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Raea inhaled the fresh stale air outside of the prison. She could still smell the bloody stench coming from the bottom of her shoes. Her nose wrinkled as she tried to smear it off, but the effort was in vain. She sighed and said to the dwarf beside her, “Lead the way.”
“Y-yes,” the dwarf said as its head bobbed up and down. It made its way through the tunnels and halls with Raea following after it.
“How long have you been living underground?” Raea asked after they passed through a glowing green corridor.
“My whole life,” the dwarf said in a tiny voice. It didn’t suit his image—he was a stocky fellow with bulging muscles. Raea thought he would speak in a deep, booming voice, but he sounded like a child instead.
“That’s not what I meant,” Raea said and furrowed her brow. “How long have the dwarves occupied this underground place?”
“Long time,” the dwarf said and nodded.
Raea sighed. “And how many years is a long time?” she asked.
“At least three?” the dwarf said in a questioning tone and tilted his head.
“You’re messing around with me right now, aren’t you?” Raea asked and narrowed her eyes.
“No,” the dwarf said.
Raea sighed and shook her head. It would be unreasonable of her to get angry at a stupid person, right? She snuffed the black flames appearing around her body with her hands. “How far away is the cafeteria?” she asked.
“Not far.”
Raea’s hands clenched and she exhaled while closing her eyes. She resisted the urge to punch the dwarf in the back of the head by folding her arms in front of her chest. “Not very talkative, are you?” she asked under her breath.
“No.”
Raea pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. “Alright,” she said. “Just bring me to the cafeteria.”
“I am.”
Raea shook her head and decided to stay quiet for the rest of the time. The cafeteria was a spacious place, bigger than the prison. There were dozens of tunnels leading to the area with halflings pouring in and out of them. Raea’s face paled at the smell of blood. “Hey,” she said and furrowed her brow. “What do they serve here?”
The dwarf raised its head. “Food,” he said. After thinking for a moment he added, “And drink.”
“Why did I bother?” Raea asked. She waved her hand as if she were shooing away a fly. “You can go.” The dwarf nodded and scurried away. Raea entered the cafeteria and stepped in a line which led to a series of stalls. A few halflings stared at her.
The harpy in front of her blinked and turned around. “Are you the harbinger?” she asked and tilted her head to one side. “Cory said you were here. I didn’t believe her. But now I’m not sure. Are you really the harbinger? Like really the harbinger? Not like the last one. So are you?”
“Erm.” Raea scratched her head. “I’m not sure. Hey. What kind of food do they serve here?”
The harpy pursed her lips. “Well,” she said and stopped to preen her feathers. “They serve the best kinds of food here. There’s the good kind of food and sometimes there’s the bad kind of food. But there is definitely an appropriate choice for all kinds of eaters. There’s food for carnivorous people, and there’s food for herbivorous people. I guess that means there’s also food for omnivorous folk as well. The food is chewy some of the time, but it’s tough at others. Some days it’s spicy and other days it’s not. You can say the same for salty and sweet and bitter and—“
“Stop,” Raea said and covered the harpy’s face with her hand. “I just want to know. Do they serve meat? Vegetables? If they do, then what kind?”
The harpy glared at Raea as she separated her face from the angel’s hand. “I was just telling you about it,” she said. “How rude. You won’t find someone who knows as much about food as I do.” Her nose crinkled as she folded her wings against her body. “If you want to know anymore from me, you can keep dreaming. Ask someone else, Rudey McRudeFace.” She wiped her nose with her talons before turning her back towards Raea.
Raea stared at the harpy’s back. Her claws itched, urging her to tear out the halfling’s heart. Palan’s words came to mind, and she inhaled while closing her eyes. After calming herself down, she opened her eyes and advanced in the line. A troll stepped behind her, causing her body to stiffen. She turned around and stared at the massive, red creature that had a pig-like face. It had two elephant-like ears, and its arms and legs were as thick as a tree. Its belly bulged over a pink loincloth that barely served its purpose.
“Hello,” Raea said and wrinkled her nose. The troll smelled almost as bad as the badge Pyre had given her. “I don’t suppose you know what they’re serving for lunch?”
The troll lowered its head to make eye contact with Raea. “Silly … angel? Demon?” the troll furrowed his brow, causing his pig-like nose to jut out. “Silly, puny thing. The cafeteria serves us. Who else would it serve?”
Black flames circled around Raea’s body, increasing the temperature of the air around her. A few halflings scrambled away, carrying trays with undiscernible meals on them. The harpy in front of her spread her wings and flew towards a perch near the ceiling. “It’s really the harbinger,” she said staring at the blood-red glow coming off of Raea’s body. “It’s a shame she’s so rude.”
“I hate all of you,” Raea said and closed her eyes. The black flames dimmed as she regulated her breathing. She opened her eyes and yelled, “Someone just tell me what type of meat and what type of vegetables are cooked in the fucking cafeteria!”
The cafeteria fell silent as everyone turned their heads to stare at Raea. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at everyone. “The edible kinds,” the troll said under his breath. A primal scream escaped from Raea’s mouth as she raised her leg and kicked the troll in the stomach. He flew until his back collided with the cafeteria’s wall, leaving a web of cracks on the stone.
“Woah,” Cory said as she appeared at the tunnel closest to where the troll was launched. “What’s happening? Is there a fight? Why’s it so quiet in here?”
“Cory!” Raea shouted. “What do you eat and drink around here!?”
“Why are we yelling!?” Cory shouted back. “They serve mushrooms and angel flesh! We drink water and blood! Sometimes there’s angel cake made out of real angels!”
“Thank you!” Raea shouted and swept her gaze around the halflings in the cafeteria. “Was that so difficult!?”
Cory hopped next to Raea. “Maybe for you,” she said. “Don’t tell me you asked the troll a question.”
The flames around Raea’s body disappeared. “Should I not have?” she asked.
“Not if you want a serious answer,” Cory said and nodded. “Let me tell you all about us as we cut in line.” She wrapped one wing around Raea and urged her towards the front of the line. “The goblins are stupid. They’ll answer you, but you won’t be satisfied with their answer. The dwarves don’t say much, and when they do, you learn nothing. As for harpies, oh boy. They talk a lot, but that’s it. It’s all talk. Lizardmen are rude and don’t like answering questions. Centaurs will try to convert you to grassism no matter how you try to steer the conversation. Demons try to eat you, and angels tremble in fear. So, in short, be my best friend, okay?”
“Wait,” Raea said and furrowed her brow. “How do you come to that conclusion?”
“Shhh,” Cory said and placed the tip of her wing over Raea’s mouth. “Don’t question it. I’ll introduce you to everyone later. For now, let’s eat.” She used her talons to grab two plates and piled food on top of them before handing one to Raea. “Oh, here. Take the eyeball. They’re nice treats.”
Raea’s face paled as Cory dragged her away to a nearby table.
What’s the deal? This is the girl who was relatively fine with the mystery meat from before.