Wen-ci smacked her lips and tried to control her saliva as the platter full of sputtering, steaming steak was placed in front of her. The aroma that arose with the steam of a perfectly cooked slab of meat tickled her nose. She closed her eyes, savoring the smell.
A perfectly cooked steak was the next best thing to going to heaven, she reflected, neglecting to ponder that she thought the same about anything she liked to eat.
"Are you ever going to eat that," her brother asked, sitting down across from her. He dried his hands on the towel that he slung across his shoulder. "It took me three hours to get it to your specifications."
"And you'll thank me for it when the customers come pouring in," Wen-ci retorted, opening her eyes to glare at her brother who responded with an eyeroll.
"Hey! Respect your sister," his wife said, placing a bottle of red wine on the table and smacking her husband on the back of the head. The only reaction that elicited was a grunt of acknowledgement. "Do you know how hard it was to pry her out of that cooking school she was locked up in?"
"I wasn't locked up in the school," Wen-ci said, picking up her knife and fork. She gently cut the steak, hissing as the knife slid smoothly into the meat. "Magnificent," she breathed.
"My man is talented," Kali-ye boasted as she slid herself into her husband's lap. She followed up with a kiss that had him turning red. "Isn't that right?"
"I'm being henpecked again," Wen-ci's brother complained.
"Oh, you know you love it," Kali-ye said with a light pat on his shoulder. She glanced at Wen-ci. "So, how is the steak?"
"Worthy of a master chef, no, a grandmaster chef," Wen-ci pronounced with a satisfied sigh. She cut herself another piece. "I didn't think you'd get it so tender."
"It's the beef. Kali-ye's family sourced a rather good herd of ghasten for this," Drak-ci said, picking up a spare fork from the table and stabbing the piece of meat his sister just cut. "It's not bad," he mused as he devoured his stolen morsel.
"Hey," Wen-ci said without heat. She smiled as she quickly cut the rest of the meat into bite-sized pieces.
"You did well, hon," Kali-ye agreed. "Try the wine as well. My brother Parker-ye made it."
"You have a brother named Parker?" Wen-ci asked, looking up from her meal. She eyed the bottle. It was a green glass one, the liquid inside dark and unidentifiable.
"Well, he's one of those 'weird two-leggers' as the Gifted call them." Kali-ye stood up as she explained. She brushed her skirts straight. "My dad is ga-ga over the kid. Totally adopted him into the clan despite him not being a wood-elf." She shook her head as she drifted away back into the kitchen.
"Don't let her fool you. Her entire clan is crazy over the kid. He has some sort of weird occupation that lets him tame animals and take care of them." Drak-ci massaged the bridge of his nose. "And before you ask, no, not a shepherd of some sort. This is some entirely new configuration of skills."
"Sounds like a Tamer, but those only exist in legends," Wen-ci remarked before popping her fork into her mouth. She pulled it free with a sigh. "The sauce on this steak is phenomenal. I'm sure it contributes to the tenderness."
"Used his wine to make it," Drak-ci said with a nod towards the unlabeled bottle. "He brews it in his free time with these grapes he found in the Deep Forest."
Wen-ci paused at that. She looked up at her brother who arched an eyebrow in response. Then she looked around the empty restaurant. Her brother had closed it and given his workers the afternoon off when he managed to coax her to visit. Still, this was information that was best not to be spread around.
"He went into the Deep Forest?" Wen-ci asked, leaning closer to her brother.
"That's the current information from Kali-ye," her brother nodded. He stood up. "The kid is obsessed with animals and winemaking. It's a weird combination."
"Very weird," Wen-ci said, sopping up the last of the sauce on her plate with one of the rolls from the basket set on the table. She paused and then looked at her brother. "Do you want me to improve the rolls as well?"
"No, no," Drak-ci said, shaking his head. "That's the job of your nephew. He wants to contribute to the restaurant and eventually take over in fifty years or so."
Wen-ci grinned.
"Working him to the bone, are you?" She teased as she pushed back from the table.
"He's just a stripling. Needs toughening up," Drak-ci refuted as he walked towards the kitchen. "Still, try the wine before you go. The kid is still lingering around Kali-ye's clan house."
Wen-ci glanced at the bottle with curiosity. She understood what her brother was telling her. Usually, she was busy teaching culinary arts in the Delicacies Institute. If she missed out on meeting this mysterious Parker now, she probably wouldn't be able to do so for a few months. It was only because her brother insisted that she'd taken the afternoon off to come adjust the flavor of his steak.
Drak-ci was pretty proud of his cooking skills. He should be. After all, their father was one of the best chefs in the Liannenken Kingdom and probably in the surrounding ones as well. Drak-ci's restaurant, Golden Leaves on High, was becoming well-renowned.
