3rd Floor Common Room, Friday Evening

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Pie.

Everything in the fridge was pie. Elsa had come into the common room looking for tea, but she'd been in for a bit of a shock when she'd opened the refrigerator for some milk, and had been forced into skipping backward a few steps while three apple pies and a banana cream tumbled out from where they'd been crammed in there. She'd left the fridge handle covered in jagged icicles in her surprise, and would have retreated from the common room entirely in a panic if she hadn't felt guilty about the mess.

A bit of cleanup (and a rolling pin taken to break up the ice on the fridge handle before anyone else could see) and Elsa was carefully investigating the pie situation a little more thoroughly.

Pie.

Everything in the fridge was pie. There was no milk. There were no vegetables. Literally everything in the fridge had been replaced with pies of various types.

... Of course, there was nothing to do about it but help herself to a slice of lemon meringue and maybe give the television another chance. What was on it? A cooking show. What were they cooking?

Guess.

[Idek. Open, though!]

Comments

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

Amelia hadn't really done much exploring since she'd gotten talked into staying at the dorms, but she'd felt safe enough to poke her head out of Sparkle's room tonight, which had eventually led to wandering up a floor curiously.

Which would be why there was a little girl, much littler than was usually in the dorms, except on special weekends, poking her head into the common room. She was wearing a fuzzy set of jammies. They were purple with pink kitties on them.

Sparkle had said they were a gift, and she'd been too taken with them to argue with him.

"...Hi," Amelia said, a bit diffidently, surprised to see someone in the common room.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa... hadn't expected a little girl in the dorms. At all. Especially not a shy little one that was covered in kittens, looking as though she hadn't been expecting her to be here, either. She blinked, and tilted her head at the little girl. And then, after a moment of awkward silence between them, she offered the child a smile that almost mirrored hers.

"Hi," she replied, gently. "How are you, this evening?"

Tiny? Clad in a lot of purple? Adorable?

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

Amelia's uncertain smile grew a little.

"I'm okay," she said, ducking her head. "I was just out exploring. Have you seen any squirrels?"

She still hadn't found any!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Squirrels, in here?" Elsa took a moment to glance around, and then smiled a little more. "I haven't been able to spot them just yet. They're very good at hiding and I haven't thought to look for them before. Have you been trying to spot one for long?"

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"A little while," Amelia offered, sidling into the room now that she was more certain that this person wasn't going to be mean or anything. "I couldn't find any in the park, but I haven't looked in here much."

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Hm... Well, perhaps we can lure some of them out? What do squirrels like, do you suppose?"

Elsa was not suggesting alcohol. Sorry, squirrels.

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"Sparks said something about a drink they like." That was okay, Elsa, Amelia could suggest that. "But I don't know. Nuts, maybe?"

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Well... I don't have any of the drink they like," Elsa noted, "but I'm pretty sure I saw a pecan pie in the cold box."

Fridge.

"I don't suppose you like pie, do you?"

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"I like pie!" Amelia said hopefully, all big eyes.

Did that mean she could have pie?

"Do you think the squirrels would like it too?"

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I think any squirrel worth his fluffy little tail likes nuts, at least," Elsa reasoned. "So if we cut a slice of pecan pie for the squirrels, and some for you, everybody should be happy, right?"

Those big eyes were powerfully adorable, Amelia. And Elsa should know. She kind of had the market cornered on big eyes around here, after all.

"Unless you wanted a different kind of pie. There are several to choose from."

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"I'm not picky," Amelia said, finally coming to stand by one of the couches. "I bet I'd like any pie. But your plan sounds like a good one."

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Well, if you think my plan is sound, and I think my plan is sound, clearly what we need to do is put it into action." Elsa set her plate down on the coffee table, pulling herself to her feet and neatly smoothing down her skirts. "I'm Elsa, by the way. I find it's always good manners to introduce oneself to one's squirrel-hunting partner before actually putting one's plan into action."

Okay, so she wasn't so much hunting a squirrel as she was luring it out and fattening it up a little, and hopefully pecan pie wasn't any worse for them than the abundance of alcohol that they apparently partook of.

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

Amelia flushed slightly.

"I'm Amelia," she said, a bit shyly. "Are there really rules for squirrel-hunting?"

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Only if you're hunting with pie," Elsa decided, smiling at the little girl. "You have a very lovely name, Amelia. It's a pleasure to meet you. And would you like to learn the rest of the rules before we get started?"

She was absolutely going to make them up as they went.

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"Oh, yes, please," Amelia said, smiling back. "It's important to know the rules."

Dad had always said that.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Well, first, you have to make certain to keep enough pie for yourself," Elsa decided. "Because you never know how many squirrels you might attract, and it simply wouldn't do to take any away from them if you decided you didn't have enough. So, of course, the best way to do that is to get your own pie, first."

She put her hand on the fridge door, and carefully, so as to not knock any more pies onto the floor, she pulled it open.

"Which, of course, is really just common sense, isn't it?"

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

She fidgeted, uncertain about going too near Elsa, just because she hardly knew her, before making her way closer. She still stayed out of arms reach, though, as she peered into the fridge, eyes wide.

"There's so much pie!"

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"More pie than I know what to do with," Elsa agreed, appreciating Amelia's distance. "So I'm pretty sure that means that you get your pick of any of the pie that's inside. Have you got a favorite?"

Elsa wanted to try a little bit of all of it, truth be told. She'd settled on lemon meringue mostly because it was on the top, and there was so much to choose from.

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"N-Noooo," Amelia said, still studying the pies. "We didn't have it often at home."

And what she'd been eating since home had stopped being a thing wasn't something Amelia was going to explain.

"What's that one," she asked, pointing to a particular pie (http://www.berrydeliciousbakery.com/uploads/1/2/3/7/12370853/7882389_orig.jpg). "It's got stripes."

That was neat!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Were there strawberries in that? Elsa leaned over the pie for a moment to inspect it, and noted something that might have been rhubarb as well before just going for broke and pulling it out of the fridge, along with one of the pecan pies that she'd mentioned earlier.

"I think it's strawberry-rhubarb," she shared, "but there's no better way to find out than to taste some, don't you agree? I'll cut you a slice, if you like, and we can put the pecan pie out for the squirrels to enjoy, if they'd like some."

It was a pie party for all!

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

Delicious pie!

"Yes, please," Amelia said, watching eagerly. "Can I help? Is there a good place to put pie for squirrels?"

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I'm pretty sure there's no bad places to put a pie intended for squirrels," Elsa noted, setting the pie Amelia had chosen on the counter, and then holding the pecan pie out for her to take. "They're climbers, of course. So you probably want to put it in a place where you know you'll have a good view. You wouldn't want to miss them because we put it in a place too high up for you to see, would you?"

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

Amelia took the pie and nodded seriously. It all sounded very logical to her, which she appreciated.

"Do you think they're people-shy?" she asked earnestly. "If I put it on the coffee table, they might not want to come."

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"That's difficult to say, really... I know most squirrels I've seen have been quite skittish, but the ones on the island don't seem to have any difficulty bringing themselves to drag people out of beds in order to read notes on the radio."

Which was still a concept she was getting used to, but at least she had some idea of what the radio was for, these days.

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"They kidnap people?" she asked anxiously, her smile faltering. "But I thought it was supposed to be safe in here?"