand the baking station in front of her.

Jan blinks "Recipes?" She frowns "UUhhm. I have no idea what goes into anything. Flour. Uh. water?" She frowns a bit "All I know is what is in hard tack and that is only considered food if you're literally starving." She pauses and notes the increasingly lax miens amongst the ladies. Renata's staring and munching is ignored as Medeia seems to brainfart. She purses her lips gently "Lady Medeia? Are you alright? Maybe we should switch to water, from wine."

Jasper smiles back at Fatima, before answering Mabelle. "We shall throw a party when things are less -- chaotic, though, to properly celebrate the nuptials here in the city." Smiling to Medeia as well, he inclines his head in thanks as he glances back to Mabelle for further instructions. He blinks, seeing a purple cat on Mabelle's shoulder, then.

Renata sticks the plum into her mouth and takes to a cooking station as she leans over the possible ingredients getting distracted by a large basket of cookies. The plum set aside as she starts to nibble at the cookies and grabs a few to toss into a bowl before her. Fingers sticky from plum juice, cookie crumbs sticking to her fingers are now being licked at as she starts to close her eyes and enjoy the mixture of flavors. Her demeanor dives into not paying attention to any decorum of court and just letting herself go in the moment. Opening her eyes and holding out a mixture of a chocolate chip cookie smashed into crumbs over another cookie of fudge, and another of a nutty butter. The combination a complete mess in her hand as she stares at it for far too long. Barely looking up from her mess of cookie before her. "As long as Prince Theo keeps his hands and thoughts over there." She flings her hand with cookie mess towards the corner only to be very sad about the loss of cookie when it flings away. "Nooo... The cookie."

Jasper also makes a mess of ingredients by giving the cook assigned to him a completely confusing set of instructions.

The purple cat on Mabelle's shoulder is likely presenting a cheshire smile. Or its not real. Mabelle herself, puts her fingers to the cake and licks off some chocolate. "You tossed a drink in someone's face? Who?!", she looks intrigued, "MAKE SURE YOU MAKE A LIST OF THE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL BATTLE OVER NEXT!!!", SHE PROCLAIMS. Very loudly.

Fatima inclines her head to Mabelle, her eyes still sparkling with amusement as she glances around. Then she turns and finds an apron somewhere, tying it neatly about her waist. She makes her way to the island then, to peruse the recipes and see what she can do with them. She perches on a stool at her station, and starts writing down some ideas for a recipe for plum cobbler. There's no way, of course, that a spoiled princess like her could possibly know how to write up a recipe, let alone, make something edible. No possible way. But she's going to try her best! She tilts her head from side to side, staring at the page as she writes, as if seeing the letters in a strange way, or maybe they are moving and she's trying to get her head at the right angle to see them? She leans down a little more, holding the page flat on the counter as if it might fly away if she doesn't.

Finally, Theo gets to eating his plum and it sounds like he's moaning as he's eating said plum. Whoops. He can still walk as he finds a station to start creating. He can paint. Baking can't be that far off right? Grinning at Medeia when she reminds him what happened at her party and he's wiping at his face which means he now has plum juice on one hand. Oh Renata said his name and he's drawling back at her."Oh my darling, its you that can't seem to keep my name out of your mouth. Maybe you like the taste of me." Whoops again.

The pale shock fades from Mara's freckled face, replaced with genuine gladness at unexpectedly seeing her cousin. "House Pravus took me in and have been so good to me," she explains. The condensed version, of course. "I do. Are you acquainted with Princess Renata yourself?" She's ready to make introductions if needed, although Jan's words pull her focus back to the task at hand: formulating a recipe. "Maybe just a little bit of this, a little bit of that..." She continues murmuring to herself, contemplating her concoction while taking another bite of the plum she has in hand.

Mabelle the announces, "Now, once you got your list of ingredients, you will likely find it alll in the pantry behind you", she points at a SMALL well arranged pantry. Maurice, the baker, looks positively horrified. Considering they are all semi drunk and have no idea what they are doing. "There is not enough for everyone so good luck with that". She giggles. A lot.

Jasper checked stamina + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 35 higher.

Medeia checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 35, rolling 9 lower.

