A Pink Corner House, Bristol, Thursday Morning

[chosehumanity]

Mitchell was cooking.

In the context of language in general, that wasn't a particularly strange sentence; in the context of this particular household, it was a bizarre aberration that would certainly lead to the apocalypse. George usually cooked, and if he didn't, then Annie did the job for him - Mitchell's dependability near a stove was questionable at best.

But Annie had spent the night guarding over the others. Kate had been granted Annie's room, and Jack the sofa-- Nina was sleeping off her own intense mental exhaustion in George's bedroom, and if you asked Mitchell, he'd say he wasn't expecting her to get up any time soon.

So, breakfast for three it was. Three malformed, droopy eggs stared back up at Mitchell, and the beans in the other pan were starting to burn just a little bit (the toast, on the other hand, was fine, but then it was impossible even for Mitchell to ruin toast), but at least he was trying.

Annie had insisted on making the coffee, though, and Mitchell wasn't going to argue. He'd have to go pick up George in another hour - the werewolf always slept late after a full moon.

[[ for those still in Bristol. ]]

Comments

[vanillajello]

Kate had slept heavily, without dreams. Even so, she had the feeling someone had been hovering over her bed at times during the night. She couldn't say she minded.

What she did mind was getting up, but after she'd found herself wide awake and unable to go back to sleep, she'd stopped trying and was now making her way downstairs. The smell of fod reached her when she was about halfway down, and made her notice how little she'd eaten the day before.

Mitchell got a mild look of surprise once she stepped into the kitchen, pulling her slightly tangled hair back into a ponytail. "You're cooking?"

[chosehumanity]

"I've got beans," Mitchell announced, though mostly because he'd finally smelled the scent of burning, and had set that pan aside. "Eggs might be done in... a bit. Sit down!"

[vanillajello]

"You're creeping me out," Kate replied, close to a deadpan, as she took a seat by the table. "Beans are disgusting."

[chosehumanity]

"There's also toast," Mitchell pointed out, helpfully. "I'm fairly sure that's good."

"Check for burn marks," Annie added in passing, and then she went back up the stairs.

[vanillajello]

Kate leaned her elbow on the table, her chin in her palm. She was... very, very mildly amused. "Well, I do like my toast kinda crispy."

[chosehumanity]

Mitchell rolled his eyes behind the stove. "Fetch me a plate," he commanded, "I have eggs."

[vanillajello]

Kate got up again, with an exaggerated sigh. Such a hardship, getting a plate. Especially since she'd been here before and knew where to find one. "Don't be bossy, I'm getting flashbacks."

[chosehumanity]

"I'll stop being bossy if you stop complaining about my food," Mitchell said, lightly. "Besides. Isn't that a bit pot-calls-kettle?"

[vanillajello]

"Pfft," was Kate's highly intellectual response. She held the plate out for him. "It's Thanksgiving, you know. I'm allowed to bitch about the quality of food."

[chosehumanity]

"Don't make me run you back off to your country," Mitchell threatened, slipping one - thankfully not entirely botched - egg onto her plate. "Or I'm dragging you off for curry later."

After he picked up George.

[vanillajello]

"As long as you're not cooking it, I'm good," she replied, eyeing the egg. "This one looks edible, though."

Such a compliment.

[chosehumanity]

"Beans," he said, pointing one gloved hand punishingly at ... the table. "Eat. It'll do your stomach some good."

[vanillajello]

"Ugh, now you're just sounding like Bod." Which... really brought to mind that oh God, Bod was going to hate this. Kate sat down again, and sounded a little more subdued, though she tried to make it into a sarcastic drawl. "Fine, I'll eat your stupid beans."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack had slept longer and deeper than he intended to, and then retreated to the bathroom for the hottest shower he could coax out of the pipes before he felt ready to say much of anything to anyone.

"Good morning," he finally said as he came into the kitchen. His tone was one of a young man determined to be as upbeat as possible, under the circumstances. "George hasn't made it back yet, has he?"

[chosehumanity]

Mitchell glanced on up. "Door's locked from the outside," he pointed out. "I was going to go and get him in about, oh... half an hour, when he wakes up."

Not that Mitchell kept a schedule about this kind of thing, or anything. "Sit down, get some breakfast."

[vanillajello]

"Mitchell made it," Kate chimed in, looking up, "but it's surprisingly okay."

Yes, this morning was dedicated to mocking Mitchell's cooking. He should just deal with it.

[chosehumanity]

"Oi," Mitchell contributed, pointing his knife at her. "Eat your beans!"

[bitten_notshy]

"It's as good as I could do," Jack said, rubbing his forehead as he reached eagerly for a plate. He should have remembered about George; food would help him wake up the rest of the way.

Then he decided Kate had the right idea with the mocking. "Which ... isn't really saying much."

[chosehumanity]

"Well, the neurotic chef isn't here yet," Mitchell countered, "So you'll have to make do. Beans in the pan, and I... think you can probably reheat that egg."

Yes. Well, a cook, he'd never be.

[vanillajello]

"Total gourmet," Kate commented, with almost cheery sarcasm. Note that none of this had stopped her from eating her fair share of everything. "Though I've already been promised curry, later."

[bitten_notshy]

"I didn't say I didn't want it!" Jack protested to Mitchell, a slight laugh in his voice as he curled over his plate. "But I'll have to pass on the curry. I'd made plans for today before I knew I'd be in Bristol. Have extra chicken tikka for me."

[chosehumanity]

"Good plans?" Mitchell asked, lightly. They could all use a few good plans today, he wagered - that's why he'd invited Kate to curry to begin with.

[bitten_notshy]

"Emma visiting me plans," Jack said. "Hopefully it will go well."

They were 50-50 on that, at the moment, but he liked to be optimistic. He figured he deserved a few good days, anyhow.

He glanced over to Kate. "You're staying for a bit?"

[vanillajello]

"For a while," Kate confirmed, nodding once. "Think I wanna unwind here for a bit before I go and have a 'hopefully it'll go well' moment of my own. Say hi to Emma for me."

Sure, Kate and Emma lived in the same building, but it was hard to visit when Kate had to pass by Bod's room on the way to Emma's.

[chosehumanity]

"You're welcome to stick around as long as you like," Mitchell added, glancing at Kate. "Nina'll be able to use the extra human company, I think."

And it would give Mitchell more time to dispose of Herrick's remains. Whatever was left of him. He'd never seen a werewolf ravage a vampire before, let alone an Old One.