2013.10.20 - Cooking With Kitty

"I'm walking on sunshine.. Woooaaahooooo.. I'm walking on sun shine.. .. WooOaoaoOOooaoooOOo... And don't it feel good. Yeah.. something.. nhmmshmm.. Don't it feel good.. Yeah! Dunhansomething.."

The off-key, occasionally incorrect in lyrics, yet loud and happy tune comes from a chestnut haired girl, who's currently singing away in the kitchen, to the echoing sound of cluttering pots and pans, the occasional *ding* of a timer, and a few faint fehs that may or may not be heard above the singing.

When one enters the kitchen area of the Xavier Institute, one will find Kitty Pryde, dressed in a warm, wooly sweater, with the sleeves pulled up to her elbows, a loose pair of jeans, and her feet..? They're still decked out in fuzzy, 'Hello Kitty' slippers. On top of one of the chairs, a purple dragon has his paws over his ears at the last note that Kitty just belted out, a disgruntled "MEH!" the only sound he lets out, followed by a faint puff of smoke.

"Oh c'mon, dragon." Kitty states, as she hops down from the counter where she was sitting, waiting for the timer to go off, "It wasn't /that/ bad..?" The dragon snorts again, though he does lower his paws down, while Kitty turns her back to the world and opens the oven door.

Inside the oven comes a smell that is not entirely pleasant, not is it /unpleasant/. In fact, it's difficult to say one way or another, as the odor has both good scents to it, heavy spices, but also has a distinct aroma of starting to get .. burnt.

Kitty Pryde baking? That could be either very good (when Kitty followed a recipe exactly in its ingedients, it was -damned good-), or very bad (when she decided it needed a few additions, in a manner very similar to her fashion choices...).

The sense of timing, on the other hand...? That was something else that would come with practice, and the scent of -something- baking from the kitchen causes Doug to follow his nose. Simply because it was a rather unique scent that -usually- meant someone was experimenting with food in an unorthodox fashion.

Showing up, clad in a blue sweater and jeans, in accordance with the changing of the season, Doug Ramsey barely greets Kitty as he heads to the oven, flicking the light on and starting to inspect... whatever it was. There's a slight noise of grunt followed by "Kitty, what the heck is this?" No 'good morning', that was pretty much unnecessary knowing Kitty as long as he had...

Slightly less awake than Kitty, but no less cheerful or happy, one Piotr Rasputin meanders down the hallways of Xavier's Mansion as he ponders what he may want for breakfast this morning. He's already dressed as well, casually attired in blue jeans and a long-sleeved henley shirt, and doesn't have much planned for the day - aside from working more on his painting. Still, unless he wants to play the role of the proverbial 'starving artist', he needs some food to start the morning with, and so it's in the direction of the kitchen and cafeteria that the tall Russian is headed, smiling softly to himself as he remembers the pleasant events of the evening prior.

As he comes closer to the kitchen, however, Piotr is surprised with both sound and smell coming from within. The sounds, even as off-key and somewhat lyrically incorrect as they are, cause Piotr's smile to grow wider - after all, it's quite easy to place the voice, and he's pretty pleased that Katya will be the first one he sees this morning. The smells, however... those confuse him just a little bit. The scent he can almost identify, but not quite. A bread of some sort? Something spicy... and... burnt? Piotr quirks an eyebrow as the carbon smell starts to become more apparent, and rounds the corner of the doorway just in time to find out that Doug has beat him there, already asking what's in the oven.

For a moment, Piotr frowns delicately at the blonde, but almost as soon afterwards, he realizes just what it is that he's smelling - or at least, what he thinks it's supposed to be. A quick scan reveals that no ingredients are still out on the counter to affirm his guess, but he decides to verbalize it any way. "I think," he begins as he enters the room, "It is Russian black bread!" He smiles then, moving closer to the other two. "Good morning, by the way," he addresses both, before turning to Kitty directly. "Katya, I did not know that you knew how to make black bread. I remember my mother saying that it is not an easy recipe."

