[FAIR '24] Alowyn - Is this ... Edible?

The pair of empyrians wandered through the fairgrounds as snow lightly fell to the ground. There was a chilled breeze that gently pushed the snow and fair streamers around. The two siblings didn’t feel the Roenden cold as they looked at everything the fair had to offer but weren’t sure what to focus on. 

“Come on,” Alowyn urged her brother, “This was your pick, but you're taking a long time.”

“I’m thinking,” Konstantin retorted and stuck his tongue at his sister. 

The pair lapsed into silence again as they moved through the snowy paths around the fair. At some point, the duo had walked the whole fairgrounds, when Alowyn forced him to make a choice or she would. Konstantin exclaimed he would pick something and ended up picking the first thing he saw when he turned around from her. 

“That,” Konstantin pointed to a stall of steaming food, “Let’s eat something,”

Alowyn had been to the fair for a couple of days by herself and so she knew exactly what was at the stall. She looked at Konstantin for a moment before she decided not to say anything as they approached. The reosean at the stall called himself Kraken and gestured to the spread he had prepared for anyone to try. 

“It’s free,” Kraken said when he noticed one of the empyrians hesitate. 

“What is this?” Konstantin cringed. 

“Exotic food from Vitalus,” Alowyn giggled. Kraken nodded when the other empyrian successfully described the food before them. 

The snow that was falling stopped while Konstantin debated on what to try. The longer he took to decide the more likely it was that Alowyn was going to pick something. She had an idea of what she was going to try but was waiting for her brother to pick first. Kraken watched the blonde empyrians inspect everything, even getting so close to smell the steam wafting off the dishes. 

Konstantin was torn between three dishes. One was a thick noodle dish that was covered in a vibrant red sauce. The second was a bowl of purple tentacles that looked like they were grilled based on the charred marks he saw. The final option looked almost like a fruit salad that somehow managed to have glitter on it, or at least it sparkled like it was covered in glitter. 

“Have you come to a decision?” Kraken asked when he noticed Konstantin’s expression change. 

“No, but I’ve narrowed it down,” Konstantin replied. 

“You can get them all,” Kraken said. 

“Which ones are you thinking about?” Alowyn asked at the same time. 

Konstantin pointed out the three dishes as he said, “These ones.”

“I’ll pack up a sampling set,” Kraken murmured as he moved around to grab containers. Just before he started packing the meals he realized he hadn’t asked the other empyrian, “What would you have?”

Alowyn was quick to point to the first dish Konstantin had mentioned. She told the green runner not to bother making two, they would share and if they liked it they would be back. Kraken reluctantly agreed. He told them they would like them all, but the pair doubted him. With their food in hand, they moved towards a raised table nearby. 

Konstantin and Alowyn tried the red sauce dish together and were surprised. They did like it. It was warm and sweet, making a nice dessert in the cold weather. The only thing that threw the duo off was the texture. It was very slimy. Alowyn made a face when she first put a noodle in her mouth, but the expression quickly faded when the flavours started to take over. 

Kraken was watching the pair try his food from a few feet away. He smiled when he watched them look at him with surprise when they did in fact like the one dish. Kraken knew they wouldn’t like the second dish, not many did, it was an acquired taste. However, before they tried the second dish, Alowyn approached him for more of the first. He was happy to oblige and filled another container of the red noodles. 

“Enjoy,” He said as she walked away thanking him. 

Konstantin tried the second dish and nearly spit it out. The rubbery texture was too off-putting, but he tried to chew through it. Kraken tried to keep his laughter to himself, but the duo was too close and heard him snicker. 

“Is this edible?” Alowyn asked, mildly concerned for her brother. 

“Yeah,” Kraken replied, “It’s just an acquired taste, many don’t like it in this region.”

Konstantin swallowed the tentacle and pushed the dish towards Alowyn. He urged her to try it, but she vehemently denied it. Instead, she grabbed the last dish and took a bite to quickly fill her mouth. However, the soft-looking fruit was anything but. She spit the food out and gagged. Kraken laughed again. 

“What is that?” Alowyn gasped. 

Before Kraken could respond, Konstantin picked up a little piece of the hard fruit and bit it. For him, it tasted really good, it felt like gravel in his mouth, but it was tasty. He picked up more pieces of the food and ate it while Alowyn looked at him with a confused look on her face. 

“It’s an unusual food,” Kraken started his explanation, “For some people, it tastes good, sweet almost, but for others it tastes like dirt.”

“Worse than dirt,” Alowyn grumbled quickly. 

Kraken just laughed and shrugged his shoulders. Alowyn moved back to the noodles and ate those to cover the taste in her mouth as she watched her brother eat the rock fruit dish. 

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