The addition of the ghasten steaks would boost it even higher. Ghastens, a weird mix of cows and rabbits, were far fiercer than their components. The rabbit part provided them the options of being meat eaters, and the cow part aided in their digestion of such. They were almost as bad as goats, but much, much bigger.
A fully grown ghasten steer was the size of a brawny human male. They also didn't have much a sense of patience. Taming them was a feat that would gain anyone a good salary as well as renown. An ornery ghasten would take a bite out of their handlers, no matter how much they liked them.
"Are the ghastens at her clan house as well?" Wen-ci called after her brother.
"I don't know. I only deal with the carcasses they haul here," her brother called back as he entered the kitchen.
Wen-ci mulled over the idea for a second before turning towards the table. She pulled over an empty glass and uncorked the bottle. The wine poured out smooth and uniform, a delightful fruity smell drifting out.
She eyed the glass critically. Wen-ci picked it up, swirling it around critically. There was no sediment at the bottom, a good sign. The color was uniformly a crystal clear red, like dyed water. Wen-ci pursed her lips at that.
She took a deep sniff of the wine, brow furrowing. She could sense the smell of grapes, oak and another faint one that had her eyes widening. Wen-ci took a cautious sip, rolling it over her tongue.
"I'm going to see Kali-ye's clan!" She called, scooping up her carry-sack and heading for the door.
"Thought you might," her brother responded from the depths of his kitchen.
*****
Kali-ye's clan house, the House of Ye, occupied a fair amount of property near the furthermost edge of town. The house could properly be called a compound, composed of numerous buildings and green spaces. Wen-ci paused in front of the gates, blowing an errant lock of hair out of her face as she fought to catch her breath.
The two guards on either side of the gate watched her with amused looks. Wen-ci was a well-renowned foodie in the town, and her brother was married to their Third Miss.
"Heard about the wine?" One of them guessed, ears waving inquisitively.
"I might have," Wen-ci admitted, straightening up.
Wen-ci tugged her clothes into some semblance of correctness with a surreptitious glance to see if she had gotten any sauce on them. She had spent the morning helping her brother perfect his steak recipe after all.
"You look fine, Professor Wen-ci," the other door guard said with a sharp look at his compatriot. The first guard just grinned in response. "More manners, okay? We're supposed to be learning!"
"You're doing fine," Wen-ci assured them. She bit back the smile at the first one's triumphant look. Both of them looked like they were barely old enough to attend her beginners' lectures.
"Shall we announce you?" The second door guard straightened up under her gaze.
"No need. I see someone I know," Wen-ci said with a nod towards the gates.
The guards glanced back to see their First Miss walking towards the gate, smiling happily.
"Wen-ci! You finally emerged!" Shal-ye said, stopping before the gates. "Open, open! Why are you keeping her out?"
The guards hurriedly pulled the lacy ironwood gates open. Wen-ci smiled and then nearly toppled as Shal-ye threw herself into her arms.
"I'm so happy you're visiting! Are you here for me? Or some wine? Or is it the ghastens?" Shal-ye asked, pulling free. She graced her oldest friend with a brilliant smile. "I have so much to tell you."
"And yet, you couldn't come to the Institute? I'd have made time for you!" Wen-ci protested, winding arms with Shal-ye as they walked through the gates towards the main house.
"It's been a bit hectic over here as of late. Parker found these vines, and then he transplanted them into his courtyard," Shal-ye complained. Then she paused. "Have you heard about Parker? He's our newest person. He's one of those 'weird two-leggers' as the Gifted call them." Shal-ye laughed.
Wen-ci shook her head. Most wood elves referred to their four-legged brethren as the Gifted, especially if they were able to speak Common. A lot of the higher caste animals could. There was a line of thought that said that it was the result of the quest system, but who truly knew? Most records that stretched back to the quest system's appearance had been destroyed.
"And it's not unusual for a wood elf clan to adopt someone who isn't a wood elf?" Wen-ci teased.
"It wasn't our fault that we forgot to notify people," Shal-ye replied gently, though there was a hint of happy arrogance in her voice.
"Oh, just getting a jump on any others who might want to meet a guy who can tame ghastens?" Wen-ci said. She glanced around. "Where is the herd, anyways?"
"It wasn't just that, and the herd is off in the Far Compounds," Shal-ye replied. She tugged Wen-ci up the stairs to the main house. "Come! At least say hello to my mom before you get all consumed by work stuff," she insisted with a twinkle in her eye.
"I didn't come just for some wine," Wen-ci protested as she followed her friend.
"I know. There are ghastens involved as well," Shal-ye teased she pushed the door to the main house open.
Wen-ci rolled her eyes, but really…she couldn't refute her friend's words.