smashrising | [Open] Let them drink tea

Who: Peach and YOU
What: Did somebody say TEA PARTY? No? Well *I* heard it. Come drink tea and chat!
Where: The dining area
When: February 1
Warnings: C for CUTE

Winter months were always dreary, especially if it meant being stuck inside to get away from the cold. Sure, some might not mind it, but others did. Luckily, there was someone around. Someone who had made it her mission to get people to smile and be happy.

That someone was Princess Peach.

Maybe you'd come for a snack, maybe you just wanted a quiet place to eat and read. Regardless, when you entered the dining hall, Peach was there, decked out in her finest, and she'd commandeered the space. There was pink everywhere. Ribbons, tablecloths, curtains, you name it. She was brewing pots of tea in elegant china, and she had plenty of blends to choose from. Plates were filled with cookies and cakes, that she'd spent hours baking herself. "Welcome!" she would greet people with a smile. "Please, come and have a seat! The party's just starting!"

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"Oh!" Peach exclaimed, spotting the robot finally, turning from her table of goodies. "Oh, no occasion," she explained. "I just wanted to do something nice for everybody, that's all!"

She leaned over closer. "What's your name?"

"Oh! How thoughtful of you!" Turing exclaimed, their face brightening up slightly. "Parties like these should be able to draw a crowd. I haven't seen anyone else around this labyrinth of a mansion besides you, so I hope this will entice the other residents here." Maybe the other inhabitants could give them some answers on their whereabouts, but then again, so can this regal-like woman while they wait.

"Oh, before I forget, my name is Turing. What's your name?"

Peach got over the mild confusion quickly, and her smile returned, as she offered her hand. "My name is Princess Peach! It's a pleasure to meet you, Turing," she replied. "I wouldn't worry about that, some good food and company should be plenty to draw a crowd, if you'd like to stay a while!"

Just as they suspected! They were dealing with royalty here! Turing had never had to introduce themselves to royalty before, but a quick look into their database caught them up on what to do in a second. They took Peach's hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you too, Your Royal Highness, Princess Peach," they responded. Wow, that was a mouthful. Still...it was the polite thing to say, right?

"Actually, I was hoping that you might have an idea on where we are," they then brought up. "A little while ago, I just...woke up here with no recollection of where this is. I can't seem to connect to the mesh and even looking outside through the windows isn't providing me with enough clues. I can only deduce that I'm not in Neo-SF anymore, but...where are we?"

"Please, call me Peach!" she giggled at the formal declaration, shaking Turing's hand back.

"Oh dear, I suppose what happened to me also happened to you," she replied. "I was in my palace one moment, and then in this mansion the next! It was without warning, too! I'm not sure what happened... Although I DO know this place is on a floating island, and there doesn't yet seem to be a way to leave, at least not that I've noticed," she explained.

"Ah, noted. I'll just refresh my protocols for addressing you by your name only," Turing remarked, a little beep emitting from them afterwards. Welp, protocols refreshed.

The robot then leaned in a bit closer to the princess as she told her story. "I can't believe it's not just me that just appeared here without rhyme or reason! And on...a floating...island? Excuse me, let me take a look outside..." Turing walked briskly to the window, trying to hide the fact that they were panicking on the inside.

Yep. Beyond the mansion there was just endless sky...without a ground. Yep. Okay. Nothing wrong with that.

Everything was wrong.

"H-How could this have happened?!" they yelped. "In all of my observations and within all of my knowledge in my database, I've never heard of a floating island before! This is impossible! And we're so high up too, there's no way to tell of any significant landmarks down below, so we can't even get the proper coordinates for where we are! This is bad, this is real bad!!"

"Oh my, please, don't panic! It'll be okay!" Peach tried to reassure the robot, getting up to put her hands on their shoulders. "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this!"

Feeling the weight on Turing's shoulders seemed to help ground them back into reality. They sighed. "You're right. I apologize for my sudden outburst, Peach."

It did make them wonder, though - Peach was right, there HAD to have been a perfectly good explanation for this, but what? "There's nothing that happens without a reason, no matter how big or small. I wonder if this mansion itself holds the key to why we were taken from our homes to up here?"

"It's quite all right," Peach told them, relieved she could get them calmed down to a degree. "I think it's entirely likely," she added. "But we're going to have to work together to find out what. And part of that is seeing to the well-being of our new friends here. That's why I've set up this party, to do my small part to help out!"

"Excellent point," Turing concurred. "I'm so used to being given the runaround that it seems like it's the only option! Hm, perhaps I need to restart a few of my settings, it's not like I'm in investigative mode right now..." they then trailed off before they started spouting out science-y jargon.

Instead, they turned their attention to the different pastries - it would be a shame to overlook all of them, and rude to boot! "Did you make all of these yourself, Peach?" they asked, "This is impressive! For once, I wish I had taste buds so I could try them all."

"Well just remember," Peach said with a warm smile, "we're all in this together! And we're going to help each other, and get all of us back home!"

She clapped her hands together eagerly at Turing's question. "Why yes! Yes I did!" she beamed. "I was up all night baking, but it was well worth it, I think!"

"Wow! It really shows!" Turing remarked, eyeing over all of the different baked goods. She really was taking advantage of her clock cycles!

"I've never really cooked anything before," they continued, looking a little bashful. "I'll chalk it up to not needing to eat myself. Don't get me wrong, I've read dozens and dozens of cookbooks and recipe blogs on the mesh, so I know the most basic and the most advanced terms, but...knowledge and application are two different things. I guess if I put my mind into it, I could boil water, but that's about everything I know how to do."

"That's the difference between knowledge and practice," Peach reminded them with a smile. "And if you'd like, I'd be happy to help you practice! It'd be fun to teach a new friend how to cook, I think."

"Really? I'd like that!" Turing exclaimed, smiling wide at the princess. "There's no reason not to learn a new skill! Even if I can't properly taste whatever I make myself...still. I suppose you would be able to tell me honestly what needs work with my cooking, yes?"

"I'll certainly try!" Peach said, clapping her hands together. "I think it would be a lot of fun to try and teach you! I've never really taught someone else how to cook before... It'll be a learning experience for us both!"

[Open] Let them drink tea

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