(no subject)

[sunbaked_baker]

The last time they spoke, Con had indicated that he may know the whereabouts of the gang of vampires currently trying to claim New Arcadia as their hunting grounds. Rae is expecting him tonight, as the plan is to go and... well, try the peaceful solution. See if they will change their ways.

Sunshine doubts it'll work - she has had messy run-ins with members of that group before - very serious doubts. Sick anticipation of the night to come had distracted her so badly at work that Charlie had noticed, and had sent her home early. She wanted to get away for a while, and almost as though called, there had been a door to Milliways replacing her apartment door. A welcome escape.

Nervous energy had driven her to bake. Something to keep her hands busy (measuring, mixing, kneading, lifting) with the peripheral benefit of extra money. Soon there is a red-headed baker setting a large tray of baked goods on a central table, and untying the sunflower-dotted blue apron from around her waist.

Small signs name and price them accordingly:

Sunshine's Baked Goods
Cinnamon Rolls As Big As Your Head: $3.50
(Extra Icing: $.50)
Caramel Cataclysms: $3
Lemon Lechery: $2.50
Chocoholia: $2.25
Hell's Angelfood: $2.25
Meringuamania: $2.00
Muffins: $2/each
(blueberry-pecan, cranberry-walnut, jalapeno-cornbread, chocolate-strawberry, apple-cinnamon)

Come and get 'em while they're hot!

Comments

[lt_shea62truck]

If Kenny had gone back to his world, he still would have smelled this sweet, sweet gloriousness from across the universe. And he's grateful that he'd brought his wallet.

He takes a few sad, crumpled bills out of it and smooths them out on the table.

"One of each, please."

He re-examines just how much cash he has. Yeah, not enough for that.

"Actually, just one of the Chocoholia, which I assume is made of chocolate. Please."

[sunbaked_baker]

"Five different kinds of chocolate, in fact," Rae smiles as she serves one of the chocolate confections to Kenny. "Dark chocolate and milk chocolate, mixed with crisp cocoa nibs to give it a bit of a crunch, a thin layer of mint chocolate on the bottom, and a small white chocolate swirl on top."

Chocoholia is, in fact, for the chocoholics out there.

"That'll be two twenty-five."

[lt_shea62truck]

He does indeed have two dollars and a quarter!

"Five-- five different kinds...?" he murmurs as he takes the chocolatey treat, his eyes wide and eager like a child's.

He bites into it.

"Oh my good lord, I have to sit down."

He quickly pulls out the nearest chair and plops down into it, pure euphoria on his face.

As soon as he regains the power of speech, he looks at Rae. "Are you a goddess? Surely no mortal being can bake something as incredible as this."

And he hasn't even been here long enough to meet any immortals.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Nope. Just a hundred-percent, grade-A, human baker," she grins at him. The first bite is always the best part for her. Far better than any words is the sincere, heartfelt compliment of the reaction of a new customer upon taking their first bite.

It makes the long hours and meager pay worth it.

"I'm Rae, though most people call me Sunshine."

[lt_shea62truck]

"Sunshine, huh? Then I hope I get to be most people. Very nice to meet you, Sunshine, I'm Kenny." He stands and offers a hand (free of any chocolate smudges) to shake. "So, do you come in here and do this sort of thing often, selling your baked goods?"

[unthinkable]

Mo's closet has a bar in it.

Her first thought is, Bloody fuck, I hate it when alternate dimensions follow me around like that.

Her second thought is, That smells good.

And so, making sure to keep the door at least partially in sight and her violin case in her hand, she high-tails it to the makeshift bakery.

"So what's in a Lemon Lechery," she inquires, all smiles, "besides lemon?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"Strawberries and a graham-cracker crust, with powdered sugar on top," answers the other red-head, with a slightly wry smile in return. "The recipe, however, is a trade secret."

[unthinkable]

"Oh, no worries about that, I'm a terrible baker --" Mo is talking to Sunshine, but she's looking at the wallet she's pulled out of her pocket at the same time, and then hesitates, glancing back at the sign and then at the baker. "Er.I haven't got American currency; that all right?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"Yeah, neither do I," Rae grins. "I'm not American. I'm Independencian."

It matters, even if they're in the same place on different Earths.

"When different currency is an issue, I just tend to ask people to pay what they feel they'd pay in their own worlds," she shrugs with a slight laugh, "and then I let Bar take care of the inter-dimensional exchange rates for me."

They're too much of a hassle.

[anotherstolenrelic]

"How much is it if you have someone else's head in mind?"

It's nothing personal, just habit that has Loki silently appearing from off behind Sunshine's shoulder, like a small grim cloud – besides, the smell is heavenly indeed, and would be enough to draw someone far more antisocial than even Loki out from wheresoever he might have been hiding.

He assumes, of course, that she knows precisely what he means.



[ooc: mun begs indulgence, running off to bed so this is slowtime from the start – I just didn't want to forget by the time I'm back on!]

