Guilty x Creatures Ch. 28

"Huh, yeah..." said Kianna as she eyed the pot of water "Good point..."

Anton chuckled as he nodded in agreement.

"Besides, this is supposed to be about teaching you how to cook. Not doing it for you." he smiled.

Kianna nodded again as she watched a slew of tiny bubbles begin to take shape across the bottom of the pot.

"...So is there anything I can do while I'm waiting?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"There is, a few things actually." said Anton as he opened a cabinet above and to the side of the stove "We can add a bit of spice to the water for one."

"Spice?" questioned Kianna as Anton set a canister of salt on the counter and handed her one full of pepper "...But this is pepper?"

"Yes, and pepper is a spice." laughed Anton "One that you can add to the water while it's warming up."

"Oh, okay!" said Kianna as she proceeded to shake some of the pepper out into the pot of water "...Is that enough?"

"Mm hm." nodded Anton "Now whenever you're unsure about how much of something you need, just remember that it's almost always easier to add more of something than it is take it away. And that's especially true with cooking, and with spices in particular. You can always add more spices, but once they're in there, they're in there for good."

"Right, that makes sense... So, what do the spices do exactly?" asked Kianna as she watched the tiny specks of pepper both float across the surface of the water and slowly sink beneath it.

"They add flavors." said Anton as he too watched the specks of pepper "Different spices add different flavors of course. And just like mana, a small amount of them can go a long way."

Creating a thin, glowing orange rod in his hand, Anton leaned over and began to lightly stir the boiling water so that more of the floating pepper would sink into it.

"What's happening here is that the tiny bits of pepper are being saturated by the water. And as this happens the peppers flavor leaches out into the water itself, and this will give the water a slight spice to it." explained Anton as he dropped the rod and let it melt away into nothing "Once we add the noodles they'll soak up the spiced water and take in the peppers flavor along with it. Now, the pepper flavor that the noodles take in isn't going to be very strong, especially when it's being masked by the cheese that's going to cover the macaroni. But the flavor will still be there, even if only faintly, and this small amount will still add to the overall taste of the meal."

Kianna nodded slowly and stared at the swirling bits of pepper as she listened intently.

"...So, what if we add more spices?" she questioned as she picked up the canister of salt "That way we could have even more flavors!"

"Well, the issue there is that not all flavors will always blend together just right. And you could accidentally ruin a meal by trying to mix to many of them at one time." explained Anton "Of course you can also end up finding a combination that you really like by experimenting with mixing different flavors together. And in the future you're free to do that. But for today, while we're still learning, we'll keep things simple and stick to just pepper."

"Okay." nodded Kianna as she set the salt down and picked up the box of macaroni. After looking over the instructions again she turned to Anton with a perplexed look on her face.

"It doesn't say anything about adding pepper to the water on here!" she exclaimed as she looked down at the pot "Did we mess it up!?"

"Oh, no. Don't worry about that." said Anton "Most instructions and recipes are meant to be as simple as possible. That way they're easy to follow and understand. But when it comes to cooking there is always room for doing things a little differently, adding your own flavor so to speak. Adding pepper to the water is something that I know will work out well. Which is why I suggested it."

"Oh. Okay. So, how do you know it'll work though?" asked Kianna.

"I've done it this way before." answered Anton as he picked up the second box of macaroni and looked it over "...You know, I'm kind of surprised you guys have this brand of macaroni instead of one of the more popular ones."

"Uh, we like that kind because it tastes like the macaroni they had at Bridgemont." answered Kianna.

"Ah, I see." nodded Anton as he set the box back down.

"...Is there something wrong with this kind?" asked Kianna as she eyed the box in her hand.

"No, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just one of the cheaper brands so I was surprised you preferred it." said Anton.

Kianna nodded as she continued to stare at the box in her hand for a moment.

"...This, is healthy to eat? Right?" she asked.

"It's, not unhealthy?" said Anton "What do you mean exactly?"

"I'm just wondering if eating this is why me and Fiona are short?" said Kianna as a worried expression formed on her face.

