PM to join A Super Secret Surprise (Noven and Friends)

[Kechaiya]

Timestamp: Fall 46, 514 AV
Location: Sunset Quarter Orphanage
Time of Day: 8th Bell
Participants: Noven, Eleazar, Zandelia, Orion, Caela

Kechaiya was already awake and scrambling to get dressed and ready for what she had in mind for today. It had been a late night rescuing the children from the slavers, but they had been successful. All of the children had been returned, hungry and tired for the most part. Jillene was so relieved at their return they had all seen her smile last night. It was frightening. But there had been no time for celebration, everyone nursing their various aches and pains, heads hitting pillows hard.

Now was not the time to rest for the ebony eyed doctor. For it wasn't just the day after the successful rescue, it was also Caela's birthday. And she was going to throw a party to celebrate both. There was just one small problem. She'd never thrown a party before in her life, and the last celebration she'd attended had been about a decade ago in Eyktol. With a little help however, she was confident she could pull it off.

Putting on her standard work clothes, she decided to tie her hair back into a ponytail, grabbed her coin pouch, threw on her cloak, and grabbed her pack, locking her door behind her on the way out. Her first recruit in this mission of hers would be the easiest to convince. It was the cook of the orphanage, the man she'd stolen her first kiss from, and by far the most reliable person in all of Sunberth. And his name was Noven. She wound through the streets heading due south, hoping that it was far too early for the gangsters to be causing trouble.

There were only a handful of children in the courtyard at this early hour, mostly the older ones looking for some peace and quiet before the younger ones woke up. Kechaiya knew breakfast would be starting soon, and that Noven would be slaving away in the kitchen with the other cooks in order to feed the hundred plus hungry rugrats. She was recognized by most of the children as she crossed over to the door to the mess hall, and slipped inside.

She could already smell the food and wondered if she could sneak a plate, since she'd charged out the door without eating. Kechaiya began trying to tiptoe from the door, past the normally empty doctor's office, approaching the serving window. When she was close enough, she peered into the kitchen, looking for the cook, and surprised to not see him. She considered asking, but didn't know these staffers as well. She stood there leaning against the wall, wondering if he was still in bed. Which didn't help her any because she hadn't the slightest idea where his apartment was.

[Noven]

"If you two are pulling my leg, I swear on your tiny graves I will stew you both for supper."

"We're tellin' the truf!" Thomas insisted. "Why would we lie?"

Beside him, dark little arms crossed and dark eyes even crosser, stood Amira. She hadn't said much since last night's rescue, but her usual attitude appeared in tact. Indignant, scheming, and determined as ever.

"Because you always lie," Noven retorted, arms also folded. Sometimes he wondered if Mira had gotten it from him. Other times he was certain she'd been born that way.

His words succeeded, however, in being the final straws. Because the younger and fiercer of the two orphans was putting her foot down now, finally deigning to speak. The little menace hated being called a liar. "It's Miss Caela's birthday and I spent five whole days in a cage on a smelly ship and WE'RE GETTING CAKE TODAY!"

Nov would've tried to cover her mouth if he wasn't so concerned about getting bit on the hand. Again. Holding a hot skillet with a bite mark wasn't how he typically liked to start his mornings.

"Alright, alright," he acquiesced, holding up both hands in defeat, "no need to yell. Let me get to work first and I'll consider while breakfast is made."

Both orphans stared up at him, widening their eyes to the size of glazed, misery-filled saucers.

The cook sighed. "Fine. Go tell the other cooks I won't be helping with breakfast today. You face their wraths, not me."

The runts whooped and their eyes immediately reverted to their usual, conniving sizes. "Can we help decorate it too?" Mira gushed. Thomas twisted his face in repulsion at the very idea of decorating stuff with anything other than mud, bugs, or destruction. Nov, on the other hand, saw this as a good opportunity for the lass to get more in touch with--what did people call it?--her feminine side or some shyke. Whatever it took to get the child to be more human and less animal.

"Sure, why not ruin the cake and burn down the kitchen while you're at it." Noven looked down to see Mira's eyes widening again and snapped, "Do what you like, 's not me who'll be eating it anyway."

The children rushed off in a pitter-patter of glee ahead of him. Pawing at his face to rub away some of the stress and exhaustion, despite it being so early in the morning, the cook took a moment to curse the gods before following after them. The night before had been harrowing enough for the entire orphanage, but him and those who had aided in rescuing the orphans most of all. Leave it to Jillene to know the difference between showing gratitude and enforcing slave labor. Honestly, he ought to have the day off, all things considered. But schedules were schedules in the Isur's book.

