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Day: 13
Choice of Ingredients: Flavor-Blackberries /Color-Inkay ink /Aroma-Frost leaf/Charm-Dark Chocolate
Bake!:

Basilisk rubs his wings together and hypes himself up as he stares at the ingredients he's gathered, and tries to build up the mental fortitude it's going to take for a little Rookidee like him to navigate a kitchen and put this pie together.
Thinking about the advice Auntie Appleton had offered him when he declined her help in the kitchen, Bass does two quick things before he begins. First, he preheats the oven. Auntie had reiterated the importance of this first task at least eight times, so Basilisk figures it's pretty important. Secondly, he performs mise en place, doubling-checking that he has all of his ingredients spread out on the counter before he gets started. Thirdly, he regrets his initial decision, and, even if he wants to do most of it on his own, Bass reinvites Auntie into the kitchen so she can help him, even if it's only a little bit.
The premade crust Auntie had so generously given to him, the Marshtomp Glove he had spent hours seeking, the Curled Bean Pods and Sugar Grass he had gathered by narrowly escaping some harrowing situations, and the blackberries he had endured a hilariously unfortunate number of thorns to pick. In the spirit of the game, Bass doesn't have anything additional aside from the necessary pie tin and a few bowls. This is it, the pinnacle of all his hard work. It almost brings a tear to his eye. Or maybe both of his eyes. Yeah, Basilisk definitely is crying and he hasn't even started the baking process yet. She coos at him and soothingly pats him with one of her big forepaws.
Wiping away the sudden tears, Basilisk readies himself and gets to work. He's unable to operate a mortar and pestle given his avian physique and thankfully she takes over the task of grinding the Sugar Grass stalks into a fine paste. While she works away at that, Bass uses a small rock to mash up the blackberries in a bowl until they're suitable to be used as the main part of his pie filling. Next, he moves on to the Curled Bean Pods, carefully extracting the vanilla beans inside with a very tiny scraping tool, and depositing those in a tinier bowl. Then the most complicated part of the process: using the Marshtomp Glove to create a powder without inhaling too much of the scent. Even though it doesn't have too strong of an effect on Basilisk, he breathed very little in when he initially got them and doesn't want to test how potent the fungi can be. Using a very small grater (seriously, how does Auntie Appleton have all these teeny-tiny kitchen tools? How often does she have little mons baking with her?), Bass shaves powder off of the cap of the mushroom until Auntie signals that he's done enough.
She patiently finishes the Sugar Grass paste for him and then makes quick work of the vanilla beans before mixing all of his ingredients together. Basilisk watches with interest as the purple of the blackberry, black of the Curled Bean Pod paste, and orange-blue dusting of the Marshtomp Glove are overtaken by the beautiful, rich green of the Sugar Grass. With little fanfare, she stirs the filling for him, pours it into the lower pie crust, then delicately lays the second crust on top. His eyes are watering again by the time she places it in the oven.
"Oh, deary," she laughs good-naturedly and rustles the short feathers on the top of his head. "No need to cry! You did a wonderful job, I'm sure your pie is going to turn out absolutely wonderful!"
A little self-conscious to explain to her that he isn't insecure just overly emotional about baking a pie, Bass nods. "Thanks, Auntie. I really needed that."
The pie only takes forty minutes to bake. In that time, Basilisk retells Auntie Appleton all his ingredient-collecting tales, exaggerating details and tacking on fun little details to make her laugh. Once it's out of the oven, Bass is ready to swoop down and chow down, but she calmly explains to him that the pie has to cool before they can actually try any of it. During this downtime, Auntie tells him her own ingredient misadventures, which have Bass laughing like a madman, time flying by fast.
At last, she plates the pie and cuts two slices and Bass stares at his piece with wide eyes, unsure if he's ready to see if his concoction turned out scrumptious or downright nasty. Something about his thought process must show on his face (or maybe he just said it out loud) because Auntie sighs knowingly and tells him, "sweetheart, I promise you this pie will be delicious. Come on now, let's dig in!"
With great hesitance, Basilisk takes a big bite of the pie. And, shockingly, it's...
Really good!
The sweetness of the vanilla and blackberry is dampened by the deceptively powerful savory kick the Marshtomp Glove powder adds, and the flaky pie crust really ties in all together in a pleasant mix of texture and taste. With his eyes as big as saucers, he flicks his wings and tails up excitedly, Auntie chuckling sweetly at his enthusiasm, talking his ear off about how she knew the pie would be excellent the second she laid eyes on him. Bass can do nothing but smile back shyly, beyond pleased that his hard work payed off in the end. [910 words]
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