"Oh, no! Just eating this isn't going to cause that. Well, it might if this was the only thing or almost the only thing you ever ate. As that would definitely give you a vitamin deficiency." explained Anton "But that's not the case though, is it? You don't eat this everyday, do you?"

"No. Not everyday." answered Kianna as she shook her head "We eat different stuff everyday. Not just this..."

Anton couldn't help but to grin as he watched Kianna's worried expression deepen as she became thoughtful.

"Kianna, sweety, I think you're worrying yourself more than you need to." he said as he reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze "You and your sister are not unhealthy."

"Yeah, but we're still short!" exclaimed Kianna "And there's gotta be a reason for that..."

"Not necessarily. It could just be how you are." said Anton as he gave her another squeeze.

"...Maybe." mumbled Kianna "...I don't know! I feel like I should just eat a whole bunch of vitamins though. Just so I can be sure!"

Laughing loudly, Anton pulled the now grumpy looking dark elf in against his chest and gave her a tight hug.

"That's not going to make you grow taller, Kianna!" he smiled as she huffed in annoyance "In fact, I don't think it'll help you at all since eating too many vitamins at one time will actually poison you!"

"...Seriously? But I thought vitamins were good for you!?" exclaimed Kianna.

"They are. But just like mana and spices; a small amount goes a long way." explained Anton "You can overdose yourself by eating too many in one go. And even if it didn't poison you, it still wouldn't do you much good since most vitamins and minerals are something the body utilizes over time rather than right away."

Positioning her in front of himself with her back against his chest and his arms wrapped around her shoulders, Anton reached down and tilted the box of macaroni in Kianna's hands so its front was facing up towards them.

"Whenever you eat anything, regardless of whether it's even food or not. Your body is going to do its best to break it down and extract whatever useful nutrients it can out of whatever you ate. For the most part your body will convert the bulk of what you eat into calories, which it will use to power itself. There are certain nutrients that can be used for different things though. And we refer to many of these as either vitamins, minerals or proteins. These nutrients are used by the body to build its various parts, make repairs and aid in certain functions. An easy example of this would be calcium, which is a mineral the body uses to build bones." explained Anton as he reached out to the counter and turned the canister of salt around so that it faced them "Another example would be iodine. Which is a mineral that helps with brain functions. Iodine that's in the soil will be taken in by certain crop plants and then it'll reach us when we eat those plants. Not all soils where crops are grown have enough iodine in them to make that journey though. So to help make sure that people can get enough iodine, it's also added to some table salts. That's why this particular canister here says "Iodized Salt" rather than pure salt. Because it has iodine added to it."

"It does?" questioned Kianna as she reached out and picked up the canister of salt "This has iodine in it?"

"Mm hm. It's such a tiny amount that you can't even taste it. Yet there's still enough there for your body to extract it." explained Anton "And there being such a small amount is fine since you'll never really need that much at one time anyway. Your body is only going use the iodine it takes in as it needs it. So it's much better to have a steady supple that you can take in over time rather than just trying to drink a whole bottle of it in one go and calling it good. You're body knows it won't need all of that iodine at once so it won't bother to absorb it but will instead just treat it as waste and get rid of it."

"...So lots of small amounts are better then?" mumbled Kianna as her face became thoughtful "Are all vitamins and minerals like that?"

"For the most part. It's fairly rare for a person to need a large amount of any one kind of vitamin or mineral, unless they have some type of sickness or condition." explained Anton "Of course every species is different and some species will need more or less of certain nutrients then others will. This is why it's so important to understand what you are as a species and to pay attention to the food that you eat. It's okay to eat foods that you like of course, but you still want to make sure that what you're eating is healthy for you. That way you'll know that your body is getting all the nutrients that it may need."

"...Are there a lot of nutrients in this?" asked Kianna as she indicated the box of macaroni in her hands.

"Well, not really." smiled Anton "This is mostly carbohydrates, fats and a bit of protein, which for the most part are all going to be broken down and turned into calories. So this is great for fuel. But there really aren't very many nutrients in there. That's fine though. Fuel is still important after all. And so long as your diet is made up of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and meats, you should still be getting all the different nutrients that you need....Or at least that's how it works with humans. I'm still researching whether or not there's anything specific that dark elves need to have in their diets. I haven't found anything that says that they do, but I'm going to keep looking into it just to be sure."

