A Luncheon?

The day was cool, and four buns gathered in a warm home. With them were six imps. The host was Rosamel. Her three imps tried to entertain the other three. This kept the imps out from being underfoot.

Aletheia was the only one who hadn’t brought an imp as she did not own one yet, but she enjoyed the way the imps played at their feet.

There was a knock at the door and Cailen let in Argus, who carried his two imps in. Within moments, he was on the floor  with all the imps. All the imps started to climb him, happy to include a bun in their activities.

Montresor was in the kitchen with Rosamel, helping her prepare the lunch. The dour man followed instructions to a fine point. Cailean went back to making sure no one entered the kitchen by blocking the door.

The pink haired bun had planned this luncheon, inviting only a few people. She had not expected Montresor to accept, but he was more than welcome. There were four others she had invited, but she was not sure if it would be a good idea if she had eight guests and all their imps or if they only needed the four buns that were already here.

Just as she thought about this, she heard the tell-tell laughter of Baduhenna and Panacea. The sounds of Lord Carduus and Matteo making it known that they brought their imps too. At least the imps could keep each other entertained. Rosamel attempted to tally out how many imps were there now. She looked out of the kitchen and started counting.

Lady Eglantine was on her fluffy bed, which she reluctantly shared with Finlay and Fortunato. Three. Matteo played with Allayne, Duncan, Serena, Imris, Oriana, Ollie, Archie, and Pippin. Twelve. Lord Carduus was gathered with Mariah, Sorcha, and Finlay. Sixteen. There were sixteen imps and only seven buns.

Argus was cross-legged on the floor, acting as imp-sitter, luckily. Rosamel decided that it would be good to give Argus a pie to take home. She goes back to the kitchen, where Montresor was mixing together some dry ingredients for her. The duo worked in sync, the kitchen only having the occasional imp intruder, usually Montresor’s guyst.

Baduhenna, Panacea, and Aletheia decided to play spades, pulling Cailean away from the kitchen door so she could partner with Aletheia. What could possibly go wrong with four pride buns playing cards? The answer is a lot if they let their pride get a hold of them. This is why Argus kept an eye on them, especially seeing as Baduhenna and Panacea were familiar faces at his business.

From the kitchen, Montresor and Rosamel could hear the group laughing and cussing. She did not know what they were doing, but, at least, it was keeping them from causing trouble. She had Montresor take the appetizers out, which were some small fruit tarts, veggies, and hummus. He also took the group a few drinks, to keep them sated until lunch was ready.

With appetizers and drinks served, he rejoined the hostess in the kitchen, intent on helping her with everything. Rosamel could not ask for a better helper, considering he was more than willing to listen to instructions. She had him get the pan from the oven and sit it on the counter as she finished setting up the cookie sheets. She had decided to make macarons and macaroons, simply just to confuse some with the correct pronunciations.

The scents from the kitchen had the imps, all sixteen of them, coming to investigate. The phantomiles were in the back, hesitant and a bit too sleepy for actually investigating food stuffs. The harpups were already at Rosamel’s ankles, making it hard for the doll to move. With Montressor’s help, she managed to navigate the kitchen and keep cooking. After a few minutes, Argus came in and gathered all the imps. He had most of them in his arms and the rest at his heels as he left the kitchen.

Back in the living room, Argus sat on the floor and played with the imps, his egghell in his lap. He made sure none of the imps wandered off again, swiftly scooping any that tried to escape into his large hand. The imps began to think it was a game and would get him to scoop them up, letting out happy noises as he did. Surprisingly, it was Lady Eglantine, the stroodle, that enjoyed this game the most.

Lady Eglantine would try to dart by on the left, then on the right, and even over Argus’ shoulder. Each time, Argus would catch the stroodle, laughing. Sorcha, the egghell, seemed jealous that her owner would be giving another imp attention. She would copy everything Eglantine did, which scared Argus when the little eggshell tried going over his shoulder. He fell on his back as he caught the imp, his eyes wide. In moments, he was covered, imps jumping and climbing all over him like a playground. He let them as he made sure Sorcha was okay.

At the table, the pride buns had begun to laugh at how Argus basically became a trampoline for most of the imps. The pampki, Allayne, and a bearly, Duncan, seemed to enjoy this the most. The two of them jumped all over Argus’ body. The gluttony bun accepted this as his fate, especially when imps began to curl up to him so they could nap. Allayne and Duncan didn’t nap just yet, using all their energy to chase each other, Argus becoming an obstacle in their path. None of the buns watching knew what game the imps had created, but it seemed calm enough.

Rosamel stepped out of the kitchen, a tray in her hands. Seeing Argus on the floor, she laughed a bit before speaking. “Lady Eglantine, Lord Carduus, Matteo, go use your beds and not our guest.” Her imps made noises as they went to one of the beds in the living room.

Aletheia put the cards away, clearing up the table so Rosamel and Montresor could clear their hands. Panacea, Baduhenna, and Cailean went over and got their imp off and away from Argus, placing them in various bed. Fortunato sleepily followed his owner.

Once the imps were off him, Argus sat up and put Sorcha on a bed with Allayne. His imps seemed particularly upset they couldn’t cuddle with him any more. Argus then went to help Montresor and Rosamel set the food on the table.

Once the table was set, all seven buns sat down. There was more talking than eating. Even Montresor laughed a bit at one of Cailean’s jokes. Cailean had to groan softly as Rosamel went into a lecture on the difference between macarons and macaroons. This lecture was interrupted as Panacea threw a macaron at Rosamel.

The brief silence after she was hit with the macaron made the others wonder what Rosamel was about to do. The laugh she gave caught them off guard, but not as much as the piece of cake that hit Panacea moments after. The silence was shorter this time, right before Baduhenna picked up a burger and threw it at Rosamel.

The chaos started as food began to fly across the table. No one was safe. Montresor got a faceful of potatoes. Cailean was covered in pie. Argus was hit with the fruit salad. None of the buns stood up, as the imps had gathered under the chairs and table, getting any of the scraps that hit the floor. Even with the food fight, the buns could not help but laugh.

The food only stopped flying once the buns were breathing heavily, tired from laughing, mostly. The imps were all over full from eating the scraps. Argus carefully got up and started to move the imps back to the beds, knowing they would likely want to sleep the food off.

Rosamel got up and started to clean the mess. There was almost nothing she made left on the table. As she cleaned up, taking empty trays and platters to the kitchen, she brought out all the elements for everyone to make sandwiches. She would make sure everyone has something to eat, even if it was not something that she had made.

Once the imps were in beds and the dining area cleaned up, everyone was sitting down again. They talked as they made sandwiches. When Montresor put olives on his sandwich, Cailean and Panacea gave him odd expressions, as if they thought olives were a crime to bun-kind. Montresor ignored them and happily ate his sandwich, even as the two of them grimaced.

Once everyone had eaten, they thanked Rosamel for the invitation and began to leave. Montresor was the first to leave, carrying Fortunato in one of his arms. Cailean thanked Rosamel with a hug and gathered Duncan and Finlay as she left. Aletheia left, waving to everyone. Panacea and Baduhenna gifted Rosamel the cards they had brought before they gathered all seven of their imps. Argus stayed behind to help Rosamel clean up. When they finished, he gathered Sorcha and Allayne in one arm and Rosamel gave him a pie, as she had promised herself she would do. With her house empty again, she sat on the couch and her imps all curled into her lap.