"Ok, you know what... Out! Get out! Let me cook in peace damnit! It''s been one surprise after another and I want to distract myself for five minutes without having another bomb shell unceremoniously dropped on my noggin! Out you familial fetishists, out!" Ares shooed away the sisters... Half sisters, and went back to making the food... Actually, now that he thought about it, didn''t this situation mean Enyo was a relative too? NO! Ares was cooking right now, not worrying about this ridiculous nonsense! For the sake of his sanity he put this debacle on the backburner for now and returned to his solace. He''d nearly overcooked some of the dishes because he wasn''t paying proper attention and that would have been the true crime here. Such a blunder, and on the night of a banquet no less, was not acceptable. His mother, his in-laws, his self proclaimed ''rival'', failing to deliver in front of all these people was something he would never live down so he focussed up and got the job done. In order to complete everything in a timely manner his multitasking skills were put to the test but a few hours later he was done and could heave a sigh of relief. One by one he started bringing out the main dishes and boy were there a lot of them. As for what everyone was having...


    Terros: Unfortunately, Ares couldn''t make Terros'' personal favourite today as he didn''t have the ingredients. Terros, if possible, would have liked a charcuterie board. The smoky flavours gave him a homely vibe that resonated with his grounded and earthly values. Instead of this, Ares had made him a pizza using some of the leftover dough from last time. The pizza was laden with various meats and had a thick crust but, most importantly of all, it was stone baked!... Terros appreciated the pizza but he most certainly did not appreciate the joke. He also nearly spat out his drink when Ares told him it was a cocktail called the ''suffering bastard''... And that it was on the rocks...


    Allie: Sweet potato curry. This almost made too much sense. Allie liked sweet flavours, so that side of things was obvious at a glance, and her wanting a curry was in line with her alchemical nature. Curries could be made in a variety of ways and creating one could effectively be considered alchemy in the kitchen what with all the powders and spices at the chef''s disposal. Allie seemed to like eating curries to get a feel for what kind of person the chef was and seeing the intricacies of their choices made manifest. It was almost like she was eating a delicious personality quiz! Sometimes, if the curry was good enough, it would even inspire her to go experiment with her alchemy.


    Appa: Pizza Snappas. Appa hadn''t tried many foods yet so it simply picked its favourite of those it was familiar with. There was nothing particularly different today other than Ares making a few extra different flavoured pizza Snappas for Appa to experiment with. More than anything though, Appa really wanted the toffee apple Snappas but that was for dessert and those would be coming out later. Appa naturally hoovered up its food quicker than everyone else due to the way in which it ate being fundamentally different but it patiently waited for dessert while making conversation with everyone around it.


    Leo: Sushi. The tiger liked fish. What else really needed to be said about this development other than, yeah, the tiger liked fish. Most normal treetop tigers did and the only reason Leo''s order was slightly different from expectations was because he wanted sushi and not just plain, raw, fish. The tiny furball had gotten a taste of the highlife and decided his meal would be better if Ares actually did something to it so he picked the dish closest to raw fish he could think of. There were others he was unaware of but this would do for today. It turned out quite good too and the purring menace to society discovered a liking for nori seaweed so he chowed down in relative peace... He did have to bat away Mini Pillie Scout with his paw when it tried stealing some of his food though. That maw was not tiny and the chunk of sushi he would have taken was not small by any means! Leo still had that inner animal in him that knew how to fight for his food!


    Aejaz: Loaded fries with ground beef and some crispy chicken on the side plus any fizzy drink. Highly unhealthy but nice to pig out every now and then with. Part of his preference for this specific meal came from the fact that it was something served regularly at casinos all throughout Red Sun. Pretty much every gambling den in the region had this meal ready to serve to customers and Aejaz had fallen in love with it. Stealing money, eating junk food, running the place and feeling good while doing it was his greatest pleasure. Something about the atmosphere of the various casinos really drew him in and this meal kept him coming back time after time. That and the stardust. The stardust played a huge role in things, making the food taste all the more delicious. Knowing every bite was being paid for by some random loser was a type of ecstasy Aejaz had never found anywhere else. After completing contracts for Hans he would stop off at one on the way back home pretty much without fail. Allie didn''t chide him because he always came back with either a pile of stardust or some new alchemical ingredients. She didn''t necessarily approve of his stealing but she wasn''t going to turn down the ill-gotten gains just because of it.


    Trixie: Chicken Kiev. The surprise bomber like pollo sorpresa, colour me surprised... Apparently opening up the unknown always gave Trixie a tingling sensation whether it be food, presents, bombs, or literally anything else that contained a mystery within it. Of course she was well aware of what was hiding in her chicken, garlic, but the taste wasn''t going to discover itself! There were many great reasons to live in this house and, as Trixie bit into her food, she found yet another one. Ares'' food was divine and she was going to get to eat this often from now on? Hell yeah. Discovering that Ares could cook well was probably the greatest surprise she''d unwrapped inside this house yet!


