Page 85 of The Knucker King

“It is sweet,” Avice said at the same time as Ashling.

She gathered their abandoned bowls, Bramble’s dish, and Ashling’s tiny cup. Trewoofe watched as she was about to go through the routine of washing them, just like the Wisp had taught him.

“Let me do that. Once we are done with ‘pudding’, I will clean them all,” he promised.

Avice brightened at that. “Another human lesson?”

Trewoofe nodded and flicked his eyes up to the Wisp perched on his horn. “He is a very good teacher.”

Avice pottered around. She collected bowls, unsealed one of the jars they fetched from the cellar, and returned with a dish and tiny cup filled with a golden-brown mushy substance. Trewoofe flared his nostrils at the sweet scent making his mouth water with anticipation.

The Grim and the Wisp tucked in while Avice wandered over with a bowl in each hand. She sat comfortably between his legs and brandished one at him.

“You will love it,” she promised, before bringing the bowl to her lips and sipping the syrup. “Ah, so good! Puddings are a treat, especially this long into Winter.”

Trewoofe chuckled at her enthusiasm and lifted the bowl to his mouth. He took an experimental slurp, sucking up some of the soft fruit. It melted on his tongue. He closed his eyes as he swallowed, the delightful sweetness coating his throat.

“Oh, Avice,” he murmured. “I think I like this even better than honey cakes. What is it again?”

She giggled at him. “Stewed apple. You boil it for a long time and add some honey or flowers for extra taste. You should try it with custard or cream.”

He opened his eyes and gave her a puzzled look. “What is ‘custard’ and ‘cream’?”

She licked the syrup from her lips, making his pulse quicken. “It is made from the milk of a cow or sheep. It is sweet and adds another layer of flavour to puddings.”

“Why do you not have ‘milk’ to make these things?” he asked, before slurping again.

“I do not have it because it comes with Spring, when cows have their calves and sheep have their lambs,” Avice explained.

He swallowed and furrowed his brow. “I do not understand.”

She chewed thoughtfully. “Because, when the cows and sheep have their babies, they produce milk from their udders to feed them with. Humans collect it and keep some of it for their own use. To make things like butter, cheese, cream, and custard.”

“That is very different to Knuckerlings,” Trewoofe observed. “When my daughters hatched, I brought them prey, chewed and spat out for them to consume.”

“I did not know that. So, baby Knuckers can eat softened solid food straight from being hatched?” she enthused.

He nodded, absorbed at how delighted she was to be learning something new. “Human offspring do not eat food?”

She shook her head. “Not as newborns. They drink milk from their mothers, like cows and sheep.”

Trewoofe blanched, his mouth opening and closing. “Human females have ‘udders’?”

Avice let out a short sharp laugh. “No, Lord.”

His frowned deepened. “Little witch, I do not understand.”

A rosy flush bloomed on her cheeks. “Ah, I, well…” She patted the very top of her breasts. “These are for feeding our babies. When women give birth, our breasts become swollen with milk to feed them.”

She looks so adorable when she is flustered. Trewoofe slurped his last mouthful. “So, they are not just to look appealing?”

Avice coughed violently on her pudding mid-sip.

“Little witch!”

Avice! Bramble barked.

“Thump her back, Lord! She is choking!” Ashling exclaimed.