[PM to Join] Test Subject Violet

[Aurelie Steerpike]

Hamis 19, 2719 Mid-Day| Brunnhold Kitchens

Even in the kitchen, even at the end of what was ultimately a trying shift, Aurelie Steerpike was wound-up with nervous energy. With Allie in the room, it was getting increasingly difficult for her to find the time to herself to practice her needlework. Without her needlework, she had nothing in particular to focus her energy on except wondering. Wondering and waiting and the seed of anxiety in her growing and growing and growing. She thought she should take her work outside, but it was so hard to find a chance. Instead she found herself becoming increasingly frayed and out of ideas on what to do about it.

So it came to be that on this particular afternoon, she had decided to try out some recipes. She had been wanting to for a while, she reasoned, and it so happened that a majority of the ingredients she wanted to use were also employed for a meal for the students that day, and there were leftovers that were going to waste if they didn't get used. Though she was certain they wouldn't be missed, she had asked Matron for permission still, with the promise that if it turned out well she would share the recipe and they could consider adding it to the menu. Truthfully her hopes were not so high--it was a variation on a tea scone recipe, that was all. Still, she had come into some candied violets and one thing led to another... And here she was.

"Just a bit longer in the oven," she muttered to herself, light smile on her face. This was going well, and she was pleased. Pleased as well with the trust placed in her to make good use of the leftovers. Aurelie was a little afraid her, ah, extra-curricular activities had drawn too much undue attention to herself. That, thankfully, seemed to be not the case--not yet, anyway. A bridge she could cross when she got there, certainly.

After another few minutes of careful attention, and she decided her little project was complete. She pulled them out of the oven, managing to smear flour into her hair as she did so. The smell that came from them was... Well. They certainly had violet in them. Could one have too much violet, she wondered? It was difficult for her to tell--she was so fond of them, after all. Aurelie frowned at her test batch on the cooling rack.

What she needed was a test subject. Someone who would give her a straightforward opinion. These were in rare supply, unfortunately. Aurelie glanced around, unsure of who to ask. Everyone seemed so busy, or tired, or just not someone she knew well enough to ask. It would be embarrassing, after all, if they were terrible. So someone she knew was best. But, who...? Ah!

Across the kitchen she spotted her newest roommate. The taller girl must be here for a delivery. Surely she had enough time to try one...? Aurelie couldn't be sure, but over the last several days she felt like she could tell that Alethea Fairburn would not mince words with her if they were awful. And, as she had already made an enormous fool of herself when they first met, she had nothing to lose by doing so again. Perfect, absolutely perfect!

"Allie! Oh, Allie--do you have a moment?" Aurelie called out to her roommate over the din of the kitchen, waving her arm a little for good measure.

[Alethea Fairburn]

"Thank you but... do you care to explain why my package is slightly crushed?"

"It was given to me that way, sir." Alethea said, watching as the man turned the box over in his hands. It hadn't weighed much, it didn't sound like something had broken inside of it, so she wasn't sure why he cared at all. With that said though, she did had witnessed the person who requested the delivery pull it out from beneath a heavy stack of books. But that wasn't her business, and she wasn't about to go pointing out a galdori's stupidity to another. That wouldn't end well for her.

"Hm. You're dismissed." He said, waving her off before walking away with his package. Good--he didn't seem to bent out of shape about it. Hopefully he wouldn't complain. She checked her satchel and the remaining things she needed to do. Most of it was taking documents across campus, a professor needed a package picked up...

"Allie!"

Alethea turned, a little startled to hear someone call her name, though perhaps she shouldn't have been. She knew Aurelie worked in the kitchen, and no one else called her 'Allie.' No one had ever given her a nickname before in the first place. Aurelie had started with it a little awkwardly after their first week together, and when she'd asked if Alethea minded, she couldn't say that she did, so she said it was fine.

Curious, and not handling anything time sensitive, Alethea approached her roommate, the scent of violets hitting her nose as she got closer. Her roommate that seemed to have gotten covered in half the stuff in the kitchen, including flour in her hair. Impressive.

"Smells good." She commented, the scent a little powerful but pleasant. It smelled more like a garden in here than a kitchen.

