Dinner & Dessert

“My dearest love, it is dawnin’ on me just ‘ow much food we’ve made.”

“Seriously?” Thea scoffs at the Elf as the last of the eight dome-covered dishes is placed onto the table.

“Ach, girl,” Beryl sigh and shakes her head, “Ah wasn’t in the kitchen the entire time like ya were.”

“Over a dozen of these crude domes have been sitting on the counter this entire time.”

“Okay!” Krvavy claps her hands together, cutting off that conversation. “Its time to unveil everything. First, we have... the roast.”

Steam rises up from the chunk of meat, causing a slight trickle of drool to drip down Khalia’s chin. The Wood Elf’s hand presses against the Orc’s collarbone, gently reminding her to stay seated.

The Drakling places the metal dome aside and reaches for the next. “Then we have... some turnips.”

“Braised turnips, to be precise.” Inanna adds, sitting calmly in her seat. “Using the roasts juices, so the two dishes should go well together.”

“We also have...” The barbarian grabs the handles of two domes at once, speeding up as she can visibly see Khalia growing more and more impatient. “Adeline’s cottage pie and the... hoggan. That’s what they’re called, right?”

The Halfling quickly nods her head, looking a little nervous as the meat and vegetable filled flatbread is revealed.

“Next up we have... Thea’s cabbage-less cabbage rolls and her boat-shaped buns.”

“Holubtsi and pirozhki...” The silver-blonde brat grumbles out the proper names of the food she helped make.

“And finally, we have... the grouse cutlets and my pizza.”

“Nnnhhhhnmm...!” The Were-Beast anxiously whines and wiggles in her seat, waiting for Krvavy to finally sit back down.

“Ach, remember!” Beryl swats at Khalia’s impatient hand. “Ya ‘ave ta be a good girl! Ya can’t just ‘og all o’ one thing! Let everyone else ‘ave a chance ta try the food too!”

“Elfy...!” Khalia’s amber-gold eyes stare pleadingly at the unyielding Elf.

“Can I have one of the lettuce rolls?” Krvavy smiles innocently at her beautiful brat, ignoring the whining coming from the other side of the table.

“Ugh...” Thea rolls her eyes and groans with so much exasperation that she almost convinces Krvavy. The faint, nearly imperceptible, twitching at the corner of her mouth makes it clear that she is happy that her food is the first thing that her Draconic lover had asked for.

“Thanks.” The barbarian’s smile becomes a little teasing as the roll is placed onto her plate. “I love you~.”

“Shut up.” The noble girl’s voice wavers slightly as colour fills her cheeks. Her haughty act becomes much less believable in the few seconds it takes for Thea to regain her composure.

Krvavy just continues to smile as she takes a bit of nearly everything, needing to ask her girls to pass over the food that is further away.

“You forgot to cut this.” Thea points at the one dish that the Drakling neglected: the pizza.

“Right.” Krvavy grabs the large knife resting beside the roast. “I think I’ll cut it into eighths.”

“Oh?” Beryl tilts her head and raises an eyebrow as she watches the pizza get cut in half. “Why not sixths? There are six o’ us, after all.”

“Yeah, but this way the pieces aren’t as big, so if someone doesn’t like it they don’t need to feel bad about wasting too much.” The barbarian replies, swiftly chopping the pizza into relatively equal pieces. The fact that she has to use a regular knife for that does make it slightly more annoying than it should be, but there is no helping that. “Plus, it’s easier to cut this way.”

The Elf simply shrugs her shoulders and resumes placing food, mainly just cutlets and slices of the roast, onto Khalia’s plate.

“Hhnngh...!” The Were-Beast shudders in anticipation, impatiently waiting for permission to begin devouring all of that meat.

“Hey Thea,” Krvavy’s eyes twinkle playfully as she returns to her seat and glances towards her brat. “I really like your buns.”

“But you –” Thea abruptly cuts herself off as the Drakling’s tail curls around her waist. Her brief bit of confusion is quickly washed away by realization, shifting into a scowl as she sees the untouched pirozhki on Krvavy’s plate. “You are utterly incorrigible.”

