?Episode One Hundred and Seventy-Eight: Spicy Food

  He ignored the milk, blinked twice, then took another bite. “But good!”

  I chuckled as I twirled the noodles on my fork, ready to take a big bite. Then I hesitated. While he’d meant well, he simply hadn’t understood, and I knew him well enough to know that the ignorance would upset him. I couldn’t let him feel bad.

  “Cat, while we are worth 5 stars, when they are talking about most oriental foods, the stars represent the spiciness level. You ordered the spiciest they had, the chicken itself is the same.” I motioned with my fork. “What else did you change?”

  I needed to be prepared if my noodles, and Indigos soup, were as spicy as the chicken.

  “The chicken and the noodles.” He took yet another bite of the chicken.

  At this point, I wasn’t sure if he really liked it or just didn’t want to look like he was wrong.

  I took a smaller bite of the noodles, and found that, while spicy, they weren’t as spicy as the chicken. And they were, in fact, quite tasty.

  “These are much better with five stars,” I said, before taking another bite. The spicy wasn’t as spicy with them, and instead they had a little smokiness. I’d need to make that change permanent with our next order. The chicken I might dial back to 4 stars after talking to the Cat, but I’d wait to have that conversation until the next time we ordered.

  The Cat took a nibble on the noodles. Then, suddenly, several large bites in rapid succession.

  I chuckled as I took another bite, eating much slower than he did.

  “The noodles are good, right?”

  The Cat nodded, and made a huffing noise. “They are very good. Much better than normal.”

  I took a smaller bite of the chicken and followed it up with the egg roll. The additional spice took getting used to, but 4 stars would be better.

  “What’s this afternoon look like?” I asked in between bites of food.

  It took the Cat a moment to answer.

  “Deliveries, nothing special.”

  “Normal deliveries or magical deliveries...?”

  The Cat chuckled. “Normal.”

  “Will you tell me more about the Elementals, and what they meant about their worlds warming and cooling...”

  “You can read about it.” The Cat shook his head. “Or ask the dragons next time one of them shows up. I bet Indigo would be interested to learn as well.”

  A muffled sound came from the front of the shop and I reached out using my magic.

  Indigo slowly made their way toward us.

  By the time I stood up, she flew into the room, saw the food and rushed inside. One second her eyes barely moved, the next she landed head first in my plate.

  “Indigo!” I yanked her up and found her mouth full of chicken as she frantically swallowed. Noodles stuck to her stomach and dangled in the air.

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  “Hungry...” she said as she wiggled enough that I set her back on the counter. Her head snaked out and snatched more chicken from my plate. A happy purr came from her as she plowed through my plate.

  I leaned back, eyes wide as she ate more than she had in her entire life. I didn’t dare interrupt her.

  Finally, she sat back on her hunches, glanced at me with bits of chicken stuck to her in various places and covered in sauce.

  Her eyes went wide. “I ate your food...”

  She wobbled as her eyelids drooped again.

  “It’s okay, I understand...” I whispered as I scooped her up in my arms. With the seconds of picking her off the counter, she was snoring again as she snuggled closer to me. I ignored how she smelled like Chinese food and covered my shirt in it.

  “I’ll be back,” I said to the Cat, as I carried her upstairs. She needed a quick wash, then to be tucked into her cat tower with her heated blanket. Hopefully, the spicy food wouldn’t bother her at all.

  It didn’t take long to clean her up and tuck her in, not to mention change my shirt.

  The Cat waited for me on the island, with the mess gone, along with a clean plate and fork.

  “I wasn’t sure if you wanted more food,” he mumbled.

  I snagged another egg roll out of the box and chomped on it. “I appreciate that. Though, I’m full right now.”

  I sat down across from the Cat. “Indigo is clean and tucked in, I doubt she’ll be up again this afternoon.”

  The Cat nodded. “She needed food more than sleep, which is unusual for her, but not unheard of. You should mention it to the dragons when they come for training next.”

  “She’s been eating so daintily lately, and this time was in full toddler mode.” I shook my head, thinking of the mess I’d cleaned off her, and after getting a nice sand scrub the other day.

  “Toddler mode?” asked the Cat while tilting his head.

  “Little humans usually eat with their hands and make a big mess,” I said with a grin. We’d had a few small toddlers in my community when I was younger. They’d loved making messes with food at the neighborhood picnics. “It reminds me of that.”

  The Cat stared at me with his green eyes for a moment before glancing away. “The elves were sometimes like that when very little. Not my children, but their children.”

  “I wonder if other dragons are like this.” My fingers tapped on the counter as something came to me. “We should set up a play date with another dragon, one closer to Indigo’s age.”

  The Cat’s head snapped to me so fast. “Playdate?”

  “Yeah, it’s when...”

  “I know what you mean,” he grumbled. “You think having two of them in the shop is a good idea?”

  His tail flickered madly in the air.

  “I mean...”

  “Not a good idea... What if they get hurt?” He shook his head frantically and padded away before jumping to the ground, then heading to the front of the shop. “Sable, the magic is finally getting to you.”

  I chuckled at his antics and washed my hands before following. I’d bet a weeks’ worth of wages that I scored a playdate with another dragon for Indigo without a problem.

  “So deliveries, right?” I asked as I walked into the front of the shop.

  “That’s the plan.” The Cat shook his head again, as he sat next to the register. “Playdate...”

  I ignored the whisper and grabbed my mug, trying to decide what to make. After all the spicy food, I wasn’t sure additional caffeine was needed.

  Hot cocoa it was.

  Heavy cream, lightly steamed, with thick chocolate syrup and some whipped cream.

  Perfection.

  “Can I have one of those?” asked the Cat. “Please?”

  “Of course.” It didn’t take long to make a smaller second one, but on this one I added extra whipped cream. “Here you go. Though if I stir the whipped cream in, it becomes even richer.”

  The Cat paused his head halfway to the cup, ready to lick it. He lapped at the whipped cream without answering. A bit touched his whiskers, but he didn’t react.

  As my whipped cream melted, I stirred it in. The caffeine from the chocolate always hit differently from espresso for me. Less harsh. Plus, all the milk would help with any upset stomach if the spicy didn’t settle right.

  A thud came from the door as someone missed the handle. With a chuckle, I hurried over, leaving my hot chocolate behind.