After Wuk Lamat and Koana ate their fill of the xibruq pibil, Krile felt her stomach growling. The smell had been enticing, and she was curious to see how the dish tasted when made by the local Xbr'aal. She forced herself to ignore the hunger gnawing as they received their keystones. Lunaire gave her a glance at one point, but made no mention of the tiny growl she heard.

When they went their separate ways while they waited for their path forward to be unblocked, Krile decided she would make way for the market. She told Lunaire and Wuk Lamat she wanted to learn more about what had happened to her grandfather — which was true — but she had an ulterior motive as well. With the contest over, they would surely be selling xibruq pibil again. And it gave her an opportunity to taste it.

She'd thought Lunaire and Wuk Lamat had followed her to the market, but noticed she was alone as she made her inquiries. Perhaps other business had come up that they needed to deal with. Mayhaps Lunaire or Wuk Lamat had someone they wanted to help. She hoped she hadn't been left behind due to being a combat novice, but she told herself they wouldn't leave her out because of that. The most she could do was hope that whatever they were doing went well.

The thought lingered on her as she asked about her grandfather. What had they gotten up to? Was it so urgent they couldn't have told her? No, perhaps they'd simply decided their business wouldn't be as important to her as finding out about her grandfather. She wouldn't have agreed, since she could have easily come back to ask about him, but maybe they anticipated that. They choose not to tell her so she wouldn't forgo her own search. Lunaire could be incredibly astute.

"Miss, is everything all right?" Her thoughts were interrupted by the polite Xbr'aali woman who'd been manning the stall Krile started pondering in front of.

"Oh, yes, I'm all right." She'd near forgotten she'd followed the delicious smell of steamed ibruq over to the stall. "I was wondering if you had any xibruq pibil for sale."

"Oh! Got a taste for it after the contest?" The woman chortled and pulled up a basket full of bundles wrapped in Ja Tiika banana leaves. Krile looked up excitedly at the basket, and nodded.

"I wanted to taste real xibruq pibil, after trying my hand at making it."

"What you made was real xibruq pibil. You and yours learned the history it is rooted in and followed the recipe as closely as you could without knowing it yourselves." Krile's cheeks grew hot, and she couldn't stop the bashful grin forming.

"Thank you. There really is a lot you can learn about a culture based on its cuisine. We couldn't make the dish the correct way without knowing the people who made it."

"There are many who would argue that. Here." The Xbr'aali woman took out a smaller basket and packed a handful of the wrapped bundles into the basket, along with several bundles of fresh tortillas. "Take these."

"How much —"

"No pel."

"What? No! I can't take these. It took a lot of time and effort to make these, and I couldn't —"

"We make plenty of them every day. Take them as a show of appreciation to you and yours. For taking them time to get to know us and not dismissing the feat the Promises were given."

Krile opened her mouth to protest, but shut it again promptly. She knew by the gleam in her eyes she wouldn't accept any objections. And, as if aiming to shame her further, her stomach grumbled loudly when the aroma wafted into her nose. She couldn't decline now, not after that. The Xbr'aal handed her the basket and Krile curtsied in gratitude.

"I find meals taste better when sharing them with people you love. There should be plenty for all of you."

"Thank you, again."

"You can thank me by making sure your Third Promise — or that Second Promise — becomes our new Dawnservant." Krile nodded again, as if such a thing were fully in her power. Not that she wouldn't put in her best effort to help Wuk Lamat reach that goal.

Krile returned to where they'd all separated with the basket of xibruq pibil and meandered over to one of the nearby seats. Distantly, she could see the twins returning with Erenville behind them. Alphinaud appeared to be talking as they walked, getting what looked to be sparse responses from Erenville. She hoped the Lunaire and Wuk Lamat would return from whatever they'd gone to do soon. The xibruq pibil would probably taste the best once all of them were back together.

Maybe, she hoped quietly to herself, she'd get to share some with her grandfather soon.