Nick considered breaking the sausage into three parts, but he was worried that the skin wouldn't rip and make a fool of him. Instead, he returned to the kitchen and cut it into three equal parts.
"I can fry it first, but…" He offered, but the family of three only had ears for the sausage. Nick gave up and handed over one piece to each of them. If they wanted it fried, they should have said something.
Kai swallowed his piece whole without even blinking. He continued staring at Nick as if waiting for more. It was like he was pretending he hadn't received anything.
Lora and Kavam were a little slower now that they had the sausage in their hands. They inspected it closely. They smelled it, touched it, and held it up under the sun.
"This-this is meat, right?" Lora asked after a few moments.
"Yes. I think this one is mostly pork minced up with spices, put in a casing, and then pre-boiled. In the olden days, the casing was made with animal innards. It's a relatively simple process to make sausages at home if you have the tools and ingredients."
Nick wasn't sure if they were listening since they had moved on to tasting, and it seemed like they focused all of their attention on their taste buds, rendering their hearing almost nonexistent.
It didn't take long for them to forget that they were trying to understand why Kai wouldn't eat anything else. Both Lora and Kavam suddenly looked at their hands, surprised that the sausage was gone.
Instinctively, they wanted more.
It was meaty, savory, fatty, delicious, and tasty. It was also an entirely new taste. Both of them had lived in Tiabe their entire lives and hunted most that could be hunted. They had tried a lot of different kinds of meat from different animals.
But in terms of eating, they didn't differ much from their pure bear brethren. They cut things up, removed the skin, and sometimes drained their food of blood. They didn't have the habit of cooking.
Cooking came with fire, and they didn't need fire for anything else, so learning how to chop wood and make fire for food when it wasn't necessary never happened. The Ursa tribe was also a little separated from the other tribes, so even if the other tribes cooked, the Ursa tribe wasn't involved.
But now, they had reason to change.
Lora and Kavam wanted to ask for more. But they weren't like Kai. They knew better than to beg.
That was when they remembered what Nick had said.
"C-can you teach us?" Kavam hesitantly asked. They were already imposing on Nick and perhaps disturbing him.
But they could not forget the taste of the sausage. At this rate, they might become like Kai, refusing to eat anything else.
Nick was a little surprised that his sausage had been that overwhelming, but when he thought of the deer that they had brought, he was a little more understanding. If that was their idea of food, it wouldn't be strange if they sought new experiences.
Wild game like that could be delicious. But sausages were reliable. They might not be the most delicious thing he had eaten, but he got what he thought he would get.
"I haven't done it before," he said. Lora and Kavam's expressions dropped.
"So, let's learn how to do it together, alright?" Nick figured this was an opportunity to get closer to his neighbors. Lora and Kavam seemed like nice people. And if he helped them out, maybe they would help him out once he ran out of food.
Lora, Kavam, and Kai lit up. If his parents learned how to cook food as delicious as the one Nick served, he wouldn't go hungry a day again in his life.
Nick glanced into his kitchen and narrowed his eyes. He turned back to the large couple.
"I'm guessing you two want to learn how to do it for yourselves so that you don't have to borrow my kitchen each time?" He asked. He had a few things in his kitchen that would alleviate the process. But if they used his gadgets, Lora and Kavam would have to come to his kitchen every time they wanted sausage.
He might not mind it if they asked and received his permission. If they tried to force something, he had a bouncer.
But it would be inconvenient.
The two nodded.
Nick scratched the back of his head as he looked out over his clearing.
"Then, we're going to have to get started from the very basics. I have a table I can bring out, knives, and spices. I also have a saucepan. That means all we need is a fire and some meat and casings. Can I trouble you with that?" He asked Lora and Kavam. They nodded and eagerly turned around and entered the forest. Nick didn't even have time to wonder if he should ask for something specific or if they were making sausage from whatever they found.
But they were already gone, and there was no use worrying about that now.
Nick looked at the blue bear cub sitting by his feet with a somewhat stern and somewhat eager expression. It was like he was waiting for orders, too.
"You're in charge of the fire, then, Kai. Make a shallow pit over there and clear away any nearby grass. Then, we'll need stones to line the pit with and kindling to get the fire started. Do you think you can handle that?" Nick asked with a serious expression. He was giving Kai a serious mission, after all.
Kai nodded decisively as if to say that Nick could trust him.
Nick was a little worried about Kai roaming around in the center of the forest, considering the monster kings that Sosora had mentioned, but it should be fine. They hadn't bothered Kai before, and it seemed like the people of the forest were allowed to enter and exit the center of the forest. It was just when they tried to live in it that it became a concern.
He looked on as Kai got started before turning around to gather the things he needed.