Page 32 of Right Next Door
Then, Nikti, the chef of Fellbud Manor and one of her friends, came in with this huge cake!
Misty and the others all exclaimed loudly over it as she brought it to the table that had been cleared for food for today. The buffet of meats – and a few alien fruits and veggies for her since the kreecharma were fully carnivorous – had already been picked mostly clean. It was easy to make space for the three-tiered, beautiful confection Nikti had brought.
The white and gray female set it down and stepped back, beaming with pride as Misty, leading the others, approached, all of them ooing and awing over it.
Cakes weren’t really the same here as they were on Earth. What she would call the bread of the cake, for the kreecharma, was thicker, dense, and kind of chewy. It wasn’t bad, but the texture wasn’t really that of bread, and she wasn’t entirely sure it was made of grains at all. The icing was very similar, however, if just a bit creamier than she was used to, but delicately sweet and very delicious.
The cake Nikti had brought was beautifully decorated with bright blue icing, to match the current color of her hair, with a lacy pattern in black icing. It was also dotted with shiny, dark blue/purple berries that she didn't recognize but looked absolutely delicious. Fat and thick and juicy, they shined as Nikti cut off a slice.
“These are righsling berries,” she said, offering Misty the first slice. “A delicacy. It wasn’t easy getting enough of these to make a full cake, but I know how much you like them.”
“You’ve given me these before?” Misty asked, surprised, using a spoon to cut off a bite of the cake. The berries had been spread throughout the cake itself, not just laid on top. She didn’t recognize them.
“I made you a sauce once. Remember? For the large ribs a few tendays ago.”
“Oh, my gosh, Ilovedthose,” Misty beamed, quickly shoving the bite past her lips. She moaned as the familiar, super rich and wonderfully sweet, taste spread across her tongue.
It was much sweeter than when she’d eaten the ribs. Then, it had been cut with something spicy, really enhancing the flavor of the meat she’d been eating. But now, it was all berry and sugar and cake, unopposed and unashamed. It was almost like a fruity caramel. The kind of sweet you couldn’t eat too much of at once, but damn if you weren’t going to get as much in as you could before you overdosed on the sugar.
Nikti kept slicing and handing out the cake, earning more praise as people took their first bite.
Flik was especially excited.
“I’ve never had righsling berries before,” he said, staring down at his cake in awe.
Misty couldn’t help but snicker. “Well, you’re not going to try it just by staring. Take a bite!”
He smiled and helped himself to a generous spoonful. Then immediately let out a groan of delight. “It’s so good! So rich and creamy!”
“And sweet,” she smiled.
“Sweet?”
“Yeah. You know. Sweet.” She held up a spoonful, clearing her throat. “The sugar?”
“Oh,” he made a sound of understanding. “Yeah, we really can’t taste sweet foods.”
“Huh? You can’t? Why do you like it then?”
“It tastessogood. I don’t really know what sweet tastes like, but the creaminess is amazing. You were right.”
Misty made a thoughtful sound as she took another bite. Was that why the cake was so thick and almost cloyingly sweet? Because they couldn’t taste it? Well, that explained that – and also why she hadn’t really had any desserts while she was here, but she did randomly have sweetly savory foods.
The berries were sugary like fruity caramel to her. What did they taste like to the kreecharma?
She tried to swallow the bite she was chewing, but it was difficult. She frowned, trying again, forcing it back. It went past her throat, but it was a slow, painful descent that she could feel all the way down in her chest.
She coughed, the motion reflexive in an attempt to dislodge whatever was blocking the passage of her food. Her mouth… felt kind of weird…
She coughed again, and again. Flik gave her a look.
“Misty, you okay?” He asked.
“Water?” She choked, the sound rough from the coughing.
She drew in a breath.
And it wasn’t satisfying.
