add one for the intro train!

[fiery_goatmother]

It had been a late night. There were still so many papers to finish grading, after all, and lesson plans to draft up, and sweet heavens the field trip forms still weren’t all handed in…

And when Toriel awoke, reading glasses slid halfway down her nose, cheek smushed against a book, she at first didn’t realize anything was amiss. It was a little embarrassing, of course. She woke this way all too often these days. It was hardly anything out of the ordinary anymore. The thing that was out of the ordinary, though, was that she was not at her desk in her bedroom. It wasn’t even her classroom. It was a library.

And it wasn’t a library she recognized.

Toriel took off her reading glasses, rubbed her eyes, and blinked blearily at the shelves around her.

“What in the world…?”

Slowly, curiously, she rose from her seat and started to pad through the library, peering around shelves. Perhaps this was some kind of particularly silly prank from Sans and Frisk. After all, she wasn’t so old that she would forget a place like this.

“Hello? Anyone?” And, after a moment with no answer, she added playfully, “You may come out now.”

Comments

[fiery_goatmother]

Frisk, somehow she doubts that a) the kitchen has snails, and b) even if it does, that you want any. So what she would want is out the window for now. But Toriel just laughs merrily and holds out her paw to take Frisk's hand again. Kitchen adventure away!

"Well, since I have only just woken up... How about breakfast?" She's not sure if it's the right time of day at all, but hey.

She pauses, musing over it for a beat or two, before suggesting: "Maybe cinnamon rolls with a fruit salad on the side?"

[dustless]

They've eaten literal garbage before, Toriel. Not that they're gonna say that, or even think to say that.

Frisk has no idea what time it is because they tend to sleep in during the mornings, anyway. And they've suddenly been dealing with nightmares that're just a little worse than usual.

Tug, tug. "Yeah! Cinnamon rolls! There were some made by the shopkeeper lady in Snowdin, you know, or cinnamon bunnies. They were the only thing close to your pie." In tasting good, they mean.

[fiery_goatmother]

"Were they? I will have to ask if she will share her recipe." Although who only knows if the shopkeeper would share. Not that Toriel would blame her, if they're a secret to success. But she'll still have to ask.

Chuckling quietly, she squeezes Frisk's hand to signal that she feels that tugging and means to get moving.

"Which way is the kitchen? We should start looking before you get any hungrier."

Or, to be fair, before she does, either. Now that she's been walking around, the boss monster could do with something to eat herself.

[dustless]

"Cool!" Anyone can learn from each other anyway, right?

Also, uh. That presents a problem. They look a little sheepish. "...I dunno. It's where it wants to be. It usually...I don't find it much, but when I do, it's when I'm with people. So we might be able to anyway 'cause you're with me."

Frisk is only a little hungry, honestly. That cupcake killed their appetite a bit.

[fiery_goatmother]

Well, that definitely is a bit of a conundrum. Toriel looks thoughtful. This place is obviously very magical. Perhaps they just need to think in more magical terms than just the usual method of finding a set location.

"Maybe if we try thinking about what to make as we walk, we will find it more easily." If they're lucky, maybe the castle will rearrange itself to their needs. "It is worth a try, is it not?"

[dustless]

"...maybe that'll work." Frisk matches her thoughtfulness. "Don't think I tried that before? Just thought about wanting something, not what the 'something' was. 'Cept not cake. I didn't know I could get sick of cake."

Hmm. "What's cinnamon look like? Think I heard it was a plant, or something, so that might be stored up in a jar--also open any door the kitchen looks like any other room," they tack on hastily.

[fiery_goatmother]

Toriel starts her way towards the door to leave the ballroom, trying to think chef-y thoughts. Who knows, this might just work. Just open any door and hope for the best.

"If it is still unground, it looks like tightly rolled tree bark. The sticks are usually rather short... about as long as your palm."

Yours specifically, Frisk, because her palms are more jumbo cinnamon sized.

And, just to add to the mental image, she adds, "It smells lovely, too."

[dustless]

They think she says underground for a moment, and then Frisk thinks of the Cinnamon Bunnies, and Snowdin.

"Yeah. Best smell. Your house was that."

Unfortunately, they're still thinking of Snowdin when they try the first door.

...They do get food! Sort of. Also a blast of cold air, because it's a freezer, or the ancient equivalent. Basically, there's meat on hooks. Not quite.

[fiery_goatmother]

Ah... hm. Well, this is. Halfway right. The cold air ruffles through her fur and she shivers despite herself.

Also, it's turning her stomach, seeing the carcasses hanging. Toriel gently shuts the door again before the cold or the view can get to either of them any more than it already has.

"Perhaps the next one?"

The next door isn't too much farther down, thank goodness. She tries to force all thought of frozen carcass out of her head, focusing on baking instead. And then she opens the door.

Apparently, she's only halfway successful, because she gets an oven... but it's a brick pizza oven, and the only visible ingredients are sausages and pepperoni hanging above a table, a bag of flour, a hunk of cheese, oregano drying by the oven, and tomatoes everywhere.

[dustless]

"Ha!" Not what they were looking for, but still pretty good. Frisk darts in to grab a bit of that cheese. And then another bit, to hold out to Toriel. "Little snack. During the...while the stuff's cooking. And--and I'm gonna remember this room 'cause Sans would like the tomatoes." Because ketchup.

Cinnamon. Cinnamon. Cinnamon, mainly--

--the next room is closer. There's cinnamon! And sugar! And a ton of other spices all lined up on shelves in fancy glass bottles.

[fiery_goatmother]

"Thank you." Toriel accepts the snack gratefully. She's very much getting hungry, so this will be just the thing to make it until the cinnamon rolls are ready.

She lights up when they open the next door.

"This looks promising!"