Tightening his arms around her shoulders, Anton began to gently sway both himself and Kianna back and forth.

"I do want my darling little dark elves to be healthy after all." he teased as he leaned down and kissed the side of Kianna's head "So I need to make sure that they're getting everything they need."

Twitching her tickled ear, Kianna couldn't help but to smile as she heard her sister sigh in annoyance.

"How are you going to keep researching though?" she asked as she tilted her head back so as to look up at Anton "Aren't you already done with your books?"

"For the most part. And there aren't too many other books that seem to be worth reading." answered Anton as he gazed into Kianna's vividly bright eyes "So I suppose the next step will be to talk to some of the dark elves I know and see if they have anything to say on the matter."

"...When you say dark elves that you know, I'm guessing you mean actual real ones?" said Kianna as she blinked up him "Like on Tantarra?"

"That's right." nodded Anton.

Kianna was still for a moment before a bit of nervousness took form in her eyes.

"...Do you think, they'll be able to tell, that I'm... you know... like this?" she asked as she lowered her ears.

"Like this?" questioned Anton "What do you mean by that?"

"...You know!" whined Kianna as her voice became hushed "That I'm like this... That I'm defective..."

Laughing loudly, Anton gave Kianna a squeeze and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

"Ah! I see now! Well, I'm sure some of them will!" he teased as he let his chin rest against the top of her head and spoke into her hair "I don't think it matters though. Because even if they do figure out that you're as weird as you are! It won't change anything. You'll still be just as cute regardless!"

Kianna's eyes tightened into an annoyed glare as she stared up at him.

"I'm not weird! You ass!" she mumbled as she let her head fall until she could stare directly forward and point her ears straight back behind her head "...I don't know if I really want to meet these other dark elves though....Especially not if they're just gonna think I'm weird!"

Anton kept his lower face pressed against the top of her head as he laughed into her hair.

"Well I do!" declared Fiona from her place at the table "I wanna meet these other dark elves!"

"That... Will happen, I'll definitely introduce you, eventually." said Anton as he turned to her "We might have to put that off for a good while though."

"Why?" asked Fiona.

"Because I really don't think it would be a good idea for you two to be around any other dark elves right now." answered Anton "Especially considering how defenseless you are."

"...Defenseless?" questioned Fiona.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kianna.

"I, well... listen." said Anton as he looked from Fiona to Kianna "You two need to remember that you are enslaved now. And the other dark elves are more than likely going to be very upset about this. In fact, I'd imagine they're going to be pretty angry about it."

"Yeah, I get that." muttered Fiona "What does that have to do with us being "defenseless" though?"

"You don't understand. It's not supposed to be possible to enslave a dark elf. The fact that it can be done is actually a pretty big discovery. One that I very much doubt that the dark elves as a whole would want the rest world to know about. It's very possible that they're going to want to bury this, and all the evidence of it." explained Anton "And considering you two are literally living proof that dark elves can be enslaved... I'm sure they'll at least consider trying to bury you along with the rest of the evidence."

"...Wait? So they'll kill us!? What the fuck! Are you serious!?" raged Fiona as she stood up out of her chair.

"Settle down Fiona, you don't need to panic like that." said Anton as he turned back to her "I highly doubt the dark elves will actually want to kill you two. Especially if they think they can just kill me and be done with it."

"Why would they stop with only you!?" questioned Fiona.

"Because if I died then you two won't be enslaved anymore." explained Anton "And in that way they'll have the option to lock you both up for questioning and study."

"Oh! Well that sounds so much better for us!" exclaimed Fiona as she crossed her arms "...Not gonna lie, I do kinda like the idea of them killing you though..."

Anton began to chuckle but was stopped short as Kianna frantically twisted around in his arms and grabbed hold of his shirt.

"They're gonna kill you!?" she cried as panicked tears began to form in her eyes "What are we gonna do!?"

