John and his new-found friend, Lolly, were running down the ever grandiose roads of Glazewood. Lolly gestured to him to follow her, which is what was happening now. Although, he couldn’t shake off one thought.
“Hey, Lolly!” John called out to her, Lolly, in her sprint, quickly turned her head to the side to face John.
“Waat is it, John?”
“Why were you in that alleyway, anyways? It’s kinda weird that you’d show up the moment something happened where I was.”
“Aah heard a ruckus, y’know how young girls arre, runnin’ to every sign of adventure!”
“Huh, alright, did you catch anything strange, or felt anything weird at all?”
“Well, now that ya’ mention it, Aah did see a funny lookin’ guy run out through all dat smoke!”
“What? How’d you see through all that smoke?”
“ ‘S jus’ dat that Aah got myself some reaal purty vision. That’s all.”
If you ask me, that seems like a lazy excuse, these writers really need to come up with cleverer reasons why stuff happens.
“Riight, in anycase, where are you even taking me?”
“Ooooh, Mah’ bad, Should’ve said when Aah met ya’; We’re goin’ over to mah’ house!”
“Hm? For what?”
“So you can rest up, silly! Aah’ll have ya’ healed up faster than Aah make some nice, tasty grits!”
A fact manifested itself into John’s mind when she said that; Of all the Elements one can obtain, when it comes to healing, physical and medical, the Candy element is unrivaled. In fact, some of the best and most well-known apothecaries and medics are Candy Elementals. This thought slightly confused John, though. He wasn’t badly injured from fighting the Balandian, so what was the point of resting up?
“Aahlright, we’re here!”
If Lolly didn’t loudly declare it, John would’ve crashed directly into a solid wall. The margin of space between him and the brick wall startled him, a single push was all it could take. John stepped back to get a better view of the home; it appeared very rustic and old-fashioned compared to the rest of the fairly modern looking houses. It was a round, wide house, with a roof made from brown wood, and the walls made from bricks. To its left was a wide field of fertile, brown dirt, with plump, spherical blue crops growing from the dirt. John took out his device, he quickly noticed some text on the side: “Know-It-Tron”.
“Oh, so that’s what it’s called.”
Lolly glanced at John’s device with interest.
“Waat’s dat little thingamahbob there you’re holdin’?”
“Something my dad made. When I press this yellow button,” John pointed to the small, yellow button on the device. “, it tells me everything I need to know about my surroundings. For example…”
Beep… Beep…
These are skumpkins. A breed of pumpkins that was originally made to grow underwater. They’re considered a delicacy, but the process to prepare and cook them is unforgiving to novice chefs.
“Well, Aah do declare! That thing got my skumpkins down to a T! Where can aah get me wunna those?”
“My dad only made one, you won’t find anything like this anywhere in the world… Unless he pursues business and decides to sell this to the market.”
“I reckon he should! This thing’s a real marvel!” Lolly removed her gaze from the Know-It-Tron and planted it right back to her home, she gestured towards the door.
“Come right on in, gentlemen first.”
“I thought the phrase was ‘ladies first’...”
John took upon her offer and walked right up to the bright, wooden door. On the door was a thin white curtain. John could see the outlines of a window through the veil. He knocked, awaiting a response, and so he did in the form of someone opening up the door: He appeared to be a young man, somewhat older looking than John, but not by a large margin. He wore a black jacket with a yellow shirt, along with black pants. John could immediately tell he and Lolly were related by looking at his large set of eyes and his facial structure. The man looked down at John, then back to Lolly, he sighed.
“Lolly, you really gotta stop picking up random strangers and bringing em’ over here.”
“But brother! You know Aah do it to get hurt people baahck into shape!”
“Yeah, but this guy doesn’t even- Oooh no, nevermind, he can come right in.”
“What? No, you’re right, I don’t feel-”
“Do you not see what’s stickin’ out your knuckles, kid?”
