Page 8 of Chasing Tail
Just then, my stomach let out a huge rumble. I was starving. We had been swimming for most of the day and hadn’t really stopped to eat. I packed some seaweed for energy, but it was now gone. I couldn’t exactly go back in the ocean for proper food because there were people out there, and I’d have to do the whole peeling my scales off again. Taron would have to carry me back into the woods, and it ran the risk of us being seen.
I reached into the basket and pulled out some weird, round white stuff. I sniffed it. It smelled funny, but not in a bad way. I licked it. Not bad. I dug into the basket again, and there was a knife. I sliced off a piece and put it in my mouth. Oh, wow. This was amazing. Whatever this was, it was probably the only perk to living on land.
“You have to try this, Taron.”
Taron spat something out and eyed it like it was evil.
“I don’t think these people honor every part of the fish, Kishi. The head is usually my favorite part, but it hurt my teeth. Look at these teeth. I only have one row, and they are totally useless. I can’t even crack open skulls with them.”
“Ignore that nasty dried fish, Taron. Whatever this white stuff is, I’m going to eat it the entire time we’re here.”
“The fish isn’t half bad if you don’t try to eat the bones. It’s kind of a waste, though. I’ll try that weird looking white stuff if you try the fish.”
“That fish looks vile.”
“So does that round white stuff.”
“Shut your mouth. The white thing is delicious.”
“What else is in there?”Taron asked.
Taron dug into the basket. Was everything the land dwellers ate round unless they took it from the sea and ruined it? There were small, round red things and another round thing that was brown and looked a little unappealing. I was almost certain this white stuff was the only good thing these people ate, and I definitely wasn’t putting that fish in my mouth.
Taron might be walking around in the body of a man, but he was still a shark, and sharks tended to put anything in their mouths to see if it was tasty. Taron stuck his hand in that gross looking brown thing. Was it some kind of oyster? The brown stuff appeared to be a shell of sorts, and there was something inside it. Still not going in my mouth.
Taron let out this noise that was similar to what he was making when he disappeared behind that plant for what seemed like an eternity.
“You have to try this, Kishi. Ignore the weird fish. I’ll try that white stuff you’re raving about if you’ll try this.”
I wasn’t convinced, but I really wanted Taron to try this new food I liked. So I stuck my finger in the thing. It was a little warm and felt weirder than any oyster I’d ever opened. I really didn’t want to, but I licked my finger.
Something sweet and wholly strange exploded on my tongue. This was actually delicious. I didn’t know what kind of oyster it was, why its shell was that soft, or why it tasted sweet, but it was definitely delicious.
“That’s the best oyster I’ve ever eaten,”I moaned.
“I don’t think it’s an oyster, Kishi. I have no idea what it is, but if it were an oyster, they would have done something weird to it like the fish.”
“Well, we have to figure out what this and the white stuff is to point at it, so we don’t have to eat their terrible version of seafood.”
“Oh, wise one, how do you plan on doing that if I can’t speak like them and you’re pretending like you can’t?”
I shoved a handful of that delicious not-oyster into my mouth.
“Very carefully. And I’m still going to be teaching you to speak like them when we’re alone. Eat up, Taron. We need to cover our bodies with those strange things we stole, fill our bellies, and get out of here. We have a job to do. We can’t get distracted by their food. They are still the enemy.”
“Maybe not all of them are evil if they make food like this,”Taron said, licking his fingers.
“Look at what they did to that fish and tell me every single one of them is not depraved, Taron.”
Taron just shrugged.
“Maybe they just don’t know better.”
“They knew better when they came to our home and started killing people, Taron.”
“Kishi, I know. And they will pay for it.”
Taron and I were going to make damned sure of that.