Mara checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 10 lower.

Renata checked dexterity + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 30 lower.

Fatima checked dexterity + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 12 lower.

Theo checked stamina + athletics at difficulty 35, rolling 20 lower.

Jan checked stamina + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 16 higher.

Renata checked dexterity + haggling at difficulty 35, rolling 31 lower.

"I have not had a drop," Medeia insists to Jan, smashing an egg a little too hard on the edge of a bowl. She actually seems to have some sense about how to handle herself in the kitchen, but when she looks down to see the egg leaking down the outside of the bowl, she starts to giggle. "That... Was supposed to go /in/ the bowl." Another egg is picked up with /very/ slow and careful movements to tap-tap-tap the egg shell against the bowl rim. Ultimately, she hands it to one of the real bakers. And looks over at Mara. "Pravus did? Oh. Pravus always takes everything." She sways, looks at the pantry Mabelle indicates, and... lurches toward, giggling again.

Jan reassures the Princess "The PRince is on the other side of the table, Highness. No mater what he tells you in private I promise no part of him can reach you from there." She blinks and eyes Theo "HEY!" She barks sharply with the air and edge of someone who bosses around professional murders for a living "None of that here! There are proper ladies here." She shakes her head and frowns as she notices she doesn't see bottles or cups. Stops and eyes everyone else "What in Petrichor's untamed bush is going on...?" She turns and begins to do a knife check "Scratch trying to make something to take home, new plan: risk analysis." she mutters to herself.

Jasper is apparently really good at raiding the pantry for those confusing ingredients, like a whole sack of flour, and half a basket of fruit, and ONE egg. Among other things. Worst of all, once he's secured his ingredients he's making sure there is very little of it to go around. Like a dragon and his hoard.

Mabelle snorts at Medeia's comment, well one fo them and then calls out to Jasper, "HEY! PLAY NICE!"

Alphonse, a long-suffering assistant, Maggie, an energetic Mistward Labrador arrive, following Adalyn.

After whispering a very long list to her baker, while hugging the bowl which she has been collecting one of every cookie into and mashing them together. A small argument, "...tis my bowl, get your own..." Then wide eyed as she's pointed towards the cupboard to claim the items from shelf. "As long as I can bring my bowl with me..." She stumbles towards the shelf a squint of eye and grabbing at items that are not there. "They keep moving!" Turning from her stance in front of the cupboard, "Lady Mabelle, there is something very peculiar of this kitchen." And distracted again as she remembers the bowl of cookies is in front of her. "These are amazing cookies! Ooooh... They would make an excellent crust! We should make a pie!"

Renata stares at Jan again with her bowl of cookie mess, dipping her hand into it to pick out crumbs and offer them to Jan. In a slur of words and large smile, "I used to work... I'd sing at the taverns. Surrounded by pirates even. This is an amazing cookie..."

Now Theo is just humming to himself. He finished his plum eventually. Somehow. He heard Jan and thinks its the funniest thing ever and is giggling almost manically and waving his hand about. "You need to have more funnnnn in your life." Wait. What was it he was doing? There's egg in his bowl, what else was suppose to go in there? He starts pointing at his bowl, "I seee what you are doing there!" Only to spin when he realizes there are other ingredients to get. "Lalalalala. Okay, let's get more things, yes."

Jasper checked perception + investigation at difficulty 25, rolling 14 lower.

Jasper checked stamina + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 1 lower.

Mara sends an admiring glance toward Jan as the woman begins to handle the situation around her. Maybe the Striga is wondering if she'll ever have the ability to conduct herself with that amount of stern authority. Or maybe she's just filing 'Petrichor's untamed bush' away in her memory as a new phrase to pull out when needed. Medeia's giggles prove to be contagious, drawing laughter from the redhead. "Oops, pantry!" she calls aloud before likewise lunging toward the ingredients. But the world is starting to spin a bit, causing her dash to go diagonal, veering away from the pantry entirely.

