#fffxiv

A plate of pink cubes of gelatinous sweets, powdered liberally with snow sugar, was placed on the table that Nomin found herself seated at that evening at the Carline Canopy. One of her current companions that had come with her to see to levequests, or various jobs and quests around the city that may have been asked of them, had brought them over after putting them together. Luckily, this companion of Nomin’s was a Keeper of the Moon miqo’te who went by the name of Lorha. Being with her was like having a social shield that prevented people from shooing Nomin away on more than one occasion while they traveled around Gridania.

“Um…what…what exactly are these, Lorha?” Nomin finally asked, staring at the sugared cubes before her. She reached out and grabbed one, feeling it give even under gentle pressure.

“Ala Mhigan delights!” Lorha happily chirped in response. She sat down in the empty chair next to Nomin while waving to a waiter. Once the waiter had arrived, Lorha asked for some tea to accompany their treats.

“Did you get these from Ala Mhigo?” Nomin squished the confection between her fingers a couple times. Part of her was simply mesmerized by how the treat gave and slightly returned to form -- more so was she taken by how the snow sugar separated with cracks. The patterns reminded her of lightning.

“Oh no! I made them myself, actually!” Lorha sounded proud of herself as she reached over and took one of the treats and bit half of it. Her ears had perked up, and her tail curled forward and around her. It seemed that she was enjoying herself well enough.

Lorha then peeked over at Nomin. She noticed the auri still pinching and squishing the cube between her fingers.

“Try one! You said you like sweets, didn’t you? You’ll surely enjoy these!” Lorha urged, popping the other half of the delight into her mouth.

Bringing the cube she held to her nose, Nomin tentatively sniffed the confection. There were fruity hints that she could discern, though there were also some scents there that confused her. The scents that befuddled her were scents she had not once encountered on the Steppe in the past. It made her only somewhat reluctant.

Taking a tiny bite of the corner of the cube, Nomin pushed the sugary substance around in her mouth, allowing it to coat her tongue.

Lemon -- she could taste that for sure. She could swear she also tasted orange, but was not quite sure since she had only sampled a few of them in Limsa Lominsa last time she was there. Everything else was just sweet with a hint of a floral aftertaste. It was delicious, though -- Nomin could certainly see just why the Ala Mhigans would call this a delight.

“It’s delicious!” Nomin said, not too aware how surprised she sounded as she took another bite.

“Isn’t it just?” Lorha grinned and took up another confection. “You know, the origin of the delight isn’t really well known. I don’t even know it.”

“Nothing in Sharlayan that told you?”

“No, unfortunately. Then again, food and how good it tastes isn’t as diligently studied as some may hope.” Lorha took a bite of her new confection before placing a finger to her chin as she slowly chewed and savored the flavor. In her moment of thoughtfulness, she asked: “tell me, have you ever heard of archon loaf?”

“Um…no? What is that exactly?” Nomin put the rest of the delight into her mouth as she awaited an answer.

“Well! I’m glad you asked!” Lorha smiled, but it was not a smile that Nomin found herself feeling as if she were in good company. Lorha had turned to her bag and pulled out a neatly wrapped loaf of bread. It was dark and looked kind of like rye that she saw at the markets at the Shaded Bower. It was sliced and ready to be taken slice-by-slice whenever Lorha deemed necessary, it seemed.

Taking up one of the slices, Lorha used her fingers to break it in half and offer one such half to Nomin. Of course, Nomin was a little uncertain. That smile Lorha had made her feel uncertain. But she tentatively took the half-slice.

It was dense, and the bread did not feel quite…’right’ in her hold. However, Nomin brought the slice to her nose and sniffed. What she smelled almost repelled her. There was a stink of the ocean to it mixed with the earthy, sweet, and bitter scents of a myriad of vegetables.

Nomin definitely did not wish to try it now. However, curiosity compelled her as she nibbled at it.

Almost immediately, Nomin turned and spat whatever she did get back out of her mouth. She scraped her tongue against her teeth, trying to rid herself of the taste before putting the bread down and lunging forward for the tray of delights to snatch up a new one.

“The hells is in that thing?” Nomin asked, stuffing the whole cube into her mouth this time and keeping it there to coat the inside of her mouth with something much more appealing to her sense of taste and smell. Meanwhile, Lorha had been giggling gleefully, all while eating her bit of archon loaf without so much as a grimace.

“Sharlayan scholars have decided this is the best solution to hunger while maintaining their studies -- especially in the fields where aether is so abundantly necessary. If you need a quick boost to replenish your aether, this is your ticket to it,” Lorha replied, not answering the question. “It’s got fish, veggies, flour…your more important food groups that are rich in aether.”

“Ith fial…” Nomin replied, shoving another delight in her mouth.