Turning hazel eyes onto Doug, Kitty's all smiles, as she collects the pair of oven mitts next to the stove, and puts them on, proceeding to pull out the over sized, large, very oddly colored (and burnt) item from the inside. The pan is loaf sized, that much is certain, the contents within it haven't raised too high, however, and appear to not have moved much (if at all) from where it was poured. It's also a strange, dark shade of brown, with edges clearly very black - not through anything that Kitty's done directly, but rather /indirectly/. It smells of rye, and spices that don't belong in bread, and Kitty offers it a very critical once over, as she turns to Doug. "It's...." And /just/ when Kitty's about to answer, Piotr makes his appearance, leaving Kitty to just -sparkle- with something that Doug might instantly recognize. In fact, it's difficult for anyone NOT to recognize. Her cheeks flush ever so slightly, her eyes twinkle with a light that is almost undisguised in its intensity, and she can't /quite/ keep her eyes off of the Russian.

Recovering quickly, Kitty offers Doug an impish grin. "What Piotr said." She states finally, "But it's kinda brown, and I couldn't wait for the entire looooong recipe so I added in some other stuff, and mixed another recipe together, for faster bread, and made it better!" Which indirectly means, Kitty wasn't following a recipe, and went for her own tastes. "It's like an insane process, so after my morning work out I've been experimenting."

The pan is set down on top of the stove, as Kitty bustles about getting ready to extract the contents and then force everyone in the room to eat it. While she busies herself to do so, Lockheed casts his gaze towards first Doug, which receives a happy wave of his paw, and then .. the Russian. Who receives nothing short of a jealous scowl, and grumbled note from the tiny dragon. (At least while Kitty's back is turned.) When Kitty turns back about, Lockheed has lifted himself upwards, and is now protectively, and almost possessively circling Kitty's shoulders, nestling there as he looks out from beneath her wild curly hair, to give Piotr a look that is entirely - back off. She's mine.

"Oh, Russian black bread," Doug slumps his shoulders, starting to look relieved. At least it was supposed to look like...

But when Kitty mentioned altering the recipe, Doug's eyes grow big as saucers, and he involuntarily takes a few quick steps away from the bread pan, as though it were the portal to eldritch horrors. "Experimenting?"

Lockheed draws a scritch from Doug behind his ears. But the young linguist follows that look of Lockheed to Piotr, and frowns. He'd seen that look before, and...

"So when did you two start dating?" the young blond comments, shifting his body slightly to prevent Lockheed from giving Piotr meaner looks.

At the twinkle in Kitty's eye and the flush to her cheeks, Piotr responds with a slight coloring to his own features, and a smile that might almost be considered bashful as he returns the spritely girl's frequent glances. "If I remember," he reassures the girl as he moves towards the coffee machine, "It does not become fully black until a few days after. And there are may variants, so I'm sure that your additions will be perfect. I'm looking forward to trying it!" He starts to pour himself a mug of coffee then, black, and is truthful with the statement. Sure, the bread may seem a little burnt around the edges, and he's not exactly certain just *how* many extra ingredients Kitty may have used, or just what they were, but he certainly can't not offer to try it - or enjoy it!

After filling his mug of coffee, Piotr turns back to lean against the counter idly, sipping the dark liquid as he starts to notice the rather ominous death stares that he's receiving from the small purple dragon around Kitty's shoulders. A single eyebrow is quirked upwards at Lockheed, and Piotr returns the glares with an innocent, open expression - as if to suggest to the dragon that the creature's over-reacting. Piotr's never harbored any ill-ill towards Lockheed, and for the moment isn't quite certain why the dragon is unhappy that Katya is so happy, regardless of who or why. He's ruminating on this question, sipping at his coffee as he ponders whether or not to address the odd looks he's getting, when the Russian is completely and utterly taken off guard by Doug's rather blunt question - the inquiry causing Piotr to sputter out his coffee just a bit as he coughs once in surprise.

"D-dating?" he echoes, stammering a bit. Not that the idea of formally 'dating' Katya as opposed to having 'gone on a date' is something bad - in fact, that would be something very, very good! But, Piotr perhaps doesn't realize how obvious the goo-goo eyes were that he and Kitty have been giving each other this morning, and becomes a little tongue-tied as Douglas calls them out. "We had a very fun date last night, but we... I mean, not that I wouldn't like to... I'm hoping that..." He stops then, collecting his thoughts before he looks pointedly at Doug. "I have forgotten how quickly news spreads here at the mansion."

Lockheed, for his part, counters Doug's quick motion with a feh, and proceeds to nestle further under Kitty's hair, and more onto her shoulders, ignoring the Russian and Doug now. As for Kitty..

