The Stew on Kaldar 3 is Fantastic (Flash fiction fun)
Hi, folks, today I used the picture above as inspiration for the story below. It was a free wallpaper and it lit up my imagination like crazy, I hope it sparks some of your own creativity and that you have a wonderful day!
The Stew on Kaldar 3 is Fantastic
Jaime Johnesee
The galactic toads were singing on their stalagmite perches and the bumblebirds were resting deep inside their mushroom gill nests. Everyone had their bioluminescence in full display, it was a typical gorgeous Kaldarian night, and even the hootblats shrieked sweetly in the air.
As Jeff made steelroot stew, his wife, Al'donk'a'lel, was out gathering horsetails and other ingredients to spice up the dish. He looked outside as he chopped ingredients and saw that the large umburt tree was full of heavy ripe fruit.
He decided to pick some and make a blart for dessert. As he stepped into the humid night to pick the delectable umburts, a dozen sucklers swarmed him and began to feast on the sweat dripping from his tentacles. He was grateful for the sucklers as his sweat was full of pheromones lately and Al told him she felt ill when he sweat too much. She said he smelled of landula blossoms and turgomot root and she was deathly allergic to turgomot.
To appease her he typically wore a fragrance that smelled thickly of huntsberry and banesbridge. The sucklers meant he wouldn't have to douse himself in the cologne tonight and he was grateful for the reprieve.
He took his bounty into the house, washed them (and himself) up, and sliced a thick orange globdropper. Sap dripped everywhere and Jeff took a moment to lick the sweet sap off his claws as his tentacles set to work cutting the next slice. He plopped them into the stew along with some chaffsgrass and smokeberry then started on the blart.
It wasn't too much longer before Al'donk'a'lel came back. The woman of Earth that came back with her seemed excited. Jeff put the blart in the hobbanger to harden. He smiled at their guest.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Jeff prided himself on being a beneficent host, Kaldarians were known universe-wide for their hosting skills.
"I have told her we are having her for dinner and she was so very happy about it." Al smiled at her mate.
"Oh, thank you for offering a drink but I'm okay right now. I have always heard the stew is fantastic here! Hi, you must be Jeff, it's so nice to meet you." The blonde walked forward with her hand extended, unaware the gesture was rude to Kaldarians.
"She's perfect!" Jeff walked over to her and, in what appeared to be one fluid movement, grabbed the human with his tentacles, used his claw to slit her throat, and held her streaming lifeblood over his stewpot.
As the human bled out, Al looked at her, smiled sweetly, and whispered, "Nothing makes steelroot stew taste as good as some fresh human blood. Thank you for agreeing to be our dinner "
Al’s smile was the last thing the Earthling saw as her life drained away. Luckily for her, she died before they began harvesting her meat for dinner the next night.
