Mealtime Discussion

“Just like Danny and Eir, Norte and I can talk with each other now.” It had been two moons since Loali and I had returned from our journey, and we’d been invited to eat the second meal of this Green Moon with her parents.

“Incredible. What sorts of things does Norte talk about, dear?” Drufyna asked.

This wasn’t the first time I’d had a meal with Loali and her parents, and considering the fact that Loali and I spent most of our time with each other that was hardly surprising. Oftentimes we’d continue to discuss our work throughout the entire meal, despite her parents’ temporary efforts to divert our trains of thought, so even our topic of conversation was somewhat in-line with our typical operating procedures. The contrast between our sometimes frantic eating to get back to our work and her parents’ patient table manners was stark.

“All sorts of things. They were living in a place called the Speckled Lavalands before they came here, which apparently is way farther out from Boundary City than us and covered entirely with lava. Mostly only gaseous monsters like Norte live there, some in pockets of collapsed space scattered in and above the lava.”

“Does Norte perhaps also have an affinity for fire or one of its derivatives?” Gala questioned, and I and Loali nodded simultaneously before she answered.

“Their affinities just about perfectly match mine, actually.”

For the moment I was too absorbed in eating the meat in my bowl to enter the conversation. It was a type of fish monster meat that practically melted in my mouth and had been simmered to perfection in a sauce made with a couple spices and, given that they’d known I’d be here to eat beforehand, savory mushrooms that perfectly suited my taste.

“Really? I suppose the Gloam Tree might have selected them for that reason, then.” Gala suggested. “It can be difficult to find any creature in this world with exactly the same affinities as oneself when you have multiple.”

“I tested depleting my magic a bit, and Norte can provide me all the magic I need with no issue. I have a feeling I’ll be able to get my regular work done a lot faster now, so I’ll have plenty of time for more research.”

“Just so long as you are careful, I’m happy for you.” Drufyna responded, before she turned to me. I promptly swallowed the bite of food in my mouth. “I hear you’ve already made two healing items with the materials you gathered. Are you also being careful?”

“I am, and my magic recharges a bit more quickly than before. It’s still not as fast as any of you, but one moon is enough to regain a fifth of my magic now.”

“And how much did you use to make those items?”

“I didn’t have to fill them all the way to make them, so only about that much. I’m going to charge them fully over the next few days, so they’ll be ready to use to heal a few severe wounds each.”

“It is good that you’re pacing yourself,” Gala nodded as he spoke, a smile on his face. “If you went off and acted recklessly now I’m sure Loali would be sick with worry, and I would have to have a word with you.”

“Dad...” Annoyance was clear in Loali’s tone, but Gala seemed to pick up on something else with an even wider grin.

“Is that embarrassment I see?”

“Don’t tease her, Gala.” Drufyna scolded, and Gala shook his head. Meanwhile, I moved my eyes down to my plate and took another bite of the fish, avoiding meeting anyone else at the table in the eye as the conversation continued.

“It's just a bit painful for me, you know, watching Loali hold herself back like this,” he said, before he addressed Loali directly again. “I can remember like it was yesterday that first time I met your mother. She would not let anything get in the way of her future, and once she met me she was determined to bring us together no matter the cost. Seeing how hard she was working for the sake of Kogen drew me to her instantly,” he recalled, a sigh in his voice. “Who knows, maybe Danny feels a similar way about you..?”

I wasn’t totally sure whether the question was really meant for Loali or me, but I wasn’t about to jump to answer. That would’ve been impossible, even if Loali hadn’t immediately responded to him herself.

“We’re not you and mom.”

“No, but you clearly feel strongly about him. Despite all I’ve said so far, I’m not going to ask you to state that you definitely feel romantically towards him, but I believe you’re still keeping something close to your chest. Who knows, if you talk about it you might be surprised by the answer you receive. Danny clearly seems to feel some sort of way himself.”

“...You’re being too nosy.” Though it took her a few long seconds to respond, Loali eventually moved again to shut him down, and I again heard Gala sigh before Drufyna offered her own thoughts.

“However they feel, I believe that is for them to discuss.” She stated, and after a few seconds I finally lifted my head to see her tranquil eyes on me. “Danny, I’m curious about something you mentioned briefly when you returned.”

“What’s that?”

“Do all of the beings you’ve encountered here bear resemblances to those of your previous world in some way?” I took a moment with the unexpected question, and realized it’d likely come as a result of me talking about my initial impressions of Norte.

“Yeah, for the most part. Norte and Eir somewhat resemble animals I knew from my old world like snakes and starfish, and I can say similar things for other monsters too. I can also draw comparisons for most of the people I’ve met so far. Why?”

“I was recently considering the connection between your world and our own. Your mentions of their similarities and dissimilarities are curious to me.”

“I’ve been wondering about that for a while too.” Loali added, most of her embarrassment from the previous conversation fading away with the subject at hand.

“I mean, there are a few large differences, like magic and the sky, but yeah things here really are kind of similar to my old world when you think about it. I could’ve ended up in a world where no one had physical bodies, or no one spoke, or one where everything was made of stone, or one totally underwater, or so on.”

“Perhaps Xovod and Cyxeri had a hand in both of our worlds, or another Wyrm had a hand in the creation of yours.” Drufyna proposed, and I shrugged.

“There were stories like that back home I suppose, but to be honest there were thousands and thousands of different stories about how our world came to be.”

“I see. Well, so long as we are without definitive answers we can only speculate. Perhaps you may get the chance to ask the Gloam Tree when you next meet.”

“It might not tell me, but I can ask. I’m not sure what it knows about my world besides what’s in my head, though.”

“You don’t think the Gloam Tree knows much about your world?” Loali asked, clearly confused.

“I’m just not sure.”

“Did the Gloam Tree say anything about your world?”

“Not really. It brought up a few memories for me, but nothing I didn’t already know.”

“What kind of memories?” Loali’s question reminded me again of the feeling of sunlight, and what it felt like to be warmed by it while bobbing on the surface of the water, and for a moment or so my eyes must’ve lost their focus. “Danny?”

“Mostly the sun and water. My dad taught me to float, and I have plenty of memories of basking in the sun while floating along the surface of lakes and swimming pools. You have to be really calm to do it, so it was usually pretty relaxing.”

“This was out in the open, then, since you mentioned the sun?” Drufyna asked, and I nodded. “I suppose you did say the risks of attacks in the open in your old world were small.”

“Animals could still attack, but most people where I lived wouldn't seriously be threatened by an animal in their life so long as they were careful enough. Things were pretty safe.”

“Safe...” I heard Loali mutter beside me, but Gala’s voice drew my attention next.

“If you are not careful, Danny, you’ll give Loali a whole new project to work on. Next thing you know she’ll have us digging out a room and filling it with water so she can put another sunlight generator in it for you.”

“Gala,” Drufyna’s tone was scolding again, only a bit more harshly this time, and he simply shrugged. I was a bit relieved that she was shutting down this line of conversation for now.

“I am just stating a fact. Loali has-”

“Regardless, let us leave her, and Danny, be.” She called, and rose to her feet. “We should be getting back to our work. The merchants will be arriving soon.”

“Right, right,” he agreed, and turned my way. “I do not mean to pick on you. Sorry about that. I will see you tomorrow with the workshop items, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Then please finish your meal, both of you. We will be gone for a while... so if there is anything the two of you-”

“Come, Gala, take your bowl.” Drufyna again cut him off, and a few graceful strides later they were gone.