World Tree MUSH

    The travelling food fest rolled into South San Francisco, where the green mountains rise in the west. The site was a parking garage, multi-level, with the food trucks on the top level. Cheap picnic tables and folding chairs have been set out for attendees to eat at. Naturally, portable toilets are readily available. The variety is broad, though generally limited to portable street food. Sandwiches, funnell cakes, street tacos, corn dogs, cotton candy, and derivatives of such. Candy burritos and donut burgers, for example.

    Claire has purchased a lot of small portions, and has laid them all out on a picnic table. She's trying them all one at a time, savouring them all. She's got pen and paper with her, and is taking notes on each. She's writing down flavour profile, texture, speculations on ingredients. Then beyond that for things that really draw her interest, she writes down what she usually charges for the ingredients and compares that to the prices.

Benedicta's eating a vegeterian taco, she's not big on meat or junk food. The al-mir'aj girl is doing her best to keep a low profile she doesn't need people freaking out after all. She wishes that Lizzie could set up shop here but knows that she would draw too much attention from the public. The Order wouldn't be able to keep the magic world a secret forever though. She wonders how long they would be able to keep up the facade.

    "Lady Shuzenji, I must protest. You are above foods which sully your hands."

    A small girl in an ornate shrine maiden's outfit is staring at a hamburger truck. Her crimson eyes are the size of dinner plates. Her stomach is rumbling. The hamburgers look good. Very good. She very, very much wants some. But...

    "Here, look. At least that cart offers chopsticks. Come, that's much more befitting the dignity of a Shuzenji."

    The attendant standing with Matsu Shuzenji looks to be in her early to mid 40s, and looks upon the entire area with something that falls between wariness and disdain. The woman had been selected by the elders precisely to keep the young head of the Shuzenji clan from getting too out of hand, or acting too far beneath her dignity. It had been a condition of their consenting to this outing at all.

    "Kyouko," the white-haired Phoenix Maiden replies, "We are far from Arashi-no-Moto. There are none here to mark our behavior. Those present would not bat an eye. Surely a simple sandwich will not permanently sully my reputation." Her word choice is formal, but the tone underlying it is full of irritation. However, Kyouko appears unmoved. "I would know. And you would know."

    Glaaaaaare.

    "I will use ample napkins, so that my hands are not sullied."

    "Lady Shuzenji, that is not the-"

    A few random people in the crowd point at the cloudless blue summer sky, the lightly warm breeze of a California summer day tousling hair. Seemingly as one coordinated group, they scatter away from the tables and chairs near the middle of the venue, some diving for cover, screams of panic splitting the air as somebody comes crashing down from the skies above into a food-laden table with an unearthly wail.
    Standing, brushing bits of food and drink off himself, is some kind of odd man in a full-on French chef's outfit, with a ridiculously cartoonish moustache with curled ends and an oversized nose. He suddenly takes a deep sniff, looking horrified. Then he turns red with rage. "Swine! Barbarians! You commit such crimes against cuisine!" He seems to be addressing the food truck vendors, who seem unsure of what to make of this odd man. Then he gestures with his hands at the crowds. "Do not worry yourselves, I shall save you from these pernicious peddlers of pedestrian fare." There's nervous laughter and chuckles as from nowhere he whips out a wooden spoon sized more like a spear than an actual cooking implement. With an imperious wave of the giant spoon, the food starts flying, spattering and breaking against people and trucks. "Allez cuisine!"

    Claire is disturbed by this brute. "Only a barbarian would waste perfectly good food." She retorts, "Only a criminal against cuisine would destroy meals. I declare you no chef but vandal, and you will financially compensate me for your wanton destruction." She draws her sword and rushes forward to strike the spoon, "Begone, enemy of food, false chef. You shall never more set food in a kitchen if I have anything to say about it, because no kitchen deserves your tainted hands."

Benedicta freezes in her tracks for a moment at the loud crashing sound and places her hands over her large ears as they pop out of her hoodie. She can't help but to roll her eys at the chaos that's suddenly unfolding. "Can't I go anywhere without a nutcase ruining everything? You're not helping anyone. Just go back to whatever over-priced resturant you crawled out of before I have to kick your ass..." It seems like someone beat her to the punch though as he's being attacked by a woman with a sword.

    Both Matsu and Kyouko turn as one at the sound of a commotion. For a brief moment, Kyouko looks... pleased? Or at least smug. It's hard to say. "Well. At least someone-"

    She quiets when the weapon-esque spoon comes out. There's a little gasp of surprise from the older woman when the mad chef starts sweeping food away.

    Matsu drops all pretense of courtly language. "That was perfectly good festival food you overstuffed pillowcase! A family of three could eat for days off the food you just ruined! And it all looked really good! I'm going to scorch your backside so badly you won't be able to sit for a month!" Without skipping a beat, she starts to sling fireballs. One after another after another. They're not... really all that powerful. But they're something.

    Claire's steel is met with a rattling of the enormous spoon towards her. "Ah, a maid with true steel instead of that glittering thing the one chasing me had! It seems fair tha-" The magical chef stops suddenly as Matsu's fireballs light his magnificent mustache aflame, hurriedly putting it out with both hands with a startled shriek. A dark look crosses his face as he recalls the spoon to his hand and grumples foul imprecations about Matsu under his breath. He then turns to Benedicta. "Overpriced?! I'll have you know-!" He ahems with a scowl as he raises the spoon and gestures with a hand, humming something that might be the main melody of The Sorcerer's Apprentice as the bashed bits knit themselves together into animate dolls of ruined foodstuffs. 
    "Rise my mashed minions, and show these waifs the horror of hors d'oeuvres!" The man laughs as the little food golems shamble and attempt to mob Matsu, Benedicta, Claire, and those bystanders who haven't had the sense to flee yet.

