Prisoners of Sol - Derandi Chef (4/7)

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While the two human astronauts set out to discover why the Elusians placed a wall around their unusual dimension, I set out on some sleuthing of my own; what ingredient Kayla had been so determined that I wouldn’t discover. It seemed the dimension-hopper hadn’t considered that visibly hiding something would make me all the more interested in it. I shuffled through a recipe book I pried from a cabinet, finding nothing out of the ordinary—wait. Eggs? I hadn’t seen the human using any…

Why would she be concealing that ingredient?! Derandi use eggs too; of course, not ours. There’s an occasional mention of an animal called chickens, which perhaps is an egg-laying bird. Does she think we’d be offended over that, or wait, that it’s the same as us? I wasn’t worried, but I am worried if they see Derandi as indistinguishable.

I hopped over to where Kayla was flipping through a book, eyeing her warily. “Hey. Long day yesterday, wasn’t it?”

“Hiding in the shelter felt like an eternity; everywhere my mind wandered was darkness. Thanks to you, it wasn’t all bad though! I got to meet my first, well, not Vascar alien and trade recipes,” the human responded, friendliness glittering in her eyes. “We have to get some bootleg copies of your show on this base, Vanare! I can imagine you holding a spatula, flipping patties on the grill: something so routine, but a true delight!”

“I enjoy a good routine, Kayla. Often, during the monotonous prep work, I call Etra—my wife—and we speak about what’s going on in the world. I won’t bore you with idle gossip. I have…other matters on my mind,” I said, nervousness creeping in. “What is a chicken?”

The dimension hopper rocked forward, the book flying end over end from her fingers. “They’re…birds from home? Why do you ask?”

“Because you’re hiding the presence of them and their eggs in your recipes.”

Kayla’s face fell into a mortified stupor. “Because…they’re small birds. You might be offended. I…I didn’t want you to see, and to be afraid of us.”

I squawked in confusion. “The Girret are our closest friends, and they eat birds and eggs aplenty! I wouldn’t have thought there was anything to be worried about, except for the fact that you thought that was relevant to the Derandi. Why would that be your first thought: that chickens were like us?”

“Oh no, it’s obviously not the same! Derandi are people, and you don’t look similar at all with the green feathers and all. But I mean, chicken is one of the most common foods we eat. Even worse, eggs are like your unborn children, and we’re mixing them into our pastries. Using them as emulsifiers, and I can’t imagine how you might feel…I want you to like humanity!”

I laughed. “What do you think we use for emulsifiers and pastries? Not our own, of course, but I’m no more offended by you using avian eggs from your…local animals than I hope you’d be from us using mammal ingredients. You’d agree that’s not the same as a human, and there’s nothing wrong with it, right?”

“Especially if it wasn’t even mammals from our planet. Like if it was primates outright, I don’t think I’d want to eat that. It’d feel too close to home. Wrong for me to do it, but it would be illogical to care what you do. I’m sorry, Vanare, I just didn’t want to freak you out! Everyone thinks we’re monsters already.”

“I find that it’s a lot more scary to know someone is hiding something, wouldn’t you agree?” I prompted. “I always teach my children to own their truth, whatever it is.”

“I…regret skittering around. It was foolish; I never meant to hurt you, but you shame me with…advice you’d give to schoolchildren. You seem like a good parent. Better than I am.”

I placed a wing on her hand. “Don’t say that. You don’t need to overthink things with the Derandi—at least not me. I’m trying to understand and get to know you. Please, you shouldn’t fret how I might judge you. I can see now that humans have been through a lot—and that you want nothing more than anyone else.”

“To explore the stars?” Kayla suggested, her eyes twinkling. “Ah, I wish I was at that banquet, Vanare; it sounds marvelous! I hope you have security cameras to catch Mikri dousing Preston in ice—we all want to see that. Every little thing that’s new and exciting, it’s why I took a posting at Pluto Station in the first place. I wanted to be close to whatever’s out there, and…the world always needs chefs!”

“My world would love to see a human chef! I’m going to leave to return to my family, as soon as matters settle down on your station here; I can see I’m no prisoner. I’d…like you to come to Temura with me as a guest, and share in my cooking and my family. I want my wife and my children to know what humans truly are.”

The dimension hopper looked shocked, pressing a hand to her heart. “Me? I…I don’t know what to say. I’m not a diplomat or an astronaut.”

“Neither am I, but good food is a universal language. I’m inviting you as a friend. A wonderful family friend—just another person. You deserve that treatment. I could see you being a part of the Alliance one day, if your people would wish to be our siblings in the stars.”

“I’m not the ESU, but I can tell you that’s all we ever wanted! I’d love to go to Temura and to meet your family. Uh, one question though. If I stayed with you, would I…fit? I hear your homes aren’t…human-sized?” she laughed, sounding a bit uncomfortable.

“I have guests from across our dimension! We have a guest house that’s suited to aliens, and I’ll make sure you have the best of our hospitality. You can see what the Derandi have to offer!”

“You don’t have to ask me twice. As long as it’s cleared with both of our people, I’d be delighted! I have to set you at work on one of your sets.”

I trilled with delight. “Maybe you can even be on an episode, dimension hopper. That would be something, wouldn’t it?”

“I’ve never been in the limelight, but…maybe. In exchange for the bootleg episodes, of course. We might’ve found a currency for the Derandi and humanity to trade in.”

“You have yourself a deal. I’ll let you know when that’s all figured out, egg-eating monster.”

Kayla laughed. “I guess I deserved that. I’ll be waiting eagerly!”

I ducked away from the human, having heard her rationale for the clumsy hiding of their usage of poultry; if the dimension-hopping natives of Sol just wanted to be accepted into the wider multiverse, then I could be the start of the Derandi embracing who they truly were. My family needed to know all that I’d seen, and how humanity were a far cry from the sadists they’d been advertised as. They were simple people who enjoyed a good meal and happy travels as much as anyone, and I was glad that I could call one of them a friend.

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A/N - Part 4! Vanare questions why Kayla was so keen to hide eggs and chicken, saying it was weirder that she’d try to hide it and consider the Derandi in the same vein as our poultry. He also invites his new chef friend to return back to Temura with him, and to say with his family as he demonstrates genuine trust in a human to be safe to bring home. How do you imagine Etra will react to her husband coming home with a dimension-hopper? Will Kayla get to appear on an episode of his show?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!