"Hey, I was reading that!" Gel protested as Sean slid the ancient tome down the counter and out of the way.

"No you weren't, there's nothing to read!" Sean shot back, laying his beloved frying pan onto the counter with no small amount of reverence for what was coming. "Besides, once I'm done here we're going to go looking for a kitchen. It's past time we got some food in you."

Gel's tone switched from mildly irritated to thoroughly pleased in an instant, and though the geladin had expected it, he was still amused at the speed.

"Oh, well then why didn't you say so!" Gel said smoothly. "Who needs frustratingly blank pages when there is eating to be done! The book can wait, let's get whatever this is going!"

"Ooh, actually, wait one second." Sean said, reaching over to grab the parchment the delivery man had brought by earlier and flipping it over.

"'Wait'?" Gel echoed. "But you just said we were going to make food! More accurately, that you were going to make me food, and I need you to understand that unbroken trust is the foundation of any symbiotic friendship."

"I still am." Sean promised, before lifting the parchment for emphasis. "But first, I need you to write down something about how the shop is closed for today, so we don't get interrupted halfway through."

"Oh, that makes sense." Gel's eye peered at the reverse end of the parchment which was, much like the contents of his book, entirely blank. Then the slime looked around the counter before turning to meet Sean's burning orbs. "You don't happen to see something to write with, do you?"

Sean nearly facepalmed. On Earth, there were pens or pencils everywhere. Here? Auntie Ta had been the only person he had come across who had even had something to write with.

"... No." Sean admitted, gently placing the cylindrical black disk he had acquired from Death onto the counter next to his pan. "Let's go look."

Delaying its use pained him, as even though he knew how to use the disk the suspense in waiting to see it used was already killing him. He stepped behind the counter, figuring if there would be something to write with nearby, it would be there. Unfortunately, while there were a great deal of papers and an open metal box filled with neatly arranged coins, there weren't any--

"Oh, here we go." Sean said, pulling up a glass case and setting it on the counter. "How about this?"

"Perfect!"

Inside the case a feathered quill with a silver tip glistening with faintly glowing, red ink rested on a soft blue pillow. As he set it on the counter, Sean could just barely make out writing etched onto one corner of the glass. Raising his skeletal brow at the glowing end of the otherwise innocuous utensil, Sean pointed at it.

"Wait, before we open it, what's that say?"

"Hmmm." Gel's eyeball swept down to press almost right up against the writing. "'Merchandise. Not for staff use.' Guess that makes it for our use, now."

"Oh." Sean said simply, feeling relieved as he flipped the obvious latch from the back and retrieved the quill. His finger tingled slightly with what felt like static when he lifted it up, but there was otherwise nothing remarkable about it. He touched the end to another finger and a dark red splotch marked his knuckle. Nodding to himself, he headed back to the counter. "Just wanted to make sure it wasn't trapped or anything."

"There are a lot of things in glass cases around here. " Gel noted, looking around the rest of the shop where at least two dozen similar cases of varying sizes dotted the room. "Is that normal here, you think? I don't have any memories of shops keeping things behind glass."

"Must be a high-end place. Rich people like that sort of stuff. Makes what they're buying seem more exclusive if they have to pay just to touch it." Sean explained, echoing something his grandmother had once told him.

"Ah. Like how meat tastes better when you've had to melt your way through an exoskeleton to get to it." Sean could practically hear the slime nodding to himself. "Makes sense."

When they got back to the parchment, Sean was about to hand the pen over... but now that he had it, why not take the opportunity to learn?

"Do you mind showing me what to write?" The geladin asked, quill already poised over the parchment. "I could use the practice."

"Sure!" Gel said brightly. "But for every minute this keeps us from the cooking you promised, I want another helping of whatever you're making."

"Deal."

The pair were only a few letters into making their "Closed Indefinitely for Renovations" notice to attach to the front door when he saw the waiting prompts indicator flash, signaling that another one had been added. Not wanting to distract himself from getting back to what he really cared about here, Sean ignored it.

When they were done he put the quill back down on the counter, Gel gave their disguise a once-over, and the pair stuck the notice to the front door by surreptitiously using the slime's ability to attach things via a hole in the "skin" of his palm. After it was prominently displayed, Sean re-locked the door and headed straight back to where his beloved pan was waiting patiently for him.