No sooner had he stepped in to the mess hall connected to the kitchen did Noven catch a surprising sight. It was the doctor, dark locks drawn up in a pony tail and petite form leaning against the serving wall, looking rather forlorn.

He strode over and stopped a couple feet away, hands stuffed in pockets with a hint of anxiousness. They didn't get to see each other too often, with both of them being so busy, and he still couldn't get the memory of her lips against his out of his mind. Even with the help of tea. Lots of tea.

"Mornin', doc," Nov greeted, wearing a rare hint of a smile. "What brings you here so early and not resting like you should be?"

[Eleazar Victor Syroin]

The daylight had been hitting the bed for a while now, he should probably move. Stretching out the cooler air hit his scrawny body making the teen pause briefly as he rose to sit on the bed. It was cold, not uncomfortably but noticeably. Eleazar rolled off his bed crawling over to washbasin and wet his face in hopes to further convince his eyes to stay awake. It seemed to work as a drowsy yawn didn't send him scuttling back to the warmth of the blanket. Finding his shirt, it was pulled roughly over his head as his boots and coat were donned. Checking to see if his rings had been taken off last night, he found them still wrapped around his fingers. Guess he must have forgotten. Grabbing his key, Eleazar left the door locking it behind him before setting off for the orphanage. Normally he wouldn't stray to close to the place, a combination of fear of the resident Isur and bad memories keeping him at bay. But with the recent food storage, the tavern along stumble that had been keeping him feed had had to close it's doors yesterday. Red had mentioned something about rationing the remaining food for those that lived on the alley. Eleazar wasn't about to blame him for looking out for his nearest and dearest but it did mean he had to find somewhere else to get food. There were no markets to rob and what he could swipe from the docks would only make him ill, so he was going to have to seek out an old friend for breakfast today. Arriving at the large building in the centre of the slum are of the quarters, he ignored the obvious front door carefully skirting around the side. The chaos caused by those that would become the future of the Sunberth, seemed to be quieter than normal. The recent kidnappings and subsequent rescue mission were probably to blame, either that or Noven had been doing a better job of controlling the rabble. The image of the burly man mothering some snot nosed brat almost had him giggling, hopefully the rescue mission had been a success and his friend was okay. Rounding the corner, his destination came into sight. A door leading to nearby the kitchens, it was probably used for deliveries over as a quick way to empty out dirty buckets of water in a hurry. Being careful where he stepped, the teen strolled over to the door. Placing his ear against the wood the muffled voices of two children and the deeper voice of the cook could be heard. He couldn't quiet hear what they were saying but Noven was certainly in. Pulling away and pondering for a few chimes about how to best phrase his request, the teen raised a hand and slammed the palm of it against the door a few times. “'Ey Noven! Ay need a favour. Ay'll run any errands ya want or 'elp wi' yer chores or some'in' ta pay ya back. Oi Noooov!”

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya hadn't heard Noven enter the mess hall as she sat there brooding about where he was. So when he finally did reveal himself, she nearly jumped out of her skin in momentary fright. Turning around as her heart beat a thousand beats a second, she saw him standing there grinning like a fool, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him, assuming he had startled her on purpose. But it passed quickly as her face lit up now that he was here. Small feet sauntering her toward him, "Good morning Noven. No need rest. Is day of excite. Is birthing day of Caela! Want do..." She struggled to think of the word in Common, "Is thing with friends, food, for good time. Porty?"

Now standing directly in front of him, she moved in a bit closer, just wanting to be near him. She reached out and took one of his large hands in both of hers, "You know how make cake? I tell cake is for porties." She then turned and gestured to the mess hall, "Be good for kids have fun. Was been hard. Laugh is best medicine." Her eyes looked up at him pleadingly, hoping he would find this a good idea, and would be willing to help. And perhaps share another kiss with her. She had enjoyed that quite a lot. Her hand gently moved back and forth along the firm muscles of his forearm waiting for his response.

