chopped. {fi/indy/am/harvey/vi}

“Well, of course it’s complicated Fiora!” he replied with a grin. “Eggs. What’s the point if I’m not challenging myself? Where’s the fun in making pancakes or a calzone when I could really push myself to new culinary heights?” The kitchen was full of ingredients, and to his alarm, a growing amount of people. As long as they didn’t move any of his dishes around, they were fine; but he was making sure to keep a wary eye on the cat, the applesauce incident still fresh in his mind.

The pastry was safe in the oven at least, with another fifteen minutes to bake. He’d just put the beef in the fridge too, in order to keep it from losing its shape. The duxelles he’d finished before anyone had popped into the kitchen, so now he finally had time to work on the green peppercorn sauce. The pan was already a medley of shallots, garlic and thyme with olive oil, but the moment had come for him to add the brandy and flambé it. The flames shot up and he was lucky he didn’t singe his eyebrows.

Who’re you all voting for anyway?

Indigo almost put the pan down on the counter instead of the stove as he turned to look at her. Straight and to the point. He sucked at his teeth before replying. He may have occasionally put his foot in his mouth over the months, but even he knew not to flat out say this. “Mr. Nox wants us to remove those who would run his company into the ground. I plan to vote accordingly.” He turned back to his creation and added stock for the reduction.

“Now is not the time to be petty.”

Fiora groaned halfheartedly in response, as if someone's told her that no she can't have pie for dinner.

Indigo shrugged.

"The last challenge was meant to publicly embarrass people. There's no need to do it again."

She stumbled for the first time in a long time.

Last night did not go the way that she wanted it too, but at the same time, she understood that there was nothing more she could do. Coralie was spiteful, Harvey had is own agenda obvious, and Beryl was a snake.

It was in the worst situations when people wanted to show their true colors anyway. She tried to keep a straight face, but even Amrin, ice queen extraordinaire couldn’t keep herself from cracking.

She hid for the most part that night, after a conversation with Whitney, who actually seemed to come to her defense in the situation, she made a beeline for the door and spent a good amount around the house just trying to catch her breath.

She knew that this was going to be a lot, and maybe it was true that she wasn’t doing everything she could in order to make herself known.

That or maybe she just didn’t have a penis.

---

She picked each piece of glass up from the ground and set them back into place.

Her skin glistened in the night sky as she took a shower that night and scrubbed herself of the negativity that she had experienced and instead tried to basque in a moment of silence. However, the moment she realized she wasn’t alone, she quickly finished and made a b-line for the door.

She went back into her room, Whitney missing, at least, from what she could tell, and Amrin simply grabbed her notebook and started to write out everything that happened as she remembered it.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough for her to feel a little better about herself. She passed the rest of her time by reforming new opinions of people and erasing the parts about them that she had noticed before.

After all, everyone surprised her.

---

She fell and rose in a seamless timespan, stretching and feeling her joints pop out of place for a split second. She sighed, pulling on another sweater and pulling the turtleneck proudly over her skin.

She pulled out her journal again, but only for a moment, as she realized that there was a smell coming from the kitchen. Her stomach instantaneously grumbled and she realized that maybe it was time to eat.

She walked out of her room and right down to the kitchen, however, she realized that she wasn’t alone. Fiora, Harvey, Indigo, and Violet had all been crammed into the expansive kitchen that Malcom Nox had built in his luxurious home.

Amrin had half a mind to simply back the fuck out of there and skip food until she could be all alone, but after what had happened at the event, she knew that wasn’t the best idea. After all, if she didn’t want to be voted out, she was going to have to find a way to show that she could be a bit more than just observant, even though that is clearly what got her far.

”Eggs bind things together. Peppers and cheese can bring out the earthiness of them.” Amrin added to the conversation, almost regurgitating something that she had heard before. She didn’t have too much experience with cooking, but she knew enough to at least get by. It was clear that Indigo was being his usual peacocking self, and Amrin could not blame him. Out of everyone, he was one of the safe ones here. However, Amrin wasn’t jealous. She thought he deserved it.

After all, not many men actually listened to what she said.

”That’s a cute cat.” Amrin gave a light smile, realizing that her callousness to most social gatherings had decided to clock out early for the day.

Good. Maybe this was her chance to actually get to know some of these people.

”Malcom Nox is a drama queen Indigo. ” Amrin stated flatly, realizing this quickly after the night ended. ”Its been a chaotic four months. That is for sure.” she sighed, pursing her lips before grabbing one of the stools and taking a chance to sit, her journal close to her.

”Only people we cant vote for are Poppy, The Snake, and Indigo. However, Vi, I think you are liked way more than you think.” Amrin said honestly, opening her journal to write a quick note to Violets name before closing it.

”However, to be completely transparent, I still am not sure who I am going to vote for. Im more of a wallflower then a revolutionary according to certain people” Amrin was referring to the three that said her name.

It was funny, because one of them had been in the room with her.

However, she had no business in making enemies with the people in this room. Everyone here had kind eyes, and that was hard to find anywhere in the district.

That didn’t mean the ice queen was going to let her walls fall.

However, if they wanted to ask her questions, she was going to be a lot more willing to answer then she usually would.

After all, she needed to think about her future more than her pride.

No matter how much it hurt.

"Vi," Fiora sighs, turning her head to look at the girl. "You're too hard on yourself."

Life is so much sweeter when you spend less time wallowing in your own mess. She thinks of her sister, always the other half of the coin: the sour to her sweet. They balanced each other out, but the amount of times Fiora had wanted to shake Lune out of her funk - it drove her near mad.

Fiora closes her eyes. You can't move mountains.

Amrin and Harvey spar, with Indigo, with each other. And they have a point - regardless of what Malcolm Nox claims in his tirades, his soliloquys - there's a glee in his eye as the tension rises. And as sure as Indigo is about not rocking the boat, when the boat has a leak in it...

She picks the book back up, reads up on the sauce, places it back down.

With her free hand (the other still rubbing behind Baxter's ears), she reaches over to one of the chairs, dragging it out with an effort truly unnecessary had she bothered so sit up.

"Have a seat, Amrin - and put the notebook down for once. Not everyone's so keen to be a test subject." She winks.

"All I'm saying is that it takes a while to pack up without notice - if Coralie's sent home she wouldn't be done packing until the new moon."

"At this point, I doubt we could change each other's minds anyway. "