TINA (
chocolatechipbadass) wrote in
nexus_crossings2018-05-29 03:38 pm
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Flavor Science is Afoot!
There's a wisp of smoke curling through the Plaza today.
Strange. Spring is supposed to be wet and fresh. A fire this early seems rather suspect, doesn't it? The closer to the source of the smoke the thicker it gets and the smell of burning food or something sweet soon fills the air. It's thick over by the vending machines where a young lady is seated on a picnic table watching with growing frustration as a box of something or other shoots plumes of smoke and fire into the sky.
Next to the flaming box is a plate of misshapen and charred man-hole covers, but they may have once been an attempt at a baked good. Tina eventually looks up from her mess and gives a lopsided shrug of her shoulders.
"Did y'all know non dairy creamer is flammable? Sheeeeyit how's a girl supposed to bake with something if it bursts into flames in the oven?"
Strange. Spring is supposed to be wet and fresh. A fire this early seems rather suspect, doesn't it? The closer to the source of the smoke the thicker it gets and the smell of burning food or something sweet soon fills the air. It's thick over by the vending machines where a young lady is seated on a picnic table watching with growing frustration as a box of something or other shoots plumes of smoke and fire into the sky.
Next to the flaming box is a plate of misshapen and charred man-hole covers, but they may have once been an attempt at a baked good. Tina eventually looks up from her mess and gives a lopsided shrug of her shoulders.
"Did y'all know non dairy creamer is flammable? Sheeeeyit how's a girl supposed to bake with something if it bursts into flames in the oven?"
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She pulls out a small fire exstuisher from her back pack just in case it's needed."Tina? are you alright? Do you require assitance?" She asks and then coughs a little that half a wry laugh.
"Um I don't believe I did but most things can become so at the right temperature." She replies warmly and in a reasonaing tone. She rubs her chin and tries to acess the situation. "hmm what sort or er brand is it? sometimes that's a factor." She gnetly asks and advises.
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"I dunno. They were all in th'box and as you can see..." Tina gestures to the giant plume of smoke and flame with a shrug. "They're not telling me their secrets now."
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"er, ya did take the ingrediants out of their containers first I hope?" She half asks, half states and Aims the kitchen extiusher toward the worst of the flames. "well let's see if I can't suss something out of things CSI StoryBrooke style hmm?" She half asks half states. Kids..liked that sort of stuff and magic right? She was pretty sure some did.
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Tina grins at the flames, watching them loom well over her head as they shoot up and plume foul burnt sugar smelling smoke into the air.
"I oughta use it in my explosives, yo. It's hella flammable."
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Her eye twitches a little, she was semi used to flameing firey issues what with having a few friends and foes/ enermies of the peace alike who could be considered Pryos. Oh lawd not the sugar. that just made her half sad. She did not like food getting wasted.
She spurts some flame retardent toward the base and source of the probelm.
"hmmh, perhaps...but only for emergencies." She half states half murmurs firmly but calmly. As she looks at her sideways. After all she was from a dangerous homeworld if she remembered correctly. The nexus..had less dangers er in certain areas of late.
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"Who knew baking was so hard, yo?"
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"Hmm yes it can be." She murmurs sympaticly, but perhaps she could show her a few easy recipes or ooh idea. "Um Tina did ya happen to notice any toy or camping stores around here recently?" She asks warmly and hopefully. Perhaps..an easy bake oven or something that's used in camping would be a good start for her. yes, and if she let her she'd love to teach her some handy tricks.
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Spoken like a true scavenger and malnourished child. Plus, most of the free treats were baked goods and Tina is all over those.
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She rubs her chin in thought.
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Tina hops up form her seat with the box of creamer and it's fire already forgotten and put out of Tina's head at the promise of an adventure.
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She wiggles slightly in a slightly excited canine manner. "So um in your option what's the best hmm smelling place in the plaza?" She asks half pondering. When in doubt follow yer nose.
I am sorry but I couldn't resist
"Oh! I think I know what you mean, follow me!"
