Dessert of Discovery

The departure from Halmore left Queen Maze and Reinhart, traveling in his inconspicuous packaged form, with mixed feelings - comfort for leaving the peculiar, mana-less town behind, and apprehension for stepping back into the dangers of Fallenia.

Their continued journey was uneventful, filled with silence, interrupted by occasional whispers of Reinhart. "Why do you think I turn human only when someone unique eats me?" Reinhart wondered aloud, his voice buzzing from the enchanted package.

"Your transformation certainly is perplexing," Maze replied, her eyes scanning the horizon for potential risks. "It's unique and complex. Your enchantment, or curse, is directly connected with consumption by someone unique. Perhaps it has to do with the 'eat-convert-transform' process."

The words slipped off her tongue, and she cringed at how casually she spoke of his peculiar condition.

"Well, that is one way to put it. I was tempted to ask you to get one of those people to eat me at the town, but when I thought about it, something made me think that it wouldn't work. I think it might have something to do with them not being able to use magic. That whole thing still perplexes me," Reinhart admitted, making Maze sigh and hang her head.

"Yes, but we aren't in a position to help them right now. We need to get far away from here, and find allies, but since you can't do much while in this form, maybe you should try to learn more about controlling your Mana? What you did back in Belgrath to stop those lightning bolts, and the shield is like nothing I have ever heard of. Keep in mind that we only got our Mana just over thirty days ago," Maze explained, and Reinhart quickly agreed, eager to make himself more useful.

"All right, how do I go about doing that?" Reinhart inquired, prompting a thoughtful hum from Maze.

"Well…" she studied her surroundings—a sea of trees shading them under their foliage. "How about experimenting with your Mana? Try to visualize it, move it. Expand it and compress it. That's how I learned to manipulate the wind."

Reinhart was silent, but Maze could tell - somewhat bizarrely through vibrations from the packet - that he was concentrating. They continued their-paced journey, with Maze offering pointers and answering questions about Mana.

A sharp jolt startled Maze, making her stumble and drop Reinhart's package. The ground beneath her feet vibrated, followed by a sound like a muffled explosion from the direction where Reinhart's package had fallen.

"Oh, no, Reinhart!" Maze cried out, dropping to her knees beside the jostling packet.

"Maze… I think… I think I exerted too much. I feel… so weak…" Reinhart's voice was filled with pain. He sparked with blue-white energy and hues of brown and green flickering around his packet, and he started to lose consciousness.

Without a second thought, Maze channeled her wind magic, forming a gentle cushion of air under Reinhart's pulsing form and hoisting him off the ground so as not to injure him further.

Quickly analyzing the situation, and remembering something told to her by an elder, Maze began to use her wind magic to transfer her own Mana gently into Reinhart's form. It was a delicate process, but her steady hands and knowledge of wind manipulation prevailed.

When she had transferred a considerable amount of her own Mana, Reinhart's form began to stabilize. The pulsating flickers around him began to decrease, and soon Reinhart was his typical packaging again - albeit a little sagged on the sides.

"You okay there?" Maze asked, exhaustion evident in her tone.

"Yeah," came the faint reply. "That was a rush. I think I overdid it. Sorry, Maze."

Maze looked at Reinhart's familiar form and chuckled weakly. "It's fine, Reinhart. You've just confirmed two important things - the first is that overusing Mana can indeed tire and harm you, even when you're in your package form. The second: that Mana can be transferred to heal. At least, between the two of us."

"You've just made a great discovery, Rein," Maze said, laying a hand gently over his package form. "It could change everything for us."

"Yes," Reinhart answered softly. "And who knows how this will affect my instant dinner abilities… It's like mixing and cooking ingredients, right?"

"Exactly," Maze said, her smile broadening. "All this learning and discovery… It's like sampling new, unexpected ingredients in the dish we call life. We'll continue to experiment and learn. And maybe, just maybe, turn the tide of this struggle in our favor."

That made Reinhart start to think about his package form. Maze hadn't really commented about any of the food she had eaten from him, other than saying it was good. Reinhart mused if making his food taste better somehow might make the boost he gave stronger and last longer? The idea made him chuckle out loud, making Maze frown at him.

"What are you laughing about?" Maze asked, sitting down beside a tree with him still in her hands.

"I'm just thinking about how I supported you earlier, and the thought just struck me that I have never once asked if my instant food is yummy," Reinhart said with a laugh.

Stopping for a moment to think about it, Maze said, "Well, to be honest, most of the time when I have no choice but to consume your contents, I have been in such a dire situation that taste was the least of my concerns. However, if I recall correctly, the food was not bad. It did have a unique flavor every time."

"Really? I guess that not bad is better than disgusting, but that does make me wonder. What if I can make the food taste better? I am not sure how I go about doing it, but something tells me that if I can figure it out, I will be able to support you better in this form," Reinhart elaborated on his ponderings.

"That's an interesting thought, Reinhart. But, don't overdo it again. Remember, we need you strong and in one piece," Maze replied, her smile returning.

"Got it. But I think I will need your help if you are game?" Reinhart asked with a cheeky lilt, making her chuckle.

"All right. It's settled then," she agreed as she started to eat the new meal that was in his form, "Let's embark on this culinary journey together, Reinhart. Let's discover new recipes and experience 'tastes' of magic."

"First you need to tell me what kind of things that you like to eat, and then I will see if I can change my contents. I am just a box, so it can't be too crazy, or maybe it can? I really am just throwing ingredients in at this point," Reinhart admitted, causing Maze to chuckle.

"Right then," she said between laughs. "In that case, I'm quite fond of fruits. Apples, oranges, berries. Even tropical ones like mangoes and kiwis. Can you transform your contents into something like a fruity dessert?"

"Prepare yourself Maze, because soon you will have a taste of the best magic-infused fruit salad," Reinhart replied with confident enthusiasm, creating a shared, enjoyable moment in the daunting task of surviving in this magical, yet unnerving world of Fallenia.