Skade's Adventures: What the Gods Must Drink

Word Count: 836

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It was a long journey to the Broken Spine Mountains. Skade was assured he should under prepare his backpack so that he had plenty of storage to bring things back. He wasn’t the only woldren traveling, but with Thora sick and Garth training to work with Ship Breakers, Skade was the only one free of his friend group. He would be experiencing the udin’s hosted Frost Festival alone.

Now that he was here and could see all of the vending stalls, games, and general activities he could participate in he felt overwhelmed. Usually he’d be excited, rushing from one thing to the next to experience everything he can. But it was different without his friends. He was nearly an adult and yet he felt like a lost pup, too paralyzed to move without a mother figure to guide him around.

He must have picked somewhere inconvenient to mull over his options as an udin poked at his mane to get his attention. With a small grunt as he pulled himself out of his thoughts, he lowered his head. She was a sawdust udin with antlers.

“Sorry, am I in your way?” Skade immediately felt himself shuffling to back himself away from her.

“Oh, no! Sorry. You just looked lost.” she answered, her balance shifted so that she could raise a paw and shake it. It must be so inconvenient to not have one less pair of arms. “First Frost Festival in Morvay city?”

“Y-yeah. I’m honestly stuck on what to do.” Skade admitted, his face pulling into embarrassment. “I didn’t realize how much I relied on my friends to direct me.”

“You’re alone?” the udin’s expression was dropped into a sympathetic sadness.

“It’s not like they didn’t want to come, they just couldn’t!” Skade laughed, trying to pull the mood back up. It honestly wasn’t a big deal to him.

“I can show you around if you’d like. Name’s Elowen, by the way. Yours?”

“Skade. Nice to meet you.” the woldren offered a hand out to her.

“Oh, so formal.” Elowen teased, taking a claw in her hand and giving it a curt shake. “Well, Skade, if you ask me- the best way to start off a Frost Festival day is with a cup of hot chocolate. It is de-li-cious. And I feel like I’d be a terrible guide if I let you go without trying any.”

“We have hot chocolate in the Frozen North.” Skade perked a brow.

“Sure, maybe you do. But it’s not Frost Festival hot chocolate, I bet. Come on, just trust me.” Elowen turned away and brushed her tail under Skade’s chin as she passed. He lifted his head to the sky as she did so and felt his ears turning hot. Not wanting to get left behind, he followed after her, his embarrassment making him drag his head between his feet.

They had to wait in line for a particular booth that Elowen was insisting that they get their hot chocolate at. He didn’t mind the wait, knowing that a lot of a festival is just going to be waiting around for stuff to happen or be allowed to do stuff. But something about not being able to hop to a booth with a shorter line bugged him.

He pushed this feeling aside and made idle chat with Elowen. Skade wasn’t sure how she felt, but he certainly felt like he was just making small talk with a stranger he never expected to see again. While the conversation was interesting, it was still surface level as the two discussed their cultural differences. This was fine by Skade, as he didn’t think he wanted to try to maintain a friendship with such a long distance.

“Two spiced hot chocolates, please!” Elowen ordered, handing the vendor the exact amount of gold needed before they could even give the total. Just a moment later, the dragon set two disposable cups on the counter. Wanting to get out of the way for the next dragons in line, Skade grabbed one in either of his large-clawed paws and shimmied off with Elowen. 

She led them to a nearby table and took a seat. Skade passed her one of the cups and held one close to his muzzle. He took a deep inhale of the aroma, as he always tended to do before eating or drinking anything. It was far more complex in its scent than any hot chocolate he had back at home. He drew his tongue over his lips.

Before he could raise his cup to his lips, he noticed that Elowen was intently staring at him waiting for his reaction. It made him feel self conscious, but he tried to ignore it. He tilted his head back and took a sip. Immediately he was hit with warmth. A delicate mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a dash of cayenne and chile powder came together to elevate the chocolate drink. For a brief moment, Skade felt like he tasted what the gods must drink.