Daire flinched as he lit the fire.

Springing back up, he pivoted to his workstation. Several ingredients and spices were neatly set out and within easy reach. He allowed Emmy the honor of preparing the meat. She was experienced enough to do the job right.

"Um... Daire? Do you really need all of my buns? I stole- I mean, I... Um... I actually don't think there is a better way to say it. I stole them myself; giving them up seems unfair."

Several breadsticks, french loaves, and large crescents were laid out like an arsenal.

"You got to tag along because of us, so it seems fair to me. Plus, I can make them tastier."

"Somehow, I don't believe you."

Emmy twisted. There was a squeak.

Daire reached for a sealed container; it was cool to the touch. Carefully opening it, a small whiff of smoke dissipated. Inside was a large stick of golden yellow. He knicked this little contraption on his way out of Wysteria's while Emmy was busy picking up biscuits.

Butter was harder to come by in this world. Not impossible, but refrigeration was more of an issue. Butter keeps longer if kept cold, and this small item acted like a tiny refrigerator as long as it is supplied with a type of mana. Expensive to him, but not to Wisp or Bastion.

I'll have to apologize later.

Butter was too important to the many meals that he planned on cooking. As an essential ingredient to cookie batter, he figured it was best to nip this problem in the bud when the opportunity arose. Salted butter just didn't act the same, and bacteria would be quick to form on unsalted specimens. He wasn't trying to develop a culture...

The large yellow stick of butter before him was no different from the kind he had at home; such was the quality.

"How's this?"

Violet's voice drew his attention. She was holding a paintbrush.

"Where'd you learn calligraphy?"

"I just copied it from you."

"Color me impressed. Can you lift it yourself, or do you need a hand?"

"Uh..."

Violet eyed the signboard and debated how to lift it. She hadn't properly learned levitation yet, so lifting something twenty times her size was far-fetched.

"Grwoo"

"Oh, Trinket! You got it?"

Teeth chomped into the wood. The bear lifted it easily and waddled around the front of their stall. Standing on his hind legs brought him up to where the sign would attract the most attention. His head bobbed up and down as he waved the sign, fanning Violet away. She tumbled through the air at the unexpected gust.

*Clank*

The sign dropped when Trinket was unable to be placed.

"I can get it, Trinket. Just give me a sec."

"Gruagh."

Trinket grunted loudly and returned to all fours. His rump was all that was visible as he attempted another go. Opening his jaw wide, he clamped onto the top and bottom of the sign, his coarse tongue involuntary licking all over. Once again, he stood on two legs. Carefully. Slowly he moved the sign into place. It clicked onto the designed holders.

Surprisingly, Trinket opened his mouth wider before stepping back, leaving it in place instead of tearing it away with him. The elegant calligraphy Violet painted now looked like a Rorschach test. Only the bear noticed, but his mind was too simple to comprehend the meaning of letters. The one thought going through Trinket's developed yet small mind as he tried to lick the strange inky taste off his tongue amounted to something along the lines of "perfect."

Satisfied, Trinket fell back to sit on his rump.

"Did you teach him that?"

Emmy pointed a cleaver. Violet shook her head.

"I didn't. Did you, Daire?"

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Trinket's just a smart boy. Aren't you, Trinket? Aren't you, Trinket."

Daire made weird cooing noises. Trinket mooed.

"You get an extra meal just for you."

The bear got smug, sitting on his ass and crossing his arms in victory.

"Yeah, he's a giant lug. So how's Pebbles doing, Violet? Teach him any new tricks?"

"..."

Violet glared at the treefrog. They'd been one-upped, and she wouldn't have it.

"Sit, Pebbles. Sit."

Pebbles didn't move. Both eyes looked in opposite directions.

"Stay!"

Pebbles blinked and licked his eye.

"Good! Now... Attack!"

*plop*

"Achk. Ew. Fine, point taken."

Daire wanted to order Trinket to counter-attack, but he was afraid Violet would be swallowed whole. Instead, he took things as they were and buttered his buns. Gripping his boxcutter-turned-all-purpose-culinary-instrument, he cut an unbuttered crescent bun in twain, lathered both sides sparingly, and plopped them on the grill where they sizzled.

