5503/The Heavenly Smell of Cookies

The Heavenly Smell of Cookies
Date of Scene:	08 March 2021
Location:	Main Kitchen
Synopsis:	Cookies are baked. Fingers are burnt. Warnings about Ororo's lightning are exchanged.
Cast of Characters:	Kassandra Pagonis, Kitty Pryde, Warren Worthington

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Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     The kitchen is normally a hive of activity, with cooks running hither and yon, setting up dinner for the evening. With the caloric needs of teenagers, food is at a premium and, with some of the students able to eat two and sometimes three times the amount of calories required to maintain a healthy lifestyle (looking at you, Logan and Gabby,) there's always something going on. Today, however, with most of the dinner preparations taken care of, Kassandra has commandeered about six feet of counter space and one of the ovens and is busily preparing a thick dough that smells of butter and sugar and chocolate and all the good things in the world.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty comes walking down the hallway, talking to Warren, and with Lockheed riding on her shoulder. "Ororo just wants us to be happy first and foremost. And besides, even if she were upset, just how bad could it be? I mean for someone with wings to have mad at him a woman who can call down lightning from the skies?" Kitty says to Angel flashing him a grin and laughing even as she slips her arm around the man's waist.

She steps into the kitchen and glances around at all the bustle. The sight of the work going on over at Kassandra's section of counter draws Kitty's attention. "Ooo, what exactly are you making over there, Kassandra?" she asks. "And, have you met Warren yet?"

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren looks to Kitty someone skeptically as he shakes his head with a sign, "Right...because I am always up in the air. If 'Ro wants to zap me, she will zap me Kate. Not much I am going to be able to do about it. I'm sure I am going to be getting an earful from her no matter what she said to you."

Warren slips an arm over the younger woman's shoulders, Lockheed moving slightly for Warren's hand to find a perch. "What I don't get is why it is me that everyone is going to fry. It's discrimination I tell you, just because I am the older one. Hell, if the ages were reversed I think I still would be the one getting the looks because you are THE Kitty Pryde. Innocent child of the X-Men who can do no wrong ever."

Warren smirks, glancing over at Kassandra with a nod, "We met once, when she was down in the infirmary. I was supposed to take her shopping if I recall correctly."

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     Just when Kitty, Warren, and Lockheed wander in, Kassandra is in the middle of adding an extreme amount of chocolate chips to the dough, studying it by experience, and then adding a few more in. She straightens, dusting her hands off on her borrowed apron at the question, looking at the bowl. "Cookies." She chirps, clasping her hands behind her back. "Couple of kinds. I didn't get a lot of time to actually do this sort of thing before getting here so...." She shrugs. "making up for lost time, you know? Got a batch about to come out already, even." She grins and wiggles a pair of fingers at Lockheed. "Hi, cutie." And then looks to Warren.

     "Yes, we have met. When I was down in the infirmary." The talk of a woman who can pull down lightning does get a little bit of interest from the brunette, but whoever it is, she'll probably meet or find out about fairly quickly, knowing how news spreads around the school. "Well...you did pay for some shopping, yes." Kassandra says with a smile, brushing her hair back behind one ear with a nervous motion. "Gabby and I did a little in the garment district. We met Illyana there, too, and had honey cake and coffee and bought things like boots and jackets and the like. Thank you."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde can't help a soft laugh at Warren's question. She leans her head against his shoulder and says, "Branding. Careful marketing." She looks up at Warren and flashes him a warm smile. "Sending out minions to erase all evidence of anything to the contrary."

Lockheed sits up a bit higher, giving a nod and a tiny puffy of smoke as if to signify which minion she's talking about.

As Kassandra mentions the shopping trip, that earns Warren another smile from Kitty. "That was nice of you," she tells him. She looks back to Kassandra to say, "Those look like they are going to be good when they are done. Death by chocolate?" Kitty lets go of Warren to go to the fridge and get out two bottles of juice. She offers one to Kassandra, getting a third if she accepts, and then giving one to Warren and keeping one for herself. "So how have been doing? Starting to get used to the place?" Kitty asks Kassandra.

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     Kassandra nods as the chocolate chips are mixed in and reach critical mass. Oddly, she hasn't added any walnuts yet and, in fact, has them well away, the bag labeled with all the good things, like organic and kosher. All of them are. Dried fruits, too. Those probably went into the cookies in the oven. She's being careful to keep nuts away from some of the cookies for allergies.

