A Potato Pancake Breakfast

       Gilday, Sunrise, the Lupecyll-Atlon household.

The Goblin's pace is quick, but confident. Despite the mists interfering with even her eyesight, her familiarity with the area allows her to proceed at a fast pace, and her breath adds little trails of vapor to the surrounding mists as she hurries by.

Stopping at the house of Telamon and Cor'lana, Simony hesitates at the bell pull. She inhales and pulls twice on the pull smartly, and then takes a little step back and puts on her best smile.

It takes a few minutes, but finally the door cracks open to reveal a slightly mussed Telamon, his hair a bit askew, and a woolen robe thrown on over those ridiculous fuzzy bear slippers. His starry eyes are a bit sleepy, as he peers at Simony.

"Urgle," Telamon says coherently around a yawn, before rubbing his eyes and opening the door a little wider. "G'morning. C'mon in. Lana's still sleeping." He beckons for the little goblin to enter, as he rakes a hand through his hair. "...What time is it, anyways?"

"Good morning!", the Gobbo replies cheerfully to the yawned word. "It's just past dawn. I uhm have brought breakfast! Well, the things to make breakfast." From her back she pulls a backpack, hefting it in one hand. "Erm. Unless it's too early for a meal for you?"

Simony steps on tiptoe in as if sneaking around, pausing to kick off her new leather boots. "To the kitchen!", she cheers, slipping around Telamon and running ahead, as she knows the way.

Breakfast. Yeah. Telamon remembers telling Simony she could make breakfast in exchange. But he could've sworn he'd said later in the day... "There's no rule against eating breakfast for lunch. Mother once surprised me when I'd done well at lessons with a stack of my favorite flapjacks for dinner."

Watching Simony pelt on ahead, he ambles after, his sole bit of interference being to put the kettle on for tea. "If you need to know where anything is, say so... or if you need me to get something down..." He is definitely not a morning person.

Cor'lana pads downstairs with a long sigh, dressed in a comfortable deep violet woolen robe. She yawns as she reaches the last step, rubbing her eyes.

"We have company?" she asks--

And then Pothy comes soaring downstairs. "I heard FOOD!" he cries out happily. It's every white-winged bird's favorite word. Or... Well... Just him.

He goes to land on Simony's shoulder and nuzzles into the goblin. "Hi Simony." He gives a little boyish giggle.

Simony peers at Telamon for a few moments, her expression slowly changing as she realizes perhaps her exuberance for breakfast /early/ in the day is not shared by the Half-Sil. For a few moments after that, there's a look of panic.

"Er, uhm. There most definitely a rule against that, breakfast by definition cannot be lunch." As the tea is put on, she smiles, and pats his arm. "Go have a seat, and let me mother you..."

The Goblin's grin doubles as Cor'lana arrives. "Allow me to mother you both! Breakfast!", she announces to the finer half of the pair of Lupecyll-Atlons. A little hand seeks out Lana's, and offers a gentle tug towards the table and a chair to settle on. The albino laughs as Apotheosis arrives, and she automatically fishes out an unshelled peanut from a small pouch on her hip. "Hello, Pothy! How are you, it's been a while! Peanut?"

Telamon realizes he's rattled Simony a bit. "Sorry. I am... not a morning person. In fact..." He smiles as Lana and Pothy join them. "Until these two came into my life I was not known for rising early at all." He gestures for Simony to feel free to work. "See what they've done? Why, I've even actually gotten up early enough to see the sun on the horizon a time or two!"

His grin is engaging, even if he looks like a rumpled blanket. Taking a seat, he regards Simony's height, and then casually notes, "If you need it, there's a short folding ladder next to the shelves." Once Lana is seated, he immediately takes his wife's hand. "Good morning, love."

"PLEASE!" Pothy says, absolutely too loudly for goblin ears. He happily takes the peanut and... down the gullet it goes. His tail wags a mile a minute.

Cor'lana can't help but giggle a little at both Pothy and Telamon accusing her of the crime of sunrise watching. "Well, truth be told, I became an early-rising person because I wanted Telamon to get the impression that I was a well-adjusted individual capable of participating in society... And not necessarily the anxious mess that I was then."

"I think he knew you were an anxious mess back then," Pothy says meaningfully. "I mean, you showed up to that dinner date he asked you out on wearing the exact same clothes as when you first met him."

Cor'lana sighs and squeezes Telamon's hand. "I had... Two dresses I wore back then, Pothy. I was not the clotheshorse that Telamon is now, and I _still_ have him accompany me to all of my visits to Jovani's."

"More like Telamon's visits to Jovani's," Pothy counters. He might have a point there.

"I am somehow unsurprised that Cor'lana has polished off some of your rough edges and jagged corners, Telamon.", the Goblin says as she fetches out the step ladder. "But I wouldn't have believed you to be a night owl. Hmmm, partying during your formative years, being a bad influence on your friends, until you're smitten, and then you find out you clean up well?" Simony giggles lightly as she begins setting up what she needs for breakfast.

