141 The Wonderful World Of Food

"What would you two like to get today?" an elf girl asked as she poured them two glasses of honey water and handed them a menu each.

She was wearing a simple brown apron over her off white tunic dress that was cinched at the waist. When Vy looked up at the elf girl, she was taken aback. She had not seen anyone with ruby red hair before!

The elf girl noticed Vy's shocked expression and could not help but blush. Lycster who realised what was going on quickly tugged on Vy's sleeve and whispered to her, "Sis, you're making her uncomfortable!"

Lycster's words drew Vy back to her senses, "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to stare. It's just that, I didn't know it was possible for someone's hair to be of that colour."

The elf girl smiled, "It's alright, I get that sometimes. You two must be from out of town."

"We are, umm from somewhere else," Lycster swiftly replied. He wasn't sure if he should have said anymore.

While the elves back in the hospital had been kind and courteous, they were still uncertain about the others.

"Is that your natural hair colour?" Vy asked.

"It is! But you could also change the colour of your hair through other means, such as through elemental magic, natural dyes and transformation spells," the elf girl explained.

"Thank you for the information, miss. My name is Vyrena, by the way,"

"And I'm Lycster!" Lycster proudly introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet you both! My name is Allie! Since you're from out of town, would you like me to recommend you something to eat?"

Allie went on to explain that their food stall offered a wide variety of skewers, ranging from different meats, seafood to funghi and vegetables. Vy explained that Lycster and her had been drawn to their stall by the aroma of truffles.

"Ah yes! That's one of our chef's specialities! What would be the drum mushrooms coated in a honey truffle glaze. It is one of our best sellers. Would you like to try some?"

"Yes, could we get 2 of those to start, as well as some of the fire chicken thigh and what's this mince fries," Vy asked as she pointed out on the menu what she was referring to.

Allie took a closer look, "Oh yes! Mince fries is a local favourite! It's where we take marinated minced tree boar meat and flatten it into a thin slice before we barbecue it over charcoal. As it cooks, we also brush it with more sauce until it is ready. When it is done, we slice it into rectangular pieces and serve it."

Lycster and Vy looked at each other. Allie had done a great job of explaining what the item was for and their stomachs were growling!

"I think it's safe to say, we'll get a portion of that as well."

"Good choice! Coming right up! In the meantime, please feel free to have some honey water! The honey we use is local to the area too!"

Allie left them to put in their orders while Vy and Lycster took a sip of the honey water that she recommended. Made from a mix of fresh spring and glacier water, the honey water was cold and refreshing.

-Cold drinks?-

It was only then that Vy noticed the sweltering heat of the sun basking down upon the land. The drink kept her cool for a short period of time after she consumed it. How interesting!

"Lycster, do you remember eating anything cold before?" Vy asked him out of curiosity.

Thinking back to the times she had spent in Timbretune, in the Prism Sector and even in the Capital City, the one thing she had not seen was ice-cold treats. She had seen ice being used in drinks, but why not use it in desserts?

-Maybe if I had a block of ice, I could try something out.-

Just as she was deep into her thoughts, the food was served. The spread looked and smelled extremely delicious! It was making Vy's and Lycster's mouth water even more! Without a second to waste, they started to dig into their food.

One bite of the drum mushrooms sent it's juices bursting in their mouths, mixed in with the aromatic fragrance of honey truffle; it was too good to put down! Even if each bite burnt their mouth, Vy could not stop herself from taking another piece.

Vy looked over to the other dishes they had and she went ahead to taste the minced fries. The instant it entered her mouth, she could taste the smoky flavoured pairing well with the sweet marinate. Something about this felt so familiar, but she could not quite pinpoint why.

-Why does this feel so familiar?-

As she continued to chew, she could feel a warm fuzzy feeling spreading through her chest. It was like being wrapped up in a warm toasty blanket on a cold snowy night. What were these feelings?

"Vy! This is simply amazing!" Lycster said with his mouth filled with food. The juices of the mushroom trickled down the side of his mouth as he talked.

Vy looked up at his adorable face and was instantly reminded of a hamster who had stuffed all its food rations in its cheek pouches. She burst out in laughter looking at Lycster's puffed-up cheeks.

It was too adorable!

Lycster had no idea why Vy was laughing at him. Was it something he said? Vy used her sleeve to wipe the side of Lycster's mouth.

"Eat slowly Lycster," Vy said with a warm smile.

It was moments like this that she cherished. The little things in life.

"Vy, were you thinking of something? For a moment you had tears in your eyes," Lycster said, as he continued munching on the food.

Tears? Vy touched the side of her eyes and realised he was right. Her cheeks were also moist from the streaks of tears. She reached over and ruffled Lycster's hair a little as she took another bite of food.

"I was just thinking about something. When we get back to Prism Sector, let's go to Memory Lane again."

After they finished their meal, Vy paid for the meal and they took their leave. They spend the rest of the day looking through the market and making a few more purchases. Vy noticed that the market was filled with interesting items she had not seen before in the other sectors.

When they walked past a stall selling rocks and geodes, Vy and Lycster decided to take a closer look to see if there was anything nice they could get. As there was a bit of a crowd around the stall, Vy and Lycster decided to communicate telepathically instead.

-Lycster, do you remember what I thought you about the rocks and geodes?-

-Yes!-

-Do you want to give it a go?-

Lycster bit his lip. During their time in the Prism Sector, Vy would go through the basics of choosing rocks and identifying geodes with him. They also went through the gem identification together, in an attempt to improve their eyesight. Certain stones were more difficult to tell apart from the other.

-Sure! I'll give it a shot!-