Kasiya was much nicer without the blizzards.
Even driving snow might not have stopped this mission, though. Mytilebe, being a mountain resort town, was used to such things—and today’s questors wouldn’t be deterred by inconveniences like severe weather. You see, Sofila had heard tell of a hidden treasure on Kasiya: the apple orchards. Apples of all kinds. Eaten raw, baked into pastries, cooked into foods, brewed into ciders—and most importantly, coated with molten sugar.
As Cole and Sofila landed at the Mytilene regional spaceport, list of regional produce varieties in hand, it was candy apple time.
And some other things, like excellent food, spirits, and outdoor recreation on Lake Pittacus and the Scios Range.
“Finally!” Sofila exclaimed as they landed.
They finished unpacking and Cole as well herself hasn’t started their new jobs yet so this was the perfect opportunity to do this. A nice lull before the pair of them may start getting busy with their new jobs.
Her goal was to have a bite of. every. single. apple. here. Her thumb started to flick the spinner ring she had on her middle finger, it was something that helped her fidgeting but anyone with good hearing can hear the small ‘brrt’ the spinner ring gives out.
“What do we even do first!?” She glanced back to Cole with a beaming smile.
Cole had managed to zone out the brrt of the ring when they were alone, but out in public he kept an ear out for the tiny noise that helped him keep a track of where his often wayward girlfriend was.
Right now though, that question answered itself with her smile in his vision.
“I thought we were looking for candy apples first?” He raised an eyebrow at her asking, looking out on the various stalls. It was a good job he liked apples.
Propelled by the promise of apples to one of several farmer’s markets in Mytilene, there were indeed stalls full of many varieties of apples. There were also apple pastries, apple jelly, apple butter, savoury apple meat pies, fresh-pressed apple juice, a sign advertising apple cider and some kind of apple liqueur in the bar tent…
There were other fruits too, though. Pears. Nectarines, Apricots. Cherries. Peaches. Berries. So long as you weren’t looking for citrus, they had everything.
“Well, yes, but no-” She poked her fingers together.
“Aw come on, Cooole,” Sofila puffed her cheeks and shifted her weight to one leg in a slight pout before she opened her arms to gesture all the things.
“You can’t just say only candy apples when there’s more yummy treasures to be had and tried!”
Cole raised an eyebrow.
And then after a few moments of considering gave a soft sigh.
“You do have a point. But candy apples first, so we don’t forget.”
The we came with a rather direct look that said everything about which part of we was the issue.
Despite the variety of apple products on sale, there were no readily-available candy apples in the first aisle the pair explored.
Hrm.
Perhaps the candy section? After all, this was the fruit section, and candy apples were almost as much candy as fruit.
It’s not like they’d get distracted along the way, right?
“Kark, yes!” Sofila clenched her hand into a fist and did a geeky and dorky yes with closed eyelids for a moment and grinned.
“Candy apples it is!” She swung her bag around, which was, very much empty and prepared to take in some candy apples.
“LETSAGO. Hey, wait a minute-” Sofila then realized the pointed look of the ‘we’ won’t forget. She rolled her eyes playfully and started to make her way over to the first few. No candy apples but-
“I will take a few of these, please~”
Cole just smiled, a rare ever so slight one in public as he wandered after her toward the stall. There was a lot of distractions here, a lot of people. It was hard to not watch them, acting as sentry while Sofila rushed ahead and purchased. Waiting for them to be wrapped, creds to be exchanged.
No one acted suspiciously.
There were so many kinds of apples. There was also something that looked… apple-adjacent? Like a very round golden apple, but it tasted like a pear. The vendor called it shali, and said they grew near Shanjiaoxia, on the other side of the Arreat Mountains.
That’d have to be a future adventure. For now, it looked like Cole and Sofila might need a cart. Or two carts.
They hadn’t even gotten through the fruit section yet.
Sofila had to grab her water bottle a few times and take a few sips because karking suns, she was starting to salivate.
She leaned over to Cole and whispered, “Maybe we should rent an animal and a cart…” She half-joked.
Maybe.
