Errand Open RPG+ Meringue and Marzipan

Noah usually didn't do much to contribute house points to his house, he didn't really care as much about the whole house cup thing, it felt like a pointless competition. But he did realise it was sort of his responsibility as a student of the school to do things for his house, he didn't care much for things like that before but he did eventually begin to feel like he should be helping out too, after seeing how much everyone else tried. And maybe he really just should try something different for no other reason too, just to see how thing turn out?

And that was why he was on his way to the great hall, rather clueless about how exactly he was planning on doing things. He knew what the errand was about but he wasn't exactly sure what to do, he didn't really know much about baking. Actually, he knew nothing about baking, he couldn't name a basic kitchen thing, he couldn't even think of what he probably didn't know about. The more he walked, the more he felt like he should maybe wait till a better errand popped up. But then again, was Noah really good at anything else besides reading books and... well yeah that was about it, so he didn't have a lot of chance to shine. He just had to learn something new.

He took a deep breath, convincing himself this was nothing more than a fun learning experience and he shouldn't be so afraid of trying things like this out and opened the door to the great hall and walked in. It was already kind of overwhelming, there were way too many people in there, who all seemed to know what they were doing too, which wasn't any more comforting to him.

Right, find someone to pair up with and try to just help out as much as he could and learn like that; that was his aim. He walked through the groups of people, searching for people working alone who might need his help, though most of them were working in pairs, why did everyone have friends? It was rather annoying.

He saw a few people working alone but they all were kind of intimidating to approach, he knew perfectly well he couldn't be much help and he didn't want to go to someone who would get angry at him when they found out about his severe lack of expertise.

He realised he was just walking around, not approaching anyone and sighed, he just had to pick someone and go for it. He convinced himself things coulnd't be too bad and walked up to the first person he could find, who didn't look that intimidating, fortunately. He observed her for a few seconds, she seemed to be having a lot of fun doing it. He watched till he realised she had actually finished with her cupcakes. He wondered if he should approach her at all? Wouldn't hurt to try...

He walked up to her as she was feasting her eyes on her brilliant creation, though Noah had no idea how impressive exactly the cupcakes were. They did look edible so maybe that was good, these were just kids trying to make food so that was an impressive feat in itself.

He took a deep breath, he needed to sound like he knew what he was doing here. "Hello, would you happen to need some help?" He asked, trying not to sound too nervous or awkard, though he wasn't sure how well he did, his voice was kinda shaky but not too much. He wasn't exactly the shy, nervous type anyway. He prevented that from happening by never interacting with anyone unless he had a strong reason to.

Errand Set Up By: @Griseldis Edelhardt

Interactions: @Noah Page  

Ana was still admiring her work when another student approached her. It was a boy, taller than her - almost everyone was taller than her, though - a second year, maybe? Judging by the green lining of the student's robes, he was a Slytherin. Not exactly Ana's favourite house. Most of the Slytherins she had met were arrogant, ignorant and rude. But, after all, the Ravenclaw had also met Ruby and Nico, both Slytherin Prefects, who had become like mentors to her. And the boy in front of her certainly didn't seem like the stereotypical Slytherin. His voice was shaking a little, despite his attempts to disguise how nervous he was, his body posture was kind of awkward, as if he wasn't sure how to act. He seemed sort of nice, Ana thought. 
"Of course you can help if you want to!", she said cheerfully, a smile spreading across her face. "I'm Ana. So, what would you like to do?" The first-year scrutinized him a second time, he was looking at the cupcakes she'd just decorated, face blank and uncertain. The Slytherin didn't seem comfortable with this environment; Ana figured that he didn't have much experience with baking. Honest as always, this was what she asked him about. "You don't know much about decorating food, do you? Correct me if I'm wrong - maybe I'm just underestimating you!" She laughed, it was a warm, friendly sound. "Don't worry, I could teach you something if that's what you want." The excitement she felt at the prospect of being able to pass her extensive knowledge on to someone else was clearly visible in the girl's dark eyes. She paused for a minute or so, giving the Slytherin time to answer and going through the various options that popped up in her head. What would be most useful for him to learn? What would he have fun teaching?
Her gaze fell on the freshly decorated Easter cupcakes and the remnants of buttercream in her bowl. Buttercream was pretty easy to make, many dessert decorations were based on it, and the Italian version was absolutely delicious. Ana turned to her dessert, pointing at the muffins with her hand. "What I've been decorating here are cupcakes designed to resemble small bird's nests with Easter eggs inside. I stirred up an Italian meringue buttercream - that's the best type of buttercream, take a mental note of that! It's delicious! As you can see, I added some green and blue food colouring to give it this mint green hue. Then I used it to decorate the eggs and the cupcakes and flicked some drops of molten chocolate on there so that it would resemble an eggshell. A bunch of chocolate sprinkles make up the "nest", as you can see." 
Ana's cheeks were glowing, a sparkle had appeared in her eyes. Apparently, the Ravenclaw had just discovered a passion for teaching... "So, would you like me to teach you how to make something like that?", she asked, silently pleading that the second year would answer "yes". 

