When Twipple Discovers Toast . . .

It was with great length that the food came piping hot and in portions enough for two. The meal was rather hearty; a large portion of roasted, wild boar, tender and juicy, and a quarter of baked cabbage, seasoned to perfection and so tender that your fork sliced through like butter, and each had a large glass of fresh, cold milk. Twipple was, of course, more than pleased with his plate. Three full glasses of milk he drank, one right after the other, and he stuffed his face, eating so fast that you might have thought of him getting a dreadful stomach ache! Even so, the meal was hardly enough to satisfy his hunger. He now sat in silence as he eyed Arion’s half eaten plate with hungry eyes.

Finally, he asked, “Are you going to finish that?”

Arion opened his tired eyes. He sat alone on the opposite side of the table, leaning against the pillar with his hands folded behind his head and his legs stretched down the bench. “No,” he replied, closing his eyes again, “you may polish it off if you like.”

Twipple was elated, standing on the bench and stretching his arms across the table to reach the plate. Azaleas, however, would not have it. She took the plate away from Twipple (the poor thing had nearly stabbed his fork into the meat), and gave it back to Arion.

“You need to finish eating,” pressed Azaleas. “We have not had much to eat over the last three days, especially the last month, and you have hardly touched your food! You are thin enough as it is.”

“I have eaten all that I can,” replied Arion. “I am too tired to finish it. If anything I wish to go back to that room and sleep.”

“Yes, well you can go to bed after you have eaten,” retorted Azaleas, scooting the plate closer to him. “Should I start seeing the definition of your bones, then so help me I will be shoving food down your throat till you gain some weight. I think we can agree that we have both lost a pound or two on the road here.”

“What about me?” interjected Twipple. “Don’t you think that I should have more to eat?”

“You are a Loh’li. You can make a meal of crickets and earth warms for all it is worth.”

“Well so can you!” replied Twipple.

Azaleas gasped. “I would never put anything in my mouth that is wiggling or chirping, let alone alive. No, it must be dead, fresh, and cooked properly.”

“Neither would I!” exclaimed Twipple. “What makes you think that us Loh’li like to eat bugs? They’re dirty and nasty and crunchy and have that horrid, gutty, slimy taste! And you think we just pop anything into our mouths as a wee snack? Hmm?”

“Well you must have if you know of its texture and how it tastes.”

“Azaleas,” said the annoyed Soul Guardian, “give him back the plate or else it will simply go to waste. I promise you that I will eat more for dinner this evening.”

It was with great reluctance that Azaleas gave Twipple back the plate, when upon the Loh’li gave her a ghastly scowl and scooted further away from her, taking his plate with him.

A minute or two later a servant came bearing a plate full of freshly buttered, golden toast, and placed it in the centre of the table. “I’m sorry I had not brought it out sooner,” said the servant, “the bread had just finished baking. I do hope it’s to your liking.”

“I am sure it will be,” said Arion while grabbing a piece. “Thank you.”

The servant smiled and gave a nod, and then turned round and walked back down the stair from whence she came.

But as the two Guardians enjoyed the fresh toast (quite possibly the freshest beyond all imagining), Twipple merely stared at the plate with utter bemusement. “Umm, don’t they know how to properly bake bread?” he remarked, pointing to the plate. “It’s all burnt!”

“It is not burnt, Twipple,” replied Azaleas, “it is called toast.”

“Toast?” said Twipple, as he examined the contents of the plate carefully.

“Yes, it is when they slice the bread and hold it over an open fire to further char the outside, leaving the inside soft and moist. I prefer it with butter and a jam spread myself.”

The Loh’li then took a piece from the plate and sniffed it curiously. He took a bite, and for a moment let his taste-buds absorb the flavor. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he then grabbed as many pieces as he could grasp with his small hands and began stuffing his face as fast as he could. This was now his new favorite food to eat.