The Suckling

Chirashi For The Soul

Splatsville, Pearl's Big Garage, NSS Base of Operations: The Shell-Ter

(Dang it, Pearl. We're not calling it that! - Captain Kuki)

(Oh, yeah. Because 'Cephalo-Pad' is so much better T_T - Pearl)

(Cephalo-Pad is a good name! - Captain Kuki)

Two months and four days earlier...

It was high noon in the city of Splatsville, lunch time.

The NSS and Deep Cut had decided to take a break from investigating Alterna early today, prompted by a noticeable lack of worthwhile discoveries made in the past few days. They'd gathered in their base of operations within Pearl's garage (the official name of which is still being disputed (It's The Shell-Ter - Pearl)) where they settled in and granted themselves a moment of reprieve for working so hard.

For Shiver, lunch was something of a ceremony for her. If breakfast was for champions, then lunch was for kings and future leaders of bandit clans. Whenever possible, she would always prepare her favorite meal: chirashi. Essentially, sashimi, vegetables and various other seasonings over a bed of sushi rice.

A simple dish on its own, she loved it for a variety of reasons; it was relatively easy to make with most of it ingredients widely available at any given time, and the most important part of the dish, the sashimi, differed depending on what the fish market was able to procure at the time, making each meal uniquely different from the last. And while she wouldn't outright admit it, she took great delight in the primal sensation that came with devouring raw meat. In a way, it helped to connect her with her clan's roots and to the mighty sharks they venerated.

Today's chirashi was especially, er, special. The fish market had bluefin tuna caught at the height of the season, plump sweet scallops fresh from the shell, and last but not least, the briny, bubbly goodness of salmon roe purchased at an exceptional price. Topped with cool cucumber slices, onion slivers and nori flakes, the combinations of mild to rich umami flavors and curious textures made for quite a memorable meal.

After skulking through the depths of a decrepit arcology for so long she believed she was entitled to such decadence. As she gingerly picked away at it with her chopsticks she reveled in each bite, savoring the subtle complexities of flavors that lingered on her tongue. it was every little bit as enjoyable as she had hoped it to be.

Pausing, she took a sip of her milk tea and swept a gaze across the team, casually observing their behavior. Everyone was enjoying their own meals and were engaged with one another, either polite conversation or some other juvenile shenanigans.

Of the more amusing interactions between the gang, Pearl had opted for hot wings today. Specifically, Saucy Skeeter's signature 'Super Spicy Soul Scorchers Supreme Set' as they were infamously known in Splatsville. They say just looking at them was the equivalent of staring at the sun, that's how intense it was. She was feeling adventurous and thought she could handle them. Judging from the long unbroken streams of tears and snot dribbling down her face and a frantic looking Marina fussing over her, she thought wrong.

Naturally, Frye couldn't help but comment how much of a lightweight Pearl was when it came to her tolerance towards higher spice levels, something Shiver was inclined to agree with.

Across from them, Big Man was speaking with the Squid Sisters, talking about the Seven Day Forecast collaboration as they ate. They'd already decided on the name for one of their new songs: Liquid Sunshine. The rest of the agents were all over the place, either sunken into the seat of the couch with their eyes glued to the tv or idly passing the time some other way around the garage.