Food with no love

The campsite was still calm when I heard the sound of rustling fabric behind me. Nia appeared, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Morning," she mumbled with a yawn.

"Good morning, Nia," Esther replied, not missing a beat from where she was cooking by the fire. "How did you sleep?"

"Like crap," Nia grumbled, stretching her arms.

"Well, with your sleeping posture, I'm not surprised," I added, which earned me a punch on the shoulder from Nia.

"And cramming three people into one tent probably didn't help much either," I continued, rubbing my shoulder where Nia's fist had connected.

The morning air filled with the sounds of Esther cooking: the sizzling of bread, eggs, and sausages on the flat metal sheet we had adopted as a makeshift grill.

"No 'love' in today's breakfast?" I teased, raising an eyebrow at Esther.

"Not unless you request it," Esther replied. For a fleeting moment, her eyes flickered a strange shade of purple, but returned back to normal as she continued cooking. Cyrus had momentarily possessed Esther just to deliver that line, which sent me into a fit of laughter.

"I think I'm good, Esther," I said, still chuckling. "Looking forward to some good old-fashioned cooking." I watched Esther for a moment, then added, "We've managed to save up a little money, maybe we could invest in some better living quarters."

Nia, who'd been silent until now, looked at me with her eyes also glowing a shade of purple. "Hey, I'm right here, you know," she said, "You could at least consult me before planning to spend all my money."

Seeing my startled expression, she burst out laughing and rolled onto the ground. After a few minutes, she sat up again, leaning against me and hugging my arm. "Hey, that's not fair!" Esther protested, her eyes flashing purple for a moment.

"Well, you chose to be in the body of the team mom," Nia retorted, sticking her tongue out at Esther. "If you didn't want the responsibility, maybe you should have chosen to possess a slut instead."

"Or maybe you shouldn't possess anyone at all," I suggested, trying to maintain a serious face.

Both Nia and Esther stared at me for a moment before bursting into laughter.

As we were enjoying the morning and the prospect of Esther's breakfast, I heard the rustling of another tent. From the furthest corner of the campsite, Zarah and Oman emerged, an energetic sheen on their face.

"Morning~" Zarah greeted, yawning so wide it seemed she could swallow a small dog whole. "So, what's for breakfast?" Zarah asked, her voice rugged as usual.

"Well, I'm glad you asked, Zarah," Esther chimed in with her usual cheeriness. "Today we have beautifully grilled sausages, eggs, and toast."

"Meat for breakfast, that's the best! I love money!" Zarah responded, her mouth watering at the mere thought of the meal.

"I was thinking," I started, catching everyone's attention. "We've managed to save up some money. How about we invest in improving our living conditions?"

"You mean like a house?" Nia questioned, looking a bit taken aback.

"I like living outside. It gives us freedom to move whenever we want!" Zarah chimed in.

"It doesn't have to be a house," I clarified. "I'm just thinking of upgrading our equipment a bit. Maybe getting bigger tents, comfier beds?"

"Or maybe a more soundproof tent for you two lovebirds," Nia teased, pointing at Zarah and Oman. "So we don't have to hear your noises at night."

Oman's face instantly turned a bright shade of red, clearly mortified by the revelation that his soundproof magic wasn't working as well as he'd thought. Zarah, on the other hand, just laughed it off.

"How about this," I proposed, trying to diffuse the awkward tension, "we go shopping for camping equipment today after we pick up another quest?"

The group agreed, and we settled down to enjoy our breakfast.