"Perfect!" Ralsei beamed at her. How his cheeks didn't ache from the smile, Susie wasn't sure. He reached an arm to one of the many ambiguously labeled bags of… something. "First, let's get all the dry ingredients together."

Susie nodded, then followed his gaze. "Uh…"

"It's these ones," Ralsei guided her before Susie's confusion could deepen too severely. The girl hummed, brutish hands clasping around one of the bags Ralsei indicated. It was heavier than she thought it'd be. "Normally, we would measure these all out, but I've become fairly adept at eyeing how much we need. Pour these into the bowl, and I'll tell you when to stop."

Susie hummed again, being careful not to spill the bag as she brought it over to one of the larger bowls. A sandy white powder cascaded downwards, mixing with the other stream Ralsei was pouring in. After a handful of moments, he lifted the bag back up. Susie followed after his example, tilting her head.

"That good?" she asked. Ralsei nodded, already closing the one bag and reaching towards another.

"Yep! Now we just need to add the salt and baking powder. It's these two bags." The boy handed Susie a taller looking bag as he grasped another in his other hand. Its papery surface felt flimsy in Susie's palm. She took a step closer to the bowl to avoid making any sort of mess, which was another new concept to add onto the growing pile Ralsei was giving her. He added just a pinch of what Susie's nose assumed to be salt, then indicated Susie to add her own bag in. The bowl's contents filled further.

"There we go," Ralsei congratulated the both of them. He put the bag back onto the island, sealing it as Susie did the same. With his hands freed, he grasped the bowl, sifting the various powders around as he gestured towards the milk, along with some of the other containers foreign to Susie. "Now we mix the wet ingredients. That's the milk, vanilla, butter, and eggs."

Susie could recognize about half of those. Thankfully, Ralsei indicated like before, pointing a claw towards each of them. "We'll be mixing them in this bowl, here."

"Mhm," Susie grunted. She wasn't expecting something so straightforward, though the surprise was far from unpleasant. With how little she knew about cooking, she half expected a miniature puzzle required between adding each of the ingredients. Satisfied with the ingredient's shuffling, Ralsei put the bowl back on the island's surface.

One of his furry hands wrapped around the milk jug, the other pointing again at the clean black carton Susie had seen earlier. Taking the hint, Susie opened the container, revealing a mostly-full collection of… eggs?

"Damn," Susie recoiled, eyes widening. "The hell kinda eggs are these?"

Shape-wise, they weren't too out of the ordinary. About as round and mostly spherical as Susie expected. However, rather than a patchy white shell (or even those weird blue-ish ones Susie heard about), the eggs' exteriors were all glistening like glass. A handful of bright red spots adorned the otherwise empty void that served as the eggs' exteriors. They looked like miniature stars. Curious, Susie felt the surface of one of the eggs. Still smooth, but nothing like the glass-like texture that its shell implied. About as rough as a normal egg.

"Ha, I suppose those would be Dark World eggs," Ralsei admitted. Judging by his lack of reaction, he was far more used to the sight than Susie was. "They've not gone bad, if that's what you're worried about."

"Not exactly." Susie shook her head. As she stared at one of the eggs, she swore some of the tiny twinklings moved on the surface. It was mesmerizing. After a second, she turned her snout back to Ralsei. "Mind if I have one of these?"

Ralsei's eyebrow lifted. "Uh… raw egg can be very bad for you, Susie."

The girl shook her head again. "Naw, naw, not like that, I mean… can I, like, take one home? It looks cool as hell."

"Oh!" Ralsei said. His encouraging grin returned. "Of course, Susie! I don't mind, haha."

"Sweet." The monster gingerly picked up one of the eggs, spreading her jacket to place the egg inside one of her pockets. She'd have to be careful not to crush it. "'Kay, so, where were we? Smashin' eggs?"

Ralsei chuckled. "Breaking eggs, yes. Specifically two, in that bowl if you don't mind. I'll get the milk." He lifted the carton towards the bowl, taking a gracious step forwards as he uncapped the jug. Susie nodded, grabbing one more of the tiny galaxies and carefully positioning it over the edge of the bowl. The red stars on the egg's shell seemed to react to her touch, glowing brighter. Susie's eyes shifted to Ralsei to double check, and after a nod, she brought the egg's shell down on the edge of the bowl.

A loud *THUNK* resounded throughout the kitchen as the bowl spun in place, shaking from the impact. Susie blinked, seeing the egg still perfectly intact in her scaled hands.