She gives a start at the yell from Pothy, her ears near flattening. "Gosh Pothy, do they not feed you or something? Poor starving thing." Another unshelled peanut is offered up. "Why don't you settle in at the table too, and allow me to cook, hmm?"

A sizable number of potatoes are pulled from the pack, and she begins to grate them with a cheese grater. "So I am going to make potato pancakes. Pretty simple fair, but delicious. Would you like savory, spicy or lightly sweetened?" She nods to Cor'lana.

"We all start somewhere, right? I think it makes people better people if they grow into nice things, instead of having luxuries thrown at them from birth. You appreciate it a bit more, yes?"

Simony eyes Pothy for a moment, "Don't get him started on the vintner.", she says with a cheeky grin. A large dollop of butter is scooped out of a container, and tossed hard into a frying pan, this is set to sit on the stove as she continues to grate potatoes.

Telamon snorts. "Excuse me, I was a -good- influence on all my friends. I won't say it was always predictable but I at least tried to do the right thing." He watches from the table with interest as Simony sets to work. "Hmmm. Personally I'd like something lightly sweet. Lana?" He tilts his head to Cor'lana.

At Pothy's protests, Tel rolls his eyes. "Don't believe a word of it, Simony. He ate quite a bit of food last night, and unlike mundane food we managed to fill him up -- if temporarily." He grins. "Still, an anniversary is something to be enjoyed, and by the gods I definitely needed this one with Lana." He squeezes Lana's hand.

"Lightly sweetened, please," Cor'lana requests. "I'm not at all a fan of spicy foods. Unlike Pothy. He'll eat anything. Telamon's right; he's a liar."

Pothy looks at Simony with begging raven eyes as he takes flight to the kitchen and to the counter. He's inspecting the cooking process, of course. It's his ceremonial role in the Lupecyll-Atlon kitchen that has nothing to do with any devious plans for eating scraps. "They don't feed me at _all_."

"See?" Cor'lana snorts. "Our anniversary was wonderful, however. Telamon outdid himself again, of course, although I suppose I am responsible for that last dreaming walk we did to that castle..."

Simony laughs and shakes her head. "You are fun to tease, Telamon. Something I think you enjoy, Cor'lana, yes?" Nodding to the both of them, the Goblin pulls out several eggs, which get mixed into a bowl with the grated potatoes. "Alright, slightly sweet it is."

"Anniversary?", she says, eyes wide. "Awww, that's awesome! Congratulations! I'm very happy for you both. So, what'd you two do? Go out some where, or stay in given the atrocious weather of late? What did you have for dinner?"

"My parents always invited the whole family over from miles around, and rolled in a barrel of spirits. Most don't remember much, except the most hilarious stories my uncle told, of his time as a pirate on the Inmost Sea. Half of it had to be ... embellished or outright made up, but we enjoyed them."

The sound of sizzling is heard, and a savoury potato smell permeates the kitchen. "Oh, we do remember the time the still blew up. Lifted the roof clean off the celebration hall. We never liked it anyways and a new one was built afterwards. That's part of the reason why I left. Far too many explosions per Goblin out there."

Simony tsks sympathetically at Pothy, playing along with his side of the story. "I'll let you have one of the potato pancakes if you behave.", she says with a grin.

"Take the deal, Pothy. Remember, it's rude to interrupt the cook while they're working." Telamon smiles at Simony, watching with interest as she works. "Well, sometimes a story doesn't always have to be -true- to be entertaining. Or educational, for that matter."

Tel continues, "But to answer the question... I used my magnificent mansion spell to build a little hideaway for the evening. I'd modeled it off a Veyshanti nomad's camp, albeit much nicer, with a dinner menu to match. Both Lana and Pothy approved." He can't help but grin a bit at the memory. "It's always good to have the option to 'go out' even if you're not going anywhere."

He raises an eyebrow at the remark about weather. "If you think this is bad, wait till the snows roll in. It may not be Stormgarde, but Alexandria gets some pretty respectable snowfalls in the winter. Enough for the children to build snowmen and have snowball fights."

Pothy is not good at cost-benefit analysis. Take the potato pancake offered now and wait for them to be done... Or steal bites here and there and have more pancakes when they're done? He looks mildly panicked, until Telamon tells him to take the deal. "Deal," he says. "One pancake... And more to come when they're done." There's the glint of a deal well-struck in Pothy's blue eyes.

Cor'lana grins. "Telamon usually teases _me_, but I have my moments now and then," she says. "It's probably not terribly wise to tease an archmage... Or maybe it is. Keeps them from thinking they know how to bend the universe to their will."

That gets a snort from Pothy. "No, Grandfather made it clear to Telamon, I think, that Telamon's universe should revolve around Lana and her wants."

Cor'lana blushes a little. "Well..." She coughs politely. "I think Telamon already had that notion to begin with."

The Goblin giggles at length at Pothy's 'deal'. "You may have one to start, but Telamon and Lana get to have a proper stack before you and I have the rest." She tsks at the Raven, and offers up another unshelled peanut, this one having a bonus of egg, cinnamon and icing sugar. Simony makes for a messy cook, with a sampling of all the ingredients having made their way to her (Kiss the Cook) apron. She does have a delicate hand with the flavourings however, lightly coating the pancakes with icing sugar, and gentle sprinkle of cinnamon.

