Air Melon

If anyone tells you they don't like Air Melon sorbet, they're either lying or heartless.. Or.. Or both!

— Chandra, awakened Hunter

Air Melons are one of the species of Elemelons, deep blue fruits with a sweet-tasting flesh. They grow where it is cold, hanging from clouds along snow-capped mountains or over tundras. They may be the most difficult of the Elemelons to harvest, but the taste mean they are always in demand.

Description

Air Melons have a dark blue shell with lighter and darker hues along the fruit. It has a scattering of yellow marks, giving the Air Melons their second popular name as Star Melons. Air Melons are the smallest of all the elemelons, growing at most the size of a human's head with more elongated form. Even then, they are lighter than their size would suggest. The flesh is dark blue with black seeds. The seeds are fluffy and incredibly light, prone to get carried off by the slightest breeze.
The Air Melon's flesh is cool and when treated with cold, it will begin to turn lighter and even transparent. It can hold this chill for a number of days, though it will rapidly deteriorate in hot climate. The stems of the Air Melon are ice-white and have no leaves or thorns, only small azure blue flowers.

Traits

The Air Melons grow from vine-like stems that hang from low clouds. Immature plants will be be coiled up tightly, close to the cloud, and begin to descend as it grow older. Fruit that begin to rot on the vine will lose its anchor to the cloud and drop. They grow in small clumps called orchards and are frequently enjoyed by all manner of flying critters.

Out of all the Elemelons, the Air Melon has been the most resistant to domestication and agriculture. Neither Sleeper nor Awakened have yet figured out exactly how to seed clouds or how to herd them to convenient locations.

The flavor of the air melon depends on the elevation where it has grown, becoming acquiring more of a clear and sweet taste the higher it goes. But even at its lowest point, the flesh of the Air Melon has a sweet and pleasant taste.

Story and Narrative

Air Melon have themes of delicious treats in unexpected places. The stories contained within the sweet-tasting flesh is usually those that challenge people to overcome the difficulties getting it. Its themes are those of cold, ice, air and cloud, and sweet tasting things.
Other common narratives include:
The Fuzzy Noble whose refined taste will only be satisfied by the Air Melon. The only way to get their agreement on anything (or avert disaster caused by their fits) is to overcome the challenges of acquiring the fruit and bringing it back.
The star-burst like patterns on the shell of a Air Melon is sometimes said to resemble the constellation of stars. Some believe these to be of vital import for Divination, telling what disaster lies in store for our heroes.. And how to avert it.

Icy Melon Fruit Sorbet
Air Melon is popular as more of a snack or dessert due to its clear, sweet taste and chilly flesh. The Sorbet bowl mixes shards and clumps of ice with the cubed pieces of Air Melon, topped off with fruits such as strawberries, blueberries and Floof-Fruid then drizzled with something like chocolate, vanilla or even wine.

Elemelons

The Elemelons are a family of fruit in Quentriandal that consist of the humble water melon, the stone-shelled earth melon, the spicy fire melon, the floating air melon and the fecund wood melon. They are found across Quentriandal and each have their own elemental theme and taste.

Cloud-Harvest

Typically only found at elevation, Air Melons can be difficult to collect. The most common method is to climb mountains until a orchard of clouds with Air Melons is found. A net is set up underneath the clouds and if they are within reach, the stems are cut with a saw-toothed pole-arm.
If the cloud is out of reach and the winds do not favor the melon-hunters, they'll occasionally attempt to sever the stems from range with broad-cutting arrows.

Rumors

Some say that the Air Melon is not something natural, but a plant created by unknown means.
Credit is usually given to an Awakened by the name of Sunlit Rose, though she has not been seen or heard from for decades.