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Chosen watched intently as Blue put three water bottles on the brewing stand he had on Alan’s desktop.
“Yellow told you some about making potions, right?” Blue asked, taking out a clump of Netherwart.
“Mmhm.”
“How far did you get?”
“He was going to teach me how to increase a potion’s duration.”
Blue dropped the Netherwart into the stand.
“He loves the Redstone part of anything in Minecraft especially,” Blue chuckled.
“Yellow let me try to make a potion without instruction,” Chosen said. “I forgot to use Netherwart.”
“Ah, yeah, I’ve done that too,” Blue said. “You get the hang of it.”
“Netherwart is like mushrooms, right?” Chosen asked. “The guide said it’s a fungus. So can you eat them?”
“Funny you should ask,” Blue said, putting a golden carrot into the brewing stand. “You can, and I do.”
“What’s it taste like?”
Blue took the potion bottles from the brewing stand and put them in a chest, then quickly harvested a row of Netherwart and planted some before offering Chosen a clump of Netherwart.
“Just take a small bite,” he said. “Potions have Netherwart but they’re diluted.”
Chosen gingerly sniffed the Netherwart, then took a small bite.
”What do you think?”
Chosen made a face.
”It’s kinda gritty…and bitter,” he said, handing the Netherwart back to Blue. “How does it grow again?”
”In soul sand,” Blue said, gesturing to a bare soul sand patch.
”Are those faces?”
”Yeah. The lore is that the sand has trapped souls inside it.”
”But does it actually?” Chosen asked.
”I don’t know, really,” Blue said. “I admit I haven’t thought about it much. I think it’s just lore made up by the humans who made the game.”
“I like the regular mushrooms,” Chosen said. “Netherwart tastes kinda weird.”
“Yeah, I’m probably the only one who likes them as-is,” Blue said. “Not sure why I like it, really, but it tastes good to me.”
“Have the others tried it?” Chosen asked.
“Don’t think so,” Blue said. “If they wanted to, they probably would’ve by now…but I’m kinda curious to see if they’d like it.”
“Like what?” Red asked.
Red and Yellow walked onto the desktop with Dark walking between them.
“Hey, Dark,” Chosen said, bending and picking him up. “Couldn’t nap?”
Dark nodded and snuggled against Chosen’s shoulder.
“Thanks for bringing him out here,” Chosen said.
“He was scratching on the door like a kitty,” Red laughed.
“Aww,” Blue chuckled, patting Dark’s head. “You’ll be able to reach the doorknob soon!”
“And then we’ll have to pay even more attention,” Chosen said, frowning at Dark, who smiled up at him. “Or else you’ll run off to who knows where.”
“So, what’re you two doing?” Red asked.
“Just brewing some potions,” Blue said. “Chosen wondered what Netherwart tasted like.”
Red and Yellow winced.
”You didn’t try it, did you, Chosen?” Red asked.
”A little,” Chosen said. “I didn’t like it.”
”I really can’t believe you eat that stuff, Blue,” Yellow sighed.
”I don’t ask you why you like your favorite foods, do I?” Blue groused, crossing his arms.
”No, but the stuff I eat is normal,” Yellow returned.
”Netherwart’s just mushrooms,” Blue huffed. “Right, Chosen?”
”I…uh…yes?” Chosen mumbled. “On the Wiki.”
”Well, they’re fungi that grow in the Minecraft Underworld dimension,” Red told them with a raised eyebrow. “You shouldn’t be eating anything in there unless you’re a Piglin.”
Blue shuddered.
”I did try a warped mushroom once,” he mumbled. “It was…bad.”
Yellow shook his head and Red made a gagging noise.
”You’re not a Strider, either,” Red sighed.
”Yeah, yeah, well, at least I tried it before I knocked it,” Blue retorted, tossing his head. “Fluffy gave it to me and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”
Dark began to squirm in Chosen’s arms.
”Alright,” Chosen said, putting Dark down. “There you go.”
Dark walked over to a patch of Netherwart and stared at it.
“Ok, just look at it, Dark,” Chosen said, quickly walking to stand next to Dark. “It doesn’t taste very good, not like mushroom stew.”
“Soup?” Dark asked with a smile.
“No, it’s not like that,” Chosen said, shaking his head. “Plus we should leave it alone, since it’s Blue’s garden.”
“Choo ate?” Dark asked, frowning.
“Yeah…” Chosen sighed, putting a hand on his hip. “But I’m not sure little Sticks like you should have it.”
Dark looked back down at the Netherwart and reached quickly for a clump before taking a big bite.
“Dark, spit it out!” Chosen exclaimed, his eyes widening, kneeling and reaching for Dark’s mouth.
“I don’t think it’ll hurt him,” Blue said. “It’s just that the taste is really strong.”
Dark suddenly made a face and gagged, then spat his mouthful of Netherwart out.
“I doubt the outcome would be any different if he was older,” Red sighed, crossing his arms.
Chosen picked Dark up and patted his back; Dark let out an annoyed growl.
“I know it seemed like I was just saying no to be mean,” Chosen said softly, rubbing Dark’s back. “And it was confusing because I tried it and said you couldn’t. I’m sorry, buddy.”
Dark looked up at Chosen, then smiled and squeezed his face.
“Do you forgive me?” Chosen asked.
Dark stuck out his tongue and then giggled.
“Thanks, Dark,” Chosen said. “Let’s go make some mushroom stew to get the Netherwart taste out of our mouths.”
Dark nodded.
“Sorry…no offense, Blue,” Chosen said quickly.
“That’s alright,” Blue chuckled. “You’re not insulting my cooking or anything, since I only put Netherwart in my food.”
Red and Yellow groaned.