Raw

"You wanna know what I do when I'm sad... or scared? Fucking nothing. Cuz I'm not a fucking pussy." - Soldier Boy

Lilo had a lot on his mind, but a deep desire was bubbling within his heart. Was it his heart? No, it was a little lower.

His ballsack? Nope. Not that either. It was a sensation that he was all too familiar with: hunger.

During his fighting career, he had to cut weight before each of his bouts. He had to weigh in at 100kg even the night before the fight but his walk around weight was usually about 110kg.

This meant that for about a week and a half he had to diet and dehydrate himself to lose all that weight at a rapid pace.

All those perilous nights of going to bed hungry and waking up with the dread of having to suck all the fat out of his already shredded body was a memory he wished to erase.

His stomach growled. How long had it been since he last ate? He's been exerting himself a lot these past two days and had not had anything to eat.

He looked down at the plate of food that was brought to him. His mouth watered but his nose did not pick up any scent...

That's when his eyes revealed the horror set before him.

The plate was full of... raw vegetables.

Spinach, broccoli, carrots, and a single raw banana to top it all off. 

'What the fuck...'

"What?" Soda seemed perplexed at Lilo's reaction. "Is the food not to your liking?"

'Well, is it to your liking?'

"Yeah... that's a normal hardy meal here."

'Where's the meat?'

"Meat? Oh you're talking about eating dead flesh. We don't do that here. Cravers and harvesters of the inner circle are the only ones that consume that vile type of food." Soda explained matter of factly.

Lilo stared motionless for awhile, dumbfounded and frozen in utter disbelief of his misfortune of having to be reincarnated into a world full of vegan monks.

'Okay fine, even if ya'll are against eating meat... why isn't it cooked? You can still make an appealing dish without meat.'

"Cook? What does that mean?" Soda looked genuinely confused.

Lilo looked even more confused. Mad even. He was slowly starting to hate this place. From the class systems, the funky colors, and the treacherous gluttons.

All he wanted to do was get back home. Reunite with his ex wife. Rekindle his friendship with his estranged best friend. Visit his parent's graves with flowers.

Something in the back of his mind was calling him towards the inner circle. Towards the cursed candy tree. 

He suspected that the key to escaping this world was hidden there.

All these thoughts were stressing Lilo out, but above all he was starving... with nothing to eat but a pile of raw vegetables.

It was his last straw.

'I just finished fighting off an arrogant prick and bled up a fountain. I'm going to have a nice fat meal god dammit.'

With that statement, Lilo marched out of his room, holding the plate of untouched raw foods.

"Hey! Food is sacred, don't you dare be ungrateful." Soda chased after Lilo.

'Oh don't you worry. I'm going to treat this food better than any of you ever have.'

"Where are you even going? Do you know where anything in this place is?" Soda accused.

Sure enough, Lilo was blindly walking along the halls. People gave him brief glances but they averted their gaze as soon as they noticed his clothing.

He was wearing a grey linen tunic with runes that were similar to what other herders were wearing. This section of the building was full of wipers and the occasional kite riders who were healing the injured.

As Lilo remembered from earlier, the kite riders were of a higher class than shepherds, wearing pure white linen while the shepherds usually (outside of the acception that is Wonka's unique cohort) wore pure black.

While all the bright and colorful wipers averted their gaze, when Lilo passed the occasional Kite rider, they glared at him unapologetically; it felt almost as if they were challenging him to a staring contest.

Their eyes burned with a superiority complex, and their posture read that they would harm Lilo if he did not avert his gaze.

While Lilo did not fear of confronting them, he did not wish to cause any more headaches for himself.

He simply wanted to cook himself a good meal and satiate his gnawing hunger.

He averted his gaze and proceeded to roam the halls, in search for a room that food is processed or stored.

He was aware that a scent would not really be present if all food here were uncooked; So this made it much harder for him to find the place.

