The Cinders of Dezu

19th: Roots (1)

"So? What do you think?"

Raina was rolling it around in her mouth. It was very strange. It had the consistency that she was used to as well as the sweetness, but not the cold temperature. It really wasn't cold at all. Orion was talking with his mouthful under his dark maroon hood.

"It's one of my favorites now. I can get ice cream. Like the real thing. It's not impossible. But this is much easier to find and now it's part of me since I grew up here."

The large woman behind the stand with dreaded green hair and pink skin finished with another customer in line and then turned to them again.

"Good?" she asked.

Raina thought she reminded her of a watermelon starburst.

"I don't know yet, she still won't tell me," the king said,  "I love the way you make it Miss Peepo, you know yours is my favorite."

The pink woman's cheeks got even more pink if that were possible and she bashfully waved off the compliment.

"Ooh, stop it you."

Raina took another bite. She shook her head.

"Overall, I think I still miss ice cream," she said.

Orion nodded.

"Yeah it's hard to top the real thing. Ice cream was one of my few joys as a kid on the other side. But toonuk is made of the cream from the gorna tree and the ground up nut butter of the mitu seeds. It comes together really well. Then of course they add different fruits and things for different flavors."

He turned to Miss Peepo.

"And you had better never stop making your family's recipe."

As he spoke he slipped a large coin out of his loose sleeve and slid it onto the edge of her stand. Her eyes got wide as she picked it up and quickly held it to her chest.

"Bless you, your majesty!"

She had tears in her eyes. Orion put his fingers to his lips and darted his eyes over to the new customers approaching.

"Oh!"

As she turned around to tend to her patrons, Orion gave Raina a tap on the arm to indicate they needed to take their leave. The two slipped back into the bustling crowd. It was a busy day at this town Orion had called Practice. He said they were preparing to celebrate the annual Festival of Tomasi. Orion told her he often visited towns while keeping a low profile but he particularly loved to visit before and if possible during festivals. But this time he had another reason to be there.

"You didn't get to ask her about the doctor," said Raina.

"I know," he said, "I think we could find someone more in the know about him though. Mallard doesn't always run in the market social circles. Honestly, he really doesn't run in any social circles."

Raina saw a little girl holding a small fury animal close to her chest. She was looking around frantically at the faces above her. Relief washed over her face as she reached out to the nearby hand of a young man in the crowd.

"So you're sure that you trust the people you sent to find Cai and Julian?" Raina asked.

Orion kept her hand as they weaved through a tightly bunched group of people.

"Definitely. My people are close. You'll be with them again in no time."

Raina was quiet until they reached another stand. Orion greeted the neon yellow man with bright green eyes whose face nearly lit up immediately with recognition. She looked at her feet standing still in the bustling shuffle of the feet around her with places to go.

"You aren't worried or anything?" she said.

"Huh?" Orion said turning back to her as the man at the stand went to retrieve something.

"You said that they got taken by someone dangerous. But you think they're still okay?"

"Sure, little one," he knelt down and looked her in the eye from under his hood, "I'm not worried in the slightest, and neither should you."

Raina's face was doubtful. The neon yellow man came back and got the kings attention again. Raina was too consumed in her own concerns to hear them. Orion smiled and Raina caught him pulling out another large shiny coin to lay on the stand in front of the man. A look of intense gratitude washed over his face too as he quickly slipped it from the stand and into his pocket. The king grabbed his hand and brought him in for an embrace over the table and then headed back into the crowd with Raina.

"What do you keep giving them?" Raina asked.

"Oh, it's a valin. It's about a weeks wage for most merchants."

"Oh!" Raina said, "that's nice. What did he tell you?"

"He gave me a tip," the king said.

They were making their way past a group of market patrons who had formed a circle. In the center, two large blue and orange feathered birds the size of ostriches with long curved beaks, danced back and forth with riders on their backs. Raina thought they were fighting at first but then realized it looked more like play fighting.

"What's that??" she asked.