"Alright, now that that's done... watch this." Sean said, picking the disk back up and pressing it directly into the center of the star-filled tapestry that made up the pan's non-stick cooking surface. "You're going to love it."

"You don't have to hype me up." Gel said, sounding every bit as eager as Sean was to see what would happen next. "You have the pan out. If I were capable of salivating right now, I would be."

Sean laughed, and flicked the pan's oil generation to its lowest setting with his thumb. After he had enough to liberally coat the surface, he flicked it back off and began slowly sliding the disk around the pan.

"Don't you need to add heat?" Gel asked, curiously. "Is that what you're cooking? I can't help but notice a rather poignant lack of meat right now."

"Nope, it's not about heat." Sean said confidently, continuing the motion as he gradually swirled the disk around the pan like he was melting a stick of butter. "It's about making sure the items are in synch. Keeping their purposes symbolically evident."

"... I feel like you're making that up."

"I am." Sean admitted, unable to keep the amusement from his mental tone. He continued anyway, remaining just as confident as before. "I have absolutely no idea why I'm doing this."

"Then... why are you? Also, where did you get that? You know that palming random items while the others' back is turned is my thing, right?"

"It was my gift from our evolution." Sean said, deftly flipping the disk to its other side and repeating the swirling process. "Also, what do you mean that's "your thing"? I haven't seen you grabbing anything."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Exactly." Gel emphasized. "It's something new I'm trying out. Distracting you in the tunnels and stuffing meat into our locket was more fun than I was expecting."

"Uh-huh." Sean said, unconvinced. "What did you get? I got the death gift. Did you get the chaos one or did we both get two?"

"I already got mine." Gel said, without elaborating any further.

"... and?" Sean prompted after a few seconds.

"... and its a surprise!" Gel said brightly, before using Sean's earlier words against him. "Don't worry, you'll love it."

Sean was about to retort, but then his pan began to radiate an unnatural chill that even he could feel. He quickly let go and stepped back.

"Now what're you-- ooohh!"

Liquid darkness shot out from the disc along the pan's surface, rapidly enveloping the entire thing in impenetrable shadow. Only the outline of his beloved frying pan was visible now, but Sean wasn't worried. The knowledge given to him by the disc hadn't explained any of the processes involved in whatever was currently happening, so given how little he currently knew of magic all the geladin could do was guess there. Something transformative was happening with -- or more likely, via -- death mana, that much was obvious. Sean just didn't know what.

But he did know that his favorite/only cookware would come out safe and sound on the other end, and with a quite literally magical new feature-- so he was content to wait, and watch as the shadows on the counter before him began to expand outward. His friend however, was not so informed. Panic bloomed in the slime so suddenly that he felt it immediately through their bond.

"Sean! Whatever you did went wrong! Your pan– it's melting!" Fear crept into Gel's voice as the pan's shadow-covered handle collapsed in towards the center. "Quick, stop it! Or else--"

"Relax, it's fine!" Sean said quickly, interrupting his friend. "This is just part of the process."

Roiling darkness swirled in on itself on the counter, faster and faster as the pair watched.

"I'm pretty sure, anyway." Sean conceded.

"Pretty sure?"

"Mostly sure."

The slime was silent after that, whether out of confidence in him or pure, shocked horror Sean didn't know. When the pan rebuilt itself into a shadowy mirror image of the one he had seen back on the dais, the geladin felt vindicated for his faith. Death would never deceive him.

Now where did that thought come from? Sean searched his feelings for a moment, but all he found was rock-solid belief in the statement. It was the same as knowing that the right syrup was what truly brought out the flavor of good pancakes, or that a dash of oregano in your pasta sauce was never a bad idea. Some things were just known. There was no question. After all...

If you can't trust the reaper, then who can you trust?

His inner musings were cut short by the shadows on the counter retreating, revealing the same glorious, perfectly polished cookpot Sean had chosen as his gift. He strode forward immediately, eager to hold it again-- and even more eager to test it out.