Tina scampers on ahead with a gleeful expression on her face. Up and down the plaza streets--past cafes and food stalls and all manner of delicious smelling locales. Past all of it actually. Until they get to a mostly empty parking lot with a shoddy tent put up in one corner.
Fantastic Friedmont's Fireworks! reads the sign hanging over the tent. Tina squeals with glee an inhales deeply the scents of flash powder and primer.
"Ohmyguuuuuuuuh I could just sit here five-evah it smells like explosions it's so good I'm gonna diiiieeee." Or maybe that's the dextrose and other chemicals going into their lungs.
Re: I am sorry but I couldn't resist
Her nose twitches and she turns her head to sneeze a little. "achoo."
She snorts a little after pulling out a napkin from one of her pockets and softly and politely cleaning her nose a little. "umm, I would recommend not prolongingly doing so lass. " She murmurs softly. Eyeing things suspiciously and warily as she pulls up her bandanna again into place and pulls out a clean kerchief in a cool tie-dye pattern and tries to get closer to put it on Tina if she lets her.
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Are they gonna be actual bandits and rob the fireworks tent?!
"Daaaaayum you are cold, lady. I love it let's do it."
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"um do what?" She asks uncertain and confused. "these are so we can somewhat breathe. " she remarks wryly.
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Whined like only a real child can. Tina huffs slightly.
"You asked me to take you someplace that smelled good, Shawty. I'm jus' following orders."
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"Ah, yes." She hums and rubs her chin. "perhaps I should be a little clearer next time..." She half murmurs. { silly I should know better with some of the folks from back home.} She half thought. But then most kids went for sweet things and the like.
"I was thinking more food things but we don't have to do it in a particular order unless we're ice cream hunting." She murmurs with an easy going shrug. And gently tries to pat the little lasses shoulder in an 'It's alright, my fault. ' sort of gesture.
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So baked goods seem to be a yes and everything else gets an ambivalence at best. She's not so different from most kids in that respect at least.
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She still seems a bit uncertain about the products in the tent, perhaps at one of the other shops no that she has an idea of what she likes. "Right, shall we go hunting for some?" She asks warmly or at least the ingredients. hmmm, baking smells.
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After glancing over Tina to make sure she's looking healthy and unharmed, Reynard raises his brow at the burning box. "Did you make the oven?"
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Tina would know that voice and that walk anywhere. She leaps out of her seat and bounds across the Plaza to hug Reynard around the middle just like she always does. Bestest huggabutts like Reynard get the best hugs from her. It is a necessity.
"Damn son, I was beginning t'hink you weren't ever gonna show up again." It's gotten too warm for much of the clothes Reynard picked out for Tina before winter hit but she's wearing the wellington boots since they are Triple-A Plus Plus puddle stompers.
"The box isn't the oven, silly. It's the creamer."
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Reynard raises an eyebrow at the box and then turns it to Tina. "Did you put a box of creamer into an oven?"
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Yay hugs!! She'll pull away after a few moments but her grin is much different now than it was before. Less manic and more sincerely pleased to see someone. It's a special smile reserved for the people she's closest to. More reserved and softer.
"Naw, son. Lils told th'guy I get crumpets from not to give me any more on account of her getting a bug up her butt about what I eat and 'Tina you can't just eat crumpets how are you alive blah blah blah.'" Tina rolls her eyes at this. Food is food, yo.
"So I was like I don't need no handouts I'll just make my own cept th'recipe calls for warm milk and only rich bitches get that kinda thing on Pandora so Brick was like just add water to non dairy creamer and I was like HELL YES. And he brought me a box of th'stuff and I kinda forgot about it and left it out while I was working. Spare spark goes flying and...boom."
Tina shrugs. These things happen!
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Reynard opens his mouth and closes it again. Slowly he keeps himself from grimacing and manages to smile instead, patting Tina on the shoulder. "Maybe next time someone could help you make it. Especially trying to make it for the first time ever. That's not easy. That's..." He eyes the flaming box. "... flammable."
