cook.’ Now, out!” A fierce, dark-skinned woman with bright red hair appeared through the fog, brandishing a large wooden fork.
“Larissa!” Rio grabbed my shoulders and steering me between the woman and himself. The man had stood up to both dragon and dragon-kin, but could not face a Delfaethan woman with a kitchen utensil. This would have amused me if I weren’t currently being used as a shield.
“We have a guest!” he squeaked from behind me.
The cook tore her eyes from the half-blood and looked at me in surprise.
“Oh,” she mumbled, anger fading instantly. As she lowered her wooden weapon, Rio let go of my shoulders.
“Miss Taimi, here, finds herself in the tragic state of having an empty stomach,” he pontificated. A smile stretched across Larissa’s exotic features.
“Is that so? Well, what would you like? I’ve got some fish, here, and some meatloaf from yesterday and…“
Eagerly, she trotted around the narrow kitchen, opening containers and cabinets and pulling out a number of items that, though edible, failed to be appetizing to someone with a diet as specific as mine. I tried to be polite, but the disgust on my face was ill disguised.
“Er… Larissa, darling?” Rio purred.
The woman glared at him, obviously perturbed at the interruption.
“What?”
“Do we have anything less meaty? I’m sure you’ve heard all about fauns and their picky diets.”
I flushed in a strange mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. I was not picky.
“Oh, dear. Yes, I’d forgotten.” With this, she flew into another flurry of movement.
I saw her pull a hefty loaf of bread out of a cupboard before the half-blood gently patted me on the shoulder.
“Shall we?”
As we walked through the swinging doors again, it took me a moment to realize we were not alone. A small, skeletal figure perched on one of the benches.
“Ah! Desi! How nice to see-“