    Lacy: Spaghetti Bolognese. A classic. Nothing out of the ordinary here. A bit of pepper, a bit of cheese, a whole lot of happiness. Any and all cuteness afficionados in the living room took great joy in watching the munchkin happily gobble up her food. She even had stuffed cheeks like an adorable little squirrel! Too cute! Actually, today was cuteness overload what with Appa, Phobos, Palioxis, Allie, and Lacy all present. Ares, Bellona, and the four matriarchs were all immensely pleased with this line up! Who needed entertainment or idle conversations and small talk when you had this many sweet living beings in one room, eating with joyous smiles on their face?


    Rhea: Steak and ale pie. Why is it always alcohol with these women?! It''s seriously a miracle the Legion women don''t walk around permanently drunk! That aside, this request gave Ares a chance to practice his pastry as it wasn''t a type of dish he made often. He was trained how to, though, from a local patissier who''s work was indecipherable from pieces of art. Of all the talented individuals in Red Sun''s food industry, this one woman stood at the top of them all. She wasn''t very good at anything outside her craft but that mattered little when she was so astoundingly good at her area of expertise. Her shop was relatively famous globally and, especially at this time of year, she was flooded with business from wealthy individuals looking to get a taste of her world renowned food. Savoury or sweet, she could create either and do it flawlessly. Ares was nowhere near her level currently, although he could maybe reduce the distance between them if he used his Omniscience, but knowing even ten percent of her techniques and skills currently was enough for Ares to craft a pie that was angelic. It was so good Rhea shed a tear eating the thing and she had to fight off the other matriarchs who also wanted a taste. In the end she buckled as it became a sharing session between all of their meals. Rhea did ask Ares about the pie and when he mentioned that he wasn''t even half as good as the person who taught him, Rhea wrote a note to go and check the store out as soon as humanly possible. Actually, all the matriarchs agreed to go together and try and get some sweets because if the woman was even remotely as good as Ares made her out to be they were going to compete to see who could hire her.


    Serene: Panzanella. Choosing a salad was actually quite surprising for an elf. You would think, based on their portrayal in various books that littered the Red Sun libraries'' shelves, that they were mostly all either vegans or vegetarians but that couldn''t be further from the truth. They respected nature, sure, but not necessarily the animals that lived in it. It also bears reminding that elves had a deeply rooted ferocity burning away within them so their preference for red meat was like an open secret. As for why Selene liked Panzanella, and why her favourite drink was her own water that she summoned via magic, that was because growing up she didn''t really have access to meat. Her parents had been dirt poor so the vegetables they could procure for cheap, growing all around them, were eaten frequently. Serene had a pretty major regret in that she never discovered her magical talent before her parents passed. If she''d known about her water magic she could have given them a relaxing end to their laborious lives and let them live out their final moments in warmth and peace. Instead, they toiled in the fields up until they couldn''t move any longer and died shortly one after another. When one died, the workload was passed onto the other and that hastened their passing, leaving Serena all alone with nothing but a Panzanella recipe to remember them by. Ares'' version was incredibly good, and she would never deny it tasted better, but that didn''t mean she preferred it to her own. The nostalgia that came with the specific flavour of the recipe she had memorised could never be replaced in the same kind of way that Enyo was obsessed with the original mint honeycomb flavour. Better wasn''t always preferable. Still she definitely enjoyed her meal... And so too did the other matriarchs who pecked at it whenever they found a chance to.


    Margaret: Oven baked salmon, a splash of lemon, and various vegetables. Although Margaret hated to admit it, she couldn''t cook to save her life. Anything that could be considered a craft or artistic pursuit was beyond her if it wasn''t painting. That was her one God-given talent, and she was the best known living artist within Vraizon, but not being able to even dip her toes into other avenues really limited her. There were chefs on her home planet so she was familiar with good food but that didn''t stop her from painting dishes she wanted to try in her spare time. Her magic could bring them to life but they were tasteless, unfortunately. Eating one of the dishes she''d painted with passionate a good few years ago, for real this time, was immensely satisfying and she had been the most reluctant of the matriarchs to share her food. She quickly got over that same reluctance when she tried the other dishes and realised they were all just as good. Margaret burned into her memory the sight of every single dish here and decided to paint a recreation of today''s gathering at a later date.


