towerofanimus | (no subject)

Characters: Reno, open
Setting: Cafeteria kitchen, Workshop, Forest Floor
Format: Whichever
Summary: Wedding preps! Also, wedding jitters. Just the usual
Warnings:

Cafeteria

The kitchen was occupied today, though it was hard to tell because the figure was covered in flour. The ingredients for the carrot cakes the cafeteria served this month was everywhere, save for the actual carrots. A couple eggs were on the floor, having fallen and cracked. It was a total mess.

Reno was whipping the batter in a bowl furiously, getting it everywhere. He was going to master baking a cake even if it killed him. Elena was going to get the best damn cake ever, and that was that.

Then he remembered the frosting. How the hell was he going to get frosting?

With a thump, he set the bowl with the thin, runny batter and sat down in a chair. Defeated by cake batter. Figured.
----

Workshop

Here in the workshop, things were much the same- it looked like a disaster, only with ribbon and dried flowers instead of cake batter and floor. In the middle of it was the Turk, looking even more frustrated than he had during the cake.

Several small bunches of dried flowers falling out of ribbons sat nearby, and some flowers were even disintegrating, getting the petals everywhere.

Something mangled and depressing looking sat on a table across the way, like it had meant to be a center piece. Granted, he didn't have the best materials here, but he seemed rather... failtastic when it came to these sort of things.

---

Forest Island

It was this one that he wearily made his way to, nearly falling into some of the more unpleasant floors on his way up. It was a nice place to relax, and just wander around. With a huff, he picked up a stick and ran it along the trunks of trees as he walked around. He could go check on his still, but he had no reason to, there wasn't anything brewing, things weren't growing very well or anything.

The real reason he was here was the need to think. It was silent and sometimes he could forget he wasn't in a forest wandering around back home. He was far from ignorant of the things going on, though he wished he had been. Oh yes, he saw that network feed, and after all the stress he had gone through today, the idea was enough to make him want to question going through with it.

Two seconds from calling the whole thing off. Too many people were getting involved with it. People he didn't know and didn't trust. What was worse- the enemies he had here could get into it and ruin it. One had even threatened it already. They were right. Who could get married here?

It could have been nerves, or jitters or something, but thinking of Elena...

He was pretty sure he wouldn't have ever asked her if their world had never died. She was from the future, and they weren't even an item. What made him think it would work out, anyway? A moment like this, he really could use Rude's presence. He really missed his buddy and the quiet listening the big lug did whenever Reno needed to pop off words.

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At that, Tohko sighed. "Alright then..but at least let me help you clean up. You won't be able to try again if everything remains like this."

Tohko then looked at the batter and, thinking, carefully walked over to it, trying to avoid the eggs and the other small messes that had landed on the floor.

It didn't look terrible..it was a little thin, but it didn't look horrible.

"It should be alright. Just remember to add as many extra dry goods for as many extra wet goods you put it..it looks a bit too runny."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, but I'm kinda going on memory here." He didn't grumble about it, he got right to work cleaning things up, bending down to clean up the egg with a towel.

"I didn't find a recipe I liked in the library."

"Well, your memory isn't too bad then! Just try not to be so enthusiastic with breaking the eggs next time, and you should be alright.."

Tohko teased Reno a little bit as she moved to grab some paper towels and clean up a few more of the eggs. What a mess..

"Really? That's odd..there are a lot of cake recipes in the library. Why didn't you find one you liked?"

"Hey... I didn't break that many, it's just one'a those shadow monsters made a dash for my leg and I got tripped up. Suffered some causalities there."
But things like that happened often in the Tower. Reno wasn't the type to get angry over it, much.

"They weren't special enough. I'm going to make a real special cake for my girl."

And Tohko chuckled again hearing that. "Well, at least you weren't one of those casualties..but you're alright, right? No broken bones or anything like that?"

At the mention of a girlfriend, Tohko grinned as she cleaned up a few more eggs before throwing the paper towel away. "That's wonderful! I'm glad to hear that! Hopefully you'll be able to make a wonderful cake for her."

