Season of the Lost- The Dawning
Sylaks was giddy with excitement. Tonitrus had notified him earlier today that he and some of his friends were stopping by to hand out something special for one of their upcoming holidays, the Dawning if he remembered correctly. Already he could see his personal ship flying through the falling snow toward one of the landing pads on the outskirts of the Botza District.
One thing that he absolutely loved about the humans' culture was their food. Sure, he liked the food of his people, but human food was just sooo good.
After the massive Vex invasion, they got to work repairing the Botza District. They repaired enough buildings to where they could now assign them roles such as housing units and storage. Just in time too because as soon as they settled in, one of the humans' holidays rolled around, Festival of the Lost, Tonitrus called it. Of course, neither he nor his brethren realized it was a holiday until the guardian in question showed up with some other warlocks all dressed in dingy grey trench coats, tricorn hats, and were carrying oversized saws of various shapes. After explaining the purpose of his outfit, he and the other guardians started handing out various candies. The hatchlings and other younger members of their race absolutely loved the idea and instantly got to work creating their own costumes. Sylaks himself wasn't too keen on dressing up but he did like some of the goodies they were passing around. He especially enjoyed what Tonitrus called cha-co-late and that was before he discovered it could be used for a bunch of other things. It wasn't just him either. For weeks on end, there was a huge chocolate craze amongst the Eliksni.
Then a month later, the Giving of Thanks came around. This holiday was more in line with what he expected when it came to human holidays as the Eliksni had something similar, at least that's how it seemed like when Tonitrus explained it. As was the trend with human holidays, there was food involved. He had no idea what a tur-key was, but the various ways the humans prepared the dish was phenomenal. Yes, the Eliksni were invited to multiple dinners that week and they tried to attend all of them. The different ways of cooking and preparation, the various sauces, glazes, and seasonings all focused on just a single dish was astounding; and that wasn't even counting literally all the other food that was also prepared. He attempted to taste everything, and each dish was different from the last. Perhaps the Eliksni palate was more discerning than a humans. In any case, the older Eliksni were more appreciative of this holliday.
Which brings us to now, Tonitrus made his way to the now large gathering of Eliksni with an anti-gravity wagon in-tow filled with various crates, a red wool hat sitting atop his head. Beside him, Sylaks spied two hunters of whom he also knew. One of them was Crow, who was busy unloading the wagon with several Eliksni helping him out. The other, while he had not met him officially, he was aware of his reputation. Back when he was employed under the Spider, he'd heard rumors of a single guardian that laid waste to the Shore with nothing but a flame in his right hand. Supposedly, this was that guardian. Bane of the Scorn was one of the names that floated around the Empty Tank.
"Velask Sylaks and Happy Dawning!" Tonitrus called, breaking him out of his thoughts.
Sylanks grinned behind his ether mask. "Good to see you again Tonitrus," he said as he shook the guardian's hand.
"I'm sure you know Crow quite well," Tonitrus said, gesturing to the guardian in question who gave a small wave. "But I'd like you to meet another good friend of mine," he said as the other guardian stepped forward.
"Vendrick-5. Nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand.
He hesitated before taking it. "Sylaks and likewise," he said. Turning back to Tonitrus he asked, "You said that you were here to hand out something special for another one of your holidays, would there be any chocolate involved?"
Tonitrus gestured at Vendrick to help Crow set up at a nearby patio before responding. "Yes," he said with a grin. "But there is a special type of chocolate that we brought." The crowd of Eliksni around them perked up and moved in closer, eager to hear what they had in store.
"We humans have a special drink that we prepare specifically for this time of year. It goes by many names but it is commonly called hot chocolate."
The hatchlings in the crowd bounced with excitement.
"We took the liberty of brewing a couple pots for you all before coming here, everything else in the creates is stuff you can have with it."
The gathered Eliksni watched in anticipation as the three guardians set up tables, one for each of them, for the Eliksni to line up and get a cup. They also set up a fourth table littered with all sorts of cookies and toppings including, candy canes, marshmallows, straw-shaped cookies, whipped cream (of which they had to show how the can worked), and of course various forms of chocolate. Once they were finished, they lined themselves to one of the tables. Sylaks of course chose Tonitrus' table.
One by one each Eliksni got their own cup of hot chocolate and customized it to their own taste. Most of them dumping the chocolate toppings and sauces into their cup. Some more adventurous ones however decided to go for some of the other toppings and found that they created a unique taste based on the things they used much to their delight. Many also got a small plate and grabbed random cookies that were also available, some dipping said confections into their drink.
Eventually, Tonitrus' pot ran out first, so he went to find Sylaks which he did standing off to the side of the crowded fourth table.
"Something wrong Sylaks?"
He shook his head. "Not quite, though I would like to try some of the other things you brought, but the table is too crowded."
Tonitrus leaned in and whispered close. "Let me let you in on a little secret. When it comes to hot chocolate you don't really need to add all that stuff to enjoy it. If it's made right with good ingredients and good intentions, then it's already special.
Sylaks nodded in understanding. "Then I shall try it as it is." Removing his mask, he tipped the steaming cup back, letting the smooth liquid fill his mouth, shuddering at the warmth. He paused to savor the taste.
"Well?"
"It's...it's...it's amazing!"
"Right?"
Sylaks took another sip, his eyes closing in bliss. "It's just as you said, I could taste the different ingredients that you used, all working together to create a perfect final flavor."
Tonitrus rubbed the back of his head, "Well I wouldn't call it perfect. After all it's just a drink."
Sylaks shook his head. "To you it may be, but for us it's another aspect of your culture to appreciate. You said yourself that it's a drink usually made during a specific holiday, so it's meant to be special right? The fact that you're sharing it with us is meaningful given that we were enemies not too long ago. It shows that both humans and Eliksni have grown and are willing to bond with each other."
Tonitrus gave him an awkward smile, "Well, can't argue with something that profound...you've been working on your English, haven't you?"
Sylaks let out a small chuckle, "I've been practicing."
Both watched the rest of the Eliksni in silence as they enjoyed the warm drink, Crow and Vendrick chatting with a few off to the side, some of the hatchlings starting a snowball fight they learned from their human friends.
Tonitrus suddenly felt himself enveloped in a hug; Sylaks' four arms wrapped around him. "Thank you...for accepting us."
The initial shock wore off and with a small smile Tonitrus returned the hug. "You're welcome, Happy Dawning buddy."