Her fist task is appointed. Simplistic in delivery but complex in obedience. Without a care for the two surrounding her she is light on ivory hooves, springing away to gather her necessities. Her horn is an effective if rudimentary spear for the salmon, fairy tales dancing in her head as she goes about her rounds. One in particular had stuck with her through foal hood. The lovely Ariel, the mermaid who had given up everything for the love of her prince, dancing on agonized limbs only to have her beloved choose another. And instead of sprinkling his blood upon her feet she turned to sea foam and allowed him his happiness.

A slab or bark is her table, placing her colorful array upon the dark backdrop. It is not what she intends to serve it upon but she drags her pile back to the Heart. From the salmon she slices a nice square of one side, searing it on the coals of the Heart's eternal fires. Shapes it into a mermaid tail, amused by her own irony. A fish tail out of fish. She Crusts one side in crumbles of bread, gifted to them by the hen. Squeezes one half of a lemon over the fish and bread, and anxiously glances at her competitors.

Whether or not she wins, she is at least comforted by the fact that they will sustain the hen, and therefore spare the innocent life residing within the egg.

She contemplates the red of the cherries, but bypasses them in favor of the bell peppers, crushing them into a paste and spreading it above the naval area of the mermaid tail salmon. Letting it dribble artistically in a spray of "blood". And finally adding a few black beans amidst the breadcrumbs for an even more scaled look, she sat back and smiled breathlessly.

Artistic, small but creative, with a vast array of tastes. Wasn't that exactly the purpose of an appetizer? To stimulate the tastes without filling too much.

She slid the smooth black stone over to the hen and settled back to explain. "Ariel was a beautiful mermaid, doomed to fall in love with a human prince. She sold her voice to a sea witch to be given human legs, but every step was pure agony. Still, she danced for the affections of her prince, only for him to wed another. The sea witch urged her to slit his throat and let his blood drip upon her feet to save her life, but Ariel found she could not. Overwhelmed by her love for him, she let him live with his happiness, and dissolved into sea foam." As she spoke she eyed the egg, recalling the same emotions from her relationship with her daughter. Ariel was her favorite fairy tale for a reason. She may not be a woman king or savage princess, but she would die for the purity of her own love. Much like Hotaru would die for the love of her daughter.

"I present to you a thin slice of pink salmon, seared and shaped into the mermaid tail Ariel let go. It is breaded, and black beans symbolize more of the scales, adding taste that is amplified by the lemon juice which gives the bread and beans the shine of scales. For a touch of spice, red bell peppers are smashed into blood at the top. And finally at the hip is a cherry tomato, sliced to look like a flower." She settled back, allowing the hen to judge and peck at (ha ha ha) her creation.

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Items: cherries, brown sugar, salmon, basil, lemons, black beans, red bell peppers

Brought in: cherry tomatoes