Polar Opposites

Her journey was coming to a close. Or at least one leg of it. Twayblade had travelled from her icy home all the way to Grassveil Town. As she passed the small homes on the outskirts of the settlement, she couldn't help but marvel at how different it was to anything she'd seen up until now. Both herself and other pokemon she had encountered along the way all seemed to live wherever they could find, but the pokemon of Grassveil Town had their own shelters built specifically for the purpose of living in.

Houses. These were houses.

Twayblade found herself surrounded by more and more pokemon as she made her way into the town proper. The area was bustling with different pokemon going about their day. Twayblade couldn't help her smile as she walked past a group of younger pokemon, bouncing along and laughing amongst themselves. Everywhere she looked, there was something new to see. There were stalls selling ornaments and produce, shops that might be selling accessories and clothing, and buildings that she had no idea what they were for at all. In the centre of this busy area was a fountain.

Twayblade wandered over to one of the closest stalls, staring down at the wares that the Simisage was offering. As she approached, he greeted her politely and she smiled back in return. It seemed as if this stall was selling tiny trinkets made out of wood and branches. Gently picking one up, Twayblade examined it. This one was carved in the shape of vines winding their way up an inner cylindar, a sculpted flower blooming at the top. It was a shame that she didn't exactly have a lot of money to her name right now.

Placing the sculpture back onto the stall, Twayblade made her leave. The Simisage thanked her politely for her time and she nodded in reply, heading off to explore other parts of the town.

Kestro looked about the many shops and buildings of Grassveil in confusion. Despite this being his home, he was still somewhat unfamiliar with the town, and managed to get himself lost. To be fair to the rock type, Grassveil was a much busier and bigger place than the small desert village he grew up in. So many Pokemon, so many shops, and so many distractions.

The Cranidos clicked his beak as he began to make his way down by a number of stalls. He'd eventually find his way back home if he went in one direction. He knew that the guild sat at the north end of the town, and could easily find his way home from there. That was the hope at least.

At the very least he didn't have to worry about a curfew or anything. His caretaker gave him plenty of freedom. Soon the thought of trying to make his way back home started to fade. Exploring the town actually appealed to the rock type. Maybe he'd find an intersting shop or companion. Maybs there was even a restaurant or café with delicious food! His eyes had a slight sparkle at the thought. Enough so that he didn't notice the Treecko directly in his path.

Everywhere she looked there was something else! Twayblade visited a few more trinket stalls, some to her taste and others selling items she personally wouldn't purchase. And although the qualiity of craftsmanship seemed to vary, the sheer variety was astounding.

Busy marvelling at all of the new stalls around her, Twayblade didn't notice the cranidos in the crowd until they bumped into her. Quickly turning to the stranger, Twayblade stepped backwards and dipped her head. "Oh, I'm very sorry!" She apologised politely. She didn't want to make a bad impression on the residents here when she'd only been in Grassveil Town for the best part of an hour, "I wasn't looking where I was going."

Kestro stumbled to a stop after bunping into the Treecko. He was so lost in his own exploration that he almost didn't notice the small grass type. Being over a foot taller than her, and especially more than six times the treecko's weight could have ended badly with him accidentally trampling her. Yet she apologized to him?!

The Cranidos shook his head and held his small arms out. "N-no no! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying any attention myself. I've done it before too..." he mumbled at the end. The rock type clicked his beak together in nervousness, before consciously and somewhat noticeably trying to stop the small quirk.

"Um, I'm Kestro! Just recently moved here, so I haven't met everyone in town yet. Let me get you something as an apology, maybe a meal at a café? Or something from one of the shops?" he asked, trying to change the subject as quickly as he could.

Twayblade looked up at the larger pokemon. It seems neither of them had really been looking where they were going, so neither of them were really specifically to blame.

"Oh you're new around here as well?" She asked rhetorically, "I'm Twayblade. I only got here today. I think you're the first person i've actually spoken to." Twayblade chuckled lightly at the coincidence. Both of them weren't really Grassveil natives. Perhaps she could find something in common with Kestro.

