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Cooking. For a certain hyena, that's one of the best bonding activiites out there. It works on red pandas, so it must surely work on shadows too. There's only one way to find out.
Following an earlier suggestion from her favourite Mirrorskin, Laura has set out a recipe for migas and the ingredients are prepped as she checks the recipe over again, holding on Jackie's arrival.
What a night. She's not about to openly admit in places where she could be caught on record, but a fine evening of tracking scumbags and beating them senseless with bullwhips. Johnnie comes striding into the house hands-free and hood-down, whistling Twisted Nerve while she strides into the living areas, boots untied and stripped off before she even left the doorway, longcoat shucked and hung with Sigknifr's sheath dangling below.
"Hello, the house~"
"Hello said the house!" Laura calls back, grinning toothily. "Get your shadowy ass in her and wash your hands! I've got a treat in store and you're volunteered!" Someone's in a good mood.
"Hm?" Johnnie pauses, swinging by the kitchen and squinting at what's already set out. "Wash my hands? Whatever for?" She's not quite tracking.
The hyena tosses a grin. "I was lying in wait, like a proper ambush predator. I'm sorting some migas for Sturm, but also for us all too. Except you. And you've walked into my trap. Well, if you wanna do some cooking with me?"
"Cooking?" Johnnie blinks. "I haven't made anything since, like. I was still in Maine. And that wasn't food. What's migas? Do you need my help, or are you just asking if I want to spend some time doing stuff together?"
"I would love help, but a lot of it would be about some bonding, mm." She smiles his way. "Migas are something Texan, for Sturm. And they're tortails with scrambled eggs and lots and lots of cheese."
"So like egg nachos?" Asks Johnnie, moving to wash her hands after all- all fourteen of them. She's not sure if shadows are disease vectors but she doesn't intend to find out.
"Sort of, I think. This is my first time, but, they don't look like they'll break me." She smiles. "Plus, there are lots of topping options to add. I'm gonna throw in some chopped tomatoes at least. And maybe some, hm, what sort of meat could work.."
Speak of gremlins (or at least they were speaking of gremlins at the time that I began typing this) and they shall appear. The sounds of Sturm's horrible old truck can be heard pulling up out front, and after a few minutes the sounds of a chattering Sturm and Teagan can be heard opening the door. They're carrying a few boxes between them - Sturm with one over a shoulder and the other under the opposite arm. "Told you I only owned like... a couple boxes worth of shit - and I'd been sleeping on the couch, so. Obviously I had to steal the ugly couch - and the kitchen set. It's not like my brother's using it..." Pay no mind to the fact that there were several beds in the old house.
"I mean, depends on if you wanna lean into the breakfast angle, or the mexican angle. Chorizo could fit both; bacon leans breakfast, and hamburger leans back tex-mex. As for which ones work? Fuck if I know, you're the cook, not me." Scrubbed up, Johnnie approaches, her shadows looming behind with hands in the air like prepping surgeons. "Point me at something that needs chopped."
Carrying two comic boxes, Teagan shoulders the door open behind Sturm, setting the boxes down on the coffee table. "I still don't quite get why you were sleeping on the couch when there were beds. And we are going shopping. You need more clothes than this." Says the Mirrorskin who owns like two pairs of skinny jeans and three Downtrodder t-shirts. "Johnnie! Laurabear!" Never mind that she's a Hyena.
"Oh noooo!" Laura laughs helplessly at the sound of approaching voices. "Quick, start sorting some eggs, I'll drag out some chorizo. Hide the recipe!" She moves to grab said chorizo and start chopping. Cooking, yes, but the migas secret must be kept from frost giant eyes. She smiles like a loon at the new arrivals, waving hands energetically before resuming working. "Gooood morning friends. How are we today?" Laurabear? Judging by her soft smile, she likes that.
"Well," Sturm sticks our her navy blue tongue at Teagan. "Like I said, you feel free to take me shopping - for clothes, or the other stuff - whenever you like." The jotunn tips up her shoulders, shrugging casually as she sets the boxes of assorted clothes and trinkets onto the couch. "It's easier to make sure my back's covered when I'm sleeping up against something," she pats the back of the couch. "Also it'd be weird as fuck to sleep in any of the beds there, since they belonged to my estranged and-slash-or dead family members." Then she calls out towards the kitchen. "Hey y'all two- wait, Laura it isn't morning, it's like..." She looks down at her watch. "Okay I guess it's technically morning. Fuck."
