Stranded on a Tiny Planet

Visiting Anashee Part 2

Merco watched and waited as the golden robed leader descended from the top gate arch with her attendants and flew across to where Merco sat. She landed steadily and stood before Merco.

"Sey-tala, Felreh." He greeted.

"Sey-tala, Merco."

She made a gesture back to Anashee with her hand and he looked to see a procession coming out of Anashee's gates. Several were guiding floating carts with all different kinds of food and what looked like vessels of liquid. When they came to the spot just in front of where Merco was sitting they lined up the smorgasbord of cuisine. Merco was impressed with the variety and a bit overwhelmed. True enough he was hungry but even this seemed like so much from his hosts.

Perhaps they were trying to impress him like a foreign dignitary?

He couldn't identify any of the dishes. Some looked similar to pastries, just odd colors and shapes. A few looked like roasted meats, though he couldn't identify a species. A plethora of produce of every hue and form, including those noxious, pink ones.

He'd politely avoid those.

He felt a bit overwhelmed and humbled by their generosity. On his shoulder he could see Verin and Pixie leaning forward, watching everything getting laid out. It was obvious they knew what was being presented and had the look of kids watching a Thanksgiving feast being laid out. When all seemed to be in readiness, the preppers stepped back from their items. Felreh nodded to him and gestured to the menagerie.

"Um...thank you. This is...very generous." Merco admitted.

He wasn't even sure where to begin. So, he decided to take the logical approach of right to left, just so he could try each thing without skipping. The first food item was a reddish sort of bread item in a big basket. He plucked one up which was no bigger than a piece of macaroni and tasted it. It was definitely a bread...but not one he'd ever tasted. It was almost gooey in the center but spicy. He liked it and took the basket, offering some to Verin and Pixie. They happily took the offerings and ate them. Merco finished the basket in a mouthful.

"Iti." Pixie said.

"Iti?" Merco repeated, through chews.

Well whatever Iti was, he liked it.

And so, he went down the line, trying all kinds of things he'd never tasted before. Some were delicious and had a familiarity to them and some he had to choke down just to not look impolite. Anytime he made a face of discomfort of disgust, Pixie was twittering in his ear. Apparently it amused her when he found something he didn't like.

At the city wall Merco could see crowds of the little aliens watching him eat. Again, he felt like some sort of exotic animal on a safari tour. Anything he did seem to be fascinating to the natives.

Eventually he'd tried about thirty or so dishes and a couple beverages other than water. Pixie would name each one as he tried them, but he wasn't so sure he was learning them by name.

One of the drinks, Pixie called He-ne-tee, tasted like a fruit juice but Merco had no comparison for its flavor. It was sweet and tart...maybe a bit like cranberry and something else. The other had a bite to it much like alcohol and he guessed that was what it was. It certainly made him grunt when it went down.

He sighed, content and satisfied and bowed his head with thanks to the food providers. He wondered how this variety would affect his stomach later. Typically, he didn't have many problems trying foods from different worlds since his job took him to exotic places with even more foods, but there were always exceptions. Going to the bathroom was already a hardship on this world...he didn't need further complications.