"Ah," Ralsei said. Thank goodness he waited before pouring anything. "They can be kind of hard to break sometimes. Don't worry about making a mess! We can always clean it up afterwards, haha."

Susie stared at the egg for a couple more seconds. It wasn't often she failed at breaking something. Maybe she didn't have to worry about the egg in her jacket after all. A devilish smirk revealed the dragon's yellow fangs. "A'rright, if you want a mess, I'll give you a mess."

"W-well, it's not that I want a mess, but-"

Ralsei's clarification was interrupted by a much louder *CRACK* like Susie broke a house-sized window. The bowl spun in place like before, nearly falling to the ground as it rivaled the cosmic shattering that emanated from Susie's hands. It took a few more seconds before Susie could recognize the crack she'd made in the egg. For how loud it was, she expected it to be powderized; instead, only a small crack in the surface could be seen, not unlike a damaged windowpane.

"Perfect!" Ralsei told her. "It should be easy enough to pour into the bowl, now."

Susie allowed herself a few more seconds of befuddlement before carefully putting her thumbs into the opening, pulling the rest of the shell apart with ease. Some perfectly normal contents dripped into the bowl. The remnants of the shell were placed near the edge of the island alongside a lingering stare.

Dark World eggs were weird.

Doing her best to shrug it off, Susie reached for another egg from the carton. Ralsei took the pause as an opportunity to fill the bowl, carefully pouring the milk before setting it back down to make space for Susie. After replacing the jug's cap, he moved to Susie's side, grasping the bowl as she readied another ovoid void.

"I'll hold it in place," Ralsei explained, "just in case."

With how much the bowl rattled around the first time, Susie understood well enough. She took a preparatory breath, adjusting her grip on the egg. Then, she brought her hands back down like meteors, creating another earth-shaking *CRACK.* Rather than the bowl vibrating in place, Ralsei's glasses shook, along with the rest of him. Still, he steadied the bowl enough to avoid making much of a mess (to Susie's disappointment). She emptied the contents again, putting the halves of the shell next to the other one's remains.

Ralsei, much less fazed by the seemingly celestial breakfast ingredient, nodded confidently. "Okay, now we just need the vanilla and butter! I don't use butter for this exactly, but the substitute works all the same."

A grunt of approval rumbled through Susie's throat. She closed the carton of galaxies, putting it aside to make room for their current concoction of ingredients. "Long as it tastes good. I'm starvin'."

"Don't worry," Ralsei assured her. His caprine features were remarkably confident for someone whose whole body was shaken by an egg just seconds ago. "It'll taste great, Susie. Even better, since we're making it together, haha!"

Any food in general would be welcome enough to Susie, but she could still appreciate the sentiment. Plus, she had to admit that working together was a lot more enjoyable than she thought it'd be. Not unlike her practice with ACTing earlier, now that she thought about it. Guess Ralsei had a knack for making things fun for her. Ralsei kept his eyes on the girl, only glancing at the ingredients for a second.

"Let's keep going," he said, as if to re-focus his attention. "I'll get the substitute, and you can pour in the vanilla, Susie. It's this one."

Returning to their recipe, Susie reached for the bottle he indicated. Its shape was far more familiar than most of the others, though the labels were as confusing as usual. Ralsei's confidence gave her enough direction to uncap the container, gingerly holding it over the edge of the bowl as her companion grabbed a small box with a nozzle.

"We're going to want to be more careful with these," the prince cautioned. He slowly tipped the box, pouring a viscous-looking stream into the bowl. "Go slowly."

"Mhm," Susie returned. As she waited for Ralsei to finish, she looked at his features again. Even with his glasses, he squinted at his work, gauging how much he added to their bowl. The resulting expression was… endearing. His face was plenty charismatic in the first place, granted, but Susie couldn't help but give the sight just a few more seconds of her time. Once Ralsei finished, Susie shifted her attention back to her own contribution to the bowl's contents. She began tipping the bottle over, watching for Ralsei's cue. A thin line ran through the bowl's liquidy contents.

"Whoof," Susie recoiled as the scent hit her nostrils. It was pleasant, if a little excessive. Ralsei reacted similarly; the smell was potent regardless of how overly acute one's nose was, apparently. A few more moments passed before Ralsei raised his palm, halting Susie's addition.

