Scene #1545: Crickets

Owner	Pose
Ainsley	The kitchen is fairly large, with swinging doors leading out to the foyer and the dining room. The floor is covered in flower-patterned black and white tiles, the pattern fairly low-key so that it doesn't distract. The rest of the room carries a similar aesthetic, with vases placed in strategic places with fresh local flowers placed in them. The flowers seem to be as lively as the day they were picked. The appliances are not flower-decorated, however, being strange bronze-colored yet modern pieces of technology. They have lines here and there where soft white light radiates from them, like they were powered entirely by magic. (They are.) Ainsley is standing in the kitchen, wearing a long-sleeved brightly colored dress covered in a chaotic flower pattern. She has a flower crown, even! She's carefully arranging the bonbons on a tray on the kitchen island, along with glasses of water and some chopped up bits of fruit in case the taste of crickets isn't great for at least one of the guests. She isn't wearing shoes. Which is fine, because she seems to be hovering off the floor by a few inches.
Kyra Hyral	This would not be the first visit Kyra Hyral has made to House Ainsley. Decidedly more of a social call than the last time, Kyra's able to find the place easily and quickly navigate to the kitchen where this unique culinary delight resides. Much like last time, Ainsley will find herself facing the white mage in her school uniform as she pushes through the swinging doors into the kitchen. As she gives the room a brief glance, only now does it strike her just how much Ainsley likes flowers-more than just head decorations, too! "Ainsley, hi! How are you today?" she greets brightly, unshouldering her backpack and leaving it to the side of the kitchen door. "Soooo...I have to know, what's in a cricket bonbon? Besides crickets of course?" Curious, she peers over at the candies as she arranges them.
Yunomi Stadler	Yunomi knew it was entirely impolite to show up with nothing in hand to share at someone's house, so as she makes an arrival to Ainsley's home, the firs tthing she does istake a look around the place, setting down a brown-paper packaged parcel, and gazes in appreciation at the color. Her ears give a flick forward, tail slightly shifting as she considers if this should have been a /formal/ occasion... or if she should have brought drinks. What /is/ the proper ediquite of visiting? Ah, such questions...
Ainsley	Ainsley looks up from what she's doing at her guests, her tail wiggling as she gives a second of pause to think. She doesn't ever respond quickly to people, and this is no exception. "Good! Now that I have some guests over, at least. The nearest town is so far off," she says, shrugging her shoulders, and then she starts fussing over the orderly appearance of her arrangement, just to keep her from fussing about her own words. "It's milk chocolate, each of them have a single fried and lightly salted eastern red cricket in them. I like them because the chitin doesn't crisp up and make those gross little bits that taste like sand, and they taste sweet," she tells Kyra. "It should be pleasant! Go ahead~" She then floats over to make sure Yunomi isn't standing awkwardly by herself, urging the tanuki over to the bonbons with a gentle touch to her forearm. Only then does she check the parcel, finding a place to set it aside, inquisitively looking it over. "Go ahead~" she repeats, this time to Yunomi, gesturing to the snack arrangement she made.
Yunomi Stadler	"Ooh!" Yunomi states, and her eyebrows go up as she puruses. "Those look tasty! I've had fire-roasted crickets before... they were all right, but needed a lot of salt and butter to really taste /fantastic/... and a little cayenne pepper." she compliments, and then rubs the back of her head. "ANno... I didn't want to come and be rude." And she produces the parcel from before, wrapped up with brown paper, offering it to the hostess. "Please accept that token of grattitude." she gives a wry smile.
Kyra Hyral	"Oooh." Kyra puts her hands on the table and leans forward to eye Ainsley's bonbon arrangement a little closer. She seemed excited before, but doubly so now as her private hypothesis that chocolate was involved had been definitetively proven. "Well I can honestly say I've never consumed an insect before! Plenty have tried to consume /me/, ha ha!" From the way she says it...yeah, it's probably true. Her world's likely got giant mantises or something along those lines roaming around. Yunomi reveals that she bought a gift with her and Kyra freezes mid-reach for a bonbon. Wait...was she supposed to bring a housewarming gift too? Part of her is tempted to offer up one of the random potions she has on her but that would clearly be a half-assed gesture. With a slightly guilty look on her face she resumes reaching and takes a bonbon. "So you made these from scratch?"