     "Thank you." She says, taking the bottle with a nod of thanks, twisting it open and taking a sip, re-capping it and twisting on the ball of her foot to start dishing out cookies to bake on a large rimmed baking sheet with a silicon mat at the bottom. A large scoop has been commandeered to act as a portion, each cookie an ounce at least! "So far, yes." She says with a nod. "I've met with Miss Grey and have gotten an idea of classes. It's kind of the middle of the semester here, so I'm doing a lot of catching up. Once summer classes hit, I'm really going to hit the ground running." *click click* A cookie is deposited on the tray. Then a second. Then a third, the girl working methodically. "And I'm supposed to start talking with a Miss Munroe about my ability which....is scary. And exciting. Scarciting."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty lets Warren go take a call, the young woman moving over to lean against a counter where no one is working. She looks young enough to be one of the students herself, a senior or if not, just graduated. "Oh, Ororo is the best. When I first got to the school she was like a second mother to me. Makes a great cup of tea. If you haven't seen her room up in the attic, she's filled it with all sorts of plants. Definitely worth stopping by even apart from talking about your ability," Kitty says.

She takes a sip of her juice and says, "She's able to control the weather. I don't know if you heard Warren and I talking, that's who we were talking about. Not that she'd hit him with lightning. She and I just had a chance to catch up last night, first time since Warren and I got together," she says in explanation.

Kitty glances at the cookies again. "Need any help? I'm a HORRIBLE cook but a capable kitchen assistant. Per my actual mother."

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     Kassandra glances over and, as a response, points to the sink used for handwashing. "If you can get your hands cleaned up, you can finish dishing out this tray of cookies. You should be able to fit sixteen on this tray, and then, once that's done, we can mix the walnuts in and make another tray. The ranger cookies should just about be done, too...." She trails off, grabbing a hot pad from the counter and heading over to the oven where a timer is slowly clicking to zero. When it beeps, the big button is stabbed with a fingertip to stop the shrill tone and the oven is opened, filling the kitchen with the wonderful smell of baked cookies. When these are pulled out, they're not chocolate but little circular brown ones dotted with multiple kinds of dried fruits - cherries, blueberries, apricots, and peaches - each artfully arranged. Two trays worth. "Coming through!" she says aloud as the hot pans are slid on to the counter opposite, on cooling racks, looking both to Warren and kitty with a grin. "As much as you might want to...these do have to cool for about ten minutes to firm up. Otherwise it's like eating a molten chunk of dough. Ask me how I know." With that comment one might not need to, but still...no touchy.

     "It's kind of scary. And kind of nice." Kassandra says quietly, watching Kitty and Warren. "Being with people who know what i've gone through. That're helping me figure out how I can use my ability, too. I just....y'know." She rolls her shoulders. "I thought I'd just follow through to college. Get an architecture degree or something, play guitar. But now...it's kind of wide open."

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren comes back in, lowering his wings to fit through the doorjamb as he makes his way through it almost as an afterthought. Having grown up in this school, it is almost second nature to him now. The blonde billionaire slips his phone into his pocket and finally opens the juice that Kitty had provided for him, taking a sip.

He looks over to Kassandra and arches a brow, "I did? I don't recall taking you shopping, but maybe I handed out cash. I do that sometimes..." he admits with a shrug. "In any case, glad I could be of assistance. I will take cookies in repayment though. I'm easy like that."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde goes over to wash her hands and then jumps in with helping Kassandra. "Oh, some people that's not an issue," Kitty says of the molten cookies. As if to indicate who she means, Lockheed sits up higher on her shoulder, leaning out as if to sniff the cookies. "When you like lava baths, and flambéing your food yourself, hot out of the oven isn't a bad thing," Kitty says, patting the little dragon's head. But not getting him one of the cookies yet either.

She looks up as Warren returns. He gets a grin as he seeks alternate compensation for his help. "It is nice having people around who understand," Kitty confirms. "Especially for someone like Kurt or Hank who can't blend in. But everyone really," she says to Kassandra.

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     "Well, you let me borrow your credit card." Kassandra says. "I felt kind of bad because some of the things that people were trying to get me to buy were....crazy expensive, when they saw your card." She takes a small metal spatula and starts transferring cookies to cooling rack, one after another, with quick motions to keep them from squishing too much. One is placed on the counter within grabbing distance of Lockheed, though, so apparently the little dragon's anticipation was noticed. The oven is also ticked down about ten degrees, too. Apparently the chocolate takes a slightly cooler temperature if you want chewy instead of crisp.

     "I keep thinking I'm going to wake up, you know? Find out this is all a dream. This....all this." She gestures to the kitchen and the school, chuckling after a second. "I just hope that someday I can repay all the kindness the school has shown."

Warren Worthington has posed:
"Oh, that's right. I remember that now." Warren says with a chuckle, shaking his head as he looks to Kassandra. "What, were people trying to get you to buy a Lambo or Ferrari or something like that? Honestly, I probably wouldn't even notice. I have, to be honest, more money than I will ever need in multiple lifetimes. I give it away to donations and charities and help build schools and still more keeps coming in, so I am sure whatever you bought is just fine, even if it was crazy-expensive."

Warren reaches out for a still-to-hot molten cookie and yelps a bit as he burns a finger, lifting it to his lips to place the offending digit into his mouth to cool. "You be the best person you can be, and that will be repayment enough. We do this to help people like you, because we needed the help, and in return you will eventually help others. It's a cycle, and it is a good one."