Once again, Talia awoke to the sound of Erik screaming outside.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she climbed out of the bed, dragging her feet as she walked out of the hut. Illyanth stirred awake and quietly padded after her.

In front of the hut, Erik was in the midst of what seemed like a violent tantrum. He was shouting, swearing, and stomping his feet, his face a deep shade of red. The circle of grills quietly crackled as they cooked the meat patties and the generator hummed as it powered the brand new refrigerator.

"Good morning, Erik Park. What seems to be the commotion?" Talia yawned, scratching her stomach.

Erik paused for a moment, still red in the face, then seemed to compose himself. "Oh. I was trying to cook the burger patties when a couple of Lambwolves decided to raid the refrigerator of my entire stock. Who knew quadrupedal beasts could open doors?"

Talia raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's quite the predicament. Did you try to scare them off?"

"What do you think I was shouting about?" Erik scowled as he turned his attention back to the cooking meat on the grills. "Of course I did, but they were too fast and I couldn't get to them before they grabbed the rest of my supplies."

Talia raised an eyebrow. "Wait, how did you manage to acquire the supplies?"

Erik sighed. "Well, after a certain someone went to bed early and left literal shit in their Mudstew for me to eat, I went out hunting for supplies," he nodded towards the filled cloth bags on a table that wasn't there before. "The vegetables were pretty easy, but hunting Vinesqueals was a lot harder, so I had to hunt some flying rabbits too."

"You... did you not sleep at all last night...?" Talia tilted her head.

"No, I had to take care of everything before the sun came up," Erik replied, his tone bitter. "Besides, how else are we going to scam the villagers- I mean, make money?"

"So you're a hard worker..." Talia mused, walking closer to the grills and taking a closer look at the food.

"Absolutely not. I am undoubtedly the complete opposite," Erik immediately retorted, flipping a patty. "I'd rather get drunk and waste my nights, but seeing as I have neither alcohol nor a nice place to sleep in, it means I have to work for it."

Talia smiled slightly, watching the steam rise from the grill. Erik's face twisted into a scowl.

"Now that you're awake, how about you go beg for some bread that we can use for buns?" Erik said, exasperation in his voice.

"Very well. I shall be back shortly."

Erik grunted. "Take care."

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By the time Talia had returned, Erik had pretty much finished cooking the meat patties, fiddling with what looked like the white refrigerator beside it, though there was a twistable dial in the center.

"Erik, what are you doing?" Talia asked, carrying a sack of bread in one hand and a cloth bag full of vegetables in the other.

"I managed to invent something entirely new, which was a surprise, considering the fact that I thought I was only limited to existing creations from my world-" Erik paused as he noticed the army of Lambwolves around Talia. "-anyways, I managed to create a lockable refrigerator, so that nothing can get inside without knowing the dial code."

He turned his attention back to the contraption and added, "It's not perfect, but it should help us keep our food safe from the wildlife."

As Talia set the ingredients down on the table, she noticed the rips and tears in Erik's clothes, which were covered in dirt and grass stains. "Erik, did you get those from hunting last night?"

"Huh?" Erik glanced down at his clothes. "Oh, these? Yeah, I did get them from hunting. I'm not particularly familiar with the practice, since I've never had to do it in my world, but it was a little fun. Had to conjure a crossbow though, since my gun was a little too loud."

Talia raised an eyebrow. "You didn't come to me for healing?"

Erik turned towards her. "I thought you didn't have any healing magic."

"I don't. I just have a reconstruction spell."

"That doesn't sound like healing to me."

Talia sighed, walking up to Erik and concentrated. A moment later, the rips and tears in his clothes disappeared. "There. That should be good enough for now."

"Oh?" Erik raised an eyebrow, impressed. "My body feels a lot better, too. Did you reconstruct my wounds or whatever?"

"No, I didn't touch your skin," Talia said, surprised. "I just fixed your clothes."

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Both of them grew silent. Talia awkwardly reached out, tugging on Erik's shirt. For some reason, it seemed as though it had become attached to his skin.

"Hey. Don't tell me you fixed the rips by using my skin as a medium." Erik quietly said, still staring at Talia.

"Well... that's the first time I've ever tried fixing an inanimate object on a living thing, so... maybe?" Talia replied without an ounce of remorse.

"What- hurry up and fix this then! I don't want my clothes to fuse with my skin!" Erik said, exasperated. His shirt tore a bit more as he pulled on it. "Great, now I need new clothes, but I don't have money for it."

"Why don't you just... conjure sets of clothing?" Talia said off-handedly as she concentrated for a moment. Erik's long-sleeved gray shirt unraveled, leaving his chest bare.

"That- I didn't think about that," Erik murmured, unbothered by his partial nudity. He glanced around, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "I mean, I can't just conjure clothes for myself all the time, can I?"

"Who's going to stop you?"

Erik stiffened, and Talia swore she could see literal gears turning in his head. Finally, he smiled deviously, grabbing his journal and pen from the table.

