Marowak Dojo ~ Living Quarters

[Namohysip]

"That sounds rough, dude." Ashwood tilted their head. "But... getting even a little back is a good sign, right? It really hasn't been that long since you got injured -- less than a day. And I bet once you get some memories back, it'll get easier from there. Once the ball gets rolling, the memories'll come faster and faster. You'll probably be better in no time at this rate!"

"Mm!" Owen perked up, nodding. "Yeah. I can't wait to find out about--you know, everything! I guess I'm looking forward to a lot of it, too, in a way. And Diyem isn't telling me anything, either, so I bet he just wants me to find out on my own..." Or he just didn't think it was worth going over, but Owen gave Diyem the benefit of the doubt.

He went back to checking on the boiling gummis.

 

[Jedi Shulk]

“How are the gummi's coming along?” Fay asked cook Owen.

“Also from what you read aloud earlier about making gummi's.“

"Place a packet of powder inside a gummi casing, fill with water and any other ingredient you might want, seal, boil, and enjoy..."

“I’m curious if there’s a Combee hive close by, because I want to make a honey gummi.”

 

[Namohysip]

"No honey here," Owen replied, "but it looks like the first gummis are ready!" He pulled out the first few with a pair of sticks, placing it on a plate to cool. "Anybody have ice moves or anything that can speed up the cooling? Instructions say it's fine to do that."

 

[TheGOAT]

"Alright, let's use both then! And we have to use empty gummi casing, so we actually don't need to split that gummi open," Cabot said. He grabbed the other ingredients they needed and laid them all out next to the bowl. "Okay, so I think we just fill the casing with powder and water and then just add pieces of the berries to it."

“We’ve got the powder and berries here. And water, hm? I wonder…”

If she was going to experiment with this new body’s advantages and limits, now was as good a time as any to feel them out. Astrid cupped her paws around her mouth and breathed into the casing, letting a small build-up of soft powder form.

She came up breathing a bit heavier than before. Her hunger had been amplified. The Powder Snow technique had done a number on her, even when condensed into barely more than a pawful’s worth.

“Ah, maybe that’ll work? It’ll be like a smoothie after all,” she giggled. “At least, until we boil it.”

"No honey here," Owen replied, "but it looks like the first gummis are ready!" He pulled out the first few with a pair of sticks, placing it on a plate to cool. "Anybody have ice moves or anything that can speed up the cooling? Instructions say it's fine to do that."

Speaking of which.

“I can blow Freeze Dry over them,” Astrid offered, her tails waving in anticipation. The succulent smell had already permeated the room, calling out to her taste buds. “I might be a little winded afterward, though…”

 

[Virgil134]

“Ah, maybe that’ll work? It’ll be like a smoothie after all,” she giggled. “At least, until we boil it.”

"Wouldn't it just turn into water once we start boiling it?" Cabot asked.

 

[Namohysip]

"That's probably the point," Owen said, inspecting the rest of the casings that were cooling. "Hmm... Yep! It looks like these are about ready! If anybody wants to try the Pecha one, that's the first one I made. I'm waiting on the Cheri..."

As more were prepared and passed out, Owen settled next to the pot with his tail in the beneath it. With the tremors stopped, he sighed and said, "It's been barely a day and it already feels like a lot happened... At least Magikarp stopped moving for now."

 

[Virgil134]

"Right..." Cabot began. "Well, lemme at least add the gummi powder to it."

As he began putting the powder into the casing he heard Owen speak up.

"Yeah, I hear you," the Cranidos replied. "Part of me feels kinda excited about it though... I mean we get to explore another world and the chance to do a lot good! It's not every day we get to go on an adventure like that."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste was pretty sure he couldn’t eat these gummies, and so, he began to lose interest. He turned to leave the dojo, hoping to catch this world’s night sky.

 

[TheGOAT]

After sprinkling pieces of Oran into the casing, Astrid ambled over to the ones that hadn’t quite cooled yet. For good measure, she held her paw to one of them, and—yowch! She flinched back; yeah, time for some refrigeration.

Cupping a paw around her mouth, she breathed dry, frosted air across the casings before trying again. And… there! That was more like it. They were by no means cold, but the sizzling had calmed to the point where they no longer looked dangerous to the skin on the roof of her mouth.

“These are ready as well!” she called in no particular direction. “I think.”

With that done, she made her way back over to Cabot, breathing a little heavier. If the first move she’d used had been a gut punch, then the second one had been an all-out pummeling to her stamina. For only a moment, the black spaceship’s previous ramblings made a lick of sense. She really was weak in this body.

“S-so,” she started, catching her breath. “How’s this one coming along?”

 

[Virgil134]

"I think it's going well! We just need to add some Watmel to it and then we should be ready to cook this one and make some more."

Cabot looked around as he was trying to think of a way to cut the berry into small enough pieces.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"You lads have fun with that. I've already gotten all the water I need," Cynthian said. He emptied a water jug into one of the large flower vases in the living quarters. He picked the one that had a multicolored trapezoid pattern on it. A shame there weren't any with floral patterns like the one he used back home.