“Am I~? Just what do you think I’m talking about~?”

“You have not even touched the pirozhki that you took.”

“Maybe I’m just pointing out how beautiful your buns are~?”

The bratty girl’s cheeks flush as she tries to maintain her glare, doing her best to ignore the tail poking at her hip. “Not at the table...” She groans out after a few seconds. “We are all trying to eat...”

Krvavy continues to smile as she picks up the boat-shaped bun, her emerald eyes remaining locked onto her fiancée’s face as she takes a bite. The bread is soft and rather fluffy. The minced meat filling is really quite savoury, with the mushrooms and onions noticeable but not overpowering. “This is actually pretty good. Though I’m still not sure how it isn’t an appetizer.”

“They are bigger and more filling than those Halfling pasties. And those Dwarven Pies.” Thea replies, looking rather proper as she cuts a piece off of her grouse cutlet.

“Are you not having any difficulties eating that, my Ushumgal?” Inanna curiously asks, a thick eyebrow raised above an intense copper-orange eye.

“Mmm...” The Drakling hums as she takes another bite. “It’s not too bad. The bread tears easily enough.”

“It must be an interesting experience, having spent a lifetime with Human molars but now living with much more carnivorous teeth.” The Dwarf calmly comments, digging her spoon into the mashed potato portion of the cottage pie covering a part of her plate.

“Eh, I hardly notice it.” Krvavy idly shrugs her shoulders. “How is that, by the way?”

“Do you really need to ask?” The shortstack’s neutral expression weakens as her lips curl upwards ever so slightly. “Adeline made it, after all.”

An intense blush fills the Halfling’s cheeks, that simple compliment causing her to shrink down in her seat.

“Wha’ is the proper way ta eat this, my dearest love?” Beryl’s well-timed question draws attention away from the timid blonde. “Ya wouldn’t mind showin’ me, would ya~?” The Wood Elf’s blue-green eyes twinkle teasingly as she gestures to the slice of pizza on her plate.

“Of course not.” Krvavy smiles in amusement as she meets the tanned tomboy’s gaze. “You just grab the crust, like this.” She lifts the slice up off of Beryl’s plate, pausing for the briefest moment as she considers playfully stealing the Elf’s food, ultimately deciding against that. “You’ll probably need to support the bottom a bit so that it doesn’t droop too much. Other than that, you just eat it from the pointy end to the crust.”

“Mmmh~...!” Beryl exaggeratedly moans as her Draconic lover hand feeds her, taking her time to savour the slice. “It tastes wonderful, my dearest love~!”

“That is entirely due to Adeline. I just provided the vague recipe, she did all the work to make sure that we could actually make the thing.” The barbarian grins over towards her timid Halfling, smiling as she sees the girl’s flushed face. “Oh, and don’t forget to eat the crust. It’s stuffed with cheese.”

“Delishioush~...!” The Elf playfully slurs, her tongue licking at Krvavy’s fingers before her lips wrap around a single digit.

“Do neither of you have any shame?” Thea sighs out. She already knows the answer to that.

“Shame about what~?” Krvavy curiously wonders, grinning widely at her beautiful brat. “We’re more dressed than usual, so you can’t be talking about that~...”

Thea simply sighs again, slowly shaking her head.

“Is there a problem, princess~?” Beryl teasingly asks the noble girl. “Are ya perhaps jealous tha’ our dearest love’s recipe is gettin’ praised~? Would ya like me ta tell ya wha’ Ah think o’ yer rolls?”

“Please do not...” The silver-blonde brat exasperatedly groans, fully aware that her clear annoyance is just encouraging the Elf to continue yet unable to do anything about it.

“Please do?” The tanned tomboy pretends to mishear. “Why, if ya insist~!” Beryl’s fork descends on the holubtsi, easily skewering the lettuce wrapped roll before dipping one of its ends in a small dish of tomato soup. She bites into the soggy roll, looking exaggeratedly thoughtful as she chews. “Not bad, not bad at all. The caramelized onions really ‘elp ta make the mince stand out amongst the rest o’ wha’ we made.”