"Hey, hardly fair on those of us who are of a more /delicate/ nature," Fatima says, as she saunters toward the pantry in no particular hurry. Are her words a little bit slurred? The Thrax princess hardly looks delicate. Even though she's not in a huge hurry, she's also not the slowest. She does manage to snag a small bag of flour, a couple of eggs, and a couple bottles of some kind of spices. Maybe it'll be enough! She makes her way back to her station, lugging the small sack of flower under one arm, the spice bottles in her left hand, and balancing the eggs in her other hand. She does give a little glare to Jasper as he starts hoarding ingredients. "Yesh, play nice your Highness," she says, then giggles. Oh dear, is she DRUNK? She deposits the items on her station, and putters around, trying to figure out how this cooking thing works.

Adalyn checks luck at daunting. Adalyn fails.

Mabelle looks at the mess that is the kitchen and then looks at Maurice and she's a LITTLE BIT TOO PLEASED WITH THE WAY SHE TORTURES HIM. He hangs his head low. Poor man. "You're cheating, Renata! But I will allow it!", she laughs at the chaos that is the kitchen.

Adalyn checked wits + investigation at difficulty 25, rolling 31 higher.

Adalyn checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 35, rolling 20 higher.

Jan strides around the table and plucks up knives and tells the kitchen staff assisting the hapless and altered nobles "Knives are yours. Not theirs. When you're done stow them somewhere out of sight NOT in arm's reach of one of the guests. No I'm not the mistress of the house but I doubt any of you want to reckon with the consequences these giggling giddies get up to when they're armed, hrrm?" She's abandoned her own efforts and is now circling the kitchen trying to keep a close eye on the altered nobles "Gods, I'd ask the physician's guild for attendance but they'd probably just refer me to Lady Medeia. Mangata's mangoes."

Mabelle randomly proclaims, "I'm A DOCTOR!"

"I'm delicate," Medeia pouts, her usually precise enunciation slurring into the use of contractions. She wanders back to her station. Probably her station. She managed to gather some... potatoes? Maple syrup? They're set on the island beside her eggy bowl. The lady looks between Renata and Theo. "Your Highness, if the princess doesn't 'preciate you? Her loss." Her wide-eyed attention is pulled to Mabelle, having missed whatever Jan said. "Oh! Me too! Who's bleeding?"

Jasper grins at Fatima, but he is a blood-thirsty competitor, apparently rushing to get things done. He's literally barking out orders for the poor cook to follow along, but he seems to be talking to the table instead of the cook. Why? Who the hell knows.

Renata's cookie covered hand goes to side of her cheek leaving a fresh print of hand melted chocolate and nutty butter to sit upon her face. A gasp when Mabelle calls her out for cheating. "I've never cheated! I..." She looks to the pie pan with the cookie crumbled crust in it. "I'm improvising..." her baker is trying to keep the pan away from her highness to salvage some of the pie to be made while Renata keeps trying to eat from the crumbled cookies. A look from her pan over towards Fatima, "Who should play nice?" Quickly turning to thrown that cookie crumbled covered hand to cover her eyes. "Nope. Nooooo. I don't.. No blood!"

At this point Theo just points at the things he wants such as lemon, butter, flour to his baker that is following him behind. Medeia gets wags of brows at her comment of Renata's loss if she doesn't appreciate one Theo. "Yessss! I am a prize to be wonnnn!" Is he skipping back to his station? Yep.

Adalyn was here she had just been in the background for a bit till well till she got drunk? Oh my! There is a soft giggle as she stands up and with her large mixing bowel moves to the cabinet and starts to try and collect her ingredients for her recipe. Bumping into someone she grins, "I am sorry, but you should not be standing t here I need to get by." she giggles again and makes her way to grab for a few things. Trying to reach for something high up and she remembers how her children look while they try and the tongue comes out to the side of her mouth and she moves up to her tippy toes.

Lifting her spoon and waving it regally toward Jasper, Fatima tells Renata, "That one, over there. The newest Princeling." A few flecks of plum juice spatter around the room randomly as she waves the spoon like a scepter, and she doesn't seem to notice. "My darling protege..." She pauses then, and squints at Jasper. "If you're a prince now, does that mean you're no longer my protege? Hmmm," she muses, then shrugs and goes back to stirring at the direction of the cook. "Will have to think about that one..." Stir, stir, stir!