Tohko loved sweet stories, so having one happen around her, especially in this place, was great for her.

Snorting a small laugh, he shook his head. "It'll take more than eggs pelting me to break my bones. Got 'em broken more often than a guy should have. They're pretty strong."

Dumping the soggy egg streaked towel into a garbage can and wiped his hands off on the apron. "I'll probably die trying at this rate, heh."

Tohko smiled as she ripped out a few more paper towels, wetted them, and tried to clean up what flour she could off the floor.

"Well, while it's not good that you got your bones broken that much, it's good that you're a bit more durable than I am."

Having cleaned up some flour off one section of the floor, Tohko threw those paper towels away as she replied.

"Well, while that would make an interesting story, hopefully you won't have to die just for cake, even if it is one as important as this."

"Ah, it isn't life if it doesn't beat you around a bit, but I guess a cutie pie like you wouldn't know too much about that yet." That wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Having a nice life was just as good as having an exciting life. His was full of the exciting type.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure Shion'll save the day this time. The kid is pretty amazing."

Tohko kept smiling when Reno said that, but she did sigh.

"Well, life isn't life without some bitter things to match the sweet ones..but you're wrong with the fact that I don't know much about that. I've gotten beaten up a few times here, and you had to deal with a few things back home as well."

As proof, her right arm was in a sling, broken. Since it was useless, Tohko had been cleaning and ripping out paper towels with her left arm the whole time. Not that she had tried to draw too much attention to that fact. She was a little sick of having people warn her about Sephiroth and having them-maybe-swear vengeance on him.

That was something she wanted to take care of herself. She didn't want anyone else to worry about her.

"While I'm haven't met Shion, he must be something if he can help you out with this one. However, if there's any more help I can give, let me know."

She then started organizing the ingredients so that they weren't scattered all over the place. Cooking was easier when things were all together.

"Okay, you got a point there." He glanced at her arm. "But you're still pretty young. How'd that happen anyway? You fall down the stairs or something?"

Shion would get there in due course, but he really hoped he was as good as that mom of his. A baker's kid just might be the only way to save Reno's baking skills.

As she spoke, Tohko kept organizing. As much as she hated being in the candy event, her time spent as a crazy maid had helped her organizational skills with things that weren't books.

"Well, that's true..but sometimes, the youth suffer a bit more compared with the old, and sometimes the old suffer more. It depends upon what they're going through. And you don't have to worry about my arm! I got into a fight with someone, and it escalated. Don't worry though..it should be fine in a month or two."

Still, despite her assurances, he looked concerned. "Is it anyone I know? I could go talk to 'em for ya, make sure they don't do that again."

And he would, too. Force was a great way of keeping people in line sometimes, especially in a place like the Tower.

As she finished organizing, Tohko noticed that there were a few messes on the counter as well. As she ripped out more paper towels and wetted them, she sighed, but she didn't stop smiling.

"Well, I'm not sure if it is..but really, it's alright! I've given him a punishment already..and while he needs to actually work on it, I'll get on him about it when I see him again. Thank you though."

"Yeah, sure. If you need any help in that regard, don't hesitate to look me up."

It really bothered him these days, when kids got hurt in the Tower. Before Shion and Xion, he might not have looked twice, but... in this place that was all they had, each other, because the admins sure weren't looking out for them.

"Hey, Tohko, you don't have to do that, I'll clean it up before Shion shows up. Just siddown. Have a sandwich, made them earlier." Those were things he could actually make, even if they were fried egg sandwiches with carrots.
Simple sandwiches and sometimes soups were things he got on by. Yet he couldn't bake a cake without screwing it up. Go figure.

At that, Tohko smiled. It wasn't like she was planning on asking for Reno's help in the future, but the fact that he was extending it made her happy. She probably wouldn't take him up on the offer though. She didn't want to bother him with Sephiroth, especially since he was having some good luck in the Tower.

"Oh, don't worry, I will!"

She cleaned the counter as she spoke.

"And thanks..but I would like to help, even if I don't have to. If I managed to help you get this all cleaned up, you and Shiro could have lunch together!"