Tale as Old as Last Wednesday [Maid IC]

[Trobby]

Ante smiled. It never got old when she was called that by this little tiger girl. No matter who said what about anything, as far as she was concerned, she was her little sister.

"I hope you had a good nap, Hani. Because we have to get to work now. Remember? This is our new home. We are maids now."

It was a sort of bittersweet manner in which she said this...she honestly wished her little sister didn't also have to work here, but it was either that or giving her up...and from where she was before, this was a far step up.

"Come on, sleepyhead, let's go with the other maids." She says, giving Hani one hand to hold to walk her out into the hallway.

[Deme]

Terran listened to this ramble...Until he got to the end. Then, several thoughts occured at once, starting with the fact that the person he was thinking of never used weather-based imagery to hit on a girl, much less affectionate nicknames. The one person who did...

"Wait, I fear thou misunderstand'st, if thou wouldst listen for just a..."

And then there were questions about wardrobes and Ante stepped into the hallway as well. Explaining the matter would have to wait. Until later, perhaps. After all, his internal clock was ticking, and his stomach growled audibly.

"Well, we are all assembled, so now I may show thee yonder to the kitchen."

He began to escort the maids down the hallway, through the great hall and ballroom, and into the kitchen. It was a large room, with far greater capacity than for just these maids, with doors to attached pantries and larders. Odds are, it had exotic supplies as well.

...And waiting there was the cat-man from the work-room, leaning on a counter.

"Hello there, ladies. I'm Mozart....And I've got a slight change in orders."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki somewhat curtly informs Meri: "Maid-eating furniture. I dealt with it. Much like I will deal with that scoundrel, only with less flirting and more violence..." she growls, bloodlust burning in her eye. She ignores Terran's attempt to calm her down.

When Terran tells them its time to go, though, Yuki coughs and regains her composure. "Yes, sir, lead the way," she nods respectfully. She seems almost entirely calmed down, except for the occasional eye twitch.

When they arrive in the kitchen, Yuki arches her eyebrow at the crypic kitty-man. "Orders, you say?"

[Benson]

Merry cocked a brow, didn't seem like the ward robe she was aware of....maybe there were two? This..this was interesting, but she'd sate her curiosity about it later. At the moment she and the others were being escorted off, she puffed out her chest ready to take on real maid duties, even if she didn't really know what she was doing. Play it by ear she'd try, in a manner of speaking. All she really wanted was to see the Prince after all these years, even if he wouldn't recognize her without the mask. But, even with time, she wasn't brave enough to show herself to the boy she left behind. But this, as Meridith Lilith, she felt she could be brave.

She blinked her eyes in minor surprise at the cat boy butler.

[Hawkflight]

Ante smiled. It never got old when she was called that by this little tiger girl. No matter who said what about anything, as far as she was concerned, she was her little sister.

"I hope you had a good nap, Hani. Because we have to get to work now. Remember? This is our new home. We are maids now."

It was a sort of bittersweet manner in which she said this...she honestly wished her little sister didn't also have to work here, but it was either that or giving her up...and from where she was before, this was a far step up.

"Come on, sleepyhead, let's go with the other maids." She says, giving Hani one hand to hold to walk her out into the hallway.

Hani-chan held Ante's hand as she followed her out into the hallway, and they were led to the kitchen. She got a worried frown on her face as she realized she was to be expected to cook.

[Trobby]

Ante leads her sister out through the hallway and into the kitchen. She gives Hani a reassuring squeeze of the hand as they enter, and gives the cat man a quizzical look.

"Change in orders? Of what sort?" Ante asks the catty gentleman as he appears.

[Atreli]

Upon seeing Mozart, Lune recognized him as the sleeping boy from the laundry room.
" It's you again. I should've known you were a butler." Lune said with a polite smile.

[Deme]

"Are these orders from Leon?" Terran asked, glaring at the cat-man with barely-disguised dislike.

"I've just spoken with him, I'll have you know... And down the pipe these orders come. The score," he threw out a hand dramatically. "Is that since this is a trial period, we should have...SOME TRIALS! And so we come to the dramatic realization... Of the Iron Maid competition! Each maid doing her best to assemble the finest lunch experience!"

He grinned, his green eyes closing as he smiled.

"As the challenge goes on, you'll be asked to encorporate ingredients and surprises into the lunch!"

Terran blinked.

"And when in that will they meeteth him, huh?"

"We'll tag them out during the challenge, of course. Would you girls like to decide order yourself, or draw straws?"

[Trobby]

Ante stepped forward, staring Mozart square in the eye.

"This...is an entirely pointless charade!" She declares, throwing her hands up in disgust. "Why should we compete with one another, when we should be working together as a group? Surely, the finest experience we could produce would be as a team, no?"

She pokes Mozart square in the chest, her other hand resting on her hip as it shifts to the side.