He'd never tried this on a grill before. He'd always done it in a pan.

"What are you doing? They are already cooked, Daire."

"Emmy... Relax. Hand me that haunch. Thanks. Violet, can you grab some slices of onion?"

"The smelly one?

"The smelly one."

"Here."

"Great! Just watch and learn."

Daire threw both onto the grill, where they sizzled slightly, glad he spent a few minutes oiling the bars. Applying it was laborious as he hand to rub it on. He felt gross doing it and remembering it was even worse, but he knew it would pay off.

"Is this what those fancy cooks do in restaurants?"

"Where I'm from, at least. I haven't been inside any in Milton. Too expensive."

Emmy almost missed her next chop from the scent alone. The familiar scent of cooking meat hooked her. And was that the smell of onions? ...And butter?

Daire had to be careful that the onion slices didn't fall between the grates. The new grill the dwarves forged was finely made, but it still wasn't as easy to cook on as a frying pan or griddle. He actually bought a frying pan earlier and some pots and other pans, but switching right now would ruin the nostalgic atmosphere. He remembered his dad cooking burgers and hot dogs on a grill for Fourth of July way back when. What he was doing now was completely different for so many reasons, but the memory held together all the same.

"Why am I crying?"

Violet sniffled.

"Onions."

Emmy was careful to wipe at her eyes, avoiding getting blood on her face.

"Make sure you wash your hands before eating. Both of you."

Emmy took a second look at her blood-soaked hands. Violet did the same with her inky hands and arms. The sign was fixed. It read:

Burgers. One per customer.

One Silver

Daire was retiscent to charge more. The original twenty copper price tag was supposed to allow anyone to buy his meals. People already lost their top when they learned he was selling meat for Coppers instead of Gold. The price didn't hurt him before, so he didn't care. He planned to raise the price to forty coppers because of new ingredients like lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and bread.

Emmy quickly shot down that idea. She was distraught to the point of hysteria that he was going to charge people so cheaply. The bread he was using was fresh from Wysteria's and would normally cost gold to purchase on-site. However, sitting on the waiting list for months would only cost one silver.

So Daire compromised and made the price of the food one silver. Your average Joe wouldn't be able to afford it, but it was still cheap enough for most. Daire treated it like a luxury. It was similar to spectacle.

Flipping the haunch of meat and pressing down, the various juices dripped through the bars and sizzled in the fire below. Some of the aroma and flavor spreading into the buttered bun. He took those off before they burnt. The crosshatching pattern of brown and golden brown was attractive in its own right.

"Violet. Spices 2, 4, and 5, please."

Four flybys were performed as Violet sprinkled three different spices and a light glaze. Daire picked apart some lettuce to use and removed the popping onions.

"Who gets the first meal?"

Three sets of eyes were attached to the hunk of meat as it was placed onto an awaiting bun. They didn't move as Daire assembled the burger. Lettuce. Grilled onion. A slice of tomato. He held off on adding pickles. He didn't want to get crazy with it.

His intention was to treat it as a chicken burger. Deboning the meat was a task he let Emmy perform because he still hadn't figure it out. Finding a bone in your burger would be a most unpleasant experience.

Taking using a clean knife, he cut it in half. Then, offering it to the girls, he resigned himself to eat the next one.

"Ah-ah-ah. Hands."

"Daw..."

Emmy wiped away her drool, smearing a bit of blood on her cheek. She sulked over to the water barrel. Violet spent as little time as possible, eager to finish the race first and claim her prize.

Daire ignored them and set to making the next burger himself. He'd have to do most of the work anyway while Violet was attending to customers. Hopefully, Emmy could help with prep.

Absorbed in his work, he didn't get to see the reactions to his meal. He vaguely heard the sound of moaning from behind him but dismissed it because he was positive there were no orange leaves added. He quickly finished the second burger. Cutting it in half once again. Then, separated onto two plates, he slid the plated delicacy in front of a huge sniffing snout.

"Don't-"

Trinket sucked the whole thing down. He licked his nose and sneezed.

Slightly annoyed, He turned to his own meal. Taking a bite. Chewing. Eye's widening in realization.

"Hmm. Tastes like rabbit."