Louisa's POV
"Do you know how to eat it?" Lucian asked as the waiters put a giant plate of crayfish on the table.
"Can I just smash it?" I picked up a knife from the table and said.
"Please put down the knife, Miss Louisa. Every time you pick up a knife, people die or are at least badly injured," Lucian said.
I put down the knife immediately and sat there, looking completely hopeless in front of the giant plate of seasoned-shelled creatures.
"We are not chickens, Miss Louisa. So we don't really smash them. Let me show you how to do it. It's not that difficult," Lucian said. Then, he put on a pair of special gloves and picked up one.
"First, you need to separate the tail from the head by holding the head and tail in each hand and twisting them in opposite directions like this. Then, it splits into two halves like this. Then, you need to squeeze the side of the tail like this and you can hear it cracks. Keep peeling until the meat on the tail is out, then you can slowly pull the remaining of it out of the shell."
I didn't hear a word of what he was saying. His long slender fingers were very distracting. So when he put the meat on the plate in front of me, I was completely confused.
"Try it," Lucian said.
I put on a pair of gloves and picked the meat up from the plate.
As soon as I put it into my mouth, I felt my conception of food was completely wrong.
In the South, chefs used to butter everything. The strongest ingredient they used was garlic.
But on that day, as soon as I put the crayfish meat in my mouth, I felt that I had never experienced so many strong flavors at one time in my mouth!
"Do you like it?" Lucian asked and peeled another one for me.
"It's amazing!" I exclaimed.
Will was woken up by my exclamation. He jumped out of Lucian's pocket and flew on my shoulder.
I picked the crayfish and put it next to his mouth.
He sniffed it a bit and sneezed.
"What? You don't like it?" I asked.
"I don't consume anything other than blood. They're like poison to me," Will shook his little head and said.
Then, he jumped off my shoulder onto the floor and changed into human form.
"Ahhh..." He yawned and stretched out his arms and legs. "I feel much better now!"
Then, he looked at Lucian and jumped at him, dangling on his neck like a little sloth.
"When is Leo coming? Can I take him to the cave and play hide and seek with him?" He asked.
"Will, don't be naughty. Lucian's eating." I said.
Lucian looked at him and said, "He'll be here in three days and you can't take him into a cave. It's a very dangerous place for a teenage werewolf boy."
"But we can hang out together in the cave," Will grunted.
Lucian said, "You're not going to hang anywhere, because you're going to stay with Miss Louisa here and keep her company. She has just finished her transformation and there're a lot of things you need to tell her. Please don't just fly away again."
Will bounced into my arms and said, "I'm going to protect Lisa wherever she goes. I won't let some big bad wolves hurt her!"
Lucian put another crayfish in his mouth and said, "I like you better when you're a little flying rat that can't speak."
Will made a face at him and said, "I saw a merry-go-round in town! Can we please go there and have a few rounds?"
"Well, if you behave and be polite to Lucian, I will consider taking you there," I said.
"OK. I promise to be good," Will sat nicely next to me and said. "I can help you to peel these crayfish!"
Then, before I could say anything, he quickly put on a pair of gloves, took up a knife, and started to peel the shells of crayfish at an amazing speed. Before I knew it, all the crayfish on the plate became unshelled.
"Will, you little crayfish cracker," I said with amazement. "How did you do it so quickly?"
"I used to help my father's cook do this all the time! It's really not that difficult if the tool's right." Will shrugged and put down the knife in his hands.
"Could we please go out now? Let's go for a merry-go-round. Please..." He looked at me with his puppy eyes.
I looked at Lucian and said, "Could we pack these up and take them away? I'd like to bring some to Colt and Darren."
"I've already sent some to Colt. He's probably eating right now with Alex. These don't taste well after they turn cold. I'll let someone make a new batch and send them back to the camp." Lucian used a napkin to wipe his mouth and said.
I looked at the remaining crayfish meat on the plate with pity and said, "But there's still so much meat left. It makes me feel guilty to see them being thrown away just like that."
"You've got some reptile friends at the small cottage. I'll let soldiers pack it up and send it to them. I've got a feeling that they'll like it," Lucian said.
"They're salamanders and thank you very much for doing that," I said with excitement.
"They won't eat my soldiers, right?" Lucian frowned and asked.
"Hey! It's very rude! They're my friends!" Will protested.
"I'll deliver it to them by myself, then. Don't worry. They just look intimidating, but they're very peaceful in nature," I said. "I might need you to give me a ride."
Lucian nodded and said, "We still have a few hours before finishing getting you ready for the Grand Ball. So I guess we have plenty of time for a few rounds of marry-go- around and dropping by the cottage on our way to the Camp."
"Yay! I can't wait to have a marry-go-around!" Will was jumping up and down while clapping.
"I can't wait to see the Salamanders!" I held Will in my arms and kissed his fluffy head.