Exercise - Valentine

I can't find a link for yesterday's exercise on the site at this moment. The short of it was that it needed to do with a heart of some sort. If she puts it back up with a number I'll edit this later.

Exercise ??? (was current on Valentine's Day) - Currently Second Draft.

Valentine

Dak paced around the object as he eyed it suspiciously. He bit his lower lip as he reached hesitantly toward it, afraid of what it could be, or what might be inside. Just inches away from it he jerked his hand back. Idiot, who knows what's in there. He stood up and checked to make sure that he was still alone before kneeling back down. This place must have been a shop of some sort. It certainly would not have been suitable for lodging. There was no way to tell what used to be sold here. Anything that wasn't bolted to the ground was already taken and,  judging by the some of the damage apparent to even casual inspection, some of what had been. Everything, except for this object lying abandoned in a dark corner.

It was small, no more than four inches wide and seemed to be made of metal. It was wrapped in a very thin red paper. There was a curious shape to it, like someone had taken an oval, creased both ends to a point, and then pushed one end in toward the other. That is such an inefficient shape for a container. If indeed it was a container. There was a crease, or at least the appearance of one that ringed the circumference of the object, but it had no discernible hinge. Perhaps it simply opened in to two halves, a top and bottom.

His heart was beating quickly. He yearned to know what this thing contained. He continued pacing, wringing his hands and licking his dry lips slightly. It could be something dangerous, but it could also be something valuable. He leaned over the object, just staring at it intently. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and steeling his nerves reached out and grabbed the object.

He frowned. Worthless. Anything this light couldn't be worth the trouble. Keeping the container at arms length he attempted to pry it open. Surprisingly it came open rather easily. Not a container meant for security then. Inside were four nuggets each in the same shape as the container itself, made of something he didn't recognize. Each one was resting in individual slots that seemed to be shaped specifically to hold them. The slots were all part of one piece that fit the shape of the lower half and seemed to be made of some flimsy brown plastic. Each nugget had a slightly different pattern on them but all were made of some smooth brown substance. Not taking his eyes off of the container he reached in to his pack and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out his blade. He poked gently at one with the tip of the blade, which penetrated the soft exterior with no effort at all. He shaved off a small sliver of the substance and lifted it to his nose.

It smelled divine. It was a sweet scent, with just a hint of bitterness to it, but also some sort of fruity scent. Food?! It couldn't be. This place had probably been deserted for years. If this substance was edible, how had it survived so many years. He smiled and closed the container quickly as he stood up. At this point he didn't care how it lasted so long, he could probably make a fortune trading it to the right people. He stuffed the container in his pack, slung the strap over his shoulder, and strode out on to the empty street and off in to the distance.