"Eh, let her skip the shopping. The way things go here, in short order, she's gonna wreck every shred of clothing she's got, and- well, then she'll just have to live with having no blood left for punching cuz it's all in her cheeks." Pause. "Or walk around in armor. All the time. Forever." Shrug! "Anyhoo, HIYA, Teagan!" Johnnie does, in fact, hide the fuck out of the recipe book, because Laura said to, and in a split, it's tossed into a cupboard "safely." "And to be fair, I like sleeping on couches for exactly that reason. I used to turn them around against the wall. Sorta like a mini pillowpit."
She turns the eggs and stares at them, then looks back to Laura. "... the fuck does "sorting" eggs mean???"
One eyebrow rises at Sturm when she sticks her tongue out. "I told you I would, and I will. Put your tongue back in your mouth and behave," Teagan answers drily, arranging the comic book boxes so they don't fall over. "Well, that's fair," they agree with the assessment re: couches. "That's the nice thing about the pillow pit in Downtime, it's got sides all over. We could make the sides a little higher, so your back is entirely surrounded?" Divested of their burden, they wander over to the kitchen, smacking Sturm on the backside with their hand on the way there. It's like bouncing a quarter off a glacier. Smooches at the corner of the mouth for Laura and Johnnie.
"We do tend to wreck clothes and things from time to time." Laura agrees with Jackie, then smiles apologetically. "Ah, sorry!" She moves over, grabbing a bowl. "Crack the eggs and get them in a pan with some butter, and give them a good stir to get them all good and scrambled. And couches are bad for me, it means aches in the morning. Beds please, with lots and lots of soft pillows on them." Teagan is leaned into, smooch received and returned. "I love the pillow pit.."
"I believe you," there's a little puff of laughter as Teagan swats her butt and tells her to behave. She will not, in fact, behave under any circumstances. Okay, well. Maybe there are some circumstances - but not these. "That might work," Sturm muses Teagan's hair after following them into the kitchen - once they've greeted Jackie and Laura. "I'm probably a ways out from sleeping in a pile - no offense, y'all - but if you can make the sides higher... that might work." Her eyes fall to the eggs, and then she quirks a brow at Laura. "You need any help getting shit together?" Beat. "I'm not much for cooking, but. Eggs I can do."
Johnnie picks up on a few of the details of the exchange between Teagan and Sturm, and- rather than outright swing Teagan into a dip- she plants a hand on their shoulder and receives the kiss before returning one of the same. "No offense taken, Sturm. I'll just have to hope you get past it before Summer kicks in and these glorious fucks start roasting us out of the pit." YES, there is a contract, but NO, it is not NEARLY as amusing.
"Eggs, butter, scramble. On it." She says that, and then she doesn't move. Well. SHE doesn't. Her shadows do. One fetches a spatula, one gets a pan onto middling heat, one starts cracking eggs... Johnnie herself just stands and regally directs her cadre through the cooking process and watches Teagan spank Sturm without a hint of shame. Also, if the gal stops long enough, Johnnie throws an arm around her for a proper greeting hug. Just cuz they ain't smooched yet doesn't mean she's not welcome.
"Laura, am I doing this right?"
"No offense taken. It's a journey. You'll get there or you won't." Teagan seems to be of the opinion that she will, but she doesn't get pushed on this particular item. Kisses are given, received, hugs returned, and the Mirrorskin scoots back off to the main room to divest themself of their coat, boots, etc. The ruffling of their hair is taken goodnaturedly, and they lean against the wall to start unlacing their boots after hanging up Baby and their charcoal-grey leather duster. "So what's for breakfastdinnermealtime?"
"Looks perfect Jackie." Laura does add a bit of salt to the eggs after giving them a quick eye. "And, you wanna grate me that cheese Sturm?" She gestures to a shredder and cheddar. "Higher sides, that's a fair note." The hyena smiles. Hm, tortaillas, cheese and scrambled eggs. She not so subtly tries to push the tortillas out of sight of the frost giant. "Well." She hums for Teagan. "I decided to go with the suggestion you sent me." A wide smile.
