FIVE [Action]

[dunkinchili]

[A happily whistling Chili strolls into the kitchen, starts taking out ingredients for confectionery (sugar, flour, vanilla, chocolate, some spirits) when he heads to check the fridge for cheese, he finds a... cupboard, instead?

Still grinning, if momentarily confused, he opens a door. A block of ice.

It's a literal icebox.

Smile starts to waver, then...]

WHO DOWNGRADED THE KITCHEN BACK TO THE ICE AGE?!

[So loud, it just might sound out to the rest of the village.]

Comments

[cilantro]

Chili, don't shout.

[And in strolls Cilan, having been summoned by the sounds from the kitchen. (And judging from the book in his hand, he may have been reading or something when he suddenly heard the noise in here.) Nonetheless, if there is a problem with the kitchen, then he will be pretty concerned, since he's supposed to cook dinner or such later today.] Now, what seems to be the trouble here?

[dunkinchili]

EEEEYAAAARGH!!

[Okay, he's not shouting now, he's screaming. Is that an improvement Cilan?

He grabs Cilan's shoulders and pushes him towards the literal icebox, apparently forgetting how to speak in sentences.]

THAT. UGH— _wouldyoujustGAH!

[cilantro]

[No, that is not an improvement, Chili. In fact, Cilan actually looks kind of annoyed for a second there, eye twitching and mouth opening like he's about to lecture him or something as his brother pushes him over--and then whatever he was about to say promptly dies in his throat as he now sees what the problem is.]

An icebox? [Wait a second...] Where's the fridge?

[dunkinchili]

GONE, thaaaat's whatI'VEBEENTRYIN'_totellyouIT'S BEEN REPLACED BY THAT AWFUL THING!!

To think that us brothers, who ran a restaurant back home, are stuck with this ancient, sorry excuse for a kitchen appliance, it's disgraceful! It's a shame! It makes y'wanna hide away and never show your face again!

We gotta have a talk with whoever's behind this and get our fridge back!

[cilantro]

[You know, a normal, sane person would probably tell Chili that he's over-reacting (which, he is), but...Cilan actually agrees with him a little about this.]

Yes, this is a rather primitive taste... [He'll reach out to close the door of the icebox with his free hand--no sense in leaving the door open and letting the ice melt and drip everywhere.] I doubt that it will be easy to contact the people in charge to do something about this, but you and I should check on our remaining food and supplies to make sure that they're still here.

[Otherwise dinner tonight is going to be a sad affair, and...well, have you seen the look Ash gives people when you tell him that someone stole our food.]

[dunkinchili]

[That's because this is undeniably a travesty of epic proportions, Cilan!]

D-don't open that. It's... all there, trust me.

[A very well-fed looking Pansear waddles away behind him, cleaning food off from around his mouth.]

All, uh, apart from a few casualties...

[No, Chili hasn't seen that particular expression, but the look Ash gives when you insult his mother's pretty scary too!]

[cilantro]

"Casualties"? [...And yes, he is likely raising an eyebrow now once he notices Pansear waddling by behind Chili...you know, just out of curiosity...] So, what were you trying to do in the kitchen before you noticed that the fridge was missing?

[dunkinchili]

[Pansear burps up a small, puff of smoke.] Yeah, somefoodfellonmean'Cryssowehadtothrowitout. [Mumbled really quickly, before he answers the second question confidently:]

Make myself a cheesecake, 'cause I finished yesterday's!

[Where does it all go?]

[cilantro]

Already? [Gosh, that was quick.] Goodness, sometimes I wonder if you really know the meaning of "savoring the taste of your"--wait, what was that first thing you just said?

['Cause that sounded suspiciously like you said that some of our food had to be thrown out 8|]

[dunkinchili]

[Busted. He cringes, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, before carrying on with some shaky approximation of confidence.]

Hey, it's fine by me if you wanna eat food offa people, I ain't gonna judge you, but I don't think anyone else is interested in eatin' it. It was pretty messy.

[New plan! Say something disturbing and awkward to distract from the topic at hand!]

[cilantro]

[Cilan makes a face at that in response before he looks around, giving a slight sigh.]

Well, at least the kitchen appears to be clean now. [It's probably a good thing that Cilan didn't walk in when you and Crys were dealing with the mess, he'd probably be madder.] I'll have to make another trip to the grocery, but hopefully there aren't any further problems with the kitchen...

[Unless there's something else you're not telling us, but it's just the fridge that's changed now...right...?]

[dunkinchili]

Nah, we're good, unless someone decides to tear out our sink for a—

[Did you hear something loud, heavy, and possibly wall-rattling?]

Pump?

[... do you even dare to look?]

[cilantro]

[...Cilan turns to look, and sure enough, it looks like the area where their sink was has been replaced by an old-fashioned pump. He can't help but stare speechlessly for a second. If this was an anime, there would probably be a sweatdrop here when he finally speaks.]

...Well, I must admit, their taste in humor has rather convenient timing to it? [That is, if the guys in charge really have anything to do with it and all, never mind how this probably isn't a laughing matter right now.]

