For most mutants, the kitchen was a place to unwind, or to eat, but not to practice your mutation. But for Paige, it was another way to practice control and variety. She could do a spork easily, she'd done a coffee cup, but she hadn't done much else. So...here she was, looking at a line of utensils she'd made on the counter. Spatulas, wooden spoons, forks, knives of all sizes, even a set of tongs. Thinking, the blond brushed all the other utensils away except for a wooden spoon.

The shifter then hopped up onto the counter, wearing nothing but a purple tank top and a pair of short black shorts. To anyone, this would have been strange, but to Paige it was just...well it was just how the spork did things. Focusing her mind, she became a quickly shrinking and molding mass, and in a few seconds there were not one, but two wooden spoons on the counter. Though Paige wasn't an exact replica. It was definitely a spoon, but the wood was a few shades darker, and the spoon itself was narrower, and a little longer. Still a good spoon, nonetheless.

She figured now, however, that since she'd already shifted, and that took energy, she'd just sit and wait. Maybe get some information in the process; who would've thought a spoon would be a good spy? Maybe...

He really should have made sure to let Persi know he had fudge. And not while working his way through the last of it to try to replenish some energy after a session with Cafas. Because then Persi saw and was sad and then he had to blurt out that he could make more and he was sorry for not sharing and -

yeah. That had been awkward. This was also awkward, though: he now had to spend time that he probably would have spent outside inside, in a kitchen, over a hot stove, attempting to explain to Persi just how one went about making fudge. The kitchen was empty at least, although someone had left out a couple of spoons on the counter. Glancing around, there was no sign of anyone, nor that anyone was on their way back, so someone probably just forgot to put them away. Aiden shrugged at them and just started rummaging around for a good pot.

"You want to pull out the sugar?" he asked Persi, hoping that things could be slightly less awkward if they were both doing things. Once he found the right pot and set it on the stove, he pulled his scrap of paper out of his pocket to check amounts and ingredients.

Jingle bells,  Thinking   jingle bells,  had  jingle  been  all the way!  really difficult  Oh what  recently.   fun  Or at least,   it is  thinking   to ride  about  in a  anything   one-horse o-  related  -pen  to  sleigh!  reality had been.  Jingle bells!

Persi had an entirely new level of   Jingle bells!  sympathy for the people he'd used his mutation on.

How had  Jingle all the way!  even gotten into his head  Oh  in the first place?  what fun  He hadn't heard it is,  he'd just seen fudge and  to ride in  then that made him think of Christmas  a one-   and the fudge his grand-   -horse open   -mother made, and then   sleigh!   it had been there.

It   Jingle  had at least started  bells, jingle bells,  slowly enough that he'd managed to hear Aiden's  jingle all  offer, and   the  answer,   way!  though not to be particularly awkward  Oh what  about it.  fun it is to ride, in a one-horse open sleigh!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!

And the random snowflakes were not helping.

Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!

Persi snapped out of the song at Aiden's question enough to try shaking it the rest of the way out. It didn't work, but talking gave him something to focus on other than the song. "Sure."  Jingle bells!   So did glancing around for the sugar.   Jingle bells!  "Uh... do you know where it is?"  Jingle all the way!

Paige had decided it was time to shift back and go grab some cocoa or something, but that was when she noticed that she wasn't alone. Wait...one of those kids was that brat she'd beaten the crap out of. And the other...well she couldn't remember but she felt like she'd seen him before. And may or may not have beaten the crap out of him. Eh, that kind of thing was hard to keep track of.

But for now, Paige decided the best thing to do would be to remain a wooden spoon. She didn't realize it before now, but with her mutation, she could make a really good spy...

Aiden was heading for the fridge for milk when he stopped to look back at Persi. "Oh, it should be in one of the cupboards." He tried to remember where he had found it before. It had taken him a bit to find it... oh! "It should be in that cupboard," he said, pointing. "Big bin. Need a couple cups of it." He pulled the milk out of the fridge and set it beside the stove. Cocoa... cocoa... He rummaged through a couple of the upper cupboards before he found it.

"Er, measuring stuff..." he muttered. That was... somewhere over here. He dug around until he found a couple of measuring cups that weren't enormous and added them to the pile beside the stove. "You want to get..." he paused to check the list, "two cups of sugar?" He popped the cocoa powder open and started carefully tapping some into the other measuring cup. He could probably get a spoon, but if he was careful it should be okay.

Well, that was very helpful. Jingle bells! Not really. Jingle bells! Persi turned to look at jingle all the cupboard, or at least the cupboards in the way! the general direction that Oh Aiden what fun had pointed. it is to ride, in a one-horse open sleigh!

Damn jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!

