>>"It's fine. I should have known something was up with the gloves and the shades."

The way he reacted tripled the weight of the guilt on her shoulders. Kicking at the floor with her foot, she scratched the back of her head and turned her eyes to the waiting eggplant. "Perhaps I should explain... I have to wear glasses because my eyes have odd effects on people. Just as the gloves protect things from my touch, the sunglasses protect people from my eyes." Pursing her lips, she wondered if that was a better way of explaining it rather than just bluntly spouting that she could make people statues.

>>"I think I could find something, though... maybe, I could just give you a pair of dish-washing gloves? Those might be easier to chop vegetables in."

Dish washing gloves... Yellow, rubber, mom-reminiscent dish washing gloves. The laugh that spilled forth from her was rather hard to control, as was the rather unladylike like snort that followed. Andrea, who was rather mortified with herself, let her hand fly to her lips, covering her mouth as she turned wide eyes Aurums way. Her shoulder's continued to shake slightly, and as her laughter died off, she was able to drop the hand that was hiding her toothy grin. If she was to come clean about her powers, why not the other 'special' quirks about her as well? Another glance at the dish washing gloves caused her to giggle again.

"I think I will stick to my gloves, I never know what will be affected by my power..." She smiled, and slipped her glove back on, wiggling her fingers one last time to get them properly into place and comfortable. "Thank you though, for the offer." She turned back to the knife and cutting board before her, and finished off her portion of the eggplant. In the back of her mind, she worried slightly about if the slit in her glove would become a bother... But she was too happy at the moment to really pay it any mind.

"Now, where were we?"

>>"Perhaps I should explain... I have to wear glasses because my eyes have odd effects on people. Just as the gloves protect things from my touch, the sunglasses protect people from my eyes."

Andrea said. The way she'd reacted made Aurum feel slightly guilty. She seemed so downcast. He hadn't meant to make her feel that way. He should have gone with his gut feeling, and left it at that.

Mutations on her hands, and her eyes... must be rough, Aurum decided.

She needed gloves, so he fished around for some under the sink. When he came back up, she was laughing. Not just laughing, chortling. Maybe with an ounce of 'guffaw'? His eyes passed over the toothy grin as she let her hand dropped, and made the laughter subside.

Aurum scratched the back of his head sheepishly, uncertain how to react. He settled for a nervous grin.

>>"I think I will stick to my gloves, I never know what will be affected by my power..."

Andrea smiled at him. She thanked him for the offer.

Smiling again. Good.

"No problem." Aurum replied, feeling a bit less disquieted. "And don't worry. I won't judge. Lots of people have harsh mutations... now... let's go find that tape..." Aurum slipped off to find the tape while Andrea finished her portion of the chopping.

Where was it, again? He searched in a closet, opened some drawers, then found it. He sauntered back into the room, cloth tape held high.

>>"Now, where were we?"

"Here, we are." He held the tape out for her with a mock bow. He glanced up jokingly. "What's the next step in the recipe?"

>>"No problem."-"And don't worry. I won't judge. Lots of people have harsh mutations... now... let's go find that tape..."

She smiled, a true smile, and nodded at him. She didn't need to say anything back really, her appreciation for his words was clear on her face. She turned back to the food on the counter after he rushed off, and smiled down at the eggplant, poking at it with an undamaged finger before she sighed and wiped her hands on her apron. Grabbing the salt, she dusted the chunks lightly and gathered them into a pile on a paper towel. Around that same time Aurum cam back into the kitchen, sporting a roll of tape in hand. The bow made her giggle, and as she accepted the tape and tore her glove off once more, she returned to the task at hand. "Thank you Aurum." Through teeth clenched on a finger of her glove, she spoke as she delicately wrapped up her finger.