Confused, John looked at his hand. At first, he didn’t notice it, but it only took a few moments for the problem to sink in; There were exposed bones from his knuckles… Hey, wait, that’s what the big guy said!
“AHHHHHHHH!! WHAT IN THE GALLOPING CROSES* IS THIS?!” John exclaimed in terror.
“Huh, you’re havin’ a way better reaction than I thought.”
“OF C-COURSE NOT! Can’t you see how I'm sweating bullets?!”
It would only be a few seconds before John fainted to the floor. Lolly and her brother looked down on him.
“Well, I’ll be, guess he ain’t so composed as I thought.” He took a short breath. “Lolly, drag this kid into the house, I’m gonna go pick up something from the store down the block.”
“Will do, brother!”
As his brother walked away and down the block, Lolly looked at the unconscious body of John. She was about to pick him up, but immediately a thought entered her head; John is much bigger and is definitely more heavy than a girl like Lolly, it would either be impossible or tedious to drag him into the house. However, the solution came to her quickly when she decided to think smarter, and not harder.
“Go on, Dulcitas*!”
With a swipe of her hand, four round, small pinks balls were tossed and rolled on the ground, within seconds, they sprouted. Four beings emerged from the balls, climbing and clambering out when a fist bursted through the shell. They appeared like little golems, barely reaching up to Lolly’s knees. With their body made of the red, rock-like candies that explode in your mouth, to their heads shaped and looking like one of those chocolate and peanut butter candies. Their eyes were multicolored round bubble gum balls, the group of tiny candy golems looked up at Lolly, awaiting orders.
“You four, go pick up dat big guy on the ground and carry im’ to the door, would ya’?” Asked Lolly in a cutesy voice.
The four Dulcitas nodded their heads in silence before turning and walking over to John to lift him up, all in synchronous motion.
“Good boys.” Lolly said as she watched with interest as all the little golems all worked together, marching down the pavement and lifting John to the front door to the house. One step, two steps, three steps. When they all got close, Lolly opened the door to let them inside.
Lolly followed the dulcitas until they reached the living room area of the home, the living room was just as cozy looking as the exterior, with a massive pink candy bean-shaped seat on the floor that you could just throw yourself at and relax. Accompanying it was a large, white fluffy rug that felt like a soft cloud. The fireplace in the walls, and the clear windows to the left that showed off the home’s absolutely majestic and ethereal looking garden only added to the comfort of the home.
“Dulcitas, y'all can drop him now!” Commanded Lolly. At the exact moment she said what she said, the 4 golems let go of John, making him fall to the ground. The Dulcitas curled up into a fetal position, then began to slowly transform into small, pink bubble gum balls. They all rolled on the ground. Lolly walked up to each ball and picked them up, she stuffed them into her pockets.
“He shood be just aahbout up by now…”
John jerked awake, his eyes shot open. He was breathing heavily. He frantically turned his head around to observe his new surroundings. He didn’t even notice Lolly, at first.
“Hey, hey, hey! Caahlm down, would ya’? You gotta sit still if you waahnt me to fix you up.” Lolly tried to calm him down.
“Huff, Huff What happened? Where am I?” John said in a delirious tone
“Aahlright, it ain’t somethin’ to throw a fit over, just lemme do mah’ thing!” Lolly responded. John slowly began to slow his breathing, his mental state was more calm now, rather than distraught. He let his fingers naturally fall and extend on the soft white rug.
Lolly kneeled down, she looked at the finger where John’s bone was sticking out. Quickly doing calculations in her head, she placed her hand in the air above the finger. Within a few moments, the palm of the hand began to glow in a bright pink flair. John looked at her face, it looked as if she was concentrating deeply, supported by the sweat that was trickling down her face, her eyes, injected with determination. She finally clapped her hands and closed her eyes.
“Heal Drop!”
