Robbing the Pantry

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The moment Audi stepped through the door to the kitchen, she dropped her belongings like she didn't care for them anymore at all. There were so many curious things in here and she just didn't know what to start with, her eyes darting around the room as she stood in the middle of the floor, clearly torn. Finally, she scurried over to a cupboard, opened it, and started ruffling through it. Cans. She tentatively bit into one, then spat it out. Too hard to chew through.

She left the cupboard open and looked around the kitchen, searching for something more edible. She was vaguely aware of Aisling being there, but for now, finding food took precedence over manners... which Audi was pretty much free of, anyway.

Had there been anybody in the kitchen, they would surely forget all thoughts about food upon crashing into the wave of pungent smell Audi brought in with her.

Aisling hoped that no unsuspecting hungry students would come into the kitchens while the ghost and rat girl were there, but she figured there was less of a chance of people turning up in the kitchens than the breakfast room...or at least, she hoped so.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much that she could do for audi at this point, and being as audi seemed to be following her nose anyway, aisling simply sat/hovered on/over a nearby counter, watching the girl with a little smile

Next, she trotted over to the table. A bowl of fruit sat on top of it. Three apples took her only one chomp each to devour, then she glanced around again for something else. She chose a different cupboard this time and poked her head inside. Boxes, boxes... Audi inhaled deeply in a futile attempt to smell what could be inside. Nothing. Deciding she'd best just try, she took one box out. It wasn't that big, rather flat, and colorful. She turned it around in her hands as she examined it, then held it up above her head and squinted in an apprehensive manner. In a rapid movement she sank her teeth into one of its corners. Oh crap.
Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets and she made a gargling noise as a wave of dry cereal flooded down her throat. Spluttering, she choked down most of it and coughed up the rest, then watched the remaining contents of the box spill to the floor. Watery-eyed, she looked up to the girl and shook the box.
"Stupid..." she said in a shaky voice.

Aisling attempted to stifile a slight giggle at Audi's expression. she eyed the bits of cereal on the floor curiously, hoping no one would be especially bothered by it...they hadn't made too big of a mess, after all. the ghost girl gently nudged herself off the counter, and walked over to what looked a very large, walk in refrigerator. she looked it up and down for a moment, shrugged, and simply stuck her head through the huge, metal door. she ended up going in to about her shoulders, but she was rather happy to see a large amount of food--bread, cheese, fruits and veggies, some lunch meats----a couple of random poptarts that probably shouldn't have been there in the first place---other random pastries like muffins were located a bit farther pack.

Aisling whistled lightly into the refrigerator before pulling her upper body back out, and motioned the the large metal ....thing. "you have got to check this out....its hungry stomach heaven." and this way, there wouldn't be anymore cereal choking hazards...hopefully. everything it that fridge seemed to be right out in the open--no boxes or cans in sight, by the look of it. a little chilly, maybe, but she hoped Audi would think it worth it.

While Aisling examined the fridge, Audi was busy vacuuming up all evidence. The cereal box could have been stupid, but the contents were tasty enough. At the voice, her ears twitched and she looked towards the girl, then ran over and placed her hands against the door. Well, no, it was solid. Just to be sure, she bonked her head lightly against its surface, but no, only the other girl was able to phase through it. Audi then gave it a light push. Nothing. She frowned and looked to her partner-in-crime.
"How?"

Aisling bent slightly. there was a large, lock-in type handle set on a hinge. "lets see...i guess you woul pull back on the lever, moving towards the edge of the fridge, and then you should be able to use the same lever to pull the door open."

Aisling was pointing and motioning throughout this explanation, so that Audi could see what she meant, though she wished she could open the fridge herself. she looked to the door of the kitchen, trying to listen to see if there was anyone around. she didn't hear anything nearby, though. good. Audi could pillage in piece.

She listened for once, watching Aisling's gestures carefully. It was only when a human wanted her to do something that she really paid attention to what they were saying. Most other things that they talked about she found completely irrelevant. When she was done, Audi scuttled over to the handle and easily opened the door. A chilly gust of wind swept over the floor, making her fur rise on its ends. She pulled her cape tighter over herself and peered inside.

Heaven.