Mabelle ruffles her hair, "You are not the prize, Theo!", she mentions to the prince, "I actually selected some rare vintage drinks as prizes. As if you are not worse off already". She cackles and then giggles and then laughs and then tells Renata, "I will accept that".

Mara finds herself sprawled out on the floor, having lost her balance during the mad dash to the pantry. She evidently elects to just lie there for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, blinking as though strange things are up there. Eventually, though, she remembers that there's cooking to be done and gathers herself up, rising to study whatever remains in the pantry. "Mangata's mangoes," she echoes Jan, peering at the pantry. "Sadly, no mangoes here." She gathers a hodge podge of what is available and returns to her cooking station.

Adalyn takes That Muffin Is Staring At You from a large wooden beehive.

Jan takes That Muffin Is Staring At You from a large wooden beehive.

There's a big pout coming from Theo when he is told by Mabelle he is not the prize and a whine comes out of him, "I am not?! Now that is just plain cruel." He even stomps his foot for emphasis as he stares at his ingredients that the baker put in front of him. "Cookie, pie, cake. All delicious. But what to maaake?"

Mabelle looks about at the chaos that is the kitchen. She looks at Maurice that wants to die. Poor Maurice. "Did you get all you want? Are you all set? Now bake! You will be measured on eatibility and looks!". She snorts at that.

Somehow or another, Medeia has actually managed to convince someone to peel and boil potatoes for her. She may not be capable of doing these things herself, she can provide instructions. She glances at Theo and agrees. "You /are/. So am I! We're amazing! People should be more grateful for us."

Theo checked dexterity + artwork at difficulty 40, rolling 24 lower.

Jan pauses and looks to Maurice and wonders "None of this is going to kill someone if they eat it, will it?" she

Medeia checked intellect + alchemy at difficulty 40, rolling 27 higher.

Renata checked intellect + stewardship at difficulty 40, rolling 10 higher.

"I can't think about the complexities of such social matters now," Jasper replies to Fatima, his thoughts geared towards making some... baked thing happening.

Fatima checked dexterity + artwork at difficulty 40, rolling 7 lower.

Jasper checked command + economics at difficulty 40, rolling 7 lower.

Jan pauses and looks to Maurice and wonders "None of this is going to kill someone if they eat it, will it?" she scans the confections in progress and her cheeks puff out "Well. I suppose technically I only have to worry about two people here." She looks to Maurice and asks in a tone that suggests the tone is entirely rhetorical "It'll be fine, right?"

Mara checked intellect + artwork at difficulty 40, rolling 16 lower.

Does Theo know what he's doing? Probably not. But he goes in whole heartly. Using both hands to mix his ingredients. It looks like a butter cake of sorts. So is his hope. Using his hands as mixing spoons when there likely is utensils to be used he is using hands. He also grabs a handful of plums. Because why not a butter and plum cake. He spins again and is straightened by a baker who leads him by the ovens to put his masterpiece in. Saying quite loudly, "I thinkkkk forty minutes should dooo just finnnnnne!" So proud as if he said a proclamation.

The odds were never in Fatima's favor. Cooking is just not something she does! She does try her best though, even in the face of being under the effects of some sort of drugged or spiked plum. She waves her spoon at Jasper's comment, and then starts humming to herself while she finishes prepping her concoction, whatever it turns out to be. Hey, isn't cobbler supposed to go into a pie tin of some sort? Hers seems to be going into a bowl. Is that an /eggshell/ floating in the top? Merrily, she instructs the cook to put it all in the oven, and then she wipes her brow. "Well, I'm clearly going to win," she announces smugly, glancing around.

As time goes on, Medeia has instructed - and helped - the creation of some sort of plum-filled potato-dough dumpling. It's not clear how, but she found some spices to make it all more palatable, and after being cooked, the dumplings are drizzled in maple syrup. It actually looks... Fine. Fine enough. Medeia, however? She's sitting and staring at the counter, tears silently rolling down her cheeks as she sways a bit. When did she start crying? Why is she crying? Is the counter about to flip over? She's holding it like it might.

Adalyn checked dexterity + performance at difficulty 40, rolling 3 lower.