"The next step is to Salt the Eggplant and set them aside. It allows some of the moisture to be absorbed from them before cooking." She slipped her glove back on, bandage in place, and reached for the beef. "While the olive oil is heating up in that pan, we will be starting the sauce in this one..." She sidestepped around him, tossing the milk into the pan she had just pointed out. "We want to heat it up to just boiling, then remove it from the heat and let it sit until we add it in later." Wrinkling her nose, she fished out another pan from where he had gotten them and positioned it on his stove. "Go ahead and start on the meat and spices, they should get come about the same time as the eggplant if we time it right." Her fingers pointed to the recipe, still sitting on the counter nestled up against the wall.

Pulling together her own ingredients, she added them into her pan one by one, reciting the steps as she went as her mother had done for her the first time she had made the dish. She snatched up the whisk from the counter where she had left it, and began the tedious motion of beating the contents of the pan slowly.

A smile was enough. As Aurum sought off on his epic quest for tape, he knew she had appreciated his comment. That fueled the fire for the dramatic bow later. The dramatic bow that led to giggling. He'd given her the tape. The mission was a success.

Aurum nodded as she thanked him, and swung his attention towards the cooking that had gone on while he'd been fighting closet dragons. It looked like he still had a tiny bit of chopping to do. As she delivered her next line, he moved to quickly finish his job.

>>"The next step is to Salt the Eggplant and set them aside. It allows some of the moisture to be absorbed from them before cooking."

That sounded about right. Aurum moved his eggplant to the paper towels, and added a light application of salt.

>>"While the olive oil is heating up in that pan, we will be starting the sauce in this one..."

She slipped past him. He turned to look at her, and show his understanding. "Got it."

>>"We want to heat it up to just boiling, then remove it from the heat and let it sit until we add it in later."

>>"Go ahead and start on the meat and spices, they should get come about the same time as the eggplant if we time it right."

Aurum grabbed the recipe as she pointed it out. He glanced over the details. It all seemed straightforward enough. He moved to work on the meat and spices, doing everything the recipe said. Cinnamon, nutmeg, fines herbs and parsley went in when appropriate. Tomato sauce and... wine? He looked around. Did he still have some red wine? Aurum walked over to where he kept that sort of thing, and checked. Sure enough, he had enough for the recipe. He added it.

A short while later, he turned to Andrea.

"Well, I've done everything the recipe calls for on my part." He stated. Aurum swung his focus to the oven. "Think it's about time for the butter cake to come out, so we can put this in?" Time had passed, alright, and this moussaka took an hour to bake. They'd have time to talk over the cake, it seemed.

He walked over, and used potholders to pull the cake from the oven. Aurum set it safely tucked away on the counter to cool, then adjusted the heat slightly for the moussaka. Once that was done, he examined the cake.

" . . . Looks good." He commented. Did... did the cake usually look like that?

>>"Well, I've done everything the recipe calls for on my part."-"Think it's about time for the butter cake to come out, so we can put this in?"

Andrea glanced at him, arching her brows. Had that much time passed already? With a nod, she poured the hot milk into her mixture and whisked it until it was thick enough to bear the name of 'Sauce'. As she moved the sauce off of the burner, she peeked at the cake as Aurum pulled it from the oven, and arched her eyebrow further... it was awfully puffy looking....in a hard... dry sort of way. With a smile in his direction, she confirmed his statement. "It does indeed. I can't wait to try it."

Plucking the eggplants from the counter, she dropped them carefully into the awaiting oil and turned to pluck the baking dish from the counter. It took a few minutes for the salted eggplant to brown, and after she drained them and hastily dried them, she started layering the bottom of the dish with them. Slice by slice they were piled in, then the Meat mixture Aurum had prepared was piled on top, and another layer of eggplant followed. The last steps were to toss in the cheese and pour the sauce on over the top and sprinkle it with nutmeg, then it was into the oven with the whole concoction, and a timer needed to be set.

"Alright, all set." She turned, grinning, and eyed the cake some more.

Ready. The timer was set, and they were ready. The moussaka was in the oven, and they were ready. They were ready. To try. The cake.