Oh yes. Kitty's happily turning the pan upside down, oblivious to any odd looks that Lockheed is giving Piotr, or for that matter, the under current of expressions that are going on in the room. As the pan is turned upside down, the items within it - refuse to budge. Not even with a slight bit of coaxing with a knife. /Almost/ to the point of panicking, when Kitty simply flickers her eyes from one side to the other, and proceeds to phase the pan, allowing the bread to plop down onto the bread rack with ease. Powers. They're good for.. what the hell did Doug just say?

Yes, Kitty was quite happily gazing at the lump of bread that looks harder than a rock, and burnt to hell and back, when her ears pick up Doug's words, and she's left to let out a horrified. "DOUG!" One hand lifts upwards, plants onto her face, as Kitty lets out a soft oath under her breath. "Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam." The words are guttural, and quick, spoken with both defiance and annoyance. And she means every word her Klingon states. Today /is/ a good day to die. For Doug. Lockheed breaks out laughing, his chortles shaking Kitty's mortified frame with each guffaw he lets out.

As Piotr's mortification is evident, and his words a jumbled mass together, Kitty just sighs, and attempts to elbow Doug in the side, as she turns about. "Just.. Maker's Breath." Deciding to just let it drop, Kitty huffs slightly and offers a final. "Piotr just got back to the mansion, Doug, give him some time before we alienate him entirely." You're so dead Doug. So dead.

Collecting up a bread knife, Kitty proceeds to begin slicing up the bread, still mortified, but recovering nicely, especially given Piotr's comments.

"Oh, so you -just- started...?" muses Doug, considering Lockheed's behavior. Funny, the way Lockheed was reacting, you'd have thought there was something more to it than just a night out.

It's not until Kitty speaks to him in Klingon that Doug blinks, looking up towards Kitty owlishly. "He just got back, and you're already dating? That was quick."

And if Kitty was resorting to Klingon, so would he. "nIHDaq Ha', Kitty, 'oH Huv chenmoH Lockheed!"

Running a hand through his hair, Doug glances at Lockheed, then blinks a bit. "So the black bread is just a welcome home thing?" Doug asks, skepticism in his voice.

Still collecting himself from Doug's initial question, Piotr is wiping some of the stray coffee spray off his chin and jaw while Kitty is working with extracting the bread, and is completely oblivious to how difficult the process is for her. He only looks back up in time to see the loaf come cleanly and neatly out of the pan, courtesy of Kitty's phasing powers, though Piotr is none-the-wiser as to just *why* the loaf plopped out so nicely, just that it did. And, he's impressed! "It did not even stick to the pan! Good job, Katya!" he compliments, before he glances back and forth between her and Doug as they chatter to each other in some foreign language that sounds like they both have a really bad case of bronchitis.

"Da," he answers Doug's comments curtly, "I only recently came back to the mansion, but you may have forgotten that Katya and I have known each other for a long time. Longer than you have known her, I might add," he can't help but comment, a small edge to his voice as he challenges Doug's skeptical tones. "So I would not say that there was anything hasty about enjoying a movie and a dinner together." He pauses then, his lips drawing into a thin line as he makes the decision not to validate Doug's comments any further. Instead, he takes another draught of his coffee as he turns back towards Kitty, moving a step closer to her and the bread as he does so. His features lighten as he addresses her, and he studies the slightly charred loaf with an optimistic air. "I'm looking forward to trying the bread, Katya. I bet it would taste wonderful with some borscht..." Unfortunately, there isn't any spare borscht lurking about in the kitchen, and Piotr doesn't realize as he makes the stray comment that it may be an invitation for Kitty to try her hand at also making her own variety of the potato and cabbage soup....

While Lockheed may not understand Klingon, the plucking off of Kitty's shoulders, as she lifts the dragon upwards and eyes him skeptically /does/ give him some reason to go 'yip!' "Dragon!? You behave!" The purple beast mutters out a 'coo?', as he turns pleading black eyes onto Kitty, forcing the mutant phaser to just sigh and set him onto the counter, with a final. "I mean it, dragon." Which is hardly menacing in the least, as well, Lockheed pretty much can do no wrong in Kitty's mind. The dragon happily coos again, and flits upwards a moment, hovering next to Kitty when he notices the bread, and her intention, and decides that now is a good time to get the heck out of dodge. Grabbing an apple on his way out, the dragon shoots past Doug, and Piotr, and heads towards the door with a very decided, 'YIPE', disappearing around the corner.