"...Wha! Wait?...Are you worried about me?" smiled Anton "Well isn't that sweet!"

Kianna blinked and hid her face against his chest as she laid her ears flat behind her head.

"Shut up!" she whimpered as she wiped her eyes with his shirt "This is serious!"

"Aw, my poor little dark elf! Listen, there's no reason for you to be upset. No one even knows that dark elves can be enslaved yet. And even when they find out there's still no reason to panic. At least not right away." said Anton as he began to rub Kianna's back "The dark elves aren't stupid. Especially the one's in charge. And there are a few things that should keep them from trying to kill me in my sleep. For one, they have no idea where I am. For two, they're going to want to know how this works, even if they don't want anyone else to. And three, if they know I can enslave them, then none of them are going to come near me themselves. They would never risk their own freedom like that."

"They're still going to try to kill you though! Even if they don't do it, they'll just send someone else!" cried Kianna as she pressed herself against his chest "What are we gonna do!?"

"Well, for right now, we're going to finish making macaroni." said Anton as he glanced at the pot "Your waters finally started boiling. So we can move on to the noodles now."

"...Wha!? Are you serious!?" cried Kianna as she looked up and started shaking him from where she still held onto his shirt "People are gonna try to kill you! Do you really think that some stupid macaroni is more important than that!?"

Anton was still for a second as he gazed down at her.

"No. I don't think macaroni itself is more important than that." he said softly as he brought his hand up and slowly ran it down the back of her head and through her hair "Now your macaroni on the other hand? Well, that definitely is more important to me. Far more important."

Kianna went still and stared at him for a second before her face scrunched up in misery. Hiding her face back against his chest she wrapped her arms around his torso, and squeezing him as tightly as she could she began to quietly sob.

"It's alright Kianna... You don't need to worry yourself with this..." soothed Anton as he wrapped his arms around her and began to sway back and forth "I'm going to take care of it..."

"How!?" sobbed Kianna "What are you gonna do!?"

"Well, that depends on what happens... But I've got a few different ideas and some plans already in the works..." explained Anton as he let his aura expand and seep into the dark elf in his arms "So just leave it to me, and I promise, I'll handle it... Alright?...Do you hear me?"

Kianna was still for a moment before she whimpered softly and nodded her head.

"...Such a good girl!" smiled Anton as he tightened his hold on her.

The room stayed silent for some time until Anton leaned back and looked down at the clinging dark elf.

Blinking up at him, Kianna's cheeks were marred with the remnants of her dried tears and Anton smiled softly as he gently rubbed them clean with his thumbs.

"Kianna, listen..." he whispered softly as he leaned down and gazed into her eyes "Trust me. Okay. Everything is going to be alright, you don't need to worry about me, okay..."

"...Are you sure?" whispered Kianna as she tightened her ears together behind her head.

"Yes, I promise you." smiled Anton "Nothing is going to happen to me, Kianna, or to any of us. Just trust me....Alright?"

Kianna took a deep breath and rested the side of her face back against him.

"...Okay, fine!" she breathed as she rubbed her cheek on his shirt "...I will."

"Good! Now then! Let's get back to what's important!" said Anton as he ran his fingertip down the length of her ear in order to get her attention "We have a big problem here and we need to fix it!"

"What!?" questioned Kianna as she looked up at him "What problem!?"

"My stomach!" exclaimed Anton as he grimaced in mock pain "I'm starving!"

Blinking in surprise, Kianna sighed through her nose as she glared up at him.

"Right. That problem..." she mumbled in annoyance as she pulled away from him and shook her head.

Anton grinned as he turned with her to face the stove and the waiting pot of boiling water.

Kianna was mostly quiet as Anton guided her through the rest of the process of making macaroni.

He illustrated the simple method of knowing when the noodles were done by throwing one at the wall and seeing if it stuck. When one did, they moved the noodles to a colander in the sink and let the water drain from them while they prepared the cheese mixture in the now empty pot. Once the powdered cheese mix, milk and butter had all been gathered together in the pot, they added the drained noodles and using a large mixing spoon, stirred it all together.