When someone slammed their hand against the mess hall door though, she, once again, startled. Having half expected to receive what she wanted, she was a bit annoyed at the interruption, now listening to someone speak a language she didn't recognize. There were a couple of words she recognized, but too much of it was lost in the garble of sounds. "I get." She moved over to the door, a little miffed at whoever this foreign speaking person was. Yanking on the door suddenly, it opened before her, a glare on her face, revealing a very dirty young man. Curtly she snapped, "Come in."

[Noven]

Course, Nov knew the answer to his question before he'd even asked it. The doctor knew no rest and neither did he. Deprivation practically defined life in the Berth. But he liked to ask all the same, just to enjoy the way she talked and took everything he said at face value.

At the mention of Caela's birthday and a party, however, gears starting creaking into action inside of the cook's weary head. Only to screech to a halt mid-way as Kechaiya moved closer and took his hand in hers. Noven's heart started convulsing an awful lot for a gesture so small, but he couldn't make it stop. Brushing up and down his forearm, her hand felt velvet soft, the sensation alone sending enough tingles of pleasure to send his mind far from anything resembling duty or practicality.

Nov picked up something about a cake. And children laughing. Then the healer's eyes were looking up into his with familiar pleading and everything finally clicked into place. Thomas and Mira had known, somehow, someway. They'd known about Caela Dorin's birthday and that Kechaiya was planning a celebration. He would have questioned their methods more, had the doctor's hand not still been caressing his arm in that wholly distracting manner.

The cook looked to the left, then to the right. They were alone, for the time being, in the mess hall. It would only take a moment, to steal a second kiss...

Blam, blam, blam! "Ey Noven! Ay need a favour."

Nov nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden ruckus, his alarm made all the more acute by how close he'd just come to pulling Kechaiya into a blatant act of intimacy. The doctor herself seemed no less surprised and looked toward the door in confusion. When she offered to get the door, he almost stopped her, until the man realized just who that voice had belonged to.

"Eleaz," Nov grunted in way of greeting as soon as the door swung open. "The petch you doin' here?"

The scrawny kid stood in the door way, looking as disheveled and unkempt as always, like he'd just rolled out of bed this morning before pelting helter skelter over here. "On second thought, 's good you're here. You're going to help me bake a cake, in exchange for me helping you with whatever shyke you've gotten yourself into this time."

Noven gave his friend a pointed and somewhat mischievous look. "So, what's it that's got a fire lit to your ass this fine, fine morning, Eleaz? Is it worth the floury price?"

[Eleazar Victor Syroin]

Following his shouting there was a brief pause before the door was thrown open by a very annoyed woman. She had black eyes, just entirely black. That wasn't normal. Oh shyke. He was hallucinating again, wasn't he? There wasn't anything else it could be really. Humans just didn't naturally have pitch black eyes. Great. Well this was definitely something new on his mental list of regular hallucinations. Just note that down somewhere, probably next to that incident involving the cat. Realising he had been not only staring at what anyone else would have considered a normal person but also holding his breath, the teen quickly diverted his gaze exhaling nervously. It was going to be okay, odd eyes was something he could handle; something he could ignore if he tried hard enough. Nov, thankfully, was also there, also looking annoyed at him. Shyke, had he interrupted something? Was that why both of the people in the room were mad at him? Whatever had been the issue, the cook seemed to get over it rather quickly some how deeming him capable to bake a cake. Stepping cautiously through the doorway the thief gave his friend a confused look. Judging from the context, 'Cake' was something edible, what exactly baking one entailed completely escaped Eleazar. Was it fried, boiled or roasted? Salty or greasy or maybe even sweet? He had no idea. Puzzled, the teen's expression dropped to one of obvious embarrassment at what next came out of the cook's mouth. His cheeks immediately went pink, lips opening and closing as they tried to form words he hadn't thought of yet. Petching Noven. He didn't get into trouble that often. Well, not any serious trouble. Well....He wasn't dead yet at any rate or at least nobody had lit his arse on fire. Crossing his arms defensively, the teen glared at his friend childishly sticking his tongue out. The pose was forfeit with a sigh and an eyebrow raise. “Ya really 'ink Ay do no'in' but cause trouble, don't ya? Anyway 'e favour es 'at all 'e markets are still closed 'n' where Ay'd been gettin' fed before 'as stopped servin' as o' yesterday, so Ay was wonderin' if Ay could work fer a meal outta ya. Ay'll 'appily 'elp with 'is cake 'in'y 'n' any'in' else ya want. Whose et all even for?”

[Noven]

Well, would ya look at that. The kid actually knew how to blush.

