Quests & Challenges

Daily Challenge Update @VelveteenVixen @Saraceaser @RubieKanary @ProdigalSunlight @Sylvandyr @cmf25 @RisenWolf @dragonpals @Daemonengrau @Sinjin @AloVra @Ajgreelyfan3 @Sylphiette @tigressRising @kylonaberrie @LissaJade @JinxMoonstone @Alliope @Sidegrinder @Lonefox

Day 3 is up and ready to go!

[b]Day 3| Skipper and Henry[/b] Staring at the new contents of the ingredient box, Skipper remembered the good old days at his nation’s navy Flagship… Ah, all the kidney-drying salted fish they had… [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=55272363] [img]https://flightrising.com/rendern/350/552724/55272363_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] [b]How am I going to turn this into something… Eatable? I mean, the sailors and soldiers have this on a daily basis… But it doesn’t mean they like it. [/b] He hears the curious sound of galloping hooves, then a THUD and the clinging of a blade hitting metal. A dragon dressed on a red coat enters the tent, carrying a sweater on his claws. [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=44751772] [img]https://flightrising.com/rendern/350/447518/44751772_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] [b]Oy Skipper, Ceridwen told me to give you this… She says you will get cold with all this wind blowing.[/b] [b]HENRY MY GOOD BROTHER![/b] Skipper runs and embraces him on a thigh hug. [b]By Tidelord, mate… I didn’t know you would get so happy about your wife’s silly precautions…[/b] [b]I’m not glad to see the sweater, I’m glad to see you![/b] [b]I’m… Flattered…[/b] [b]Come’ere![/b] Skipper grabs his brother by the tail, tugging him towards the cooking stand. [b]What can I do with these?[/b] Henry analyses the content of the box. [b]Ah, sweet war rations… Wait. Are you supposed to turn this into something… Tasty?[/b] [b]Well, yes.[/b] The Redcoat dragon stares at the salted chunk of meat… [b]You know, me and the generals used to adapt some rations to more gourmet stuff…[/b] [b]Like what?[/b] Henry turns away, looking for extra ingredients. [b]We would use stuff we could find around… Like mushrooms! [/b] He marches to the ingredient stand, grabbing mushrooms and wild spices. [b]Do you have a fire?[/b] [b]Sure…[/b] [b]Jolly good, that’s all we need.[/b] [b]Are you sure about what you’re doing?[/b] [b]You know, when the strategy fails on the battlefield, all you have to do is improvise! Well… Strategically… [/b] [center][b]The Delaware Delight [/b] [b]You will need:[/b] [item= Luminous Almonds] [item= Ancient Mushroom] [item= Dried Fish] [item= Longneck Winter Rations] [item= Salted Game] 1x Luminous Almonds 3x Ancient Mushrooms Water Dried Fish 3x Longneck Winter Rations Salted Game [b]Ready! Present! Fire![/b] Fill a bowl (Or an empty powder bucket, all depends on your scenario…) with water, add your salted game and wait for at least one hour to remove the excess salt. Change the water every 15 minutes. On a pan, add your winter rations, put it over the fire and wait until the corn syrup has melted. Chop your dried fish and the almonds into small cubes. When the corn syrup turns liquid, drain it from the pan and reserve. Add the chopped almonds and fish to the dried rations. Mix until the liquids from the new ingredients incorporate on the grain mix. Remove your mix from the pan. On the same pan add the corn syrup and the mushrooms; stir until the mushrooms get slightly golden. Grab the meat and add it on the pan, cover it with the caramelized mushroom sauce. Cover your pan and cook for one hour on low heat. After you are done the meat should be cooked on the outside and slightly raw on the inside. Serve the meat slices with the crumbs. There is no need to add salt on any step, as the meats already contain enough salt for the whole recipe (Unless you want to get rid of one of your kidneys…). Well done! This recipe serves three dragons (Or one soldier after a long battle…). …[/center] Henry stares proudly at his creation. [b]You know what? It doesn’t look so bad…[/b] [b]It smells divine.[/b] Skipper adds. [b]Let’s hope our “Generals” approve our campaign.[/b] They chuckle. [b]Hey, Henry.[/b] [b]What?[/b] [b]When you return, tell Ceridwen I don’t need this silly sweater.[/b] [b]…[/b] [b]What?[/b] [b]I’ve questioned Generals’ and Admirals’ orders before… But I must say… Questioning you wife’s orders… That’s risky…[/b] They stare at each other. Skipper dresses the pink knitted sweater without complaining… The two stand awkwardly, waiting for the final judgement of their meal.

