D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

--- Kat ---

"Perhaps we can chat about some lighter topics?" asked Kat. "How about… what everyone's favourite food is?" Kat almost wanted to blurt out 'assuming your clan allows you variety in your diet' but managed to bite down on the impulse. She wasn't trying to be rude, but the joke wasn't appropriate for someone she'd known less then an hour. Especially not when Hunter's clan was clearly important to her.

Kamiko's eyes lit up and she jumped at the chance. "I like jelly! All kinds of jelly. It's definitely genetic or at least it's something my family all loves and so do I! I'll take any flavour but I have preferences for the calmer ones like apple and grape, while some of my sisters prefer it to be really sweet. The texture is perhaps the best part and even just poking at it can be a lot of fun!"

Hunter gave a slow nod to Kamiko for her answer but didn't say anything just yet. Lily sighed and said, "Well I used to have other favourites but now is raw, slightly spiced fresh fish. Just a bit of salt and maybe a touch of something else. It's great, I love it… but I also hate how fish now tastes so much better then anything else. It's honestly a bit annoying.

There's so much variety… but my brain just goes 'OOOH FEEESH' whenever the stuff is on offer. Admittedly I can't be too mad because well… I do love the taste but it gets a touch annoying,"

"I can see how that would be an issue. Restricting yourself to a single food type because of sufficiently superior taste profile could be a pain. I am lucky enough to avoid that issue. Unlike many of my cousins," Hunter paused and glanced from Kat to Lily and elaborated, "what I mean by that is other Lamia's, I prefer lean meat. I would say that I am most fond of stews made with personal kills.

"There is something satisfying about hunting the meat for your meal personally. There is a much lesser improvement in the taste of the vegetables and fruits. I find that most of that improvement is from the product being fresh, while hunting for meat comes with a level satisfaction. That and we have learnt a number of good tricks for growing produce we have not yet entirely mastered for animals,"

Kat waited for Hunter to finish and said, "Well I wouldn't say that I have a favourite food. Not like everyone else. Sure I have preferences, and if I was to reach for anything I'd reach for a pair, or this soup a dryad called Thyme introduced me to. It's exceptionally spicy and literally hot enough to burn most people who try to eat it.

"But yeah… those are good and I'll lean towards them whenever they're on offer… but I can appreciate the taste of just about anything I find. At least, as long as it's prepared well or with good ingredients. Though I do have a question Hunter. What sort of meals does your clan tend to encourage?"

"That is a more complicated question then you realise, one that I would be quite happy to expand on," said Hunter with… was that a smile. Kat could hardly believe it. There was the slightest upturn of Hunter 23HX443's mouth. Kat internally preened at finding a question hunter was interested in.

"To begin, the clan pushes us hard but realises that pushing a younger individual to their physical and mental limits regularly requires a large calorie intake. This means that we are not so much encouraged to eat specific meals, as we are encouraged to eat considerable amounts of food.

"Every so often we are encouraged to sample a wide variety of meals. We have found that different demons respond better to different foods. Despite our stomachs being closer to furnaces then the chemical mess that most other species have, demons do not gain the same benefits from eating the same foods.

"It is likely because our bodies require different elements to function at our peak performance. A simple example of this is that unlike the others in the room I possess a large number of scales coating my body. They require maintenance and specific things in my diet to ensure they remain tough and shiny.

"Details like that mean that clan teachers watch their students to see what foods they react best with, in addition to finding out what food the child in question prefers.

It was of course discovered early on that children are more willing to eat something if they enjoy the taste, and with our larger then standard caloric intake requirements ensuring children eat well is of great importance, arguable greater then perfect nutrition.

"As I said, other lamia seem to enjoy fatty meats but I detest them. While I do not enjoy eating fruits and vegetables a great deal, I can eat them and even enjoy them with accompanying meat dishes but I do not like them as much. I also do not like anything that is overly fatty.

"The reason for this are similar, yet distinct. For vegetables and fruits I find I need to gorge myself of excessive amounts of them to fuel my bodies needs. It makes me feel sick to consume so much. Even with my lamia heritage, one that allows much easier intake of excessive foods then most the feeling I get when ingesting large amounts of greens is awful.

"Yet not as bad as overly fatty meals. I feel myself slow down. My body just wants to sleep, my reflexes fail me and I have a consistent urge to throw up. It is, a rather annoying experience. Especially when a large number of lamia prefer fatty foods that are able to sit inside them and power their activities for extended periods of time. That and they like the taste.

The other members of the clan are happy to indulge in such things as well, but I am not,"

*Huh. It's interesting to see how different OUR Hunter can be from the rest of them. Even with her love of the clan stuff like this shows she's her own person. Which is just… nice I guess? After seeing her so vigorously tear apart the dissenters in her clan I wasn't sure. I mean, I know she said she is able to accept contrary opinions, even in the clan, but she seemed… very hardline before this.*

[I think you might be a touch unfair here… but I do agree that it's nice to see her uniqueness come out. I guess with a nam- I mean, 'designation' like Hunter 23HX443 we appreciate anything that… humanises her I guess? Perhaps a bad turn of phrase considering none of us a human but it's the best I've got in English.]

Meanwhile, Kamiko was getting into things, "Ah, I know what you mean. Aside from jelly, which my family just seems to consume en mass there are a lot of things that just make you feel heavy. Even if they really shouldn't. I mean, I know that we burn through our food literally but some stuff just sits on your stomach. It is not nice,"

"It is a most distasteful feeling," agreed Hunter 23HX443 "I do not understand how many of our clan members can simple gorge themselves on such foods. I once saw a child of six years consume an entire roll of fresh sausages that took up about half of their weight for lunch. Then, once the meal was over, the individual in question proceeded straight into practice with seemingly no ill effects.

I could hardly believe what my eyes were telling me and I was sat next to them on this day,"

"Some people are just weird like that," said Kamiko with a nod. "Though, do you have any favourite sweets? I guess it's a bit silly to ask since I already said jelly was my favourite food which is technically a sweet… but I guess I just want to know,"

Hunter 23HX443 gave a shrug at the question and said, "I do not dislike sugary treats on principle but I find they simple do not do much for me. Admittedly they are pleasant on the tongue but ultimately unsatisfying as a meal and I do not feel well after ingesting more than a few bites of them.

If I was forced to choose, I would say that any hard candy I can suck on for an extended period of time would be my favourite. No offense is intended to you who devours jelly,"

Kamiko giggled, "Ah but I find that just fine. See the best part about making new friends with unique favourites? It means that there's more jelly for me whenever we find some!"

Kat watched with her own smile as Hunter 23HX443's mouth twitched further upwards. *It seems Kamiko is better at making friends then she thought. Seems like she's already doing quite well. That or she's come a long way. I'm proud of her, and quite glad to be around for this moment.*