A rather large, pink gum drop candy, at least the size of Lolly’s palm, popped into existence, it fell down with gravity, landing on John’s hand, where it just melted. No cap, on god, just like that. It oozed and melted into his hand. John felt a sudden looseness in his hand, as if it were light as a feather. He raised his hand to his face and realized: It was completely healed from where the bone was located. In fact, his hand felt even better than his totally uninjured hand.
“Woah! Th-this is amazing! I bet you never have to visit the hospital with skills like this!”
“Ah-hah~ Aahbout dat’... Aah can only use one of those every three days before it makes me totally taard.” She said, panting.
“Oh, blast, I’ll have to make a mental note of that…”
“Waat?”
“Oh, er, nothing. Hey… Where’s your brother?”
“He went to the thaah store to buy some somethang. He shood be back right aahbout now.”
Knock knock knock
“Yup, there he is!”
Lolly blazed past John and down the narrow path that led to the front door, she opened it up, excited to see her older brother back home again, especially with his bag of goodies he bought from the local store.
“Did anythang intressin’ haapin’ while you were at the store?” Asked Lolly.
“Meh, not really anythin’ perspective-switch worthy, other than the prices. Can you believe lollipops cost 3 frazkens* now?! Anyway, how’s that kid holdin’ up?”
“He’s aahll good, don’t ya’ worry. Now, waat did you bring us here,William?”
Lolly gestured to the black bag in William’s hand, curiously wondering what could be inside.
“This? Just some food and candy, figured the kid would be hungry. Speaking of which, I never got his name, did I? What’s your name, kid?”
“John. John Bayani.”
“Wow, you have no flair! You should feel good about a kick-ass name like that*, you know!”
“Wow, he talks like Lolly if she was better at hiding that accent.”
“Anyhow, I’ll be in the kitchen while you guys do whatever you two wanna do, capiche?”
“Yeah, yeah, will do.”
“You bet, William!”
William took out a lollipop from the bag, began sucking on it, and walked over to the right, into the kitchen area.
“Hey, Lolly…” John turned his head at Lolly’s face.
“What’s up?”
“Aren’t you people made of candy? Why is he eating a lollipop? Isn’t that like cannibalism, or something?”
“Ha-ha! You’re so funny! But to tell ya’ the truth, nah. Eatin’ candy aahctually helps us with regainin’ energy and such. Shoot, you can think of it like how yalls with normal bodies drink water to get refreshed, when yall are 60% water!”
“I guess that makes sense. Does that mean if you ate some candy, would you be able to do another Heal Drop and skip the wait?”
“No can do, bubba. Aah still have to wait till’ I can cook up anotha’ wunna those. It does help with getting rid of the taardness Aah feels whenever Aah uses one though!”
“Oooooh, Okay, that’s fair.”
“Wellll now, it’d be pretty borin’ if we just stayed here until mah bro finishes whateva he’s cookin’. Aah say we head outside.”
“Why not, there’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh, really? Well, spill it out then!”
“Outside…”
And so they went out, John opened up the door, he had almost forgotten about the busy, bustling ambience of Glazewood until he stepped outside. He would’ve almost been trampled by a passing horse carriage down the road had it not been for Lolly blocking his path.
“Heavens to Betsy! Are ya’ tryin’ to die or wat?!”
“M-my bad, I’m not used to big cities like these, you know.”
“Whoo.. Well, aaht least ya’ see your mistakes. Hmmm… Ya’ know, Aah think you needs some new clothing!”
“What, why?”
“How do ya’ not see the problem? Ya’ look about as plain as any ol’ bumpkin around here. C’mon, Aahl show you a propa’ place to give yourself a lil’ bit of style!”
You know, Lolly’s right. I mean, how the heck are the readers supposed to be interested in John if his character design isn’t even that great? Well, I guess that only applies in books with pictures… Oh! But what if this book got a graphic novel or an animated adaptation? Yeah, now that’s a reason to change his design. Ermm, hold on guys, let me study character designs real quick… Uh huh, yeah, hmm… Alright! Now that I’ve studied the gods of character design, I can confidently cook up something new for him, you just wait and see.
