3 chapters in such a short amount of time? Let's just say my mind's been in overdrive with the responses and possibilities this story has brought out in me. It helps a lot that just walking through the Wiki is hella fun, full of adjectives and crazy ideas that just send the imagination and stomach churning as a single overwhelming force! Now let's get to work!
Chapter 3: Trail Mixer OR Friends Big And Small
It is said, that deep below the Earth, stretching for miles through underground caverns and fault lines, rest veins of rich, creamy caramel that sparkles in the light like perfectly polished gold. A single bite of this sweet treat can seal even the toughest teeth together, but they'll still be grinning through it for days to follow! This, is GOLD RUSH CARAMEL!
Considering that most Ingredient Farming took months to grow and monitor the conditions of, alongside other members of Hazard taking care of the general livestock, I spent most of my time at home either training, studying potential ingredients that could serve as substitutes or would help with general cultivation of other foods, or taking one of the side jobs the IGO generally asked of us in exchange for transport or some cash on the side.
The job I was doing, this time, was training Chocolette Squirrels to a point they would be useful for fellow Gourmet Hunters.
Chocolette Squirrels, you see, were a Level 1 creature that resembled a normal squirrel if one was made of chocolate, due to the outer layer of chocolate 'armor' they tend to develop due to dipping themselves in the concoctions they create. They also have the inclination to work with and support those larger than themselves, which was a category Humans neatly fell into. They were useful little creatures that, when brought to a new area, would use their keen sense of smell to locate herbs and sweeteners such as sap, honey, or fruits in an attempt to create their own special blend of chocolate when combined with their saliva. Said chocolate, by part of its nature and the components used to make it, also often have high nutritional value and can easily be used as a preservative dip for other foods, which the Chocolatte Squirrel used to great effect when storing food for the winter.
The initiative to include the small beasts with Hunters was in part to help less experienced Hunters or Gatherers first determine if an ingredient is inherently poisonous, which the Squirrels would shun, but also to at best provide an easy source of renewable nutrition for long periods in inhospitable conditions at best, and would provide a sense of companionship at worst.
I certainly didn't mind, cause it meant spending my days with tiny squirrels running all around my body and feet while a select few ran through mazes in search of select herbs or flavors based on smells. If they could be released from a cage, run through a maze and collect three herbs that weren't inherently poisonous, then they were sent to the next stage, where they were taught to mix, and then SHARE, the chocolate they make with the gathered herbs.
This second part generally was where the hard part came from, but the trick was to establish a sort of bartering system with the Squirrels in question, because each one inevitably had some form of favorite flavor or food. Most were easily satisfied with the standard nuts or berries, but occasionally you had a few who adored marshmallows, other forms of chocolate, flowers, insects, or even meat.
I myself actually had one with the last example. I kept him for myself because of the cute little white stripes going through his head to his tail originally made me think he was a sub-species of some sort, and after a bit of analysis, I was proven partially right. I don't know what his grandparents bred with, but whatever it did left behind strong enough genes to instill a solidly carnivorous preference, as well as the ability to create a White Chocolate instead of the standard Dark variety for the species.
I still loved my little Lightning though, he always enjoyed getting my leftovers when a hunt didn't turn out the results I wanted, and it was always a nice treat to dip a honey bar in his chocolate before gnawing away on it for the day. It certainly made staking out a location for long periods of time a bit more tolerable.
So while the day wasn't spent tracking down some forgotten wonder or revolution to the World of Cooking, I could say with certainty I was spending my time wisely. And if they doubted that, well then they got a fistful of Squirrels stuffed down their pants. That shuts most people up.
END OF CHAPTER
There we had a bit of Fluff. Am I inspired by Monster Hunter for the idea of a small creature as a hunting companion? Sure. Does it make you grin any less when you imagine a Squirrel pointing a muscle-man forward triumphantly with one hand while passing him a chocolate bar with the other? I say nay, good sir! I even held up one of the three possibilities I put at the end of the next chapter. One of those was a fake-out anyway, there's no such thing as a 'recipe' for trail mix, that's a purposefully skewed ratio of nuts, dried fruits, chocolates, and those weird yogurt bits you either love or hate! That can be anything you want it to be. Alright, hope everyone has an amazing night, review, shock me with fantastic creations your own or Torikos, ect. ect.