[Aurelie Steerpike]

Alethea approached and Aurelie was relieved. Truthfully, the nickname was something of an experiment--to see if the form of friendship could lead to the function, so to speak. Honestly, Aurelie had tried to make real friends so rarely she wasn't quite sure how it worked. Her taciturn roommate was perhaps an odd choice to start with, but something about her Aurelie liked. Her economy of speech, perhaps, or the practicality of it when she did say anything. Aurelie herself tended to ramble so much, always tried to make herself as inoffensive to others as possible--the contrast was something she admired, though she didn't always know how to deal with it.

"Oh, good! Er, I'm glad you think so--that is, are you busy?" Aurelie wasn't sure what she would do if Alethea said she was. She'd already called her over here, so surely she wasn't too occupied... This would only take a moment, she thought. Nothing too obtrusive.

This was the first time she had seen Alethea while in the kitchens, and likely Alethea's first time seeing her there as well. A different Aurelie stood before her than the one the dark-haired girl was likely used to. Nervous, yes, but with a kind of optimism and air of confidence she didn't have in other realms of her life. This Aurelie seemed in control of herself, if only a little. She gestured at the scones arrayed on the cooling rack before them.

"If you aren't, would you do me a favor, please? I--this is a new recipe, and I'm not sure if... Well, I would like you to try one, please, and tell me what you think. Don't hold back," she warned, her face utterly sincere. "I want your honest opinion. Please. If you have the time."

If Alethea agreed and took one, the first thing she would likely notice was the flavor of candied violet. And the second. And third. If she thought they smelled of violets, the flavor of them was overwhelmingly and distinctively floral. Part of her experiment was to dare to put just a little of the violet extract kept in the pantry for special desserts in with the heavy cream, to enhance the flavor. "Just a little" was likely far too much when coupled with the candied petals themselves, and the whole thing was very likely to taste of a sugared mouthful of potpourri. Pleasant, if floral was your favorite flavor, and distinctly terrible if it was not. Aurelie, being in the former category, had been overly enthusiastic with her additions.

Offer made, Aurelie watched her roommate carefully for reactions, positive or negative. Her anticipation radiated from her every pore, eyes shining and posture attentive.

[Alethea Fairburn]

Alethea was intrigued. Honestly, even if she were busy, she would make a point of taking a minute to taste whatever this flowery thing was that her roommate had made. They smelled good, at the very least, and seeing Aurelie like this, so energetic and hopeful, how could she say no?

"I have time." Alethea said and lightly plucked one of the desserts off the cooling rack without hesitation. A bit hot to the touch, but not too much. She took a bite, letting it sit in her mouth for a moment before chewing slowly. It wasn't bad at all--it was almost nice, but it was just a bit too much. Or maybe more than a bit--as she popped the rest of it in her mouth, she felt like it was somehow more intense than before. Swallowing, she wondered if she smelled like violets now. It wasn't as though anyone would or ever had kissed her, but she couldn't help but wonder if she tasted like violets as much as she tasted violets.

"I like them, but I feel like I ate a small garden too." Alethea said, wondering if that would be crushing to hear. She did like them, she was just certain she'd like them more if she could taste literally any other ingredient that Aurelie had used.

"Do you have enough to do another batch of them?"

[Aurelie Steerpike]

"Oh, they're still ho--oh. Well." Her warning came too late--Alethea had already plucked one of them off of the cooling rack. They shouldn't have been too warm. Not enough for injury, surely. At the very least, Alethea didn't seem bothered enough by it to not finish the bit. Alethea's expression was contemplative--in the back of Aurelie's mind, she was delighted that her roommate seemed to be taking her request so seriously. Her own expression grew hopeful as she waited.

Ah. Well. Aurelie had wanted honesty. Really, she had! One could never improve without feedback, after all. Just... well, she'd rather hoped for a different reaction. A more positive one. "Ate a small garden" wasn't precisely the effect she had been looking for. Generally speaking, it wasn't a descriptor she thought was positively applied to, well, food. Dismayed, Aurelie reached out to try one herself. On a second taste... yes. They simply weren't very good.