Ainsley	Ainsley accepts the parcel, happily opening it to see what's inside of it. She pauses in this act only to talk to the two of them, wiggling her tail behind her like some sort of impatient cat who's being distracted in the middle of a meal. She looks toward the bonbons and then up to Kyra, blinking once cluelessly at the incongruous look on Kyra's face. "I couldn't find any viable cocoa pods on short notice," she points out, "But I did process down some sugar cane. The milk I just bought, we don't have livestock yet. I would need to build a fence first." She smiles gently over at Kyra. It's quite clear the lizard girl is /not/ joking. "The crickets are easy to find around here. They live in abundance because of all of the rich and nutritious grass." "You don't have to bring gifts, but I do appreciate when you do," she points out to the both of them, "I don't hold any expectations of etiquette beyond ... well, being nice to each other."
Yunomi Stadler	Giant bugs that try to eat you? Wriggling mandables approaching, promising certain doom? Yunomi's had some experience with that. Yunomi breezily gives a shrug, and reaches over Kyra to pluck up one of the candies. "And, for the record, I don't either. I happened to have stopped at Tin Street before coming here to drop off an order for someone." she explains, and pops the candied insect into her mouth. Ooh! Chocolatey AND Crunchy. Munchmunch. "I still think I'm banned from any sort of kitchen duity." she reflects, rubbing the back of her neck in memory. "Natch, reputation preceedes me."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra seems a little shocked by the response she receives from Ainsley, "Wow, that's...really, really from scratch. I mean growing and harvesting the stuff is pretty hardcore. I'd just buy the ingredients from a store...though that's not really a thing here, is it?" She holds the bonbon between her thumb and pointer finger, looking at it for a moment before she bites down in such a way that it is severed in half. She looks at the non-eaten half as if to check that there really is a cricket inside. "Oh...I know all about being banned from kitchens." Kyra giggles. "Sounds like we've got something in common...Yunomi, right?" She pops the other half of the bonbon in her mouth.
Ainsley	When the package is opened and a crab is pulled out of it, Ainsley makes a bird-like peeping noise at it, surprised by the gift. She sets the crab on its back on the counter, and finds some rubber bands to restrain it completely for later cooking. She then looks over to Kyra and Yunomi with a bright smile, clasping her hands together. It's really a cricket in each bonbon. The red shell of the tiny insect is quite obvious in contrast to the chocolate. "I lived by myself in a world without supermarkets for a long time," she tells Kyra in a gentle tone of voice, "Self-sufficiency is what I'm comfortable with. I understand gardens, farm fields and livestock better than I understand buying things in aluminium cans and plastic packages." A bit of insight into who the lizard girl really is, it seems. "It's a good thing you two don't have to cook, then!" she points out, "If you are my guests, I will do all of the cooking. You needn't trouble yourselves with it." She waves it off. "So what do you think? Are the bonbons good?" She looks at Kyra in particular, since she's the one that was more hesitant.
Yunomi Stadler	"That's right. Yunomi Stadler, mage." Yunomi replies with a smile, and gives a glance at the ill-thought-out present, ears perking up when Ainsly makes the peeping noise, and readies to save her hostess from a SMALL ENEMY CRAB! ... but it looks like all is well. She gives a small smile though, and leans back, reclining in the air. "I was the same way when I first came to the Multiverse. Sometime's it's nice to be reminded that supermarkets aren't always... well. The most /satisfying/ way to grab dinner." she suggests. She considers a moment, and arches her arms behind her head a moment. "Well... thank you, AInsley. I must say I am most appreciative." she gives a small grin.
Kyra Hyral	"Kyra Hyral, mage." Kyra barely restrains herself from cooing over the adorable noise that Ainsley just made after opening Yunomi's present. She does offer a: "You're /really adorable/ when you're happy, Ainsley." plus a mischevious grin since she's not entirely sure how the lizardwoman would take that compliment. "Without supermarkets..." Kyra trails off as she takes another bonbon. "Never really thought about that kind of thing. I guess I'm pretty privledged in that regard. Scarcity is pretty unheard of in Ramuh 'cause we use haste lamps and other tech to grow things year round. Oh, these? I think they're delicious! The salted cricket makes a very interesting contrast with the sweet chocolate, especially with the texture." She eats a second bonbon though this time she pops the whole thing into her mouth.
