"Sorry, no worms here to garnish your drink for you!" Lulu smiled as she set a small saucer in front of Nugget.

"Please, some of us are trying to enjoy ourselves," complained Narissa.

"Wwhhhaaattt'sss wwrroonnnggg wwwiittthhh wwwoorrrmmmsss?" Bakade asked before she emptied her mug down her skeletal jaw.

"You're joking, right?" Narissa raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Bakade.

"Protein's protein, am I right?" Lulu cut in before Bakade could reply.

"Ba-bawk," disagreed Nugget. Then, she tilted her head below her bound wing and pulled off a small strip of bandage. She flung her head and tossed the used cloth into the tip jar.

"Thank you!" chimed Lulu cheerily.

"Protein most certainly is not protein," Narissa said as she tried to bring the conversation back. "You can't seriously compare, say, roast duck to worms."

"Wwwhhaaatt aabboouuttt hhaaammbbuurrrggeerrr?" Bakade added. "Ttthhaatt'sss ccllooossseerrr, rrriiggghhtt?"

"Uh, no way. Worms don't taste like other food. Definitely not a red meat like beef." gagged Narissa.

"Now, don't be so hasty," Lulu said as she refilled Bakade's drink. "You're thinking of it standing alone. But, what about in a full dish? Why, even replacing beef with worms in a hamburger would be hard to really tell. Especially if you can get your hands on some quality grease."

"That's absolutely disgusting, and not even close to the truth." Narissa disagreed.

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"Ooorrr llliiikkkkeee bbeeeeffff bbbooouuuiilllllion cccooouuullldd bbbeeeee aadddeeddd. Ttthhhaatt'd mmaakkkee iiitt hhhaaarrdddeeerr tttooo tteelll."

"Gross."

"Bakaw."

"No see, that isn't a bad idea. I mean, I think I could pull off a full replacement, but I bet even your refined palate couldn't tell if there was say fifty percent worms in your beef."

"You know, I'm starting to regret having this conversation," Narissa sighed as she rubbed her temple.

"Bawk ba-bawk!" said Nugget as she shook her head.

"Yyoouuu'rrree tthhheee ooonneee ttthhaatt wwaass ffooocccuussseeedd ooonnnn iittt." Bakade swirled the pine beer in her mug as she stared down into the spiral.

Narissa smirked. "Have you ever heard of morbid curiosity? After all, it's hard to imagine someone with such terrible taste they'd take worms over a rack of lamb for the dietary details."

"Well, when was the last time you ate worms?" Lulu asked as she leaned on the counter.

"How about never?" teased Narissa.

"Oh? Well, you can't really know then, can you?" Lulu said with a sly smirk.

"You don't have to try everything to know you don't like it you know," Narissa explained. "Take my step-daughter for example. She hated poor old me and made my life a living hell. Does that mean I should keep collecting daughters, because I'd only tried out one? I don't think so."

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." scolded Lulu. "That's a bad example. You already tried a version of it after all. Now, I'd argue a different daughter could definitely turn things around for you. After all, eating a sour grape doesn't mean you don't like any grapes. Not everyone likes apples, but slather it in caramel and slap it on a stick? Well, you'd have trouble finding someone who will turn that down."

"Llliiikkkeee wwwiiittthhh tthhheee aalllccoohhoolll," Bakade pointed out. "Yyyoouuu llliiikkeeedd ttthheee sswweeettt rrruumm, bbbuuttt nnnoottt ttthhee pppllaaaiiinn sssttuufff."

"I mean, that has more to do with standards than anything else." Narissa disagreed. "But your way would have me try worms every which way until I gave up and said I enjoyed them. It's not really an appetizing prospect. Eating worms day after day until you find a way I enjoy them, or give in immediately, and hopefully move away from the wretched things sooner."

"Aw, you spoiled my plan," Lulu teased. "I had it all laid out too. Start with plain, then maybe a salad, some raw burgers one day. Oh, it was going to be quite the feast. Of course, I'd keep the salt and vinegar dried worms for a trump card."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm more perceptive than you'd think." Narissa cooed. "Also, somehow dried worms sound worse than raw."

"Well then, just let me say that ground up and fried, they make a fantastic way to stretch out pork skins." Lulu added.

"Bawk bawk bawk." Nugget shrugged before she slid her now empty saucer towards Lulu. "Bakaw, ba-kaw."

"Iiifff yyyoouu hhaaavveee tttooooo hhhiiidddeee sssooommeettthhiinngg, iisss iiittt rreeallly aaannnyyy gggoooodd?" Bakade pointed out.

"A great point. A dish should lift up the ingredients in it, not hide them under grease, fat, and fake flavors." Narissa nodded her head and in a show of triumph, raised an eyebrow at Lulu as she took a sip from her goblet.

"Hey! I thought you were on my side? You were even the one who suggested the whole beef bouillon thing!" Lulu teased as she had a smile plastered on her face.

"Wwhhhaaattt cccaaaannn IIIII sssaayyy? Ssshheee mmaaadddeee aaa gggooooddd cccaassseee." Bakade shrugged.

The four of them laughed. As Lulu made sure to keep the alcohol flowing and all three of them drinking as they continued to talk.