Admittedly, I ripped the pancake recipe off of a random website, and then simply wrote out my own instructions in a note form: niche enough for me to understand, hard for anyone else to comprehensively follow. Ironically enough, I don't like pancakes. Too fluffy for me.


XI. Memory

Cassie didn't have a good memory, she'd openly admit that. Of all the things the Dark Warrior Program did to her (improve her eyesight, her reflexes, give her pretty bad anger management issues), improving her memory was not one of them. She kept notes, scrawling things on her skin, reciting it repeatedly and hoping later that she'd remember whatever she was trying to recall.

But even before Spargus, before Haven, before that fateful day at Harouche Industries, she left notes on her phone, or texted herself. Typically, it was homework, or something she might've wanted to look into more, or even something she wanted to buy. But, deep down, at the very bottom of the massive archive she'd accumulated, was a list of recipes.

Most of them were her mother's, and once she was gone, she was responsible for cooking and preparing her own breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As such, a list of recipes at her fingers was a great addition, and she'd become well versed in cooking, knowing most of the ins and outs of what to do and what not to do.

Given the general chaos of their lives, she didn't have many opportunities to cook. After everything had calmed down after Damas' death, they moved back to Haven. Jak stayed at Keira's house with her father, while she stayed in the new palace erected for Ashelin, a door down from Torn's room. But, eventually, they converged and, once Tess and Daxter gave them permission, they moved into the condo above the bar. They hadn't gotten a second bed, typically they'd crash on some piece of furniture that was available, but it didn't bother them.

Today, she wanted to make it special. Almost like a thank you for sticking with her, or giving them a place that was snore-free for them to sleep. Taking out her phone (around thirty percent, she'd need to find some Blue Eco soon), she opened up the notes app and scrolled through until she got to the very last recipe she'd marked.

Pancakes:

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 tablespoon white sugar

- 1 1/4 cups milk

- 1 egg

- 3 tablespoons butter, melted

- Put all the dries in one bowl, the wets in another, and sift together. Make a well in the dries and pour in the wets. Mix them together with a whisk until smooth. Use a frying pan and put a small square of butter on it, wait for it to melt, and then pour a 1/4 cup of batter on for one pancake. Flip when the side bubbles, serve when both sides are brown, hot. Add syrup or whatever other toppings you want. Bon apetit.

If she wanted to be honest, she did ask Tess if there was an equivalent of some kind to baking soda (which there was, thankfully), but everything else was done by herself. Unfortunately, whipped cream and maple syrup were not available, either because they were rarer than a Power Cell or because no one knew where to get it, how to make it, or what it was. It was a sad day when she discovered that, but she didn't mourn long.

The test pancake-made at three in the morning due to a nightmare-tasted different. She betted on that, really, because Yakow Milk and Flut Flut eggs had to taste different from 2% and Chicken eggs in some way. The pancakes were a bit tougher than what she liked, but they were just as sweet. Some blueberries might've made it even better, but she wasn't pushing her luck with what she could find, either in the bar or in whatever shop was open at the ungodly hour.

She stuck the batter in the fridge, took a quick nap, woke up around half past four, and then started baking again, mainly tests to see if she had to cook it longer for better flavor to come out, or if certain little fruits worked to sweeten or dampen the flavor.

Eventually, she had a good combination for her own little stack of three, then she started cooking three more while she preheated the oven to keep them warm. One for Jak, one for Daxter, one for Tess.

Finally, she dug in, enjoying the fluffy taste of home. The bar's private kitchen, mainly only for the four that lived there, didn't look like any of the kitchens she'd had back home, but if she closed her eyes, and imagined that the hum of Zoomers was instead the thrum of cars, then she could imagine she was back in New York. Her mother might've been alive, or might've been dead, but she was somewhere like home, and maybe, just maybe, her father might've been waiting in the doorway, or Vanessa might've been giggling at the table across from her. "You make the best pancakes, y'know that?"

The drag and click of claws against the floor jolted her out of her reverie. Daxter yawned and stretched, fly unzipped on his jeans as he scratched his happy trail. With bleary eyes, he stumbled into the kitchen, whiskers and nose twitching. "Wha's cookin'?"

Cassie stood from her chair, taking one of the pancakes and folding it, nibbling it as she went. "Pancakes. Made 'em a bunch when I was back home. I made one for you, if you want to try."

The ottsel shrugged, scratching his chin and examining something under his claws. "Sure, why the hell not. Precursors, what time is it?"

"Like… five? Six? I've been up for super long, man, my brain can't shut up." She opened the oven and took out the pancakes after she grabbed a towel, taking the spatula and flipping it onto a small plate she'd put to the side. "Here ya go."

With a sleepy yet curious expression, Daxter tentatively bit down on the pancake, only for his eyes to widen and his ears to flick up. He devoured it in seconds, licking his lips to get all the good, flaky crumbs. "Man that was great! Ya got any more?"

She nodded. "Yeah, plus enough batter to start cooking some more if I wanted to." She took another pancake from the other and flipped it in the air, Daxter leaping and twisting in the air to grab it and land, albeit sloppily, on his hind legs.

The next pancake he ate slower, taking his time to enjoy the breakfast treat. "You should make more of these, they're super good!"

Cassie smiled, and with a nostalgic grin, she poured more batter onto the frying pan, watching it spread and bubble with an almost vacant expression. "I'll make sure to do that."