"And another thing, how do we know that these instructions came from the master at all? These hardly seem like the sort of thing we would be forced to do on our first day. Particularly, when we are only meeting him for the first time today at all!"

Which reminds Ante, she has already MET the master...she would be mentioning this to them, so that they might run the introductions a little more smoothly, but she's too busy challenging Mozart on his authority.

"And I would like to know," she says, stepping back from him to strike a proper intimidating stance. "How you interpret testing our skills as maids to mean 'competing with one another', when surely the greatest test would be to cooperate. Surely,you can see the wisdom in that?"

[Deme]

He waggled a finger, chuckling. Apparently this sort of thing didn't bug him in the slightest.

"All this teamwork talk won't do you any good if we only keep one of you. We're not deciding if you stay here as a group, you see... Maaaaybe all of you will make it, but I doubt it. Heck, if any of you make it, it'll be a fun change of pace."

He shrugged.

"So we need to see how each of you works individually, see? Just a little display of skills... No need to be agressive about it if you don't like, etc... Teamwork'll come in a later round."

He looked at the relative postions of the maids and smiled a bright, fang-y smile.

"...Oh, but the boss says that the little kitten can work with you, if that's how you want to play it...If you think she can't pull the work on her own."


Terran narrowed his eyes and sighed.

"Since lunch requireth preperation regardless, I'd play along... I will consult his Highness to ensure these are actually his orders."

He quietly left the room before this got silly.

[Trobby]

"...playing to my hubris will get you nowhere." She says through gritted teeth at Mozart. "Hani is more than prepared enough to attend to her duties as a maid, and you shall see just how far I and the other maids will go. You may wish for us to quarrel amongst each other, but I know better. I know firsthand how badly things can go when competition is introduced."

"But don't think I won't take your challenge, you feline fiend. Yes, we shall play your game, but we shall not let it tear us apart. I and the other maids will meet the master's approval, and we will show you how long the five of us will last."

[Lycan 01]

It is just so wonderful that Ante is trying to be optimistic and inspiring, attempting to rally the troops so to speak, and prove that she and the other maids all have what it takes and can work together effectively.

Too bad Yuki is already ruthlessly raiding the pantry.

"How long until the Master expects his meal?" the assassin inquires over her shoulder, a loaf of bread in one hand and a couple of tomatoes in the other.

[Hawkflight]

Hani-chan glanced back and forth between Ante and the butler. "Please don't fight," she squeaked.

[Trobby]

"..." Even on her best days, Ante couldn't possibly resist a request from her little sis.

Then she looks up at Yuki, who is already getting things prepared for lunch, and rolls her eyes. "I suppose we should just get started then...along with whatever rules you have planned for us, you cat." She says to Mozart with just a little snideness.

[Deme]

The cat-man looked at the adorable little one and smiled. It was actually not a creepy smile. Sure, it'd be fun to play with this feisty little mouse, but...well...cute things. What do you do?

"I'm not trying to pick a fight, little kitten. We just want to be sure everyone's trying their hardest, alright?"

He said softly. He called out to Yuki,

"The standard time limit for a contest like this is an hour, but since you're doing the tablesettings and all, let's say an hour and fifteen minutes."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki turns and clicks her heels together, before snapping a quick salute. "Orders acknowledged."

She then turns and flicks her left wrist. The combat knife from earlier zips out of her sleeve, and into her waiting hand. She then stabs into the open cabinet, and retracts the knife with a head of lettuce impaled upon it. "You would not happen to know what condiments the Prince likes on his sandwiches, would you Mister Mozart?" the assassin asks idly. "Ketchup? Mustard? Barbeque sa-" the maid suddenly freezes, and lifts the impaled plant up closer to her face. "Wait, this is a cabbage. Ew."

Yuki unceremoniously plucks the cabbage off the knife with her right hand, and places it back in the cabinet. She then narrows her eye, and begins to scrutinize the pantry. "Where is... What... Why is there no lettuce? Where is the cheese for that matter? I don't-" Yuki's eye suddenly goes wide in horrified realization.

"Oh." She looks back over her shoulder at Mozart, and narrows her eye. "Clever..."

Yuki then frantically begins to run around the kitchen, throwing open cabinets and pulling open drawers in an attempt to find everything she needs for the perfect sandwich. Lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, various meats, various condiments, a cutting board, sharp enough knives... She knows her way well enough around a kitchen to figure out where they should be.

Or in this case, where an insane butler would stash them...

Spoiler

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Skill: (1d6x4)[16]

[Trobby]

"Doesn't leave us much time to dilly-dally, I suppose."

Ante turns to face Hani, and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hani, just do your best, and I know the Prince will love whatever you make. I have faith in you, dear."

With a wink to her little sister, she turns about and sets to work. "I'll start on...hmm...it's summer...a fruit salad would probably be best."

Ante proceeds to seek out fresh fruits for her salad...and a bowl...and preferably something to mix and cut the fruit up.

