Nanci
Bede made a sharp hissing noise at Sylveon, who had been previously attempting to take the (stolen) ice cream out of his arms. She made an annoyed grumble but backed off, and he finished writing the very clear and obvious note on the ice cream. It read: "BEDE'S ICE CREAM!! UNLESS U ARE OPAL DO NOT TOUCH. I WILL KNOW." Maybe it was a bit overkill, but he had bought it for a reason. He slid it into the freezer and grinned, admiring the now-put-away groceries. He fed Sylveon a small treat for listening to him, and glanced towards the stove. Maybe he should cook something...?
Emma
At the stove was Mallow experimenting with some ingredients at the stove, currently boiling some mushrooms and water. She was an artist in the zone, not even noticing Bede was there while her Applin was nearby. She turned and saw Bede, her eyes growing excited and ready to alert her trainer.
Nanci
Bede hesitated. Maybe he shouldn't cook now, actually. While it was a large kitchen and there was plenty of space for both of them, he wasn't fond of cooking while others were around. What if he made an obvious mistake and was ridiculed? He had only barely warmed up to cooking around Opal, and that had taken a lot longer than either of them had expected. He made eye contact with the Applin and almost instantly started trying to get Sylveon to come back to his shoulder so he could leave.
Emma
The Applin began hoping to alert her trainer. Mallow looked at it, and then followed her gaze to see Bede, immediately getting a big smile seeing him. She shouted from her side of the kitchen "Hey Bede! It's Mallow, remember me from the park?".
Nanci
He turns his head towards her suddenly, his eyes wide. He had been caught in the act of trying to coax his Sylveon down from on top of the fridge. He slowly lowers his hands, planting his feet flat on the floor. "Uh... Yes, I remember you." He confirms, his tone a mix of startled and baffled. This was an obvious statement, of course he remembered her- it hadn't been long at all since they first met. Sylveon gives a smug chirp.
Emma
"Oh great! Hi again!" She kept shouting, "I'd come over but I have to watch this pot". It was only after she mentioned that when she began wondering why he was here. "Say what are you doing here? A snack?", she'd gasp excitedly, "You cook too right?".
Nanci
He blinks, still wide-eyed. Why was she *Yelling?* He sighs, abandoning his goal to get Sylveon off the top of the fridge to approach Mallow- just so she would stop *Yelling.* "No, I was putting away groceries." He's finally stopped looking like a surprised rowlet, at least, his eyes back to their normal size. He decides to ignore the cooking question for now. He'd rather not talk about that when there was a very real chance she would try and make him cook alongside her, which he was *Not* Doing.
Emma
Mallow smiled at him, moving past the question too. "Oh that's nice, I prefer gathering ingredients from nature to buying them from a store, there's just this added to the flavor somehow". She smiled but left out how hard it was to look for mushrooms in a marsh.
Nanci
"I'm used to doing that as well, most of the time, but I wasn't shopping for just myself, and you can't scavenge ice cream." He's close enough to peer into the pot now, clearly curious. It did smell very good. "You do make sure nothings poisonous first, right?" He checks. If you didn't know what you were looking for, some things could be really, really dangerous but look very edible.
Emma
Mallow giggles at the ice cream comment, but she did know how to make it from milk. "Oh yeah the soup is safe, I know the differences between poisonous and safe mushrooms by heart". She could pick up subtle traits like stalk shape and scents that helped her lick out the dangerous mushrooms from safe ones. "But it's not done yet...", she examined her pot, "I feel like it could use something to balance out the tastes...".
Nanci
He tilts his head, thoughtful. "What else did you put in it? I can tell there's mushrooms, of course, but..." He studies it, switching to his cooking mindset subconsciously. If it was predominantly mushrooms and leaf-like vegetables, maybe a protein would work well... Or, on the other end, certain bitter berries and milk created rather creamy soups- perhaps she could go in that direction...
Emma
"I mixed a few vegetables in there with the mushrooms, all chopped up so the mushrooms could be the focus". Mallow was focused on her meal again, not noticing Bede's interest in it. Meanwhile her Applin hoped towards the freezer and looked up at the Sylveon ontop if it.
Nanci
"Maybe some kind of tofu that can soak up that flavor? It will add more to the dish without changing the flavors," He suggests. "Or you could go the creamy approach, but given your broth it might be..." He trails off suddenly and leans back. Her meal, not his. It's not like she'd specifically asked for suggestions. He purposefully looks away, his attention drawing to Sylveon batting down at Mallow's Applin from the top of the fridge. She was trying very hard to play with the dragon-type without leaving the all-powerful fridge-top.