It was the middle of the night when Egil awoke to soft crying. At first, as he sat up, he wondered if it was Vanea or Oka… Linada and Tyrea both seemed to be out of the question, given just how the two ladies were, but…
As he scanned the mostly sleeping group, he realized it was in fact Tyrea. Holding herself and choking back sobs, likely in an attempt to make sure she didn't wake anyone. But alas for her, Egil had been awoken.
And he didn't plan to simply try and go back to sleep.
Instead, he stood and quietly made his way over to her, moving to sit next to her. For a moment, he just let them sit in that silence, listening to Tyrea berate herself for crying. Calling herself a fool and the like…
"Enough of that." He finally spoke when he noticed her nails digging into her skin. "Instead of yelling at yourself, how about you tell me why you're crying in the first place?"
Tyrea jumped up then, wiping her eyes furiously. "I… I am not crying!"
"I heard you, Tyrea."
There was a heavy silence for a moment, neither of them speaking as Tyrea drew her legs to her face and settled next to him. For a while, Egil thought it would be a case of who was more stubborn. The tired Egil who wanted to hear what was going on or the hurt Tyrea who wanted to keep it to herself.
"I simply had… a nightmare, that is all." But then, Tyrea spoke. "Simply memories of when I was younger… Nothing to cry over."
"You were indoctrinated by a cult from the day you were born." He frowned at her. "That's plenty to cry over."
"No! I… I have no room to cry." She shook her head, biting her lower lip hard enough to make it bleed. "I am not a little girl anymore!"
"...Never allowed to be a child, but never truly growing up." Egil sighed, scrambling for a cloth to press on her new wound. "You truly are an odd one, Tyrea."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She frowned as he pressed a rag to her lip.
"You try and act so mature, so grown… But you really never had a chance to be a child in the first place, so how could you grow at all?" He clicked his tongue, running his free hand through her hair. "You're allowed to be a bit childish with us all, you know? The eyes of that order of yours aren't on you to keep you in line."
Tyrea said nothing, simply snatched the rag and held it to her lip herself. Egil supposed he had said all he could say to the girl now, even if he didn't want to just… leave her like this. Maybe they could just sit in silence for a while, and when he was sure she was fine, he would return to his bedroll.
That was when Tyrea leaned against him, closing her eyes. For a moment, Egil thought something must've truly been wrong for her to act like this, but…
No. She probably just needed someone there for her right now. Someone silent. And Egil supposed he could be that someone, just for the night.
When it was time to make breakfast, Vanea couldn't help but make her way to Oka. The Nopon always worked so hard to make decent food and drink for all of them (even the Machina, who didn't need more than water!), the least she could do, she thought, was help her out.
"Oka, do you think you can teach me to do some of this?" She smiled at her, kneeling down near her little makeshift stove. "I would love to learn how to cook!"
"Oka would love to teach Vanea how to cook!" Oka hopped a bit, a smile on her face. "Vanea should start by grilling Armu meat while Oka make salad side dish!"
"Ah, alright!" Vanea nodded and looked at the meat. "That should be easy!"
"Hm? Vanea no want Oka advice?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Oh, no, you have your own things to focus on! This should be something I can manage on my own!" She was sure she could handle a little warming of meat if she could manage mechanical engineering feats!
"If Vanea sure…" Oka began to walk away. "Oka check on Vanea in little while!"
Vanea then turned to the Armu meat, flipping it now and then. See? This was so easy! She was having no problem! ...Well, besides the fact she had no idea how to tell if it was done or not. Was it being brown a good sign, or bad?
Well, she could always leave it cooking for a while longer! No harm in that, right?
That's what she thought until it turned black and started to stink. That… that was probably a very bad sign. What had she done wrong?! Where had things gone awry?! She wasn't sure, and it was making her panic a bit.
"Uh-oh, Oka should've seen this coming!" Oka was suddenly by her side, breathing ice across the now burning meat. "Now meat is ruined… Oka will have to start all over."
"I… I'm so sorry, Oka!" Vanea placed a hand to her chest. "I didn't realize I was cooking them too long, I thought-"
"Vanea no worry, just leave to Oka!" She smiled at her, patting her arm. "Oka fine with cooking for friends, anyway."
"Oka…" She deflated a bit, allowing the Nopon to shoo her away from the make-shift stove.
Okay, so maybe mechanical-oriented minds weren't good for cooking. Vanea was going to have to remember that fact…
Finally back to where that damned monkey was… Or, where it decided to take up residence now. Seemed like it didn't want to travel all the way back after chasing the group… That was fine by Egil. That just meant more expanse where he wouldn't have to deal with it.
Not wanting to nearly die or break a heel again, he gestured for the group to follow after him. Slowly and carefully, he passed by the damned monkey. If they were quiet and stayed out of its line of sight, it should be fine…
That was when someone (probably Kallian) accidentally kicked a rock and Egil froze. Oh no… Oh, this could get very bad, very quickly.
He looked at the monkey, waiting to see any sort of reaction other than a pause… But no. It simply paused and then went back to meandering along. Oh thank Lady Meyneth! If it had heard that, the monkey would be the least of the rock-kicker's problems.
But now… Now Egil was able to glide past it, the rest following after. Soon enough, they were free of the monkey terror. Free to go forth towards Colony 9…!
...Too bad they had gotten such a late start thanks to Vanea trying and failing to help Oka cook quite a few times. It was already nightfall, and they needed to find yet another place to camp. Oh dammit… If only High Entia could see in the dark like literally everyone else in the group could…
"Come on, then." He gestured for the group to follow. "Time to find somewhere to rest for the night."
"I don't know how well I'll rest after having to pass that thing." Tyrea made a face, but nodded. "But very well, let's hurry and make camp."
"Apologies about the rock, by the way. I couldn't see it and before I knew it, it was flying through the sky." Kallian spoke up again, nearly hiding behind his sister when Egil sent him a glare. "I will… set up the fire to make up for it."
"Good. You better make yourself useful after all that grief you risked causing us!" He pointed, though really he wasn't even that angry about it anymore. It was just a bit fun to mess with Kallian.
"Enough of that." Alvis poked him in the side, shaking his head. "Go easy on our dear prince, Egil!"
Egil huffed, but decided against arguing with Alvis this one time. "Fine, fine. Let's hurry, though. I want an early start to make up for all the lost time!"
And with that, the group set to work finding a place to settle down for the night.
