The Chocolate Debate

Castti hummed as she looked over her notes. In an attempt to learn some more about her new group of friends, she'd decided to ask about some of their preferences. Today, her question had been whether they all preferred dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate.

...Okay, it was a little silly, she supposed. But, hey, it could come in handy if they had some spare money and she wanted to get everyone a treat.

So far, she knew that Throné liked dark chocolate, especially if it was coupled with raspberry or strawberry jam. Agnea liked white chocolate. And Temenos, Hikari, and Castti herself preferred milk chocolate.

Ochette, it turned out, was allergic to chocolate. The Beastling had been eager to try a new kind of food, but she'd promptly gotten a massive stomachache (and a bit of scolding from Akala) for her trouble. She might've been able to handle white chocolate just fine, but Castti had felt a little too guilty to point that out. Instead, she'd promptly mixed up some stomach medicine for Ochette and firmly told her to lie down.

That just left Osvald and Partitio. She eventually found the two of them near the edge of their makeshift camp. Unsurprisingly, Osvald was going through a few books, while Partitio was double-checking a few things in the group's collective inventory.

"Excuse me," Castti said as she approached them. "Do you mind answering a quick question?" When they both nodded, she went on, "Do either of you have any preferences when it comes to chocolate?"

Osvald raised an eyebrow, obviously wondering where the question had even come from, but he still indulged her. "Dark chocolate, of course. The bitterness is good for a quick burst of mental stimulation."

"That sounds just like you, partner," Partitio replied with a chuckle. "Me, I like white chocolate, myself!"

Castti smiled and nodded as she wrote that down. That definitely sounded like both of them, all right. Meanwhile, Osvald raised his other eyebrow.

"Really? That's not even real chocolate."

Partitio blinked. "What d'you mean? Of course it's chocolate."

"It lacks cocoa," Osvald replied irritably. "It literally isn't chocolate! It's just...sugary solidified milk."

"Yeah, but that ain't what Castti asked! It counts for the sake of the question, don't it?"

"But it's not..."

Partitio reached into a pocket in his jacket and pulled out three wrapped bars of white chocolate. Then, he unwrapped them one by one before shoving them all into his mouth at once. Castti wasn't sure whether to go full Mom Mode and tell him that was unhealthy, or to start laughing at the look of utter horror that crossed Osvald's face.

"Sorry, partner," Partitio said, voice muffled by the food in his mouth. "I can't hear you over the sound of me enjoying myself."

"That is utterly vile," Osvald whispered. "Why would you even do that? I swear to Alephan, Partitio, you are going to drive yourself into an early grave!"

Castti giggled as she turned back to her notes and jotted down her new findings. As Osvald continued ranting (and Partitio chewed more and more loudly), she decided to add one more thing to the bottom of her list.

'Don't let Agnea and Partitio eat chocolate in front of Osvald.'