"Okay, I only have two questions before I pass judgment on what just happened." Gel announced, and the geladin decided to humor his friend even as he turned towards the rear of the shop where he had previously spotted stairs in the hopes that the second floor held a kitchen.

"What are they?"

"First, what happened to your pan? Is it gone? Was your gift to make a bigger one? Because we could have found you a pan, you know. The giants had a lovely one. Still do, in fact. We could have taken that."

"We could have, but this one is better." Sean assured him. "And besides, my pan is still here. Just not here here.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means I can switch between them. Look, see this little black dial under the left handle?"

For the slime's convenience, Sean lifted the pot up and indicated what he was talking about with his pinky finger. An eyeball whipped out for closer inspection, noting the two notches it had. Gel’s eyeball stared at it for a moment as they walked, then back at Sean.

“You can just… swap back and forth? Just like that? As often as you want?”

“Basically.”

“What happens to the food!?” Gel asked, true concern spilling suddenly out. “If you change between them when you’re cooking, I mean. None is– none would be lost, or anything, right?”

Sean paused at the bottom of the staircase to consider that, noting the fine, plush green rug covering the middle of its walkway.

“I uh– huh.” Sean searched his knowledge of how his new cookware worked, only to come up short. “I don’t actually know. Guess you better not bump me while I’m cooking, then.”

“I will not so much as tap your shoulder while you’re cooking from here on out.” Gel promised with sudden, fervent sincerity. “So don’t try it, alright? Knowing is not worth the risk.”

“If you say so.” Sean started up the stairs. “Didn’t you have another question? Besides all the ones you asked for your first one, I mean.”

“Oh, yes! Thank you for reminding me. My second question is also multiple parts, but only two this time: when are we actually going to use it, and what does it actually do?”

Reaching the top of the stairs, Sean found that the second floor hallway actually held several rooms. To his delight, the first one he saw with an open door – conveniently the furthest at the end of the hall – appeared to be exactly what he was looking for: cabinets, pantry space, plates and utensils… in short, a kitchen. The geladin started towards it immediately.

“Well, to answer the first part: We’re going to use it right now.” Sean said as he carefully shoved a few plates with the brownish, stale remnants of some days-old mystery meal on them aside to make room for his new pot.

Gel, of course, cleared all of the plates of their contents in record time by sweeping his crimson whip across them and made a contented grumble as he did so. The kind Sean imagined would not have come from anyone else who might’ve sampled those particular leftovers.

“Right-right now?” Gel asked, his tone full of both food and suspicion.

“Right-right now.” Sean confirmed. “Though you’re going to have to pull a few things out of the meat locket for me first, and I want to see what kind of ingredients and spices I’m working with here… we’ll need some water too, for what I have in mind.”

“Say no more!” Gel said immediately, reaching over to grab a bucket filled with water Sean hadn’t noticed in the corner of the room. “Except, you know, do, because you didn’t actually answer the rest of my question.”

Gel watched with intense curiosity as Sean tipped the bucket partway over his pot, filling it to what he felt was the appropriate level.

“I didn’t?” Sean asked innocently, as if distracted by what he was doing despite both of them knowing he wasn’t. “What’d I miss?”

“What does it actually do?” Gel asked, turning and staring into the geladin’s burning orbs in what Sean felt was clearly an overly dramatic fashion.

“Well now, that’s the thing.” Sean grinned, reaching for the dial on the right side of his new, favorite pot this time. “The answer is really more of a show than a tell sort of situation.”

“You’re really milking this, aren’t you.” Gel deadpanned.

“I really am.” Sean confirmed as he clicked the dial over one notch, his grin widening until he felt like it was going to split his skull open. “Now, get me every ingredient within easy reach that we have more than one stock of, because it is officially experimenting time.”

Gel groaned, but the slime also immediately went about doing what Sean had asked so he didn’t hold it against him. When he spoke up next, a bit of the slime’s normal excitement around food was already bleeding back in.

“There’s a lot in here, you sure you want all of it? What’re we making, anyway?”

“All of it.” Sean picked a nearby wooden ladle off the hook it had been hanging on and tapped it against the bucket Gel had given him before pointing it at the slime like it was a princely staff.

“And as for what we’re making: you, my fine, gelatinous friend, are about to find out.”