"What did you say these were again?" Kinkajou asked, frills flaring.

"Fish fingers," Turtle replied, holding one up to reiterate his point. The other talon held a platter full of these so-called fish fingers.

"Fish… fingers…" Kinkajou trailed off, green cascading down her scales.

"Yeah, fish fingers!" Turtle said excitedly, before biting down on the one in his talons. Kinkajou stared at him with a disgusted expression on her face. It appeared that Turtle either didn't notice or didn't care, being too busy inhaling the food in his talons.

"Mmph, so crunchy! They taste pretty good. You're missing out Kinkajou," Turtle said between bites.

"Uh, no. No thank you, sir-y," Kinkajou tilted her head away and pinched her talon on her snout.

"Come on, I insist. They're sweet and savory!" Turtle added, holding up another fish finger in her face.

"Ugh, come on Turtle. You know I don't eat fish," Kinkajou protested.

Turtle appeared to physically wilt. His ears drew back, and he looked down, his wings hung low. "Aww. If only fish fingers weren't made of fish. Then you would enjoy my cooking."

Kinkajou noticed the change in his mood, and quickly moved towards him, wrapping her arms around his thick neck. "No, no, no, no. Turtle, don't feel bad, please. I always enjoy your other cooking. I just don't like eating anything that was alive. Also, fish are just slimy and gross. Even the best cook in Phyrria couldn't make fish taste good to me."

She felt Turtle shaking under her grasp. She quickly pulled away and held up Turtle's head up to her gaze, worried that he was crying.

Turtle was trying to not laugh. Kinkajou looked at him perplexed. "You look like you're having a hernia, Turtle."

Turtle finally broke down laughing. "I was kidding Kinkajou. These fish fingers aren't ACTUALLY made from fish. We've been together for years; I know what you like to eat and what you don't like to eat. Here, let me show you."

Kinkajou sighed and leaned in. Turtle pulled another fish finger from the rack and broke it in two with a crisp snap. He handed one half to Kinkajou, and she pinched it between two claws and held it up to inspect. The interior looked greenish; the outside was golden with little crystals. "This is a family recipe. They're made by mixing kelp with sugar imported from the cane marshes of the Mud Kingdom and fried in olive oil."

"So, fish fingers aren't made from fish?" Kinkajou asked. "You sneaky devil. You had me worried you were trying to feed me fish, and then had me worried I upset you. Three moons, I swear you're trying to age me faster."

Turtle held up his talons innocently. "Don't blame me. Blame the dead dragon 600 years ago who came up with the name "fish fingers" for this recipe, heh."

Kinkajou only responded by eating the fish finger she held. Her eyes flew open. "Wow, this IS good. The salt mixes very nicely with the sugar. How did you say it was made again?"

"Well, this batch that I just made, and the one I'll make for tomorrow is made with kelp from near the rainforest shore, so it's a little different from the family recipe, but everything else is the same. The kelp is inherently a bit salty from the sea water, so we don't add any extra salt. To create these sticks, we take a few leaves and mash it up with a good amount of sugar. We use the paste to glue together strands that are cut up so they're straight and uniform in length, then we just fry them in olive oil. Some cooks like to garnish it fancier, but I just sprinkled some extra sugar onto it. It's a delicacy in the Sea Kingdom because some of the ingredients are a tad expensive."

"Well, it tastes incredible. Though, it's a bit overdue for a name change," Kinkajou remarked. She tried to snatch the one Turtle was holding, but he held it out of her reach. "Give it to me, Turtle. You already had a ton."

"Noooooooooope. Nuh uh," Turtle singsonged, smiling as he kept it out of reach for a few moments. Kinkajou just tackled him, and he relented, feeding it to her. "Ah, you got me."

"I did get you," Kinkajou smiled.

"Alrighty. As much as I'd like to spend time with you on top of me, I would like to prepare the next batch for the sweets exchange tomorrow. You wouldn't want the kids to be disappointed that we didn't bring anything to share with the other dragonets, would you?" Turtle asked.

"I guess you're right. Here, let me help you up," Kinkajou offered a talon. Turtle gladly took it, before heading to the backyard, where there was a clearing and a stone pit for the fire.

Kinkajou smiled and enjoyed the sound of Turtle mashing the kelp leaves for the next batch. It was calm for a few moments. Then, there were a bunch of knocks on the door of their hut. Kinkajou perked up, already hearing the young voices outside. "What's the password?" she asked.

"WE LOVE STRAWBERRIES!" one of her dragonets roared. Kinkajou flung the door open with a huge smile and her beloved dragonets poured in, all five of them.

"Daddy's in the back and he's making something you guys will absolutely love to try!" Kinkajou crooned to them.

There was a cacophony of cheers and exclamations, and they all stampeded towards the backyard, talking excitedly amongst each other, scales flashing lights.

Kinkajou watched them go contently, enjoying the fading sunlight.