MYO Questline 1-7

PART ONE

The first ingredient for the filling will be a few little slices of fruit– strawberries! Make sure to keep them small. Sweet and juicy, it will bring about a prominent color in the baobear with its vibrant red color. It will also serve as the basis for a kind and sweet personality.

The second ingredient will be the main component– cream cheese. Paired with the strawberries, this will bring about lighter tones such as pink, white, and cream. The silky cream will make the baobear soft and help keep their temperament calm and collected. It will not be easy to anger them.

The last ingredient is rosewater. The floral tones found within the water offer both a soothing taste and scent. The baobear will then be equally as soothing and show a lot of love and care, similar to a mother or big sister. But take care to only use small amounts.

Count: 152 Words

Part Two

There was a grandmother who lived by herself. Her husband had passed many years ago, and she had never met another with whom she felt as close to. This, however, was perfectly fine with her. She had lived a plentiful life and still had her beloved children and grandchildren. They visited her often and she loved to cook for them. It was the only time she truly had reason to make a grand meal of any sort. Most days she settled for a sandwich or soup for herself.

They would be visiting again soon– in just a few hours– and she had been working on a new recipe for her young granddaughters. Oh how she hoped they enjoyed it. After all, it was their cute, sweet demeanors that inspired the ingredients!

She waited patiently in front of her trusty old steamer, eager to see how it would turn out. At the same time, she tried a little of the filling she had made. Seeing as this recipe was a first, she was worried about the taste and decided to only make one for now. It took a bit of trial and error to even make it this far. Too sweet, not sweet enough, too mushy, a complete glob. It was a bit embarrassing for someone who once cooked so often. One would think it’d only take two or three tries. Well, the dumpling still had a bit to steam, so perhaps she should clean up a little.

Setting the filling aside, the grandmother got to work. She left the plate of chopped strawberries on the table, certain that her granddaughters would love to eat them up once they arrived. The cream cheese was re-wrapped and tucked into the fridge along with the rosewater. Old songs played through the radio while she gathered the dishes into the sink and took her time in washing them. Every now and then she took a peek at the steamer. When was the last time this little old lady got so excited?

Finally, just as the final dish was washed, dried, and put away, the little dumpling was done. Inside the steamer lay a small little creature. Pale in color with the faintest tints of little pink splotches. It wiggled and rolled just a tiny bit, as if trying to get its bearings. Oh, how adorable.

The old grandmother reached in and gently nudged the creature into her hand. It held closely to her thumb, little arms barely wrapping around. What felt like tiny little sensations against her finger was a rather familiar thing to her– this little creature was hungry. She laughed and was just about to grab that bowl of leftover filling when the song of her doorbell sounded, quickly followed by two sets of knocks. Her granddaughters had arrived!

“Oh my, what timing. Well then, how’s about we say hello to your family?”

As the creature, a baobear, continued its blind search for food, the grandmother walked to the door to greet her beloved girls.

Count: 503 Words

Part Three

The newborn baobear’s first meal was of the very ingredients used to create it. The young girls were eager and excited to play with their new, tiny friend and insisted on giving up their plate of fruit to feed it. The little dumpling creature sat atop a napkin and doily, munching on a slice of strawberry that had to be chopped even smaller just for it. The girls were completely in awe and scoured their grandmother’s fridge for anything else to feed it. One of them claimed that it must be thirsty which led to her sister searching for a drink.

She reached for the carton of orange juice and was about to find a small bowl when her grandmother stopped her. Even a small bowl would be too big, she said. So she took the little cap from the bottle of rosewater and let the girl pour a little juice in that. The girl was simply ecstatic to see the baobear drink from the “tiny cup” and walked carefully to place it on the table. Meanwhile, the bottle of rosewater was left on the counter. The creature itself crawled over to curiously sniff the liquid. It stuck a “paw” into the juice and gave a lick. The next second it was dipping its face right in.

Count: 217 Words

Part Four

It was a big day for the little baobear. She had been tasked with something incredibly important and exciting all in one– to buy ingredients for that night's dessert! Normally, one of the girls or even their mother would take the little creature with them when they went shopping. Each time she was allowed to pick out one little thing for herself and most of the time it was a sweet pastry or box of strawberries. This was the first time that she would be going on her own. Admittedly, it was a little scary. But she was determined to see it through. What kind of trusted little steamed bun would she be if she let down her family! Sun hat securely tied around her little head and shopping list tucked away in her little basket, she set out for the local market. At least the route was something she knew like the back of her paw, so there was little concern about getting lost along the way. A few folks recognized her and waved as she walked past with someone even offering some fresh berries grown from their garden so she could snack on them for the meantime. What nice neighbors they had!

When she finally made it to the market, no time was spared in gathering everything on the list. Cream, sugar, milk, brown sugar, lemon juice, an assortment of berries (red, black, and blue), and some bananas. There were a few other things she ended up getting that weren't on the list but knew they were running low on– better to be prepared and stocked up than realize they need more later. There was, however, one thing on the list that she didn't recall them ever having bought before. What was... a dragon fruit?