“So!” She grinned to the vendor’s user, “Where can I find candy apples?” Hoping that they can point her to the direction where they were and she can have her yummy snack right fracking now.
-# <@645466919415054357> <@432543120635461643>
“This is a yearly event.” Cole spoke with mild desperation to not need to drag a cart back to the ship. Karking-
He stood beside her as she spoke to the vendor. There was so many scents in the air, it was hard to focus on any specific one.
Sofila gasped dramatically, “Yes! And we just moved! We even have the space for another freezer, so if I do this right, we could have enough for the entire year!”
Cole’s gaze snapped back to Sofila.
It took a few delayed moments before he actually responded, “We do not have an entire year of candy apple credits right now.”
Despite the diplomacy, there was something of a desperation his tone. It was absolutely something she’d do, but he could spend a year thinking of a better reason not to do it other than not being the crazy people who owned two freezers of candy apples. Maybe he could make her worry about cavities…
Sofila squinted at Cole, her lips slightly puckered out. He was right. They just moved and haven’t quite build up yet.
“Ookkkkkaaaay.” Besides. They live on this planet now. It’s not like it’s going to blow up in a month or so.
“Well, we should totally try some of their drinks at least! I’m not saying let’s get a whole cellar, though hmm maybe we should- Ah! Off track! Focus! Okay! Three or four bottles for me and same for you? Since I’m sure there’s some good whiskey stuffs here.”
Briefly diverted from the prospect of candy apples, Cole and Sofila’s wanderings led them toward a large tent marked with the logo of the Kasiya Estates Beverage Company. Something about the outfit seemed familiar. The logo, maybe?
In any case, the menu was vast—almost as vast as Sofila’s apple-tite. There were hard liquors. There were wines. There were ciders.
Apple ciders.
“Well they’re equipped for your apple obsession.” Cole commented, leaning slightly to look past another patron at the menu. His gaze wandered mainly over the whiskeys and clear liquors.
There was almost too many options, frankly.
“Sampling everything might be a death wish.”
“I donhaveapplebession” Sofila rapidly muttered under her breath which Cole will clearly catch.
“I’m not going to sample everything!” She protested then paused for a moment, “Although that is tempting… But nah! I just need to keep reminding myself that we’re livng here now and that there’s always other oppitunities, I just need to–” She got out her datapad and started to rapidly type. If Cole watches, he would notice that she is leigt on Boogle Drive and making a boogle sheet.
It was labeled drink name, flavor, and ratings. 1 being meh and 10 being must have at home at all times.
“There! So I can remember next time we come here what I already tried and what I still need to try! See! No flirting with death today! I’ve done that enough times already.” She patted her chest and stuck her tongue out playfully at Cole.
-# <@645466919415054357>
Cole stared for several long seconds.
He finally shook his head, looking over the stands, “A sheet isnt a bad idea. A lot of these are probably going to taste quite similar. All being… apple.”
“Aw come on!” Sofila protested, “Apple yes but they have different spices! Different kind of liquor! I mean,” She glanced over to Cole, “Maybe you would like a spiced whiskey over spiced uhhhh vodka?”
The line to the serving counter—this place seemed formatted more like a cafe than a bar—moved forward with surprising rapidity, until Cole and Sofila were close enough to the front that it was Decision Time. Would they order everything at once, or make multiple trips?
“Ill take a spiced whiskey.” Cole began, taking Sofila’s advice. Either way knocking back a shot of straight vodka this early into the day as a bit much even for him. Whiskey was more sippable.
He looked at Sof, watching the steam pour from her ears as she considered all her options.
Sofila blubbered for a moment after Cole ordered.
“Just… pick two for me. Something with apple flavor please!”
Cole had to resist himself from snorting. She really couldn’t argue it that much.
His gaze did shift over to her though, the smugness notable.
“Shuddup.” She thanked the people and took a sip of one, “mmm.”
Then the other. “ooh.”
…
Then she stared at Cole.
How the kark was she suppose to rate the drinks if they both were a ten?!
“How is that ranking system going for you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sofila squinted at Cole as she took a sip of the left handed drink, then she grumbled, causing slight bubbles in the drink before downing it so she could have one free hand.