"Ah, but I don't think it was either one of our faults in particular, so you don't need to do that," she replied honestly to Kestro's offer. Truthfully, the idea of trying some of the food from here so quickly sounded amazing. Hell, everything she'd eaten since leaving Icicle Woods had been amazing. If the situation had been any different, she wouldn't have hesitated to agree to a free meal, but she was very aware that the situation was not entirely Kestro's fault. It kind of soured his offer a little. Not in that she didn't appreciate it, but that she felt she couldn't really accept it. "But, if it's not too much trouble could I ask you to show me around? Not as an apology, but because I have no idea where anything is," she smiled weakly at her own lack of knowledge, scratching her chin lightly, "I'd like to try some of the food around here to be honest, but I don't actually have any money right now until I find somewhere to sell a few berries and thorns."

Kestro gave a small nod to the treecko, "My family and a bunch of other Pokemon from my home moved here from the desert after our well dried up. It's beena few weeks now but I'm still learning the town." He still wanted to apologize to the treecko, but pushing for it didn't seem like the way to go. At least in his head, he could apologize by getting her some food.

"Well, I do know a place with tasty food. Granted its back from where I used to live. It shouldn't be too far, as they set it up near the town center!" The Rock type began to look around as he spoke. His beaked clicked a bit in frustration as he didn't outright see what he wanted. "Mmm, I don't see it..." he mumbled before the Cranidos stood up as tall as he could, taking an almost kangaroo like pose as he sniffed the air. His smell may not be his strongest sense, but even he could pick out the familiar scent of his target after a few good sniffs. "Ah, this way!" the Cranidos said as he seemed to charge straight towards the Treecko, head lowered to scoop her up onto his back.

The desert huh. Twayblade wondered what such a place was like. If her small amount of knowledge was anything to go by, deserts were pretty hot. That was already so very different to her own snowy home in Icicle Woods.

"Oh, do you know the pokemon who make it?" She asked, curious as to how the food could be from somewhere as far away as a desert. It stood to reason that someone must have brought the recipe here. Grassveil really was as varied a hub of activity as the tales had told!

Kestro stood even taller as he appeared to sniff at the air, Twayblade watching the cranidos with curiosity. Was he looking for the scent of food? It seemed so, as he excitedly pointed out a direction, charging straight towards her.

Stood like a deer in the headlights as Kestro charged at her, Twayblade didn't have much time to react. She began an attempt to move out of the way, but was not fast enough. Kestro quickly scooped her up from the ground using his large head, dropping her onto his back.

"Eek!" Twayblade grabbed on to Kestro's back, using her natural clinging abilities to hold on as the cranidos charged through the square's crowds. Presumably he was heading towards food? "A word of warning would be appreciated next time!" Twayblade admonished, very thankful for the tiny spikes on her feet. "I thought you were going to headbutt me!"

Now stable on Kestro's back, Twayblade had to admit that the ride was a very different experience to travelling on foot. The cranidos was quite fast on his feet, likely as a result of both his size and his sturdy legs. He crossed their little section of Grassveil Town much quicker than what Twayblade would probably have covered on her own.

Kestro looked back at the treecko on his back, a sly grin on his face. "If I warned ya, we wouldn't get there as fast," he pointed out. It made perfect sense to him, and besides, the scent of something from his home got the Cranidos both excited and hungry.

As the rock type charged through the busy streets, it was quickly apparent that despite his speed, he wasn't quite maneuverable. He barely dodged stalls and pedestrians on his path, and more often than not had to slow to a trot before making a sharp turn. At the very least it wasn't hard to hear or see him coming. Small dust clouds raced behind him as his clawed feet loudly stamped on the ground. Eventually the Cranidos slowed back down to a slow walk, sniffing at the air.