A faint bit of colour fills the bratty girl’s cheeks, though not enough to offset her intensified glare.

“K-kr-krvav-vy...!” Adeline nervously speaks up, flinching a little as she brings everyone’s attention onto herself. “Th-the h-h-hogg-hoggan isn’t... isn’t t-too to-tou-tough f-f-for y-you... i-is-is it...?”

The Drakling raises an eyebrow and meets those big hazel eyes. It takes her a second to realize that Adeline is worried about how her carnivorous teeth will deal with that thick loaf, even though the conversation has already moved past that. “I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“The outside is a bit hard, but once you’re past that it gets much softer.” Inanna helpfully speaks up, slicing a piece off her own rectangular hoggan to show Krvavy. Her knife thumps against the crust, showing how tough it is, before tapping against the much squishier insides. That contact causes a chunk of meat to fall loose from the slice, and nearly dislodges a pleasantly mushy piece of carrot as well. “It isn’t the easiest to cut due to the chunks of meat and root vegetables within it, but that shouldn’t pose a problem for actually eating it.”

“Really, it won’t be a problem. You don’t need to worry so much.” Krvavy reassuringly smiles across the covered table. To prove her point, she grabs the unleavened loaf and brings it up to her mouth. Her teeth crunch through the crust and easily tear through the kind of spongy insides. She does end up needing to chew it a little more thoroughly, but that isn’t really a problem. “See? Easy. Tastes pretty great too.”

Adeline breathes out in relief, looking a fair bit calmer as she hears that.

“Mm.” The Dwarf idly hums, turning towards the Halfling. “If you wouldn’t mind sating my curiosity, how does this feast of ours differ from what you are used to? Beyond the food, of course.”

The tiny blonde freezes, her brief moment of relaxation leaving her as quickly as it came. “Q-q-qui-quiet! It...! It i-is q-quie-quieter!”

“I presume you mean that we are being quieter?” Inanna’s question is swiftly answered with a series of very hasty nods. “Mm. Yes, I would expect far more revelry from a gathering of Halflings. There would be plenty of singing and dancing, correct?”

“A-and-and ch-chil-dren ru-run-running ar-round...!” Adeline continues to nod, gradually slowing down those frantic movements as the seconds tick on by.

“Ha!” Beryl playfully laughs out, her blue-green twinkling mischievously. “Give tha’ one time, it’ll eventually ‘appen fer us~!”

“Oof...” Krvavy exaggeratedly groans, skewering a braised turnip on her fork. “Don’t expect that any time soon.”

“Aww, why not~?” The tanned Elf leans towards her Draconic lover, innocently batting her eyelashes as she gets into Krvavy’s personal space. “Don’t ya want ta our bellies swell up wit’ the fruits o’ yer labour~? Wouldn’t we all look so beautiful wit’ our dresses clingin’ ta our growin’ bumps~? And ya can’t forget tha’ our tits would grow plump wit’ milk as well, perfect fer both ya and the babes ta suckle o –~!”

“ENOUGH!” Thea loudly shouts across the table, her face flushed a shade of red that rivals that of the Halfling. “Stop that, you whorish hag of an Elf!”

“Ya want me ta stop, do ya~? Enjoyin’ the images Ah’m puttin’ inta yer mind a little too much, eh~?”

“Beryl...” The Drakling slowly breathes out, sitting there with her eyes closed and some colour filling her cheeks. “Khalia is being better behaved than you are.”

The Orc beams at that complement, smugly staring at the back of Beryl’s head. Her shaggy tail happily wags behind her, fitting through the slit in her chair to repeatedly thwack against the Elf’s seat.

“Ach.” The Wood Elf woman simply shakes her head as she pulls herself back. “Borin’, the lot o’ ya.” She dramatically sighs, grabbing her utensils. “We should enjoy these moments while we can, makin’ memories ta cherish when these calm and peaceful times are over.”

“Mm. I suppose that you have a point...” Inanna muses, sounding a bit **** to be agreeing with Beryl. “The future is rather uncerta–”

“Ah’m not talkin’ about tha’.” Beryl casually waves a hand as she cuts the Dwarf off. “No, no. Ah’m just sayin’ tha’ we won’t be able ta act so brazen when we inevitably ‘ave a dozen little dragons runnin’ around causin’ chaos~.”