[center][size=4][b]Intermission[/b][/size][/center] Roxy had just returned most of the apparatus they had used for the day’s cooking when he noticed that his sibling was still at the cooking station, busily wolfing down the dubious dish they made as if it wasn’t a plate of mixed charcoal and salted raw fish. “Reggi!” With a yelp, Roxy slapped the fish out of his sibling’s hands. “Don’t eat that- It’s gross!” “Hey!” Startled by Reggi suddenly snapping at him, Roxy took a step back. Fortunately, aside from appearing mildly annoyed, Reggi quickly regained his usual composure. “...Yeah. You’re right. It was super gross.” Roxy was exasperated. “Then why did you eat it?!” “I dunno…” Reggi mumbled. “It just seems like a waste is all…” “Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you waste so many good ingredients by spoiling them.” Roxy made an attempt at a joke. “But seriously- Is everything alright? You seem kind of down lately. I thought you were excited for Mistral Meals.” “I’m totally fine!” Reggi stood upright, puffing his chest out. “I’m just kinda tired- I dunno. Maybe I’ve gone down with something… But I’m fine! I’ll just take a short nap, and then I’ll be good.” “Alright. You go do that.” Roxy agreed. Internally, Roxy reminded himself that if Reggi was indeed ill with something, he’s going to stop his sibling from partaking in the remaining days of Mistral Meals, even if that meant he’ll need to strap the Imperial down onto his bed. ----- [center][size=4][b]Day 3[/b][/size][/center] [columns][color=transparent]..................................................[nextcol][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=31882937] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/318830/31882937p.png[/img] [/url][nextcol][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=31882939] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/318830/31882939p.png[/img] [/url][/columns] “Finally! Meat!” Reggi yelled triumphantly as he lifted the [b]Salted Game[/b] up into the air, not unlike some discount version of the opening of the Lion King. “Why is it [b]dried fish[/b]?” Roxy looked towards the fish, unsure of how to feel. They looked much better than the ones he tried to do yesterday. “Blergh. Salty.” Reggi stuck his tongue out, and Roxy contemplated if it was worth the hassle to lecture his younger sibling, but then decided to just remind himself to cut out the part where Reggi had licked. “We should make something that can, um… counteract? All this salt.” Roxy looked towards Reggi. “What do you think?” “Like cream?” Reggi asked. “I like my salt with some sweet.” “That could work.” Roxy nodded. “Alright, you go and prepare the meats- Cut the fish and the meat into small cubes, okay? I’ll prepare the cream for the rice. After that, we can crush the [b]Longneck Winter Rations[/b] into the mixture and serve it altogether.” “That works for me!” Roxy sighed, relieved that at least for this day his younger sibling will not have access to any means to create more fires in their shared cooking station. As the Skydancer went ahead to gather the ingredients for the creamy mixture, Reggi turned to his ingredients. Rubbing his chin contemplatively, Reggi decided on the largest butcher knife available on the rack, before slamming it down onto the meat- Unfortunately, the salted meat were surprisingly sturdy, and did not come apart as easily as the Imperial had hoped. In the end, Reggi did not even manage to get several small pieces of the meat into cubes before he started to grow impatient. “Alright meat- Prepare to [i]meat[/i] your maker!” With all his might, Reggi slammed the knife down onto the dried meat, then brought the knife back up with a heave. Once his hand had reached the peak, he brought it back down, hoping that the force combined with gravity would help him break the meat into chunks. Only his hand came down on the second swing. ...Huh? Reggi looked at his hands. Then turned around, confused. Where’d his knife go?! “Reggi?” Reggi started, realizing his sibling had returned from retrieving the rest of the utensils and ingredients needed for their dish. “Is everything alright?” “Uh- Yeah!” quickly retrieving another knife from the rack, Reggie got to work at chipping away at the remaining meat cubes. “Yeah… everything is totally fine…”

