"What took you so long?" asked Ania.
"The chiefs wasted too much time, like always," said Rathe, being the first one to shove food into his mouth. "Wow! What is this?"
"It's spine fish from the lake that I marinated in blyra juice," answered Ania with a proud smile.
"Blyra juice!? We have blyra fruit?" asked Rathe.
"We do now. Thanks to Vloz and his dealings with traders, a lot of new exports are becoming available. With his help, I got my hands on lots of different seeds, one of those being the blyra fruit. Try the drink, I think you'll be even more excited," said Ania, sure that she would surprise Rathe.
He didn't hesitate to grab at the cup in front of him and down it in one go. "This… How did you get this?" stammered Rathe.
"Again, thank Vloz," Ania pointed at the leopard, who was using his aura to lift the glass to his mouth.
"Calm down Rathe, there's plenty so don't hold back," said Vloz quickly before returning to his drink.
Rathe didn't question it any longer and asked for more with a grin on his face like a child would before receiving a special treat from his mother.
Oli was too busy devouring the savory fish covered in what tasted like barbeque sauce to even see the cup in front of him, but with so much excitement over its contents, he tried it himself.
All stress and anxiousness he had pent up vanished. The surprise announcement made during the award ceremony earlier that day and the emergency meeting of the chiefs council both vanished from his memory. The drink was warm and passed down his throat easily, soothing him from the inside. It was sweet yet tangy, naturally bringing a smile to his face. Before he knew it, he had finished the whole cup.
"Did you like it?" asked Ania, chuckling at her son's reaction to the meal she prepared.
"This is amazing! I've never had anything like this," complimented Oli, not feeling like his words could do the meal any justice.
"This is a drink is known as "dragon tea," made from rare zipro berries and even rarer leaves gathered from a dragon-tongue bush. It's known for its ability to soothe and calm, no matter the situation," said Vloz, having finished his cup. "The seeds for the dragon-tongue bush were very hard to find, but once I found a merchant who had some to spare, I had to get them."
"It the housecat's favorite drink," interjected Rathe. "His old master used to—"
"That's enough Rathe," Vloz cut him off and changed the subject. "You're ready to leave for the capital, right?"
"I sure am," said Rathe, serving himself more dragon tea. "Fontu will be coming here shortly to head out."
"I thought you were leaving at dawn?" asked Oli.
"Nah, I want to get this over with. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can arrive at the capital and get this over with."
"But they said we had a whole year to get there, so why leave so soon?" asked Oli.
"Because the sooner we get there, the better the impression we have on King Portro," Vloz answered for Rathe. "It shows that we were able to produce enough wealth to easily provide an additional offering and improve our standing in the region."
"Plus, I don't want to be gone from the territory for very long. I'd miss my little sister's cooking too much," said Rathe as he finished his meal and the last of the dragon tea. "Besides, with Fontu gone your mom will have to fill in as the advanced novice class' instructor. So, till I'm back you'll have to put up with her at school too."
With a whack to the back of Rathe's head, Ania spoke, "What's wrong with that? I get to see Oli even more and help other kids while I'm there, is that a problem?"
"But Mom, weren't you going to be placed in charge of managing the storehouse?" asked Oli, trying to think of a way to oppose her without hurting her feelings.
"That will have to wait. Until Fontu returns, we'll place Chief Gar in charge of the storehouse, since the lynxes will be bringing in the majority of the food." Ania brushed the excuse aside with ease. "Why, aren't you excited to see me every day at school?"
"It's not that I'm not excited," Oli tried to think of a response, "it's just that I'd want to spend my time with my friends and training since I always see you at home anyways."
Ania understood what he meant and didn't take it to heart, but she couldn't help but feel a little sad. "I get it, Mr. Popular. I'll make sure you have time for your friends. I'll be careful not to make too much for my lunches since you'll be too busy to join me."
Finishing his last bite of the spine fish, he imagined all of the delicious foods that his mom would make for lunch. "Well, I guess I could make time for lunch, but anything more and it'll be hard."
"Fine, lunch it is then," having won her son over, she smiled and began to clean up.
Within minutes there was a knock at the door. Everyone inside waited a few moments for Fontu to enter, but he only knocked a second time. Rathe finally got up and opened the door for him, saying, "Just come in already. Why so formal?"
"I must be respectful to Ania as Chief Dioro's wife," stated Fontu as he stood in the doorway. "The others and I are ready, let's hurry and get this over with."
Rathe looked behind Fontu to see the three elder level gorillas Fontu had chosen to accompany them. "Fine, might as well. Oli, Vloz, Sis, I'll be heading out now. Be back in a few moons!" Swiftly, they all disappeared into the night as they began their journey.
"I'll take my leave as well. Make sure you both get some sleep, we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow," Vloz vanished as soon as the words left his mouth.
"Hurry and head to bed, Oli. And don't stay up late cultivating this time, not with the opening ceremony so early in the morning," said Ania as she put out the fire.
Oli nodded back to her and left the room as it went dark. They both went to their rooms and quickly fell asleep, with full stomachs and a clear mind.