After confirming one more time, Devon started walking toward the house. Eighteen miles were nothing to him. His fox was fast. His stamina was his strength.
As Devon made it back, Anne and Arella waited for him in the living room. Upon arrival, he gave both the girls a sky blue colored flower each and then joined them. He felt a little out of breath.
"Husband, you have worked hard. Now, take some rest. I will take it up from here." As soon as Anne's sweet voice chimed in, the cook appeared with a tray in her hand.
Arella thought that she must have brought some snacks, but when she lowered the tray, Arella found a dozen small cups in it instead. Puzzled, she shot a curious look at the cook.
"Madam, it was requested by Anne Ma'am." The cook politely responded, kept the tray, and left the room.
Both Devon and Arella turned towards Anne with queries in their eyes.
"Oh! This is to test your taste!" Anne cunningly responded.
Arella furrowed her eyebrows. Anne's intention did not look good at all.
"As you know, for the beast clan, there are different kinds of tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, meaty, and bland. Meat and bland need no training. So we will focus on the first four!" Anne enthusiastically continued
Arella looked at the cups having unknown powder and showed a trace of disapproval.
"You do not expect me to eat that, do you?" Arella annoyingly spoke. Was it training? It looked more like a revenge to her! Was Anne trying to come at her for serving her that tasteless soup for breakfast?
"Oh! How else are you going to know the taste if you don't eat it?" Anne smartly replied.
"I have particularly asked for the crushed powder of things which do not have a strong smell. You only have to try a bit and identify it. As long as you identify it correctly, you pass! Simple, isn't it?" Anne elaborated.
Devon sat silently, letting Anne take the lead. He knew that Anne was plotting revenge, but he had to admit that it was a good way. This way, they can stimulate her taste buds to become extra sensitive to the flavors in minimum time.
Arella pursued her lips and reluctantly agreed.
"Okay, so I was planning to cover your eyes. But since you can still see, I would request you to keep your eyes open and look at some other place while I feed you the powder. Any problem?" Anne began with the conditions.
Arella did not mind. She just wanted to get done with it soon! So, she focused her attention on the sky blue flower in her hand. When a spoon came to her lips, she opened her mouth.
"Spice." Anne was not ruthless enough to feed her a spoonful. She only fed a little amount, enough to make it easier to identify.
"Good. Next." Anne pushed another spoon near her lips.
"Sweet…Sour…Salty…Blah, bitter," a frown appeared on her forehead as soon as she tasted the bitter powder.
She hurriedly drank some water to neutralize the taste.
"Good. You know your basic tastes very well. Now, we will try a combination." Anne was satisfied with Arella's performance so far.
"Combination?" Arella asked as she drank water.
"Yes. These basic tastes are very easy to identify. But the problem is, everywhere they are only used in combinations. So, we will also mix a few powders and let you identify the tastes, fair?" Anne patiently explained.
She did make sense. Arella agreed without any apprehension this time.
At first, Anne mixed two powders. Arella found it hard to identify the tastes, but later, as they continued, Arella became better and better at it. They practiced for hours, with different combinations. By the end, Arella had become an expert at it.
"It has 50% sweet, 20% sour, 15% bitter, 10% salt, and 5% spice." Arella calmly examined the last mixture.
"Yes, you got it all right! Look, I knew I was a great trainer!" Anne unbiasedly praised both herself and Arella.
Arella had to admit this plain practice did yield good results. At first, she found it hard to identify the tastes, but with repeated trial and error, she has become capable of not only identifying the various tastes but also the approximate percentage! It really was great!
Satisfied, all three of them started happily munching on the snacks provided by the cook. Once they were done, the cook appeared again with another tray in her hand.
Seeing it, Arella's eyes widened. Truthfully, she was still a little traumatized. The bitter was too unsavory, and the salty was too unpalatable. She did not want to taste anything else again.
Noticing Arella's expression, a slight smile appeared on Devon's face.
"Do not worry. These are some strong smelling herbs. It is to test your smell." Devon dispelled her doubts in a collected manner.
Arella sighed in relief. Huh! No more tasting! Her tongue was on the verge of becoming numb!
"Yes, taste is okay, but if the situation is extreme, then it is only smell that we can rely on. Especially, in the case of poisoning!" Anne thoughtfully added.
"We are from the herb gathering team. So this should be comparatively easier. You smell the herbs and tell us the name." Devon took the charge silently.
On the tray were around 50 herbs. They almost looked the same. It was only through smelling them that one could identify them. It was a wise way to test the smell.
Years of experience had made it a task of a few hours to identify the herbs. Among the herbs were a few which even Devon and Anne could not identify. Out of fifty, Arella could easily identify forty on her own without any help. For a few, it took both Anne and Devon to guide her, and then there were a few, that remained in the category of unknown.
Nonetheless, this exercise made Arella more proficient in identifying the smell of herbs. She could easily differentiate between the greens.
"Good. So we have tested vision, hearing, taste, and smell. As for touch, I think Adrian would be better suited to help you out!" Anne cheekily suggested as they sat down to have dinner.
Thinking of Adrian, a faint blush appeared on Arella's cheeks. He had not contacted her after that holographic call. She made a mental note of contacting him after the meal.
"Arella, now we would like to take a leave." As soon as they finished the meal, Anne's low voice filled Arella's ears.
"Hmm, we should head back now." Devon too, supported Anne.
"Leave?" Arella questioned in a dispirited manner.
"Yes, we still have a few things to pack." Anne softly responded.
Arella did not want to make things difficult for them. She knew that they had to leave. So, she insisted upon them to take the private airship. It was late, and only Beast God knows how long would it take for them to find a common airship.
They refused resolutely at first. But Arella said that it was a kind repayment for their help. Later, they agreed to take the private airship.
Once they left, the home became eerily quiet.
In the quietness, a soft ding announcing the arrival of a notification was particularly loud. Arella checked her watch.
It was Adrian. He had sent an invite for a holographic call.
Arella accepted it speedily.
Connecting husband and wife…connecting…connecting…
The mechanical voice continued till Adrian's face came alive in front of Arella.
"What happened? Why do you look so down?" Adrian's concerned voice caressed Arella's ears.
"Nothing serious. My friends left today." Arella was indeed feeling sad. Not because they had left, but because she will not be able to meet with them any time soon. They were moving away to the military campus. Who knows when will they meet next time!
"So you only miss your friends. You don't miss me?" Adrian playfully asked.
"I miss you, Adrian." Arella looked at him in the eyes and articulated with utmost sincerity.
Being gazed at, Adrian felt a rush of familiar heat in his lower region. Damn! He mentally cursed himself. He should not have sent an invite for a holographic call. Her expressions were too clear! He could sense the affection in her eyes. She looked at him as if he was the only one in her life.
"I miss you too." He huskily croaked.
A silence covered both of them.
"The procedures will be completed soon. I won't keep you waiting for long." Adrian tried to divert his attention by speaking of other matters.
Listening to this, a small smile appeared on her face. She could not wait to meet him. She really did miss him.
They spoke a little more, and then Adrian advised her to go to bed. Arella was indeed tired. So she undoubtedly agreed and wished him good night.
Later, it was only Arella who slept sweetly that night. For Adrian, it was a sleepless night plagued with brutal longing.