“Hmph, typical.” Thea rolls her eyes and scoffs at the tanned tomboy across from her. “I should have expected that to be your priority.”

“Seriously though,” Krvavy raises an eyebrow and meets Beryl’s blue-green gaze. “We have ages until I’d even begin to seriously consider having kids. So that is not happening any time soon.”

“But ya would’a said the same about gettin’ married, would ya not ‘ave~?”

Krvavy narrows her eyes at the cheeky Elf. “That is an entirely different... thing. There is a big difference between blurting out my feelings in a moment of passion and getting one of you pregnant. I can accidentally run my mouth all I want, but I can’t cause an accidental pregnancy. Superior Stud ensures that. Plus you’re all still drinking that herbal tea to keep your periods in check, right?”

“Of course, my Ushumgal.” Inanna is quick to answer, continuing to work away at her dinner despite the more serious direction that the conversation has taken.

“There, see? We’re not having kids any time soon. No matter how much I may... fetishize getting you pregnant.” The Drakling’s cheeks flush faintly as she makes that admission, before brushing that aside to weakly flick her Elf on the forehead. “Now behave yourself. This is meant to be a nice and fancy dinner.”

“Ach, fine, fine.” Beryl clicks her tongue and gently shakes her head. “Then Ah suppose we should get back ta ‘avin’ a normal conversation... So, Inanna, ‘ow is yer workshop doin’? Anythin’ new ‘appenin’ over there?”

A look of exasperated dread fills Thea in her entirety, causing her to slump slightly in her seat. The bratty girl’s gaze locks onto the tomboyish Elf, glaring heatedly into those smug blue-green eyes.

“Mm. Well...”

“The differing size between the two cogwheels results in each one rotating at different velocities, with a single rotation of a larger cogwheel causing a smaller one to experience more than one rotation while reversing their positions reverses that effect, resulting in the larger cogwheel experiencing less than one rotation when driven by the smaller one. That allows for the rotational speed to be easily stepped up or down, provided that the system is not over stressed by the increased resistance that the additional moving parts would cause. Thus a slow but steadily moving river can be –”

“UGH!” The silver-blonde brat’s loud groan drowns out the Dwarf’s voice. “How can every word that comes out of your mouth be more boring than the one before it?!”

“Ya lasted longer than Ah expected~.” Beryl playfully comments, unable to keep a smile off of her face as she looks across the table.

“Ugh!” Thea groans again, dropping her fork onto her now empty plate. “Can we at least talk about something that is slightly interesting?!”

“Mechanical systems are interesting.” Inanna plainly states, glancing at the exasperated girl sitting by her side. Her expression is as neutral and unreadable as ever, so it is difficult to tell if she was giving a genuine explanation on how gears work or if she was simply playing along with Beryl’s rather obvious plan.

“Ugh...!” Thea just barely resist the urge to bury her face in her hands, her palms hovering just in front of her cheek.

“Perhaps Ah can throw ya a bone~?” The Wood Elf continues to smugly torment the noble girl, grinning widely all the while. “Why don’t we take a bit o’ a break from talkin’ ta move onta dessert? It looks like we’re all finished wit’ the main course by now.”

“Ugh...” The silver-blonde brat’s hands quiver and shake as she forcibly lowers them back down. “Yes, pleeeeasee! Anything but more droning from this damned Dwarf!”

“Yes, that... that sounds like a good idea.” Krvavy speaks up, feeling a little sluggish after having both eaten a fair bit and listened to the Dwarf’s impromptu lecture. She didn’t exactly find it boring, but it was a bit... much. “Let’s clear the table and put the leftovers back over there.”

“So, princess...” Beryl gathers up the empty plates and used utensils, all while a less than innocent smile remains plastered on her face. “Do ya prefer raunchy and teasin’ conversations, or dry ones~?”

“I would prefer for you to shut up.” The noble girl curtly replies, helping Krvavy by placing the metal domes back over what remains of their respective dishes.

