16664/Visions of Sugar Plums

Visions of Sugar Plums
Date of Scene:	23 December 2023
Location:	Patience's Apartment
Synopsis:	Nettie visits Patience's home and the two share conversation while making winter holiday treats. Also: Peppermint schnapps makes an appearance.
Cast of Characters:	Patience Alperen, Nettie Crowe

---

Patience Alperen has posed:
Not as many people enjoy the older traditions it feels like.

Patience may be one of those who has discovered and chosen to keep ahold of some. Where most are baking cookies or fudge, she invited Nettie over thinking it would be fun to make a batch of sugar plums. Of course they aren't quite what they seem by name alone.

Setting out most of the ingredients, she waits for Nettie to arrive.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Sugarplums, along with a proper figgy pudding and fruit cakes, have largely passed to the wayside of Christmas traditions, yet SOMEHOW TUrkish Delight keeps on showing up thanks to a certain little betrayer of his family!

    Nettie also doesn't get invited out too often to others' abodes. Something about the birds unnerves people. And so the greywitch arrives, wearing a gray hooded coat, under which two birds are currently staying warm in the chill winter night.

    "How do we know she's not going to murder us for the Church?" the pure black crow asks, tilting his head with his crimson eyes eyeballing the profile of Nettie's face.

    "She won't. Patience is a dutiful child, but her heart's more in the work than the dogma. Which is why I like her!" Nettie gives a cheery response.

    The other bird, a hooded crow with white and gray on his body gives a soft 'brrrr'. "I can't get my feathers to fluff right!? "

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen hasn't admitted to Nettie, yet, that she has no desire to preserve the tradition of fruitcake. Did anyone ever truly -like- fruitcake? If they claim it they were probably lying.

Hearing Nettie at the door with her fellow conversants. How they got past the building's security at the door she isn't sure, but they're here. Letting the other woman in, Patience smiles.

Dressed in a comfy green holiday themed sweater and loose flowing gray leggings, Patience smiles in greeting. "Hello Nettie.. " looking to the birds she offers a faintly amused but serious nod, "Gentlemen. How are you all today? Please come in!"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Put enough rum in something and someone's bound to eat it. Probably Corvax.

    "Patience, dear! How /are/ you? Had half a mind to break out my Mari Llwyd, but decently sure my Welsh is rubbish anymore. Can't hardly speak it after that knock in the head I caught at Oxford during a snowball fight in the sixties." Nettie explains cheerily, but she produces two things.

    A box, wrapped in a kerchief that has holly and ivy patterns on it --

    And a six pack of Ol' Fizzywigg Spiced Christmas Beer in bottles.

    "I couldn't recall if your vows stopped you from enjoying the drink, but at least it's pleasant to smell. MUCH Better than the pumpkin spice nonsense that comes out earlier and earlier every year." Nettie gives a small smile.

    Corvax gives a flap, looking to find a handy place to perch that isn't under NEttie's jacket with a "Hullo Ms Alperen, how are you keepin' lass?'

    And Torny, the new crow, flaps awkwardly and lands on the ground, and waddles with some difficulty.

    "Uh... hi... you're cool with us hanging out, right?" he asks nervously. His accent is very 'Plain American'.

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen's brow rises at the mention of Welsh and knocks to the head with snowballs. What was in those snowballs? Rocks?

"I've been doing well Nettie, thank you." She looks to the box and kerchief curiously. The beer gets a pleased "Oh..!" and then a laugh. "Everyone is intent on believing I took my vows" she says with a shake of her head, "I never began my novitiate. I'm not a nun. I'm just the granddaughter many generations removed from The Founder.." It's sort of a joke. But rather than make a thing out of it, she leaves it there. Not everyone likes discussing particular relgions she realizes. Can't imagine why what with numerous events in history.

Looking to the bords she smiles, "Corvax. I've been staying out of trouble. I've only had to banish two Holiday vampires and a trio of demons since Thanksgiving. It has been positively leisurely" she jokes. THen to the other bird, she tilts her head, "You, sir, I do not believe I have met... I'm Patience.. as previously stated. And yes. I don't mind you and Corvax visiting too -- as long as you mind your manners and all." There's a playful smile added.

