Knux's Misc Writing Pile

[knux400]

How Do Those Taste - 2023
No CWs

The two of them sat in the lunchroom together. They hadn't chosen to sit together, nor had they talked much before now, but neither one had been paying attention when they sat down and now it was too late for either one to leave. They each placed their respective lunchboxes on the table and opened them- the beatfox on the left retrieving a cheap pre-packaged sandwich, and the de'moneres on the right pulling open a crinkly plastic bag. They ate in silence, neither having anything in particular to talk about.

The beatfox jumped as a horrible crackling noise resonated through the room, but as they looked around, no one else seemed to notice. After a few moments, they shrugged and went back to their sandwich.

There it was again. A horrible cracking and grinding, like something being crushed.


The third time, they were able to locate the source of the noise- the de'moneres next to them was chewing on something.

Right, the beatfox thought to themself. De'moneres eat gems or something. It must be pretty tough to break those things down. I hear their teeth are one of the hardest substances on the planet.


The beatfox's surprise quelled for the moment, they resumed their sandwich, taking another large bite.








The beatfox glanced at the de'moneres, now halfway through their bag of... chips? The beatfox caught a glimpse of one as the de'moneres popped it in their mouth- it was a spherical gemstone, nearly colorless save for the faintest tint of orange, and slightly foggy. So more like cheese puffs then, I guess. 

The beatfox turned back to their own meal for a moment before a new question formed in their mind. Before they had a chance to think better of it, it jumped from their lips and into the air.

"How do those taste?"

A moment of silence passed, just long enough for the beatfox to deeply regret asking. The de'moneres just stared.

"...What?"
"I mean, uh, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, I'm just curious."
"These?"

The de'moneres shook the bag of gems, indicating it.

"...Yeah."
"Well..." The de'moneres popped another gem into their mouth, chewing it slowly. The terrible grinding sound resumed momentarily.

"They're a bit on the salty side, to be honest, but they've got a good diaphane flavor to them. The aftertaste is-"
"Sorry, what?"
"What?"
"The, uh, the word you used just now. Dyapane?"
"Diaphane."
"Yeah, that. What's diaphane mean?"

The de'moneres just stared at the beatfox, as if realizing something for the first time.

"Oh! Oh, right! Uhhh... Well, it's a kind of flavor that gemstones have."
"Oh, neat! What's it like?"
"Well, uh... That's the thing. De'moneres have this extra chemical receptor in our noses and mouths that's designed to pick up on gems specifically, so it's... not really something I can describe."
"I remember reading that somewhere, yeah. But I just mean... Is it, like, sweet, or what?"
"It's... not really anything. It's its own unique flavor."
"Yeah, but it's got to taste like something, right?"
"...Not really? The only examples I can think of are just gems."

The beatfox just tilted their head, confused.

"Well, it's like... I mean, how do you describe sweetness to someone who's never had anything sweet? Or saltiness, or sourness? It's just... a flavor. I don't know how to elaborate any further than that."
"I mean, you could..." The beatfox trailed off, thinking for a moment.
"I know there's five flavor groups that most species can taste. Salty, sweet, sour, savoury, and bitter. And even though those are distinct categories, some of them are kind of adjacent to each other, like savoury is close to sweet, and salty is close to sour and bitter."
"Kind of? I don't think that's really how it works. I think every kind of food we eat is a mixture of those, not just one by itself. You can easily have something that belongs in two categories, like... sweet and sour sauce, for example."
"Yeah, but... I don't know. It's the best way I can think of to describe something like that."
"I mean, I suppose you're kind of right, in a way? Now that I think about it, diaphaneity is kind of similar to sweetness. But just saying it's like sweetness doesn't really convey it properly. It's... different. It's completely distinct from those other five flavor groups. I mean, if I absolutely had to put it next to something, it would be sweetness, but that's kind of stretching it a bit."
"Weird."





"Can I try one?"
"Uh... I don't think you'll be able to taste anything. De'moneres are the only ones who can taste diaphane. That I know of."
"I know, but I'm curious."
"...Sure, but don't swallow it. Or chew it."
"Oh, obviously not. Wouldn't want to hurt myself."

The de'moneres pulled another gem out of the bag and passed it to the beatfox. It was slightly greasy, as if it were coated in some kind of oil. Delicately, the beatfox held it in their mouth. It was definitely salty, but as the oil dissolved, the salty taste quickly faded. In its place was... nothing. It just tasted blank, as if it were glass or plastic. They sort of suckled on it for a bit, passing it from cheek to cheek, before spitting it back out into their palm.

"Anything?"
"No. Just the salty taste you mentioned."
"Yeah, they put a lot of grease on these things for whatever reason. Probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but it's something quick and easy that I don't need to prepare at all."
"Huh. Interesting."

Instinctively, the beatfox extended the gem towards the de'moneres, returning the snack to its rightful owner.

"Uh, yeah, you can keep that."