The Elf simply smiles and holds back a laugh, thoroughly enjoying Thea’s annoyance and suffering.

“Alright...” The Drakling ferries the leftovers away from the table, swapping them for the domes that contain the final course of their feast. “Hopefully we all still have some room left for this in our stomachs...”

“Mm.” Inanna nods her head in agreement. “Even though we can always have the leftovers tomorrow, it would still be preferable to enjoy these desserts while they are fresh.”

“Ready fer the last grand reveal, my dearest love?” The tomboyish Elf playfully wonders, looking expectantly at her Draconic lover.

Krvavy meets Beryl’s blue-green gaze, staring into those beautiful eyes. After a few seconds, she shrugs. There’s no reason not to do as her Elf asks. “Well, first up we have... your bowl of berries and honey.”

“Tsk.” Beryl clicks her tongue in exaggerated annoyance. “Come on, my dearest love, ya’re makin’ it sound like such a lazily made dessert. The berries were simmered in ‘oney. Which is different ta just droppin’ them all in a bowl together. It’ll probably be too sweet ta eat on its own, but will go perfect with...!”

The Drakling raises an eyebrow as she lifts up the next dome, which is seemingly what her Elf wants. “Some ginger cookies?”

“Ach!” The tanned Wood Elf scowls at that. “Ah ‘ad a one in three chance...” She quietly grumbles out, before shaking her head. “Well, they’ll be good together, Ah’m sure. But it’ll be even better with...!”

Krvavy’s lips twist into a teasing smile as she reveals the next dessert. “A blueberry pie?”

The Elf just sighs and gestures for Krvavy to go for the fourth and final dome. “There!” She sounds ever so slightly exasperated as the dessert that she is actually trying to talk about is only now getting shown off. “My berries and ‘oney will go perfectly wit’ this ‘eavy cake tha’ Adeline made! As a dressin’, o’ sorts!”

“Sure, sure.” Thea dismissively waves her hand, brushing away Beryl’s words. Her slightly impatient expression sweetens slightly as she turns her gaze towards the Drakling. “Could you please cut the pie before sitting back down?”

“Does everyone want a piece?” Five heads quickly nod as the barbarian grabs a large, clean knife. “Sorry if it isn’t the most evenly cut...”

“That is fine, my Ushumgal. Perhaps even for the best. We are all of different sizes and different appetites, after all.”

Khalia licks her plump lips as a slice of the blueberry pie is placed onto her plate. Her earlier excitement has been tempered a fair bit, though it isn’t quite clear if that is because she ate so much that she is feeling a bit full or if it purely because there is no more meat in front of her. Either way, the Were-Beast is a fair bit calmer now.

“Mmh~!” Beryl happily moans as she takes just a tiny bite of her own piece of that juicy pie. “This is delicious, sweetie~! As is everythin’ tha’ ya make~!”

The Halfling’s face flushes from the compliment, turning her gaze down towards the table even as her lips curl into an embarrassed smile.

“Mm. Since our attention is already on you...” Inanna’s intense copper-orange eyes lock onto the bunny-mouse girl, causing Adeline to immediately freeze up. “When she came to us this morning to suggest that we prepare this feast, Beryl had mentioned that your people take a whole week to celebrate at this time of the year. So would you mind elaborating on that, explaining just what sort of festivities your community would hold?”

“Oh, tha’ is a wonderful idea!” Beryl joyfully claps her hands together, that sudden noise causing the tiny blonde to jump in surprise. “The little bit tha’ ya told me sounded quite fun, but none o’ the others ‘ave ‘eard even a lick o’ it!”

“Eeeeeeie...” Adeline simply makes a deflating sound as everyone’s attention lingers on her.

“Seriously?!” Thea sneers at the Halfling, putting the nervous girl even more on edge. “Calm down...! We are not strangers. There is no reason for you to be so skittish around us. Especially not during this rare occasion when we are all fully dressed in...” the noble girl’s soft-blue eyes narrow as she glares across the table, pointedly looking at the Were-Beast wearing a lewd lingerie nightie. “In relatively modest clothing. But that hardly matters: even if we were nude, that is still no excuse to be so nervous! You should get used to being surrounded by debauchery and degeneracy, for that is the future you will get for staying by this Dragon’s side!”