Audi ran in, looking around frantically, making small gasping noises at all the wonders in there. Where to begin...? Ah, what does it matter? She grabbed a whole loaf of bread and a block of cheese, a few potatoes and a chicken breast... and at that point she had to rush back out, her toes freezing. She placed her loot on the table then went back to close the door.
Returning to the table, she looked to the girl with a goofy smile on her furry face. Then she climbed onto a chair, stood by the table, and started staring at the food. She knew better than to devour it cold, and she knew that willing it to warm up faster wasn't going to work, but... What else was there to do?
Audi blinked, remembering she had company. She closed the door without allowing her to pick some food for herself. She glanced at the human and tilted her head, pointing to the pile.
"You want?"

Aisling watched Audi run back and forth with her loot--she was just so dang cute. she smiled at Audi's offer for the food.

"oh, no, i can't exactly eat--i don't eat. thank you very much for the offer, though." she figured Audi deserved a thank you, at the very least. funny, she almost felt bad because she couldn't eat.

the ghost girl scanned the room, trying to find a way to heat the chicken at the very least.
"i wonder if there's a microwave in here somewhere. she floated, scanning along the walls. was that a microwave? it was a pretty odd looking one, if it was.

She couldn't eat? Audi's whiskers twitched in sympathy. But that probably also meant she never felt hungry, and that would certainly be a plus. The rat poked the piece of meat tentatively, sadly, it was still far too cold. Picking up one of the potatoes to warm it in her hands, she followed Aisling with her eyes. She had no clue what was a microwave and why'd the girl need it and frankly, she didn't care that much at the moment. Food was more important than curiosity. Judging the potato to be good enough to eat at that point, she bit into it like one would bite into an apple. Delicious.

Why humans insisted on destroying the flavor of foods by overheating them was something she'd never understand.

Aisling plopped herself onto a counter. She would ask Audi if she would like to heat up the chicken once she actually got to it. maybe Audi simply didn't like it because it was cold? either way, she would mind her manners and not push Audi to mess with technology if she didn't want to.

it was strange to never feel hungry, and Aisling had actually experienced several cravings for chocolate and icecream...and then later, roast beef....but at this point she didn't really remember to much about how they tasted. she simply pushed the memories into the far reaches of her mind, planning on their staying there for all of the foreseeable future. she could still smell the food of course, though the scent only left her with a feeling of content reminiscence, and only once in a while made her long to eat again.

Esha was walking through the dining room to the kitchen to get something. A dry food? Maybe a cereal bar, or some actual cereal... or something sweet. Definitely something sweet, like chocolate?

Suddenly an idea hit her- Chocolate cereal. You are a genius Esha, she mentally patted herself on the back.

She picked up the pace but still kept quiet as she walked through the dining room and approached the door, she was almost salivating as she turned the doorknob slowly. So not to make a sound and get caught.

Now for the bread! Audi happily dug into it. The cheese and chicken were still too cold, and sadly, they were what she was actually looking forward to the most. As she held the loaf with both hands and took bites of it, her eyes were darting around the kitchen curiously. Her gaze slid along the furniture, the tables and cupboards, other appliances - the purpose of which she had no clue about - and finally, settled on the ghostly figure that sat on one of the counters. A wave of gratefulness flooded over Audi - how nice of the girl to lead her to those riches to pick freely from. It definitely beat eating trash. For months she lived off what people threw away, and while humans were wasteful enough to dump food that was still good to eat, she had to dig through piles of the more rotten stuff to get to the edibles. But, well, she didn't mind that much - searching was exciting. It's not like the smell was a problem, Audi didn't feel anything, and Aisling seemed to have gotten used to it already, no?

If the doorknob made any quiet click, Audi did not register it.

The not-so-neatly-but-sturdily tied bundle of rags that was all of Audi's belongings still laid abandoned right next to the door. If somebody were to walk in not minding their step, the chances of them tripping were rather high. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to Audi, they reeked of garbage as much as the ratgirl did.

Aisling was lightly swinging her legs as she hovered ever so slightly above the counter. she was quietly scanning the different planes out of boredom, and for a moment, she even peaked into the very bottom-most one. she shuddered inwardly at the half rotting spirits that she could see ever so faintly, but as she pulled back into the higher layers, she felt something different.

no, make that someone. someone living. she wasn't really sure if she was correct in her assumption, but something definitely felt different. she cocked her head to the side as if listening, but she sucked at sensing for spirits through anything solid. huh. she chewed on her lip slightly, deciding to wait it out.