Nov absorbed and processed the stream of syrup-thick street that came out of Eleaz's mouth without so much as a blink of confusion.

"Heh, so you're hungry. That's the crisis," the cook smirked. Then, with a shake of the head, he turned and motioned for Eleaz to follow. The doctor had been called away by one of the other staffers, likely due to some sickness or injury that needed tending to, which left him and Eleazar to deal with baking this cake.

"The cake's for a friend of the doctor's," Noven explained as they passed through the kitchen doors. "Her name's Caela Dorin. Also happens to be a new student of mine. Ring any bells?"

He turned right and headed for the pantry, where Mira and Thomas stood waiting eagerly, one slightly more eagerly than the other. In their scrawny little arms were various bundles and packages. Some were labeled 'flour' or 'sugar' while the rest appeared to be things Nov couldn't even remember ever using. The cook scratched his head for a tick, sighed, and then jerked his chin toward one of the empty, rectangular tables.

Mira grinned gleefully and scurried over to the table with a less-enthused Thomas in tow. No doubt the boy found it embarrassing to be enlisted in not only baking a cake, but decorating as well.

Too bad for him. They needed all the help they could get.

"Alright," Nov huffed, folding his arms over his chest as they gathered around their meager supplies. "We got flour, sugar, salt, butter..."

He picked one of the containers up and peered at it skeptically. "...and baking powder? And what's this vah-nee-llah shyke?" There was a second foreign object in his hands now, this one much smaller and in a tiny glass bottle.

Below him, Mira rolled her eyes and replied matter-o-factly, "You need those to make the cake. One of the other cooks said so."

As if on cue, another staffer in the kitchen turned around to quirk an eyebrow at the motley little ensemble huddled around a single table. Noven wondered for the briefest of moments whether they should ask for help. Briefest. Then he banished the idea from his mind. For the sake of his pride, there would be no external help involved today. Not for something as simple as a cake.

"Right then," he coughed, scanning over the various supplies once more. As he did, he caught sight of the rather grimy state of Eleazar's hands. "First thing's first. Eleaz, you need to be clean. None of us want to be eatin' anything those hands of yours touch."

Nov jerked a thumb behind him. "Thomas, go help him draw up a bath. Make sure he doesn't come out till he's a brand new person."

For all his gruffness and mockery, though, the man found himself unexpectedly glad to see his old friend that morning. Even if he was barely recognizable underneath all of that dirt and gods knew what else. Things had been rough, to say the least, and not enough friendly faces chose to come by anymore. Not to mention orphanages were a bit of a thorn in most street urchins' sides, so it meant much more than it seemed for Eleaz to come here offering his help in return for a meal.

Noven placed a hand on the kid's shoulder for a moment. "It's good to have you back here, Eleaz. And don't worry, this bath is for your own good." He grinned as he patted his friend on the back. "The guest of honor is a real looker. You'll be grateful you cleaned up."

With that, the cook shooed both Thomas and Eleazar out of the kitchen to get cleaned up. Meanwhile, he and Mira would see to getting things started, first and foremost by digging around for any convenient recipes lying around.

Not a chime into their search, two more orphans barged into the kitchen. "Nov!" one of them shouted, right around the same time the other exclaimed,"Bad news!"

Looking up, Noven stopped halfway through opening a pantry door. The two brothers, who shared enough similarities that they could pass off as twins, had been there the day he rescued the doctor. In fact, Korin and Kaleb had been the ones to warn him of the attack in the first place. And now, it seemed, they would once again be the harbingers of ill news.

It didn't take long for the cook to figure out what was wrong. Apparently, the doctor was fully engaged elsewhere and wouldn't be able to fetch Caela as planned. Well, not a whole lot of options left. Nov told the boys to fetch Blondie themselves. That also meant letting them know where she lived, but they were trustworthy enough not to merit doubt. Once they scampered off, the man let out a weary sigh before resuming his search.

If the gods knew any pity at all, just this once let the day go smooth.

[Caela Dorin]

.

She'd been having a lovely dream. She wasn't entirely sure what it had been about but she'd been asleep and that had been nice enough for her. The banging noise dragged her out of that pleasant state and into the reality of exhaustion. It was too early for this sort of carry on. The banging continued, gradually becoming more insistent until she had to come to terms with the fact that someone was banging on her door and they didn't show signs of going away anytime soon.

