”the side with the small holes.” really? ”not the zesting side.”

cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger. as she assembled them, she recalled the unexpected memory. ”chocolate.” she smiled. ”we made a mess and got in trouble.”

a grinder screeched suddenly at top volume. blades hacked away at seeds, root, and bark. the air became sharper with each aromatic layer.

when she was finished, it went into a large bowl. still thinking, a light snort left her. ”it’s been like, twenty years.”

MATIAS SILPH

”mhm.”

she set a sifter over the bowl and pulled a bag of flour closer, reached for a measuring scoop, and poured in two and a half cups of flour. at his complaint, she smiled.

”must be.” as she measured the last cup, she added, ”we haven’t exactly treated ourselves well, either.” and life had not been peaceful, which had its own effects on the body through the power of the mind.

”grab another bowl, and measure out one and a half cups of brown sugar.”

in her own bowl, she dropped a couple of teaspoons of baking powder.

MATIAS SILPH

what an idea. to sagira, it seemed impossible. she thought little of it.

”yeah, you’re probably right.”

one teaspoon of baking soda, half a teaspoon of salt.

”four eggs, after the sugar,” she instructed. her eyes were still on her measurements, and she was smooth and quick in her work.

MATIAS SILPH

once she’d finished her bowl of dry ingredients, she turned to his. from his side, she added one cup of exeggutor oil.

”that sounds nice—if we can get in.”

she sighed lightly, remembering her first time there with Sénon Game , and the difficult conversation that had boiled into something less than relaxing. ”i went with sénon last summer and we never made it into the sauna.”

after a moment, she added, ”it was too busy.”

¾ of a cup of appletun sauce, and one teaspoon of vanillite extract later, she reached for a whisk and handed it over to him.

”whisk.”

MATIAS SILPH

she carried over the bowl of dry ingredients over to him, beside his mixture, and set a rubber spatula on the rim of it. left it there for him, clearly delegating the task before going to leisurely wipe the counter of flour and other dustings of the recipe.

”sounds nice. i’ll let you know if i can find a babysitter for delta.” it had been a little more difficult lately.

her leafeon poked its head around the corner, watching. sage noticed and took a couple of carrot shreds out of the cup to offer it. when she stood, she had a look on her face as though she’d been in deep thought.

”do you think it’s wrong of me to try to go after king?”

MATIAS SILPH