So anyhow. John sighed as Lolly gestured to him to follow her when he started pacing the sidewalk of the roads. She happily skipped along. As John stepped beside her, he could only help but wonder something. Something that he just had to get out.
“Hey, wait, I’ve only ever seen you and your brother, don’t you got parents, or something?”
Lolly turned her head to John’s face, now with a slight frown on her face.
“Aah… Never actually met my parents.”
“What? Why not?”
“Aah just don’t know. Mah’ brother took me and ran off to live here. Aah don’t exactly know why, but Aah sure he had a good reason to!”
“Do you know at least a little bit about your family?”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Boy, do Aah? Aah heard they’re the most talented Candy Elementals out therr! It makes me jealous.”
“Wait, you’re related to the Mitchell clan?!” The realization hit John with great impact. He probably should've known the person named “Lolly Mitchell” would belong to one of the most well-known families and clans in the world.
“Er, yeah, how did it take ya’ dis’ long to realize dat? Aah even gave ya’ my full name.”
“Sorry, I’m a bit of a slow thinker… Although, either way, don’t you think it’s a little strange that they’ve only ever done good things?”
“Oh, c’mon, John, you know darn well that Candy Elementals could neva’ hurt a blipfly.”
“That is true, but if their conditions were so good, why would your brother run off and take you with him?”
“Hmm, dat’s a good question. Well, maybe he just waahnts me and him to spread the word about the clan!”
“I guess so, either way, aren’t the Mitchells in the capital of Slamerica? In which case, my goodness, your brother sure ran a far distance.”
“He’s aahlways been amazing at runnin’!”
Lolly suddenly stopped, John followed by halting in his place, too. He looked past her to see a big building. One with wide glass on both sides, and a large, open door. Behind the glass were several articles of clothing, placed over stone sculptures of humans.
“Oh wow, those clothes look good.”
“You betta’ believe it is! Aah bet there’s something perfect for you in therr.”
“Well, what’re we waiting for? Let’s go.”
----------------------------------------
But before I unveil John’s new design is, or rather, to stall for time, let’s make an abrupt cut to William’s perspective, yeah?
William stood in the kitchen, a phonograph, on the dining table. While he was more than eager to begin cooking something, he needed to get into the mood first. He took out a beat-up record from the closet, pushed it into the turntable and hit play.
I haven’t actually played this ever since I got it from the old-world auction 5 months ago, this better be good.
A sweet and recognizable tune filled the air, filling William’s entire being with a feeling of happiness with that sweet tune. Truly, he was ready to begin now.
“Heavy metal, heck yeah.”
From his bag, he whipped out two packets of red, juicy, thick, rib-eye steak. Oh, but this wasn’t from any old cattle, this meat came from greenhorn cows. While the meat is mostly similar, what set it apart was the subtle, but absolutely addicting sour taste that came with each bite. He then pulled out two other key components to his recipe; A pack of a dozen eggs, and a mixed bag of vegetables, containing pieces of carrots, peas, green beans, and… mushrooms?
“Hey, wait, mushrooms ain’t plants! Though I guess they are considered vegetables. Man, I shoulda’ gave the pack a hearty readin’.”
Albeit irritated, he continued to cook up something. He placed all the ingredients to the side. He began by taking out a large frying pan from the storage, and placed it on the stove. He took out a match box from his pocket and started a flame. He stuck it under the stove, making the stove burst into flames before calming into a steady, consistent fire. He licked his lips as the blaze cracked and sparked. He knew he needed to be quick on his feet if he wanted this meal to turn out great. With the heat in the area giving him a kick of energy, he ran over to the refrigerator behind him, pulling out two objects: a bottle of watery black soy sauce and a stick of butter. He turned and paced back to the heating stove.
