“Yup, get it in the pot quick, we might be on time for dinner after all if we hurry.”

“On it boss.”

Gornax scooped up the meat in one hand, patted it dry with another, and placed the cuts in the hotpot with the final two.

“You’re a great help, thanks for everything,” Tiksu said.

“Your praise is what I do it for, boss.”

“No need to be so formal. You’ve been working hard since you got here. Where did you learn to cook anyway?”

“Heh, I used to travel alone with one other person for a while, so I had to cook from time to time. Ended up liking it, so when I saw I could help out, I jumped at the opportunity.”

“Normally people get into cooking to bolster their healing spells, but you’ve got earth magic right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Earth magic can’t heal anyone, but I can’t help it if I find this sort of thing fun, can I?”

“Suppose not,” Tiksu said, glancing off to the side, “Hey, Kaara.”

“Yes?”

He pointed behind her, mouthing “Help her.”

Kaara looked to where he was pointing only to see Sancta creating a concoction more fitting for a witch’s cauldron than a dinner plate. Kaara gave him a salute.

“Hey- erm- Sancta, whatcha makin’?” She asked, leaning over her shoulder.

“Ah, I see my new recipe has garnered your attention. Well, be on your way, I’ve got enough to think about without you trying to steal my progress.”

“Steal?” Kaara was wondering if it was against kitchen etiquette to punch her in the kidneys. Unfortunately for her, it was.

“Of course! You’ve got the slop you make, and I enjoy cooking finer meals for my brothers to strengthen themselves with.

Ever since Sancta had joined, she had been given free reign to experiment and create whatever dish she wanted. It balanced out since she was able to grow vegetables and other plants with her magic even during the winter time.

Kaara sniffed the air, scrunching her nose. It seemed more like Sancta was trying to poison her brothers, “Are you looking for inheritance or something?”

“How rude! Just because I’ve taken only a few days to make something better than all of your ancestors, that doesn’t give you any right to insult me. But I get it though, you’re jealous I’ve got Wah Womp Wah Wah Wompa Wonk Wimp Womp…”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Kaara nodded, waiting patiently for her chance to respond, and when the opportunity came, she pointed at the dish, “No, really, you didn’t cut out the poison gland correctly and it leaked into the rest of the food. You feed this to them, it's gonna come back up out of both ends.”

Sancta huffed, “I did not, there’s no way you could tell just by looking at it.”

“When the poison contaminates the ingredients there’s a distinct bitter smell, and yours reeks of it.”

“It does not! That bitter smell is because of the other ingredients.”

Kaara returned a deadpan expression to her, “Then taste it.”

“Look how smug you are. Are you really that jealous?”

“Taste it.”

“I don’t have to, I know it’s good! You can taste it if you’re so sure.”

Kaara walked back to Tiksu, “I’ve come to terms with the death of Tulos and his brothers, Tiksu.”

“What? Are you kidding?” He sighed, “she’s being difficult, huh? What did she do?”

“Banefish gland contaminated the dish.”

“What?!” Tiksu flipped a rag over his shoulder and marched over to Sancta, sniffing the air, “Sancta! You cannot feed this to them, it’s been contaminated!”

“Huh? What do you mean? It’s fine.”

Tiksu took the dish and poured it out, “Do not use these dishes, banefish poison can kill kids your age in three minutes, and the stuff lingers once it touches wood.”

“What? Come on! I just finished making it, that took me forever.”

“Kaara, help her make another plate, I’m going to dispose of this.”

Sancta had more venom than a banefish right about now, and now it was all directed towards her. Kaara reflected a smile back at her. It did feel good to humble people from time to time.

“You! You- How could you- I worked so hard on that for… For…” Sancta stammered.

“Told ya! You should listen to me when it comes to cooking. But if I ever need help making poisons for when I go hunting I’ll listen to you, how’s that sound?”

Sancta’s face reddened, her fists balling up. As Kaara braced for another lecture, or perhaps a brawl, that venomous glare softened as tears formed in the corner of her eyes. Sancta did her best to cover her face. All of the smug pride Kaara had evaporated. She hadn’t wanted Sancta to cry over it. She moved forward, but Sancta ran.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

Sancta just darted off. It was not safe to stray too far from camp at night. But what could she do? They were going to be behind on serving dinner without her. Sancta would be fine, she’d cry it off and come back, or just stop coming around.

But still, Kaara felt bad that she had made her cry like that. She felt someone push her forward.

“Go and get her,” Gornax said, “I’ll keep things running here and let Tiksu know what happened when he gets back.”

“But-”

“I’ll be fine here, and I know you didn’t mean to hurt her feelings like that. I know she’s tough to work with, but I can tell she’s just real insecure. Maybe you can figure out why?”

“Why me, though?”

Gornax shrugged, raising all four of his hands, “You think someone like me could talk some sense into her? And you think her brothers are gonna set her straight?”

Kaara remembered the way Sancta treated her during the dinner. When she had gotten the other girls to spill their drinks on her. Kaara had wanted to cry at that moment, but she didn’t. She found a way to make it work, but now she had to make it work again?

“I don’t like her all that much either, so think of it this way: you don’t calm her down, refugees like us might pay for it down the line.”

If only for that reason, Kaara knew she had to be the one to help Sancta, “Alright, I’ll make sure she doesn’t get hurt! Hold things down.”

“On it.”