Submission (#3034) Approved

Quest: Resonance - Act # 2 [RQ-ST-1] A Tropical Treat
Act Type: Study
Word Count: 1624
Adult Elnin Present: Tashi [ELN081]
Regional Affinity: Palu'au
Claiming Regional Affinity for: Hanabi [ELN595]
[Rank Name] Rank Unlock Mini-Requirement: N/A
(Bellmoril)

Vacation time was a necessity, and with her mother going to her secondary shop on the islands, Hanabi felt the pull of the tropics on her. In all of her imagining of the beach and its clear waves, nothing could compare to those first moments on the white sandy beaches and clear blue water. Soft, salty breezes cascaded over her fur and she took in a deep breath of the clean air, her ears twitching softly at the distant rolling of waves and laughter of visitors. Warmth engulfed her entirely as they got set up, and she stared out her window at the scenic view.

             Large palm trees leaned over with their long leaves and short grasses and bushes were at the edges of the pristine beaches. The architecture was mostly huts in the small town they stopped in, adding to the tropical atmosphere and laid-back feeling the islands produced.  The smell of coconut and pineapple tickled at her nose and she longed to taste something as colorful as the bright blue beaches. At the first opportunity, she snuck out and hurried off down the main road towards the crowded sandy beach. The smell was intoxicating to her and she followed the line of all creatures onto the line of bamboo huts setting against the main road to the beach. On the other side, a small pier was in the distance over the water, while the calm, foaming waves washed over the shore. In the distance she could see boats in the distance, enjoying the soft breezes of the day under a mostly clear sky and warm sunshine.

            Around her, all creatures walked by with bright drinks in their hands, exciting her eyes and her sense of smell. Pink drinks, blue, purple – and all adorned with the cutest of small umbrellas. Occasionally she stopped, watching the bartenders to the stalls move to make their magic, mixing with bright colored fruits and different liquids, seeing the happy faces on their customers. She licked at her lips and followed along, stopping near the end where an older elnin sat minding his drink stall, behind a display of colored coconut cups and a menu board swinging in the salty breeze. Curiously, she approached but stopped short, realizing what the small stand was missing. Why are there no customers?

            The sand under her paws shifted as she wiggled her body in wondering, approaching and leaning up to see to the top of the counter. “Excuse me, what kind of drinks do you have?”

            “Huh?” The older nin slowly peered over with his bright yellow eyes from under his mound of purple hair. “Oh hey! You really want one of my drinks?” He shifted his gaze to the other stalls, eying the drinks and snowcone stalls with a harsh stare before turning back to her. “There are others.”

            Hanabi didn’t skip a beat. “I’m here now so I want one here.”

            He blinked and gave a sigh, “As much as I want to sell you one, I can’t. They’re not any good. That’s why there isn’t any line.” With a plunk noise he moved back to where she couldn’t see anymore and plopped on the floor, his long tundra tail wriggling against the cupboards..

            The kittom moved to the side, easily moving into the stall, staring at the back with the mixers and ingredients, staring at how clean it all was. “Mister, are you okay? They look really nice in the containers there. How are they not good?” Tilting her head she leaned up with her paws on the counter, staring at the different berries and the unused blenders.

            “Name’s Tashi.” He grunted, standing back up and he glanced back at her. “Like I said, they’re no good. No one wants to try the Sour Barnacle or the Pear Chipotle Punch. Or the Coconut Surprise.” He grumbled and looked back. “I don’t even know why I’m open… I wanted to try to make money on my own, but now there's this.”

            Hanabi scrunched her nose at the names and stared back at the menu board, seeing other unappetizing names like “Octopus Strawberry”. “Is there… actually octopus in that drink?” Slowly she looked back to the ingredients and felt an itch of inspiration hit her.

            “What if there were?” While his voice was sharp, he didn’t move from his spot and sighed. “I have the cute cups, the umbrellas, ice for cool drinks. All of my drinks are special, y’know? Unique. Like every Elnin is unique.” At the mention of the word "unique," his fractal crown swayed slightly while he tilted his head in her direction again. A paw moved up to push back his bright purple bangs to get a better view as the pink kittom went to work.