“Now I can start cookin’!”
He quickly summoned a knife in the form of a sharp piece of peppermint candy. He sliced a thin slice of the butter, and stuck the piece on the pan. He then used the flat side of the candy cane knife to slide and move around the butter, allowing the nice, creamy texture spread evenly throughout the pan. With the butter completely melted, he began the second phase; He opened up the packs of beef, and chucked them onto the frying pan. The flames cracked and barked at William with glee as it began to heat up the steak, letting the sour and meaty aroma of green horn meat release into the air.William absolutely adored the scent. As he let the meat cook, he decided to take a risk.
Opening up the pack of eggs, he took out 4 white, clean, hard eggs, and placed them on the table. He then took out a small pot. He brought in a glass bottle of water to his right, and poured water into the pot. He lit up another one of the burners, and placed the pot on it. He quickly plopped the 4 eggs inside the pot, but not before poking a tiny hole in the bottom of the eggs with his cane knife. the sounds of objects being dropped in water soothed his ears. He was going to soft-boil the eggs.
His attention returned back to the beef. He shot two arms of long, stretchy, pink bubblegum from his hands to reach for the steak without burning his hands, he flipped them over, revealing a gorgeous, golden-brown steak. The sour juices and butter really made the steak all the more beautiful. He could only imagine how the final product would look as he gazed and drooled in awe of the steaks. He quickly opened up the veggies, and dumped some of the contents on the pan. The harmony and rhythm of food being fried really set the mood for him. With the steak and vegetables now being cooked for perfection, he set his eyes back to the fridge, he ran back, and grabbed a plastic box. Within the box was cold, dry, Slexican rice. Not exactly enticing to many.
“All I gotta do now is make these leftovers from yesterday.”
He grabbed yet another frying pan, and lit up another burner. He dumped the rice on the stove, letting it cook for a bit. Switching to the eggs, he pulled out a soft, wide white towel, and set to the right side, he grabbed all four eggs with a bubble gum arm, and set them all on the towel. Once there, he dried up the smooth shells with the towel, and started cracking.
Crack crack snap!
As he banged the shell against the kitchen counter, the egg’s shell scattered and snapped open and the soft, white, clean inner part dropped out. He repeated this process 3 more times.
Crack crack snap!
Crack crack snap!
Crack crack snap!
The albumen dropped onto the towel. William quickly turned off the burners of the steak, rice, and boiling pot. He then stuck a knife in one of the steaks to see what was within. Then he smiled, an open smile, a smile of pure joy, relief, and proudness. The inner steak was pink and overflowing with the juices and flavor of meat. This was the first time he had ever cooked a medium rare steak. The buttery look, the juices leaking out from the meat, the soft, sour aroma. Oh yeah, it was all coming together. The veggies were no joke, too, it tasted like the vegetables from his favorite restaurant, a perfect, crunchy texture. He added salt, soy sauce, and chives to really power up the flavor and bring out their best features even more. He took out two dining plates, he added the nice, crisp brown rice first, then blended the vegetables in.
He then cut up the eggs into pieces with a spoon, where he added the slices of eggs to the rice and veggies. He finally added the juicy, thick steak. He observed the meals. A tear rolled down his eye. Orange rice, mixed with nutritious, shiny, delicious peas, carrots, green beans and slices of baby bella mushrooms, sprinkled with a pinch of salt to add a hint of kick to each bite, oh and we can forget the bits and pieces of soft boiled egg, the soft yolk and the squishy whites all blending in with the rice, truly complementary. And we couldn’t forget about the main course itself, the green horn steak. The chives, the butter coating it, the soy sauce dripping on all sides, and the sour and meaty scent, the overall juiciness and the squishy feel the meat had, it was all put together, brilliantly.
“Ah, I feel so proud. Y’know, I should make one for myself..”
