A Baker's Dozen

[Nkunda]

May 23rd, Year 1

A blaze of pale ruddy fur and black mane whizzed through the palace gates and into the gardens. A satchel of something smelling amazing hanging from the lion's jaws as he came to a slow. His eyes were full of mischief and victory as he strolled to the center of the gardens dropping his prize down with excited glee. He wiggled before he looked around, he had seen his siblings here earlier, same with his friend Owl's family maybe they would like to share the baked goods with him? Donuts and pastries all sorts of things, he snatched from the town. He knew technically he could just buy them but where the hell was the fun in that.

Again he grinned before hopping up on the fountain ledge. "Kovu, Mheetu, Tani, Owl, Kula, guys come on I got us some snacks! Real good stuff too!" He cackled loudly before snatching up one of the jelly pastries. He had made a point to avoid the chocolate ones, they had made him sick the last time after all!

[Dotty]

The sound of shouting brought Dotty to the palace garden, her satchel of seeds slung across her back from working in the other gardens of the palace to help grow food for the ever growing army. Her paws were somewhat grubby from working in the soil planting new fruits and vegetables that some of the merchants had brought the seeds for. Gardening work suited her, she found it immensely relaxing and more suited to her talents than hunting or fighting ever were back home.

he gave Nuka a warm smile as she approached before catching the smell of something that made her stomach rumble and her mouth begin to water. Whatever it was, it smelt amazing and the lioness was curious. It seemed her friend had already begun tucking into whatever treats he'd managed to find for his family members. Dotty had never been brave enough to try some of the foods the human members of the army ate despite how nice they smelled. She was always afraid that the taste would not match up to the enticing aromas or worse that she would eat something that disagreed with her and would make her sick...or vegetables. How humans could stomach eating food meant for prey like wildebeest astounded her to no end.

"Hi Nuka." she greeted him, pausing to sniff a bit more at the satchel of baked goods "What'cha got there? Is that some of that human food? It smells so nice!"

[Sol]

The commotion from the palace gardens tore the canine away from her work, as she hauled some items in a burlap sack to Nasira’s room. She was proud of her master for her new achievement as the Grand Vizier, but then again, knowing her as well as she did, Sol always knew Nasira would achieve a high position one day. Sol managed to set the burlap sack down just inside the necromancer’s room, before hightailing it out towards the courtyard. Her claws lightly tapped against the marble floors as she ran, tongue lolling out like an overexcited puppy.

She skidded to a stop next to Dotty, who smelled of fresh dirt and plants. It was evident to the Akita that she’d been gardening not too long ago. Her sky blue eyes creased as a smile made its way onto her face.

“Hey Dotty!” Sol chirped, before turning her attention to the sack of sweet-smelling things that Nuka had brought in from town. The smell of them reminded her of her days back in New York, when she’d steal a table scrap here and there. The doughnuts were always her favorites.

“Smells like baked stuff. What’d you bring us?” Sol asked, her tail wagging with excitement.

[Owl]

Owl was used to being the best. This had nothing to do with ego, as the werecat was always mindful about being humble (shocking considering her father), but that Owl had always been the big fish in the little pond. It wasn’t easy for her to be the little fish in the big pond, especially with how much of her self-worth she put into achievement and pleasing people. Compared to the other healers, Owl felt her slow, steady and gentle methods were inferior and unwanted.

Nevertheless, Owl still took part in her practices, as it’d become somewhat compulsory at that point. Over the past few days, several merchants had arrived to the city with their various wares, and Owl was able to secure a large sack of gemstones from all around the world. Crystal healing was an art in which the werecat was proficient. She sat in one of the areas where the garden path widened out, with the sack emptied, and worked at organizing the items; desert jasper, opal, gypsum, turquoise, amethyst.

She was some distance away from her father and his mate, who were sleeping on top of each other under the shade of a large leafy plant. Owl noticed that Nil tended to eat up more of Kattz’s attention when she was around. Owl was an adult and well beyond the point of being independent, but she still noticed. Owl decided she wouldn’t bother them.

When she finally pried herself from her work, a small crowd had already formed around Nuka. Owl had a passing familiarity with the gangly lion, but she wouldn’t necessarily call it much more than that. Her black nose twitched slightly at the smell. Pastries tended to be a staple food for autumn, especially donuts, so they appeared frequently in Halloween Town… though with special “quirks” such as the inclusion of spiders and eyeballs as ingredients. The werecat parted her mouth to mention something about bat-wing with swamp glaze being her favorite before stopping; that’s right, that would be seen as weird here.

Owl glanced back at Kattz and Nil. Kattz’s eye opened completely, rolled back, then closed again. Nil didn’t budge. Turning, Owl cleared her throat and sat back on her haunches.