Word Count: 524 words
Total Word Count: 1927 words

Interacting with @Ana Fox and @Noah Page
Mentions @Wren Caster

Rarely ever was there a time that Evelynn would turn down the opportunity to assist around the school when a prefect announced a request. The rewards, although perhaps they might seem paltry to some, were very alluring to the red head. The chocolate frogs in particular always drew her acute attention. Ever since receiving her first one in the Gryffindor common room when she had first been acquainted with Vanes and D'Spacito and a handful of others, she'd gained a certain taste for the collection of the cards. It wasn't even so much the act of collecting them or the idea of someday possessing a coveted and complete set — although that certainly was a draw as well — it was the fact that each card had some unique bits of information on them. And sometimes, they seemed almost unique in the information, for she often had difficulty tracing down any other sources to verify or discredit their summaries.

Even were it not for the rewards of chocolate frogs and jingling coins, the young Gryffindor would find her path leading to that destination. Despite denying any sort of superiority as a student of red and gold, she had developed a sense of loyalty to her House. Perhaps it was because of her position on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team; or perhaps she simply felt the need to exemplify the preaching she had delivered to one Aurelius so early in the school year. Regardless, she always aimed to do her part to see those ruby-like grains of sand trickle down and fill the Gryffindor hourglass. As a result, on this day, she had made her way to the Great Hall along with so many others upon Edelhardt's preparatory instructions to carry out their assignment.

Unfortunately… Evelynn, for once, was somewhat at a loss of what to do. Baking was not her forte. If anything, her kitchen endeavours tended to centre around cooking. All around her students flocked to the various stations and supplies, many banding together to tackle the assignment en mass. She recognized Greer and Hill working to pipe icing onto some cupcakes. Elsewhere, Collins and Larkston had amassed a collection of sugar cookies to be decorated. Around another table sat Vanes, Anderson, and a few others she only vaguely recognised from class. She had begun to wander in their direction when Caster greeted them and joined, followed shortly by D'Spacito. Evelynn's gaze lingered, slightly hardened in their direction, all desire to request to join fading in an instant. Her recovery (mostly emotional) from her last real encounter with Caster had been a slow one, and she didn't relish inviting any confrontations in front of so many witnesses.

Blinking, she directed her gaze elsewhere, trying to ignore the hollow feeling in her stomach that only seemed to grow the longer she stood directionless. Group after group, student after student, Evelynn's scrutinising eyes panned over them all, trying to find anyone in the crowd that she could gravitate towards. "Do you even have any friends?" The memory of the words rose unbidden to the forefront of Evelynn's mind, and just as suddenly, it felt as though a snake slithered its way up to coil itself about her neck. Constricting. Cutting the air and making it hard to breathe. Lips parted in an effort to steady her breathing, clear her mind, and abate the tension growing uncomfortably in her core.

As though to self-preserve and counteract the emotions she refused to acknowledge, anger swelled within her, the smoke of its flame filling the empty void and transforming her lost expression to one of determination. "Tch.." she breathed in annoyance, shoulders rising and falling just a bit more heavily than they had any right to be given the relative calm of the surrounding situation. The high pitch squawk of a House Elf's voice stole Evelynn's attention then, directing her exactly away from the source of her ire and onto a peculiar interaction. Pensive steps carried her towards a girl from her year — Ravenclaw if she recalled correctly — who was in the midst of providing rather specific directions to the small aide.

