Niceties
I wrote this to ysabetwordsmith's third prompt, "The Elf ... and Komodo dragons, since we've visited Australia in this series and Komodo isn't too far away."
“An Ebu Gogo? What’s that?” The chef had been pulled out of his restaurant at short notice and provided with another kitchen.
“Apparently they’re from the island of Flores in Indonesia,” the woman in the neat suit told him, “and they eat a lot. Just keep the food coming. Don’t worry about the mount, we have zookeepers taking care of it.”
The chef eyed the lizard corralled in the courtyard. “Is that thing safe?”
“It’s a komodo dragon,” she sighed. “It’s not safe but it is secure. It has water, a warm spot to lie in the sun, shelter if it rains and all the raw roasting chickens it can eat. We hope it’s happy.”
“Do these Ebu Gogo always ride those things?” The chef was looking approvingly at the fresh produce being carried into the kitchen.
“Komodo dragons aren’t mentioned in the literature on them.” The woman in the suit was marking things off on a clipboard, “However, I understand this is in the nature of a diplomatic visit, so our guest could be aiming to impress.”
“I’d better get cooking then, hadn’t I?” The chef moved off to his work benches.
“Well,” the elf was saying, “to what do I owe the honour of this visit?”
“A neighbourly visit seemed in order.” The Ebu Gogo was probably male and would have been short for a human. “It’s not every day someone acts on the provisions of the Accords.”
“The provisions of the Accords of the Blessed Isles were made for a reason,” pointed out the Elf, “and that wasn’t to maintain the primacy of Summer.”
“I know,” the Ebu Gogo agreed. “That’s the problem with getting humans involved in these things, they don’t have the background. You’ve been very showy and splashy setting up here, haven’t you?”
“I’ve always found that in dealing with governments, it helps to get their attention first.” The elf smiled deprecatingly, “I also find that people are happier when they know where they stand, even if they don’t like where that is.”
“The show was for the locals, was it?” His guest looked disbelieving and then added, “I have heard rumours of a new site in India, some sort of charitable development apparently, building a model town with lots of lakes and canals. Very wet.”
“Indeed,” murmured the elf. “I’ve been told that charity is a virtue.”
“I can’t help but wonder that if I went to Lima I might hear of a very dry town somewhere in the Andes?”
“I really couldn’t say,” the elf smiled back. “Would you care for something to eat?”
“An Ebu Gogo? What’s that?” The chef had been pulled out of his restaurant at short notice and provided with another kitchen.
“Apparently they’re from the island of Flores in Indonesia,” the woman in the neat suit told him, “and they eat a lot. Just keep the food coming. Don’t worry about the mount, we have zookeepers taking care of it.”
The chef eyed the lizard corralled in the courtyard. “Is that thing safe?”
“It’s a komodo dragon,” she sighed. “It’s not safe but it is secure. It has water, a warm spot to lie in the sun, shelter if it rains and all the raw roasting chickens it can eat. We hope it’s happy.”
“Do these Ebu Gogo always ride those things?” The chef was looking approvingly at the fresh produce being carried into the kitchen.
“Komodo dragons aren’t mentioned in the literature on them.” The woman in the suit was marking things off on a clipboard, “However, I understand this is in the nature of a diplomatic visit, so our guest could be aiming to impress.”
“I’d better get cooking then, hadn’t I?” The chef moved off to his work benches.
“Well,” the elf was saying, “to what do I owe the honour of this visit?”
“A neighbourly visit seemed in order.” The Ebu Gogo was probably male and would have been short for a human. “It’s not every day someone acts on the provisions of the Accords.”
“The provisions of the Accords of the Blessed Isles were made for a reason,” pointed out the Elf, “and that wasn’t to maintain the primacy of Summer.”
“I know,” the Ebu Gogo agreed. “That’s the problem with getting humans involved in these things, they don’t have the background. You’ve been very showy and splashy setting up here, haven’t you?”
“I’ve always found that in dealing with governments, it helps to get their attention first.” The elf smiled deprecatingly, “I also find that people are happier when they know where they stand, even if they don’t like where that is.”
“The show was for the locals, was it?” His guest looked disbelieving and then added, “I have heard rumours of a new site in India, some sort of charitable development apparently, building a model town with lots of lakes and canals. Very wet.”
“Indeed,” murmured the elf. “I’ve been told that charity is a virtue.”
“I can’t help but wonder that if I went to Lima I might hear of a very dry town somewhere in the Andes?”
“I really couldn’t say,” the elf smiled back. “Would you care for something to eat?”