Dragons... Weren't those creatures from fantasy stories? How could they bear fruit? Was it shaped like a dragon? Oh dear... this one may be a little difficult to find.

Suddenly growing a little nervous and frazzled, the baobear quickly looked around her and decided to return to the front first. If it was indeed a fruit, then it was going to be where the rest of the fresh produce was! And now... well now she simply had to look around. Oh, if only she had seen this back when she was getting all the other fruit! But enough of that, this was one of the last things on the list. She was almost done!

Not near the cabbage and carrots... No, not near the berries either. Tomato, potato, onion... Oh where was it?

With a sigh, she checked the last set of stalls and felt a tinge of sadness begin to settle in. What if they didn't have it? But just then, her little eyes settled on a spiky looking reddish pink thing. Below it was a label that read "dragon fruit". She gasped and jumped in joy. It was found! She found it! They would have the elusive fruit of dragons! Though it did look nothing like one... Oh well! She grabbed two and put them in the basket. It was time to check out and go home.

Count: 526 words

Part FIVE

It had finally happened. What the little steamed bun creature thought to be impossible. After all, this was her home that she knew so well and everyone was so friendly and helpful. Surely such a thing would never happen, right? But no. It had happened. On the way back from visiting the new cafe that had opened, she had somehow gotten lost. Oh she had been so careful to check the map too. Maybe there was a wrong turn somewhere? Nervous and a little scared, she glanced around for anyone that looked familiar. Sadly, it was a work day and nowhere near lunchtime which meant the streets were empty.

Just then, a black cat jumped out from a trash can and made the little bear scream and fall over. The cat eyed the shaking creature and slowly approached, the bear being far too shaken to take a look. But instead of swallowing her whole in one bite, the cat gave her a gentle lick and friendly meow.

Oh... This was the cat from across the street!

Laughing to herself, the bear gave the cat a pet and lifted herself from the floor. After a quick game of charades, the cat nodded and let her carefully climb aboard. Not too long later, her furry friend had safely delivered her back home.

Count: 220

Part Six

Who would have thought there was another baobear that lived at the cafe! She'd visited a few times before meeting him, but now that they were friends one could call her a rather frequent visitor. This was fine with her family, as they weren't aware of the other creature either and it delighted them that their beloved little bear now had a playmate of her own kind. She tried to come at least once a week, usually able to make it two times, whenever it was close to the afternoon. Most times they simply hung around the cafe, munching on little treats or helping to clean up the work area. Today, Affogato was kind enough to show her how to brew some of their recipes. She wasn't any stranger to coffee-related drinks, but since the girls were still young, it was only the mother that drank coffee. Bitter things weren't much to her own liking either as she was quite literally made to be sweet! But she was nonetheless open to learning and her friend had reassured her that with enough sugar and cream then it would eventually be to her liking... maybe. Theoretically.

They got to work with prepping the grounded beans and combining their strength to push down the tamper. Turns out Affogato usually helped after someone else had done that part. After securing the portafilter in place, dragging over a little cup, and being careful on which button to press, they sat back and watched as espresso trickled down into the little cup. Much to her amazement, it only took a few seconds. Then again, the process was supposed to be pretty instant. She was about to get up and grab the little cup when Affogato held her back. Turns out there was a little more than that for what they were making!

While he held a regular small sized cup in place, he let her climb the nearby bottles to give it two pumps of chocolate syrup– except she got a little mischievous and added a third one. He gave a little scolding but all she could do was laugh. Just then, one of the employees came over to give them a hand for the last part. They grabbed the espresso shot and combined that with some steamed milk. The two baobears were then left to give it all a stir and add the foam on top.

Tada! They had successfully made a mocha!

Well... technically a small was supposed to have two shots of espresso, but for her sake they only tried one. The employee brought over a straw for them and she was finally able to try. It smelled great but how did it taste? Only one way to find out.

...

Ahh... Still bitter!

Affogato pouted and crossed his arms while she patted his back. It wasn't his fault! She just wasn't cut out for coffee, haha. But he did say they could add more sugar and cream earlier. She eyed the chocolate syrup before looking back at him. Time to figure out just how many pumps of chocolate it would take.

Count: 518

Part Seven

It was the end of a long day for the cute little baobear. She was tucked into her cozy little bed and drifting away in a land of slumber. In her dreams, she envisioned plans for the future. Not a long ways into the future by any means, just a few things she wanted to accomplish in the coming months. She wanted to grow her own little garden of strawberries and learn more recipes from her friend Affogato. She looked forward to celebrating the birthdays of the girls and their mom and helping to make all manner of cookies and cakes for them. But most of all, she wanted to come up with her own recipe. Whether it was for a good, proper meal, a fun little drink, or for her own signature dessert. It didn't really matter what it was, she just wanted something to call her own. Something that could be shared with everyone else and gave her the joy of telling them it was her own creation!

Yes, these were the pleasant little dreams that filled her head this night. Simple plans for a simple future, and there was no other way she could think to have it.

Count: 201