            A paw wiggled on a strawberry as she moved it over to the blender, looking back at him as she dumped it and a few others into it. “Well, that’s your problem right there. I’m just traveling and don’t know too much, but I do know I don’t want a spicy drink, or something with octopus in it, especially not on the beach. I really just wanted something with coconut…” Straining, she leaned forward to grab the coconut milk and dump it into the blender concoction. “Here, let me show you. I can make a real good drink!”

            “Wait, what are you doing there?” He stood, pushing a stepping stool over to her with a huff. "Fine, take a crack at it but I guarantee it won’t make a difference.”

            Hanabi grinned and hopped up the stepping tool, looking around at the different ingredients, leaning over to sniff at them with a happy sigh. “Don’t you worry Mister Tashi!” She grinned, “Hanabi is on the case!” She felt the glare he gave at the word Mister, but her paws were already back in the ingredients and she pulled the pieces of fresh pineapple into the blender. Tapping at her chin she looked back again, poking at some papaya fruit. “This smells like it goes with this, but just a little.” A few pieces went into the blender. “Now… something more interesting.”

            At the edge of the ingredients, she noticed an oblong fruit, reddish in color, that reminded her of something alien. Sniffing at it she shrugged, grabbing a whole one to shove in. “Not sure what this is but in it goes.”

            “Water Apple.” Tashi said with a grunt, moving over closely. "My kids really liked that growing up, but isn't that too much sweet in there?”

            “You don’t like sweet?” Hanabi blinked and stared, moving to add some water and then ice. “Mmm, mom says green helps…” She grabbed at a lime and squeezed it over the top, puckering her lips at the strong citrus. “And then some balance!” She did the same with orange, feeling her paws go dry from the citrus. “There!” In her mind, she could hear her mom talk again about simplicity with her dresses, so she did the same, slapping down the top of the blender and pressing go.

            Tashi was less than amused, more by embarrassment at the drink as it whirred, shaking his head. “That’s just throwing things together, mine were handpicked and worked on. And I like them so it’s good. I mean, sweet is fine and all...” He muttered.

            Not losing focus, Hanabi grabbed at a pink coconut cup and put it to the side, staring back at the drink as it finished. Clumsily she moved it over to pour, getting it all over but she managed to get most of it back into the cup. “I’m like that too!” She said, wiping some of the new sticky drink off of her, licking at it with a happy little gasp. “But sometimes you gotta think about what other people like too. Now try this!” Holding the cup in both paws she held it up.

            Tashi lowered his ears and took it, giving her a hard stare and taking a sip. And then another sip. And another until he drank at least half, gasping as he put it back down. “That… well it needs a little work but…”

            She grinned. “But?”

            “But I’ll admit it was better than my Strawberry Octopus…” His paw settled on the top of the cup and he glanced back to the other more popular huts, staring down. “Do you mind if I… recreate this one? Maybe you’re on to something. I started this business late to have a way to make some more money, but I was thinking about what I wanted to try out and didn’t really consider anything else.”

            Hanabi was sticky and messy but beamed in pride back at the older nin. “Of course you can! There are two conditions though!”

            “Oh yeah?” He said, amused.

            “Mhm. First, you let me experiment more back here while I’m vacationing!”

            He nodded. “And?”

            “And… you name it the Firework Fruit Smoothie, after me!” She gave a toothy grin with bright eyes.

            A chuckle escaped the older nin’s mouth and he took her paw to shake graciously. “Of course, Hanabi wasn’t it? You can be my little helper.” Slowly, he glanced back at a few curious tourists nearby and he waved out. “Hey, how would you like to try a brand new drink? Firework Fruit Smoothies are the best!”

            Hanabi grinned and leaned up. “That’s right, and I helped make it!” There was pride in her voice, and even more in knowing she had followed her heart in the ingredients. Perhaps it wasn’t the most relaxing thing to do on her vacation, but it left her feeling fulfilled and her tummy satiated with tropical fruits while staring at the most gorgeous islands in all of Eyre.