"I suppose that's a good point. You don't want me wandering around half-naked, do you? Let's see... conjured clothes... it's just a matter of transferring the essence of a piece of clothing from my world to this one, right?" He paused, looking thoughtful. "I'll start by drawing a few sketches in my journal."

Talia peered over his shoulder to glance at his drawings, suddenly noting how muscular Erik's arms and back were.

"Hey, you said you were an engineer, right? Do engineers usually have well-built bodies?"

"Huh?" Erik paused his sketching and glanced back at Talia. "No, not really. I worked odd jobs in construction and carpentry until recently, so I guess all the manual labor gave me some muscle definition. It's nothing special."

They turned back to Erik's sketches. Talia pointed to one of them.

"I think that suit would be nice to conjure. We have those in this world, too."

"A suit, huh?" Erik mused. "That sounds good. Maybe a bit much for an engineer, but I could wear it for a fancy party or something."

Briefly putting aside their task of making burgers, Erik spent a decent amount of time conjuring clothing from his world, eventually needing to conjure up a wardrobe to store them all in.

"I'm amazed that you conjured so many outfits," Talia commented, admiring the array of clothes that now surrounded them. "I don't even have that many."

Erik pulled a simple gray t-shirt over his head and stared at Talia. "First of all, I've only ever seen you wear that outfit. Second, your bare minimum hut is barren of any closets or clothes. Do you even wash that robe? Wait, do you even shower or bathe? Come to think of it, it's been a while since I did the same..."

Talia frowned, slightly offended. "Of course I wash myself and this robe. I have a multitude of water spells, so I always keep clean. I don't need any other outfit besides this, since it'd just be a hassle to clean them all."

"...Nah, you can't afford to buy more clothes, can you?"

Talia looked away, suddenly interested in poking the fire with a stick. "And here I was, sparing your feelings by not saying how badly you reek, to the point where the other villagers have been complaining."

"What the-! You just did! And that was definitely something you should've mentioned a lot earlier! I stink that bad?!" Erik gasped, recoiling slightly. "Damn it, if only there was a bathtub or someplace I can use to wash up."

"The... lake? It's only a couple paces away from here, in the forest. Or you could just strip naked behind the house and I'll douse you with a water spell." Talia shrugged.

"Er, no, thanks," Erik said quickly, his cheeks flushing a bit. "I'll take my chances with the lake."

"Alright, then. Good luck."

"Thanks-" Erik hesitated. "Wait, why good luck?"

"Well, in the afternoon, Stingfins love to go for a swim, and they're really aggressive. They're big, too. Like, the size of a pony. They're territorial, and they might attack if you go too close. Or they might mistake you for something else and just try to play with you, which could still hurt a lot. I've seen it happen before. So, you know, just be careful."

Erik stared at Talia. "What do you mean, the size of a pony? How big are these Stingfins? What the fuck are they?"

"They're about as big as a pony, like I said," Talia explained. "They're sort of like a cross between a horse and a fish, but with a lot of sharp spines. They have these really long tails that they use to swat things away, and they're incredibly strong. You don't want to mess with them."

"So, the only alternative is to strip and let you blast me with water."

"It's not like that," Talia protested. "I can just do it from a distance, and I won't get wet."

"Wait, no, that's not the problem here."

"What's the problem then?"

"The problem is, you'll still see me naked regardless!"

"And?" Talia tilted her head. "I've seen my fair share of the naked human body. I'm a medical sorceress after all."

"I thought you were trying to become one?"

"Same thing," Talia shrugged. "I've seen you naked before, anyway, so what's the big deal?"

"When was this?!"

"When we first met. You slipped from the tree and I saw everything. Pretty impressive, if I say so myself."

Erik couldn't help but blush as he awkwardly faced away. "Oh... really? I don't remember that..." He closed his eyes with a grimace. "Ugh, all right, fine."

"Good," Talia said with a satisfied nod. "Now, just stand over there," she pointed to a spot behind the hut, "and take off all your clothes."

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Erik had never felt so humiliated before, and he had his fair share of embarrassing moments. Letting out the highest shriek in his life, Erik felt the freezing torrent of water hit his back, instantly drenching him. He whirled around, water streaming from his hair, his hands cupped protectively over his privates. "You could have warned me!" he shouted. "That's really cold!"

"Would you rather the temperature be the same as today's heat?" Talia shot back, unbothered by his nakedness. "You're lucky I didn't make it colder. Anyway, you should probably get dressed now."

Erik gritted his teeth as he began to dry himself off with a nearby towel. "Fine, fine. I'm dressed," he muttered, pulling on his clothes. He had opted for some shorts and a t-shirt, further cementing his status as an outsider from a different world. "But next time, warn me before you're going to do that."

"I take it this will become a routine thing?"

Erik stiffened. "I... really hope not," he scowled, walking back over to the grills. "Maybe I'll come up with a plumbing system to draw water in from the lake after this."