As he frolicked about the halls, in search of a kitchen, if that even was a concept here seeing that they don't cook; he heard a tune being hum by a gentle raspy voice.

Soda, who was floating behind him, paused to listen.

"That's... my spire's tune..." Soda's voice was broken yet longing, "I think that's my brother."

'Oh great! I bet he knows where to get ingredients to cook!'

Lilo hurriedly ran towards the tune that was being hummed and was led to a cellar where Soda's brother was stocking the shelves full of more raw veggies.

Their eyes met and an expression of terror washed over Soda's face.

'What's wrong?' Lilo asked Soda.

"He knows what we are. He was there... helping my dad burry me." Soda's voice was trembling as he said those harrowing words.

Lilo glanced at Soda's brother, who looked ready to defend himself against the worst. It was not the look of relief or longing that Soda had when he saw his brother.

It was a look of terror, one that all living beings shared when presented a choice between fighting or fleeing.

"Listen... I don't know how you made it here, but-" Just as Soda's brother was about to dive into the topic of their relation, Lilo quickly cut him off.

"You dare address a higher rank in that casual manner?" Lilo did his best to make his prepubescent voice sound menacing.

Both Soda and his brother gave Lilo an awkward look of confusion.

"Quit yapping and help me cook!" Lilo ignored Soda's brother and walked past him to grab the spices within the cellar. "Well? Do I need to call a gatekeeper to punish your ass or are you going to do what you're told?"

A look of fear and anger was clearly portrayed on Soda's brother's face, but he reluctantly bowed his head in reverence.

"Certainly s-sir... but... pardon me for asking.... what is cooking?" Soda's brother's face contorted into genuine confusion.

'Jesus, everyone here has no taste. Literally.'

"Don't worry about it, grab a pot... er you probably don't have that if you don't know the concept of cooking... grab a container that can withstand heat and follow me." With that comment, Lilo selected the ingredients he needed and left the room.

A few seconds later, Soda's brother was waddling down the hallway, following behind Lilo with a large spherical shield in his hand.

"Tell me where I can get to a fire." Lilo asked.

"Uhhh the only one nearby is in the temple alter but that is forbidden for us to enter... the other is the sauna." Soda's brother answered.

"Sauna it is."

Lilo was lead to the sauna room where people were dressed in only their towels and enjoying the stocked fire stove that was building up steam in the hut.

Lilo received weird glances for bringing a shield and a plate of food into the sauna, but seeing that he wore a grey uniform, no one stopped or questioned him.

He continued on with what he set out to do, ignoring all the glances and murmurs that spread throughout the sweaty audience.

The room was made of clay and wood; and smelled of lavender and smoke.

'Soon this place will smell delicious.'

With four simple ingredients: tomatoes, garlic, onion, and salt. He began roasting them in the makeshift shield pan over the fire within the sauna's stove.

In another bowl he began grinding wheat. At first he attempted to do the task alone, but eventually his thin arms grew tired and he handed it off to Soda's brother.

Soda's brother was several years older and had a significantly more developed build. Perhaps from all the wiper work he's had to do or simply good genetics. He was able to grind the wheat into flour in no time.

'If I share his genes, I think I'll turn out okay once I hit puberty.'

With a bit of olive oil, salt, and yeast, he was able to create a simple dough for flat bread. Although eggs, cheese, and butter would be a better combination, he did not have the luxary of dairy products due to everyone here being vegan.

This frustrated Lilo but he was too hungry to care. Soon the entire sauna smelt of delicious bread and tomato paste.

The people who had gathered there to enjoy a sauna session was now intrigued by the scent of cooking, a concept alien to them.

Even Soda, in his ghostly form, seemed to be salivating at the sight.

"I brought enough for everyone to try a bite." Lilo said to the gathered audience, uncharacteristically being generous.

"Well, I'm still eating the bulk of this though. I deserve it. I'm starving and I made the damn thing." Ah, there is his usual selfish self.