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    Calla: Skewers with various meats, some pork, and peppers. Lamb, chorizo, beef, chicken, sausage, peppers, and some slices of bacon between them. Calla was easily the biggest meat lover in the building and she had been fiending for this dish ever since Ares said he would take orders. Having it today meant she wouldn''t have it during the banquet tomorrow because that was overkill but that was fine as Ares said he would make her favourite dessert for her then instead. Her bushy tail was wagging at Mach ten as she nibbled on the skewers, starting from the middle and chewing outward. Her sharp teeth tore at the soft flesh and she licked her lips after swallowing the food every time without fail. Calla had always been a bit of a glutton. Her parents were still on the other side of the severed domain, and she hadn''t seen them in a very long time, but she still remembered being patted on the head when she was a young pup as she ate a similar meal. Her tiny tail had spun in circles while her father laughed boisterously at his cute daughter. Calla really did miss her old man and her sweet mother but she had resigned herself to not coming into contact with them for a long time. Revenants lived forever so she wasn''t too fussed, and she still believed she would see them again at some point, but that didn''t stop her from secretly hoping someone could fix the current status quo sooner rather than later. She merrily hummed a folk song her parents used to sing as she chowed down and occasionally stole the other matriarchs'' food.


    Sadie: D?ner kebab... With beer. Ares seriously wondered which part of the meal was more important to her as the way she stressed B.E.E.R was enough to make Ares consider reporting this woman to alcoholics anonymous. Apparently Sadie had been a drinker from a young age back when her adopted parents used to sneak her some whisky on the side. As a kid, that woozy feeling she got when she was drunk was fun for her and that was a large part of why she still drunk today. She also really liked the taste and one of her favourite memories was getting drunk with Aym and just messing around with each other under the moonlit sky... After which she threw up! But Aym did too so it wasn''t as embarrassing. As for the kebab, it was juicy and that was why it was Sadie''s personal favourite to have alongside beer. Ares'' version also had a spicy yoghurt sauce and Sadie was drooling all over it. She was the second person to finish her meal, shortly after Appa, and silently begged Ares to give her more. Fortunately Ares had seen this coming and prepared some extra food here and there for the people he expected would demand seconds.


    Mako: Bacon and lentil soup with garlic bread on the side. Mako was reluctant to spill the beans on why he liked this dish but, thankfully, Terros was there to fill Ares in. Apparently Mako would keep a stock pot chock full of soup by his side as he slaved away on his inventions, magic, and training. The pot in question had a function that allowed it to reheat food when supplied with mana so the countless sleepless night Mako had endured were fuelled by this meal. Serene would drop by occasionally and replenish his bread but he was usually so focussed he never even noticed her bringing the stuff in. He would take five minute breaks every couple of hours and find his bread restocked almost every time. Terros managed to tell Ares that Mako would quietly say thank you to Serene when he saw the bread even if she wasn''t in the room anymore before Mako interrupted Terros and started chasing the flying rock around the room. Serene eventually stepped in and demanded Mako sit down and eat properly instead of being a nuisance to which he begrudgingly did so. As an aside, Mako openly admitted to Ares that his food was delicious. He even asked him to make him some big pots full of the stuff every now and then. Ares agreed on the condition that Mako also said ''thank you'' to him. Mako nearly picked a fight on the spot but Terros calmed him down as Ares walked away while laughing like a devil.


    Blo Blo: Surf ''n'' turf. Lobster and steak. Well technically her favourite was still the classic burger Ares had made for her birthday but she wasn''t in the mood to have it so soon again so she had this, her second favourite, instead. As for the history behind it, she might never have even tried this dish before if it weren''t for one particular moment during a trip to a beach in Vraizon when she was younger. Back during the time her reputation started to plummet some of the other Legion kids at the beach were hassling her so she went out to the water, caught a lobster with her bare hands, and chased the pansies around for a good half an hour with the critter snapping at their unguarded backs. She thought it was hilarious and even decided to eat the creature despite the fact she''d never tried lobster before. It became a last minute addition to her meal and she loved the way it tasted alongside her fillet mignon so Rhea promised to make it for her every now and then. As an aside, Ares called her Blo Blo while she was eating and her face flushed while she shooed him away.


    Yo Yo: ''Anything as long as it''s cooked by you''. Enyo never really had a favourite meal because she''d never cared much for food before she met Ares. She was used to rations and average, quick meals so Ares had been a pretty major shock to her tastebuds at the time. Although she frequently hankered for meat, that was about as far as anything resembling a preference went so she left it up to Ares. Unsure of what to make her, Ares simply made extra of everything else he''d made and let her have a mix of all of it. Whatever anyone else was eating that took her fancy he had at the ready and so she was content... And yet Ares wasn''t. He wanted to find something that would blow her socks off. It would be another layer to their connection, sort of like the mint honeycomb, so Ares put it in his internal and eternal to-do list that he should experiment with a unique dish for Enyo... There was one idea that kept popping into his head but even for Ares he was convinced it was impossible... But no matter how hard he tried to shut the idea out it kept crawling back in... His brain told him to do it, and that Enyo was worth the struggle, and deep down a part of him agreed... What this insane man would go on to craft for Enyo would be heaven defying, and never seen before in any walk of life, but that was simply an expression of how much she meant to him. Not many people would get to try it, though, as even eating it had strict requirements due to how crazy the dish was...


