Guest Quarters, Brunnhold Campus
“Oh, I – yes,” Nkemi giggled again. She had understood that they were a snack, at least. It was sugar on the outside; she had known that, at least, from touching it, but that there were nuts in the dough was something of a surprise.
Nkemi’s gaze went back to the window, and then back to the passive. “I had never – I am not very familiar with Anaxi food,” Nkemi admitted; her grin broadened a little.
Dry, the passive called them, without tea. She was watching Nkemi, with a little smile on her face. She shifted, as if waiting; Nkemi saw her throat move, just a little.
Nkemi thought she understood, although it was very hard to be sure. She looked down at the tray, and came a little closer to it. “I will try one,” Nkemi said cheerfully, looking back up at the red-haired passive. She poured some of the tea into the little cup first; it steamed, bitter-dark into the air, though without the pleasant richness of kofi.
Nkemi, hesitant, lifted the cup to her nose and sniffed. She had not yet grown quite used to Anaxi tea; in truth, she did not like it. This one was only bitter, without the spice taste which sometimes accompanied them. She took a tiny little sip, and swallowed; a grimace flickered across her face, but she eased it down, and the cup too, a little hastily.
Nkemi studied the tray, intently. She had tried Anaxi tea with milk, and did not much care for it; the milk was odd, sweet and rich, not like the goat’s milk on which Nkemi had been raised. She ignored the little pitcher of milk, then, but carefully added a spoon of sugar to the tea. She stirred it around until the crystals dissolved in the dark liquid, then took another careful sip. Nkemi’s nose wrinkled again, the tiniest bit, but less than before; she set the cup back down.
There were lemon wedges, too, on the tray; Nkemi picked one up, and carefully squeezed a few drops of it into the tea. She stirred again, and took another sip; she set the cup down, and, carefully, squeezed the rest of the lemon into it. There were so many tips of this odd bitter Anaxi tea; sometimes the lemon went well with it, and sometimes not. Nkemi was pleased to discover it did, this time; she had found the lemon and sugar made the taste of it less bitter, or at least left the bitterness easier to manage.
The problem of the tea sorted, Nkemi turned her attention to the cookies. She shot a hopeful smile at the passive, picking one up. Nkemi lifted it, and took a bite. It was dry, and very buttery, but there were bits of nuts, although Nkemi could not identify them by taste. That was pleasant, at least; something to break up the texture, and something which did not simply taste like flour and butter. A little puff of white sugar had scattered onto Nkemi’s sweater, although she had not noticed.
Nkemi set the cookie down with powdered-white fingers, and picked up the tea to wash it down. She smiled at the passive. “They are very interesting,” The Mugrobi said carefully. “I have not had anything like it before.”