It was Jorri's turn to handle food for the day.
This wasn't something that their den did every day. Any noul in Homewood could find ample sustenance just wandering around in public spaces, after all. Every few days, though, it was good to partake in a meal together - to eat of the same food and share the same conversation in a space they appreciated. But their den housed a number of nouls, so asking them all to go out foraging would've been a hassle. Instead, they ran a rotation. Each noul got a turn, every so often, to plan a little feast for their friends.
Jorri hadn't planned this in advance. Who could blame him? There'd been so much happening recently - an entire familiar had followed him home from the ceremony - and there'd been Mistfruit forest.
That familiar was watching him now with big eyes. "I don't usually go into this with much of a plan," he explained bashfully. "I like what's in season!" he added. That was more because fruits that were in season tended to just taste more intense, rather than concern over the environment, necessarily...but there was some of that, too. Probably. "Though perhaps we can start with mint?"
That was in abundance all the time - it grew so quickly, and lay down roots wherever it pleased. Usually it was considered a good thing to consume it. Jorri liked it with something sweeter, though of course he liked sweet treats in general. Fruit was in abundance around this time of year, though, so he was fairly certain he'd have no trouble fulfilling that requirement.
The familiar - a huli-jing, apparently - trotted delicately at Jorri's hind legs, peeking around with ears that would not stop swiveling at any new sound. "I don't like grass," they said.
"...me neither," Jorri admitted. "There's plenty of fruiting plants right now, though, and we can certainly leverage that to our advantage." He wanted something bursting with liquid to counter the heat that ran through Homewood around this time of year. It was far from the Barrens, of course, but heat was still heat even with leaves to provide some semblance of a gentled breeze.
"How will you feed...five of you?" the little huli-jing wondered.
"...oh!" Jorri had forgotten that. They'd need to turn back for a container, but fortunately they hadn't ventured too far just yet. "Yes, I suppose neither of us can carry it. I'll just - "
There was still no greater joy than the chance to make use of Jorri's ability. Especially when he'd discovered that it allowed him to neglect organization within their den. Sure, he couldn't use it too often - but he didn't need tools very often anyway. Practice made perfect, anyway. He hummed a little ditty, focusing on the large sack that he liked to use to carry meals back toward their den on days like these. When he opened his eyes it was limned with silver light in the corner of his vision, and he trotted forward to take hold of it happily. "...I don't think I can talk much, with this in my mouth."
"That's no trouble to me," the huli-jing said, and it merely licked its paw with satisfaction when he squawked in affront.
It was still nice to have company, even though the huli-jing hardly had any interesting narration. "Take me there," it'd say instead, scurrying off to pursue its distractions constantly.
Jorri had no objection to that, at first. He was prone to distraction himself! But the little canid liked to chase things as uninteresting as flies, or just a tree with a strong scent. "I don't think that's anything more than normal biological function," he said once.
The detours did take them through enough of the Homewood that Jorri had filled his sack with plenty of tomatoes, though - both juicy and sweet, though not as cloyingly sweet as some of the other fruit that Jorri liked. That'd be fine: not everyone in his den liked their meals nearly so sweet, so this was a good thing. Of course, when they chanced upon a vine of wild grapes, Jorri couldn't resist breaking off a branch, either. "These are truly delightful," he gushed, though perhaps his friends had a point when they said grapes might not make for the most interesting meal, if they were the entirety of it.
He found mint, too, and big leaves bursting with water which could provide excellent palate cleansers. "We should head back now," he said, though rather than acknowledgement he received...silence. Furrowing his brow, Jorri looked from his hooves to - ahh.
The huli-jing had its entire head stuck in a bush.
"What are you doing?" Jorri asked.
"Tasty!" the canid said. "Look, I've - " It tugged its prize out, and a branch which held a few golden berries spilled out onto the floor. Jorri gaped.
"I don't even know what that is," he said. With any luck, the little huli-jing would be all right, after consuming some of them. After some consideration, though, he wrapped them in leaves and put them in his bag, too. "Now we really should head home," he sighed.
Reply
