[Action]

[goldenfirefly]

[Today is that special day... And Senel still hasn't returned. Stella doesn't want to dwell too much on that, and instead, she busies herself by baking cookies. Since she's been working for most of the day... She's ended up with way too many cookies for the household

Comments

[action]

[prayingone]

[Shirley's door is always open to you, Stella -- especially when things are as tough as this. She's not in the front room right now: she's in the kitchen, putting her back into kneading dough for some pizza. It's been a while since she's used the recipe, and she's wondering how her housemates would like it.]

[action]

[goldenfirefly]

[Once Stella's all finished, she still has one bag left, having saved it for a special house. And here's the house right now! Unlike with the other houses, she actually knocks on the door this time.]

Shirley? Are you home?

[action]

[prayingone]

[Normally, Shirley would go to the door -- but since it's Stella, she'll just turn and call over her shoulder.]

Yes, Stella! You can just come in. [Dough, you will be kneaded into submission.]

[action]

[goldenfirefly]

[Then she'll do that! Stella opens the door and takes in a whiff of the scent in the air.]

Dough, Shirley? What are you making?

[And then she heads inside and shuts the door, unaware of the furry white head that pokes out from behind a tree nearby...]

[action]

[prayingone]

Pizza, Stella... it's one of Mimi's recipes. It's been a long time since I've made it, and I wanted to know how Fenimore and Walter liked it...

[When Stella gets to the kitchen, she'll find Shirley at the counter with her sleeves rolled up and her hair tied back to keep it out of the dough. Her hands are floury from working with the dough, and there are a few stray traces of it on her face. She, too, is unaware of the bottomless pit that has been following Stella all day.]

[action]

[goldenfirefly]

I'm sure they'll love it. [She goes up to stand beside Shirley and watch her work - on instinct, she licks her thumb and wipes a smudge of flour from Shirley's cheek.] How's it coming so far?

[action]

[prayingone]

[Shirley smiles at Stella when she wipes the smudge off.]

Well, I'm almost done with this dough... [She gives it one, last, authoritative knead.] What do you think, Stella?

[action]

[goldenfirefly]

Hmm... [She examines it, then presses her fingers into it a few times. Don't worry, her hands are clean.] There. Perfect!

[action]

[prayingone]

That's what I thought. [Shirley cheerfully pats the whole thing into a consolidated blob, before putting it in a bowl and covering it with a cloth. It then goes into the oven which is warm, but not hot, so it can rise.]

[action]

[goldenfirefly]

[While they wait, Stella sets her basket down and looks down at what's left. A few white and gold ribbons... And it gets her to thinking, which is what she was trying to avoid doing all day.

[action]

[prayingone]

[To Shirley, it's obvious the direction where Stella's thoughts are going. Instead of asking her about them, she wordlessly reaches for Stella's hand to give it a comforting squeeze.]

[action]

[goldenfirefly]

[It's a silent touch, and yet its weight is enough to make Stella understand. She gives a little smile, although strained; she is, at least, extremely grateful that Shirley's here with her and understands the meaning behind her actions. But she tries to push her depressing feelings away, and instead, she moves to take the pizza and put it in the oven. Might as well be useful if she's going to stick around here for a while.]

How long do you think it'll take to cook?

[action]

[prayingone]

[Shirley knows that Stella is likely bottling things up inside, but she doesn't want to push her into talking about them.]

Well... that's a small, test pizza... so probably not more than twenty minutes, if that. [The dough she was rolling out before will be used to make a bigger pizza that will feed the house -- and have enough leftovers to share with Stella, Rika, and Hanyuu. Sophie can nom on some crust, if she likes.]

[action]

[goldenfirefly]

[Sophie would love to nom on the crust. Stella places her hands on her hips at that.]

Well! We ought to find something to do until it cooks, though we'll have to keep an eye on it.

[action]

[prayingone]

That sounds like a good idea to me... as long as we can figure out something to do in the kitchen.

[action]

[divinepooch]

[From out of the depths rises a creature of power and grace. Its presence is so enormous that those around it tremble at the mere sight of it.

In other words, there's a fuzzy wolf peeking her head over the window and peering in to smell the delicious scent of pizza cooking.]