The Eternal Tree

"What did she say?" Ligo asked Eucali.

"She asked if she could trade meals with you." Eucali looked at Eleven in confusion. "But you ordered the same thing Ligo did."

"And I've already taken a bite." Ligo pointed at her plate. "Is that okay?"

Eleven understood from the gestures alone and shook her head repeatedly. "It's fine, it's fine. I've taken a bite too, so we're even!"

Ligo had no idea what was going on, but she traded plates with Eleven anyway.

Beside them, Hesta calmly cut into the pie on her plate, silently watching Eleven's expression.

When Eleven opened her mouth wide and took another bite of the pancake, she finally put on a look of agony—her pancake had only been sprinkled with shredded cheese on the surface, while Ligo's was permeated inside and out with that rich stench of old shoes.

Kiki beside her caught a hint of the strange smell as well.

"Are you okay, Eleven?" Kiki asked worriedly. "Do you want some of my noodles and thick soup?"

Holding her breath, Eleven shook her head.

"That vegetable pancake," Kiki said, pointing at Eleven's plate. "Is it good?"

"It's good."

Kiki clearly did not quite believe her. "Is it really good?"

Eleven tightened her grip on her knife and fork. "It's incredibly good."

"...But it smells kind of stinky?"

"That's just how goat cheese is," Eucali said. "Miss Ligo is from District 4, so maybe she really likes this sort of thing."

Eleven could not help looking up again. Sure enough, Ligo across from her was taking huge bites of the vegetable pancake Eleven had found hard to swallow—she really did like it...

Ligo heard Eucali mention her name and glanced over, only to notice the obvious upward curl at the corner of Hesta's lips beside Eleven.