One passionate cooking process later, William made himself a smaller version of the meals he made for John and Lolly. He took a spoon out of one of the cabinets, and began to dig in. One scoop of the spoon, and it was full of rice grains, peas, and a bit of egg white. He put the spoon inside his mouth to taste.
“Goodness gracious!” William exclaimed. The taste of the rice was already great, however, when it was combined with the salted vegetables and the egg, all those flavors fused together to make a combination of tastes that cooperated in a perfect harmony. William couldn’t resist, he took another, and another spoonful of his plate. The rice and mix of vegetables and eggs kept dancing in his mouth as he consumed more and more. He could only imagine how the main meat of the plate would taste.
“Oooh man, I can’t hold back anymore, I got a mad hankerin’ for that meat!”
And so, he ate the meat. What did the meat taste like? Well, you’ll have to wait and see. All you should know is that you can make this in real life, if you wanted to. Go ahead, I’m not stopping you.
Now, I ask the reader: WAS HE COOKING?
----------------------------------------
Annnnnd now we’re back to the main perspective.
John followed Lolly as they marched over to that clothing building. John took a moment to glance at the large sign that was placed on the front of the store.
“MEGAN’S FASHION”
“So, what exactly do they sell here?”
“Aah whole lotta’ clothes, they’re so comfy and lightweight! In faahct, this outfit you’re seeing me wear right now… Comes from dat’ store!”
“Wait, really? In that case, maybe there’s something good for me.”
John and Lolly finally reached the doors, when they stepped inside, they were greeted by a multitude of racks and shelves, filled with many pants, shirts, shoes and about every other accessory one could think of. The walls were a clear white quartz, with light-yellow wooden floors. There was a mass of people in the building. Some were people buying out an outfit for themselves. Some were young adults, buying gifts for each other. Some came in families, buying out new shoes for their young ones.
“Ya’ see aahnything ya’ like, bubba?”
“H-hey, hold on! This is too much clothes to decide something so quickly, I’ll take a closer look.”
So he did. John set off to the center of the marketplace. He was carefully observing each and every possible piece of clothing, the blues, the reds, the greens, all sorts of vibrant to dark, sharp to dull, low-key to high-key. There were simply so many options on each shelf. Lolly observed him from the entrance part of the store. He grabbed a pile of clothing and accessories, and sprinted off to the changing room to try out his new combinations. Lolly followed suit, standing outside the changing room curtains, waiting to see what John would wear.
“3, 2, 1, presto!”
John exited the changing room, wearing a completely new, different outfit: A simple, brown, denim jacket with two breast pockets held by metal buttons on each side. The jacket was left open to reveal a dark green plain shirt, accompanied by a silver necklace holding an emerald, which hung from the front of his neck. It was paired with a pair of brown trousers. There were many pockets on the belt, similar to the ones placed on his jacket. The trousers were held by two heavy looking jade green belts. To finish off the look, there was a pair of brown boots with green accents running at the sides.
“How does this look on me?” John asked Lolly.
Lolly looked up and down at John, one thumb on her chin, eyes narrowed. She got up from the pile of clothing she was sitting on and walked around John to get a better look at him. She nodded her head in approval.
“Aah thinks it looks aahmazing on ya’! Stylish, but practical. Hey, speaking of which, why the emaahrald necklace?”
“Hm? This? Oh, I was born in May, I figured I’d get a stone to represent my birth month, you know?”
“Aah do suppose dat’s true. Aahlright, you stay right derr, Aahm gonna pay for dat’ outfit!”
Lolly walked off over to the front counter, speaking to the lady that was behind it, Lolly pointed at John while speaking, she nodded her head. She pulled out a wallet, which was designed to appear like a green frog, from her pocket. She took about 47 frazkens from- the wallet, which she passed on over to the lady at the counter. She got 11 back as change, which she put into her wallet. She looked at John with a thumb up and a big smile.
You know, considering John looked like a hobo in the first chapter, I’m glad Lolly decided to bring up a design change for John.
