Team NYYT had been fast tracked into the Specialist program thanks to their victory in the Vytal festival. It had been a mutual decision and once made, all they'd needed to do was ask and Headmistress Arnold had made all the arrangements.

The only downside was that the easiest method of renting a place to suit their needs (they did need four bedrooms, after all) was to rent in Mantle and commute into Atlas by airship each morning and back again each night. Whilst it did lead to them needing to be up and on the airship by six in the morning, it also led to them all experiencing the Mantellian nightlife and food stalls each and every night.

And if Nonette Hughes was being honest with herself as she strolled ahead of her teammates with coffee in hand and bags of souvlaki-pitas from their local food cart to feast on when they got home, it was as great a reward for a good day's work as was possible. Taji kept to their vegetarian diet, Caelus forwent the onions and Terra the tzatziki, and as usual she had one with everything.

The majority of modern Mantellian Cuisine was based on the food labourers would eat. Packed with calories and flavours and made for cheap. True, the first colonists from the Pellan Coast brought their own cuisine with them, but as immigrants slowly made their way to Solitas over the decades following the Great War, they brought with them the tastes of their native lands, eventually producing something that was uniquely Mantellian.

It was not uncommon for them to grab gyros or a stew bowl on the walk home from the Airship Terminal and eat it on the way, enjoying the atmosphere of the city at night. In the summer the nights were pleasantly cool and in winter the bitter cold could be fought off by scarves and a stew bowl or a late night coffee.

Brother's bless the Solitasian addiction to caffeine, and 24 Hour coffee shops.

Nonette stole a glance at her team behind her as they walked. She knew that there was something between Caelus and Taji, and Terra was sweet on another specialist. It wouldn't be too long before Team NYYT went their separate ways. They'd all known each other from Calypso Academy, the Primary Combat, or Feeder School on Solitas. Since they were fifteen. Nonette could safely say she loved all three of her teammates with all her heart.

So for now, she'd enjoy it all. She'd enjoy the bickering on the airship down from Atlas proper and she'd enjoy arguing over what to eat. She'd enjoy snagging the last slice of pizza and she'd enjoy doing the washing up at three in the morning. She'd enjoy it all whilst it lasted.

…NYYT's always came to an end, after all.


Mantellian Cuisine is definitely inspired by miners/workers food, with a lot of street food. Heck, given the fact that a load of the dust mines are in Solitas, it's probably from all around Remnant and mashing together for the last century to become something uniquely Mantellian rather than Atlesian.