"There!" he said excitedly as he turned towards a wide stall with an awning stretched out in front of it. The cloth making up the awning had browns, oranges, and dark greens and purples creating an intricate diamond design. A picnic table sat underneath, where a Duskull and Ampharos sat enjoying some food from the stall. Both had what looked like cooked berries and mushrooms covered in sauce and crushed seeds stuck together in different patterns on sticks.

"Aaaah, just thinking about their food makes me hungrier than a Munchlax. Three Maractus sisters from my home village run this shop. Have you ever had a kabob?" he asked Twayblade, looking back at her once more as they approach the stall.

Twayblade shook her head at Kestro's answer, not that he could see. She didn't really agree, since an action and words can done at the same time, but it wasn't worth pursuing the topic.

Instead she turned her attention to the streets of Grassveil Town. She was considerably higher up on Kestro's back than she had been walking of her own accord, so she could see a lot further. The number of stalls in this part of town looked to be much larger than she'd first thought! A sharp turn brought her attention back to the direction they were travelling as she reoriented the rest of her body to look forwards. Kestro seemed to know where he was going and despite the suddenness of his charge he seemed to have enough experience to avoid bumping into anyone - if only barely.

It soon became apparent which stall Kestro was aiming for. Twayblade's eyes were drawn to the earthy coloured awning first and foremost, but quickly landed on the food that other customers were consuming. Was that the food Kestro meant? It was like nothing she'd ever seen before. It smelled divine too.

"A kabob? Is that what those are called?" She subtly pointed out the food that the Duskull and Ampharos were digging into.

Kestro nodded, "Yup! They're really good!" The actual stall had the same earthy tones as the awning. Heat poured out from the stall, with it's sources being a stone-and-clay furnace where several berries and mushrooms were already being cooked and a small cauldron hanging over an open flame. The stall was staffed by a trio of Maractus, each manning a different part of the stall. One watched the food cooking in the furnace, another stirring whatever was in the cauldron, and the third was absent-mindedly inspecting the thorns on the end of her hands, which were a bright blue color instead of the usual yellow.

She looked up as Kestro approached, the grass type grinning down at the pair. "Oooh, look who's shown up. And this time without us needing to use Protect to keep you from ramming into the stall," she teased the rock type. The other two Maractus looked up from their stations, each giving a smile and wave towards Kestro.

Kestro clicked his beak in embarrassment, but before he could respond the Maractus continued. "And who might this be? Is little Kestro on a date?" she teased further, giving a smile and a wave to Twayblade.

Twayblade poked her head out from Kestro's back to see the trio of stall owners more clearly. "If you call impromptu kidnapping a date," she replied with a sly smile, waving back to the teasing maractus. Twayblade released her grip from Kestro and hopped down, landing on both feet with the ease of practice.

So close to the stall, Twayblade's mouth watered at the sights and scents of the cooking food. "Kestro said he knew a place with good food and it definitely smells amazing!" She grinned, eager to dig into something but taming that desire out of politeness. In comparison, her curiosity was not tempered at all.

"What's in these kabob things? They look so much nicer than plain aspear berries." She had never really had cooked food. There were no stalls in her home forest, and she hadn't much experience in cooking back in her home forest. Even when she did attempt to thaw something more frozen, she'd either end up burning the food or not thawing it completely. Neither made for particularly good eating.

That said, even if she wanted a kabob right now, she didn't have any money. If she found out how much the maractus were charging, perhaps she could obtain enough and come back. "How much would it cost to buy one? Or would you be open for trading for some berries I picked up in Pecha Forest?"

Unlike Twayblade, who took the teasing in stride, Kestro's beak clacked rapidly in embarrassment. He could feel himself blushing at both the Maractus and Twayblade's comments, and hoped that the scales on his face hid it. At the very least the Maractus was all too eager to explain to Twayblade what a kebab was. "Ooooh, you've never had one? Well there're a bunch of different recipes that my sisters and I make. We put in different berries, mushrooms, herbs, spices, seeds, and a lot of different things in them. We even get stuff from other Pokemon for some special recipes, like Tropius fruit or Sawsbuck flowers."