John and lolly walked out the store, with John throwing away his old clothes on the streets.
“The pigs better eat that up. Speaking of which, why does your wallet look like a frog?”
“Whaaht? Aah like froggies…”
“Fair enough.”
“Hmm, Aah thinks mah’ brother’s worried sick about us, we shood come back.” Lolly proposed.
“Shoot, you’re right, we gotta head back.”
Lolly and John jogged back to her home, as they ran down the street and turned the corner, they figured they could chat a little bit before arriving.
“How’s it like wherr ya’ live, John?”
“Pretty peaceful. I don’t live in a big city like this one. My home is actually on a hill, with a nice view of the mountain ranges.”
“Oh, really? If it don’t hurt to ask, why’re you here right now, all alone?”
John stopped in place, then he stirred, suddenly turning his head to the side, he coughed.
“I-I-I… Umm, don’t think I feel g-good about br-bringing it up right now.” John stuttered nervously.
“Oh… Gosh. If it’s somethin’ like a deep, jaahgged cut, then Aah won’t bring it up less’ you wanna. Aahm sorry.” Lolly’s voice slowed down, unlike the cheery, childish voice she put down earlier, her voice seemed more caring, and sincere.
“No, it’s ok. You couldn’t have known what happened to me. sigh What I can bring up, though, is that I came to this specific town for a specific reason.”
“Aahnd dat’ would be?”
“You’ll see.”
After minutes of silent walking, they had come back to the front doors of Lolly’s. She knocked on the door 3 times. The door creaked open, William standing in the center. He waved.
“I guess ya’ll got back from your little walk, yeah?”
“Mhm. Got a new look, too.”
“I can tell. I reckon you look like you’d be the main character in a story.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” John said confusingly.
“Nothin’, now then, I cooked up somethin’ for you and Lolly to eat up, so come on in already, else it’ll get cold.”
Lolly and John ran inside with glee, they raced to the kitchen, where a large, round, dark wooden table. With 3 chairs positioned around them. In front of two of the chairs facing each other, were plates that looked like they came from Binacha, that country in the east. On plates were a large amount of golden rice mixed with steamy peas, carrots, green beans, and slices of baby bella mushrooms, all seasoned with salt and some soy sauce. The ecosystem of a rice mix was already attractive, but what was more magnetic was the giant slab of ribeye steak. John and Lolly took one smell, the meaty, sour smell could only mean one type of beef…
“Green horn steak?! Awesome!!” Lolly and John said in unison, they were giddy with excitement, stars shining in their eyes. They rushed down to their seats, and grabbed the spoons and forks beside them. They dug into the rice like a pair of hungry beasts.
“Hmmf… Hey, wait, I thought it was only you two that lived here, why is there a third seat?”
“That? Oh, I was real tired one night, so when I was lookin’ through the Weekly Catalog, I gave the courier an order for 3 chairs instead of 2…” He said defeatingly.
“What? How do you accidentally write a different number?”
“Like I said, I was tired.”
“Aw, sad, but either way, this food is amazing! You did this all by yourself?”
“What? You think there’s another me around here? This is all skill.”
“Mah’ brother ‘s aah real savant when it comes to dis’ kinda stuff!”
John and Lolly continued to eat, the blend was perfect, the mix of chewy peas, soft carrot, crunchy, savory green beans, and the distinctive taste of mushrooms all combined to make a terrific flavor, the soft, delicate rice brought it all together like a foundation, like the bass in a song, like the bread in a sandwich. With the rice mix all eaten up, the only thing left to eat was the green horn steak, topped with salt, chives, and soy sauce.
Lolly grabbed a knife to cut up a slice for her, while John took a more archaic approach, simply tearing a part of the meat with his teeth, both effective. They chewed the meat, letting all the flavor of it sink into their buds. The umami, the saltiness, and the natural sour flavor that become more pronounced with the chives… It was beautiful.
