Experimental Toast // The Bar

[halftwinkly]

THEN: Arthur made a brilliant discovery.

AND THEN: Arthur had tried to make toast. Literally, produce toast, on a plate. No matter how hard he tried, screwing up his face like someone trying to remember an answer in Trivial Pursuit, he couldn't even create a crumb. However, he could put bread in the toaster and have it come out as perfect toast, even after he noticed the toaster wasn't plugged in.

NOW: Arthur is in the Bar. Well, sort of. The Bar, on the basis that she isn't stupid, has put him in a little side room with tiled walls and floor. There are a number of objects in the room. Right now, Arthur is looking at a piece of bread very hard.

"Abracadabra!"

The bread explodes into croutons.

"...Oh dear."

There's a pile of similarly dispatched bread in a bowl next to him. The squid might like it, later on.

Comments

[missnicegirl]

"I made it extremely toast," Matilda jokes, beckoning another slice out of the bag. "I'll try to go easier on this one."

[halftwinkly]

"I tried that too, it just made a smaller hole," Arthur says, a little gloomily. He tries to beckon over a jam donut instead. It rolls along the table and stops in front of him. "Hey, look, I did it! Sort of. It didn't fly, but maybe I need a different magic word. What do you think? Do you want one too?"

He sees another donut. He beckons it. Gently. It shuffles towards him, trying not to spill it's crown of cream.

[missnicegirl]

"I don't think it matters which magic word you use," says Matilda, helpfully. "I might have a donut after I figure out how magic toast works."

She studies her next victim intently.

[halftwinkly]

"But it has to. It does in all the books. Look." Arthur points at an apple. "Expelliarmus!" The apple goes neon pink, and explodes.

"But if I try this one, it'll be different. Abracadabra!" The apple bips out of existence. "See?"

[missnicegirl]

"...that's fascinating," says Matilda. She's distracted as she turns back to her bread; this time it catches fire and hangs in the air for a moment burning merrily until she snaps her fingers and puts it out.

"Darn," she says. "Oh well, there's plenty of bread." She shoos the charred husk into the nearest trash can.

[halftwinkly]

"There is, isn't there? I told the Bar I wanted to make toast and then a rat took me here." Arthur absently takes a bite out of the jam donut.

"I didn't know that it would have a whole room with bread in, but it does. I suppose people must want sandwiches and things though. Perhaps you should just ask the bread to be toast? That's what I did. Except it didn't work."

[missnicegirl]

"Maybe you're right," she says thoughtfully. "Maybe I'm thinking too much about the, the process of toast."

She summons forth another slice and says politely, "Be toast, please."

There is a puff of warm air.

The bread becomes toast.

[halftwinkly]

"Oh, brilliant! You did it!" Arthur holds up his non-sugary hand for a high five. "How did you not blow it up though?"

[missnicegirl]

Laughing, she high-fives him. The toast scoots helpfully out of the way.

"I'm not sure," she says cheerfully. "Lemme try again."

[halftwinkly]

Arthur carefully beckons over a piece of bread. It bunny hops like it's in a sack race. He holds it up to Matilda's toast.

"Look, can't you be like that?"

The bread droops a little, clearly ashamed.

"Can you make things? I tried to make a really big Pringle, but nothing happened."

[missnicegirl]

"Well," she says, "I can make... ice."

She tries to keep quiet about the lightning and the fireballs unless absolutely necessary.

"But not a lot of stuff that's more complicated than that. I've never tried making food."

[halftwinkly]

"Oh. Why not? If you can make ice, I bet you could make an ice-lolly really easily, it'd be brilliant on hot days!" Arthur pokes about hopefully and comes back with some lolly sticks.

"You could make them so they don't melt before you want them to and everything."

[missnicegirl]

"It's a little bit different," she says. "...But not that different. Maybe you're right. Hmm."

Matilda dismisses her toast and summons a stick instead.

[halftwinkly]

Arthur picks up the toast and turns it over. Then he shows it to the bread.

"Be like this."

The bread obediently turns brown, although it doesn't warm through. Arthur beams anyway, since at least nothing exploded this time.

[missnicegirl]

The way Arthur does magic is really, really interesting. She can't wait to talk to Jim about it. It reminds her of Miss Trunchbull only cute instead of evil.

For now, though... first, she makes a Popsicle out of pure ice. That's comparatively easy; all she has to worry about is the shape.

[halftwinkly]

"What flavour is it?" Arthur asks eagerly. He puts Matilda's toast and his own almost-toast by the squid bowl and turns his attention to this new thing.

[missnicegirl]

"It isn't any yet," she says. "The flavour's the hard part. I was just practicing."

[halftwinkly]

"Oh, sorry." Arthur says, abashed. "I thought it looked a bit pale, I thought maybe it was lemonade flavour. Um, are you going to just ask it to be a flavour?"

[missnicegirl]

"I'm not sure," Matilda says thoughtfully. "Why don't you try?"

[halftwinkly]

Arthur hesitates, giving the ice his own hard look. Then he points at it.

"Please be raspberry. Abracadabra!"

The lolly goes acid green.

"Um...?"

[missnicegirl]

"...I'm kind of tempted to keep that for chemical analysis," she says. "My turn."

Raspberry sounds like a good idea, so that's what she tries for. What she gets, unfortunately, looks for all the world like pure ice again.

[halftwinkly]

"It didn't change colour. But that's okay! Sometimes you get that water that tastes like things but looks like water. Or vodka. That looks like water but its definitely not."

Arthur gives the lolly a suspicious look. "One of us should try it. For science."

[missnicegirl]

"I will," Matilda decides. She essays a tentative nibble.

After a moment: "Nope. Ice."

[halftwinkly]

"Maybe you need a different magic word?" Arthur waits till Matilda's clean. "Uhm. Reparo!"

The ice lolly turns into a raspberry.

[missnicegirl]

...

She laughs.