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Skill: (1d6x2)[10]

[Benson]

Merry found herself feeling overwhelmed here, unsure of what to make here. She watched Yuki take the initiative with her sandwich making and wondered what could compliment sandwiches. She then came to the conclusion of potato salad, it wasn't too hard, but not so elementary that she'd feel like her food choice was lame. She began with peeling potatoes, dicing them, after washing them of course.

As they boiled in a pot, she collected various herbs, mustards, chopped some onions and told the celery it could go dip itself.

-------

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Skill- Making potato salad (1d6x2)[10]

[Atreli]

Lune decided to handle to desert part of lunch. Desert had to be her favorite thing of the human world. It's hard to be a lover of chocolate and other sugary goodies when the only thing to eat normally is seafood. What desert to do though.....that's it!! White chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake!
Time to get started.

[Deme]

As each maid works, she (Yuki at first, since she went looking) discovers something... They're missing one key ingrediant. And they're all on a mountain of pots and pans, rising out of the back of the pantry. It's a fearsome, tall mountain, with a table with the key ingredients at the top. Mozart waves his hand.

"This is your first special challenge: only the girl who get to the top can get what they want, which will surely come in handy in finishing the dishes; everyone else will have to make due with one of my runner-up items. So... Go!"

He wagged his tail and winked.

"Remember, ladies. Anything goes."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki stares up at the kitchenware mountain. "When did that get there?" she asks blankly. Surely she would have noticed a mountain of pots and pans before?

The assassin then has a thought. These girls may (mostly) be nice, but at the moment, they are potential obstacles between her and her objective. She has to do a good job on this assignment, in order to make s good impression on the Prince and easily work herself into a position where she can protect him.

Naturally, she can't just assassinate the other maids. That would be wrong. And she just put on a clean blouse.

But the fact remains - she must win, through any mean required.

"The cheese is mine," Yuki states venomously, narrowing her eye. She then runs towards the mountain of skillets and boilers, leaps onto it, and begins to ascend the treacherous kitchen nightmare.

As Yuki climbs, she twists and kicks a few pots and pans loose, so that they'll be unsteady and prove difficult to grasp and navigate for the next maids after her. "Nothing personal!" she cheerfully calls down to the other maids as she pulls a cast-iron skillet loose.

Spoiler

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Cunning: (1d6x3)[12]

[Trobby]

"...Oh this is simply wretched!" Ante groans, and once again sees Yuki getting the jump on her. "Oh no, not this time, Yuki!"

Using all of her speed, grace and strength, Ante attempts to scale the mountain of pots and pans, and to bypass Yuki, despite the difficulties she has made for her and the other maids.

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Athletics: (1d6x3)[15]

[Deme]

Yuki takes 5 stress, and falls behind Ante.

[Benson]

This was indeed a curveball with Merry reacting with a 'waahaah!' and doing that lifting of one leg and moving her her arms in front of her face and chest as if she were protecting herself pose.

She heard what that Mozart was saying, and while it sounded stupid, seeing Yuki and Ante go for it prompted her to go along with it, if only to let them win. But they already had a head start, so darn it all. She glanced around and found herself a sauce pan of melted butter, why there was a sauce pan of melted butter, I dunno, anime.

So she flung it over the tops of Ante and Yuki so that they would slip and fall from the buttery slipperiness.

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Athletics (1d6x2)[6]

[Lycan 01]

Yuki growls in annoyance as Ante slips past her. However, before she can react, her assassin senses start to tingle. Looking over her shoulder, she spots Meridith preparing the butter pan of doom. Her eye goes wide in horror, then narrows in determination.

"Oh yeah?" she smirks, wrenching a platter out of the mountain of kitchenware. "Think fast!"

She then attempts to reflect the butter back at Meridith with the platter.

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Cunning: (1d6x3)[15]

[Benson]

"Aaaah!" Merry yelped and grabbed a large plate to protect her face from the backsplash of the not boiling hot butter deflected back.

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Attempting to use quick reflexes, so athletics (1d6x2)[8]

[Trobby]

Ante, meanwhile, upon hearing Yuki and Merry shout, looks down to see what is going on...and tries to react accordingly to avoid getting into a slippery situation! ((Oh god the puns!))

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Athletics to butter dodge: (1d6x3)[3]

[Deme]

Ante and Merry both get covered in hot butter, taking 2 and 7 stress respectively, and putting Yuki back in the lead as Ante slips down the hill.

[Atreli]

While everyone was preoccupied with sabotaging each other, Lune begin to climb the pile on the opposite side of the other maids. If she could just reach her ingredient before they noticed her...

[Lycan 01]

Yuki continues to climb as fast as possible. She gives a curious glance over her shoulder, checking to make sure no one is catching up with her, and there is anybody, she will try to find some way to slow them down - perhaps blocking their path, or knocking some pots loose.

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Cunning: (1d6x3)[18]