"We're going to make some sugar plums and some other things. We'll be certain to have a share for both of you too.."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Oi, work for the church, monster hunter, Magdalina, surely there's SOME Catcheism or dogma you had to do!" Nettie states in her defense as she huffs. "Goodness knows back when my family worked for the Anglican church, we had to be very careful with what we said or did in public." she huffs. "An' then they -- well, not cheery conversation for this night is it?" Nettie states, setting the pack of bottles and the mysterious box down on the counter, and she goes to open one of the bottles and hand it over to Patience. Lady of the house and all.

    "Introduce yourself lad."

    "Ah ... To... Tor... Torny, miss. Ma'am. Madam?" he struggles a moment, his dark eyes going wide. "I'm one of NEttie's new projects." he offers as an explaination to his existence. "To ... uh... make me a better human being so I can earn back the right to have an actual body."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen leans on the counter, taking the offered bottle, "Thanks Nettie." Taking a curious sip, she shrugs, "I was an orphan and raised in a Church orphanage in Nova Scotia. I was taught the Church doctrine and dogma of course." She sips from her bottle again, "To become The Magdalena?" She considers the details to share or not. The leadership would already be having an aneurysm over what she has shared and who she 'associates' with. But they can go fuck them themselves. She'll pray for forgiveness later.

"Well that was just proving I'm from The Bloodline. Which implies all that sounds like. I had to reconstruct and repair The Spear. Which required the spilling of blood." Because blood is compulsory to everything isn't it?

Looking to Torny, she smiles. "Hello Torny. Patience is fine. We're all on the same side.." She pauses to eye him then look to Nettie. "I should hope..."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Now you're talkin' her language." Corvax states.

    "Aah yes, Sanguimancy, the magic of blood and blood components, the basis of some branches of Necromancy." Nettie gives a small smile. "I spent enough time shedding blood for the world. I've largely retired from it, but can still do up blood pacts better than some recent demons." Nettie winks at Patience.

    Torny hops up, and flaps awkwardly to try and get up to a shelf.

    "Oh. Well. I don't want to go to Hell, so I'd guess yes?" he sounds anxious about it, in fact.

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen nods, "I was placed in a room with no windows, only one door, in a facility in another part of the world that would probably leave Fort Knox green with envy for all of the security.. and presented with the shards of a shattered Spear of Destiny.. or Longinus if you so prefer. And left alone with no direction."

She reaches out to begin bustling through the baking ingredients so they can start baking while talking.

"It wasn't until I finally cut myself on a particularly sharp sliver." Shrugging as she gets out the blender for mixing the ingredients for the sugar plums, and lets out a sigh.

"That was all it took. Of course now I have to keep watching over my shoulder. There are many who would very much like to lay claim to the Spear for reasons far less than noble or pure."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Aye. I reckon they would." Nettie agrees.

    "Me, I grew up among hereditary witches -- my whole family, to the last, were mixed Homo magi and Homo sapiens. We'd never have the knack as full-blood magi, but we got by well enough. The Crowes in particular were quite brilliant with the workings of the dark. A couple of my relatives were in fact exorcists to The Crown. I met the then-Princess Victoria when I was a wee child visiting a country home." Nettie explains. "But it is hard work, being Nobility that has a dark side." Nettie frowns, and she sips her beer.

    "It's good to think that the line's dead. My little great-nieces-and-nephews are better off not knowing their birthrights. An odd thing here and there but never something so drastic as what we went through when we were young."

Patience Alperen has posed:
It is strange, given her own upbringing, to listen to someone talk so casually about witches as family. At least without turning the encounter into a battle for the Church. It's what they would expect of her. Maybe she has grown more than she realised?

"I'm not sure that the end of a family line is a positive. But if that line tends toward evil, I suppose there would be some grim satisfaction in the ending of that aspect.."

Patience pauses and nibbles on her lower lip, brows furrowed in thought. "Oh, yes." She moves to one of the pantry cupboards to pull out the last of the ingredients for the sugar plumb recipe and returns.