And then she watched, captivated by the girl's obvious enthusiasm and attention to detail. It was something of which Evelynn never tired; the observation of an artist at work. There was something to be said of the heart infused into creation, something that just couldn't be replicated in academia. It seemed she wasn't the only one who had fallen under her spell. Not long after she had finished than another boy, who Evelynn had vaguely noticed standing nearby, approached to offer help. The response was overwhelmingly welcoming. Almost pleading in the way that she inquired whether he wished for her to teach him how to replicate what she had done. Pushing off from where she leaned, the lioness made her decision.

"If you've room for a second pupil," Evelynn called out, her voiced raised only just loud enough to carry ahead of her towards the pair as she stalked lithely forward to join them, the skirt of their school uniform swaying at her knees, "I'd like to learn as well. They're quite clever, your cupcakes." Gray eyes dipped towards the culinary work, near enough now to gain a better appreciation for their construction. "I like how you've made the nests. I imagine you could do something similar with roasted coconut shavings to give a straw-like appearance as well," she reflected, thinking on how she could adapt the foundational design in her own direction.

"I'm Evelynn, by the way," she added, lifting her gaze back to shift between that of Ana's and Noah's. "Evelynn Decipio. I hope you don't mind my intrusion?"

She let the question hang in the air, a crooked smile forming on her lips. Already the brief stint of frozen breathlessness and the surge of annoyance were long forgotten. Mere blips on the radar that had faded to nothing of significance. Perhaps, if she felt so inclined, she might reflect on them later once holed away in the safety of solitude, but now, she had more pressing matters to attend. This matter of addressing a certain something that was apparently lacking.

Word Count: 1,021 | Errand Completion: Complete

It was almost hard to believe that the girl really was a Ravenclaw. Someone who happened to have so much fun at baking and sounded so enthusiastic in her reply to his question even though he expected her to be somewhat... annoyed that someone decided to just show up out of nowhere to try and join in. Maybe he really didn't understand others as much as he thought he did...

He gave her an appreciative nod, "My name is Noah," he replied as he looked back at the cupcakes, wondering how exactly he was going to reply to what he wanted to do when he had no idea what he possibly could do there. Fortunately for him, the girl didn't seem afraid of pointing out his obvious lack of knowledge on what exactly he was getting himself into. He sighed, at least it wasn't as embarrassing as he had imagined it to be, "I don't know much about baking, honestly." He said, deciding it wouldn't be of any use to try and hide it, plus she would help him out and he surely needed that. "That would help a lot."

Noah wasn't really sure if she was even awaiting his reply, she seemed to have drifted off as soon as she offered to help him, probably thinking about where to start. He didn't really know what to say either but her eyes fell on her newest creation and then shes started talking about them. Although Noah didn't really understand everything she said, he tried his best to keep up with what she was saying.

When she finished, she turned her face to him and it was sort of scary how much energy was radiating from her, Noah for one, wasn't accustomed to things like that. He managed to conjure a weak smile and nodded, "Sure, I wouldn't know where to start anyway."

And just as he said that, another girl walked up to them, a Gryffindor. Apparently, she wanted to join in too. Although she did seem to know what she was talking about and was able to analyze the cupcake. He didn't quite understand how people could judge things like that by looking at them, he always assumed the taste was the only thing that mattered when it came to food, and he didn't even care much for taste.

"Noah Page." He replied, with a short bow of his head, although he wasn't sure if he could really say if she was intruding or not because quite frankly, so was he. He stayed quiet and let Ana decide that.

@Ana Fox @Noah Page @Evelynn Decipio

Cassie is lounging in Slytherin Common Room when some of her dorm mates, talking animatedly among themselves about the Errand. "There's an Errand that a Gryffindor Prefect sets up in the Great Hall, would you like to check it out?"Said a girl to her friends. "What kind?"The other one said. "Meringue and Marzipan, you in?"Ask the first girl that spoke up. The other one didn't answer but she can hears a sets of footsteps got out from their dorm.

At the word of Meringue, Cassie ears perked up. She always want to make one but never had the courage to do so. Sure she's an excellent Cook - beside her mom - in the Ironwoods household but for her baking skills, not so much. Cassie contemplated whether she checks it out or not. After some moments of contemplation, she decides she has nothing better to do and nothing to loose. Cassie get up from her position and follow the other girls conversation.