Mabelle's face gets all crunched up when she sees whatever Theo is making over there, murmuring to Maurice, "I dont have to taste that, do I?"

Apparently, Jasper's food should be considered edible. As in, safe for consumption. Nobody is going to die eating it. It must be because he somehow managed to grab those ingredients as necessary. He stares at the end product.

Mara had the best of intentions and, really, her recipe idea sounded decent. But the execution? Well, that bit is a total failure. The apple and plum cake concoction she presents to be placed in the oven looks entirely off. It might be that she missed a few essential ingredients. And flour? There's far, far too much of it in there. Let's hope no one has to taste test this thing.

Renata's assistant is trying her best to wipe the cookie mess from the princess's face with a wet cloth while Renata pulls her head back from the dabbing. "Sparrow. What are you..." Only to have a vague moment where she's giving somewhat coherent directions to her baker of what needs to be where, and then its all gone again as she eyes the remaining plum to side of her station. "Oooh. That's where it went." The plum finished off and she's left to stare at her baker while the poor man keeps asking her the same thing slower each time. A wave of her hand, "Yes. That would be lovely. Be a dear..Sparrow!" she turns her head into another attempt to have the cookie wiped from her face as assistant seeks to dab napkin in cold water before reaching to clean princess up. Renata is able to escape from her assistant, face now less smeared with the chocolate and fudgy cookie mix. Her baker looks with a shrug at whatever is going on with the pie, burnt cookie crust with full hot plums roasted within the open face pie. Both baker and assistant have taken away any and all forks to keep Renata from trying to stab the pie to taste it. "Aww... but We absolutely must try the pie..." Looking over towards Medeia with a scrunch to her features in a gentle stare as she spots a fork and tries to grab it to try the bubbling mixture.

Jan checked command + leadership at difficulty 35, rolling 7 higher.

When Theo's 'cake' comes out? Yes, no one should eat it. The plums floating up on the cake liquid looking like baby sharks. Do de do de doooo. Theo claps his hands together proud as a father, "I madde that! Looook what I made! It's beautiful. So beautiful. I ought to paint it. No one eat it." As if anyone would.

Whatever it is that Fatima has made, it isn't cobbler. But, it's also surprisingly edible? When the bowl comes out of the oven, she notices the eggshell in the top, and glances around surreptitiously for a moment. Then she snatches the eggshell out, and flicks it aside onto the counter. No one noticed, surely! She takes the whole bowl then, and turns it upside down on a plate, resulting in a dome of some sort of crusty goeey plum half-sphere. She takes a spoon and scrapes the dribblings from the bowl onto it like a syrup, then steps back, admiring her work, tilting her head from side to side. Shrugging, she sets the bowl and spoon aside, then turns to present her creation.

Jan spots Renata's fork question and the apparent target "Stop!" she barks, trying to hurry over to intercept the fork or pie but using her voice meanwhile, adjusting her volume and tone for Princess "Bubbling means it's angry, it'll leave you crying with your tongue looking like it's made out of assholes!"

Mabelle begins to travel between the stations, eyeing Theo's first, "Yes, you paint that, I am not touching that", she nods. SAVED. Passing onwards, she reaches Renata's station, "That looks... very angry, very... though not as angry as this one", she eyes Mara's attempt of a ... pie? "Is that a soup?"

Renata's hand pauses in reach for that fork only to be left staring at her pie and start crying as Jan yells at her about assholes and tongues.

Mabelle blinks thrice when Renata begins to cry, "No! I did not mean that! No. HERE! Have a cookie!", she reaches into one of the plates and pushes a cookie into Renata's mouth.

Theo stares at Mabelle when she says she's not touching his creation. A gasp heard and a hand to heart, "Oh then I will just have to paint you next. This is beautiful art!" Poor Theo if only he knew how terrible his creation is but his poor addled mind.

Medeia has slowly melted to the floor, sitting with her knees drawn up and her forehead resting on crossed arms atop her knees so she can sob - mostly out of sight of everyone.

Adalyn looks at her muffins that she made! She loves them always have since she was a child, she grins tilting her head tilted to the side as she giggles. She looks up as Mabelle starts to make rounds and she beams giving her a small finger wave.