"So..." her dark eyes scan the instructions, "We'll need to chop up the prunes and get the walnuts toasting before chopping..." She gets out a cutting board and gestures to the knife block. "Use whichever you're comfortable with, if you don't mind chopping the prunes. A large diced size should be okay. We'll have to pulse them with everything else in the food processor anyway."

Getting out a baking pan, she begins to spread the walnuts out evenly.

"It's fascinating to learn you met Queen Victoria before she was the Queen" she muses while working. "Have you met any other, mmm, dignitaries if you will?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Oh no, dear heart. I'm the closest it's ever been to evil. Most of the time we were soothsayers or exorcists, clearing this castle or that glen of something that ought not be there. I developed a knack for necromancy early on. No, the Anglican Church decided they took issue with my poking my nose where it wasn't welcome and... ah. Well. My surviving brother thought it best to not imbibe in the magical life and founded the Crowe Shipping Company. Now it Flies like a Crowe." she gives a roll of her eyes, and she pulls a chef's knife from the block, accepting the cutting board and she begins to roll the prunes around a bit and begins to chop them up.

    "I've always found it quicker and easier to toast in a frying pan, just keep the nuts moving." she gives a wry smile. "Much like a lad. Keep the nuts moving and nothing gets burned too badly." she offers a joke.

    "Ah, well. I met a pope. I couldn't tell you which one, because my brother and I might have accidentally found ourselves in the hall of his mistress. Something of a mess that was. Tried to keep a low profile after that, but inevitably fate leads us in odd directions. I helped found the first Indian Cricket League by proxy. I met an Empress of Japan. Lovely lady, but they still had that fashion with the blankened teeth. Ghastly." she pauses and considers.

    "Spent the night with the Beatles once."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen pauses as she moves the sheet pan toward the oven. "Oh! well that was helpful. Thank you Nettie. I forgot the hazelnut meal. That's why it needs to be done in the oven!" Setting the baking sheet down she grabs the container and measures out the proper amount before spreading the meal across half of the tray. "There. Now we're on track. Probably."

With a soft laugh she slides the tray in and closes the oven.

"Flies like a Crowe? That's.. kind of corny. But probably better than As the Crowe flies.." she considers with a grin and a glance toward the two crows lingering someplace nearby. She hopes. If they're exploring her place that would be.. odd.

A wry smile is aimed at Nettie, "Oh I can't say that I'd blame you. There are plenty of, mmm, difficult men in leadership throughout the Church, even now." Sighing softly at that she then laughs, "From Indian Cricket to the Beattles. That was a path I would have never expected.."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I promise you it sounds better in Hindi than it does in English.

    Corvax flies out of Patience's bathroom. He's trailing toilet paper behind him like a banner.

    Torny has decided to check out the nearest bookshelf and is currently upside down, on his back, attempting to right himself. He's still getting used to being a bird.

    "Plenty of difficult men everywhere, that's why I had a wife and not a string of mediocre men." she pauses.

    "Had a couple of 'if it had to be a man'... but meh." she considers.

    "And between there I had tea with the Tolkiens, met with some minor gods..." she considers. "Joan Jett. Definitely one of my favorite celebrities. Wonderful human being."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen laughs, "I've no doubt!"

She glances to the fluttering of wings and raises both brows. "You lead an interesting life, Nettie.." Her expression is filled with wonder at how Nettie lives with those two birds. Not that they're bad, just.. well they're boys being boys.

A gentle nod toward Corvax is given to Nettie - because of that white banner trailing behind him. Patience doesn't feel she knows him well enough to go try and aid him in ending the mess he is making.

"I've met plenty of minor and less than minor demons and minions of Hell. And that's just within Church circles" she notes wryly. "They don't last long when they're found. Most of the celebrity types I have meet are really just higher placed officials of the Church and the Inquisition." Which is, indeed, still active and well.

"I love Joan Jett's music. Classic 80's rock is my favorite genre when I'm not listening to electronic ambient. I prefer it when I just want to relax and be one with my thoughts. Not that the sisters at the school were fond of my choices.."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Aye, life is interesting when you share it with a pair of souls trapped in the form of birds by a retired necromancer." Nettie replies wryly. Her hands are stained from the prunes now

    "Corvax, did ye remember t' floosh?" Torny asks, imitating Corvax's accent poorly.

