Heavenfall

Sora was still getting used to the fact that his tent was now more crowded.

Oh, not that Kinyôbi took up much space- the woman the Hikaru trio had rescued from the monsters two nights prior wasn't a particularly large specimen, and being a scribe rather than a warrior, her possessions weren't exactly bulky- no armor, no weapons. Just ink, brushes, and sheets of vellum. Ayumu took up more space, and he was a man who could get lost in the shade of a spear!

Well. He might find the idea of her thinking she owed him a particular debt a bit odd- Phi and Koyama had also been there, and had done plenty about saving her, but he knew better than to belabor the point.

So as he rose to his feet, stretched, and ambled outside to take his habitual morning piss before grabbing a bowl of Expedition Surprise, he spoke softly.

"Kinyôbi, Ayumu, if either of you want anything from the supply wagon, let me know. No sense duplicating effort."

Ayumu unfolded himself from his corner, and answered playfully:

"Sure. Could you check that enough portions were prepared for everyone, that some have been kept aside and warm for those on duty at the moment and that will eat later, that we did not empty any of our stocks, and how we should update the menu for the next meals if we did?

Just pulling your leg sempai. This expedition has been going on for one week, the kitchen routine is solid now. They can do fine without us being around. Standard breakfast will do for me."

"You must have forgotten what's in it if you can look forward to it with such equanimity..."

"It's nutritive. And served three times a day, no question asked, without you having to pay for it, to prove you earned it or any similar nonsense.

I'm sure some here definitely see the appeal of that."

"It's just too bad that we weren't in a position to pick up some of those spices from the Nezumi," Kinyoubi commented as she looked through the supply manifest and made some notes about what they might need after burning some supplies recently. "Some of them smelled heavenly."

"Maybe we can give those a try on the way back... so, nothing but the regular? You guys are too easy."

He slipped away, presumably to collect the morning's ration of... best not thought about too hard.

"Why couldn't we get it the first time? Is this a free space problem? Or did they refuse to sell it to us? Is the expedition bankrupted after having negotiated all that jade?"

"Space and conserving resources," she explained. "Spices are expensive, even if you use a little at a time, so we might have had to trade a lot to get enough to use for everyone, and we didn't pack a bunch of trade goods - just resources we'd use. Some people might have picked some up individually, though."

"To be expected. Lots of our number used to be lone wolves. They've adapted quite quickly to the convoy life, but they've kept their habits.

Speaking of personal resources, did you get your share of jade Kinyôbi?"

This crap smells worse every time I get it. Should have saved some of my dried hare.

Rather than three smaller bowls, Sora carried a midsized cookpot containing the allotment, with the bowls stacked in his free hand.

But as he approached, he heard Ayumu's question... and waited before barging in.

"Yes!" She smiled and held up the jade pendant she'd been wearing beneath her neckline.

Oh thank fuck.

"Breakfast, such as it is, is served..."

He ducked into the tent and looked from Ayumu to Kinyôbi.

"And while we're on the subject of food... do me a favor, and don't eat anything foraged at this campsite. I don't trust it."

The jade she's wearing seems to be carved in the shape of a human... or maybe a fortune... at least that's how it looks before she tucks it away again. She blinked at the insistence not to forage here. "I suppose after what happened, it's hard to trust much right now."

"Simple geography. We are now south of a swamp where four monsters murdered members of this expedition and infiltrated our ranks. We are south of a city tottering on the edge of ruin. We are getting closer to, not farther from, the place from which this filth is said to emanate."

He glanced over his shoulder, out the door of the tent.

"Let us say that I find this little garden spot highly suspect."

"Mm... I can understand that. Though it also makes sense that, with a limited expansion thus far, Jigoku would have to keep its assaults spotty. Limited space, limited resources. Logically, most areas outside of the spread of its influence itself would be fairly clear," Kinyoubi noted before digging into her food. "The first was likely aimed at us, the second a stronghold of its enemies. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that it could go either way."

"Just saying. An Ayakashi friend of mine once said, 'there's always free food on a fishhook.'"

"It's hard to know what is deception and what is actually a glimpse of the region former glory. I mean, you saw the Nezumi right?

And from my understanding, they use to trade at least a bit with humans far far south of here, on the other side of the pit, with their own thriving civilization.

Well, I've only been able to measure the thrive of their civilization per the quality of their fabrics, but at least they've got that part right."

"But those people would presumably be to the south of our destination."

"Indeed. But, for I know, they might have assemble their own expedition, to their north and to the pit.

I'm not saying it's likely. Far from it. Just that we've enough imagination, one can always find potential sources of danger and wonder."

"From what the rat-ra-... That tendency is rubbing off on me..." she sighed, twirling a charcoal stick and vellum out of... somewhere. "From what the rats were saying, the humans to the south live much farther south that we are from them. Fewer natural barriers like the Twilight Mountains, though, and similar strength, so they're pretty natural trade partners." She drew a little map to illustrate what she meant. "So you're right, it's possible. Less of an immediate threat, but there are other factors."