[center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=20525486] [img]https://flightrising.com/rendern/350/205255/20525486_350.png[/img] [/url] [i]Second Meal: Deconstructed Thundercloud Dumplings[/i][/center] Taking note of the ingredients, Hannibal pulls on a pair of long rubber gloves before he scoops out a handful of the [b]almonds[/b] and deposits them in a waiting mortar. He grinds them down into a fine, staticky powder, sifts out any larger bits, and adds the powder to a bowl with flour, sea salt, an egg, and water. Hannibal folds this into a dough, spoons it out onto a cornstarch-dusted board and begins to work it with his hands. Several minutes after kneading the dough into a silky, but firm ball, he places a damp tea towel over it and gives it time to rest. [center]~o~[/center] [i]One hour later . . .[/i] It takes a considerable amount of time and endurance to roll the dough out to an appropriate thickness, but Hannibal manages. He takes up a knife and begins carving out "butterfly" shapes, which resemble little boats when the curved edges are pinched together. The "boats" are opened wider and set upright on baking trays, which are then placed in a freezer to help set their shapes. [center]~o~[/center] [i]30 minutes later . . .[/i] Hannibal brings the trays over to a waiting pot, and carefully deposits four of the "boats" into the heated oil. They are removed and set on a drying rack after they cook to a golden brown, and more "boats" are given the same treatment. As they drain and cool, Hannibal turns to his next ingredient. After pulling on a fresh pair of rubber gloves, he takes up a particularly thin blade while eyeing the miniscule [b]endlers[/b]. Hannibal pays little mind to the sparks that pop and snap as he guts first one, and then upwards of several dozen of the fish which are placed in a large bowl. He pauses in his work to set out a large pan, filling it with a thin layer of oil. With a quick wash and thorough drying, the endlers' innards are rubbed with a thick paste of garlic, sea salt, olive oil, thyme, and smoked paprika, and the edges of each belly is pinched shut. Several are carefully set in the pan, belly down and pectoral fins spread, and more oil is added to partially submerge the fish. Hannibal spends the next few minutes basting the fish with the oil until they are golden brown and crispy, at which point he moves them to a cooling rack and repeats this process with the remaining fish. After cleaning up his station, he removes his gloves and takes up one of the [b]wisp fruit[/b] and begins to peel it. Several are set inside of a food processor and pulsed into a pale puree, which is then spooned into a whip canister along with honey, soy sauce, white pepper, and pureed garlic. Hannibal gives the canister a thorough shaking before setting it in the cold larder. [center]~o~[/center] [i]Three hours later . . .[/i] Hannibal begins assembly of his dish by making a spiral of fluffy "clouds" with the foam from the chilled whip canister. Many little "boats" are positioned around and on the "clouds" (with some also being filled with the foam) along with the fried endlers and a pearlescent spoon at the side. When all is said and done, each of the four plates hold their own little scene, a delight to both the eyes and the mouth.

