Mac N' Cheese

Examining the apple, Ava let out a slight frown as she thought about the process of prediction. Although she had succeeded on the third try, she knew she was still far from truly crossing the threshold, luck had played a large part, and Ava couldn't deny it. Although she had hit the apple, it was just because she had a general idea of where it should go, but she wasn't honestly that clear where it would land, just a general idea of direction that happened to be correct.

But for today, that was enough. Ignoring the concept of luck in any further throws, it would also be a matter of confidence and, perhaps most importantly of all, damaging a perfectly good apple.

Rubbing her thumb across the battered and bruised outside of the apple, Ava couldn't help but feel her heart pang a little at how soft the flesh was. Doing her best to rid the apple of any grime on its surface, Ava walked back to the corner where she had eaten earlier and quickly polished off the apple before washing it down with a bit more barely tea.

Grimacing at the bitter taste, Ava couldn't help but let out a sigh before returning to the center of the field, wielding both swords this time and practicing the basic motions yet again. Practice made perfect, and it had the additional benefit of helping her digest her nutrition more effectively.

A few hours later, Ava brushed the sweat off of her forehead and couldn't help but stand in place while taking deep breaths. Placing the swords back on the rack, Ava quickly cleaned up her stuff and wrapped it up neatly before putting on a shawl and exiting the training area.

Although generally speaking, the training area was in a slightly better place, and most people around the Foxes Respite knew not to provoke girls randomly in this region, there was always the risk of running into a drunken idiot or just a plain idiot. Although Ava didn't think she'd lose in a fight, there was also no reason to put herself in harm's way for a bit of vanity. Anyways, even if the idiot died in the end and she only got a bruise, were they worth that much?

Stepping back into the Foxes Respite, Ava waved at a few girls and nodded in greeting before making her way into the girl's courtyard and heading to where the baths were, only making a stop at her room to drop off her stuff and grab a change of clothes. Quickly washing up in one of the small pools, Ava couldn't help but feel rather relieved. Although she couldn't say she hated the feeling of being dirty, she could say that she liked feeling clean.

Dunking into the pool, she couldn't help but frown as she heard the door of the bath open before she relaxed and forgot about it. Anyways it wasn't like it was a private bath. Surfacing, Ava turned to look at the entrance but didn't see anyone. Sensing something, she quickly turned around as a soft voice shouted out, "Boo!"

But in the end, the girl with scarlet hair who had been leaning on the other side of the pool ended up being much more startled than Ava was, as she fell backward onto her butt and got her dress wet.

Pouting, Lily glared at Ava, "You're no fun anymore."

Smirking, Ava picked up a sponge and threw it at the playful girl before getting up to dress.

Sitting on the floor with a dazed expression, Lily looked at the large dark splotch on her dress that had gotten soaked when the sponge had hit her. After a moment, she finally reacted and quickly stood up, letting the sponge plop back into the pool before running after Ava, who was already half-dressed in the distance, and hitting her playfully, "Geeze, now I have to take a bath too."

Ava smirked and said, "I'll be waiting for you in the canteen."

Exasperated, Lily smacked her forehead before saying, "Crap, it's macaroni and cheese today. I can't be late."

Rolling her eyes, Ava walked out of the bath carrying her dirty clothes before returning to her room. Stepping inside, she quickly looked around for any other dirty clothes, and after grabbing a couple of pieces of underwear, socks, and gloves that were rather dusty, she held them all and exited her room before entering Lily's room and dumping the pile of her clothing on Lily's pile of dirty clothing. Then looking around, she quickly grabbed a casual change of clothes that consisted of a light blue shirt and a pair of beige-yellow shorts, and then after a moment of thought, also grabbed a change of socks and a hairband before walking back to the bath area and catching Lily who was just now exiting the bath and trying to figure out if she should put on her dirty clothes again, or try to make a break for her room.

Lifting the stack of clothes in her hand, Ava looked at Lily teasingly. Lily, seeing this, let out a breathtaking smile before quickly drying off and changing into the clothing Ava had brought and hugging the girl. "Alright, let's go get some food. Haley will join in a bit. Ahri's out for the night, so she said not to wait on her."

Nodding in agreement, Ava couldn't help but speed up her steps as she remembered Lily mentioning that today was macaroni and cheese. Ever since she had had that first bite of cheese with Ahri a week or so back, she had to admit that cheese had become one of her favorite things, no matter what form it took.

As for Sasha's Mac, well, the lady was a whiz in the kitchen, but she was also rather practical. Only the first batch of noodles was made with her special five-cheese blend, while the later ones were typically a mix of one or two cheeses. While they still tasted great and were a good hearty meal, if any of the girls had a choice, of course, they'd try to snag a bowl of the good stuff.