"Miss Caela!" The call through the door made her scowl. It was a child's voice, one that she didn't recognise but it was enough for her that another one of the brat's was being overly polite. She suspected it was Noven's doing. The dancer dragged herself out of bed, splashed herself with water and dressed to try to make herself in some way presentable when she had to answer the door.

"Miss Caela! Noven says you're to come with us to the Orphanage." Different voice she thought but his words spurred her into faster action. Last night they'd rescued the orphans from those bastards, well not her personally but they'd been brought home safe. Her mind conjured up ideas of some sort of retaliation, of something going down that needed her assistance again. If the squirts had been sent instead of the cook coming himself then she suspected that something serious was up. The young woman hit a new speed, suddenly wide awake as she splashed water over her hair, dragging her fingers through it first before she risked combing it. She had to look respectable, her talents might be needed and she couldn't look like someone who had just been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. Okay it wasn't the middle of the night but it sure as hell felt like it to her. She couldn't even remember what bell it was that she'd fallen into bed. A late one.

Some powder was dusted under her eyes to hide any dark circles that might be forming, rubbed a small amount of rouge into her cheeks so that she'd have some life in them and scrubbed her teeth at high speed before applying some lip pomade. When the door was unlocked and flung open the two boys stared at her, momentarily stunned by the clean and attractive apparition that had appeared.

"Took you long enough. We was knocking fer ages!" one of the boys told her.

"Yeah you shouldn't have still been in bed," chimed in the other. She clocked them both around the ears and set them howling as she slammed her door shut and locked it.

"I don't want any of your cheek!" she snapped, glaring from one to the other.

"We was just saying-" began one of the boys.

"That you was wasting daylight-" interrupted the other.

"And you was ages getting ready," finished the first.

"Were," she corrected absently. She glanced from one to the other, wondering how they seemed to be able to predict what the other was going to say. How else could they finish each other's sentences? They looked similar enough so were they twins? It didn't really matter although it was a bit disconcerting. "What's going on? Why does Noven want me at the Orphanage?"

The two exchanged looks, some private conversation taking place in their glances that she wasn't privy to. The blonde wasn't going to wait around on the brats if they didn't seem ready to talk. It might be urgent and these children might be delaying her further than her sleepiness already had. She set off down the corridor of the building with every intention of getting to the cook and finding out what the emergency was. It had to be an emergency to send children hammering at her door at... whatever bell of the morning it currently was. She had no idea of the time aside from the fact it was too early for her.

"Wait!"

"You can't go yet!"

Caela really didn't like children. They had such whiny insistent voices and you'd feel bad if you punched them in their little faces. You could do that with adults but children were a different kettle of fish. Her exasperation was clear as she turned to face them, finding them directly behind her, which she hadn't been expecting. She took a step back. "Why can't I go yet? You came hammering at my door like it was urgent so unless one of you tells me what's going on then I'm going." She paused a moment as they exchanged looks but remained silent before pressing on. "You have until I get to three. One. Two. Th-"

"We aren't supposed to tell you-"

"We're under orders 'cos-"

"It's a surprise and-"

"And so we can't tell ya-"

"So you can't run off in a hurry 'cos-"

"We says so."

Her gaze swung back and forth from one boy to the other as they rapidly switched speakers. They were almost tripping over one another to get their message across but she understood them even if she didn't know what they were going on about. A surprise? Why would there be something going on in the Orphanage that she wasn't allowed know about until she got there? She had no idea and she was too tired for games. Whatever it was it couldn't be all that important, right?

"Petch it. I'm walking," she exclaimed and set off again with a chorus of whined protests. They shut up when it seemed that she wasn't going to stop for anything. After a chime, they both began talking rapidly again, introducing each other as Korin and Kaleb and asking her all sorts of annoying questions that she had no intention of answering. What did she work at, had she helped last night to get the orphans back, how did she know Noven, did she know Kechaiya, did she know that Noven and Kechaiya were in love. The stream seemed endless and by the time the main Orphanage came in sight, she was ready to strangle them. The Orphanage was a welcome sight because it meant that she could get rid of her escorts. Noven would make sure that they went away and then she could find out what this surprise was.

As they approached the doors, they stopped to have an argument about going to check that it was okay to bring her in. One of them would have to stay to "guard" her while the other went in to ask Noven. Caela could only watched them open mouthed until they resolved the dispute and they parted ways. She didn't even know who she was being guarded by. It was ridiculous anyway, why did she need to be guarded? Gods, did she hate kids.

