|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2024 7:34 pm
Evie had finally done it. The salted caramel made with coconut milk wasn’t…as good as the real thing, but it was still tasty. Of course, flaky sea salt on anything sweet made everything taste better.
Snapping a picture of the sweets, piled as artfully as she could, she wrote a text message to Aria, grinning as she did so.
Quote: Hey! It’s Evie! I finally did it, the caramel is pretty good! I think you’ll like it! I’ll be here until six! Come by if you can!
The photo was attached and the address to Sweeties was in the text as well, and then leaned against the counter.
A few caramels were set out as testers, it was what they always did with a new candy, and there was full disclosure that the carmels were vegan, and contained coconut milk.
So far, nobody had tried them but Evie, and that was fine.
There would be customers, and hopefully there would be Aria!
Evie began to sketch a design for a new hard candy. She was thinking of something…sea related. Maybe a seashell? An octopus?
Maybe both, eventually.
For now, the ideas were just dreams.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2024 7:35 pm
Over the past few days, Naeria had been curious about the candies her new human friend Evie might be able to share with her, and she smiled when her phone buzzed and she saw some pictures of some kind of food. She had been expecting something over the top, like so many of the humans creations, which would have been interesting, but these candies were square, and not very brightly colored. It reminded her of the food on Velencya. It might end up tasting entirely different, but the nostalgia was enough to have her even more curious, and the sign that said it was vegan let her know that her friend had been thinking of her. She sent off the text, and then a picture of herself in her human glamour so that Evie would know what to look for. Then, she made her way over to the address. The bell on the door jingled as she walked through, wearing a black t-shirt, a pair of printed mandala leggings, and a choker. “Evie,” she said, waving as was the Earth custom. She looked around the shop. She thought that it would also be customary to compliment it, but Earth’s businesses and economies still made her head spin. “It smells nice,” she eventually said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2024 7:36 pm
Evie grinned and looked up. “Aria! Hey! Welcome to Sweeties!” She made her way to the open part of the counter and stretched. “It tastes nice too! Do you want to try one of the caramels?”
Opening the container, she took a piece out with a small square of wax paper. “Here! Salted coconut caramel!”
Made just for her. Evie took a piece for herself and took a bite, grinning still. Ah. Salt made everything so much sweater.
Maybe it could use a little more vanilla, but…it was almost perfect.
“I’ve been working on designing my next hard candy too, what do you think?”
Sliding over the two sketches, the seashell and the octopus, she waited eagerly for Aria’s thoughts…on everything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2024 7:37 pm
Aria walked up, and she gingerly took the small square from Evie’s hands. She could smell the sugar. For a long moment, she looked at it curiously, and then she pressed it to the tip of her tongue for a split second. Her eyes went wide. Bright. It was rich and sweet, but not in an overwhelming way, like candy sometimes was, and it was salty, too. “Evie,” she whispered. “I think this is the most delicious thing that I have ever tasted.” She looked over the counter as she took a bite of the caramel. “Do you have more? Or something else? I have brought the money.” She might not have liked the money, but she did know how to use it. Then she looked at the sketches that Evie was showing her. “Oh, it is that fish with the eight legs,” she said. “I have heard of those. It would be a unique food.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2024 7:38 pm
Evie’s eyes sparkled with Aria’s reaction, and she shook her head, moving back and grabbing the small box filled with the caramels she had made for her friend, tied with a pink ribbon, nearly the color of Naeria’s skin.
“Don’t worry about the money, this is the first batch, the test batch! I’m so glad that you liked it, I have this for you, it’s all the caramels! Share them with your friends if you want to! Just…”
She included a business card for the store and grinned. “The publicity is better than any money! And yeah! It’s an octopus!”
Moving to one container of candy, she pulled out a small scoop and put four colorful candies into a small paper container. “Here! This is what the image will be, do you see the grapes on this one? The design would be either the octopus or the shell in the middle! I love designing candies…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2024 7:39 pm
“Oh. Thank you,” said Aria when Evie presented her with the box full of delicious candies. If she did not want money, then of course Aria was not going to give her any. She could do a favor in exchange by finding people to show this beautiful card to. Many of the Vanguard were even more adventurous with food than she was. They would love a place like this. “I live with many people,” she said. “I will send as many as I can.” She looked at the shaped candy that Evie showed her with interest. “Did you design this, too?” she asked. “I think octopus shaped candy would be interesting. Of course I would not eat an actual octopus!” That would be terrible. “I have not heard of a candy like that before. Maybe other people would be interested, too.” Of course, she had not heard about much candy at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2024 7:23 pm
“I’ve never eaten octopus, but I think they’re super cute! If you want to watch, I’m going to try and make this design now! Take a seat and relax, this is going to be quite a show.
She loved working in front of an audience, and turned on the burner, beginning to get everything ready.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