“You probably could have been a bit nicer with your choice of words...” Krvavy sighs and shakes her head. Her gaze softens as her emerald eyes trail over towards the adorably timid bunny-mouse girl. “But, Adeline, this rude brat does have a point. You shouldn’t be so scared all of the time.”

“I-I-I...! I-I’m n-n-n-no-n-not...!” The Halfling shudders, her stuttered words trailing off.

“That isn’t particularly convincing.” The grey-skinned Dwarf reaches out to give Adeline a reassuring pat on the shoulder, causing the timid girl to jump at the unexpected contact. “You don’t need to **** yourself to speak in front of all of us if you are not comfortable with doing so. It may be better to work your way up to that, starting with jus–”

“N-no!” Adeline’s cheeks flush a deep red as she cuts Inanna off. “N-no...! I-I...!” The girl forces her big hazel eyes shut, taking a few long breathes before abruptly opening them again. “G-gam-games! W-we pla-play games! For p-pr-pri-rizes!”

Everyone else remains quiet as the Halfling shakily catches her breath, letting the tiny blonde compose herself. Or, in the case of Khalia, are too busy eating to bother with even thinking about talking.

“S-som-some of th-the g-ga-games are har-harder an-and need sk-skill...! Like d-darts and hoo-hoop th-th-thr-throwing and s-s-sl-sli-slinging! B-but some a-a-are eas-easier...! Li-like b-b-bob-bobbing for ap-apples in-in a barr-barrel or f-f-foll-llowing s-some-someth-thing und-under a-a-a cup g-gett-ting moved ar-around..!” Adeline’s petite chest rapidly rises and falls, nearly making herself hyperventilate with how fast she is talking. “A-and...! Therearealsoshowsthatgetputon! Pu-pupp-pup-petsh-showsandtrain-trainedlivestocktoo...! Andcompetit-tionsforpeopleandproduceandanimals!”

The others, at least those who are bothering to listen, are left momentarily stunned as they all try to decipher the Halfling’s words. That girl isn’t always the most understandable, especially not when she spits out her words in a panic, but the way that everything she said started to meld together at the end made it even more unintelligible than usual...

“Well... it’s a bit late ta ‘ave any games o’ our own.” Beryl diplomatically states, smiling with lips turned slightly purple by her slice of blueberry pie. “Sounds like we could’a ‘ad some fun though.”

Adeline is too busy gasping for air to respond, her knuckles turning white as she grabs onto the table to steady herself.

“Mhm.” Inanna hums in affirmation, faintly nodding her head as she nibbles on a ginger cookie. “These are quite good.” She comments, letting the conversation move on so that the bunny-mouse girl can have a moment of respite. “They have a pleasant amount of chewiness to them.”

“Really?” Krvavy curiously raises an eyebrow and immediately reaches out to grab a cookie for herself. “I kind of expected them to be tough and dry... Though, really, I should have known better.” A lighthearted smile plays at the barbarian’s lips as she bites onto the relatively round biscuit. “Oh, yeah. That is pretty good.”

“They would be better paired with a glass of cold milk.” Thea adds in a rather thoughtful tone, clearly not intending to sound critical despite her choice of words. “That is a classic for a reason.”

“My dearest love, ‘ave ya ‘ad a slice o’ cake yet?” The tanned Elf already knows the answer to that question, and is already cutting off a piece for her Draconic lover. “Ya’ll love it, ‘ere. And don’t forget ta put a spoonful o’ my ‘oneyed berries on top! The added sweetness goes quite well wit’ the cakes nutty flavour.”

Adeline’s breathing gradually slows down to a more reasonable pace, though her face still remains rather red and flushed. She looks a little embarrassed by how freely everyone is praising the desserts that she made, but also relieved that the attention isn’t solely focused on her anymore.

“Ugh...” Thea suddenly groans. “We are going to have a lot of dishes to clean after this...”