Persi shook his head and tried to focus back on the cupboards. Oh what fun They were above the counter, which probably meant it would be is to ride at the top of the cupboard, in a place where he couldn't one-horse open sleigh! reach. Opening a few cupboards confirmed that, so Jingle bells, Persi climbed jingle bells, onto the counter, jingle set the sugar on all the way! the counter, and dropped back Oh what fun down to the floor. it is to ride in a one-horse

And then he noticed he was humming open sleigh! Jingle Bells. jingle bells He stopped in favor of shaking his head again, growling under his breath, and going to get a measuring cup. jingle all the way!

There wasn't, of course, a measuring cup for two cups, Oh what fun and he wasn't sure if the sugar was needed it is immediately, to ride so instead he grabbed in a clear one-horse with markings for four open sleigh! cups, set it next to the sugar and Jingle grabbed a spoon to start dumping it in. bells, jingle bells! That meant jingling all the way! leaning over so his chin was on his arm on the counter, Oh which was sort of what fun an awkward position it is especially while trying to get sugar out to ride of the box it was in a one- (why did people keep storing sugar and flour in boxes, anyway? The corners were such a pain) -horse open but it put his eyes sleigh! level with the two cup line, so it would Jingle be more accurate. bells, jingle bells!

He was humming again. Jingle all the way! Persi glared at the sugar, Oh what fun and did not pay enough it is to attention to notice ride in that his internal hiss a one-horse made it out loud too. "Shut up, jingle bells." open sleigh! Jingle bells, jingle bells....

Persi at least did manage to be aware of groaning and hitting his head on the edge of the counter.

jingle all the way!

Persi was definitely acting weird. er. The tune was really out of place, but Aiden did his best to ignore it. If it got stuck in his head, he could overwrite it with something better. And Persi really seemed to be irritated. Ai glanced at him warily. He was doing this to try to make his roommate feel better... but if it was bothering him...

And then he was in the middle of trying to dump the cocoa powder into the pot when Persi spoke. His head shot around at the sound, and then almost immediately back to what he was doing as his hand jerked and spilled cocoa powder all over the stove. Aw man!

He dumped the remainder into the pot and started trying to brush the wasted stuff into a cupped hand so he could throw it out. He kept glancing at Persi, feeling a little like his entirely harmless roommate was about to start doing crazy dangerous things. Who knew what happened when people went insane? Not that Persi had ever really been sane to start with.

"Music stuck in your head?" he offered cautiously. Finding out if he had to watch for butcher knives suddenly appearing behind his back sounded like a good idea...

Persi also jumped at Aiden's question, Oh what fun though instead of spilling it is to cocoa powder he just ride in a jerked his head away one-horse open from the counter sleigh! he'd just banged it against to Jingle bells, jingle bells blink at Aiden. jingle all the way! "Um. Oh. Yeah. Prettymuch everything has been recently." Oh "Was I, uh...." what fun it is to ride Persi tried shaking the song out of his head again. "Was I singing, or something?" in a one-horse open sleigh!

Persi didn't dare Jingle bells try to jingle bells move and listen jingle all the way! at the same time, so Oh what fun he waited until Aiden had answered it is to ride before checking in a that the one-horse open sugar sleigh! was at the right level and bringing it over. Jingle bells, jingle bells....

Well, that explained a lot. Not why Persi was Persi, but why Persi had been even more.... whatever of late. Aiden forced his attention (mostly) back to cooking. "Not quite. You tried listening to it until you completely sick of it?" Offering potential solutions, even ones that had undoubtedly been tried, was supposed to be what people did in situations like this, right?

At any rate, the cocoa powder was dealt with, Persi provided the sugar, and Aiden followed up with the milk. "That's everything to start," he explained, flicking the appropriate element on. "You add butter and vanilla after it cooks, but that's all. Not much to it." Nope, the fun part, so to speak, was making sure the sugar actually heated up enough; quitting early meant oozy gunk instead of fudge. He supposed that you could forget about it and overcook it as well - more likely to have it boil over and make a really nasty mess, but this pot should be big enough - but that would just make harder fudge. That wasn't the end of the world.

He absently reached for the nearer of the two spoons and started mixing everything together. He probably should have stirred the dry ingredients together first, but everything would sort itself out while it cooked. It would be fine.

Jingle bells "I'm already sick of it." jingle bells "All that's worked so far is" jingling all the way! "getting something else stuck instead." Oh what fun "I should probably pick something though." it is to ride "Jingle bells isn't really good." in a one-horse open sleigh!

"Huh." Jingle bells! It took Persi a moment Jingle bells! to figure out what Aiden Jingle all had said the way! but it was surprisingly simple Oh what fun once he did. It is to ride, in a one-horse open sleigh! "After it cooks?" Most things Jingle bells cooled fairly quickly jingle bells to Persi's knowledge, jingle all especially while the way! they were being stirred. Oh what fun Which would it is to ride make the butter kind of in a one-horse difficult to stir in. open sleigh! Jingle bells! Unless it was really hot Jingle bells! to start out with, Jingle all the way! maybe?