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"Well, I ain't got a proper oven either. I was in th'middle of welding one together outta scrap when I set off the box of creamer, yo."
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"And how did you set off the box of creamer?"
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Tina gives a half hearted shrug of her shoulders but for Reynard she at least also has the decency to look a wee bit guilty about all of this.
"Live an' learn amirite?"
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"As long as you learn." He ruffles her hair lightly. "If you make crumpets in my home, make sure Hazel or I are with you first, alright?" His hands settle on his hips and then shuffle into folded arms instead. "If you still want to live with me, I mean."
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Tina reaches up and takes Reynard's hand in both of hers to still him from the hair ruffles after only a couple of seconds. She will not be distracted from this so easily!
"Is she your....y'know. Little sum'thin sum'thin? Your main squeeze? Also, can she cook?"
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"Well- It's- No." Not that he hasn't thought about the potential. "No, she's… She's another spirit. Like me." He takes his hand from his neck and cringes. "And she'd kill me if she thought I was spreading rumours like that. So please don't say anything like that around her..."
Pleading done, he shifts awkwardly on the spot to hide a growing smile, accompanied by a shrug. "But she is a good cook."
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She's gotta have mad stones to make someone as powerful as Reynard scared, right?
"Dang, son. You gotta ball an' chain without any of the sugar to go with it. That's cold. I didn't know you were inta that kind of thing."
Her skills in the kitchen are enough to win back Tina's smile too. No matter how scary this Hazel person is if it means free good food Tina can deal with it. "Niiiiiiice. You got yerself another Siren buddy to cook for yas. Is she a fire user then?"
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It's simpler the way things are now. Not that 'sugar' wouldn't be nice. With Hazel and soon Tina in his home it's about to become decidedly more difficult to get any.
Tina's questions drags him out of his thoughts and he shakes his head. "No. She's an Autumn spirit. She's connected to all of Nature, but she likes air a lot." He can't help it, looking at Tina again gets him to grin and try to ruffle her hair again. "You've got enough fire in you for four spirits. I don't need anymore fiery people."
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Perhaps Tina's keeping her workshop in Pandora open for business and the occasional Bunkers and Badasses run might not be a terrible thing for Reynard after all. Though it still doesn't do anything about the whole Hazel problem. Someone Tina is decidedly curious about meeting now that Rey's building her up to be some kind of scary Air Siren.
"Air's seriously underrated. Breathing is pretty dope, yo." This itme she doesn't fight the hair ruffles but giggles and gives a squeal of faux annoyance at having it messed up. She loves the attention. It's something she's been starved of for most of her life.
"No bombs in the cabin. I know, I know. I'll go back to my place on Pandora to work on that kinda thing."
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Although he should do another check over to make sure there aren't any obvious
firehazards.no subject
Tina needles Reynard with her elbow and a hefty dose of eyebrow waggling but she's giggling all the same up at the spirit. She loves the idea of having fun with Reynard more often. Still, hearing her room is ready catches her a bit off guard. Time flies when you're having fun and she hasn't been preparing at all for this.
"Awesome! I gotta settle some stuff back at home on my end so if y'all can give me a few weeks to get in touch with my friends so no one thinks I'm dead or nothin' I should be all good to go." Her smile turns softer.
Tina gets up on tiptoe to hug Reynard again. He's pretty sure he hears a muffled 'thank you' thick with tears but by the time she pulls away she's got herself in order so no one will ever know.
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But then Tina's response takes him by surprise. It's always a little strange to see anything other than persistent optimism and enthusiasm about even the worst ideas. The sudden half of plans brings the slow, constant march of time to his attention. He can feel it moving at a crawl across his fingertips.
He breaks out of his thoughts with a smile, patting her back while she hugs him. "Of course. Take all the time you need. You can visit them all any time, as well. And if you tell me what your favourite colour is I can paint your room."