"That looks good," Ralsei said. If there was one thing he was confident about, it was baking, Susie guessed. And ACTing, too, actually. She capped the bottle, putting it back among the other used ingredients as Ralsei reached for the whisk he'd retrieved earlier. "We'll stir these together, and then we'll almost be done! We'll have some fluffy pancakes in no time!"

"Fluffy" seemed like a fitting enough description to Susie. She pumped an excited fist in the air. "Hell yeah!"

Ralsei laughed, pausing before moving any further with the recipe. "Thank you for your help again, Susie," he said. His voice grew quieter than before, gaining the usual degree of earnest honesty that was difficult not to associate with him. "I've never cooked with someone before, and, um, if it's alright to say, I think that we work well together!"

Susie's smile stayed plastered on her face, pushing at her freckles even further. It's like he was trying to rival his own kitchen for absolute quantity of sweetness. "Heh, got that right," the monster spoke. "This cookin' thing is kinda fun."

Ralsei was in the process of reaching towards one of many available tools on the island before freezing up at the admittance. It was almost a one-to-one match compared to when he heard his nickname earlier.

"You… really think so?" he asked. The hopefulness of his expression was palpable, to the point where Susie didn't think to retread her words. Besides, she was well beyond being "too cool" to enjoy something.

"I mean, we haven't really done much," Susie added, "but I got no complaints so far."

The corners of Ralsei's mouth lifted like they were being pulled by helicopters. He spoke fervently, like he was finally asked about a new robe he decided to put on that day. "Oh, that's wonderful to hear, Susie! I love all sorts of cooking, especially baking. It's like art you get to eat!"

"Yeah, one way of putin' it." Susie should've been used to seeing Ralsei smile so widely, but she pleasantly wasn't. "Definitely looking forward to the 'eating' part."

As if on cue, Ralsei's stomach rumbled, starting the both of them. It very nearly rivaled Susie's own vociferous stomach earlier. As the noise faded, a few giggles fell from Ralsei's lips, which promptly evolved into more than a few laughs. Susie joined in about as fast.

"Guess you are too, huh?" Susie questioned between laughs. She'd forgotten that Ralsei had also skipped breakfast to help her practice ACTing. That seemed so long ago, now, but still recent enough to remember fondly. A light blush tinted Ralsei's cheeks.

Ralsei didn't answer, but his face said enough. He took a moment to clear his throat before reaching towards a shiny steel whisk that looked straight out of one of those kitchen shows Susie vaguely heard of. His hand wrapped around the whisk, holding it out to Susie soon after. "Would you like to do the honors, Susie?"

"Ha, sure thing." The girl took the utensil from Ralsei's grasp, holding it to the bowl they'd filled. Her eyes narrowed mischievously as she threatened the ingredients. "Big mess, coming up."

For a moment, Ralsei hesitated, raising a questioning finger to Susie. Then, his eyebrows furrowed, mouth slightly agape as he looked to the ceiling above. He seemed to be contemplating something. A couple more seconds passed before his own smirk met Susie's features, and he made a gesture like he was holding a pinch of salt. "A little mess is okay."

While she was only joking, hearing Ralsei's compromise nearly sent Susie into hysterics. A cacophony of boisterous laughter rumbled the kitchen tiles. "PAHhaha! Alright, fair 'nuff!"

Susie brought the whisk into the bowl like a guillotine, not quite to the point of splattering 90% of their ingredients, but still with too much force for everything to stay in place. Some of the mixture flowed from the bowl, jumping from the clean china to Ralsei's face. Thankfully, it was only a handful of droplets, though Ralsei didn't appear upset either way. He laughed like Susie had, half-bringing his robe up to shield from any further collateral damage. Susie, being much closer to the collection of ingredients, suffered a fair bit more, gaining newly colored freckles.

True to their agreement, Susie stirred vigorously, but not enough to paint much of the kitchen. Ralsei giggled alongside her as she worked, shaking his head. Seeing the white of his ears move in tandem hooked Susie's attention for a couple seconds longer than she anticipated, causing a bit more spillage on her jacket. Again, Ralsei only laughed. After more stirring, Susie slowed, satisfied with the creamy uniform texture that she'd blended together both inside and outside the bowl.

"How's'at?" she asked, holding the bowl out to Ralsei. He was still chuckling to himself, taking a moment to wipe his glasses down. Once his vision was restored, he looked to the bowl, then to Susie's smug countenance.

"Perfect," he told her. His expression was impressively happy in spite of the droplets on his cheeks. Susie nodded at his affirmation, putting the bowl and whisk back down on the counter. She opened her mouth to offer a cocky rebuttal, and was then interrupted by a distinctly cold shock.