"I'll set the table," Aurum said. He slipped over to a drawer, and gathered plates and silverware. A minute later, the table was set. Call it prolonging the inevitable. Call it setting the table. Call it what you will. Aurum poured himself another glass of water, and looked to Andrea. "Do you want anything else to drink with your cake?" Had she finished the soda she'd been drinking earlier? He couldn't remember. Aurum pulled out his chair, brought the cake over to the table, and sat down. The cake was probably fine.

Probably. In a puffy sort of way.

Aurum grabbed his fork and sword, and prepared to cut in. He looked to Andrea with a smile. "You can have the first slice."

One cut revealed gooey 'goodness?' Goodness. Aurum lifted the gooey butter cake onto a plate for her, and passed it across the table. It looked... 'yum?'

He waited on her reaction before he cut himself a slice.

>>"Do you want anything else to drink with your cake?"

Struck suddenly by the question, she swiveled about to find her forgotten drink. It was found, sitting and conspiring with the coffee table in the living room. Snatching it up, she took a sip and shed her dirty apron, leaving it next to her purse as she ushered herself back over to the table and sat. The butter cake was waiting... The gooey was waiting!

>>"You can have the first slice."

Her eyes narrowed and she accepted the plate, pursing her lips. It was awful fishy... and yet, customary to offer a guest the first slice. Her fingers wrapped around her fork. She raised it... let it sink slowly into the cake, and tore off a bite sized piece. It was raised her her lips... her tongue poke out to wet the dark green flesh before she opened her mouth... and chomped down on the bite. Instantly the cake sucked all of the moisture from her mouth and she fought back a cough. A quick sip of soda relieved the dryness.

"...It's...good..." Was it evident that she was fibbing?... She hoped not... because raining on your cook's parade was highly looked down upon. She must be polite... very, very polite. Another bite was separated from the chunk of cake, and she chewed it quietly.

Since when has cake been this chewy?

"Really?" He hoped that didn't sound as hesitant and disbelieving as he thought it did. Aurum cut himself a slice, speared a piece, and brought it to his mouth... and any moisture within instantly died of fright.

Aurum coughed.

"No. No, it really isn't." He thumped his chest. "Something here went horribly, horribly wrong... I'm ... sorry. This has never happened to me before." It was so awful. Dry, and gooey, yet at the same time, hard. And salty. Why wasn't it sweeter? He set his fork down.

How could this even have happened? Aurum's head bowed. He shook it disbelievingly. "I thought we followed the recipe..."

>>"No. No, it really isn't."-"Something here went horribly, horribly wrong... I'm ... sorry. This has never happened to me before."

Wincing visibly, Andrea set her fork down and forced her self to swallow the remaining cake in her mouth. It slithered down her throat before plopping into her stomach like a rock. Aurum's gloomy face made her shifted uncomfortably, and she tried to think back to what might have happened. The eggs went in, the sugar and everything else the recipe had said to add... perhaps-...? No. The oven wouldn't have played any part in befouling the cake... Perhaps-..?... No... It probably wasn't the way she mixed them. Maybe it was-...? She blinked and realization set in upon her.

Andrea flushed brown, deeper than she had previously, and shrank back into her chair. "...Um... where exactly do you keep your powdered sugar, Aurum?" She added a light, 'ha ha, it's the funniest thing...' tone to her voice and scratched at her cheek shamefully.

"Uh," Aurum pointed to the location that definitely was not where Andrea had grabbed 'powdered sugar'. He looked at her. Could she really have been the cause...? He didn't want to blame it all on her. She looked embarrassed enough. "Maybe, I... I did add some things while you weren't looking. I thought you were paying attention."

Whoops. Aurum laughed weakly. "Maybe it's funny...?"

>>"Uh.."

Not... what she wanted to hear.... but, the damage was already done she supposed. No harm in coming out with it. "That is definitely not where I got the 'sugar' from..."