"Which one are you again?" she asked in an effort to make conversation.

"Kaleb."

That was it. There was nothing else out of his mouth, no questions, no rush of information. He'd become completely silent and Caela grew silent too. She didn't know what else to say. Now he decides to shut up, she thought as she waited for permission to enter the place. The dancer hadn't an inkling of what was going on.


.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion couldn’t recall the last time he was in so much pain. Everything hurt. That included breathing, moving, and thinking. Doing anything was very nearly out of the question. The problem was, he had a job to do, regardless of anything he was suffering. While he’d been roughed up in the kidnapping, he still had obligations to the orphanage. Orion was happy that the children had been returned, but the beating he suffered trying to stop it had done nothing to actually prevent it. He told himself that more would have been taken, but despite his best, they’d caught him unprepared and outnumbered.

He’d cared for himself as best he could, but his nose was broken, at least one of his ribs was cracked, and he was the proud owner of countless nicks and bruises. To top it all off, the area around his left eye was blackened and swollen. The only reason he’d survived was the kidnappers’ need for a hasty retreat. All it did was reinforce his hate for the city.

Slow, shallow breaths came forth from the physician as he sat in the small doctor’s office. The children had returned the previous night, and he was planning on giving them a quick check up to make sure none of them were physically harmed. Orion didn’t imagine they were, but he couldn’t take any chances. Injuries could turn into infections, and infections could lead to death. With the kidnapping occurring under his watch, the least he could do was make sure that all the children were okay. Judging by the energy he could feel coming from outside his office, he almost didn’t need to check. Whispers of cake were heard time and time again as the pitter patter of the children’s feet echoed throughout the area.

”Cake?” He questioned aloud, pulling himself slowly to his feet. A soft grunt of pain escaped his lips as he finally rose fully. It would have been easier to move around if he’d wrapped his ribs, but the complications associated with it were not something he wanted to face. For now, it would be acceptance of suffering. I better see what’s going on. Cake seemed an odd choice to Orion, considering the food shortage, but perhaps it would uplift the spirits of the youth and help push them on another day.

Blue eyes peeked out from the frame of the door, watching as another pair of children sprinted by. ”Slow down,” he commanded softly, unable to exert any force of person without creating more hurt for himself. The kids, naturally, did not comply. Walking with a slight limp, Orion exited his office and began to search for a familiar face. He figured if they were talking cake, the kitchen was the most sensible place to check.

Ginger, but calculated steps were taken as he moved towards the room, each movement bringing with it agonizing pain. Each breath and each step forward served as a reminder of his condition. If another event occurred, he was happy to have more people awake and ready. Several good workers had perished in the chaos of several nights back. He wouldn’t be able to defend anyone in his current state.

Inside of the kitchen, Noven was giving instructions and directions to two of the children. He hadn’t seen his coworker since the resident cook had given him a tour of the facility. The two orphans scurried off shortly after Orion arrived, paying the physician no mind.

”Noven,” he said as he entered the kitchen. ”What’s going on here?” His voice was barely above a hushed whisper as he approached. The ex-squire finally rested against the counter, scanning the room briefly. ”There’s a lot of excitement in the place. Are the children just happy to have the others back?” His thick Syliran accent contrasted greatly against the Sunberthian ones which dominated the orphanage. He was still getting used to the sideways glances it brought. ”Did I hear someone say cake?”

[Eleazar Victor Syroin]

