“Dee, would you say grace?” Nakoa asked once everyone was seated.

Dee nodded. She pressed the palms of her hands together and closed her eyes.

“May this food bless us with both health and flavor, and may the winds and waves be ever in our favor. May it be,” she said.

“May it be,” Nakoa and Leimomi echoed.

Xan also echoed the sentiment, though a half-step behind them. Taika and Stell, he noted to himself, didn’t say anything. But that thought was quickly forgotten as Nakoa began to dish out dinner.

“Eat hearty, now! There’s plenty for everyone!” Nakoa said as he ladled out great heaping helpings into everyone’s bowls.

At first glance, Xan thought that it was some kind of rice porridge. But upon closer inspection, he saw that within the rice there were chunks of sausage, chicken, and shrimp, as well as some vegetables. He took a bite.

“Hooo…haaah…” he breathed as the spices quickly warmed the inside of his mouth.

“You alright there?” Nakoa asked him.

“Fine – ahem – just fine,” Xan said, reaching for a drink.

“Wow…” Taika breathed as she took a bite as well. “I haven’t had anything like this in a long time. What is it?” she asked.

“Jambalaya,” Nakoa said as he took his seat. “Got the recipe from a merchant sailor several years ago. Bought a hearty helping of his spices, too.”

“Hmph. I’m sure that helped convince him to give you the recipe,” Stell said.

“It didn’t hurt,” Nakoa said with a chuckle. “And now I can make it whenever we want.”

“Do you make it often, then?” Taika asked between bites.

“As often as I can get my hands on rice,” Nakoa said.

“Which isn’t that often. Rice has to be imported from Orune,” Dee said to Taika in an aside. When she mentioned this, Taika suddenly looked guilty.

“Oh. Um, Nakoa, sir, you didn’t have to—” she began to say.

“Think nothing of it, miss,” Nakoa said, waving a hand dismissively. “I had a feeling Dee was going to be back by today, so I wanted to make something special to welcome her back home.”

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“Aww. Thanks, Uncle Nakoa,” Dee said, blushing beneath her fur.

“And besides, having a Verdan under our roof is a blessing in and of itself. And of course, any friends of Stell and Dee are friends of mine,” Nakoa continued, looking at Taika and Xan in turn.

Taika silently looked down at her bowl, sheepishly stirring her jambalaya with her spoon. Xan briefly thought about protesting the claim that he and Stell were friends, but quickly decided against it.

“Speaking of which, I didn’t catch your names. Oh, but where are my manners – I’m Nakoa Mahi’ai, proprietor of the Blue Pearl Inn as well as its chief cook. This here’s my granddaughter Leimomi,” Nakoa said. He scooped his arm around Leimomi’s shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze.

“My name is Xan Rais,” Xan said.

“And you, miss?” Nakoa prompted, bending over slightly to catch Taika’s eye.

“Taika Kinnunen of the line of Essos,” she said. Nakoa nodded in acknowledgement.

“Pleasure to meet ya both. And I’m sorry for your loss, Miss Taika,” he said. Taika nodded wordlessly, then looked back down at her bowl. There was an awkward pause around the table. Then Nakoa cleared his throat and turned back to Xan.

“Stell tells me you’ll be working for her for a bit,” Nakoa ventured. Xan shot a side-glance at Stell before answering.

“Aye. I kind of… broke the boat she leant to us. So I’m going to work for her in exchange for the repairs,” he said.

Stell grunted loudly and took a long swig from her cup. Xan could have sworn that she muttered, “And the wine barrel,” into it. He shot her another sideways glare.

“Do you have a place to stay in the city, then?” Nakoa asked.

“Well, no—” Xan began to say.

“Then that settles it,” Nakoa said, thumping a hand on the table for emphasis. “You two’ll stay here.”

Taika’s eyes snapped up. Both she and Xan immediately began to protest, but Nakoa headed them off with a wave of his hand.

“I insist!” he said. “I’ll even give you the friends and family discount, so don’t you even worry about it. Like I said, a friend of Stell and Dee’s is a friend of mine.”

Xan and Taika shared a look. Both of them were taken aback by Nakoa’s offer. But Taika recovered first, and she bowed her head in gratitude.

“Thank you for your generosity,” she said.

“You’re welcome. Well, now that all the business has been taken care of, how about you tell us all about your trip. Dee? I’m sure you have some thrilling tales to tell us,” Nakoa said.

“Yes, yes, yes! Tell us, tell us!” Leimomi said, almost jumping out of her chair.

“Lei-lei, tails on seats, remember?”

“Sorry, Grandpa.”

Dee looked over at Xan and Taika with concern on her face. Xan shrugged; Taika refused to look up from her bowl. So Dee started at the beginning and told Nakoa and Leimomi all about their trip to the Ignas Verdan village. A few minutes later she had pulled out her notebook to show off her drawings. Leimomi sat poised on the edge of her seat, staring intently at all of the pictures.

“What’s that?” she asked when they got to the drawings of the airship with wings.

“Oh, just an idea I had,” Dee said as if it were irrelevant, and she quickly turned to the next page—but not before Nakoa saw them. He silently raised an eyebrow. Then he looked over at Stell. He didn’t say anything, but at his gaze Stell suddenly looked uncomfortable.

“I’m going out for a smoke,” she said, pushing her chair back. Nakoa followed her with his eyes as she left the inn.

“Well, isn’t that interesting,” he said softly.

Xan noticed him looking back at the inn door, and asked, “Nakoa, sir, is everything alright?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes,” Nakoa said absently before turning back to the table.