[center][size=6][b]Day 3[/b][/size][/center] [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=2718513] [img]https://flightrising.com/rendern/350/27186/2718513_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] Hm. Nothing wrong with preserved fare to tide you through periods of scarce supply. Alone, these over-salted and over-sugared ingredients are examples of ruined food, but they can be transformed into something acceptable. I will improvise a dish that only uses preserved ingredients. [item=Dried Fish][item=Longneck Winter Rations][item=Salted Game][item=Vegetable Oil] [item=Giant Kelp] [item=Grassland Grain] I won't be needing Salt today, as the current ingredients provide enough, but I will check the [b]Salt stores[/b] since those rumors about [b]treasure[/b] haven't quieted... Hm, as I thought, nothing is here. What a waste of time. I'll get started, then. Fill a large stock pot with water and let the dried Giant Kelp soak. The water will take a long time to absorb the nutrients and flavor for the base of the broth. Within a large bowl, I'll mix the flour made from Grassland Grain with enough water to get the dough to stick together and roll it into a ball. I'll dust my working surface with more flour, and then I'll knead the dough until smooth, occasionally rotating it to spread out the exposure. Then I'll let it sit for a while to rest. It's time to do something about these over-flavored rations. In a separate pot, I'll bring just enough water to a boil, then add whole pieces of the Salted Game and Dried Fish for a short while. Some of the salt will come out into the water. Get rid of the scum as it comes. Remove the meat and fish and save the salted water for later. Salted Game, in particular, is quite tough, but the moisture should've helped a little. I'm going to chop it into small pieces. I'll do the same thing to the Dried Fish. Then I'll pour the pieces into a sturdy mixing bowl and pound them together into a fine mince. The dried Longneck Winter Rations can be broken into rough chunks and crushed into smaller pieces, but not finely enough to turn into powder. I want a bit of texture to remain. The saturated corn syrup will help to flavor the meat mixture, while the oats will serve as crumbs to hold the meat together. Stir the crushed rations into the mince evenly. Now, I'll form this meat into balls and lay it along a foil-lined baking tray after greasing it slightly with Vegetable Oil. Into the oven it goes. Back to the noodle dough, which should be rested enough by now. I'm going to dust more flour onto the working surface and roll it out into a thin, flat rectangle with a rolling pin. It's necessary to rotate the dough from time to time to apply the same rolling motion to different portions. Once I have a good sheet of dough, I'll fold it once width-wise and cut the noodles thinly and evenly. The noodles expand a lot when cooked, so it's important to keep them thin. They must each also be exactly the same width. You can use a measurement guide if you're geometrically challenged, but the knife will suffice for me. Time to bring more water to a boil in a separate pot. Once it's boiling, I'll place the noodles inside. They need to be fully cooked, but not soggy. Al dente won't be a pleasant experience with eggless flour noodles unless your taste receptors are faulty, so make sure no undercooked bits are left. Once the noodles are almost ready, I'll prepare an ice bath. The cooked noodles go into this bath to wash off the starch, then I'll drain the water out and leave the dry noodles. The stock should've soaked enough of the kelp by now, so I'll turn on the flame and bring that stock to a boil, skimming the surface of scum. Once the water is boiling, I'll remove the kelp; leaving it too long will make the stock too bitter. I should now be left with a pristine, clear broth. I'll add the salted water that had been saved earlier and let the stock simmer for a bit longer. The meatballs should be done baking. I'll remove them from the oven, allowing them to sit and cool slightly. When I'm ready to serve the dish, I'll pour the stock into a bowl, add the cooked noodles, and top with a few meatballs. The result should be a clear, wholesome soup with satisfyingly chewy noodles and meatballs that taste just right.

[b]Raffle Pinglist[/b] @VelveteenVixen @Saraceaser @dragonpals @Ajgreelyfan3 @JinxMoonstone @Alliope @Lonefox This whole working from home thing is definately taking quite a bit to adjust to, but I have wrapped up logging entries and it's time for the Day 2 raffle! Congratulations...@kylonaberrie! Despite Anakin's rather questionable smoothie choices, he seems to have had a good idea in regards to treasure hunting. Sure enough, as he and Ahsoka search through the cloud decorations strung up between the tents, he swears he spots some eyes gleaming out at them from their cottony depths. After managing to pry them out, he discovers they're not actual eyes, but rather a set of magical contacts. [center][item=vial of darkened sight][item=vial of hypnotic sight][/center]

