The Lora and Kavam couple weren't sure what human customs were, but they decided to bring Nick a gift when visiting the next day. Gift-giving wasn't just a human custom. It was something all the tribes in Tiabe were familiar with. It was just that the type of gift differed between the different tribes.
For the Aer tribe that Sosora was from, precious berries usually made good gifts. The Bawin tribe that Malak came from had a tradition of carving decorations into stone or wood, depending on the sincerity of the gift.
For the Ursa tribe, Lora and Kavam's tribe, decorations weren't a common gift. Berries could work.
But if one of the Ursa wanted to show someone else that they meant well and had nothing but friendly intentions, they would give their target meat. The fresher, the better.
Nick looked at the couple, the bear cub, and the dead doe at their feet with a blank face.
"F-for you…?" Kavam said hopefully. He could tell from Nick's expression that they might have missed it with the dead deer. They caught it on the way, so it was fresh. That shouldn't have been the problem.
Nick's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Alright," he said with a sigh and nod. He looked at Lora and Kavam.
"Uhh, don't be startled," he asked them before glancing at the tentacle hiding behind him and giving it the okay. It peeked out over his shoulder to check that Lora and Kavam weren't trembling in fear before snaking out and grabbing the doe. It wrapped around a leg and pulled it closer before adjusting its grip and snaking around its torso.
Nick stepped to the side as the tentacle carried the deer into the house and down to the basement, where it disappeared.
He was a little interested in what wild game that fresh would be like. But he was not interested in draining it from blood and skinning it or dicing it up into the edible parts. It was a lot he didn't know how to do properly and a lot of work that he wasn't sure if he had the stomach for.
Maybe some other time.
This time, the deer was all the tentacle's.
The tentacle closed the door to stop any sound from leaking out.
Nick turned back to Lora and Kavam, who looked less startled than the last time they saw the tentacle.
"Are you two okay?" He still asked, though, since they didn't stop staring at the door to the basement.
They snapped out of it.
"Yeah, of course."
"It's less startling when you know what's coming."
Nick nodded.
"Yeah, there's no need to be scared. There's not a mean bone in its body," He said with a wink.
"..."
"Get it? Because a tentacle doesn't have any bones?"
"..."
Lora and Kavam looked at him awkwardly.
'Lost in translation, I guess,' Nick thought to himself as he cleared his throat and asked,
"So, what brings the three of you here?" He fixed his gaze on Kai, who was trying to sneak past him and into the house. Kai froze with two legs in the air. Maybe if he didn't move, Nick and his parents wouldn't see him.
Lora and Kavam glanced at each other.
"We, uh, we had a concern."
"More of a question, really."
"Not even a question. We just wanted to voice our thoughts and seek your advice."
The two stumbled over each other, trying not to offend Nick with their words. Based on Nick's raised eyebrow and crossed arms, it didn't seem like it was working.
"Cut to the chase already," he asked. His voice was in no way threatening. But the tentacle's existence might have gotten to the two parents a little too much. Combined with their anxiety regarding Nick and Kai, they were a little skittish.
"Kai hasn't been eating for a couple of days, and we think it might have something to do with when he visited you," Kavam hurried to squeeze out in one quick breath.
"We don't mean to blame you or anything, but…" Lora trailed off. It was hard not to see a connection.
Kai had visited Nick, a strange Outsider with an even stranger creature living in his house. After that, something was wrong with Kai.
Nick stared at them blankly for a few seconds.
'Is this what it's like to be new to the neighborhood? Everything's my fault?' He asked himself bitterly.
A couple of seconds later, it clicked.
"Oh," He said simply.
"Yeah, that might be my fault. I think I gave him a taste of heaven. Wait here," he said before turning around and returning to his house. He gestured at Kai with his palm.
"That includes you."
Usually, words would have been far from enough to make Kai stop. But it was like he could see what the future had in store for him. He obediently plopped down on his rear and waited with big eyes and a strand of drool slowly lowering itself from the corner of his mouth like a spider on a mission.
A few moments later, Nick returned to the porch with a sausage in his hand. It was pre-boiled like most sausages, so it should be fine to eat as it was. But then again, Kai was a bear. It would have been fine even if it were raw. It was also a world that seemed to be straight out of fantasy.
Food poisoning couldn't possibly be real.
"I gave him one of these," Nick said, holding up the sausage to Lora and Kavam, who stood below his porch but were still almost at the same height.
"W-what is it?" Kavam curiously asked. His nose had picked up the same enticing scent as Kai's. He just hadn't had a taste. Otherwise, his self control wouldn't have been enough to make him any different from the sitting bear cub that followed every move and wave of the sausage like eyes witnessing the birth of the world.
"A sausage."
'"A sausage?"' Lora and Kavam echoed, mesmerized.
Nick sighed.