[capturespecialist]

[Crystal peeks her head into the kitchen at the shout, wincing. Why are boys always so loud? Is it integrated into their DNA or something? Well -- time to see what the problem is.]

What do you mean by Ice Age? [Because if there were real Mamoswine walking about that'd be pretty cool. But obviously, there aren't any walking around making food for them, so.]

[dunkinchili]

[Hey, a new girl! There's a cute, new girl! In the house!

Chili would have taken time to appreciate this fact more if he wasn't so mad!

He points at the icebox, red-faced.] IT'SWRONGIT'SWRONG!!

ICE. IN A BOX. It's just ice in a box!!

[See, now, the open cabinet door reveals a huge block of ice just sitting there, comfortably dripping. This is so distressing for Chili!]

[capturespecialist]

[Yeah that would be a problem, wouldn't it. What's a bigger problem is --]

Don't just keep the door open, it'll melt faster! [GOD, BOY.

WHAT WERE YOU

RAISED IN A BARN??]

But that is pretty weird. I'm sure there was a fridge there before... [Not like she's the Master of Kitchens though, it's been pretty recent that she's been able to actually, like, be in the house and relax and get used to it.] Is all the food still in it?

[dunkinchili]

[He shuts it, still fuming.] Well, sor-ry, Princess, I was kind of distracted by the fact that our fridge ran away!

[He throws open another door.

Yup, their food seems to have all been jammed in, despite how small and unaccommodating it i—

Apparently, they were crammed in like tightly-packed clothes in a suitcase, exploding out of the icebox when he slammed open the door.

Enjoy the cold, mess Chili and Crystal (unless Crystal dodges out of the way of strange-smelling cheeses and half-eaten meals).]

[capturespecialist]

[Nope -- and ew, what, why are there so many leftovers

why does all this cheese smell weird!

She can't help but shriek. Gross, ugh, what the heck.]

Does this place need this much food when going out to eat is free! [R.I.P. perfectly clean outfit, she'll wash you as soon as she can.]

[dunkinchili]

[What would be a string of swears is largely broken up by more "GAAAH"s and the sound of unsalvagable food slopping onto the floor.]

'Scuse me, we cook in this house, so of course, we need this much food! A variety of cheese is only the barest of necessities! You wouldn't use the same kind of dish for a cheesecake as you would a pasta dish, right?!

Dunno who's packing away all these leftovers, though.

[Pansear walks over to pick up leftover cake and happily slurp it up from his paws. Well, at least someone's happy.]

[capturespecialist]

You don't need this many though!

[There's nothing wrong with like, repeating a few dishes or ingredients! They don't all have to be made specially!]

I'm actually glad they all came out even if I'm not happy that it's all over us, this is such a mess, because it'll be easier to clean the fridge... I mean, the icebox.

[dunkinchili]

[What do you know about serving fancy food, Crystal?! You're a trainer, don't you just eat boring, packed, and easily-transported food? He can afford to be impractical.

Usually.]

I don't see how rearranging everything will solve the problem, though...

[Grumbling as he tries to separate what's still clean and packed from the mess.] Who're you, anyway? I'm Chili! Fire Type's my speciality, I'm one of the Gym Leaders of Striaton City!

[capturespecialist]

[She can't say she's surprised at all to find he's a fire specialist. Gym Leader, maybe, but not about fire.]

Crystal, one of Professor Oak's aides and a pro-catcher from Johto. [She brushes herself off before she helps him out. It is kind of her fault for suggesting they look to see if everything's still good so...] Crys is fine. And I didn't mean rearranging, I mean cleaning. We're going to throw out whatever we don't need!

[dunkinchili]

[It's the temperament, isn't it?

He whistles, impressed.] You must be pretty smart, Crys!

Never met a professor's aide before.

[Weeell, in that case, he'll get a bag. Or two.]

Say, what's a "pro-catcher," anyway? Somethin' Johto-specific?

[capturespecialist]

[It is.

And nah, she's not smart, just hard-working! She'll take the compliment with a gracious smile though.]

It's what it sounds like! I'm not sure if it's just Johto, but Mama's one too -- we go out and capture Pokémon for people. Mama takes more high-end clients, I think... I've just helped Professor Oak with his pokédex. [There's other stuff, but that's her highest accomplishment. Barring "saving the world with her friends"] Mama and I are the best there are as far as I know, and we never leave a job unfinished.

[dunkinchili]

[He smiles back at her as he scoops wasted food into the bag.]

That's pretty interesting! I don't think we have those back in Unova, but they sound great for non-trainers that want Pokemon for coworkers or family pets!

[Wait, the pokedex? She had a hand in that? His eyebrows shoot up so high they look as if they might disappear behind his hair.] T-that's amazing! You're amazing!

[While he's gawking, he gets a little distracted when he notices some cheese on her outfit.] Aww, not the honeyed cheese too...!

[Hope Crystal doesn't mind him reaching out to snatch a piece of cheese stuck to her clothes and chew on it with a bit of a pout. What is tact. Also, hygiene. Does the three second rule count if food falls on someone?]