Ainsley	Ainsley is all blushing and smiles when she's complimented. She places her hands on her cheeks and closes her eyes, trying to hide the feeling from them, though all it does is make her seem more bashful. And they enjoy the bonbons! A thrumming, musical purr rolls through her, the first time she's ever made that noise before, which startles her. She regains her composure by picking up a glass of water-- with both hands, like she's afraid she'll drop it on accident --and drinking out of it, gulping it down until the red fades from her scaly charcoal-black cheeks. "Oh, yes. I use magic, too, if I can help it, but I prefer to grow my own food," she says to Kyra, delighted and practically musical in tone. Her native Spanish accent even shines through here. "If you two want to stay for a while, I can make a meal for us. Faruja is out on business, I believe, so I would end up sitting around by myself anyways."
Yunomi Stadler	Yunomi looks on as ainsley blushes, but gives a slightly crooked smile at the show, and politely turns her eyes upwards to the ceiling. Oh! Dustmote? "We have markets, restaurants, miniature food guilds all over the place in Ravnica... just... gotta be careful of anything that the Golgari put out." Yunomi gives a slight hum, and considers a moment. "I've been helping with Dun Realty's food scarcity." she perks up. "I'm really talented at growing plants through magic; it's one of the reasons Niv-Mizzet wanted me in his guild... kinda ... turning over a new leaf!" she gives a cheesy smile,
Kyra Hyral	Now Kyra can't hold it back. She lets out a little 'aww' when Ainsley goes all Shy Guy on the both of them from compliments. She does find it a little fascinating that Ainsley's physiology allows her to blush in a similar way to a Hume-though it does look differently due to skin color. She is happy, though, that Ainsley can feel so relaxed around them! Kyra leans lazily against the kitchen island, one arm folded beneath her for support while the other sneaks out for more bonbons. "Ravinca-oh, right, I think Ryan's been there. The place with the manavines, right? And hey, I'd love to stay for dinner-and will! Provided something doesn't come up. Orphen might need me for something so who knows."
Ainsley	Ainsley starts popping bonbons in her mouth, one at a time, enjoying the exotic treats. She mixes it up with some of the fruit pieces while the others are speaking, giving a skeptical but amused look at Yunomi's humor. She looks only mildly disappointed when reminded of the obligations that Elites sometimes have, and nods at Kyra. "I understand. If you need to go at any point, I won't try to keep you here." She smiles sweetly at the girl. "I have thought about visiting that place," she tells Yunomi, when Dun Realtai comes up, "The problem is that it is at a very cold area. I don't do well with the cold." She lands, finally, and steps over to check her fridge, humming to herself while she checks for ingredients to make a meal with. "I hope everyone that stays there is doing alright."
Yunomi Stadler	Yunomi's ears perk up. "Dinner sounds fantastic! I can pop off to grab ingredients, if you need to, I mean, if that's all right, I don't mean to be rude..." she embarrassedly gives a laugh, and then one ear swivels to Kyra. "OH! Ryan talks about the manavines? I'm their creator, and currently the only mage in any guild who's able to develop them." she gives a little prideful smile. "... the little things I can do to help an adoptive homeworld become better are valuable to me... and Ryan's a nice boy."
Kyra Hyral	"He's brought them up before, yes." Kyra speaks up. "They sound absolutely fascinating! I would like to examine them someti-" Suddenly, their gathering is interrupted by a strange, loud noise eminating from Kyra. It is filled with sharp, pounding sounds and is vaguely musical. Frowning, Kyra reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone, which is emitting the dubstep mix she made to Nathan Hall's voice clips. "Sorry, I have to-oh, oh no. I'm sorry Ainsley, I need to go." She gives both Yunomi and their host an apologetic look. "School function! Um! I hope we can do this again in the future!" Turning on her heel, she rushes out, scooping up her backpack in her wake.
Yunomi Stadler	The strange, loud noise makes Yunomi wince, her ears flicking backwards, though the voice of the General popping out of the the phone, makes Yunomi wince harder, until it's answered, and Kyra makes her exit. Leaning forward, Yunomi purses her lips, and raises her eyebrows, watching as she makes her retreat. ... and reaches for the bonbons. "What a nice girl." she comments, wryly and in good humour, and eats another one of the crickets. Mmm. Crickets.
Ainsley	Ainsley looks surprised by how quickly Kyra is swept up by her social obligations. She only nods, but by the time she has, the schoolgirl has left speedily, leaving the room with just her and Yunomi. The lizard girl claps her hands together, "Right! I need you to fetch these ingredients while I get everything else ready, I should have enough of each of them..." And so Ainsley makes dinner for herself and Yunomi!