    The younger bird bursts out into laughter as Corvax looks behind him, and ends up crashing into the ottoman, rolling in the toilet paper and then just disappearing onto the other side with an "AWRK!' and a string of beautiful curse words befitting a 17th century pirate.

    "Oh, I know the Inquisition is still doing well." NEttie states dryly. She doesn't expound upon that.

    "Aye, I missed the nineties boyband craze -- me an' Corvax got a wee cottage in the Irish countryside then, enjoyed the quiet and my cows until I got too restless. You have aspirations for when you get done with the church business, Patience?" she questions. "Or just a lifetime of electronic ambient an' eighties rock?"

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen can imagine how interesting.

She nods knowingly about the Inquisition. She really isn't surprised Nettie knows the organization (Regime?) is still active.

"Boy bands? ugh.." she laughs out. "The Irish countryside is a nice place to get away and relax. Or.. deal with angry restless spirits and spectres of which there are many still there.." something she realizes Nettie also knows.

Pausing as Nettie asks about future plans, she turns to the woman. "I.. don't know. My forebears did not tend to reach retirement age. Being realistic, planning too far into the future is a distraction from my duties in the present. I'd love to reach a day where I could say 'I am finished'. But evil will always exist. The Spear will always need a Magdalena to wield it." It won't be many years before she will need to consider training her replacement if she possibly can. Not a very positive thing to admit of course.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Yes, 'after'. You're not alone in this fight any more, Magdalena. You've got a whole group of others who are willing to help you when they can. ANd I'm trying to get the other more big-wig types to actually come down from their ivory towers and actually participate in the Good Fight." she states. "Evil will exist whether we fight it or not. Either way, you *do* deserve time to rest that isn't when you're only a memory." Nettie adds on, finishing with the prunes.

    "I hope there is a day you can say 'I am finished', and you get to live life on the terms of Patience Alperen and not Patience the Magdalena. I hear the Alps are nice."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen looks to Nettie and smiles. "I know I'm not alone, as far as the Dark team is concerned. It -is- good to have friends and allies. But you know as well as I do that not everything can be done with the support of others." She offers a weary smile. "I love that you're caring and focused on the team's wellbeing, even if you try hard not to show it most times Nettie."

"I hope there is a day I can be able to say that too. But.. if we go by the Scripture there is only one way that happens. And even then, the final Judgement is after this version of mortal life comes to an end for everyone." If that's the true future of course.

"The Alps are nice. They're breathtaking."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I'm a grumpy old witch who hates everybody. I'm just hoping someone will step up and usurp me so I can retire." Nettie retorts to the accusation of caring and focused on wellbeing.

    "No, dear, I know. And It frustrates me that it is so.. no one should have to go through the things we do on their lonesome. That's why I got married in the first place... I was tired of being alone with my bird and Addie called my bullshit on it." she pauses, and sniffs the air.

    "Hazelnut might be done."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen laughs. "Oh yes. Thank you for correcting me!"

"I think you're right" she agrees as she moves to the oven, "Yep!" using a pot holder she pulls the tray out and inspects the walnuts and hazelnut meal. "Mmm. Smells good doesn't it?"

"Okay! So..." glancing to the recipe she skims down, "Let me chop up the walnuts quickly.." once that is done it is on to the next step, "Prunes, chopped nuts.. mmm... the dates and cranberries go into the food processor.." Adding the ingredients, she pulses them up as instructed. "Next..the nut meal aaaand the the rest of the ingredients.." This includes a selection apricot preserves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and a pinch of salt. Another couple pulses of the processor has the mixture fully combined.

"Okay.. parchment paper is to your right. We need to line this tray and then the fun part - scooping and rolling!" She grins. Apparently the forming of the mixture into balls is a favorite action. "We scoop heaping tablespoons and then roll the mixture to one-inch sized balls and line the tray."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Did you know that the last time I made these, we didn't have all these fancy gadgets. We had to dice things very very fine, boil them, and then put them through a food mill." Nettie gives a small smile as she helps gather the items. Pinch of this, bit of that, cardamom and cloves make her pause to inhale the spices, and she washes her hands really quick before she grabs up the parchment paper.