"Ah, ffu-!" she suddenly seethed, pulling her jacket away from her. The droplets on her face were small enough that the cold couldn't really be noticed, but the splash that had hit her jacket was seeping well into the fabric. It only took a couple seconds for the liquid to seep further, to the point of reaching her undershirt and subsequently her scales underneath. And, suffice to say, her scales were a little sensitive to the temperature. "-shitshitSHIT COLD AGH-"

Instinct let her move the cold of her jacket off of her, but her violet undershirt was another story. With a calculated panic, she grabbed at her clothes, trying her best to pull their newest stain off of her scales. It was a minor relief, but a relief nonetheless.

"Susie!?" Ralsei exclaimed, confused by her sudden reaction. She'd moved as though she gave a high-five to a campfire, so she didn't blame him. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Ah, fer'- I'm fine, Rals," Susie tried explaining. The pull at her top was a little awkward, compounded by the way she was half-wearing her jacket, but it was a helluva lot better than feeling that cold solution frozen against her. She spoke again as she caught her breath. "Just added too much mess. That crap is WAY colder than it looks, damn…"

Seeing the damp spots on Susie's jacket, Ralsei understood what she was referring to within a handful of seconds. "O-oh, yes," he said. "I, um, suppose we could've been a bit more careful, heh…"

"Eh," Susie shrugged. The pleasant laughter from before left too much of an impression for her to be all that upset. "Worth it."

Another short laugh from Ralsei confirmed Susie's statement. The prince tilted his head, taking a step towards her. A furry palm opened itself up as he reached towards the stained clothing. "Here, I can take your jacket, Susie."

Susie eyed the hand for a few seconds. She shuffled her shoulders as best as she could, still avoiding any potential contact with the cold spot on her shirt like it was a family gathering. It wasn't often she noted how much she hated the cold, and now she remembered why she avoided it so much in the first place. The motion was a little awkward, but Susie managed to slide her black jacket off of her arms. It managed to get caught on her spiked bracers on more than one occasion.

"Thanks," Susie granted as Ralsei removed the jacket from her. He was careful as he moved towards the kitchen's exit, almost jogging to the other room to hang the stained cloth. His voice carried over from the doorway.

"I can wash it later, if you want," he offered, "after breakfast!"

Susie sighed, looking back over their ingredients. A bit of an unexpected hiccup, though still very much worth the laughs she got out of Ralsei. Those weren't leaving her head anytime soon. The monster debilitated for quite a while, fidgeting with her top for even longer. "Uhh… sure, I guess. If you're offerin'."

Ralsei stepped back into the room, out of breath. He only took a moment to gather himself before continuing his stride confidently. One of his hands reached towards a roll of paper towels, ripping some off with ease before he resumed his position next to Susie. "Maybe I should've gotten out the aprons, haha."

Being used to his green robe, there were a couple seconds required before Susie could imagine what kind of attire Ralsei was talking about. "You got aprons?" she asked incredulously. "Like, for cooking?"

"Of course!" Ralsei confirmed. He held the paper towel towards her with another one of his many grins. "Though, I might have to wash them first…"

A grin cemented itself on Susie's face before she even knew it. Her hand wrapped around the wad Ralsei had gotten for her, pressing it into the cold dampness as she spoke. "Appreciate it, Rals, but I think we're past aprons, heh. Pancakes first."

"Pancakes first," he returned. Once satisfied, Susie tentatively let her top return to its normal shape. There was still a bit of a chilly discomfort, but it was far better than the sub-zero lightning bolt it began as. Susie surveyed their bowls of ingredients alongside Ralsei as she discarded the paper towel. "Okay, now we just have to beat it all together, then add the chocolate!"

Much like his features, the enthusiasm in his voice was as obvious as a bull in a bathroom. The whisk from before was lifted back up to Susie, inciting her to take it. He grasped the partially messy mixture Susie had created, gesturing to the other pile of powders they first combined. "I'll pour in the liquid, and you stir as I'm pouring, okay?"

"Gotcha," Susie said. She held both the tool and bowl carefully, moving aside to give Ralsei the room he needed. "No mess this time?"

"A-ah, well," Ralsei uncertainly chuckled. He held the fruit's of Susie's last mess over the dry ingredients. "Um… if you can help it."

