Creative Cake Decorating ((Shad, open))

[Django]

Two plain cakes sat cooling on a counter, surrounded by bowls of whipped cream, fruits, candied nuts, and other assortments, waiting to be decorated. Alne Nikta stood in front of the counter, one paw on her hip, the other stroking her chin in contemplation. The cakes were nowhere near being decorated yet. Alne wanted them to be perfect. But that required a lot of thinking and planning.

Shifting her weight to her other hip, the black squirrel crossed her arms, imagining what the cake on the left would look like covered in meadow cream, with a circle of strawberries in the center, surrounding a big apple sliced into thin pieces and arranged to look like a flower. It would look nice, but would it be nice enough?

To cement her job in the kitchen, Alne wanted her cooking skills to dazzle the friar. After all, right now, she was just a helper, but she wanted to have a permanent placement in the kitchens. Cooking was her passion, and none of her dishes ever seemed to make the cut. At least not in her mind.

Today, the friar had given her free reign over afternoon tea. That meant drinks, cakes, and other small snacks. She had already attended to most of it. A large tray of tarts was already placed upon the cart she would take out to the grounds in a little while. Strawberry cordial, October Ale, chamomile tea, and plenty of other drinks were loaded on the cart, as well. She had also put together a bowl of fruit, the fruit she wasn't going to use to decorate these two cakes.

But her mind refused to settle on a plan for the cakes. Not that it would really matter to the abbey-dwellers. They would really eat anything. Alne still wanted to make the treats look nice, though. Finally, she decided there wasn't much time to keep thinking about it, so she went with the apple-slices flower for one, and another design involving plums for the other.

She began humming a little tune to herself as she got out a butter knife and began spreading meadow cream over one of the cakes. One tufted ear flicked back at the sound of a door opening. "G'aft'rnoon," she greeted in her Highlander accent. Snagging one leg of the cart with a hind paw, she dragged it up to the counter as she continued spreading the cream, resuming her humming.

[T-Bone]

"G'aff'rnoon," Shad responded, his voice muffled. He hadn't expected the black squirrel to notice his presence. That is, until the door squeaked and gave him away. And now, he was standing the middle of the kitchen with about a pawful of candied chestnuts shoved in his mouth, hoping for his life that the kitchen cook-lady didn't turn around and notice. She seemed distracted enough, but the muffled greeting was probably enough to give anybeast's intentions away. He hated that door.

Ordinarily, Shad wouldn't be here on his own. And, in fact, he wasn't. Roak, a friend of his in the Otter Crew, was presently trying to hide behind the cart as he collected as much food as he could. However, Roak was much too big, and the cart much too small. Shad had to stifle his laughter when the big otter jostled the cart a little too much, causing some strawberry cordial to spill onto his head.

As discreetly as he could, Shad swiped a cup of October Ale and tried to wash the candy down before the squirrel turned around.

[Django]

"G'aff'rnoon," Shad responded, his voice muffled.

Alne knew something was wrong the moment the other creature spoke. Whirling around, she saw the candied treats in his mouth, as well as the spilt drink on his friend by the cart. Afternoon tea was in a few minutes! And these two were ruining it!

"Ach, ye bonneh rascals!" she shouted. Flipping her butter knife around in her paw, she rapped the handle sharply on the cordial-covered head of the otter by the cart. "Keep yehr wee greedy paws off th' vittles! D'yeh noo 'ow long et took meh t' find that cordial? Oot a' th' kitchen! Both a' yeh!"

Trading her butter knife for a wooden ladle, the black squirrel smacked the otter by the cart again, dragging the trolley out of his reach. "If yeh can't wait fer tea, go make yehr oon candied chestnuts an' ale, ye ken?" she snapped, landing another good whack on the otter's shoulder as she stood guard before her cart. She made sure to keep both otters in view, and she hoped it was only the two of them.

[T-Bone]

"Ach, ye bonneh rascals!" she shouted. Flipping her butter knife around in her paw, she rapped the handle sharply on the cordial-covered head of the otter by the cart.

Shad raised an eyebrow. Did she just call them "bonny rascals"? Well, Shad supposed he did feel rather pretty this afternoon. . . No he didn't.

"Keep yehr wee greedy paws off th' vittles! D'yeh noo 'ow long et took meh t' find that cordial? Oot a' th' kitchen! Both a' yeh!"

Roak rose to his footpaws, but not before receiving another rap from the squirrelmaid. He rubbed his head indignantly. Shad took advantage of the moment and stole something. He wasn't sure what it was, though. He just knew he had to hide it behind his back without looking suspicious.

"If yeh can't wait fer tea, go make yehr oon candied chestnuts an' ale, ye ken?" she snapped, landing another good whack on the otter's shoulder as she stood guard before her cart.

Roak jumped back a bit, as though appalled. "That was uncalled for, marm! Nearly broke m'paw, ye did!"

"An' over what?" Shad demanded.

Roak answered the question for her. "O'er a liddle pawful o' chestnuts!"

" 'Tain't right!"

"No 'tain't!" Roak agreed. "We was just keepin' with tradition." The big otter could hardly contain the smile that was threatening the corners of his mouth. But he was right about tradition. The current Otter Crew was notorious for breaking into the kitchens every so often. It might have nearly driven the Friar mad, but the good Friar took it with a hearty laugh. . . and a sudden death glare.

Much like the one coming from Alne.



((Haha, sorry about the "bonneh" thing. Couldn't help but tease you a bit. ;D))

[Django]

"That was uncalled for, marm! Nearly broke m'paw, ye did!"

"Uncalled fer, meh lef' paw," Alne spat, her piercing blue eyes cutting a few holes in the two otters. "Hope ah did break yer paw, ya wee blatherskite! Thahr be nae need fer stealin' in th' firs' place, ye ken?"

