Her Beasts

System Upgrade

Once everyone was finished eating lunch, the group set off back into the forest for one last harvest. Caspian quickly led the way to the exact spot Iris had stumbled upon earlier that day. Iris was quite impressed with his sense of direction and upon confirming her suspicions, she kissed Caspian passionately.

Only the sound of an awkward cough from Daniel got them to pull away, which promptly earned him a vicious snarl from Caspian. Caspian might put up with Iris having other mates in the future, but he would never let anyone come between him and Iris. Iris cleared her throat embarrassedly as she explained.

"This plant here is a carrot. These leafy bits here can be firmly gripped and pulled up in order to pull up the root vegetable beneath it. If there is one here, there are likely more nearby."

Caspian quickly pulled up the carrot, taking a quick whiff of it before throwing it to Quentin's group. He then grabbed Iris's hand as he went off in search of more. At first, they just found a few here and there, which Caspian quickly pointed out to the others before heading to the next batch. After a few minutes, they finally came to a clearing full of carrots. Caspian nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the field.

The group quickly spread out and got to work. Iris took her usual spot sitting beside Caspian. Knowing Caspian liked to know about each new find, she quickly began to explain.

"Carrots might be a root vegetable like potatoes, but they also are actual vegetables instead of starches. They can be eaten raw or cooked and only really need their dirt washed off to be ready to eat. The green tops are technically able to be eaten, but aren't really as tasty as the orange main body of the carrots.

Carrots can be roasted in the oven or cut up and put in soups. If the carrots are shredded they can be good raw in salads or cooked in stir frys. Carrots are a little more complicated to store as they have to be covered in sand in a dark cool place or refrigerated. We could try covering them in dirt, but with how cold it is today, it'll probably snow soon. We can just use snow or ice then and keep the carrots in a stone box or something."

Caspian's eyes lit up in surprise at the mention of ice.

"You can use ice to preserve food?"

Iris nodded to confirm that was what she said.

"Yep, a refrigerator or icebox can be created by making a large container with a compartment for holding ice built in. Usually, metal is needed for insulation so that the ice will melt more slowly, though."

Caspian was already used to Iris mentioning such strange words but the others glanced at them with strange looks. Caspian was unsure about the finer details of an icebox or even what metals were, but he couldn't help but grin down at Iris. Seeing his expression, Iris felt inclined to ask.

"Why are you smiling at me like that? It isn't really doable since we don't have anything to insulate such a box and ice is only around in the cold season. It'd be rather dangerous to go out so often to fetch ice from the river too."

Caspian's grin grew even wider as he started to explain.

"We don't have to go to the river for ice. I'm an ice elemental, remember? So I can create ice from the moisture in the air. Ice is no problem for me."

Iris's shocked expression at his words was quite endearing in Caspian's eyes. His eyes softened and he quickly leaned over to kiss his mate. He sighed in contentment as he pulled away. He would truly never grow tired of having Iris by his side.

Iris spent the rest of the outing trying to think over the finer details of the chances of making an ice box. There was no metal, but Caspian could just create new ice every day if necessary. However, building a container with doors or a spigot for draining out the water would be difficult.