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Tina puffs out her cheeks childishly and stamps one foot down in a perfectly bratty show of rebellion but doesn't actually take any sass against Reynard or his suggestions. His actions of affection are much needed for the little girl from the wastelands.
"Yeah, bomb making gotta stay on Pandora. And I gotta run my Bunkers an' Badasses back home too. Oh, OOH! Make it pink can it be pink please ohmyguhhhhh~!"
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Pink? He should have expected that. It's popular these days for girls to like pink. Can he really blame her? It's convenient, especially if there's a lot of red in your life.
"Pink it is!" He declares with a laugh. "That will keep me busy while you put your affairs in order. I'll make sure it's perfect."
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She makes a better attempt at sounding stern when she asks, "Just what were you trying to cook up, kid?"
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Tina bounces off her seat as though it were a rubberized repelling grenade and hurries over to offer the Guardian and bot hugs for their trouble if they'll let her give them. It's some of her favoritest people ever in the Nexus! Also some of the least squishable, but that's alright.
Once greetings are given, Tina looks back over her shoulder than up at Blaze with a shrug.
"So Lils told th'delivery guy that I get my crumpets from not to give me no more on account of 'Tina you can't just eat crumpets how are you alive?' so I figured I'd learn how t'make my own. Cept th'recipe calls for warm milk and son we ain't got none of that shit. I figured if I added warm water to non dairy creamer it'd work well enough so Brick brought me a box of th'stuff. Cept I mighta forgot to put it away an a spark got into it and now...well...
She getures to the pluming box of fire and smoke.
"Non dairy creamer burns real well, yo. I oughta use it in bombs."
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"
It's good to see you, Tina.
" Ghost's quiet voice is muffled by the hug. Blaze, meanwhile, nods with approval as soon as Tina starts to explain. Not that she's an expert on feeding kids, but even she knows there are some basic nutritional requirements. Too bad trying to enforce them hasn't gone as intended..."It'd make the explosions smell worse, I'll say that. Good thing you got it out of your base." She gives Tina a weighty poke in the chest. "But that's what you get for trying to get around the rules, kid."
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"Awwww come onnnnnn don't be like that why you gotta take shots at me Shawty? I'm wounded, wounded madam. Naw I'm jus' kiddin' who knew baking would be so much trouble?"
She could never be upset at Blaze even if the bot isn't agreeing with her. Blaze and Ghost are on her short list of Very Important People.
"Look, y'all can argue rules over what I do an' don't eat when you get me a reliable source of food, alright? I eat what I find and what I can get."
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Tina's right though. Baking does appear to be more exciting than the Guardian would have thought.
"
Can't your supplier get anything else for you?
" Ghost is asking. "Humans can eat so many kinds of food. I think most of you enjoy that.
""You're missing out on half the fun of being human," Blaze admits. "There's whole worlds of stuff you could be trying right now, kid. And it can't all be that flammable. Probably."
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Cannibalism is pretty far down there on Tina's list of options for food.
"Though lately if I'm gettin' hungry I come here first and scavenge around. A lot of the coffee stands have free nearly fresh stuff just layin' around."
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"Better if we set you up with a new food supply," she says. "Food's not the main vector for trouble round here but you shouldn't have to rely on freebies."
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Though on Pandora, Tina can hazard more than a couple of guesses. None of them make the idea of eating someone any more appetizing to no one's surprise. Much better to come here and take advantage of the free food just laying around here. The Nexus is a pretty great thing if for no other reason than it helps a kid not go to bed hungry.
"I mean you can try to talk Lils outta being a spoilsport but I didn't get anywhere tryin' ta talk to her none. What do you guys eat anyhow? You never touch the food I serve at my tea parties."
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"
Sorry, Tina. I guess we're not as good at being guests as you are at being a hostess.
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Tina waves her hands back and forth as if trying to clear the air between them. She doesn't want two make two of her most favoritest people in the Nexus feel bad over her bein' a human that needs to eat and all that jazz.
"I was just curious, more'n anything. If there was an easier way to get food, yanno?"