"So, mushrooms…" Cross began, squinting as he looked up, shielding his eyes from the glaring sun. "…they don't glow back on Earth?"
"No." Elma said matter-of-factly, following her comrade's gaze. "In fact, any kind that's color is too vivid are usually poisonous."
Basking in the majesty of a giant of what he'd just learned were called 'mushrooms', Cross directed his gaze to the azure skies above for a moment, noting how clear it was in Noctilum that day, before asking again:
"So we don— uh, didn't eat mushrooms?"
"We did, and we still do." Elma said, giving the new Pathfinder a brief smile. "Although we usually eat ones that are colored brown or white, as the vividly colored ones I just mentioned – those with red, blue, or dotted caps, – are most likely poisonous."
"But even then, there were many variety of edible mushrooms back on Earth." She continued, "They're commonly used in dishes such as soup, but it's not rare to see them deep-fried as well."
Cross let out a 'hmm' sound, crossing his arms and letting his gaze drop to the ground as if something on the Noctilucent forest's fertile soil below had caught his attention.
"What is it?" Elma eventually asked, her tone laced with curiosity.
"Um, no, it's just…" Glancing back up, Cross examined the enormous mushroom before him again, observing every fibre of it with a raised brow on his face. "Do we really eat things these big? Back on Earth, I mean."
"I mean, how did we harvest them?" He frowned, unconsciously adopting a thinking pose by letting his hand wander to his chin. "Did we cut them down like trees? So there were whole forests of mushrooms on Earth that we cut down? Wait, how did people even cut them into bite-sized piec—"
"...What?" Cross asked a bewildered-looking Elma who had had her brows raised, a rare expression for the stoic Reclaimer, which was usually reserved for the most bizarre of occasions. Like when L actually worded an idiom right for once. "W-What did I say?"
"Nothing." She eventually spoke, her emotionless mask already returning to place. "Actually, humans cut them down with brute force. Even I used to bring one down with my bare hands."
Cross scoffed. "Ha. Ha. Very funny, Colonel."
"…"
"Wait, you're not serious, are you?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…I, uh—"
"Of course I wasn't serious, Cross!" Finally, Elma rolled her eyes, letting out the grin she had been holding back. "The mushrooms back on Earth were nowhere near this big!"
Cross froze as he stared at his Leader with wide eyes. He blinked twice before letting out a low, awkward chuckle. "R…Right. Of course. I knew that..."
"In fact…" Seemingly unfazed by his reaction, Elma continued. "I think Lin is making some for dinner today. We should head back soon if you want to taste how mushrooms really taste like."
With that, the Reclaimer turned on her heels, already heading towards the direction of New LA. Cross snapped out of his shock, and followed her soon after, hesitantly asking:
"You're sure we're not eating its Miran counterpart, right? …Elma?"
A/N: Bask in my absolutely lame attempt at cracking a joke. I really have to practice writing XCX Characters more- I have no idea how to write as them more times than not. And that's what this fic serves for! (How the fuck do you even Elma)
...Alright, partly. I have a mighty need for more characters interactions and just Cross being taught stuff by everybody alright. So yes, I will probably continue this when I can, but in the mean time, you're all free to message me some other 'party-members-teaching-Cross-what-stuffs-are' ideas! It's always nice to listen about other Cross's :