The stone person opened the door slighty, and made sure the and ever so quietly, sneaked into the pantry on the balls off her feet. She held the doorknob and twisted it back into position, so the mechanism would make no noise shutting.

The first thing that hit her was an awful smell, like rotting rubbish If this is where the food is kept, she thought to herself while gagging at the surprising concentration of the smell, I might be less motivated to eat the school food. She looked around when she heard rustling. She stopped herself from smelling the horrible smell so bad by breathing through her mouth.

She took into consideration that if she were ill, she would be so for a couple of days with her slow immune system, She would have to be careful she didn't eat anything touching or causing the smell.

She saw a girl on the dangling her legs over a worktop looking at her, a furry person looking around the room with bread in it's hands. She walked in when her foot touched something, a bunch of rags containing something. She stepped over the rags and greeted them "Hello..." she said sheepishly, she hadn't been expecting company "Am I interrupting something?"

Audi placed the tips of her fingers on the block of cheese. Rejoice! It was good to eat. She took it in one hand, still holding the bread in the other, and chomped down into it just as she heard a voice. With sudden anxiety, she glanced to her baggage. It was all that she had now. She should be more careful where she left it. But the person who walked in seemed uninterested in it. Audi's eyes shot up to check out the newcomer. The human seemed nonthreatening, so the slightly ruffled fur on the nape of her neck settled down. The rat's uneven gaze slid over the girl, lingering a bit on the dot on her forehead. Cool... Finally she looked into her eyes, flicking her ears as a greeting and continued her meal. She disregarded the person's words, naturally assuming she was addressing the other human present in the room.

Aisling looked up as the girl came in. good, that meant she wasn't going crazy. dead and crazy...that would be a horrible combination.

"it's fine," Aisling replied to her brightly, still swinging her legs in a carefree manner--she didn't even think about how translucent she probably was. "I just brought Audi here on a little raid." she gave a nod to the rat girl before giving Esha an apologetic smile. the girl looked like she'd wanted to be alone upon coming into the kitchen, but Aisling would have felt terrible if she hadn't helped Audi find some food. of course, the rat girl's scent probably wasn't the best match for the kitchen, but Aisling wasn't even thinking about that too much--she'd been around much worse. the garbage smell was actually quite welcome in exchange for the smell of the dead.

Esha smiled and nodded to the girl, who was only half there, she could see the wall behind her. She disregarded what in normal situation would be strange scenarios, because she knew the school was full of them, whichever direction your head is turned in this school normally something unusual is happening she thought to herself.

She noticed a look on the spirit girl's face "Have you ever wondered who cooks the school's food. Nobody seems to do and yet it seems that as if by magic, there food on the hotplates." She said while opening the fringe, she noticed the cereal she wanted with the corner chewed off, and it was spilling all over the floor. She opted for a muffin instead. She got a plate and put all the foods that seemed good onto it, a muffin, several types of biscuits, green grapes, a bag of crisps, a few mysteriously flavored cookies. a half full mini carton of milk with a straw.

She sat on the floor with her legs to one side of her, leaning against a cabinet door. She looked at the ratgirl and her hoard which she was eating enthusiastically. She thought about a million interesting and thought provoking thing to say before deciding on "Nice to meet you, I'm Esha."

Audi's eyes flickered between the two girls as they exchanged words. Predictable. Get two humans in a room, and they do nothing but talk... She smiled to herself, shaking her head a little as if at the silly antics of a child that didn't know any better. She munched down the potatoes and the bread and was almost done with the cheese - now all that remained was the chicken. Frankly, she wasn't sure if she had any room for it at that point, but it was so long since she ate meat... meat that wasn't a recently-deceased pigeon, that is. She avoided meat that people threw away - it was too risky. She couldn't really smell it to tell if it wasn't too rotten to eat.

She flicked her tail, which was trailing down the back of her chair and onto the floor. Ah, well. A big change like this deserved a celebration, even if she ended up curled up and whimpering in pain at her stomach's protests. Audi picked up the floppy raw chicken breast and bit into it, her sharp incisors sinking easily into the flesh. She pulled strongly and ripped off a piece, then proceeded to swallow it without chewing. A rat's teeth weren't designed to grind meat.

As she ate, she scanned the newcomer further. The human's eyes were decidedly... inhuman, but what interested the rat the most was what the new girl was wearing.