She walks up from Slytherin dungeon and into the Great Hall. Upon entering the Hall, she sees a lot of exciting students that participate on the activities. Cassie walks further. Some work alone with this errand, some work in groups. It's nerve wrecking, really. Since Cassie hasn't have a single friends upon she arrived at this school. She can see the flocks of student knows who is who. Her steps was stopped by the House Elf. The House Elf hold her wrist. Their fingers quite bony and cold.

"What can I do for you, miss?"Said the House Elf. The house Elf, look at the tie that Cassie wore. It green and silver under the school uniform vest issued. "What's going on?"Cassie inquire. "Making some errand"The house Elf told Cassie in monotone voice. Cassie can sense the House Elf doesn't like her or perhaps it just the house that she's in. "I know that"Responds Cassie coldly and smartly. "I mean what sort?"Cassie questions.

"What I heard from the exciting students in here; you can decorating cookies, cupcakes, mini cake and making little marzipan decoration. Now, what do you need, miss?"The house Elf ask again. "Do you know what Oreo is?"Cassie questions the house Elf. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with those. What is it?"Requested the House Elf.

"It's a cookie. They have two black cookies while the center of it, is white cream"Cassie explains. The house Elf seems confuse but nodded anyway. "Could you buy it for me? 2 packs of it and make it into butter cream, just half of it and for the rest of the cookies, when you done bring it to me. Thanks"Cassie told the House Elf.

Cassie decided that today she'll try to decorate cupcakes, even though she never done it before. Cassie walking by students who have icing on their faces and chuckles to herself. She still looking for someone or a group that willing to add her into theirs. Finally Cassie found one. There stood proudly admiring her works a black curly hair Ravenclaw, beside her is a confuse but willing to learn Slytherin boy that older than her and the last one is a red head Gryffindor.

Thanks Merlin for this generation. No more prejudice that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin can't be in the same space or perhaps this is just one of those occasions. Cassie said to herself. Cassie walks toward them. "Mind if I join you guys?"Cassie enquires. The two of them seems occupied with the task at hands. Before any of them can respond to her question, the House Elf brings the things she asks earlier.

"This is what you need me to do, miss"Stated the House Elf. "Thank you"Cassie smiles to the House Elf but seems the House Elf just hated the house she's in. From the looks of the icing that the House Elf gives her, it should be enough for a dozen of it.

Cassie then grab 12 chocolate cupcakes beside the vanilla ones. Cassie lines up the chocolate cupcakes, she saw how beautiful and inviting the cupcakes that the Ravenclaw girl had made. After Cassie lines up the chocolate cupcakes and rip open the untouched Oreo cookies package, she carefully put the icing into the piping bag. She tests the water by just fill it half of the piping bag.

Piping bag is Cassie enemy, since she doesn't know how to use it. But she try to find away. She experimentally twist the piping bag until it's hard enough to stop the icing that come out from the other end. Cassie pick up the piping bag that have star-shape nozzle and carefully start to decorate the cupcakes.

The first cupcake she decorate is a mess and she hate how that look. She tried again this time her hand is shaking. I never get this right, Cassie seems frustrated. Cassie huffed out and try again. Third is the charm or what the old people saying, said Cassie internally. This time Cassie prepares herself. She suck much needed breathe and relax her hands.

You can do it, Cash. Make your mom proud, she's having a conversation with herself. She make a smalle hole in the center and slowly fill the cupcakes with the icing and top the cupcakes with the icing too. The third one can passed as edible since it was better than the previous ones. So she tried for the fourth, fifth, sixth. When the cream about half way end, she fills it up again. This time she decorate the rest of the remaining cupcakes. Her hand aches and a bit shaking. Push through Cash, you almost there. Don't give up now.

There a sweat forming on her forehead, maybe it's because the pressure she's put herself into and how hard she's concentrate. Before the sweat could drop down and Merlin forbid fall into the cupcakes, she swipes it with the sleeve of her uniform since her hands dirty from the icing. Cassie can feels the icing is on her cheeks but she let it be for now, she can washed it away after her cupcakes done.

Cassie hands start to shake again. Steady! Cassie demand her hands. After the last cupcakes she decorate it, she put the pieces of Oreo cookies on top of it. Cassie just take the good ones in her opinion. She admires the first and last cupcakes she ever made. Never again. That is much harder than it look. Cassie huffed and she sat down on the long bench.