OOCSorry for the wait exams and holidays kinda swamped me for a bit! Also sorry the post is sooo long, my fingers wouldn't stop typing. The concern visibly disappeared from his friend's face after he had explained himself, mirth replacing it. This irked Eleazar slightly although he tried not to let it show on his face. Food was important. Especially these days given the lack of it so him hunting down a meal wasn't that funny a thought. Or maybe it was the fact that he always seemed to be hankering after something to eat, even when they had first met. Either way following the cooks subtle commanding motions, he could at least rest easy that the other woman had gone. Those eyes had really come from nowhere, he was going to have to be a bit more careful if new things like that were turning up in him daily hallucinations. Worries aside, the thief's ears perked up at the mention of the 'cake's' recipient and Noven's apparent student - when had that happened? - One Miss Caela Dorin. Why,yes the name did ring a few bells. Just some of those little five foot wide dock bells. Heck, the woman had only gone and 'hired' him of all people near the start of the season. A terrifying woman with bright blonde hair and the ablity to out dance every single person in the room twice. A shudder rolled its way up over his shoulders as the teen tried to enter the kitchen as casually as possible. “Ay know 'e name if 'at's what ya mean.” Two children were standing there ready for the cook, arms laden with bags of who even knew what. The female of the two brats was by far the more excited of the two, literally skipping to the table at his friend's command with her male counter part dragging his feet as much as he could. Right, so baking and kids and making sure now to bake any part of the kids. Okay yeah, he could do this, maybe? Ergh, whatever. Shifting forward to gaze at the ingredients for the cake, he recognised most of them surprisingly. Naturally the markets were the best place to find such things, somewhere he frequented quite a lot because of his chosen 'trade'. As such he didn't hesitate to enlighten the cook after the girl's little quip. “Vanilla; et's a herb or spice of some sort, Ay 'ink. 'Ey sell et quite a lot doon by 'e markets. Foreign stuff 'n' expensive ta. Ay've seen 'em puttin' et in pies 'n' even drinks before.” Shrugging off this knowledge easily, Eleazar visibly straightened when it seemed Nov was about to start giving out orders. He was ready for anything really; as long as it didn't involve him having to stand on his head. Anything but being forced to have a bath was not something he expected. He was even about to complain about the unfairness of it, stopping just as his mouth opened when he saw the state of himself. Okay, the cook had a point as usual. It not like he had intended to be dirty today, just he had been too tired to even consider washing himself up before bed yesterday; simply crashing the moment he walked through the door. Wasn't his fault at all really. Either way Noven wasn't having his current self any where near the food assigning the foot dragger as his warden till he was in the fit state. Now that was just insulting, the teen could be trusted to wash himself at least. Whilst internally grumbling and pouting externally at the cook, the sudden hand landing on his shoulder had certainly been an unexpected surprise. Everything about the young of the two tensed up, ready for some sort of attack or insult. The tension, however, ebbed away the moment Eleazar figured out who the owner of it was, shoulders dropping as a sigh escaped his lips. Still pouting at his friend, he was soon shooed out of the kitchen along with the boy. His friends last words making him squirm slightly. True, Caela was definitely a looker but she scared him too much for it to really make an impact. Besides she had made it fairly clear that her tastes didn't include anyone like him. Regardless he was going to have to get cleaned up be it for Caela or for Noven. Looking down at the boy the cook had named as Thomas, he could see he wasn't the only one less than thrilled at the task they had been set. Sighing Eleazar rolled his shoulders absent mindedly; it was annoying how they were always cramping up with his slouching; and turned to his new acquaintance. The boy was quite a bit shorter than him, making the situation seem a bit comical. “So, ya supposed to take mi aboot a bath 'en, pipsqueak?” “Don't call me pipsqueak! And it's this way.” Obviously annoyed at his nickname, Thomas made the journey to the wash room as short as possible. He nearly all but threw the thief towards the bath before stating that he would stand guard outside. Slipping off his coat, Eleazar began to look about for anything he would need. The room obviously was used by most of the orphanage; housing a large tub, a few wash basins along with a surplus of extra water in large tanks to the side of the room. Locating the soap, he part filled a basin and yanked his top off. It was as filthy as the rest of him so would need cleaning too. However he could probably get away with leaving his trousers as they were; after all it was not like anyone used their shins to cook. Making up a nice lather, he started on his hands. Removing his rings to carefully clean them off then carrying on to scrub up to his elbows once they had been replaced. The water was a nasty brown colour by that point so Eleazar quickly changed it before he got to work on his hair, ears and face. Another water change and his shoulders and upper arms were tackled, then his back and chest with a third water change. The fourth water change was used in washing his shirt, which was then folded in half and rung out. Pulling his shirt back on, he quickly mopped up any water he had spilt with a rag and then returned the soap to where he had found it. Clean and dressed again, the thief grabbed his coat and left the wash room. Thomas was waiting outside, bored from him having taken so long. The kid's surprise at his appearance was obvious and a little insulting. He hadn't looked that bad before, had he? Regardless the brat soon guided him back to the the way they had came. Seemed another person had gotten curious about what was going on and had appeared judging by the raised voices. 'I wonder who they are?' thought the teen as he wandered back into the kitchen.