Camp for the night.

"I brought something special," you say.

From within your Bag of Holding, you withdraw a wicker basket. You do this while Niki sorts out the firewood, with some help from the other girls, though this is something she genuinely enjoys. Piece by piece, you reveal the items inside. Each had to be procured from a different source, all from different places. This is one of the many perks of your new life. Trade routes are opened from everywhere and you have the coffers to afford it.

"First, the easiest to get. Chocolate. But of course I got the good stuff," you explain as you lay out stacks of delicious, dark brown squares.

Eva licks her lips. "Ooh. Gimme!"

"Patience," you reply. "Second, I got marshmallows. These were imported from--"

"My homeland!" Niki interjects. "Ooh yum. I haven't had those in ages. I used to eat them all the time as a kid. That's why I'm so sweet. I think they were invented in Bieuqib or something. Gimme one."

"You are the least patient girls in the world."

"Please wait," says Nyllia. "Kyle here is evidently working towards something."

"Lastly," you say as you retrieve the final ingredient. "On Earth, they're called graham crackers. It was trickier to find an exact match for these, but to my delight, I was able to describe what they were to Summer, and she eventually figured it out. They're kinda like a cinnamon and honey biscuit. Sort of. You'll see. Now, we cook 'em."

"I don't know what you're making, but I am all here for it," says Niki. "Just tell me what I need to do."

After a proper rack is set up over the open flame, you wedge the marshmallows and chocolate squares in between the graham crackers. Your party watches with great interest, especially when the scent hits their noses. Both Eva and Niki literally begin to drool, so you ready yourself to stop any grabby hands that may try to snatch them up before they're done.

It doesn't take long. The marshmallows brown and the chocolate gets melty. Finally, you gesture for them all to try one.

"Careful," you warn. "They'll be hot."

Niki doesn't care. She chomps hers down without a single burn in or outside her mouth. Only a second goes by before her eyes light up. "Ooh. Ooohhh~! That's so good! Fuck!"

Eva's eyes widen. She begins to frantically blow on hers before tasting it next. "Mmmm~!"

You munch on yours as you watch each of the girls take great pleasure in your creation. Amara smiles wide as she eats hers slowly. Nyllia savours the flavour of the treat, and then looks to you with surprise. It's not like anything she's had before. As for Masumi, the marshmallow drips slightly onto her barely-covered cleavage. While her eyes remain on you, she wipes up the mess, and then licks it off the tip of her finger.

"They're called s'mores," you explain.

"You are full of surprises," says Nyllia.

You look to Amara beside you--cracker crumbs beside her lips. You wipe them off with your thumbs, and then eat them on her behalf. "I got you."

Amara blushes. "Oh. Th-Thank you. How embarrassing."

As the snacking session continues, Eva eventually look to Niki, though she doesn't finish the food wedged into her cheeks before speaking. Thankfully you can still understand here, albeit barely. "Say, Niki... I never really knew how to ask, and I didn't study sunheart culture much in school." She finally swallows. "The whole Rite of the Sun thing and how you did it twice. How forbidden really is that?"

Niki licks her fingers clean. "Oh, super forbidden. As in, literally the only reason I was able to enter Althudiyu again was because of the Golden Sword. Even now I'll probably be seen as a pariah forever. I'd have a hard time doing anything in the Oraang Desert ever again without a lot of stealth involved. The same goes for Lynx."

"Ah... I'm sorry. I don't want the conversation to turn sad."

"It's fine. I'm living my best life now with people I really care about, and I've seen my parents since. It was my homeland, and I'll always feel a little sad about it, but my home is here. And by that I mean anywhere, as long as you're all with me."

Amara smiles. "That is so sweet."

"You aren't meant to undergo the Rite until you're eighteen. With my gumption, I definitely earned it, but I did kinda finagle my way in before I was of age... Then, I covered it up, went to another town, and convinced them to do it for me again. The guy who did it was nearly exiled along with me. That would have been the worst part by far. I had to plead for that one."

"Does every sunheart undergo the Rite?" you ask.

"No, no. You gotta already be tough or you could die, or at least get pretty hurt. You also have to prove that you deserve it. Actually, besides it being forbidden, undergoing it a second time has a high chance to kill you."

"What?!" Eva shouts. "Then why did you do it? That's so reckless."

"I don't know... The first wasn't enough. I wanted to be stronger. Hey, why am I on trial here?"

"We have all had colourful lives," says Nyllia. "What matters is who we are today."

A bunnyfolk who is genetically half a race that may not even still exist. A sunheart with a power that led to her exile. An elf with a mutation she refuses to cure. As Nyllia said, colourful is one way to say it.

"I guess I'm just as strange," you add. "Being a guy from another world."

"That's true," Eva agrees. "You're like, super weird. Even more than me."

"... Thanks."

Niki lays a hand upon her breastplate. "It's all right, Kyle. We're here for you."

"Why did this turn around on me so quickly?"

Masumi chuckles.