    Claire blinks and looks at her clearly purple sword. "Don't think this is steel." She mutters, leaping backwards to dodge Matsu's flames and pulling out her slingshot, grabbing a red orb, pressing the button and firing it at a spot with plenty food golems and no remaining civilians. It explodes on impact. "Looks like your cooking is a little burnt."

    Kyouko was not expecting to be in danger. She might be going into a bit of a panic. "I- L-Lady Shuzenji, what is-" Every time she starts to say something, there's a startled yelp to cut it off; all the moreso when lumbering food golems start to make their way in. Matsu, meanwhile, doubles down, planting her feet. "Kyouko, go find somewhere to hide. You'll just get in the way." In the meantime, the head of Clan Shuzenji fishes in a pouch for a very particular set of tools. Her fireballs might only be a modest hazard to the chef, but for golems bound together by magic, the Phoenix Maiden has something much more useful.

    "Evil spirits, begone!" the former shrine maiden intones, suffusing the spread of banishing talismans in her hand with spiritual power - and on top of that, they seem to catch fire, shimmering a vibrant orange as the girl pushes Suzaku's purifying flames into them. A one-two whammy of anti-supernatural paper ofuda, infused with purifying magic besides. These, she begins throwing at the golems, rapid-fire.

"Man, the Cabal is getting desperate at this point if this the best they can do." Benedicta eyebrows raise a bit as Matsu throws the fireballs. "Remind me to never piss her off." Her horn glows yellow and her claws extend outward as she starts to slash apart the food golems. "I guess his parents never yelled at him for playing with his food. She frowns a bit at the tailsmen a bit, she certainly doesn't want to get hit by those either. She keeps some distance from Matsu not wanting to get hit by friendly fire.

    The food fight continues, though not in the chef's favor. Claire's bombs explode quite a few food golems, while Matsu's paper ofuda causes most of them to crumble. The sheer stinky mess of jumbled food is going to attract the seagulls later... Benedicta takes out the stragglers with her bestial claws.
    Which leaves the chef himself. The man is practically purple with apopletic fury. "Phillistines!" With a swipe of the huge spoon, a wave of stale week-old donuts, hardened by age, is hurled at the trio. "Can't you see I'm trying to save you from mediocre meals?!" More donuts; stale crullers instead of the yucky custard-filled ones of before.

    "These meals are better than anything a food vandal like you could ever make." Claire retorts, "Someone who doesn't respect street food couldn't recognize good food if it was shoved down their throat. You are poison." She cuts through the donut thrown her way and approaches, "Forswear the name of chef, for you are not worthy." She aims to place her blade at the man's throat.

Benedicta gets smacked in the head by a stale donut, it hurts more than one might think. She nods in agreement with Claire, "You're not going to get many customers by forcing your food on others. That's a bit much though...he's annoying, he's not threatening anyone's life." She rather not kill anyone if necessary, it'll lead to more problems than it will solve after all.

    "Just because a food doesn't require twenty ingredients and three days of prep time, doesn't make it mediocre!" Matsu yells in reply. Unfortunately, she doesn't quite have defenses ready for a hail of old baked goods; they pelt her, and there's a yelp of equal parts pain and annoyance. That's going to leave some bruising, at least until her regeneration takes care of it.

    So she responds by starting to hurl more fireballs. "I've had better meals at a campfire than I have from self-important balloons like you!"

    The fireballs force the chef to dodge more than pay attention to a much more immediate danger; Claire and her sword. The man freezes up the instant the cold metal touches his neck. "Ah-! L-let's not be hasty now..."
    Arriving late, owing to not being a very fast flier, is a short figure in gold armor with face obscured by a full helm, landing gracelessly on the roof with a thud and stumble, a glittering diamond short sword in one hand. The figure seems to recognize Benedicta first, giving a polite wave. "Oh, you guys already took care of the En Colere Chef?" a female voice asks from within the helmet. "Great!" Then a glance around. "Uh, anyone seriously hurt?"
    The chef seems to start to say something but then remembers he's within Claire's power and merely grunts in objection. 
    The golden woman asks "Do you guys mind helping me take him in? He caused me to crash by weighing me down with lard..." She seems embarassed about that. "And sorry I got here so late..."

    "Repeat after me." Claire states, "You, the En Colere Chef, are an insult to food and a traitor to cuisine. To atone for your crimes, you will never set foot in a kitchen again." The farmer insists, blade remaining in position. "I'm fine." She tells the newcomer, "But this jerk owes me money for the food he ruined."

    "I didn't come here to help make arrests," Matsu replies, her tone full of irritation. "I just wanted to shut that jerk up about food elitism." The glance over her shoulder - where a shaky Kyouko is just coming out of hiding - suggests that the Phoenix Maiden is not entirely talking about En Colere Chef. There is a pause, however, after which her expression softens. "...but I'm a healer. If anyone is injured, bring them to me. Even if it's just minor cuts or bruises. The only price I'll ask is food."

    She seems to consider for a moment, then glances back at Kyouko, who is busily smoothing out her robes. "...two hamburgers," Matsu declares. "That's my price."

Benedicta looks digusted upon hearing about hearing about the lard. "And what did that poor pig do to you?" She glares at the chef upon hearing what he did to Aurelia. "I'll take care of the paperwork so you can clean up." Her attention then turns towards Claire, "Yeah, sorry I can't pay for that. I've got a friend that runs a resturant though. I'm sure I can talk her into a free meal for your help though." She's sure Lizzie will be happy to exchange growing tips with the farmer.