Submission (#3678) Approved

Oh, he loves the ramen. He loves it more than he loves anything else in the world, and thanks to spring being delayed this year because of a late shift in miasma, his favourite shrimp isn’t in season quite yet. He hasn’t had his favourite shrimp in his ramen for months now, and that is physically painful and no-good-at-all. But it doesn’t stop him from walking down to the docks, to his favourite ramen shop in this city. He makes it a lot himself, of course, and he loves his own ramen, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to try every single ramen that exists to be bought and eaten. He does, he does, and he’s going to eat it all.

He steps to the side of the street and pauses, pulling his hair back up into the proper bun. It’s thick and chunky and so very much like ramen noodles, but it isn’t typically wet if he’s not in water, which is a good thing. If his hair dripped ramen broth all the time, he would never be able to talk at all, he’d just be sipping away at the broth dripping from his hair forever, and never be able to order someone else’s cooking.

So he walks down the docks again, hair properly adjusted into place, and he notes a few fishers pulling up a shrimp cage. He breathes in, as deep as he can, and- Yes! That is his favourite shrimp they’re pulling out of the water! Freshly caught and everything! He can have some in his ramen now, for it is summer and summer ramen must have shrimp in it!

“Hello, you all!” he calls, waving a paw, and the fishers wave back. “Is there a chance I can buy a bucket or two of shrimp before you head to market? It’s easier to carry that way!”

Purchase negotiated and paid: a bucket of freshly-caught shrimp for only two coins more than the next-best shrimp in the market. He runs off with it to his favourite ramen shop before they get busy on their lunch hour. When he presents it to the waitstaff, they smile as brightly as he has been for the past ten minutes.

“Can I get a bowl of ramen with this, please?” he asks, and all is right with the world.