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Derlik tilted his head a bit, thinking.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure." He smiled a bit. "I usually just go with the flow, but I haven't done something like this before." This was true. Usually, he was much less… tame
"Maybe we can make breakfast?" Nix suggested. "Miss Serna would be really happy!" He grinned brightly.
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"Sounds good to me." Derlik smiled, nodding.
"Let's go get started then!" Derlik headed out, leading Nix to the kitchen.
"Okay! I don't really know how to cook, though, so you'll have to help." Nix crawled onto the counter once they reached the kitchen and started pulling out random ingredients.
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Derlik nodded a bit.
"Okay, let's see what we have to work with…" He hummed faintly, pulling the ingredients over to himself.
"How about pancakes? They're quick and easy to make, and I'm sure the others will love them."
"Sounds good to me. What do I need to grab for that?" Nix asked curiously, looking down at all the ingredients he'd already dragged out.
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"Well," Derlik said, "With what you pulled out, all we would need is the flour and griddle. Do you have any idea where those are?" Derlik snooped around a bit, looking over at Nix.
Nix shook his head a bit. "No, but I can probably find them. What does a griddle look like?" He asked, hopping down onto the floor to begin searching.
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"Well, it'll long and flat, with a knob on it to set the temperature." Derlik smiled, finding the flour and setting it down with the other ingredients.
"Mmkay!" It took Nix several minutes, but he finally found the griddle. He dragged it out of the cupboard, panting by the time he succeeded.
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Derlik looked over, grinning a bit.
"Great job! Thank you so much for finding that." Derlik reached over to set up the griddle, patting Nix's head.
Nix purred at the praise and stood beside Derlik, his cheeks lightly flushed. "No problem! How long will they take?"
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"Well, it'll take a few a few minutes to mix the batter up, and then a couple more to cook it, so it shouldn't take long at all." Derlik smiled. He measured out all the ingredients, combining them in a measuring cup and turning to Nix.
"Would you like to stir this?" he asked.
"Okay!" Nix accepted it from Derlik and began stirring it, humming happily to himself while he did so. "How long should I stir it for?"
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"Go until everything is mixed together," Derlik explained, "And there are a few air bubbles in it." Derlik smiled, plugging the griddle in and setting it to preheat.
Nix nodded a bit and kept stirring until the consistency felt right to him. "Does this look right, sir?"
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Derlik looked over, nodding.
"It looks great!" He smiled at Nix. "Ready for the next step?"
"Mhmm! What do I do next, Mr. Derlik?" Nix asked curiously, holding the bowl of batter out to Derlik.
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"Well, now we pour some onto the griddle, like this." Derlik accepted the batter. The griddle was ready, so he poured some on in the shapes of pancakes.
"Oooh~" Nix watched closely, his eyes wide with curiosity and shining in the light. "How long they cook for?"
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"We cook them on this side until it's bubbling in the middle, then we flip them and in a few seconds they're done!" There was a shuffling from the hall, and Serna made her way in with a yawn. Both she and Derlik froze when they saw each other, the smile still on his face.
"Okay!" Nix looked up when he heard Serna coming in. "Oh! Hi miss Serna!" He grinned and waved. "Mr. Derlik helped me do makeup and now he's showing me how to make pancakes!"
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"Good mornin-" Serna stepped further into the kitchen, imideintly picking Nix up and pulling him away from Derlik.
"Why the absolute heck are you here?!" she asked, glaring at Derlik.
Nix seemed confused when Serna dragged him away from Derlik, glancing between the two of them with a bewildered expression. "W-What's wrong, miss Serna?"
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Serna frowned deeply. Derlik sighed.
"Serna doesn't like me," Derlik said. He turned, flipping the pancakes. "I'm too wild for her."
"Wild? You're a-" Derlik interrupted her. "What I am doesn't matter. I haven't done anything to Nix, have I? I don't hurt animals."
Nix turned his ears back and looked away, his eyes stinging with tears. "I-I'm not an animal anymore…" He whispered shakily. "I'm… I'm a person…"
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"Oh, no no no," Derlik said softly, stepping forward. Serna turned a bit with Nix, but that didn't stop Derlik.
"No, Nix, I didn't mean it like that." Serna glared at Derlik, gently running her fingers through Nix's hair.
Nix curled his tail around Serna's arm, trying his best not to rub at his eyes so he wouldn't mess up the makeup. "I'm a person…" He repeated in a weak voice.
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Derlik stood right next to Nix, wrapping his arms around the man.
"I'm so sorry I called you can animal," Derlik said softly. This, this seemed to shock Serna. Derlik was… apologizing? That didn't happen. Derlik lightly put his hand on Nix's head.
"You are a person," he assured softly. "I should have never thought otherwise."
Nix hiccuped weakly as he looked up at Derlik, trying to decide whether he trusted him or not. "I'm not an animal anymore…" He whispered. "They made me a person and I'm gonna stay that way. Y-You can't take that from me…"
