If he sensed her hesitation, Kuzco didn’t show it. ❝ Mmm, yes, they are. A peppery frog leg right after a full meal of potatoes, maize, and llama just hits the spot. ❞
Kuzco’s next words emerged with a glib nonchalance. ❝ Oh, good! Moana is easier. ❞ Kuzco narrowed his dark eyes, proceeding to tap lightly at his bottom lip. His youthful, angular face took on a thoughtful frame. ❝ So, you see, I wasn’t exactly expecting these questions. I mean, why would I need to know where food is farmed when it gets brought to me every night, you know? ❞ He pointed this out with the self-important assumption Moana would understand, one important figure in a position of power to another. ❝ But, I do have someone that might know the answers. ❞ Kuzco glanced at a discrete servant standing against the wall at the farther end of the throne room. ❝ You there! Come! ❞
Kuzco turned and pointed toward his ear, not one to be kept waiting. Instantly, his servant was hurrying across the stone floor to accommodate him, abridging the gap and leaning over to whisper lowly. There was a fleeting dip of his gaze as a frown formed along the seam of Kuzco’s lips. ❝ Mmhmm…Okay. Huh. Well that’s useless to me, but helpful to her I guess. ❞ He returned his attention to Moana. ❝ So it sounds like we have a lot of land. That seems like a plus. Amaranth, yuca, and quinoa are pretty popular. I’m not really getting why you were called here. It sounds to me like we should be doing pretty good. Why is there an issue? ❞ Another slight pause fell as more whispering from his servant broke out and ensued. ❝ Oh, I see. Right, yeah, we’re in a famine, ❞ he said slowly.
Arms folded and he met Moana’s gaze squarely. ❝ How do you fix that? ❞
A SMALL SMILE WAS plastered on her face, merely just nodding her head along to whatever he was saying. she would just have to take his word on it that such a meal did taste as delicious, and even interesting, as it sounded.
“i couldn’t have you saying such a mouthful all the time. It would be rude.” she gently jests. “though i wonder, am i allowed to just call you kuzco, or emperor kuzco more preferred?” if he was fine with being informal with her, despite how long they’ve known each other ( which was not very long at all ), then she had no problems with that. but she knew that everyone was different, and she didn’t want to manage to disrespect the young ruler by speaking to him without a proper title. yet there it was, a small disagreement between the two of them, and what was even more surprising was that at that moment, she kept her words to herself. maybe it really wasn’t something that he never had to deal with before, which seemed so odd to her. moana knew that the lives of others outside of her island would always fare differently from her own, it was a given, but she couldn’t imagine not truly understanding what was happening to her people when it came to their crops because it wasn’t a matter that should concern her. “well, with all due respect, i don’t. back home on motunui, it’s one of my responsibilities to know how our harvest is doing. because if something goes wrong, it’s up to me to figure out what we should do next, as well as what would be more beneficial for the lives of my people. doesn’t anyone let you know anything about these kind of things?” even if he wasn’t in charge, someone within his kingdom would be knowledgeable, right?
it didn’t take him long to answer her question, as he called over one of his servants to tackle the questions with the answers she needed to better understand what was going on. of course, she couldn’t hear most of their conversation, as the two shared whispered words with each other, but she waited patiently for kuzco to fill her in. brow was slightly raised, but as he listed their crops and about how much land they had, she merely just nodded her head again. her nodding stops when, after more whispered words between kuzco and his servant ( since the royal was trying to understand what her purpose to her visit was ), when he mentions that they’re suffering from a famine. well, that was definitely no good.
brows furrow together as she thinks it over, as arms cross in front of her chest, her right hand closed into a fist and resting against her lips. “well… when our island was dealing with something almost similar to what you’re dealing with, it was because of a curse that was slowly spreading from island to island, eventually set to wipe us all out.” there’s a brief pause, her hand moving away as she glances towards him. “you haven’t done anything to upset any gods or goddesses, have you? and if not you, hopefully none of your people have done so.”
