What with all the fighting nowadays, I don't really get a chance to appreciate my surroundings. Even with the threat of Grima looming sometime in the future, it didn't mean I shouldn't allow myself a chance to unwind. The scent of fresh grilled meat nearly salivated my tongue, the sun emphasizing the greasy shine of all the skewers in wait. And in the distance, the bustling chatter of the crowd. Marketplaces always held a special place in my heart. I'd live vicariously through their food back home and experiencing it in Ylisse felt like a call back to simpler times. I looked to my sides as Owain and Cynthia followed me in my adventure. For me, food was something meant to experience together with friends or family.

"You seem unsure of what to buy, Sir Chris."

I jumped, inhaling sharply as I was brought out of my thoughts. I really need to stop my habit of daydreaming in broad daylight.

"Yea, I've never really experienced the Ylissean marketplace so I really have no clue where to start." I replied casually, watching as Owain and Cynthia perused left and right through the stalls.

"If any morsel here shall be worthy of Odin Dark, then shall I recommend the special?" Owain stopped to make an elaborate spin in place, before pointing at a stall a few paces away. The stall itself didn't look anything special, but the crowd around it seemed to speak otherwise.

"Alright, now you've got me interested. What kinda grub are they offering over there?" I reached into my pocket to get my wallet ready, the coins making a small jingle as it bounced in my hand.

"They offer food worthy of our mortal vessels. The blood of sinners and the tongues of liars!"

I blinked. "E-excuse me?"

Looking at me with puzzled brown eyes, he replied, "Like I said, the blood of sinners and the tong-hey, ow! Cynthia!"

Cynthia casually bumped Owain over with her hip, giving me a sweet smile in the meanwhile. "What he means to say, is that they have pretty good beef tongues over at Mr. Dallas' stall."

Alright, that sold me. If they say it's good, then it's gotta be good.

Owain moved back into my view, pouting slightly as he huffed, his words nearly drowning out in the noise of the crowd.

"I was about to get to that…"

Families talked in the distance as the three of us watched the lively crowd, the sound of our chewing adding its own casual layer of sound to it all. I bit into another chunk of the beef tongue, taking the time to savor the taste as long as I could. Cynthia's eyes gazed out at the crowd, the same smile ever so present on her face. Owain dug into his own skewer like a beast, finishing it in half the time it was going to take us.

As I gulped the final bit, I let out a satisfied sigh. "That was hella good."

""Hella good?"" The two of them questioned in unison.

"H-huh? Oh, right. Yea. That's probably not a word here." I'd been so relaxed in the moment of it all, I ended up falling back to old habits. Shit, how do I explain this?

The two of them continued to look at me, their curiosity definitely piqued.

"See, it's uh. A word we used back in a village near…Roseanne. Used in situations where you'd use something like 'really' or 'very'. For example, if something was really cute. We'd use 'hella cute'. I think it was derived from 'a hell of a lot of?' You could also say that you're making hella money."

The two of them nodded in sync as they took in this information. I think I got it right for the most part. I never really thought about the origin of the word, seeing as it naturally made its way into my language back in Jersey.

I could feel my mind blanch as I realized just exactly what I'd done. They both snapped their fingers in unison, a small 'aha', erupting from both their mouths. Oh no. I shouldn't have done this. I should have just let it be.

"So when Severa does her cool battle maneuvers and is all tactician-like. That would be hella cool, right?" Cynthia was the first to speak up.

"And that would make my fellow partner here," Owain made sure to pat the sword at his side, "Hella awesome, wouldn't it?"

Oh. My. God. I held my face with both my hands as I attempted to drown out their newfound knowledge.

"Oh, oh! Then that would make Belfire hella, hella cute!" Cynthia bounced up and down at her own revelation.

I couldn't help but retort. "H-hella hella? Why are you using it twice?"

Cynthia rolled her eyes, scoffing as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Well duh, hella hella just means its really really cute. It's called emphasis silly!"

I winced. "N-no, that's not how you're supposed to use it-oh, why do I bother. She's not even listening to me at this point."

Owain turned to look at me, a smile raised. "That also means that my dad is really hella brave when he cuts down five Risen in succession!"

"Owain, no. You're. Ugh. That's just redundant!"

I backed up to the building wall with a groan, trying my best to zone out Owain and Cynthia's new innovations on 'hella.'

Can't say I didn't deserve this. Is this how it felt to teach a little kid a word like fuck? Just immeasurable disappointment not in them, but yourself?

I felt a hand clap my shoulder. Owain took to leaning on the building aside me as he smirked. "You've taught us something new yet again, Sir Chris! I wonder what other manner of colloquialisms you've yet to teach us!"

I groaned. Even if I did, I'm making sure I never use them around you two. My mind already feels sore listening to this.

"Yea, show us hella more phrases!" Cynthia held her hands clenched in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling with wonder as she waited with a bated breath.

God save me.

Just wanted to make a quick funny chapter that can theoretically take place at any point within the timeline. I plan on releasing the next real chapter by Sunday or Monday. At this point, I would expect something akin to bi-weekly updates. Being a part of multiple Pathfinder sessions makes balancing prep time and writing time pretty damn hard. As always, leave a review if you can. Not forcing you to if you don't want to.