Just a silly story I wrote because I love Grandia III way too much. And Ulf. Can't resist him. Enjoy. :D
A Matter of Taste
Alfina had insisted on going back to the kitchen to help the cook clean up, leaving Yuki and Ulf settled in at the Mendi inn's dining table to wait. Ulf was still enthusiastically eating from the plate of fresh bread; Yuki had already eaten several rolls and sat back to watch, one eyebrow cocked at his new friend's voracious appetite.
"Geez, Ulf," he teased. "You really are a pig. Save some for Alfina, okay? She did make them."
"Eh, girls," Ulf snorted, mouth still full of food. "They don't eat that much anyway." But he pushed the plate back and grinned at Yuki, wiping the back of one hand across his mouth. "Hm... you like her, don't you?"
The unexpectedness of the question took Yuki by surprise, and he had to fumble for an answer. "I... Of course I like Alfina. I'm traveling with her, right?"
"Oh, come on. I mean you like her. I saw that sappy grin all over your face when you were talking to her before. Pretty obvious."
"You... you hardly know me. I don't think you can tell-"
"I can tell." The demi-human waved a finger in the air before placing it underneath his nose. "I can smell it."
"No you can't."
"All right, so I can't. But you are totally obvious."
Yuki frowned and crossed both arms over his chest. He wondered why he was getting so defensive over it. He did like Alfina, a whole lot, but...
"So, you get her a present yet?"
"A... a present? Why?"
Ulf shrugged. "I dunno. Girls like presents."
"Why should I want to-"
"The other day I saw some old lady's husband bring her home three huge fish." Ulf indicated an large size with his outstretched arms. "She sure seemed happy."
"Um... I don't think that was a present..."
"Well, you got something better?"
"I don't know." Yuki shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Flowers, I guess. She really liked that flower shop we saw earlier."
"Flowers?" Ulf repeated, sounding incredulous. He wrinkled up his nose at Yuki. "You can't eat flowers."
"Well, no. But why does it have to be something to eat?"
Ulf leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling and using a fingernail to idly pick at his sharp teeth. "I'd get her... I'd get her a fresh-killed minotaur. We really wasted the ones we just killed in Randoto. The hide still on, of course... still warm. I'd leave it on her doorstep. If she had a doorstep."
Yuki's lips compressed together tightly for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. Could Ulf even carry a full-grown, dead minotaur? The image of such a creature on Arcriff Temple's doorstep - did it even have a doorstep? - was just too ridiculous.
Finally stopping to catch his breath, Yuki looked over to see Ulf just staring at him. "Er... what? Wasn't that a joke?"
"No! I-"
"Are you ready to go?" Alfina was framed in the kitchen doorway, her smile as radiant as the afternoon sunlight filtering through the glass windows. Yuki swallowed hard and stood up from his chair.
"Yeah, sure."
"We'll just take this bread with us, you never know when we'll need it. The cook was very kind to help me make it!" Yuki replied with something appropriate, his mind suddenly more focused on how light played over her golden hair, how soft her white skin looked. He swallowed again. Maybe he would get her those flowers after all...
Once outside, Yuki slowed down to walk even with Ulf. "Hey," he said, dropping his voice so Alfina couldn't hear. "So is that what demi-humans give as presents? Dead monsters?"
"How should I know?" Ulf's tail lashed into Yuki's legs and he jumped, startled.
"O..oh? Why not?"
"I left Dragon Valley way before I was old enough to want to pay attention to junk like that. But that's what I'd give as a present."
Yuki's mind went blank. "Uh..."
"What are you two talking about?" Alfina was standing in front of them. "Is it a secret?" she asked, tone bright and cheerful.
"Which would you prefer, Alfina," Ulf blurted before Yuki could stop him. "Smelly old flowers or a nice rare minotaur steak, so fresh the hair's still on it, killed less than an hour ago and dripping with blood?"
Alfina's eyes were getting wider by the second. Yuki was afraid they'd fall out of her head. He just sighed. Sometimes there really was no accounting for taste.