Page 23 of Mated By Twilight
“Look,” Leah sighed. “I know you’re right. I’m not saying you’re not. But humans don’t eat bugs.”
“At all?” Sollit asked, cocking his head.
Leah opened her mouth to insist that, of course not! But the words died before she could vocalize them. Because saying no would outright be a lie. A lot of people ate bugs – either because that was the best source of protein available, or because they enjoyed the taste. But not her people!
Oh, but was that another one of those prejudices? The ones her parents had instilled in her. Hadn’t she made a promise to herself to overcome those?
Sollit smiled. “At least try it. You might like it.”
Leah lifted the bug to her face, but she couldn’t bring her lips to part. It didn’t really have a smell that she could detect, which was annoying. At least if it smelled bad, she could use that as an excuse for why it would definitely taste bad.
“Are you allergic or are they somehow dangerous to your health?” Tillos asked curiously.
“Well, no…” She admitted, deflating as she sensed her impending doom.
“Then, your only objection is that it is an insect?”
“Yeah…”
“Come on, Leah,” Sollit smiled, leaning towards her. “It’s really good. You should definitely at least give it a chance.”
Her eyes darted back and forth between them. They looked so hopeful. She’d eaten a salad at the diner on Holotulle, which was also avanava style. But she hadn’t noticed any bugs there. However, just the fact that they kept giving her avanava style food told her that it was important to them that she liked their food.
They both just looked so hopeful and eager for her to taste something that was part of their culture. And if she had a chance to share something she loved, like a brownie or pizza, with them, wouldn’t she be just as excited? And wouldn’t she be bummed if they refused to even try?
With that nagging voice in her ear, she brought the meatball – it was a meatball, that’s all it was – up to her mouth. Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she tossed it into her mouth.
It was textured like a hushpuppy, but when she bit into it, it cracked open like a glass bubble. The hard outer shell gave way to a soft, chewy interior that was, as promised, rich, meaty, and surprisingly flavorsome, considering it was only boiled, not spiced.
Because these insects had been bred to be tasty, bred to be food for people. They didn’t need anything else other than cooking.
And part of her cried out in despair, because it wasreallygood. She couldn’t quite describe what meat it tasted like, but it was slightly gamey, very flavorful, and tender like the best cut of beef. Even the shell didn’t bother her as much as she would have expected. It broke like sugar glass, not cutting or harming her, but crunching pleasantly between her teeth as she chewed.
When she finally swallowed, focusing back on Tillos and Sollit. They were smiling at her, anticipating her reaction. And she had to be truthful-
“It was good,” she said sheepishly.
Both of them chuckled, pushing something else towards her.
“Try this,” Sollit said. “They’re a sweet kind of insect. Tastes really good by the handful.”
Personally, Leah felt she’d reached her bug quota for the year, if not more. However, she found herself helpless to that smile and used her spoon to scoop up a few of the shiny, dark bugs, curled up like dead millipedes, dark blue like blueberries, and hard like dried fruit.
They crunched, breaking to pieces when she chewed, but their flavor was sweet and tart – like a strawberry, though not the same flavor.
And her males looked so pleased with her, with her reaction, again. They were dangerous. Did they even realize the power those gorgeous faces had over her? They had to, because they kept encouraging her to eat more delicious bugs and shekept doing it.
Sollit would tell her how delicious they were, giving her the most praise for eating something new. Tillos focused more on their nutrition and how they would benefit her skin, her vision, her immune system. He was the most encouraging to try something new.
She was being tag teamed. And the more she realized that, the more withdrawn she became. But it didn't take long for them to notice. The moment they did, they sat back, giving her space literally as well as metaphorically as they ate their own food.
They didn't discuss it or seem bothered by her need for breathing room. They just gave it to her. And they didn’t even punish her for it by lapsing into silence and giving her dark looks for not appreciating their choices. They instead started talking about the play and how they couldn’t wait for her to see them perform. They helped clean up the meal, then walked her back to their room, all with smiles on their faces. It was nice. Much nicer than she was expecting.
They left her there, in their room, before saying goodnight. She couldn’t bring herself to think of it as her room, despite the fact that she was staying in it by herself.
She had unpacked yesterday, but it didn't feel like she made herself at home. The big bed was super comfy, but unfamiliar. She wished she could say that the bug meal sat heavy in her belly, but she was pleasantly full as she got ready for bed.
It had been a busy day – learning a lot and meeting so many people – that she didn't even realize how tired she was until her head hit the pillow and she was out like a light.