    "I think I was maybe ten. We weren't allowed in the kitchen most days." she gives a rueful smile. "I once hexed the spoons to all abandon their basket and run amok through the house. My mother was furious, of course." she opens a couple of drawers to try and find the silverware.

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen grins, "Oh I'm sure. Up hill. Both ways in the -snow- right?" Her eyes sparkle with amusement.

"That's too bad. Cooking is best done with family and friends. Meals should be shared, as well as treats and desserts."

Hearing the story of hexing the spoons she laughs again. "Oh my god. You must have been a true terror of the best sort!"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Oi. I lived in England. Of course it was up hill both ways in the snow. Didn't have none of this 'global warming' stuff." Nettie points out, and she smiles.

    "Aye, but we were nobility. We had a cook and sculleries, I learned to cook while running from witchhunters. Learned fairly well... but making sweets like these? Aye, mum would let us kids help as a way to keep us out of trouble during the holiday prep." Nettie gives a smile.

    "Don't often get to talk much about childhood. Sometimes I feel like I forgot it. Skip right to bein' hungry and peddling the reading of fortunes on French roadsides. Worked a bit in an Italian inn. Then once we made our way to India -- well. Had to learn how to cook there didn't I? And I got used to their level of spiciness."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen can't help but smile as she works on rolling the sugar plums into proper proportions before setting them on the tray in nearly perfect and regimented rows.

"I can understand that. At the orphanage we were all made to take turns cooking. I suppose none of the sisters expected any of the kids to amount to much so knowing how to cook a little would at least help us find jobs in some cafe or other."

As she sets the last sugar plum she can make on the tray she nods with agreement.

"Yes. Indian food is amazing. The color and layers of flavor are just incredible. The first time I ever walked through a food market on the outskirts of Mumbai.. I was just awe struck by the vibrant colors and aromas. Halifax has its share of good food culture. But all of it is well outside the walls of the orphanage. Inside it was boring. Edible but with little creativity."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Aye, utility and heartiness has a place." Nettie replies. Her own were mostly the same size. A little haphazard. Not quite in a row, but quite servicable.

    "I remember coming off the boat we'd stowed 'way on, me and my brother Albert. We couldn't name any of the foods, but we were hungry. We didn't know the language, but they saw a young lady and a boy who were not from around those parts and showed us charity. We learned the tongue. We plied our trades, and hid deep in the jungles away from the English. You become quite anti-colonial once you're one of the people being colonized, mind, but I remember looking at the brilliant colors of the sari women wore and for a brief moment fancied how I'd look in them. Furthest I got was a couple of piercings. Found wearing men's clothes got me in a lot less trouble."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen nods, "I imagine that was a challenge. Hindi is such a fast language. It's hard to understand the nuances right away I should think. I'm glad you were able to avoid trouble, at least mostly, from the sound of it."

Setting the tray to the side, she turns, "The colors of Saris easily rivals the colors of the culture's food and the land itself. It is an amazing place to visit. I'd like to go there for leisure sometime" she adds grimly.

"But now? Now comes the moment of triumph.." she holds out the bowl of coarse sugar. "Eating the fruits of our labors and enjoying a nice hot cup of.. coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Whatever you would enjoy with your treats."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie gives a grin.

    "Too right you are, Patience. And... mm. I think, with these beauties -- cocoa. I've got some high quality peppermint schnapps in my bag that'll help." she gives a bright smile.

    "Thank you, Patience. An' Happy Christmas dear."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen grins back. With a nod, she gets water heating quickly. "I like how you think Nettie. Peppermint goes very well with sugar plums."

Setting a small bowl of the coarse sugar onto a dessert plate, she offers it to Nettie. "They're always best freshly coated in sugar I think."

As they move to sit with treats and drinks finally in hand, she smiles warmly to Nettie.

"You're welcome Nettie - and a Blessed Yule to you." she offers with a warm smile.