Jan sighs "Oh for Tears and taints, woman. You can have some later just let it cool off." She cycles between the others, trying to make sure no one's about to injury themselves-or each other.

It's night and day with the Pravus princess. One moment crying the next she's got a mouthful of cookie and giggling, trying to hold a hand over her mouth while talking "tis ishno plum!" She's moving away from the boiling angry pie which she's now attributed to being filled with little angry men that are all mooning those looking down at them. A push at pie pan as she seeks out more of the cookies which have been fed to her.

Mara catches only the last few words of Jan's comment, her eyes growing comically wide as she leans sideways to investigate Renata's pie with a fearful look. Mabelle's remark recaptures her attention as she peers back at her own creation with a thoughtful frown. "Is it? Apple and plum soup pie? Pie soup?" She's concentrating verrrry hard on this naming business.

Mabelle reaches over to Adalyn, breaking a piece of the muffin, "That looks very good", she pushes it into her mouth, "Hmm. Yummy", she moves by Fatima, who presents her with a bowl. There's/... things in the bowl. Is that an eggshell? "That looks lovely!! Lovely!!!", she takes the spoon and very slowlly takes a bite with cringy face and with a full mouth says, "LOVELY!" , hoping pieces will fall out of it. "Plum STEW", she says to Mara, spitting out more bowl stuff.

Fatima looks around at the crying people, and rolls her eyes heavenward. "Gods, you would think this is some sort of coming out into society ball, where half the young people have the time of their lives, while the other half end the night in tears and heartbreak," she says. Comforting people - it isn't really her thing. Then she's beaming proudly at Mabelle as she shows off her plum crust bowl. "Look, I baked!" she says. It's clearly her first time. She doesn't seem to notice the cringey-face. Good thing those spiked plums are there to soften what would otherwise likely be a blow to the Princess's pride, should she ever try to bake again!

Jasper is too stoned out of his mind to do anything but regard the baked goods, even as a cook tries their damn best to parcel out the dishes, you know to make them seem appealing to the wide public. He glances over to Fatima. "That is -exactly- what I thought of. Absolutely right!"

Mabelle passes onward toward MEdeia and Jasper. She actually looks surprised at what Jasper created. She looks at it and then at Jasper. "Did you cheat?", she asks with no subtlity whatsoever. And then she notices Medeia on the floor, "Why are you crying? You owe me cake...", then the flavor of Jasper's creation reaches her mouth, "Oh that's good actually. But not as good as Adalyn's muffin".

"I- I've been poi-oi-soned," Medeia blubbers into her arms, whimpering through her tears. "Ev- everybody /lies/ to me, and I'm going to die in this kitchen!!!" Her potato-plum dumplings are still sitting on the counter, being just fine.

Adalyn beams as Mabelle seems to like her lemon muffins! She does a little dance as she gets a little dizzy feeling and sits down at her station. Her hands rest on the table,

Jan checks wits and medicine at normal. Jan is successful.

Mabelle assures Medeia, "No one poisoned you. Only I poison people in this kitchen and Maurice wont let me kill them here", she smiles to her, "There, you won a prize, its rare vintage", she hands her a cask of honey something.

On a further cookie hunt, can't be hard, it is Mabelle's kitchen. Renata has a handful of cookies which she's nibbling at to nearly trip over Medeia as she looks down to her friend. "Cookie?" Handing one over as she then is left staring at Mabelle the cookies falling to the floor. "What... What do you mean you're the only one poisoning in This kitchen?"

Mabelle then walks toward Adalyn, "You did not use plums. Which is weird. But there you have it. This is a very aged apple cider, from 1009, that's... 12 years ago", she can math! She then turns to Renata, flashing her a grin, "I did not poison anyone! I just injected some hallucegenics into the plums I gave you".

Jan moves around towards Medeia and kneels beside her, "Lady Medeia. What do you get when you get when you get tropical sweet fungus on flowering stonefruit?" she gives Media a bit and smiles wryly "Some seriously silly fruit apparently? You'll be fine. I'm a medic. I promise. I'll get you home and make sure you'll be alright. The worse thing you have to worry about it's your ass turning into a geyser of half digested plumb."

