Mochi-Munching | Citrus?

"So that's a variety pack of Dango for 850 Carats, and a Fifteen Pack of Sea Salt Mochi for 2,250 Carats- that'd be a 3,100 Carat total, right?" Bahem asked, rummaging through his bag for the carats that Oleander had given him in order to get some nice snacks for the church. It was one of his many tasks, and he always dropped by Dan's whenever it was asked of him. He enjoyed it, and the members of the church enjoyed it, so it was honestly ideal. 

Dan nodded with a small hum. Bahem placed the carats on the table, the currency organized in smaller bags as to keep track of the large amount. Dan pulled the carats under his table, before bringing out one of the fancy boxes he had for the twelve-pack of sea salt mochi. He always had them for large batches of seasonal sweets, it was just that not many people got to see them considering the price. 

Dan noticed a small note in one of the carat bags, and after looking it over, nodded to himself. Bahem, who was always a bit anxious with monetary transactions, pried a small bit. "Dan? Is something wrong?" He shook his head in response. "No, Nothin's wrong. What's your favorite flavor?" Bahem was a bit surprised. That seemed a bit out of nowhere. "Well, I don't see how it's very important, but I like oranges..." Dan let out another hum, this one sounding like one of consideration. "I see." He replied, turning to grab some the Dango that Bahem had ordered.

Bahem was worried for a moment. He knew that Dan wasn't a mean person- a bit grumpy, yes, but not mean. And yet he was worried that he had said something wrong, that Dan was judging him for his flavor preferences... but maybe he was getting some opinions from customers about what kind of flavors they'd like? Maybe he was looking to expand his Dango options- but then Bahem wondered if that thought process was an insult to the pride bun. It's not as if the existing collection needed to be expanded. Would Dan be insulted if he knew that Bahem even considered that an option?

The priest's mind was brought back to reality as a box of Dango was placed in front of him, his variety pack of dango. Bahem looked over the package, peeking through the clear plastic top to assure that there was a dango of each flavor inside of the box. However, before he was able to pick up the box to slip into his bag, Dan placed another stick of dango on top of it. 

It was yellow, a color that Bahem hadn't seen before in Dan's shop. "Uh, Dan? I don't mean to question any bit of kindness... but what is this?" He asked, picking up the unfamiliar treat with his free hand. "Your bosses slipped an extra bit of carats for me to get you something nice. I don't have access to orange flavoring very often, but the grocery store stocks Yuzu by the crateload. It's more of a lemon than an orange, but it's still citrus." 

Bahem's eyes widened a little bit. Oleander did have a habit of tricking Bahem into trying new foods, trying to find the one thing that'll make him able to express gluttony a bit more, but he somehow hadn't expected Mercy to get involved- not to mention for both of them to sneak him into such a situation while they weren't around. "It's still experimental, so if you don't mind, I'd like you to try it before you leave."

Well, Bahem wasn't going to argue with that. He didn't want to be unhelpful. Gently, he took a bite out of the dango, making very sure that if his face made any motions, it was only ones that could be interpreted as positive. The sensation of citrus was perfectly balanced out in the dango, causing Bahem to actually take his time to savor the treat. "Oh. This is... really good." He muttered out. "Any notes? Is the texture alright? How about the flavor? Is it spread out well across all of it? And what's your opinion on the color, too bright, or not bright enough?"

With that many questions, Bahem knew that this had to be a trial dango. Not something meant for public consumption. He had to admit that it made him feel a little bit special. "Well, the flavor is very good. Well rounded through every bite. The texture is matching that of the other dango treats you have around here, so I'd say the texture is perfect. The color... might use a little bit of work? I could tell it was yellow, but it's also a little bit too close to brown, so some people might mistake it for a lighter brown coloration." Bahem explained, before taking another bite of the dango. Dan nodded and took notes the entire time, clicking his tongue lightly.

"Thank you Bahem, you're much better at giving feedback than Shibani is... he usually just says it's good and that everything I make is perfect. Which, I don't mind, but I know there's flaws that he ignores just because he wants to boost my ego." Dan explained, Bahem giving a little giggle in return. "Well, you are the best dango maker in all of Burrowgatory, that's still true. But that doesn't mean that you can't still improve upon almost-perfection!" 

That seemed to be the right thing to say, Dan placing a small paper bag on top of the box. "I don't want to keep you, but here's some more of the experimental flavors that I want to perfect. When you come back next time, tell me how they were. And before you get any ideas, because I've heard how you are, you have to be the ones to try them, nobody else."

Bahem nodded, pulling the bag and the box of variety dango into his carrying bag. Even if it was a bit of a callout, Bahem knew that Dan only had good intentions behind it. "Alright! Thank you Dan! I'll make sure to give you some good feedback when I come back next week."

It seemed that Bahem would be indulging in Gluttony a bit more than he usually would this week... No doubt that Oleander would be overjoyed when he found out.