Things went a lot more smoothly than Nick had expected, and it didn't take long before the seasoned minced meat was stuffed into the boar's innards, which were tied into proper sausages.
Since none of the three members of the Ursa tribe were satisfied with just the fatty bits from the boar, they turned all of the meat into sausages. It was enough to fill up the table Nick had brought out.
He had a couple of pots, but only a few large enough to be worth using to boil the sausages. It would take a while to cook everything. Fortunately, Lora alerted him of how many sausages they would end up making in time, and they had time to expand the campfire to make place for both pots and pans to boil and fry the sausages.
It didn't take long for the greasy smell to fill the clearing. Nick was once again worried about attracting monsters and wild animals.
"Heyo!" But the only thing that stepped out of the forest to join them was Sosora, who got wind of something happening at the Outsider's home and came to sate her curiosity.
"Wow, you guys really aren't worried about the monster kings, huh?" Sosora pointed out cheerfully while taking a seat next to Nick.
"..."
Lora and Kavam awkwardly looked at Sosora. Nick, too, since he was not expecting her to be so familiar after just talking with him a couple of times, no more than a dozen sentences in total. But then again, he was making sausages with a family he had met as many times.
Sosora looked at the tall Lora and Kavam.
"You two…" She started saying before correcting herself after glancing at Kai, "You three are from the Ursa tribe, right?" She asked. Awkward conversation was better than awkward silence, after all.
"Yes," Lora answered with a short nod.
Nick sighed. He couldn't just watch this.
"Sosora, this is Lora, Kavam, and Kai," He said while pointing at them in order. "Lora, Kavam, Kai, this is Sosora. She swings by sometimes for some reason." He introduced her as well.
"It's not just for 'some reason.' It's because I'm curious." Sosora could tell that Lora and Kavam were a little awkward. She could also tell that Nick was trying to get them to ease up.
She glanced around.
"Now that I think about it, is your house enchanted or something, Nick? It doesn't even look like the monster kings have been around here." Simple conversation would make it easier for the two Ursa tribe members to relax.
"I have no idea. But maybe those monster kings just aren't interested in me?"
"No way. They care about anyone who tries to live in the center. I think it was last year or the year before that someone from the Asa tribe tried to live here. After two days, they disappeared, leaving a lot of blood and bone behind."
"Hmm." Nick looked around warily, scanning the forest with wary eyes. That certainly sounded like a fate he didn't want.
"But that's a long time ago. Maybe the monster kings have grown up since then?"
Sosora gave Nick a blank stare before shaking her head and patting his shoulder comfortingly. This naive guy was living in denial.
"Anyway, it smells delicious. What are you making?" She asked, turning to the smoldering coals and cooking sausages.
"...Sausages," Kavam answered, gently joining the conversation.
"Sausages?" She asked. Lora and Kavam weren't sure if she repeated it because she didn't know what it was or because she wondered why they were making them, so they stayed silent.
"Yeah. I brought some with me when I…moved here. I gave one to Kai, and now he refuses to eat anything else." Nick shrugged.
"They're that good?" She asked in disbelief and curiosity. She looked at the sizzling frying pan with hungry eyes.
"I'm not sure about these ones, but you're more than welcome to join the taste test," Nick offered. He was a little surprised. For some reason, he thought that the green-clad and bird-like sosora would be a vegan.
He was also pretty sure that Lora, Kavam, and Kai could eat everything they made. If the sausages ended up delicious, that's probably what they would want to do as well.
Nick glanced at Lora and Kavam.
"You don't mind, right?" He asked just to be sure that they were okay with it. They had caught the boar, after all.
"O-of course not," Lora hurriedly answered.
"Thank you very much," Sosora smiled brightly.
Since everyone seemed to be getting along a little better, Nick took a break from the fire and went inside to get some plastic plates, knives, forks, and tongs. The sausages looked like they were about done, after all. It was time to see how well it had gone.
It was their first attempt, and the sausages didn't look professionally made. Based on appearances alone, the sausages were far from enough to seduce Kai. The sausages were uneven, wrinkly, and strangely shaped. Several of the casings had also broken apart.
But it smelled good, and everyone was hungry.
Nick handed out the plates, careful not to break the awkward silence. One by one, they lined up beside him as he crouched by the frying pan on the fire. He gave everyone a sausage each. Kai got a little help holding the plate from Sosora since he was a bear and walked on all four legs.
Nick sat with his plate on his legs. He saw Lora, Kavam, and Sosora do the same. They glanced at him repeatedly. More specifically, they looked at his hands and tried to imitate what he was doing with his cutlery.
Nick cleared his throat when he saw them struggling to cut their sausages into wheels.
"You don't have to force yourselves," He said without looking at anyone specific in case they were embarrassed. There was no need for them to be, but Nick understood if they would be. He was also a little self-conscious.
Together, they tasted the first round of sausages.