As the sounds of mating insects serenaded them, they arrived at Girry's ship. Billy was awake, gnawing on his favorite spoon as the two began preparing to roast the feathered lizard. Spiffy gave the Raaby a look and glanced at Girry, who winked.

  Shrugging, Spiffy got to work starting a fire while watching Girry dig a shallow hole. "What is the purpose of that hole?"

  Girry looked up. "Easy way to roast without an oven," he said as he prepared a bucket with water and reddish sand.

  Frowning, "I see. And what is the purpose of the mud?"

  "Not mud," he smirked, "I'm mixin clay. Then I'm gonna coat the hole." He winked. "We makin a quick oven."

  Spiffy shrugged, then fed the fire. It said thanks and crackled gently. Once he'd mixed enough clay, Girry coated the hole in a thick layer and placed a few coals inside, then sat down next to Spiffy.

  Sitting in silence, they listened to the insects, the fire, Billy's gnawing, and the occasional upset bird shouting at the insects to quiet down. Obviously, the insects got upset by this, so they shouted back.

  As they listened to the animals shouting, Girry kept an eye on his oven as the coals slowly died. Once the clay had dried, he scooped out the ashes and any leftover embers, then dusted it with a handful of leaves. Pleased with the result, he threw a few logs onto the fire and pulled out his bag of spices.

  "Oh, you're gonna spice the meat!?" he jumped up. "Be a champ and tell us what spices you're using."

  "Well, I was thinking of usein' sword leaves, roasted plipers, and some plain salt." He paused and glanced at Spiffy. "The salt is my own special mix."

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  Frowning, "I thought you said it was plain salt."

  Girry smirked, "That's just what I tell everyone."

  Folding his arms, he watched as Girry rubbed salt all over the meat, then made small cuts with a homemade knife and stuffed leaves and plipers inside.

  Rubbing and massaging the seasoning into the meat, he demonstrated his years of knowledge and experience. Completely mesmerized, Spiffy stared as hard as he could in the hopes of learning.

  Suddenly, Girry stopped dead, then looked at Spiffy, blinked, rubbed his nose, and finally spoke. "It is done."

  Exhaling, Spiffy smiled. "Wow, that was very well done. I think. Thank you for showing me."

  Girry nodded and winked at him as he splashed some of his secret recipe stock onto the meat, then wrapped it into some well-used aluminium foil.

  Walking to the oven. "Spiff, mind grabbin that grid?" He motioned with his head.

  "Ah, righto!" he said as he grabbed the blackened and warped grid.

  It was handed to Girry as the roast was placed inside the hole. The grid was laid on top, followed by some dirt, and finally a pile of red-hot coals. Once he was happy, he fed the fire some more logs and sat back down to relax.

  As the meat cooked, fragrant smells filled the surrounding area and caught the attention of some local wildlife. Nothing too dangerous, mind you, just an animal called a Tuger.

  It had the basic appearance of a ferret mixed with a cat. Sadly, not much else is known about them since their numbers declined rapidly, and, according to some of the surviving Tugers, they are in danger because they taste too good.

  Billy, who had just woken up from the smells, confirmed the creatures' statement by eating the one that got too close to the campsite. He then did a cartwheel, confused poor Spiffy, scared a bug, and went back to sleep with a full belly.

  "What the heck was that?" blurted Spiffy.

  Poking the fire with a stick, "Billy. A Raaby from a planet near my stall." He paused. "Must have ate something good."

  "Something good?" squinted Spiffy.

  "Yep, he does that when he eats something he likes."

  "Right…" said Spiffy, leaning back, "Anyway, I have this bottle of alcohol. I made it myself." Glancing at Girry, "Would you fancy a glass?"

  Girry smiled widely. "Now we talkin."

  So, while the two of them get tipsy and probably start singing love songs, I'm going to go and make some food.