"I'll make ya something on the house. You still gotta pay, though, Kestro. The Cranidos snorted slightly, "I was already planning too," he said as he fished out the poké for one of the kebaps, "The usual for me, please."

The grass type nodded as she scooped up the coins into one of her branches, pinching them between her thorns. "Kestro wants the usual girls!" she called back to the other two Maractus, before turning her attention back to Twayblade. "So, my fellow little grass girl, what kinda flavor do you want? Sweet, sour, umami? They're all gonna be a bit spicy, but we can make 'em extra spicy. They're all also pretty juicy, since we marinate them in our house sauce then add an extra glazing once they're done cooking."

As she spoke, the other two Maractus started shaking back and forth in a dance, tossing mushrooms, berries, and other ingredients into the air before one held an arm up and shot a Pin Missle straight into the line of ingredients. The completed kebap arched through the air before stabbing into the counter right in front of Kestro. Without even a second thought, the Maractus spealing to Twayblade grabbed a ladle and drizzled a yellow sauce with small black flecks onto the kebap.

The finished dish glistened with the sauce and its own juices. It sizzled on its pin, and it gave off a rich and spicy scent. One might have confused Kestro for a water type with how wet his mouth was at the sight of the food. Though he waited to take it, wanting to eat with the Treecko he brought here.

Twayblade listened eagerly to the Maractus' description of what kabobs were. Herbs and spices? Berries and seeds? She was so used to eating one or two berries together and nothing else, she was excited to see what all of those things tasted like together!

Her gaze flicked back to the Maractus's as they offered to make her something free of charge. "You'd really do that?" She smiled. Twayblade would have happily gone to sell some of her miscellaneous belongings and come back. It was very kind of them to ensure she didn't have to do that. "Thank you!"

Twayblade leaned closer to the stall front as the Maractus began working. What sort of flavour did she really want? She didn't have a huge amount of experience eating more than a few specific berries and some apples, so she wasn't sure what flavours she would like the most. "Honestly anything would probably be better than what I ate in Icicle Woods," she mused out loud, "I'm not sure what sort of thing i'll enjoy though, so perhaps you could surprise me?" Hopefully the Maractus trio's food would give her a better idea of what she really did like.

The Maractus nodded, taking in the Treecko's words as she spoke. "Oooh, Icicle Woods? Ya know the cold can actually mute flavors right?" she said, wagging her thorn a bit before she turned towards the other two Maractus. "Alright girls, we got a 'surprise me' request!" The other two Maractus nodded, getting to work on the various ingredients for Twayblade's first kebob. Berries and mushrooms flew back and forth, followed by the sauces, crushed seeds, and spices.

Just like with Kestro's the pair ended the little show with one firing a Pin Missle through the food, pushing it into an arch that ended right in front of Twayblade. The Maractus then hummed as she looked over the kebob, grabbing a ladle and drizzling a dark brown sauce over the kebob.

"Alrighty, so what we got here is our special Rainbow Kebob. Starting from the bottom up, we've got it going from sweet to sour to umami and finally spicy." She pointed out the specific points where the flavors were. "The sauce is a milding one, so none of the flavors are too strong for ya."

"Really?" Twayblade's eyes widened. The cold being able to mute flavour would explain why everything she'd eaten since she left the forest tasted so damn amazing in comparison. She wondered if all the berries she'd eaten over the years in Icicle Woods would taste better if she'd found them in warmer climates.

Though her mind was busy considering what the Maractus had told her, Twayblade's gaze followed each of the trio as they prepared her kebab. They put on quite the show with their preparation. Soon she was presented with a 'Rainbow Kebob'.

Twayblade gazed upon the food, nodding as the Maractus described which part was which. "It looks really good!" Finally getting her hands on the food, she dug in, trying each section one at a time. She found it hard to pick a favourite; the flavours were varied though each had a certain heat to them thanks to the sauce. "It all tastes delicious! Thank you!"