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+--- Thread: [G] [P] 744.03.27 | Early Bird Gets the Cake (/showthread.php?tid=5361)
744.03.27 | Early Bird Gets the Cake - Corin - 27.Mar.23
It wasn’t even dawn, yet, but nonetheless, it was time to get up and start the day. There were chores that needed doing; fires that needed stoking, rolls that needed baking, and a never ending mountain of dishes that needed washing. Such was the life of a kitchen drudge.
There were quite a few people in the Hold who looked down upon drudgery, but Corin was under the impression that it was a perfectly respectable occupation. Somebody needed to run the Lord’s household, after all, and although being a drudge wasn’t running anything, it was accomplishing the tasks that those running the household needed done. So, wasn’t that important? Somebody needed to do the actual work, and Corin was that somebody. At least he felt like he had a place in the world, however small that may be.
“Alright, enough lying there!” He gently whispered to himself, intending to coax his body out of bed. The boy sat up, slowly, with a yawning stretch. Peya was already up and in the kitchen, doing all the things it was that a Head Cook had to do. If she could get up early, so could he. He wouldn’t want to disappoint her, or anything, now would he?
“No, that wouldn’t do at all.” He whispered his response to himself, then swung his legs out of the bed and stood up.
Yawning again, the albino moved to pick out his clothes for the day — today, it was the blue shirt with minimal staining, and the brown slacks. Also with minimal staining. - and hurriedly began to dress in them. After that, Corin moved to the washbasin and washed his hands and face with the lavender soap he liked. Then it was time to go.
The walk up to the kitchen was brisk and uneventful; there were no people to pass him by on the way, nobody he had to force eye contact with (shudder!) and say hello to. However, though Igen itself seemed to still be sleepy, the kitchen was already bustling by the time he got there. He could see Peya, ordering the bakers around and plucking a wherry.
“Hello, Mama!” He approached the woman with affection, giving her a small hug from behind before looking for a broom to sweep up all those stray wherry feathers. He never got a chance to fetch, it, however, because as soon as she saw him, Peya was quick to assign him another task.
“Corin! Good, you’re up! I was just about to send someone for you…!” “Oh?” He squinted at her, curiously, a sense of unease coming over him. Had he slept in too late? Was he in trouble? “What’s the matter?” He asked, trying to sound innocent.
She laughed. “No, you’re not in trouble. I have a special task for you.”
Now he was still curious, but that nervous pit in his stomach instantly went away. “Oh?” He said, again, putting back the broom and joining Peya at her side. “Um, what do you want me to do?”
“It’s quite fun, actually. Lord Habraxel wants a cake.”
Corin couldn’t help but gasp with excitement. “A cake?!” He was getting giddy already. For once, Peya was giving him something fun to do. “And you want me to make it for him? Are you sure?” “The cake will actually be for Weyrleader K’dar,” she clarified, setting down the wherry for a moment and looking at him. “I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think you could do it. You’re good at cakes.”
The praise made him blush a little, but also smile a bit, too. It was good that Peya trusted him. “I won’t let you down!” He promised, although knowing that his cake would be leaving the Hold and going to the Weyr, as a gift to the Weyrleader, it made his heart flutter a bit.
“I know just what to make! Oh, this is so exciting…!” The albino mused, turning from his adoptive parent and heading towards the pantry. Chocolate cake! Everyone loved chocolate cake! And Corin had a secret ingredient that would really make the taste pop! Oh, this was going to be fun!
The boy grabbed an apron, put it on, and got to work immediately.
It didn’t take long for him to round up the ingredients — flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and of course, his secret ingredient: freshly brewed klah! - and it took him even less time to mix them together in the appropriate ways. Not that Corin was rushing this cake; a masterpiece took time and although he wasn’t going slow, he was being more careful than usual. K’dar was rumoured to be a late riser, so Corin knew that he had some time before the cake had to go. So, definitely no need to rush.
“Best not to make any mistakes, then, and do a good job.” He whispered to himself as he poured the batter into the pans, carefully, with the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth just a little as he concentrated on what he was doing. Next, it was in the oven with the pans!
While the cake was baking, Corin started to whip up the icing. Chocolate, of course! He also planned to top the cake with real chocolate shavings, too. But, of course, he was getting ahead of himself. The cake hadn’t even come out of the oven, yet.
When it did, Corin was pleased to find that the cake had risen evenly and perfectly. He let the cakes cool, then spread icing between the layers, on the top of, and around the sides of the cake. The albino then smoothed the icing on the top and the sides of the cake, so that it all looked uniform. Lastly, he added the chocolate fleurettes before it was time to add the chocolate shavings.
Almost done, the albino paused, squinting at his work to make certain that it was up to par before he added the shavings. He checked every angle, every fleurette. So far? Perfect! Oh, he was so glad that things were turning out. Corin took the bowl of chocolate shavings in one hand and then sprinkled them evenly over the top of the cake with the other.
Finally finished, the boy stepped away from his masterpiece, admiring it while he wiped his hands on his apron. “That’ll do it!” He exclaimed, all smiles and over the moon that he had finished the cake without issue.
Now, just to get a box.
The albino started to turn around, towards the pantry, to pick up such a thing. But it could have been because he was going too fast, or maybe he just wasn’t looking hard enough (or both!), but Corin, instead of gracefully clamouring into the pantry as he imagined he would, gracelessly smashed himself into someone who had been standing behind him.
Corin was instantly mortified. Going beet red, the boy looked up at the person, to find somebody that he didn’t know looking back at him. Doubly embarrassed, Corin looked down at his feet and scratched at the back of his head.
“I-I”m, um, so, SO sorry! I didn’t, uh… I didn’t see you standing there.” The albino glanced up again, then quickly back down at his toes, still blushing madly. “A-are you, um…alright? I didn’t hurt you…?”