Hecate detected the source of the acrid tang that filtered through the morning air, before she could see it. As she rounded the corner into the kitchen, she saw the culprit, a great electric green mound of lime rind glowing in a washing up bowl.
'Looks like Kermit's foot shavings' sniffed Ms Tapioca as she walked past. Hecate's eye twitched. She thought that highly inappropriate in a kitchen. Ada snorted with laughter.
'What. Is. This.'
'You said you needed a hundred limes zested for your wide-awake potion.'
'Who needs that much wide-awake potion' mumbled Ms Tapioca as she traversed the kitchen.
'But…you must have stayed up all night to peel this.'
Ada had used the smallest end of the mandolin to finely grate, straining the juice as required.
'I was up with the sun. I was poking around down here and saw what needed to be done. Thought I'd take a job off Ms Tapioca's hands.'
Hecate tilted back to look at said cook, now ferreting around for the porridge pot. She dreaded to think about how late breakfast would have been if Ms Tapioca had taken up the challenge of peeling and zesting a hundred limes. Hecate's gaze softened as she turned to look at her benefactor.
'I love you too' said Ada smugly as she sipped her cup of tea.
Ms Tapioca made a noise that sounded like she was vomiting up a lung. Ada grinned.
'Raspberry limeade for the weekend' she remarked in satisfaction. Ada loved a lime. The sheared fruits lay in a bowl ready for drying, to be rationed for some extra vitamins during the winter. She hummed as she stirred another sugar cube into her cup.
'Dammit, Ada.' Muttered her wife as she took the bowl ready for the potions room. She'd deal with her generosity later.