"I find it amazing how much customization that spell allows for that mansion. It seems... dangerous. One might be tempted to stay in the mansion all Winter, save for recasting the spell."

"And to be honest, it is obvious to me that your universes revolve around each other. There's a reason by people want to be /you/, after all." A plate is offered to Pothy, "Here, you may have the first one." The Gobbo offers a wink to Telamon and Cor'lana. "It's the first time I've tried this recipe, so Pothy can be the raven in the coal mine."

Telamon actually blushes ever so slightly, but he smiles. "Well... I plead guilty. Lana really is the guiding star for me. I wouldn't have it any other way though." He lifts Lana's hand to his lips, kissing the knuckles gallantly.

"But as I was telling Lana last night, the whole 'oooh phenomenal cosmic power' really isn't -interesting- to me, except for the constructive -- and fun -- things I can do with it. Like the mansion." Tel rubs his chin at Simony's comment. "Well... true. Somewhat. But honestly, I'd only do that if we had no -actual- house to stay in. I mean, I went to all this trouble to get the place remodeled, why not enjoy it?" He raps a knuckle on the tabletop.

"Besides, if we stayed in the mansion all winter, I wouldn't get to see my friends and family. And that doesn't sound like fun at all."

The little knuckle-kiss, of course, has Cor'lana blushing all the brighter, and she giggles affectionately for it as she leans over and plants a kiss onto Telamon's cheek. "Funny, and here I thought all of the stars that mattered are the ones in your eyes," she replies.

Pothy makes a gagging sound in the kitchen on the heels (talons?) of having eaten his pancake. "Duck and cover, Simony, they might start making out if they forget we're here," he informs her. "Also, rude--it's _canaries_ that go in the coal mine, not Pothies." That's the important bit.

"Please, we aren't _that_ shameless," Cor'lana responds with a little huff. "I have to agree with Telamon, though. It's nice to still see friends in the winter... But, well, it's _also_ nice to be snowed in with someone whose company you like--"

"Duck and _cover_," Pothy rasps urgently at Simony.

"As for Winter, I don't mind the snow. It's the cold I dislike. Building snowmen and having a snowball fight are fun activities. Getting cold and wet is not." Simony chuckles at Tel's blush. "A year in, and you still blush like a schoolboy." The Goblin begins stacking potato pancakes onto two plates. "And you might not find them interesting, but fireball and meteorshower are your best spells. Next to that mansion one, that is." There's a curious expression on the Goblin's face as she slips a plate before Cor'lana and Telamon, followed by utensils, and then fresh tea.

"It's my mother's recipe, minus the eye-watering amount of hot peppers. The icing sugar and cinnamon was my idea."

Pothy is eyed curiously, and she snorts, "Oh no, that's fine, I can take notes for my novel. Errrrrrrr. I mean, I can take notes to practice on... neveremind! And I don't see any canaries here, Pothy, and the saying requires a bird..." The Goblin goes to work on another batch of pancakes. "Er, well, I am a small woman, I am sure I wouldn't take up much room, and I'm used to austere accommodations. You could design a small room for me in your mansion, and then you could be 'snowed in', but still have access to a friend if you wanted."

Telamon looks like he's trying not to break into laughter at poor Pothy. "You'll have to forgive Pothy, occasionally he gets frustrated with us. Although I don't mind to much -- in a very real way, he is my little brother."

He hmms at Simony. "I admit those are my most -spectacular- spells, but I've gotten plenty of mileage from force walls and shadow conjurations. You'd be surprised what you can mold from a little shadow-stuff and illusion."

As the plates are set down, his eyes glint. "Oh, that looks -- and smells -- wonderful, Simony. And thank you for skipping the hot peppers. Neither Lana nor myself seem to have a taste for them, to be honest."

"Those look wonderful!" Cor'lana says with a wide smile. "Yes, Tel and I really don't care for the spicy stuff. I'll take something sweet and lovely any day of the week--"

And then she smiles just as brightly as before at Simony. "Now hold on. 'Practice on'... Are you seeing someone, Simony? Not any of my business, really, but I do like to celebrate my friends when they are happy and in love."

"Don't tell her," Pothy says as he's already digging into his pancakes. "She'll write you poems, or she'll turn you into inspiration for the next song she's commissioned to write for a Theatre District show."

"Hmm, you may be right there, Telamon. From what I have read, those spells work very well in artist's hands. I can only imagine what creating shadowy conjurations as various pieces of art would be like. Only temporary though, right?" Simony settles herself down in an empty chair, a stat of pancakes on her plate. "You may share mine, Pothy." It looks like she may make a contest of it, using a fork to quickly cut the pancake into bite sized chunks.

"You're most welcome, Tel, and you too, Lana. You've done an awful lot for us, and for me, it's the least I can do to serve up a hot breakfast."

Her cheeks go beet red at Lana's question, and Pothy doesn't help matters by suggesting what Lana may do with the answer. "Maaaaybe!"