Cassie looks at the Ravenclaw cupcakes, "I guess you good at this thing, huh? That's look incredible"Cassie throws a compliment towards the Ravenclaw girl and smiles.

Word Count : 1,126 | Errand Completion : Complete

Errand Set Up By: @Griseldis Edelhardt

Interactions: @Noah Page  @Evelynn Decipio

Ana was beaming. The Slytherin actually wanted to learn from her! Of course, the weak little smile on his face wasn't overly enthusiastic. Ana blamed it on his lack of knowledge - surely he would become as excited and euphoric as she was as soon as he learnt about buttercream. 
Another girl approached. Ana shifted slightly to see the lining of her robes and caught a glimpse of a crimson and yellow pattern. The badge on the girl's chest, depicting a lion, confirmed Ana's assumption that she was a Gryffindor. Ana smiled to herself - at this rate, they'd have one student from every house soon. 
"If you've room for a second pupil, I'd like to learn as well." Ana was delighted. "Of course! I don't mind at all. It's great that you're interested!", the Ravenclaw exclaimed, her voice a notch higher than usual, the excitement clearly audible. "They're quite clever, your cupcakes.", the Gryffindor stated. "I like how you've made the nests. I imagine you could do something similar with roasted coconut shavings to give a straw-like appearance as well..." 
Ana nodded, failing spectacularly at hiding her euphory. She didn't mind the boy - his name was Noah, wasn't it? - he seemed friendly despite his shyness, and he wanted to learn. But whereas he was completely at loss right now, apparently not knowing a thing about baking, the Gryffindor appreciated her cupcakes and brought in own ideas. "You're creative, I like that! We can try it on this batch." She jerked her chin towards a second tray of cupcakes. "I'm a huge chocolate fan, and I thought those sprinkles would go well with the chocolate dough. But-" She pursed her lips and closed her eyes, trying to visualize the girl's suggestion in her mind, imagining what it would taste like. "Yup, coconut shavings could be delicious with the cupcakes and the buttercream! Let's try it out..." 
"I'm Evelynn, by the way", the Gryffindor introduced herself. "Evelynn Decipio. I hope you don't mind my intrusion?" "Not at all", Ana assured her once more with a broad smile, extending her hand for the Evelynn to shake it. 
As Ana looked around, searching for the house elf who had brought her the ingredients earlier - gosh, it was difficult to tell those creatures apart, they all had long ears, a small, frail body, brownish-green skin and huge eyeballs - she noticed a girl standing nearby, a Slytherin who regarded the cupcakes with great interest. "I guess you're really good at this thing, huh? That looks incredible." Ana blushed with pleasure. "Thanks!" She bent down to scrutinize the Slytherin's dessert - she, too, had decorated a number of cupcakes. 
Ana pointed to the dark brown biscuits, a layer of white cream in the middle, which the girl had stuck on top of the cream-covered cupcakes. "Are those Oreos?" She moved closer, tilting her head slightly. They were indeed. Ana wasn't a big fan of Oreos - she preferred homemade biscuits - but the cupcakes looked great, definitely a feast for the eye. Someone who liked Oreos would definitely find those delicious. "Your cupcakes look great too! Are you finished or do you want to make more? If you're done with those, maybe you would like to join us?" 
As she waited for the Slytherin to reply, Ana turned to the other students and commenced her "lesson". "As you can see, one of these cupcakes' most important components - apart from the cupcake dough, of course-", here she couldn't resist a little laugh, "is the buttercream. Personally, I always prefer Italian meringue buttercream! Of all the recipes I know, this is the one that gets us the most silky smooth and stable cream, and it's not overly sweet either - like American buttercream." She shuddered a little - she relished sugar and sweet things, but it was important to know the limit. "For the buttercream, you need a cup of granulated sugar, 60 millilitres of water, five large eggs, some salt, real vanilla extract and a pound of unsalted butter. You'd also need food colouring in most-" Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something scurrying by, whipped around and tapped the house-elf's shoulder. "You were the one who brought me my ingredients earlier, right? Could you get me the same things a second time? I want to make a second batch." The elf nodded and hurried on. Ana, in the meantime, turned back to her little audience, smiling. "Any questions while we wait?" 

Word Count: 779
Total Word Count: 2706 

Interact : @Ana Fox

Word Counts : 540 
Total Word Counts : 1,126 + 540 = 1,666