Not..quite sure what to think, or do about Doug and Piotr, or Doug's comments, Kitty just casts a quizzical expression to Doug. Her body language reads 'REALLY!?!?' even though her face offers just a faint raising of her brows upwards. Kitty will have to inquire the sudden protective nature of Doug, then again, he /is/ her best friend, it's something she's probably going to face with a lot of those that protect Kitty so fiercely. Thus, Kitty just sighs, casting a glance between the two, before turning back to her creation. "Anyway, it was just the movies." Kitty offers with a sniff, before proceeding to cut into the bread. Or at least, /attempt/ to do so. When the bread knife fails to make a dent, Kitty's left to ponder, and grab a larger, much sharper knife from the wooden knife rack, and slice into the hard, hard, burnt, Russian 'black bread'. The result is not unlike slicing through a thick slab of meat, as three large, crumbling, burnt, pieces of harder than a rock bread is broken loose and then served to Doug and Piotr, as Kitty turns about and waits for them to eat the bread. "Well!?"

Protective wasn't exactly what Doug had in mind. It was more of a translation of what Lockheed was saying with his body language. Which is why Doug nods at Piotr's 'we've known each other quite some time' statement. "I know, it's just that it's only recently that Lockheed did... that thing he does." Trailing off, Doug shifts uncomfortably under Piotr's gaze. "Never mind."

Kitty could probably wheedle a better explanation for now, but Doug was beating a hasty retreat from -that- subject. Even if he had to...

"Okay, Kitty, uh..." And he'll just take a bite of the bread.

SCRUNCH.

... dear god, Doug hoped that wasn't a tooth...

As his nose is not as sensitive as Lockheed's - or really, any of his food-related senses nearly as acute - Piotr is not certain why the purple dragon makes it a point to retreat so quickly from the kitchen just prior to the tasting of the bread. Really, it can't be /that/ bad, can it? Or can it. The Russian starts to get a worrisome look as the first knife that Kitty tries fails to even scratch the surface of the brick-like loaf of bread, and she needs to wield a cleaver like she's splitting firewood in order to hack out three pieces to try. Piotr gulps once, though disguises the noise with an encouraging smile as he's offered one of the pieces. Perhaps it won't be that bad, he ponders. Maybe it'll be just be more like a cracker, instead of bread. Just, a really thick cracker...

Piotr takes his offered chunk of extra-black bread, and lifts it up to his mouth. He's ready to make a go of it, when Doug crunches down and the most worried and pained look crosses over the blonde's features. Is it really that bad? Should Piotr transform into organic steel before trying to chomp down on the bread? No, if Doug can manage it, so can Piotr! With out waiting any further, the tall Russian takes his own bite, and chomps down on the dry, crunch, nearly rock-like hunk of bread. It's bad. It's really bad. It's burnt, and tastes a bit like sand and gravel, and... is that part of an apple core he's chewing on? Piotr makes a supreme effort to keep his expression even as he powers through the bread, though, and takes a healthy drink of coffee to help soften up the thing in his mouth. The tactic only partially works, turning the lump of bread into a gummy, rubbery wad that threatens to seal his mouth shut. "Mrph muurrmphy mmoord!" he tries to get out, mustering a smile.

Now Doug - Kitty knows too well. (And okay, well, not enough to interpret his words this time, but when it comes to Piotr, Kitty's fairly well in new territory /anyway/!) His expression is not only priceless, but clearly defines the bread. With a quirk to her mouth from one side, to the other, Kitty eyes the bread with a skeptical look. Considering Piotr's unable to even swallow it. This can only be described as disaster. Sniffing the piece in her hand, Kitty just sighs with a shake of her head. "Right, next time I'll not leave it in as long, and leave out the apple, maybe add in orange instead... No.. No. I'll have to ponder."

As to anything else..? Well, Kitty offers a grin and points to the sink. "Feel free to get rid of any unwanted items." She's taking it in her normal, good humored mood, as she lets out a soft laugh. "And thanks guys, for not saying it sucks. I'll just have to get you both to help me find the right experimentation next time!" With that, Kitty begins to forage about the fridge, seeking other items to eat instead.