>>"Maybe, I... I did add some things while you weren't looking. I thought you were paying attention."-"Maybe it's funny...?"

His laugh lifted a little of the guilt from her shoulders. It also didn't hurt that he had apperantly had a hand in felling the dessert. A laugh of her own echoed his, and she poked at the brick of puff cake. "I suppose we make decent cooks when separate... but work against each other when together?" Another laugh followed, and she sipped at her soda some more.

Aurum smirked. "I guess it's true what they say. 'Too many cooks spoil the broth.' We'll have to be more careful, next time..." Next time... "Gosh, I hope the moussaka turns out alright." Aurum laughed. Though, with that, he'd listened to her orders, and done exactly as she'd said. It couldn't possibly turn out awful like the cake... he... hoped.

And prayed.

Aurum sighed a contented sigh. "Heh. So, I guess we need to find something else to eat while we wait. Do you want me to show you how to make a frozen caramel latte?"

She hoped the Moussaka turned out alright as well... of all of that talking she had done about her grandmother's and mother's recipes and cooking instructions would go to waste... and she would look like a liar. No body want's to look like a liar.

"Frozen... latte?" It had the word caramel in it... she was game. And kind of excited. "Sure! and I promise before hand not to touch anything this time." The grin she shot him, well, more of a beam... She beamed at him and picked up her plate and soda. "Shall we deposit these in the sink first?" Her eyes shot over to the waiting dishes, mixing bowls and pans, and she cringed. Her fingers itched, truly itched, to wash them... but it was not her home.. deep breath, resist the temptation...

>>"Frozen... latte?"

"Mhmm." Aurum replied.

>>"Sure! and I promise before hand not to touch anything this time."

She grinned. Aurum gave a light laugh. "Okay. I'll do my best to teach you, without botching it all."

He took a long sip of his water, the corners of his mouth rising in a smirk as he washed the salty taste of the bad cake away. Yes, away... gone, bad cake. Bye bye.

>>"Shall we deposit these in the sink first?"

Andrea rose with her plate.

"Sure," Aurum replied. He paused. "Maybe we should do the dishes before things get out of hand? I think I could manage a little dish-washing while the coffee was put to brew."

He stood up, and took his cake-filled plate to the garbage to lovingly scrape it away. As the yellow cake flopped into the trash bin like glowing uranium, he cast a glance towards his espresso machine and grinder in the corner. The machine was black and innox, with a metallic sheen of professionalism fit for home-use. The grinder was like a blender, with a glass container up top, and a white base with black spots (just like a cow).

Maybe, I should show her how to make it using the good ol 'strong brew instead of the espresso machine, he mused. That was the way normal people made it. People that hadn't spent far too much money on expensive espresso machines (it was worth it).

He walked his plate over to the sink, then measured grounds into the coffee machine for a strong pot, and started her up.

Aurum turned back to Andrea with a smile. "It should be brewed up in a bit."

((OOC: Espresso Machine is Ascaso, Black and Inox ARC Espresso Machine. Coffee grinder is Ascaso, I-1D The Cow Doser Flat Burr Grinder. *Hugs the cow*))

>>"It should be brewed up in a bit."

By the time he turned around, she was already piling the cleaner dishes into the sink, yellow dish washing gloves on snug over her gloves. She blinked at him, leaning over a little to spy the machine he was using, before she pursed her lips and returned to filling the sink with hot water.

"I can not say I have ever used one of those before... are they terribly expensive to purchase?" Quirking an eyebrow up at him, she gathered the dishes that needed scraping and moved to the trash can. With a fork as her trusty weapon, she slayed the evil food particles that refused to leave. When her arm full of dishes was clean enough to satisfy her, she traversed back to the sink and plopped them gently into the water. Palming a sponge, she set to work on the first unruly dish.

"It might sound odd, but i rather miss washing dishes. I haven't had to clean nearly anything at all for at least a few months now..."