[sunbaked_baker]

This would be her automatic aversion to having anything behind her, as she swiftly steps to the side so she might turn towards the person talking to her.

But her momentary wariness is swiftly forgotten because wow, is that a fantastic outfit. Her orange t-shirt and purple jeans and red sneakers do not compare. Nor do they compare to the faint-yet-fantastic electric-blue edges to this guy's shadow, which themselves have an even sharper edge like a thin wire of red. Though Sunshine doesn't have a clue what it all means, she can guess that it falls somewhere under 'not human.' Stupid Dark Sight.

"The cinnamon rolls're pretty generically human-ish head-sized, to be honest," she answers with a slight smile. She has plenty of non-human and part-human customers - enough not to be weirded out now. "Most of the population back home is mostly human, so the generalized 'you' gets lumped in."

"A specific head-size would likely be a special order, if it's drastically bigger or smaller than that."

[anotherstolenrelic]

"Well, if mine is approximately such a size," as this man in his exquisite threads demonstrates by holding his hands apart, "then the head I had in mind was about this much larger," as he holds his hands apart, instead, the size of his brother's stupid oversized head. "But no matter; he keeps such a large skull simply for extra armor, for he certainly does not need such a space to keep his brains about him. I assume," with a rapid change of subject, and a keen glance flickering about her wares, "that you are personally quite fond of all of these, and thus will not have a favorite to advise me, will you."

It's only sort of a question.

Another question is: does this guy even know what carrying money means?

[sunbaked_baker]

"Big-headed both literally and metaphorically?" Rae laughs, lightly. "I know people like that."

She, for her part, is wholly human. However, the network of very faint, golden pinpricks of light set into her skin and hair like a web is a fairly powerful bit of magic. There are also very un-bakerly scars upon her shoulders, arms and upper chest - unless she's been facing some particularly deadly dough.

"I personally fond of all of these baked goods, yeah - since I invented the recipes myself - but I can point out that the cinnamon rolls and the Chocoholia are the best-sellers of the group, so polling suggests they'd be likely candidates for a first try."

[sbpd_papabear]

Henry was at home, and when he went to put a stack of fresh sheets in the closet, his linens were replaced with an increasingly familiar sight.

"Well, I'll be damned..." he chuckles under his breath, setting aside the clean sheets before shrugging to himself and stepping through. Why not, maybe it'll give him a chance to start planning the "weekend" he'd promised Karen they'd have.

The only familiar face in sight is the baker with her sign up and baked goods present. If that isn't a sign, nothing is. Henry adjusts his favorite shirt and brushes a hand over his head before approaching.

"Hey... I see you've brought out some more of the good stuff."

[sunbaked_baker]

"Of course," says the baker, offering a smile as she looks up from adjusting the signs. "The bar's full of hungry people, and I've got a tab to pay off before I head home. How've you been, Henry?"

[sbpd_papabear]

His lips curl into a wide, irrepressible smile that he'll blame more on the smell of sugar and cinnamon and chocolate than the cloud he's practically riding on.

"Been good, Sunshine... real, real good." He chuckles dryly and points to a particularly sticky cinnamon roll; "I don't think Karen'll mind if I eat one solo."

[sunbaked_baker]

"I won't tell on you, don't worry." Rae gets a paper plate and some napkins, quickly serving the cinnamon roll in question. Her movements might be more jittery than usual, running a bit more on nervous energy. It's been a long day. And this batch of baking - if it all sells - will pay off her tab enough for her to stay tonight, and then leave tomorrow, well-rested. For whatever she and Con will end up facing.

Nevertheless, there's a sort of sick energy to her attempts at distracting herself, like a baker's answer to fidgeting. The brightness behind her smile as she offers the cinnamon roll to him is just a little bit... brittle.

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

Juliet's STARVING. And everything smells so good. "One Lemon Letchery, Rae," she nearly begs.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Are you sure just one?" Rae smiles, dishing up one of the lemony treats onto a small plate for Juliet.

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

She nods, expression totally regretful as she forks over the cash. "It's all I can afford today. How're you feeling, Rae?"

[sunbaked_baker]

Jittery and sick with nervous energy in anticipation of upcoming things involving blood and violence.

"Oh, I'm fine," she says, accepting the money as she hands over the Lemon Lechery. "How about you?"

[thenewblack]

Artemis does not fly up to the tray hanging on a cartoon trail of vapor by her nose. But she tries. Oh how she tries.

"Two of the cornbread muffins, thanks."

Fresh baking hmmm.

[sunbaked_baker]

Enthusiasm is something Sunshine likes to see. Grinning, Rae serves up the muffins on a small paper plate, with napkins. "There you go. That'll be four dollars."

[thenewblack]

Artemis digs out crumpled dollar bills to pay and starts unwrapping the paper from the bottom of one of the muffins quickly.

"Sfill warmf."

Don't talk with your mouth full Artemis.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Came out of the oven just a little while ago," she smiles, just this side of smug.

What? She knows how good her baking is.