There were more platters, and very soon there was an exceptionally large gathering in the central area of the village. It turned out to be even more like Hawaiian food than Cerys had first thought. While the platters holding the food were wooden, what the individuals were using as plates were broad leaves. Bayani did not seem to be bothered by the presentation of the food, and was busy helping Peter decide what to eat. Nashtra sat down between Himeko and Cerys, and began to explain to them what had been prepared for their feast.

“That over there is grilled fish,” he said, pointing to slices of something a rosy shade of orange. “And this, he gestured to a platter of what look like some kind of cut fruit, pink on one end and bright green on the other. “This is the finest, sweetest fruit you’ll ever taste. If you find a seed, be sure to save it. They are good luck, and we can plant them. They do not make very many seeds, though.”

After that, he explained to them several other foods, some small in crunchy, some that look like they had been roast in the fire, others as though they had been boiled for a long time. There was a sort of paste, a spread that was something like a combination of avocado, butter, and banana. At the same time, it was also like none of them. How could she have possibly explained it? There was nothing like it on Earth; not even the durian or the jackfruit work was comparable to this food. Nashtra eventually admitted that it was a combination of 2 different things. Cerys only understood part of his explanation, but there was some kind of grain, as well as a fruit.

In the end, she ended up eating far more than she usually did, mostly because she wanted to try everything. Nashtra waited until she had tried everything that he suggested before informing her that there would be another feast for them for the evening meal. She she narrowed her eyes at him as she took a drink from a cup that was offered to her, but then they smiled to each other.

Once the feast was over, Nashtra helped his friends prepare to continue their journey through he forest. He brought them long green cloaks, much like the one that he wore. They were embroidered with blue thread, something like silk, judging by the way it felt beneath Cerys’s  fingers. There were silver clasps to go with them, attached to the fabric as though part of it.

Nashtra led them to the north end of his village, where the clearing narrowed back into a modest road between the trees. A narrow wagon awaited them there, something akin to a carriage but without a top, and without any sort if fancy ornamentation. It would have been plain dark wood were it not for a few designs in blue and green paint here and there around it.

Some if the horses that they had been riding earlier were yoked to it, and several young elves were gathered around them, petting them and speaking softly to them. When Nashtra greeted them, many of the children ran over to him, surrounding him, and clinging to his legs if they could. He laughed and touched their heads, making them giggle and run about joyfully afterwards. Then he looked over at Cerys, feeling her eyes on him.