Dreadlords Dreadkid Slice of Life 3.0

[Marcella]

Marcella stared down at the stuffed camel with a sense of adoration. This was the most valuable possession she had ever held in her arms. She didn’t even know that camels had such a large head or such enormous eyes!

”I’m going to name him Geoffrey.” Geoffrey the Camel. That sounded appropriate.

She flung Geoffry under her arm and scurried off behind Zaire. The apple stand wasn’t too far away but before they were even ten paces out you could smell the sweet scent of sugar on the breeze.

The miniscule girl took her place right beside the other student she’d been paired with just in time for his order to be placed. ”You’re going to eat two of the super-duper giat candy apple supremes?” Her own eyes had grown to about the same size of Geoffrey’s.

Before anyone could correct Marcella a stick housing a candied apple nearly the size of her head was placed in her hand.

“They grow those things way out in some orchard in the Ixchel Wilds,” the vendor stated, “takes forever to pluck ‘em from the trees because they’re so heavy.”

”Um, Zaire, I don’t think I can eat this…” she was struggling to balance both Geoffrey and her candied apple as she tried to think how she was meant to unhinge her jaw to take a bite.

 

[Zaire]

Geoffrey. Boy, Zaire thought, what a name. Ironically, while Geoffreys reminded Zaire of old fat men with balding bowl cuts and big mustaches with fat, short fingers like sausages, it did suit the toy camel. Not because it gave Zaire the impression of what he believed the republic’s councilmen to be like but rather it was solely for the fact that… well, those big eyes did give off the impression of a ‘Geoffrey.’

“Marci I am getting two because you’re gonna have one, too.” Zaire explained, and then puffed out his chest a bit— the way the big tough upperclassmen often did— and shoved one hand deep into his pocket as the other took the candied apple from the vendor. “Dad always said that it’s manners to order for the lady and the bigger the better… usually.” Zaire made a bit of a face, remembering when he had to do a one-arm carry and got paired up with a six foot tall behemoth of a initiate. Zaire had nearly failed, and without his magic he most definitely wouldn’t have even been able to lift the giant off the ground much less run a mile with him over his shoulder.

The apple was incredible. It was already large and round and heavy as one would imagine it to be. It had been roasted so it was smaller than it would be if it were still raw, but despite it being roasted, a thick caramel shell followed by a chocolate shell helped to keep it’s shape and to prevent it from sliding down the stick. Zaire couldn’t believe the assortment of chopped nuts that was scattered around the hardened chocolate— already he had labeled the peanuts, walnuts and almonds— but there were also ribbons of white or dark chocolate decorated the massive treat even further.

But the kicker? The fact that still found a way to cover it sprinkles and chocolate chips and add a cherry on top.

Zaire wasn’t sure he could eat this, either.

“Honestly looks more like a oversized to mace to bash someone’s head in.” Zaire said absently and then he took the plunge: he leaned over and took a large bite— the largest he had ever done. Sprinkles and nuts and chocolate and whatever else they had stuck on there fell down in heaps between his feet. He pulled back, crunching on everything and looked at the comical treat. He had barely scathed the caramel shell.

“This is gonna give use cavities, Marci.” And he took another bite, determined this time to reach the apple.

Marcella

 

[Marcella]

The bulbous thing she held on a stick seemed impossible to approach. How did one even take a bite of something covered in a thick layer of chocolate, caramel, and nuts? How was she ever going to even do more than nibble on it...

"How do we even eat," she stopped talking, and nearly dropped Geoffrey, as she saw Zaire going in on the treat.

Globs of sprinkles and chopped almonds covered in a thick layer of chocolate and caramel were forced down the other initiates throat. Marcella wasn't really sure how he was managing to eat pure sugar but he seemed determined to get to the apple underneath the various layers of sweetness that had encased it.

It was honestly one of the most impressive displays she'd seen at the academy so far. "I don't think I can eat like that..."

She lowered the stick slightly and took a singular nibble. Marcella had decided to just eat the cherry atop the treat and call it a day. "Be careful, we'll be in big trouble if we get cavities." Only one student had ever had a cavity at the academy before and it had occurred prior to the revolution.

The Proctors used their magics to heal it. Then they punched out the kid's teeth and used Marcie's abilities to heal and re-injure him until he promised, roughly one hundred times, that he'd never sneak sugar from the kitchens again.

 

[Oraya Urahil]

The more explanation he gave the more her lips puffed into a deep frown. They wound their way up and up the stairs, passing landing after landing and finally coming to a stop down another corridor where an old ladder was stashed against the wall. Perci drew it away and propped it against the corner. Above was a circular opening in the ceiling, blocked by an old-looking wooden door.

Perci climbed up first and twisted the knob, popping it open.

Looking down, she tipped her chin upward and disappeared above. Once Corvus followed, he'd find himself on the wide rooftop of the Academy, a night full of sparkling stars above and the glowing fires from the carnival and city below. It was actually quite beautiful. And private.

"This is one of my favorite places," Perci breathed. "I"d appreciate it if you kept it secret, though. And I think friends don't keep track of lists and debt." She thought quietly of Kalix and how much he gave her without strings attached. It only made her want to give as freely.

 

[Rowley Stone]

They were going up high, must be the roof. The series if stairs and landings that they weaved their way through made a type of maze that Corvus was not going to bother remembering. When they finally made it to the top of the Academy, and the night sky stretched out before them, Corvus could not help but smile slightly.

Corvus loved looking at the stars, his family specialized in adventure and navigation. He had been taught about the stars from a very young age. Being up here under this scenery made him feel at peace.

"Your secret is safe with me." Corvus moved over to take a seat on the roof.

"Friends do keep track. They just don't say that out loud. How else do you make friends beside being nice to people. I just like to keep track of things. Even when someone does something without getting anything in return, usually it is repaid in the future."

Corvus could not understand why Perci seemed so disturbed by all of this.

Perseus

 

[Zaire]

Zaire, ever the enthusiast about dessert, as he had just decided, continued to chomp away without any sort of modicum of modesty. Forget about his table manners he had learned as a minor noble house, forget about his mother scolding him or his father giving him “the look” if he ate like a beast. Every mouthful to the youth tasted better and better, and really, why stop?

Especially when he got to the ooey-gooey roasted apple which had been cooked in cinnamon and butter! There was no way he could just throw this apple away!

Well, except for the cavities bit. He slowed down, chewing everything for a long time. The caramel was getting stuck to his teeth and plenty of bits from the nuts had also decided to rest along his gums. Before speaking he took ample time to use his tongue to maneuver around each tooth, hopefully getting all the cavity inducing junk out of the way and down his throat.

“You think they care if we get cavities now?” Zaire asked, quite seriously, before looking over at her uneaten apple. Well, Marci did have a small mouth, not like she could unhinge her jaw as much as he was able to! “I mean it’s ironic, they’re the ones setting this up, so are we going to be punished to enjoy what they’re offering us?” Without much thought he picked up the red cherry stem and offered it over to Marcella. “You want this?”

Marcella