Mochi Munching 4

Mauritius had no difficulties keeping pace with Madeira, so he didn’t know why she kept looking back for him as if to make sure he hadn’t gotten lost.

Admittedly, Burrowgatory did still confuse him in a multitude of ways - just… none of those ways had anything to do with directions.

His head did spend a lot of time turning, though, just so he could stare at things and take in more of the sights.  It was his first Mochi Moon, after all.  He wanted to ensure it was memorable.  It wasn’t exactly normal to get to try a food that Malthus, his caretaker (and also Madeira’s caretaker, apparently), was somehow unaware of (unless he had just chosen not to introduce it to Mauritius for some reason).

He wondered if it would be any good, really.  Maybe Madeira’s taste buds had just rotted after being away from Malthus’ gardens and kitchens.  Maybe the same thing would happen to him eventually…  (Granted, it seemed unlikely, since her food was really delicious and Malthus had even stopped by her restaurant a few times since dropping him off - and she surely wouldn't be able to make good food if her taste buds had died).

Or maybe Malthus just paid so little attention to the rest of the world that this had slipped by him.

Hard to say, really.  Before being dropped off at Burrowgatory, he had believed Malthus to be the most knowledgeable being in the world, and had thought Malthus’ borders were the extent of that world.

Now, after close to a year in Burrowgatory, he had learned just how much Malthus either did not know or did not share.  It only seemed logical to assume this was yet another thing in either of those categories.

Dan's Dango was an okay enough looking shop, he supposed, as they entered it.  He liked the display case a lot, and the big mallet rack looked pretty cool, though he had no idea what they would be used for...  Maybe they were just decoration because the owner was majorly beefy...?  Like damn, the longer Mauritius looked at the guy behind the counter as they waited in line, the more impressed he was by those arm muscles.  If the mallets were there just because this Dan wanted to show off how big he was, Mauritus fully supported it.

They finally reached the counter, and Dan raised his eyebrows at Madeira.  "Another of your gluttony collection?" he asked her.

She made a face.  "Not... exactly?  Uhh...  He's another bun who was raised by my caretaker, he's still... in his first year."

Mauritius had seen the way other buns' faces seemed to fall when Madeira said he'd been raised by the same demon as her, and Dan wasn't an exception.  He... kind of got it, he thought, since he had heard how much Madeira had struggled when she had first arrived in Burrowgatory, but he also suspected she was taking great pains to keep him from ever having to fully understand.

"How have you been handling the adjustment?" Dan asked him.

"I'm managing," Mauritius replied.  "It's... interesting learning all the things Malthus didn't teach me, I guess."

"Doing better than Madeira did, then," Dan said.  “Though I guess you have the benefit of her experience to help.”

“As well as the benefit of Jackal’s experience,” Madeira said, smiling slightly.  “She’s had more practice with this kind of thing than me.”

“Makes sense,” Dan said.  “What do you two want to get?”

“I’m just going to get a blueberry dango for one of my imps - she’s been stealing blueberries recently, so I suspect she’ll be happy.  And… a chocolate sprinkle mochi for myself.”  Madeira nudged Mauritius.  “Any of the dango or mochi catching your eye?”

“That gold-dusted mochi looks cool,” he said, after a moment of deliberation.  Choosing just one was hard… but Madeira came in often, she had told him, to get treats for her imps.  So he’d definitely get chances to try all of them over time as long as he liked this one.

Dan nodded, and went to grab the two orders.  He bagged them both, and handed them over to Madeira in exchange for her carats.  “Enjoy, and hope you both have a good mochi moon.”

“You too, Dan,” Madeira said, smiling.

Mauritius was biting into his mochi before they had even left the shop.  It had a very mild taste, but the texture was sublime, the gold dust adding to the dough to create a perfect feeling for the mouth.

“Wow, that excited?” she teased him as they walked and he ate.

“’s good,” he said, through the mouthful.  “Do you know how to make it?”

“No, he guards the recipes from anyone who could become a competitor,” she said, sighing.  “I’d sign a contract to never do that if he would, but…”  She shrugged.  “I don’t mind much though, he comes to the diner sometimes, so it’s fine, we just make carats off each other.”

Carats were still the most baffling part of Burrowgatory to Mauritius… but not his problem right now.  The mochi was delicious, and it was going to occupy his mind for the rest of the week.  He’d find a way to get Dan to at least teach him how to make it…