Word Count: 1,404

Summary: Mirania's always had an obsession with food, but no one had ever asked why. Post-game

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Mirania had been in the mercenary group before Yurick had been added later on much later. He could never quite get a good reading on the girl when he first met her – and the hundred-or-so-times after that.

Every time he did see her, she always wore the same facial expression. Stagnant stillness. It was very easy to dislike that expression, which was a cross between looking at you condescendingly while mixed with serenity.

All he had really known was that she was a powerful holy mage, who seemed to have a deep connection with nature and silence. She'd always speak with a hushed lilt. She was gentle and her words were sincere and wise. With her noble face and demeanor, it would take remarkable imagination to figure out what she was doing in such a job trade.

He'd learned along with the other group members that Mirania had been a lone child, who had lost her parents very young and had been raised by a Guardian of the Forest, until the Guardian had passed due to the decreasing energy to the land. Mirania had made it her mission in life to find out the true meaning of the decaying land after she had lost her home.

In the end, he certainly could not have come up with such a story.

Mirania had completed her journey, but it had been at a price that the small group of mercenaries still tried to release from their memories.

At the moment, Mirania and Yurick were having lunch in a little inn not too far from Lazulis (they were in Gurak territory, actually, and even though the peace treaty was very firm, he still couldn't stop being nervous about their presence). They were just passing through, after picking up some merchandise from the Gurak city for Ariela. Although, Mirania had insisted on stopping to eat.

Not that Yurick could really say she was lying about being hungry, after having to listen to her stomach make terrible, starving, screaming noises for about half-an-hour.

That was the one other thing about Mirania, was her food… thing.

Obsession was probably the right word.

Not only did she overly enjoy the taste of food, but also she had a marvelous ability to store it somewhere. He was pretty sure the yelling coming from her gut was actually a hidden black hole.

"Yurick, is something amidst? You're not eating your food."

"Hm? Oh, I just wasn't hungry."

"Would you mind if I cleared your plate for you, then?"

Seeing no choice in protesting, he pushed the plate over to her.

He realized that although he got her past in random moments from the rest of the group members, no one could ever tell him why she had such a fascination with food. No one probably cared themselves. Just another one of Mirania's quirks, no doubt.

Except now that it was on his mind…

"You're eating as if you've never tasted food before," he said, arms and legs crossed as he scrutinized her.

She shrugged as she continued eating, "I had never tasted food like this from my home-forest."

Now, really. Why hadn't that crossed his mind? Had he really so little imagination?

Still, not much of an excuse for now having such an appetite. He himself came from poverty. Bread and cheese had become his staple diet for many weeks, with the occasional dried fish. Except he avoided the fish unless there was truly nothing else to consume. He hadn't wanted to see – much less eat – anything that smelled, felt, looked, or even reminded him of the ocean.

"So, did you eat grass and dirt? I'm assuming that the Guardian didn't let you eat any animals."

"Well, of course he did. I was still a predator and they the prey. It's the natural cycle of life; I thought you would know such a simple detail, Yurick."

Oh, please, there he was getting lectured again.

He was definitely done with this conversation, but suddenly she decided to be talkative around the food in her mouth. "I would eat very little meat, although. I mostly enjoyed fruits and berries, special herbs, leaves and roots, cold water and fresh fish. So… when I came here, to the human society, I had no idea what such a pleasurable experience food had turned out to become."

"Trust me, they make too much of a big deal of it."

"I just wanted to try everything that I was being offered, even if I couldn't afford it –" Yurick was not going to ask, "–In no time, I had eaten cheese and drank milk from animals I hadn't even known existed. I had meat from all types of animals prepared in different ways with different sauces and side dishes. Potatoes, pumpkins, carrots. And there are so many other diverse types of fruits, too! Watermelons, tomatoes, pears, onions –"

"What?"

"–Oranges, lemons, limes. And berries! I was so used to simple, green berries, but there is such an assortment of berries, too. And there are just so many intriguing ways to prepare food, that it is unimaginable for a person like me from such a background of humble foods. Drinks have such stimulating flavors now, too. Hot drinks. All I ever could muster was cold teas with my spring water."

There was a stiff silence once Mirania actually fell quiet. She looked a little awkward, probably because she had spoken more than she had all week.

"So," Yurick said, "The true reason that you love food so much is because your palate was way too expensive for such a plain diet."

The look she gave him said that she just couldn't believe that he simplified her personal answer like that.

"What are your favorite foods, Yurick?"

"I've never given it any thought. Food's just food."

"Perhaps you should find that part about yourself out, then. What you like. You are missing out on a wonderful experience."

"I'm sure I am."

Finishing her plate (or his plate) of food, she pushed it aside and looked intently at her hands. Her eyebrows were furrowed, her knuckles were white from squeezing one another, her lips were a little bit lax.

Her change was so sudden and drastic, he couldn't figure out what she was feeling. Being a mage herself, though, he couldn't get anything from her emotion-wise, like he could from normal people.

"Are you all right?" he asked, leaning forward over the table until he could see her tilted-down face.

"I was just thinking…"

"Yeah, I assumed that. About what?"

"I feel like I'm running away from the teachings of my Guardian Parent. Neglecting it's rewarding, nutritious food for hand-prepared food with money in exchange."

She made it sound much worse when she put it like that.

"Well, Mirania, no one ever said that you still couldn't eat your home…forest's food. That's just what a varied diet means. Also, it's not like the food isn't coming from different parts of the land with different Guardians."

Mirania's eyes brightened so much, like Yurick had just solved world-peace single-handedly.

She was up and at the counter to pay for their meals, and out the door before Yurick truly processed that she just left.

Spotting her not too far from the inn, she was at a grocery stand – now really, hadn't they just eaten? – and it didn't take long to catch up with her. Especially since she met him half-way coming back.

"Hm? Yurick I thought I told you to stay put."

"No, you did not mention that fact."

"I didn't? I guess I forgot to say it. Here."

What she handed him was a basic, very lush red apple.

"These were the same type of apples at my home. I hope you can enjoy it. Food holds memories for me – I can remember events due to what I had eaten that day. Hopefully this apple will make you think of me."

He really didn't have anything to say to her about that, but she didn't seem to expect him to. She started trotting off, apparently whether he followed or not.

Rolling the apple back and forth in his hands, he pondered her words.

Because – of all people – Mirania?

Taking a bite of the apple, he found that the taste of it was sweeter and crisper than he had been anticipating.

Perhaps he could say that… he liked it.

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Welcome to my new collection! Each oneshot is complete in its own way, so that's why this story will be marked as complete at the beginning.

Thanks to author Therius to giving me the tidbit, because since I played the game too long ago, I've lost some of the fine details in my memory. (But I'll make sure not to tell my little brother that he had been right. ;)

I'll be writing any character/and situation, and will update whenever I have a story idea. I'll take requests, too, just in case you had any ideas you wanted to share. ^^