grrroooOOOOOOWWLL
"What the hell?" Raihan questioned. "Um...sorry, that was my stomach." Piers responded, looking away nervously with an arm wrapped around his middle. "I kinda didn't have much in the fridge this morning." He added.
'What? But Marnie seemed fine earli- ...oh he did not.' It took a minute but he was quickly able to figure out what happened. "Piers, did you put Marnie's needs above your own again?" Raihan asked. Piers simply kept silent, continuing to avoid eye contact. "Dude, how many time do I have to tell you that you need to take care of yourself as well as Marnie. You gotta stop denying your own self care in favor of Marnie." Raihan sternly explained.
"Yeah, but she needs the food way more than I do. She's hitting the age where her body needs more of it to develop, and so if I need to sacrifice a few things to keep Marnie happy and healthy, I'm willing to do it." Piers retorted.
BrrrrBWUOoOoOORBL!
Looks like Piers's tummy disagreed with that sentiment. In response Piers simply said, "Besides, I can just drink some water to silence my stomach for a while."
"Dude, that is asking for trouble, and it's far from healthy." Raihan said. "I can take you out for some food. I'll pay." Raihan told him. "No no, it's fine, really. I was about to go get my self some lunch anyways. Anyways, I have to go now. Seeya later, Raihan!" Piers said before bolting in the opposite direction.
"God damn it, Piers. Why are you like this?" Raihan muttered.
The two ended up meeting again a few hours later in Spikemuth for some battles. They had gotten through two battles, each of them winning one. Things were going smoothly.
GWWWOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRGGGLLLUUULLP!!!!
As soon as the loud noise started Piers dropped to the ground, clutching his stomach as he kneeled. His abdomen was in an incredible amount of pain and he felt suddenly lightheaded. Having skipped both breakfast and lunch, Piers was absolutely starving and his stomach demanded that he eat. The sound had ended but the pain stuck around.
Raihan had kept protein bars in his bag incase he got hungry in between battles, so he immediately grabbed one and proceeded to unwrap it before holding it in front of Piers. At this point Piers was in too much pain to denying his offer, so he grabbed the bar and started to eat. It definitely helped his stomach calm down, but they both knew it wouldn't be enough to completely silence it, so Raihan ended up ordering some pizza for them while Piers worked on finishing the bar.
"I told you, Piers! You can't deny yourself basic bodily needs in fair of someone else's!" Raihan said angrily. "If you ever pull this stunt again, I'm telling Marnie."
Piers simply nodded in response, arms still around his belly. They sat in silence for a short while before Raihan decided to ask Piers something. "Hey, Piers. I hope you don't mind me asking but...why exactly are you so thin? You look like a skeleton."
Piers sighed and explained, "Crazy fast metabolism. Been that way since I was a kid. Doesn't help that we typically don't have the budget to completely satiate my appetite. I eat enough to get through the day, but I just wish I could have a bit more so I didn't look anorexic."
Raihan simply nodded. "Next time things get this bad, please just ask one of us for help. We don't want you to suffer like that just because you can't afford to eat. None of us want you to end up seriously hurt because you were too concerned or embarrassed to ask for help."