    Deimos: Waffles with crispy bacon and maple syrup. Maybe better for a lunch than a dinner but Deimos didn''t seem to mind. He was the type that ate whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, without care for other people''s opinions. He wanted an ice cream in winter? You bet your ass he was eating the coldest one he could find! Hot soup in summer? No sweat off his back. Flavoured milk? He would drink it while riding around on his bike in public and not give a damn. Life was meant to be lived and stifling his enjoyment of life was a no-go for him. As for the meal itself, it was the best cooked dish at a diner he visited often, one he really like the atmosphere in. It was like a home away from home and driving there on his bike and just spending the afternoon away from the clan was worth its weight in gold to Deimos.


    Tyr: duck a l''orange. Beneath it all, mainly the unabashed sister complex, Tyr was still a very posh and regal individual who liked the classier things in life. The head chef of the Legion clan was famous for his duck a l''orange and Tyr asked him for it on the regular. He enjoyed visiting the restaurant the chef worked at, being seated on the finest leather chair with a beautiful view, and eating to the tune of classical music performed by a talented group that were quite well known on his home planet. His appearance at the restaurant also did a good job of boosting sales so he was always more than welcome and he''d even been offered a discount for life, that was how favoured he was considering his position. When word got out that he refused the discount because the chef deserved every penny, his reputation soared yet again. Bellona had been the clan''s ace at one point, and Enyo followed suit, but Tyr had always been the symbol of the clan that represented the average Legion member. If a popularity poll had ever been run, Tyr would have been first, and by a wide margin at that, which was why a lot of younger clan members developed a fondness for duck a l''orange themselves when they copied him and his habits, massively boosting the restaurant''s sales. A lot of clan members would secretly be happy when Enyo''s position of clan ace was stripped from her for marrying a revenant as the title would inevitably go to Tyr next.


    Pele: Chicken tortillas with spicy peppers. Pele liked spicy foods because the kick was so drastically different from the boring meals you would typically find at a Legion outpost. Pele had been a bit of a foodie and liked visiting planets with all sorts of food customs to get a taste of a wide variety of dishes. Of the siblings, she was absolutely the most well versed with different meals across the domain belonging to different races and she could drop numerous factoids about the history of said meals at the drop of a hat. As a side note, her affinity for the fire pillar made spiciness more tolerable and thus she could take on stronger heats with relative ease. Rather than a burning sensation, what she felt was closer to a tingling on her tongue that left a powerfully sweet aftertaste. Ares had given her a couple different extras on the side to put in the tortillas at her own discretion and she seemed to really enjoy the salsa in particular.


    Palioxis: Stir fry. Ares tried digging out a reason why but she refused to answer him. He even tried asking the other siblings but none of them seemed to know... All hope looked lost until Rhea overheard Ares'' investigation and chimed in with the answer! Palioxis liked the dish because Phobos tried to make it for her once. it was the first dish he''d ever felt confident letting her eat and so it had a special place in her warped, bro con heart... Ares learnt that Phobos had an interest in cooking and he gave it a spin here and there until he eventually became quite decent at it. Major had issues with a ''cultivator who cooks'' and tried to beat it out of him but he kept doing it in secret because his sister always devoured the food he made for her. Ares was actually quite impressed with the little fella. Cowardice aside, making high quality stir fry at a young age was a good indicator he was pretty talented. Maybe he had a future career as a chef waiting for him? Ares decided that would be his main talking point when he got around to chatting with him.


    Phobos: Stir fry... Yeah, now it was all starting to come together and make sense. Ares had been curious about whether  the twins favourite dishes were really the exact same or not. Whether it was actually his favourite or not was up in the air but what this sneaky guy clearly wanted was inspiration to make his own dish better. Having heard Ares was a great cook led him to indirectly seek advice by trying his dish first-hand and seeing what improvements he could make to his own creation. Having compared them Phobos realised how much of an understatement ''Ares is good'' was. The guy was clearly interested in asking Ares for advice but seemed very hesitant to do so as per his usual self. Instead of waiting around until the heat death of the universe, Ares went to Phobos instead and told him he''d chat with him a little later about various stuff and the tyke nodded. If Phobos wanted to become a better cook for the people around him then Ares could lend a hand, sure. In fact, he even decided to take Phobos to Scratch''s place so he could taste a perfect stir fry and steal some ideas from him too. Phobos may be a coward but he clearly cared deeply for his family if he was looking for ways to make them happier, even if his methods were roundabout and ineffective compared to just being straightforward and honest. He could have asked Ares for his actual favourite dish, as well as advice, and doing things this way really wasn''t necessary. Oh well, at least he had conviction. That was important. Maybe helping him not be a scaredy cat 24/7 wouldn''t actually be that hard?