★  WHEN MY HEART IS MADE FROM GOLD AND FORGIVENESS SEEMS TOO BOLD

ooc let it be known that this is a human au because cooking + small cat = fire, probably. But eh.

Could Hazel cook?

Um, to a degree. (Get it?)

Truthfully, Hazel used to make herself and her Mother dinner sometimes. Other times she made meals just for herself, when she wasn’t locked in her room. It was nothing fancy, of course: scrambled eggs, pasta, toast, and pancakes, on occasion. Just small things she could eat and clean up quickly so they didn’t make a mess.

But she had never tried baking cookies. She wasn’t in the observatory’s kitchen very often, but knew it was stocked full of food to keep the clan fed. When Starry told her to make cookies, Hazel had been a little apprehensive for more than a few reasons, but wasn’t about to refuse what she’d offered to take.

It had taken ten minutes to find a decent box of cookie mix, and another five to decide that she didn’t want to make them from the box. She wanted to make them from scratch.

So over the course of the next hour and a half, Hazel spent measuring and pouring and stirring ingredients into a massive bowl. It wasn’t a clean process, either. She had tried to keep it clean, but had somehow managed to burn herself on the oven (rookie advice: don’t leave the oven door open) while carrying the flour and sugar. Now not only did she have a burn mark on her elbow, but she and a good portion of the kitchen were covered in flour and sugar.

For a good while Hazel was terrified someone would walk in and yell at her, but ended up taking a fifteen minute break to clean up what she could reach. Herself excluded, because she didn’t have time for that. Nevertheless, in the end, she produced two batches of pretty nice cookies: one snickerdoodle, and one chocolate chip. She just hoped nobody would check the trash can for her two and a half failed attempts.

“Hey, everyone! I made cookies!” Hazel called out, walking outside to sit in the sunshine. The smell of fresh, warm cookies wafted high into the air, and the first one to find her was - oh, christ.

“No, Arion - abi!” She yelped at the Thoroughbred, twisting out of reach as he shoved his muzzle at the cookies. “These aren’t for you! Go find something else to eat, you nosy colt!” Hazel couldn’t hold back her smile as she shoved his nose away, sticking her tongue out when he whinnied at her in his frustration.

★ — hazel — "speech" — seven months — the ascendants — tags — ★
c) miithers

Margaret, while naturally adept in gardening and such, was an excellent chef. Her mother and uncle had ensured that when she was a child- exposing her to every aspect of the kitchen and permitting her to advance her skills as a little cook. Baking had always been her specialty though, and while she still prepared meals for her girlfriend and she to share for dinner, she preferred the act of making pastries and desserts far over filet mignon and shrimp scampi. As much as she was embarrassed to admit it, she had even had a little web series of sorts focused entirely on baking- though it wasn't in practice much anymore, she had no time to maintain something that demanded that large of a commitment.

When the scent of fresh-baked cookies met her, the girl immediately abandoned her book to investigate. Her mother had always made incredible cookies, cookies that Margaret would eat in one sitting had she not been closely watched and forced to share. She supposed that the same rule would apply here: she would need to share. Oh how she wished that wasn't the case. Her mouth was already watering after catching one whiff of the cookies... they had to be excellent, she knew they were.

Finally located Hazel, Luna, Bast, Shay, and, most importantly, the cookies, Margaret quickly snatched a chocolate chip one and came to stand besides her girlfriend. A large smile was present upon her red-tinted lips and she, hungrily, devoured the dessert in a few bites. A lady she may be, yes, but cookies always provided her with an excuse to be a bit unladylike, if you will.

[color=#b14767]"These are good!" She announced, bumping Shay playfully as she, too, complimented Hazel on a job well done. [color=#b14767]"You and I just have to bake something together one day! I still have my mother and uncle's old cookbooks... we could make some incredible things!" And on top of that, she enjoyed the idea of getting to bond with Hazel a bit more. The other girl was the embodiment of sunshine herself and Margaret, with all the shadows she kept hidden under pretty smiles and charming words, knew she needed that- some sunshine.

[color=#b14767]"And oh my! Have you run it under cold water yet? Should I go and fetch some ice?"

★  WHEN MY HEART IS MADE FROM GOLD AND FORGIVENESS SEEMS TOO BOLD

Hazel glanced up at Luna, arm still outstretched to keep Arion at bay. "No, go right ahead!" She piped, holding the tray of cookies out to the female. To be honest, she was fairly impressed with herself for not dropping them, considering how ardently Arion was trying to reach the sweets.

At Bastille's approach, Hazel felt her skin flush hot with embarrassment and immediately tried to wipe away some of the flour smeared across her cheek. Instead, she just smudged it further across her cheek. Jeez, she'd completely forgotten about the mess all over her clothes - she was a mess! she was so excited about actually getting a good batch out of the oven that she had ignored her appearance entirely. Christ, that was...more than a little embarrassing.

Hazel stared at her feet, wiggling her toes in the grass. "Maybe," She replied sullenly, watching through a canopy of lashes as he nudged Arion out of the way. The colt snorted, nipping at Bast's shirt with his teeth. Hazel smirked, making no move to stop him, because...hey, he kind of deserved that, even if Arion wasn't nipping at him for Hazel's sake. And she could handle Bastille's teasing and short remarks - she knew very well that's what it was. He was just messing with her, but...there was that little spark of self deprecation that flared at the base of her spine, because she really should have known better. Still, Hazel could appreciate that he took a cookie, at least. And maybe she stuck her tongue out at him for that last comment, but whatever.

As Shay barreled over and scooped up a cookie, Hazel's smile reached the corner of her eyes. A laugh bubbled out of her chest, bright and unexpected; Shay (or Suite) had been so desolate and downcast recently that it was amazing to see her take the time of day to enjoy something so little. "Thank you," Hazel said, voice borderline shy and flustered. "Oh - I forgot about it." She replied, raising her arm to find the burn mark. It was on her arm, bumped and raised and pink and ugly. She frowned at it, wondering if she had run it under cool water yet.

"I guess it stings a little. I, uh...forgot about it?" She repeated with a slow shrug of her shoulders and a sheepish look in Suite's direction.

That was when Arion decided to nose his way back under her arm, making Hazel jerk her hand a little higher with the startling spike of pain made her yelp. "Ow! Go away, you doof - I told you, these aren't for you." She chastised, keeping her burn well out of his reach. Arion blew a dissatisfied huff of air in her face.

And then Margaret - wow, this was a couple more people than Hazel had expected, to be honest. The girl beamed at the woman's words, the praise sinking into her skin like honey. "That sounds wonderful, Margy. I'm not sure how much good I would be in the kitchen, but I would love to make something with you sometime," Hazel agreed. If people enjoyed her cookies this much, would they enjoy the other food that she might make? The concept was certainly entertaining, if not amusing. If Margy was willing to teach her, then she'd willingly learn.

At Margy's concern, Hazel kind of just wanted to slap a bandage on the injury now. "Oh, no - I'm okay, really. It doesn't hurt that much. I can put something on it when I go inside." She assured Margaret. Honestly, people shouldn't have to worry about her. Margaret already had so much else going on, Hazel knew - she didn't want to add to the chaos.

"Of course," Hazel held out the tray to Rin. "Snickerdoodles are my favorite." She added with a small grin. That tidbit of information wasn't really necessary, but true nonetheless. Chocolate chip would always be a classic, sure - but if you could bake Snickerdoodles just right with a soft center and firmer edges, then the cinnamon would absolutely melt on your tongue.

★ — hazel — "speech" — seven months — the ascendants — tags — ★
c) miithers