"Ah. Hmm. Thank you..." Her shoulders slacked a little. She had put in too much violet. It had seemed a good amount at the time, but clearly she had misjudged her target. Aurelie let out a frustrated huff. Who knew when she'd get a chance to try again? Certainly no more ingredients could be wasted on the whims of one silly girl with delusions of skill. That had been the last of the violets, as well.

"N-no, I'm afraid not," she sighed. "That was the last of the violets... Bells and chimes, I knew I should have-- oh well. Thank you for your opinion. I'm sorry they weren't... very good." Aurelie ran her hand over the back of her neck, frowning at the now-offensive batch of baked goods. The making of them had been suitably tension-relieving, but now that they'd turned out poorly all her worries were coming back to her.

"...Oh, and what am I going to do with all of these!" This she muttered almost under her breath. She certainly couldn't give them to someone else. For a brief moment she thought about asking for other opinions--a certain face flashed through her mind and was discarded immediately--but it hardly seemed worth it. Throwing them away just seemed such a waste. An embarrassing admission of failure. Mournfully she finished her own, not even bothering to really pay attention as she put bite after bite in her mouth.

[Alethea Fairburn]

Alethea frowned, "Do you not like them?"

Frankly, her first thought was that Aurelie could eat all of them. It wasn't like they couldn't keep a small stash of cookies in their room. Worst case scenario she supposed was a mouse might get into them, but that was fine as long as rats weren't invited.

She plucked another off the tray, taking another contemplative bite. She let it linger more this time. They felt nice in her mouth. While the flavor was a little overpowering, it wasn't as though Alethea regretted putting them in her mouth.

"Whatever you do with them, don't throw them away. They're a little powerful but," she thought about how to phrase is, with culinary arts (and language) not at all being her expertise, "They melt in your mouth. It's nice. They're not bad at all."

[Aurelie Steerpike]

Did she like them? She had, perhaps when she first made them. Not so much any more. Food was meant to please the consumer, not the cook. What did it matter if she liked them, if nobody else did? Aurelie shrugged instead of answering out loud. The little rise and fall of her shoulders was resigned. They were just scones, after all--not the end of the world, surely.

Aurelie watched Alethea take another one, leaving the bite in her mouth. Don't waste your time, Aurelie almost said, but stopped herself. If Alethea wanted to solve her problem herself, well. Aurelie didn't mind. She just hoped that her roommate didn't feel obligated to humor her ambitions.

The compliment made Aurelie smile again, just a little. At least that was something. And she liked the careful way Alethea seemed to consider her words before she said them. Aurelie wouldn't have expected the younger passive to know just how to speak to her of cooking. Aurelie had never seen her in the kitchens actually cooking, after all--she didn't think it was part of Alethea's skillset. Certainly no more than-- than-- well, Aurelie didn't know exactly what Alethea's skills were, but she was certain that whatever they might be, she didn't share them.

"It does seem a waste," Aurelie admitted. "I suppose I could give them to-- oh. Er. Nobody." Aurelie bit her lip. "To Fionn" she'd almost suggested, before she caught herself. The problem with wanting to be friends was that friends made one comfortable. And Aurelie was already sloppy enough with her secrets as it was. Not that she could have done so, anyway. They didn't cross paths much, or they hadn't recently. Even if they had... No, one poorly-made present was probably plenty. Niamh, maybe, but that seemed... well, easier to achieve, to be sure. A peace offering to smooth over their last interaction--if they'd turned out any good. Which they hadn't. That would have been odd, as well. Aurelie didn't think as it was the usual thing, to receive odd gifts from someone like her. And that, she thought, really was the end of her social circle.

Aurelie gestured at the remaining baked goods a little shyly. "Although--er, please, ah. Take as many as you'd like. If--if you want. You don't have to, of course, I realize they're not very good. But if you want any, you can have them. Er. Though--don't tell Bernie I gave them to you, and not her. She would be... She can be very, uhm." Aurelie raised her eyebrows pointedly. She wasn't sure how much interaction her two dark-haired roommates had really had, but five minutes with Bernadetta was enough to get a firm idea of how "very" she could be.