Sighing heavily, Fatima turns away and goes to fetch a bucket of water from her station. "There's only one way to deal with this," she mutters, before turning and making her way back to the group. "Lady Medeia! I think you've won!" she announces, loudly. "Isn't it wonderful?" The Thrax Princess strides purposefully toward Medeia, and lifts the bucket over the woman's head, relentlessly letting the cool water splash down on top of the sobbing woman.

Mabelle peeks at Jasper, still suspicious, "So you can bake. Not bad. Here's Turnipcello".

Medeia checks composure at daunting. Medeia fails.

Theo blinks as Theo tries to figure out what is going on. Someone won for lemon muffins, Renata is stuffing cookies in her mouth, Mabelle talked about posioning people in her kitchen, Medeia is crying, Jan is trying to help and then Fatima is spilling water on top of Media's head. He bursts out laughing as if this is the funniest thing ever.

"Apparently..." Jasper is surprised with himself, looking back at Mabelle. "...I can." He shrugs, as if he doesn't know what just happened.

Medeia is trying, really, to collect and calm herself. She reaches out to grasp Jan's arm, and then... She's releases a shriek so tortured that she could only be getting stabbed by a giant sword. Or having a bucket of water poured on her. She sits in shock for a moment, blessedly quiet, until she starts sobbing /harder/. Some might be able to catch parts of what she's saying as she does, maybe about no one loving her. It's really unclear.

Adalyn beams and moves to hug Mabelle, "Thank you!" she looks at the bottle and moves to put it into her back pack, she moves to find a drink and downs it.

Mabelle looks a little bit confused and then gazes at Medeia, "Why is she crying? Its a birthday party!", she then asks her guests, "Did everyone take muffins?"

Jan siiiighs, "Alright. I believe Lady Medeia and I must head home. Um...." she looks up and calls "Special prize to anyone who can give me the correct answer! What is the sum of four plus three minus two?" she calls, checking who's sober enough to keep an eye on the mistress or make sure guests get home alright.

Maurice peeps, "Five!", and then regrets it instantly.

Theo is counting his fingers once his laughter has subsided. Seven fingers show up and he takes away two of his fingers in his counting and proudly says, "Fiveeee its five!"

Fatima glances at Jan, shakes her head a little bit, then sets the bucket aside. "Well, if that didn't work, then yes, she should go home to bed." She then stares at Jan as she tries to figure out Jan's riddle. Nope, she's not sober yet. She is really bad at this whole comforting and consoling people thing. She does hang out with sailors and the like. That's probably what it is. "Someone might want to fetch some towels," she notes, gesturing blindly, as if expecting some servants to pop out of the woodwork to do so.

Jan checks strength at normal. Jan is successful.

"Oh, yes. Apple and plum stew," Mara announces, as if she has come up with this idea all on her own rather than hearing Mabelle suggest it. More like flour stew given the ratio of ingredients in there. She claps for the winners, sending a cloud of flour into the air from her coated hands, then turns just in time to see Fatima douse Medeia in water. "I love you, Medeia!" she calls, her usually soft-spoken words made louder in an attempt to have the other woman hear her. Either Mara can decipher Medeia's sob-babble or she just feels that this information is important for her cousin to know in this moment. Jan's question has her counting on her fingers to confirm what the others have concluded, although she may just be going along with their answers. "Mhm, five."

Jan ahahs "Well done Master Maurice! Your prize is my undying respect, admiration, and my trust that you will make certain that all your Lady's guests make it safely home without wandering into cart traffic." She grabs Medeia and hefts her in her arms, not seeming to have much trouble scooping Medeia up in her arms "Alright, Lady Medeia, welcome to the regal HSS Pottymouth, bound on a voyage for Malespero. Off we go."

2 Saik Guard, Celina, a dutiful physician's assistant, Giancarlo, a cooper and prize-fighter leave, following Medeia.

Medeia leaves, following Jan.

Fatima is overheard praising Mabelle.

Theo is overheard praising Mabelle.

Fatima is overheard praising Jan.

Mabelle is overheard praising Adalyn: Plums. Not Lemons!

Renata misses the question of math entirely and is stuffing her face with Adalyn's muffins