"I'll try to keep that in mind when I'm planning my travel itinerary," there's a dry little smirk aimed at Jackie as she carries Teagan's metaphor to it's logical conclusion. "Your comfort is very important to me, so I'm sure that'll win out over years of trauma in the end." Huh, weird. That didn't actually sound that sarcastic, did it - and she does accept Johnnie's hug, though it ends up being one of those one-armed in-motion driveby hugs on her way into the kitchen proper. Her leather jacket comes off, and ends up draped over something nearby. She'll have to work on not leaving it laying around, but for now she's content to help out with whatevermealthismealis time.
Sturm's sharp enough that she notices the tortillas, but honestly, having lived in Texas for years? Tortillas are a household grocery, so she doesn't think fuck-all about it as she fetches the grater and sets to work.
"This is ... breakfast surprise!!" Johnnie declares. "So- breakfast! I think?" She keeps the eggs moving, aiming to prevent anything drying out or burning. She's not sure why Laura is trying to hide the tortillas, but she helps, tossing them into the cupboard with the recipe book discretely via shadow. She does visibly wince at Sturm's comeback, clearly unsure whether or not it's sarcastic and whether or not the lack of apparent sarcasm is accurate, or her own failure to catch it. "Eheheh... well, uh. Don't- don't put yourself out, okay? I'm just sayin' stuff I think might make people laugh'n shit."
"I know," Teagan answers Sturm with lazy assurance, finally finishing up with taking off their boots and wandering back into the kitchen. "That's how a motley works. Someone else's comfort winning out over years of trauma. At least, it did for me." The Mirrorskin glances at the coat tossed on the chair, then tips their head toward the hooks by the front door with an ever-so-slightly-raised eyebrow. "Breakfast surprise sounds delicious, especially surprises that come from my suggestions. Those are the best surprises."
"That's how it was for me." Laura agrees. "It helped me mend." A small smile as she checks the eggs, pats Jackie on the back lightly and nods at Sturm and the grated cheese. Tortallis are retreived, and eggs and cheese are added, along with chopped chorizo. Voila! "Magis." She sets the first plate in front of Sturm, waiting for the frost giant's reaction with a huge smile. "Breakfast surprise." A bright nod to Teagan.
After grating the cheese and finishing what ever tasks Laura requested of her, Sturm - looking rather embarrassed - grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair, and brought it to the hook. With the rest of the coats. You know, because she lives here now and isn't going to need to just suddenly grab her jacket and fuckin' bolt. While Laura finishes the cooking, she's takes some of her things down to the newly-finished basement (so as not to clutter any communal spaces) and is pleasantly surprised to be handed a plate of food upon her return. The food that she'd been complaining about not being able to find, specifically. Her favorite food.
"You... weren't at Maddie's with us when," she looks down at the plate, and then back up to Laura with a quirked eyebrow. "How-" She looks over at Teagan, and snickers before taking a bite. "Mmmmfuck," she mutters with a full mouth before swallowing. "Nobody up here ever fuckin' puts the chorizo in it - and the grease is what makes it taste so goddamned good." She fixes Laura with another of those one-armed hugs like Jackie got earlier. "Thank you. Seriously."
"Breakfast surpr~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise~!" Johnnie crows, like she had something to do with more than just the eggs, here! She swings out of the kitchen and pitches herself onto the couch on her back, shadows shoving pillows into position for her landing. "I'm glad you like it! I am aware that there are several layers of subtext I'm not getting here, but everyone seems awful happy and really, that's all I can ask~"
Looking as satisfied as a cat with a mouthful of canary, Teagan settles in and waits for everything to happen around them. No, they don't help! Cats do not help with food. They wait for the food to be brought to them. And when Sturm starts getting all suspicious, they just smile their big bright smile, dishing themself up some migas and noting, "Maybe I was just curious, on account of you talked them up so much." Mmmhmm. Sure. That's what it was.
"I have my ways." Laura tells Sturm, winking at Teagan. Subtle! She pauses at the hug, then returns it warmly, exuding happiness. "And I am very glad you like it. I'll make it for you more often then." A keen nod. "And you are deeply welcome." She turns a beam to Jackie. "Happy as can be, right now. Really fucking good." Food is delivered to all before Laura takes her own place, nodding keenly to the assembled motley. "Dig in!"
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