[center][size=6]Day 3[size=6][/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=52908714&skin=0&apparel=935,30549,30550&xt=dressing.png[/img][/center] The imperial dragon walked up to the slab, she had never cooked before, but at least wanted to try. First, she looked at what she was working with. As much as she loved seafood, the fish she had to use looked awful. The rest looked fine, however. She then looked at the tools she could use. She looked at all the lightning machinery and decided to ask around about what they do. Another dragon came, a ridgeback. He read the rules and exclaimed "I'M SO HAPPY!!! I GET TO BORROW FOOD WITHOUT MAKING ANYBODY MAD!!" Solful chuckled at this sight, but then went back to work. She decided to start by grinding together the meat and fish, then crushing the Longneck Winter Rations into a powder, and coating all of the meat thoroughly in it. She looked through the pantry to find what other ingredients to use. She didn't find much, apart from some amber algae that looked strangely delicious. So she poured it all in and started cooking it. She seasoned the food with all kinds of spices, although she didn't quite know what half of them would do to her meal. She had simply seen others do it and assumed it would make her dish taste better somehow. While cooking, she decided to talk with the other dragons making their food. "So, umm... nice weather?" she started with a very awkward message, socializing wasn't her strong suit, but something inside her made her want to talk to them. "I mean, we're having the usual weather. I don't particularly like it this windy, so the weather isn't really the best." the wildclaw spoke with an irritated voice, making the imperial more nervous. "Yeah I'm sorry, I don't talk to people much. My name is Solful." she tried making the situation less awkward. She looked around and saw a pink snapper with a delicious taco, a ridgeback who seemed to be trying to cram as many different ingredients into his food as physically possible. He wasn't doing too well. The wildclaw she last spoke to seemed to have completely transformed his ingredients into something beautiful and delicious, there was a tundra trying to make some sort of salad out of the ingredients. She complimented everyone's food. The ridgeback deeply appreciated the compliment, as he seemed to be somewhat aware he was doing awful. The wildclaw seemed to be focusing too much to hear the compliment, or he simply ignored it. Definitely a perfectionist. The tundra gave a sweet smile and returned the compliment, the same goes with the snapper. The wildclaw stared at Solful with his emotionless eyes. "Your food. It's burning." the wildclaw immediately went back to making his own food without a second thought, Solful started panicking and trying to cool it down but didn't do it very well. She shoved the pan onto the slab, off the burner to hopefully make things better. She stared at her food. The longneck rations now looked like charcoal dust, the meat had a black layer, and most of the algae seemed to have disappeared into thin air, what was left of it looks gross, like tar. She tried looking on the bright side. "Maybe it's not so bad?" she took a sample of the food, it was less salty at least but was the worst thing she had ever eaten. She decided to toss it and start fresh. She deeply apologized for wasting the ingredients, she was forgiven and allowed to try again. While everyone else already left, she was there, alone, remaking food she was careless enough to ruin. She ground the meat, crushed the longneck rations, stirred them together, added the algae, and cooked it. She didn't burn the food this time, it looked amazing and very delicious. She ate her food by herself at the slab, at least the taste cheered her up somewhat. She finished her food and flew back to the giant hot air balloon of the twisting crescendo, in which their lair resided. As she was flying, she thought to herself. "I really did terrible there. The theme was rations, if those were my real rations and I burned them, I'd have nothing to eat. I failed the challenge, the theme, everything I did there." her depressive thoughts filled her mind, she entered the lair. She was met with many warm, welcoming smiles. She gave a small, soft smile in return and gave hugs to some of the larger breeds. She shared her story with some of the dragons, at least burning her first ever meal made for an interesting tale. She looked on the bright side, the correctly cooked version of her meal tasted amazing. She continued talking with some of the other dragons to feel better. Solful decided that she would win another day.

[center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=23609339] [img]https://flightrising.com/rendern/350/236094/23609339_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] [font=candara]Again, Aviro finds himself baffled at the ingredients. What exactly were these chefs thinking with such... unpalatable taste? He scratches his head as he decides to make a trail mix of sorts with what he's given. And a few sweet additions, because really, who wants to be saltier than the ocean while enjoying a snack? Luckily, the [b]fish [/b]is already dried plenty to be cubed. He breaks the [b]rations [/b]into small chunks after, mixing the two together into a pretty bowl. He grimaces at the combination, but figures someone out there must like them or else they wouldn't be in the challenge. To try and mitigate the overreaching salt flavor, he adds in a bit of mixed pepper spice, letting it cover the fish and rations eve-so-slightly. Aviro moves onto preparing the [b]Salted Game[/b], already frustrated at just how overly salted it is. He takes a piece off to taste test and immediately wishes he didn't. He attempts to sear it with honey and a sweet BBQ sauce, then takes the time to re-dry it before cutting it into little elemental runestone shapes and adding it to the mix. "Hm, needs fruit and chocolate," Aviro muses as he stares into the bowl. He hurries off to find some dried blueberries, dried strawberries, and a few candy chocolate pieces. Extras obtained, he pours them in and gives the trail mix a good stirring to even everything out. "Um, I have no idea if this actually tastes good, but we can try?" Finally, he searches for treasure near the spices.

@Eialyne

I thought I'd added myself, but maybe it was the wrong list. Can you put me on your daily update pinglist, please?

