Scrape's Random Book of Random 'Art'

Drawing #148 - CDC - Day 02

"Master of Many Trades"
(Day 02 - Christmas Cookies)

Erin, can this count as your birthday present...? No? That's fine, I was planning on making something else anyway. X3
Anyhoo, here we have day two. Of course, I had to draw my adorable little bean, Marked. My adorable little, self destructing, bean. I thought, who better to make cookies? He seems to be the crafty one of the group after all. He sews, he knits - as you can see by the sweater he's wearing, and of course he can cook. Child can do many things.
Also, fun fact. All of the clothes Marked wears, he made himself. After all, being a wanted 'criminal' in his messed up timeline, he can't really go out and buy his own clothes, now can he. X3
Anyway, let's get on to the story portion of this day, shall we?
Also, THIS IS LATE I KNOW I'M SORRY-
I had a Christmas party I needed to go to last night, which while I thought I would have time right work in it, I really didn't. It was a heated, emotional night and I basically passed out from exhaustion as soon as we got home. So... Yeah. You get two updates today. Woo hoo.

December hit like a hailstorm throughout the timelines. Skylands was covered in a blanket of white, cold and oppressing, swallowing up every inch of the floating islands. Every color, from dull to vibrant, seemed to be swallowed up by blinding white. Even refuge in the Outlands had become difficult, the band of multicolored misfits having no place to take shelter from the oncoming storm. While it offered cover from the regimes of Skylanders searching for them, their only other option was to succumb to the cold and freeze to death. That was, until the Creators found them. Taking refuge in the Control Center seemed to be the only option, and they took it gratiously; joining all of the other groups to escape the cold that had racked the timelines.
The misfit groups sat around a table in the dining room, which had become quite crowded, having to have fit almost five, perhaps six, timelines in at once. Being part of the few AUs that had been invited, Marked and his little family, commonly called the Doom Raiders, felt almost out of place within such a diverse array of different creatures and creations; though upon noticing the familiar faces within the crowd, the miniscule mimic felt calmer. He always felt at peace when staying at the Control Center.

Marked clutched his doll closer to his chest, glancing around the room timidly. He absentmindedly fiddled with the collar of his sweater, just a little project he had finished in time for the storm. While Christmas was a 'hero' holiday in his timeline, he had always taken a fascination to it. Thus the sweater. It was simple, since he hadn't had many resources at his disposal, but he had tried his best to make something wearable and warm for the winter seasons. Although it was a bit of a fail in the end, since he couldn't wear it over top of his cloak. So, sitting there in a room filled with loud, alternate universes and timelines galore, Marked felt exposed. He couldn't hide behind a hood, and no amount of trying to remember he was in a safe space was really calming him down. He just held on tightly to his Glumshanks-Doll, awkwardly fiddling with the collar of his sweater. Finally, he directed his gaze towards the head of the table, peering through the crowded bodies. Marked had had enough of watching Nightwalker drink himself silly, or Mirror chatting with whomever he could get to listen; even seeing Swap alive and well didn't interest the mimic, nor the fact that pancake and Shoria were nowhere to be seen. He just wanted something to calm him down.
And there she was.
Marked couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of his friend. Even if Elaina didn't notice him, too busy talking with the cook, just knowing she was hear helped him feel secure again. That was, until she started shouting. Marked watched on as the chef apologized, then dashed back into the kitchen, Elaina attempting to collect herself as Scrape gave her a pat on the shoulder, as if trying to help in her own, odd way.
"We can't be dealing with this many delays," Marked heard Elaina mutter, feeling her short tempered state wash over him, "people are going to begin getting antsy."
"Well, what can we do?" Scrape asked, managing a weak smile. "The best thing we can do is wait."
"The best thing we can do is fire the cook." Elaina grumbled.
Marked frowned. He hadn't seen Elaina this angry in a long time. Perhaps her medication had been backfiring again. Whimpering quietly to himself, Marked wished he could help, if only a small bit. He hated seeing people angry, even moreso if it was someone he cared for. The least he could do was ask. Getting to his feet, Marked made his way through the people, to the head of the table. Once there, he approached Elaina timidly, using his free hand to tug on her sleeve. Elaina looked over, and upon seeing Marked standing there, some of her anger seemed to dissipated. The Creator managed a small smile, although it looked almost sad, noticing the state Marked was in almost instantly. After all, his discolored skin, clouded eye and matted, falling out hair was hard to miss.
"Hey, Marked." She said.
"Hey." Marked responded quietly. "You're tense. Something on your mind?"
Elaina sighed. "Can't get anything past you, can I."
Marked shook his head. "Sorry, Elaina. But you can't."
Elaina chuckled, ruffling Marked's hair. Once she pulled her hand away, a couple dozen strands fell loose, following her hand for a second before falling to the ground. Marked watched them fall, the two standing in silence. Marked looked up at Elaina, their gazes meeting for a moment before they looked away again. Finally, Elaina cleared her throat.
"Dinner's going to be late, so you might as well make yourself comfortable. We're going to be here for a while."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Marked asked, cocking his head to the side.
Elaina smiled. "I appreciate you offering, but I'm not sure there is."
"Well..." Marked trailed off, thinking. "Is there anything I can cook? Something quick, to tie the guests over?"
Elaina thought about this, then laughed half-heartedly. "Gods, why didn't I think of that. Scrape showed me this cookie recipe a few days back that should do the trick. If you're up to the task-"
"Of course!" Marked beamed. "I mean, I might need a bit of help, as well as the recipe, but that sounds good!"
Elaina nodded, smiling. "I'll grab the recipe and meet you in the kitchen then, kay? We should have enough room to do it."
Marked gave a nod back, then quickly walked to the kitchen, dragging the Glumshanks-doll along behind him.