It at least has the spices she needs. She starts into the room, looking around. Nothing to bake in, but this is definitely looking like a well-stocked cupboard of dry ingredients. There's different types of flour on jars on a side shelf, sugar and cinnamon on another. She's not sure if it's powdered sugar or cake flour in a jar near at hand, but either way, it's something she can use.

"I think you may have done it, my child. We have almost everything here."

Now all she needs is butter, milk, and eggs. Which might be here, she isn't sure. All she can see so far is dry.

[dustless]

"What else do we need?" Frisk is kind of clueless about cooking that can't be made ready by flinging it into the microwave for a few minutes.

They do find butter on their own in a weird little silver bowl on a shelf they can just barely reach. Is that helpful?

Also, they pick up a bottle of...something weird-looking, just to look at it. (It's saffron.)

[fiery_goatmother]

Toriel spots them finding the butter and smiles.

"Well, you have already found the butter." She looks away, trying to see if she can find the other things. Ah, a bottle of vanilla, she can make use of that, too. "Now we just need milk and eggs..."

And when she turns again and spots the saffron in Frisk's hand, she laughs lightly.

"We will not be needing any of that today. Saffron would be a bit overwhelming in our recipe."

[dustless]

"...what kind of eggs? There's a tower full of birds. I dunno if there are chickens, but there's probably some nests?" they ask, setting the butter on the counter. Frisk doesn't mind having to run and climb the giant tree to hunt some down.

"I dunno what this is for. Or lots about cooking at all. Just so y--if you didn't already know." They're pretty sure they're not going to, say, burn the kitchen down, but they still might mess things up.

[fiery_goatmother]

Toriel gives her child a warm smile and a soft pat on the back.

"It is alright if you do not know all that much about cooking yet. That is what learning is for, is it not? And I am always willing to help."

There are few things she likes more than spending time in the kitchen with someone she's close with. Sharing and teaching recipes is even better.

"We should probably look for chicken eggs, if we can. I am not sure how well a different kind of egg would work."

There are different kinds of yolks and that could easily create a huge mess.

[loses track of time]

[dustless]

"...yeah. I think a lotta people here might want to learn. At least Sans. And the baby bones really need good stuff too, I think." Frisk's tone goes a little flat at the end, there.

Hmm.

"Can go run and look in other rooms, or make extra sure in the bird tower?"

[no worries~]

[fiery_goatmother]

She knows for a fact that Sans is actually pretty keen on picking up recipes. Or, at least, he was whenever they were swapping ideas through the door. It's because of him that she even learned how to make spaghetti sauce. Though it does make her wonder about this Sans.

With a low chuckle, she nods. "Perhaps we should have a group lesson sometime, then. We must be sure the little ones are eating well."

But first, they'll need to find where the eggs are. Nobody will be cooking very much without them. Pause. "But first, can you please go and look for some chicken eggs? I can start mixing things together while you look."

[dustless]

As far as Frisk knows, he can make hot dogs(...?), ketchup, and a kind of soup. His learning needs to be greatly expanded upon, though all of those things are pretty tasty.

"Yes! I'll try to be fast." So saying, they dart out of the room to start searching.

...they take a while. They do check the aviary first, in case they missed some chickens last time, and realize they hadn't. They end up leaving with a passenger on their shoulder anyway.

They hunt through room after room, first finding a room of feathery dresses, then plain feathers, then a bunch of sacks that they poke at for a bit before figuring out they're full of grain.

Eventually they get to another chill room and finally see eggs that they're pretty sure are chicken, even though their shells are brown. Then they need to find a basket, because they don't know how many they need exactly, and they can't carry a full dozen in their arms.

They're a tiny bit sweaty by the time they get back. "Found the eggs!"

[fiery_goatmother]

The dry ingredients are all mixed together by the time Frisk returns, and Toriel perks up, coming over to help them with the basket of eggs.

"You have! And you have also found a new friend, I see."

Leave for eggs, return with just that and also a little bird perched on the shoulder. Frisk really is a wonder. The boss monster is beaming as she sets the basket down near her cinnamon bun mixture. They're good eggs, and she picks out a few for the recipe.

"These will be just the thing. It will not be long now before it is ready."

[dustless]

"Not new. This is Gretel. We met when I first got here, and I get the birds seeds and stuff a lot, so they still know me." Frisk shifts their shoulder so Toriel and Gretel can examine each other.

"Cool!" Frisk hops up to sit...on the counter, instead of on the perfectly good chair at the table towards the back of the kitchen. "How many?"

[fiery_goatmother]

Toriel is distracted from inspecting Gretel when Frisk hops up onto the counter. And then she just puts her hands on her hips, giving them a stern look.

"None, if you plan to sit on the counter. There is a chair right --" She goes, picks it up, and plunks the chair down beside the counter. "--here, my child. We should never sit on a surface where we prepare food."

[dustless]

Frisk pauses to just...stare, kind of. They're not used to being...scolded? Is that what this is? At least not over things that they guess matter.

They slip off and flop into the chair, ducking their head contritely. "Yeah, okay. Didn't think about it. Thanks." For the chair, they mean.

And they go on: "...I think we should make extra, in case someone else wants some?"

[fiery_goatmother]

Toriel's expression softens again as they flop into the chair and she gives a nod of approval before going back to working on her dough.

"I think we should, yes. Some of our friends have a true talent for appearing wherever there is something to eat."

At least, something she's made. It's gotten to a point that she almost expects to have a few surprise monsters crowded into the living room whenever she gets to baking something.

[dustless]

"Yeah? And other people might show up, too. My friends, not ones you've met yet," ...probably. "Smell goes far through the halls and stuff."

Gretel flutters to the nearest window and watches the food being made. Can birds eat any of the ingredients?