"well, maybe no one cooks the food," Aisling answered with a mischievous smile. she watched the girl grab her snacks--darn, did she miss cookies. Esha...what an interesting name. the two both seemed to enjoy the food of the kitchen, whether said food was cooked by staff or not. Aisling couldn't help but notice what an odd cast of characters they were, though. a rat girl, a scottish ghost, and...well, she wasn't really sure what Esha was. but based on her eyes, Aisling figured the girl was different, just like herself and Audi,, and everyone else she'd met. the school was so interesting--finally, a way to keep herself from getting bored over the years.

She returned the grin to the other girl, took a a cream biscuit opened it and used her bottom jaw to scrape all the cream off. Esha disregarded the two pieces biscuit and moved on to the next one. She looked over to the ratperson, whatever she was. She had a unique fashion sense, it looked like everything she'd found pretty, all together. Just like her's then, but she had a bit of organisation to it.

The cream tasted nicer than the biscuits themselves. Why didn't they just sell the filling and she wouldn't have to do this, after a second of thought she decided that it would ruin the fun. One she was done with them she started on the muffin. She took a sip of milk.

The rat, Audi, was eating it's food more slowly now. Hey maybe it was full? for something so small, it sure could eat an absurd amount. "Hey Audi, I'm Esha." She said as their Eyes met. Could she even speak, wan't an Audi a car?

And, there we go. The chicken was no more. Audi huffed through her nose contently. It sat well so far. She ran her hands along her carpet-cape and glanced around curiously, the sleepiness from a full stomach not yet settled in. Catching the newcomer's gaze with her asymmetrical eyes, she blinked. She had already expressed her hello, hasn't she? But she supposed that it was normal that humans did not really register it. Audi nodded briefly.

Slinking off of the chair, she stretched her arms lazily. Esha. Esha.
"Esha." she said quietly, looking to the girl again. That word rolled off her tongue in a pleasant, natural way. If the ratpeople had a language, Esha could be one of its words. What would it mean, though?
She mused over it lazily, watching the person eat. Her hair was black, and her eyes were black... Esha would mean 'black', then, she concluded, an amused smile stretching her muzzle. Hey, maybe Audi would make up their language on her own.
Black seemed to not want the biscuits she licked the cream off of, so the rat decided a dessert wouldn't hurt. She trotted over to the girl and stopped to hover her hand over the sweets, giving her a questioning glance.

Aisling crossed her legs quietly, watching the other two. Audi seemed to....speak without words for the most part. curious. she would have to learn to pay attention. maybe even try out some wordless communication herself. it seemed to be quite common for most ghosts...though usually through smashing things and banging on ceilings and the like.

Esha put the plate between them "Take as much as you want, I'll get more cream biscuits." She got up and discarded the cream less biscuits in the bin and got another sealed packet of sealed sweet biscuits. She sat back down and put them beside the plate. "It's the school's food, not mine." She took anther sip of milk and broke one of the mystery cookies in two. Hmmm... Chocolate? She started taking small nibbling bites. Dark chocolate. She took a bigger bite. 70 percent. She was pleasantly surprised, it wasn't a common thing to have in a cookie as a filling.

Finishing off the cookie, she knew she was going to get heartburn if she ate anymore at one sitting. After a small breather she began eating again.

Dang, Esha seemed about ready to put away as much food as Audi. Aisling cocked her head and looked between the two, wondering how would win at an eating contest.

what a strange thought to have.

"so, Esha...," she began curiously. "how did you end up at Lillegard?" she liked to hear stories--other people's in particular. she liked to tell them, too, but today she was in a listening mood.

Bowing her head a bit as thanks, she reached for a biscuit and nibbled down on it as Esha stepped away. The next thing the girl did made Audi gasp in terror, inhaling some crumbs and sending her into a brief coughing fit. How could she?! Humans, honestly! She hissed in displeasure, spraying some cream around, then quickly sprinted to the bin. In a practiced motion, she removed the lid and ducked her hand into it to retrieve the biscuits and stuff them into her face. Chewing on them, she shot Esha a begrudging glance with narrowed eyes, then peeked into the trash can again. Hey, she wasn't hungry anymore, but who knew what else was in there? She picked out a banana peel and dropped it off to the side, and an empty cardboard box quickly followed suit. Audi wished her sense of smell wasn't completely dead, else she would have been able to check without fussing about with looking...
For all that she cared now, the other two could have disappeared into nothingness as she ruffled through the contents of the bin.