He extended two vines from the base of his flowers and wrapped them twice around the vase, then he lugged it up with a huff.

"I'll... go find some soil to fill this with. See you around," Cynthian said, taking heavy steps towards the exit. "Heavy..."

 

[Virgil134]

"Alright, see you later Cynthian," Cabot said as he waved after the Roselia.

 

[TheGOAT]

"I think it's going well! We just need to add some Watmel to it and then we should be ready to cook this one and make some more."

Cabot looked around as he was trying to think of a way to cut the berry into small enough pieces.

Astrid followed his eyes with her own. Hmm…

They trailed over to Cabot’s head again. Unfortunately, she noticed right away that the spikes on the side were too blunt. Paired with a bowl, they’d be perfect for bartering and churning small foods if they weren’t attached to his head, but… such was life. Plan B, then.

“Hey, um.” Good grief, how did she word this? “…What about your skull? It looks like a pretty good berry-cracker.”

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot blinked for a moment as he began to realize what Astrid was asking of him exactly.

"E-Eh?! But then I'd get sticky berry juice all over my head!" the Cranidos protested.

 

[TheGOAT]

Cabot blinked for a moment as he began to realize what Astrid was asking of him exactly.

"E-Eh?! But then I'd get sticky berry juice all over my head!" the Cranidos protested.

Collateral damage, Mincinno would surely argue. But Mincinno wasn’t here, and all Astrid could do was rub the back of her neck and try not to muffle her words.

“Y-yeah, yeah that’s true.”

Solutions, solutions… any solutions?

“Maybe, uh…”

Astrid hadn’t brought any, sorry.

“Hmm…”

Licking it off was out of the question. There was no way Cabot’s tongue was that long, and she wasn’t about to volunteer herself either. Even Owen didn’t seem aloof enough to give that a try.

“Erm…”

They could use something to wipe it off? She’d seen some paper towels folded up by the food. But that wouldn’t really solve the discomfort… oh wait, duh!

She trotted over, grabbed a paper towel, and brought it back. “You can hold this on your forehead while you crack ‘em open. It’s not very thick, but it’ll keep the juice off of your skin—er, scales.” She tilted her head, reevaluating. “…Are your arms long enough for that? N-no offense or anything, I’m just wondering if it’d be comfortable.”

 

[Virgil134]

"I mean they're technically long enough, but..." Cabot trailed off as he tried to think of what the best way was to get around this. Even if he held onto the paper towel some of the berry juice would surely get onto him, and holding onto it wouldn't exactly be comfortable anyway. The Cranidos contemplated on what to do, when a sudden idea came to mind.

"Wait, what if you froze the berry? Then I could break it open without berry juice splattering everywhere."

 

[Namohysip]

"That could work," Owen agreed, poking at one of the other gummis for a temperature check. This one was still scalding, so, bare-handed, he placed it back on the cooling plate. "These need a little more time," he reported. "Y'know, I wonder what it would taste like if we put meat or something in one of these... A savory gummi."

 

[TheGOAT]

"I mean they're technically long enough, but..." Cabot trailed off as he tried to think of what the best way was to get around this. Even if he held onto the paper towel some of the berry juice would surely get onto him, and holding onto it wouldn't exactly be comfortable anyway. The Cranidos contemplated on what to do, when a sudden idea came to mind.

"Wait, what if you froze the berry? Then I could break it open without berry juice splattering everywhere."

Would that work? She’d have to freeze it dry and to the core, but that was this body’s specialty, wasn’t it? It couldn’t hurt to try.

“Alright!” she replied, grinning.

Holding the berry out in front of her, she did her best to ignore the lingering fatigue from earlier as another Freeze Dry was conjured. A tasteless chilling sensation filled her mouth, followed by a slight burn.

When finally satisfied (more or less) with the temperature it had reached, she released her breath and let the icy fragments settle around the berry, deep-freezing it. A few stray fragments nipped uncomfortably at her paw fur, but most of them hit their mark and left her holding a chilled, denser watmel berry.

She held it out to Cabot. “Teamwork!”

 

[windskull]

Originally, Nip had hung back in the square, debating whether to head to the dojo or to find somewhere quieter to sleep. But hunger and sleepiness, combined with the promise of warm shelter and food, drove him to make his way towards the dojo. He passed through the entrance, wandering around following the scent of food until he found the living space, which had been set up with comfortable-looking beds. The vulpix and cranidos from before were there, as well as Owen and a couple others. And they were... freezing some large berry? Huh, he wouldn't have thought of any of them as plant-eaters, except perhaps the cranidos.

"Have I, er, come to the right place for food?"

 

[Namohysip]

"You have," Owen called, waving the Sneasel over. "What kind of food would you like? We've got a lot of supplies here to last us a whole ten days if we needed! Though we probably won't need all that much..."