The suppressed smiles on the two otters' faces was not helping the squirrel's opinion of them. They began trying to plead their case, but to no avail. The Friar might be much more lenient on the fun-loving Otter Crew, but Alne needed everything to be perfect. And now the strawberry cordial was spilled, half the tarts were gone, and even one bowl of meadow cream was now missing!

"No 'tain't!" Roak agreed. "We was just keepin' with tradition."

"Ach, ah've go' a grea' place fer yeh t' put yon tradishun, river dogs!" the black squirrel snapped, raising her ladle threateningly. She normally didn't have this short of a temper. But today was her day to shine. Everything had. To be. Perfect.

With a frustrated sigh, Alne lowered the ladle, tapping it against her palm. "Thahr be plenty a' vittles in yon pantries if yeh feelin' peckish, ye ken?" she said, trying to cool herself down. There was still enough time to get both cakes decorated before tea. And she could find some more fruit or candied nuts to replace the lost tarts. Flicking her tail in slight annoyance, she tried to remember these otters' names. She had seen them before. What was it? Chad and Rook?

((How about blatherskite, eh?))

[T-Bone]

"Ach, ah've go' a grea' place fer yeh t' put yon tradishun, river dogs!" the black squirrel snapped, raising her ladle threateningly.

Roak gave her a look of mock indignation and crossed his arms as though to say, "Well, I never!"

Shad tilted his head. "Blatherskite?" He was still stuck on that one. What an odd word. Was it really a word? What did it mean? And was that a cake with meadow cream on it?

With a frustrated sigh, Alne lowered the ladle, tapping it against her palm. "Thahr be plenty a' vittles in yon pantries if yeh feelin' peckish, ye ken?" she said, trying to cool herself down.

Roak immediately hit the pantries. Shad didn't. He had a better idea. . . Cake. The one with floral print apples on it. He snatched it an ran. Roak saw what his friend was doing and "accidentally" lumbered to the doorway between Shad and Alne. He soon discovered exactly how terrible an idea this was.

[Django]

Shad grabbed the cake. Roak stepped in the way. And Alne's temper hit the roof.

Now, normally, Alne Nikta was a patient squirrel. Kind, caring, and extremely long-suffering. She could deal with most any troublemakers with a simple stern word, and, rarely, a swift whack on the paw with a ladle, much as she had done with Roak.

However, continue to push her, and feel her wrath. Today was an exceptionally stressful day for her, so her fuse had already been cut short. The two otters had pretty much crossed the line before they even entered the kitchens.

Her eyes growing fierce with shock and fury, the black squirrel leaped at Roak, climbing over his bulk as she would a tree. Rid of the obstacle, the black squirrel hurried after Shad, but he was already too far gone. Yelling a few choice curse words in her thick accent, she tossed her ladle on the ground in a huff, clenching her paws into fists. One could almost see a cloud of angry black smoke forming over her head as she ground her teeth indignantly.

"Och, grea', naow 'e's gon' an' ruint af't'rnoon tea," she grumbled, storming towards the doors of Great Hall. "Ah 'ope yeh enjoy tha' cake, laddie!" she called to no beast in particular. "Took meh all mornin' tae make!" With that, she stormed back to the kitchens, shoving roughly past Roak to attempt to finish the last cake. Maybe she could make another one before tea time, but she was going to be terribly late.

"Yon Frair'll 'ave meh head fer this," she complained quietly, trying to prepare a cake batter and decorate the one already finished at the same time.

((Hmm, dunno if I gave you much to work with from here, but Alne probably wouldn't go chasing after him. Sorry ^^' Also, if you didn't know, a blatherskite is a person who speaks nonsense.))

[T-Bone]

Shad skidded to a halt. . . Where was the squirrel? Why wasn't she chasing him? He looked down at the cake. What was the fun of stealing a cake if the cook didn't chase you? Shad furrowed his brow. He certainly wouldn't stand for this nonsense!

Marching up to the kitchens, he set the cake down and crossed his arms. "Wot's wrong with ye?" he demanded. "Yore s'posed t'chase me. That's 'ow it goes. I take your food, an' ye chase me. 'Ow's an otter s'posed t'do 'is job 'round 'ere when squirrels aren't even chasin' cake-thieves?" Hm. That had sounded a lot better in his head. Ah well.

Roak, meanwhile, scratched his head awkwardly. He wasn't sure what to do in a situation like this. Usually, the whole scene would end after they got caught, and they would all go on their merry way so that Roak and Shad could brag about their exploits to the rest of the Crew. This was all wrong! Oh, if only the Friar were here to solve this dilemma. . .


((It occurs to me that I have inadvertently stuck to true Redwall fashion in that otters are not ones to mess with tradition. ^^))

[Django]

"Wot's wrong with ye?" he demanded. "Yore s'posed t'chase me. That's 'ow it goes. I take your food, an' ye chase me. 'Ow's an otter s'posed t'do 'is job 'round 'ere when squirrels aren't even chasin' cake-thieves?"

Momentarily at a loss for words at the sudden return of the cake, Alne's initial thought was to put the cake in a safe place. High up in a tree, for example. But Shad's words both amused and befuddled her at the same time. Shaking herself out of her momentary stupor, the black squirrel sent a look that was halfway between cross and confused.

"Ach, an' ye t'ought ah cood keep up wit ye?" Alne retorted, her tail flicking sharply in annoyance. "Ah cood'a chased ye, bu' ah got less'n an 'our tae finish af't'rnoon tea, ye ken? Ah ain't spendin' meh time chasin' aft'r a beast ah noo ah can't catch." She immediately returned to mixing the cake batter, placing some slices of plum on the finished cake that hadn't been stolen yet.

((Was gonna add more, but it was too long and rambly, so here's the shortened version.))