Fifth Floor Common Room [evening]

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

Sookie had...kind of had a Day. Yes, with a capital D. And she was feeling helpless on top of exhausted -- she hadn't been sleeping well, on top of that Day-with-a-capital-D.

When she felt helpless, she did what she knew how to do: she cooked. She'd already decided she had to feed Karla, and that was of course going to get done if she had to throw the macaroni and cheese she was making (from scratch, thank you) at her friend. But it seemed wasteful, especially when it seemed like the vast majority of people were as much on edge as she was, and probably weren't eating well.

She dug out some fruit from the fridge, too, trying to keep things somewhat nutritional as she set the second batch of pasta to boil.

[common room is oooopen!]

Comments

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba entered the common room, reading through a book on folklore.

"It's rather worrying, isn't it?" she said, bookmarking her place. "This whole... whatever is going on. I don't like it, not one bit."

She'd just ease into the heavy conversation. Yeeeah.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"I'm havin' a ball with it," Sookie replied, a bit irritably, exhaling sharply as she stirred. "Sorry, that was uncalled for. I think we're all a bit on edge."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba paid it no mind, really. She was feeling much the same way. "I half wish this island was Karla's," she said. "She's mentioned being able to heal the land, and I think this island needs much of that, right now."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Kaeleer's got its own problems," Sookie said, shaking her head as she salted the water. "She can't heal any of it, though. The land ain't responding to her, and the illnesses aren't, and...I mean, if magic healing worked, everything would be fine, now."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba nodded. "Are you cooking for everyone?" she asked, realizing that 'talking shop' wasn't really going to go anywhere helpful for either of them. "If so, that's very kind. And smart."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

She smiled a little, shrugging. "Keeps me busy, you know? So it's selfish, in a way. I figure everyone's too busy to be eating right, anyway. At least, everyone I know kind of gravitates towards that tendency. Are you hungry? It's mac and cheese. Nothin' fancy, but I frankly don't have the brainpower for fancy right now."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"I think I'll have some of the fruit," Elphaba said, giving Sookie a kindly smile. "It's nice of you to offer, but unfortunately my diet excludes things such as cheese. I've been having a blasted terrible time getting an appetite ever since Monday, in any case."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Ditto," Sookie said, shaking her head. "Are you...vegan?" she added, completely baffled by the idea that there were people who didn't eat cheese.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba nodded. "It's a whole thing if you really want me to talk about it. I find most don't, and I suppose I can't blame them. I used to eat cheese and milk and even eggs back in Oz. But there's... differences, here."

[longislandiceme]

Bobby was worried, but at the same time relieved. This whole mess really was what Karla had originally thought, and not what he'd assumed it was. He'd spent the day handwavily fighting off creatures to let off steam, never letting them close enough to bite, because that was just how he dealt with crap.

He knew how Sookie dealt with crap too, and so after a quick shower headed almost immediately up to her floor and the common room, fully expecting to find her cooking or baking something.

"Knew I'd find you here," he murmured, planting a kiss on her cheek before grabbing a spoon and going right for that finished batch of pasta.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"I'm predictable," she said with a faint smile, reaching out with her free hand to smooth his hair. "How're you doing?"

And if she was looking him over for gray spots, could you blame her?

[longislandiceme]

"Fine," Bobby said offhandedly. Which... was true in the sense that he at least did not have any grey spots creeping over his skin. "Hungry." Which was par for the course for him on any given day, let alone one he'd spent fighting creepy crawlies.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"I wish I was," Sookie mused, frowning. "Today sucked. Dana Scully tried to drink my blood at the clinic earlier."

Some members of the Stackhouse-Drake union were less reticent to share their dangerous daytime activities than others, it seemed.

[longislandiceme]

"She what?" Bobby yelped. "She didn't actually succeed, right?" he checked, looking her over for signs of bite marks.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"No, I zapped her," she said, sounding guilty. "She was kinda...fading in and out. Sane one minute, gone the next. It's happening all over the island."

She raised a brow at him, and added, "But man, she couldn't've picked a sorer subject, huh?"

[longislandiceme]

"Not that I would've been any happier if she'd just tried to, say, bite a chunk out of your arm, but sheesh," Bobby grumbled.

"Is it bad I'm sort of- relieved it's not what I thought it was?" he asked.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"No," she said, moving to strain the pasta, and once it was in the collander, she'd turned around to thread her arms around his neck. She was kind of feeling clingy -- again, could you blame her? "No, 'cause selfishly, I'm glad, too. You're still at risk, and so is Emma, and so is everyone, but at least it's not hopeless."

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

Miley? Was oblivious. Really and truly oblivious, thanks, which was why it might be jarring that she bounced into the common room like the island was perfectly fine.

"Oooh, is that mac and cheese I smell?"

God, Miley, really?

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"If your nose ain't broken, it should be," Sookie answered, completely unable to match her enthusiasm, but she wasn't about to dampen Miley's spirits if she could help it.

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

"Well, you did brag about your Southern cooking," she reminded Sookie, waggling an eyebrow.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"I'm not sure mac and cheese is anything worth bragging about," Sookie admitted with a smile. "I'm not really up to snuff this week. This is more so no one starves."

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

"Oh."

That sounded... ominous.

"Say what? People aren't really starving, are they?"

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Not to my knowledge," she said with a small laugh. "No, it's just -- my boyfriend can't cook, and neither can my best friends, and most of the students here. I can. So when people are stressy, I cook. Calms me down, gives people something to eat that doesn't stain their fingers orange or something."

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

Oh. Well, that was a relief. Miley didn't know quite what to expect from this island anymore. Starving... probably wouldn't have surprised her.

"Gotcha," she said. Brightening, she offered, "Need any help cooking, then? I could totally help out. Like, if I fried up some bacon and mixed it into the mac and cheese -- so good."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Honey, if you wanna dress up my very basic cooking, be my guest," Sookie said, gesturing to the stove. "I'm all for adding bacon to anything."