"No promises." Susie grinned, nodding to give Ralsei the go-ahead. He poured in the liquid, giving Susie time to stir the mixtures together. Despite her lack of assurance, she forced herself to take Ralsei's advice and go slowly, keeping her pace even as she intertwined the two thick textures. The resulting solution was far more viscous than she anticipated. A dozen or so seconds later, the last drops from Ralsei's bowl dripped in, and he placed the bowl back on the island as Susie finished their batter. While not the most experienced when it came to culinary expertise, she was thorough enough for Ralsei to give a thumbs-up of approval.

"Looks good to me," Susie stated. Ralsei nodded in agreement, taking the weighty bowl and putting it back on the island.

"Now we just have one last step." The sleeve of his robe lifted towards a now-familiar bag. "Adding the chocolate!"

"Oooh," Susie let out, rubbing her palms together in anticipation. "Best part."

A hum of agreement met her ear holes. "Mhm. I'll let you do this part too! For, um, obvious reasons."

Susie's eyes scanned over the ingredients, finding the bag she'd earlier mistaken for Ralsei. "Dangerous game you're playing," she told Ralsei, snickering as her hands grasped the bag. Holding it closer brought in the tide of distinctly sweet aroma she failed to recognize. Now, though, it was difficult to miss; ironically, it wasn't quite as pleasant as the scent she'd mislabeled. It was still pleasant enough for Susie to take a deep whiff of the treats, reaching into the bag with a wide grin. "Ah, that's the stuff…"

One of the chocolates was lifted from the bag like a prized jewel, the girl going so far as to hold it up to the light dramatically. Rather than a familiar brown, the chocolate was a pure black, though not void-like enough to cause any concern. It certainly smelled the part. Making sure, Susie tossed the treat into her maw, gulping it down whole.

"Yep, that's chocolate alright."

A few giggles attracted her eyes back to Ralsei. Evidently, he was amused by the satisfied hum resulting from the chocolate's authenticity. "Good, huh? I make sure to only get the best!"

Susie laughed back, grabbing another few from the bag she held. "I could tell," she answered, scarfing a few more of the treats down. The taste was plenty addictive regardless of how hungry Susie was.

"Now, don't fill up on those!" Ralsei warned with a persistent smile. "We still need them for the pancakes."

"Yeah, yeah," Susie waved off. Another gracious scoop of the chocolates was lifted from the bag. A few were dropped into the chasm of teeth that was Susie's mouth, but she made sure to hold onto some, taking the rest and offering them towards her caprine friend. "Here. Last scoop, promise."

The green in Ralsei's eyes seemed to glow brighter (though, the same could be said for the rest of his expression). Flattered by the offer, he opened his hands, letting the black treats flood his white palms; the difference in hand sizes certainly contributed to the cascade. He held enough of them regardless, lifting them to his fangs and letting them drop into his mouth one at a time. He was definitely more careful than Susie was, that was for sure. His satisfied reaction was about the same, though.

"Mmm, thank you, Susie." He moved towards the batter they'd created, getting it closer to Susie since her hands were preoccupied. "It's very sweet."

"Innit, though?" A harsh laugh fell through her teeth as she tipped the bag, only exercising enough caution to avoid dotting the floor. "You got the coolest food down here."

From the corner of her peripheral, Susie could see a brief hesitation in Ralsei's features, though not to the degree of worrying her. More as though he was about to correct himself. Whatever he was thinking of saying never completed its journey, the boy only shaking his head as he adjusted the bowl.

"Add as much as you like!"

Under normal circumstances, Susie would've tossed in the entire bag at the instruction, but she did have to factor in that Ralsei would also be eating. Still, he apparently liked chocolate enough that Susie could afford to be a bit more generous. Her hands moved over the bowl, half-scooping out the collection of sweets into the batter like a garbage-truck's claw. The bowl's surface was nearly suffocated before Susie thought to slow down, trickling the last few remnants of chocolate in carefully. If Ralsei had wanted her to put any less, he definitely didn't show it. The only reaction Susie could see was one of satisfaction.

"That looks good!" Ralsei confirmed. Heeding the hint, Susie tipped the bag back up, still sneaking in just a few more chocolates for good measure. The bag's opening was folded shut, though there was more than enough of its contents now in the bowl for the accompanying scent to linger. With the resulting aroma that had come from mixing all those ingredients together, Susie was tempted to try and drink some of it. Ralsei took the whisk once more, stirring in the gracious layer of chocolate chips added with a little difficulty. "Just a little more stirring and our batter will be ready!"