With each bite, the thick, juicy meat performed with power within John and Lolly’s collective mouth. The seasonings all harmonized with each other, bringing depth to the steak’s flavor. Truly, an out of world experience was taking place, all in the space of a mouth and tongue.
“Thanks for the meal!” John and Lolly exclaimed in unison as they burped.
“You’re welcome. John, you’re allowed to stay here for as long as you want, I like ya’.”
“Thank you, William.” John turned his head to whisper in Lolly’s ear. “Do you wanna take another walk with me? I’m starting to like this town, and I could really use a guide.”
“Hm, sure! Why not? William! We’re goin’ out aahgain!”
“Crazy bumpkins, alright, but come back soon, ya hear?”
“No problem!”
Lolly and John left their chairs, they reached for the door again, and left to go outside. William sighed, then smiled.
“Young kids are so adventurous, aren’t they? Hm, although… If the dream I had from that night I ran away was true… Oh… Oh shoot… Sigh, I guess I’ll prepare my goodbyes, then. I shouldn’t be too worried about her, she’s a tough girl, isn’t she?”
----------------------------------------
In the Badlands, an argument was spewing between members of the Anichneftís. The teleporter had turned off, and until the Research department gave them a spare charge, it would be impossible to make another trip to the Krobus.
“Those science punks are sure taking their damn time!”
“I’m mad, really mad, I just wanna go inside the elly world and rip through everyone!”
“Heh, I bet those smart alecks are too busy making a mechanical girlfriend for their lonely selves instead of making something that could actually help!”
The whole crowd cackled at the thought. There was but one person laughing, however. And that was Proxus. John was still on his mind. He sat in his own corner of the barracks, sitting with his knees tucked in.
“I don’t think they’ll give the next trip to me again, so when could I get the next chance to meet that snot?”
“Hey man, you got something on your mind?”
Prox looked up to see an old friend of his, Judas Regan. Once you heard his voice, you could never forget him, his voice was just that distinct.
“Hect. Nothing, just… That kid…”
“Aw, Prox, don’t tell me you’ve taken an obsession to little kids, I may gotta cut the friendship we’ve spent years working on.”
“What?! What’re you thinking of? The obsession I have with that kid… Is one of hatred! He thinks he can just waltz in on my relaxing killing spree, and clonk me right in the face! To make matters worse, he hit my back!”
“I see, and you’re mad that you can’t face off against him a second time?”
“Obviously, I thought you were a smart guy, Reggie, you should be able to tell.”
“Pfft, I’m no mind reader, I’m way more fancied by stuff like chemicals and plants.”
“Why are you in this regiment, anyways? I thought you told me that you’d join the Research department in our time at the academy.”
“Eh, beats me. They told me I was “overqualified”. Guess I’m too smart for ‘'em’, huh?”
“Too smart? More like too strange. Ah, you’re not helping, I should be thinking of a method on how to get to the Elly world, anyways.”
“Oh, I think I’ve got an idea for that…”
“Really? Tell me!”
“Well, it’s a bit risky, but those random wormholes that appear in the Bellowlands could work. You’ll have to be careful, though. Even if those ravenous bellows don’t eat you alive, then you’ll have a hard time returning back here unless the teleporter goes up, which will allow you to disappear back to the barracks. Even then, you’ll have to act quick.”
“Ha! I’m not afraid of a little danger! Just go beyond the walls, eh? I’ll do anything to beat the tar out of that loser! Thanks, Hect.”
“No problem, just don’t kill yourself.”
“Pfft, like anything could kill me.”
Prox got up and sprinted out of the barracks, no one batted an eye, except Judas.
“‘Like anything could kill me’? Man, he does know he’s just a grunt in this military, right?”
“I’ll show that kid… I’ll kill him, if he ever becomes some threat to us, I’m sure the Captain could hook me up with a nice, nice promotion. Heh, yeah.”