[center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=10142190] [img]https://flightrising.com/rendern/350/101422/10142190_350.png[/img] [/url] [item=dried fish][item=longneck winter rations][item=salted game] Dried Fish / Longneck Winter Rations / Salted Game[/center] Quartz looked over her options. By this time she was resigned to the fact that pirates apparently eat a lot of fish. And salt. Yes, most of the scurvy dogs were a pretty salty lot, all right. What about food, though? Dogs made her think of hot dogs, which made her think of sausages, which made her think of pepperoni, which made her think... Pizza! She grinned to herself. She was certainly getting the hang of this. She started off by tossing the Longneck Winter Rations into a bowl of water, to rehydrate them and loosen them up. Then she headed to the pantry. An Imperial had beaten her to the salt barrel; no one in their right mind would use salt in this dish, so that would be a perfect place to hide the daily treasure, right? But he came away empty-clawed, so she had to think of something else. She gathered her ingredients and set to work. First off, she had to make the dough. She started by grinding a whole lot of different grains in the wheat grinder, and followed up by throwing the now wet and soggy Longneck Winter Rations in. That turned out to be a mistake, but she had plenty of time. She just wasn't used to all of this newfangled equipment. A Lightning Spiral, who was merely passing by, stopped at her station as she struggled to dig the mass of goopy flour out of the machine. "Mind if I give you a claw?" she asked kindly. "Thanks so much!" Quartz said. "I'm really no good with this equipment. We don't really cook much in our clan, aside from breathing fire over the food." "Once you've started, though, you're never going back!" The Spiral grinned and deftly unscrewed the correct parts to clean out the machine. After the flour and goo were safely in a bowl, Quartz thanked the Spiral profusely. "I really could have used your help yesterday, too!" she said with a laugh, recounting the story of the electrocuted meringue. The Spiral appeared very interested. "I've got plans for the rest of the day," she said, "but I might come by and see if I can help tomorrow." "That would be fun!" Quartz said. "And do be sure to drop by late this afternoon so you can taste my entry!" "Will do! My name's Bitbyte, by the way." "I'm Quartz. Nice to meet you." After the Spiral left, Quartz set to work in earnest. She added yeast and a very little pinch of salt from the little salt mill at her station, and kneaded the dough thoroughly. After she had set it aside to rise, she realized that each station was equipped with a salt mill and a pepper mill. "Did the Tundra say mine...or mill?" she wondered, and carefully removed the lid of the salt mill just to make sure. Enough looking. It was time to get back to work. She mixed up a pot of tomato sauce using tomatoes, garlic, basil, and oregano, and left it to simmer while she tackled the Salted Game. She scrubbed the salt-cured meat thoroughly under running water, and then cut it into chunks and put the chunks into a food processor. She added red pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic powder, and a pinch of anise, and whirled it in the processor until it was a goopy mess. "This won't make pepperoni," she said, to herself, "but I can fry it up in a pan and have sausage crumbles on the pizza." She set the meat in a bowl and put it in the refrigerator while she waited for the sauce to cook and the dough to rise. She poked around looking for the treasure a little more, but was afraid to go too far away after seeing what happened to the other contestants. Finally she decided to chop the remaining ingredients while she waited. She sliced onions, bell peppers, and fresh tomatoes. Then it was time to make the crusts. She threw some cornmeal on the pizza pans and pushed out the crusts into nice flat circles. Pricking them with a fork, she put them in the oven and set a timer. Then she rushed over and checked on her sauce. The bottom was stuck pretty well, but it hadn't yet burned. She removed it from the heat and began to shred the cheeses while she waited: mozzarella, asiago, parmesan, and just a touch of fontina. She had almost forgotten about the Dried Fish. She pulled them out of their package one by one, shuddering at the powerful smell. She placed them into a bowl of olive oil to moisten them a bit. The sausage! She had almost forgotten. She yanked it out of the refrigerator and threw it in a pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooked. Halfway through her timer went off, so she grabbed an oven mitt and pulled her pizza crusts out of the oven. They were just barely brown on top. Perfect. She alternated between spreading tomato sauce and toppings on the pizzas and stirring her sausage. She tasted a small piece, and shuddered. Skydancers don't eat meat. "This will mask the taste somewhat," she said, adding more red pepper flakes. "Some like it hot!" Finally, she sprinkled the crumbled, cooked sausage onto the pizzas, covered them with the cheese, and popped them back in the oven. She almost forgot to set a timer, but remembered in the nick of time. After the pizzas came out, steaming and making mouths water in every direction, she screwed up her courage and began shaving the fishes over them. "Not quite anchovies, but close enough," she said, eyes watering. Most passers-by were glaring at her now, for ruining a good pizza, but the few anchovy-lovers looked excited. Her nerve failed her at the last one, and she threw the rest of the fish back into the olive oil for an extra side topping; if any weirdos wanted MORE fish-flavored salt on their pizza, they could go for it. "Come and get your hot fresh pizza!" she called out, before sneaking off with the fish-less pizza. She would pick off the sausage, grab some nice crunchy beetles, and share it with her new Spiral friend. And she'd save the sausage for her mate--he'd appreciate it.