Oh what fun Persi automatically reached when Aiden did, it is and picked up to ride the other spoon. in a one-horse open sleigh! It was not remotely necessary, Jingle bells! though, Jingle bells! so he started flipping it Jingle all the way! between his fingers instead.

Paige just stayed where she was as the two of them spoke back and forth. To be honest, she was quite amused. And she was learning so much about these two just by being a wooden spoon. Though that one kid seemed to have alot going on in his little brain but...In a sense, didn't everyone? But he seemed to have it really bad...

She was actually starting to feel bad for the two of them. She wondered if everyone she'd beat up were like this. With their own problems and--

"Eep!" she found herself yelping with surprise as she found herself being grabbed by the handle and lifted into the air, then dunked headfirst into the pot of fudge-mixture. Then...the dreaded stirring.

"Crap! ****! Damn! Ah!" she exclaimed with each 'lap' around the bowl. "I'm never going to get this **** out of my hair...God if I had a stomach I'd be getting motion right now..."

"You can borrow my mp3 player if that'd help," Aiden offered. A less annoyed roommate (or at least one oozing better music) was always an improvement. Who knew, maybe if he got Persi to like the right music he could even play some without headphones at some point and not have to race to shut it off if he thought Persi was about to show up.

"Yeah, after. The sugar has to get hot enough that it cools to the right consistency. It's weird but it is what it- did you hear that?" Aiden stopped talking but kept stirring as the sugar gradually dissolved. "It sounds like - it sounds like someone talking." Weird. He nudged the element temperature higher, but soon started to feel the heat washing up from it.

Oops.

Sweat broke out along his stirring arm even as he leaned the handle of the spoon against the side of the pot. "Mind stirring? I kind of forgot how hot stoves get." Backing off, he dried his arm on his back and tried to not go shove it in the fridge. It was just uncomfortable, not dangerous.

"Thanks." Jingle bells! Persi wasn't sure it would, Jingle bells! but if nothing else Jingle all having something that wasn't the way! Jingle Bells stuck in his head Oh what fun would be an improvement. it is to ride He had yet to actually figure out in a one-horse what music Aiden listened to open sleigh! though, so maybe Jingle bells! he should check that Jingle bells! first... Jingle but there had to be all the way! something less problematic. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!

"Er. No?" Jingle bells! "I'm not very good at, um." Jingle bells! "Paying attention to stuff now, though." Jingle all the way! "What were they saying?" Oh what fun Persi wasn't sure who it is to ride would be talking, in a apart from them, one-horse and that obviously wasn't open sleigh! what Aiden meant. Jingle bells! Who knew, Jingle bells! though; it was scifi Hogwarts after all. Jingle all the way! Maybe there was a frost-snake Oh what fun mutant traveling through the walls it is and Aiden could understand to ride frost-tongue language in a one-horse open sleigh! or something.

"Sure." Jingle bells! Persi probably should have Jingle bells! thought of that earlier. Jingle all Maybe he could blame the way! Jingle Bells distracting him. Oh what fun Which wasn't really it is an excuse, but... to ride whatever. in a one-horse It was distracting him open sleigh! from thinking about Jingle bells! it, too. Jingle bells! "How'd you learn to make fudge, anyway?" Jingle all the way! "No one ever let me."

Aiden glanced around, but there was no sign of anyone else in the kitchen. This was a school for mutants, though, so not seeing anyone probably didn't mean squat. "I can't tell. Did sound like someone, though." It seemed to be quieter now, but he wasn't sure if that was because he'd moved or not. Either way, he wasn't going to go back over to the stove to find out. Too hot.

Aiden paused in drying off the pricks of sweat from his arm before replying neutrally. "It was my brother's idea." Whether it was because Conri had wanted a more useful brother or because he figured it would be good for Aiden to be good at more that playing games and smearing graphite on paper, Aiden had never been one to argue with his brother. And it had turned out well; Conri loved fudge, but was so miserably horrible at most things related to cooking that his only chance to get it was to buy it. Aiden wasn't quite as keen, but he'd found himself wishing he had a chunk to nibble on rather frequently of late.

Jingle bells! "I dunno, then." Jingle bells! "I didn't hear anyone." Jingle all "But I can't really focus now." the way! Well if there was Oh what someone, fun apparently they weren't it is to ride too determined to talk to Aiden. in a one-horse Probably they'd just open walked past and sleigh! were gone now, or something. Jingle bells!

Jingle bells!

"Oh." Jingle all the way! Persi took over stirring, Oh what trying to mimic the speed Aiden fun it is had been using. to ride It was much safer to focus on that in a one-horse than family. open sligh! "Did you...." Jingle bells! "You got along with him, I guess?" Jingle bells!