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In the Fairy Kingdom, one could find no finer family of cooks than the Gippag family.
In the Gippag family, one could find no finer chef than the second daughter.
Aara would preen under the praise, but held her secrets close, crafting rich pies and savory stews in the farthest corner of the kitchen, adding this and that from the covered basket kept always at her side. She shared none of her secrets nor her recipes, even with her own family.
In truth, she kept her secrets hidden for fear none would dare touch her pies if they knew the roots and herbs within were from the Dark Forest.
At night when the moon shined full and bright, Aara slipped from her home in the Village. Her dainty feet carried her through the tall grass to the forest where rich roots and spicy plants grew in the shadowed soil. Flavors that could not be found in the sunlight would add their tang to her recipes. For this, she found renown.
One Spring night while the elves celebrated their Spring festival, Aara found her basket near empty. Her family already slept, as their kind often rise and fall with the sun, so she padded to the shadows in search of flora and fungi.
In little time, Aara had gathered familiar ingredients from usual spots, and acquired two or three new items she had not seen before. These she plucked and wrapped in a bit of cloth to protect herself should they prove poisonous. She carried her basket, now heavy with secrets, further into the forest to the one creature who knew of these visits.
Mushrooms grew throughout the Dark Forest, most edible, some poisonous, and the few sentient ones that grew in lines from the palace to the edge of the Fields. Aara managed to avoid detection by these scouts, for they all seemed to face the same direction. However, one night some months ago, while attempting to reach a yellow fungus shaped like a cup, she had been startled by the sound of a throat being cleared behind her. One mushroom had been planted facing the opposite direction from his brothers. The tall creature looked pointedly at the item near her hands and twisted his stalk. At her confusion, he pulled one root from the ground and made a slicing motion near his mouth. She then understood the warning, and left the dangerous plant behind.
Ever since that night, she would visit the mushroom with her new finds, and staying at a distance to avoid the sight of his neighbors, hold them up for inspection. For the safe ones, his stalk would tip towards the ground. The dangerous items would be met with the same twisting as the first night.
She grew bold with this new information, her recipes grew complex, and her fame swelled. As months went by, she would visit the mushroom even without needing his input, though they never interacted beyond nods and twists.
With the moon still high, Aara peered between leaves at the clearing. The mushroom noticed the movement, and smiled when he recognized her. The others watched in the other direction and remained unaware of the intruder. Her mushroom looked pointedly at the basket. Aara shook her head, not needing to be warned off by anything this night. She waved one last time, these encounters brief by necessity, when a shrill sound echoed from the branches above. The mushroom looked up with a startled expression. Aara looked as well.
She was met with a handful of pink dust.
She dropped her basket and pawed at her eyes. The dust did not hurt, it did not even sting. Aara lowered her hands and blinked, her sight still intact. The imp that had jumped on her had vanished. She looked to the mushroom. He seemed unharmed, though sparkled with the same pink dust.
Aara’s heart swelled in relief. To lose her friend would have been devastating. He had helped her so often, and seeing him had become the highlight of these secret trips. He had become quite important to her. She only realized now just how important. How dear he had become. How desperately she loved him.
Her basket forgotten, she ran to him. He pulled his arms from the ground and caught her, holding her tightly and humming in delight, oblivious to the other mushrooms that had turned at the commotion behind them.