“It’s working out fine!” Then under her breath-
-# “Sorta.”
Then she glanced over to behind Cole and -
“OHMYGOSHTHIS IS SO CUUUUUUUUTE!” The Mirialan exclaimed as she quickly made her way over to the clothes vender.
“Hi! Hello!” She grinned as she set down the drink and grabbed a dress off the rack. It was slightly off-white background with red and green apple prints all over. She then pressed it up against her front and does a spin-
“What do you think Cole? Do you think the green apples would contrast too much? Or does the red apples help with that?”
-# <@1382824894877794314> <@645466919415054357>
Cole had no idea about fashion. Internally he panicked.
Externally he shrugged.
“I think it’d look great on you.”
“Really?” Sofila glanced back to the rack as she put the dress over her arm with intention to buy it. Then she whip out a pair of boxers. It’s black on the front but when she turned it around, there’s a print of a red shiny apple with the shape of an ass as she started giggling.
“Cole~” She showed him the back part of the boxers.
Cole leaned backwards, looking at the boxers for a moment before shaking his head with a slight eye roll. “No.”
He wandered slightly, noticing a small rack of jewellery. It was all… what you would expect at such a fair. Pretty, though the quality completely unverifiable. An idea pinged in his mind.
“What do you think of these?” He gestured at the set up as a whole, though with some inclination toward the rings set below.
Sofila puffed her cheeks in a playful pout but she does put the boxers back up.
For now. She might get it herself. And then wiggle her bottom around Cole at home just to annoy him a bit further. After she paid for the dress, she quickly made her way over to Cole and blinked as she looked at the jewelry.
Huh.
She never thought of this. She always admired them on other people but never thought of herself wearing one. Besides, with her job and activities, it was a bit challenging to do things that wouldn’t damage the items further.
“I guess I never thought about it-” She started as she picked up a ring that was silver and had some red gem in it. The red gem was sticking out quite a bit and supported by the silver.
“Well, with my activities, maybe the flatter, the better? I can see this get caught or damaged.”
She glanced over the gold and other metals but doesn’t seem interested in those but more lured by the silver.
“Why is there so many white?” Sofila asked as she pointed to the one with a diamond, not knowing that diamond was considered ‘highly’ sought after.
Silver. Flat. Practical, not diamond.
Cole filed as much of that away as possible, nodding and acting neutral.
“Those are diamonds, theyre considered more desirable usually. They’re clear, which, is unusual for a rock.” He answered, then shrugged.
“Really? They are?” Sofila frowned and quickly followed Cole with a spring in her step after buying the dress.
“Okay but clear is boring. Though I guess with clear being an unusual thing for a rock, that makes sense.” Then she shrugged and finished up the drink she had.
Time for the next one!
And she has, one hundred percent, forgotten about the so called rating system.
“To the next drink booth!”
Not diamonds.
Honestly he could have guessed that much, but either way the conversation was mentally noted away to analyze another time. Realistically, the ring wouldn’t be the biggest deal for Sofila but it still.. needed to be right. When it came to it.
Cole smiled slightly, glad that hed been subtle enough that the day continued on, gesturing for her to lead the way to the next booth.
“I havent finished my whiskey yet.” He commented, sipping the drink and remembering it was there. He was a good way through it at least.
Sofila glanced back to Cole who didn’t finish his whiskey.
Whoops. Was she drinking too fast? Maybe she should slow down and look around for food. She doesn’t want to burden Cole having to, possibly, fireman carry her out of this fair.
“Uh-” She started to look around for booths that had food. If there was apple flavor drinks, there’s certainly-
“A-ha!” Sofila exclaimed as she looked to Cole and then tilted her head towards a direction.
“If I can’t have all the candy apples or buy a fridge to store them in-” Sofila teased, “Let’s try out those!”
Hopefully the booth offered both savory and/or sweet recipes.
Cole leaned over to look, unable to simply peer over the heads of the crowd but spotted the booth. He nodded once, before beginning to walk toward it.
“Sure.”