Yahtzee - Peppery

[classic_rando]

Mateo was a little bit sad to say goodbye to the cabin, but after two grueling months training with Edison, he was ready to get back into civilization. All his pants were loose, spending hours and hours traipsing around the rainforest had slimmed him down - not that he was heavy before, but now he was positively skinny. After two months in a small cabin, he was also looking forward to having his own private bathroom again. As their rented SUV moved from worn dirt paths to proper roads, Mateo felt a bit more human. Houses, shops, rest areas flew by his window, getting more frequent, closer together, until finally they crossed into the city limits of Hochberlin, Sonnenwald’s capital. Sidewalks, pedestrians, corner stores, and fast food, finally. 

They dropped off the car at the rental office, then slung their bags over their shoulders and walked the few blocks to their hotel. It was a warm and humid day, as all the days were in this part of Sigrún, but it wasn’t quite as stifling as in the jungle, and the promise of air conditioning in the hotel was a great reward. The lobby was a perfect 20 degrees, cool without being cold, and the space had been expertly dehumidified. They were given neighboring rooms, close but not connected, which was exactly the right amount of closeness and privacy for Mateo’s needs. He liked Edison well enough (and he thought Edison had grown to like him) but some time apart was definitely called for. In the hall they parted ways, with plans to meet again at 18:00 for dinner downstairs. 

Though he wanted to go clothes shopping, his body had other plans - a long shower followed by a nap was all Mateo managed to do before dinner. Though his pants still bunched under his belt, he felt much better, more like himself than he’d felt since before he left Earth. Was it the sleep? Or had he finally found his niche? 

Dinner was in the hotel’s restaurant, whose menu consisted wholly of foods neither of them had ever heard of before. As their watches translated each item, the two colleagues bonded over their one shared experience, adjusting to the cuisine on the stacio. It wasn’t American, it wasn’t Greenfie, and it used words they both knew in unexpected ways. Their dinners arrived and the bonding continued, as they each found they hadn’t quite understood what their meals were when ordering them. Mateo thought he ordered a dish featuring stewed rabbit (though who knows what animal that name was attached to on this planet), when he actually ordered a rabbit stew. Edison thought he had ordered chicken in a paprika sauce (and again, what were chickens on Sigrún?), but actually received chicken roasted in a bed of “paprikas”. After a few moments of confused stares, they laughed together. 

“Oh, we made some… choices here, didn’t we?” Mateo joked.

“I mean, at least yours makes sense!” Edison laughed, “Stewed versus stew, I see how that happened. But how did we go from chicken in paprika sauce to… this?”

“Oh, that’s my fault! Remember, you read the translation and I said paprikash. Sorry man, on Earth paprika’s a seasoning, not a vegetable!”

“Wait… it’s a what on Earth?”

“Seasoning…” Mateo replied with a tilt of his head, “Why, what is it on Corona?”

“It’s a kind of pepper, sorta like these! How do you make a sauce out of a seasoning?” Edison laughed.

Mateo shrugged, “I’ve never made it, but now I wonder what paprika is on the stacio.”

“When we get back, you and I are going to the grocery store to compare food differences!”

“They’re gonna look at us like we have three heads!” Mateo joined in the laughter, though secretly his heart fluttered with hope. Could Edison become a friend? 

Hiding in his food, he started to wonder about Esther and where he’d left things with her. There was potential there too, he could feel the bond forming, but after two months healing, would she still be forgiving, or would the pains of recovery have soured her opinion? He couldn’t say, but for now he could at least appreciate Edison’s amiability.

“Oh, weird…” 

“What is it?” Edison asked.

Mateo carefully scooped what looked like a pea from his stew and popped it into his mouth alone, “Huh, yeah… I thought these were peas, and they have that texture, but they taste like peppercorns. Super weird.”

“Biodiversity between planets, it sure is wild. I guess in our line of work you just have to embrace it, y’know?”

Mateo nodded and ate a few more bites before asking, “So, how did I do?”

“Not bad,” Edison replied with a grin, “I didn’t have much hope for you, but you really turned it around. I would not refuse to work with you.”

Mateo chuckled nervously, “Ah, thanks?”

“Nah, you’re good. You’re still learning, but we did good work out there and you’ll be fine.”

“Really?”

“Yeah sib,” Edison leaned on his hand, “No doubt, you’re a quick study. Some time in firearms sims and you’ll be ready for the field.”