Favors Farflung Ep. 3, by Faelan Wo
Hello once more, dear reader! I write to you this week from the back of a dednil, a strange reptilian beast used for hauling Cerynath goods. Dednils are wide, flat, round creatures with a dish-like shell on their back. The Cerynath pile all of their belongings onto the concave shells of these dednils and walk alongside them to new hunting grounds. I still haven’t seen a dednil’s eyes or mouth, though I assume they have them as they don’t run into anything. (Edit: I have since learned that the knobs on the edge of their shells are light-sensing organs that function more or less like eyes. No word on whether they have mouths.)
It is fortunate that this caravan accepted my campfire stories in exchange for their protection, but I find myself bored nearly to tears. The vast Hrethen Prairie is nought but an ocean of grasses in every direction, and the dednils walk so slowly that I worry I may not ever arrive at the spaceport in Thyr! I have but one week remaining before the freighter that is supposed to pick me up will arrive.
I wish I could say the food made this part of my journey more interesting, but alas, this tribe eats simply, and every meal is nearly identical: grain porridge for morning meal, grain porridge with some dried fruit for midday meal, and grain porridge with chunks of dried meat for the evening meal. Several of the dednils carry only massive amounts of grain and water. I wish I’d had the forethought to bring spices with me!
When I complained loudly about this lack of culinary diversity yesterday, the tribe matriarch slapped me betwixt the ears, then deposited a bowl of fermented milk, fruit, and nuts in my lap. I was hesitant at first, but after a taste, I must admit it is quite tasty. I asked why they do not eat this more regularly. The matriarch refused to utter a single word, instead hauling me over to another of their beasts, a tall six-legged spindly thing with far too many horns sprouting from its joints, and pointed at the udder between its legs.
“You are welcome to milk her as often as you want meheltha,” she said.
The creature glared down at me balefully as though daring me to try. I bashfully expressed my gratitude and wonder at the matriarch’s skill and have not uttered a word of complaint since then, though I have seen the matriarch smirking at me from time to time.
Meheltha (Milk Porridge with Fruit and Nuts)
Ingredients
- 1 cup blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
- ¾ cup plain kefir
- ¼ cup Chia seeds
- 1 tbsp honey
- ¼ cup chopped nuts
Method
- Combine berries, kefir, chia seeds, and honey. Mix well so the chia seeds are well-distributed.
- Chill for at least two hours, preferably overnight, so the mixture thickens.
- Top with chopped nuts.