Tomobi's emotions blended inside him. The freedom of leaving home, the fear of leaving home, the fight of the weight of the bags. Even as a VitaNav he knew that the bags would probably be a bigger threat than whatever could come from a simple scouting mission.

“Thank you gentlemen,” Rookie called out to the guards of the gate, entering the tramped down the path.

“Can you smell that Tomobi,” She vacuumed all the air around her before exhaling it all away with a growing grin.

“That’s the smell of fresh air, refreshing isn't it?” when Tomobi mimicked her he smelled something different, dried dirt, mauled plants, and something that should’ve been flushed.

“What about you Kiorif? Wanna breathe in this beauty,” Kiorif though already had a map of paper open.

“I’m already breathing it in Rookie, now we need to head south,” Kiorif led forward with Tomobi and Rookie trailing behind.

“Now that we are traveling it is obvious that we aren’t going to do this smoothly. However, I do have rules that I want you to follow Tomobi,” Rookie snorted while Tomobi focused on his words.

“Rookie that includes you too,”

“Wha- why do I have to follow rules? I’m not a child,”

“No but you are under my rule, and last time I checked you act like one,” Rookie now fell silent while Tomobi tried to hold in his own laughter.

“Moving forward. Tomobi when I tell you to make our food you make our food,” Kiorif added rule after rule throughout the day, each a piece that Tomobi had to organise in his mind. His attention was latched so deep to Kiroif’s lips that he paid little attention to the grazing bushes, glowing swarms nor the occasional tombstone of a torn and splattered vehicle or home.

“This one is an important one,” his rules worked as a campfire story as Tomboi prepared a fire, with a tilting tree being their only shield against the sun.

“If you are ever in a situation where you get your hands on a gift, I don’t care how you do it but when you will notify me or Rookie as soon as possible. The other things I may be lenient with but this is the one rule you must follow, do I make myself clear?”

Tomobi felt a drop in his heart, but his mind tried to pull him back up.

‘It doesn’t matter, you haven’t used one. Don’t be weak,’

“Yes Kiorif,” a faint wisp of supposed weakness did blow through his voice, which breezed towards Kiorif and Rookie. Looking over to Kiorif, Rookie used her eyes to talk to him, pointed at Tomobi. Both bickered with their eyes until it seemed that Rookie won.

“Okay, for now here’s the last rule,” Kiorif’s nose flared.

“If you ever feel like you need to take a break, I may let you take a break. It would be problematic to have you faint if a quick break could help,” Tomobi looked up to see Kiorif avoiding his eyes for the first time when talking.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“However, I won’t be doing it every hour,” he returned his gaze towards him.

After the pill of rules, Rookie took her chance to be a speaker for the three of them, spitting words between spoonfuls of her meal.

“Hey Tomobi, what type of things do you think that we’ll see on this trip?”

“I guess it would be nice to see something different. Like the landscapes, I’ve heard that they look better in real life,”

“Trapped too much in the wall then,” Rookie tossed her bowl in front of her, rummaging through her bag.

“I suppose,”

“I can’t blame you, I remember that I did so much hiking back home, the best place to be. Like no offense the moon’s nice and all but earth, oh earth’s the real deal. Not as much genetic risks,” Rookie pulled out a small book and passed it to Tomobi.

“Check through it, it has some of the places that I’ve been at,” looking through Tomobi saw an army of Rookie, all younger than her with differing hairs, clothes, and even bandages, though all shared the same smile.

“I’ve got a huge family. Neighbours always called us rabbits cause we would mob them when they gave us food,” Tomobi was in utter awe from Rookie’s openness as she told her stories. She acted as though he was somebody she knew, listing the mischief she caused and the successes that led her to where she was.

“Am a helluva good shot I am, that’s how I got to meet Kiorif,” an even bigger surprise was the true smile that ruptured from Kiorif’s face.

“I remember the first time I met him, he was so disappointed. But then I grew on him and he wore down,” she then burst into laughter.

“Though I’ll save it for another time. Enough about us, how about you Tomobi? Got any good stories?” On the spot, Tomobi was unsure what to do.

“Oh I’ve spent most of my life with Apollo, I don’t have any good stories,” Tomobi grumbled, with a sense of disappointment trying to carpet him.

“Hey it’s fine, trust me. With me around you’ll definitely be having stories that you could tell, who knows, may even get somebody with them,” Rookie sneered as she sat next to Tomobi. Their surprisingly uplifting meal slowly drained as both they and the fire steadily tired.

“Alright Rookie and Tomobi you get some rest,” Rookie traded her book for her mask as she and Tomobi slid into her wrapping blanket.

Their days became cloned though. Constant walking with only the stories from Rookie’s library to warm the fires within their little world.

But if given the chance to peek through their shielded view, they could see the unique and same creatures that battled with man with their support.

Greened beasts had bouquets of flowers decorated along their backs, calming moving in groups of walking forests. Or armored boars bellowing from afar, charging at a victim out of sight.

Though Kiorif kept them blind.

“If they don’t help, don’t bother,” stamping it into Rookie’s mind again as her vision drew itself to the sight of horses patterned with beasts so same yet so different.

“I know but just look at those horses, they’re huge,”

“You won’t be riding one. Come on, Tomobi’s already preparing us food,” Rookie’s sulk strengthened as she was passed her never-ending bowl.

“Stew again? Tomobi. I love you and I adore your cooking but we’ve been eating the same old thing, could we try to spice things up instead?”

“I’m sorry Rookie, but with what we have I can’t really try anything new,” Tomobi poured for himself and shared a similar taste, Rookie mixed through her food, and Kiorif finished his food.

“You two finish, we need to keep this pace,”

“Fine, hey Tomobi, have I told you about the time my uncle got in a fight with a kangaroo?”

Kiorif zoned out Rookie’s retold tale of her uncle's recklessness and kept his eyes focused around them. The sun was finally resting and purple grew itself across the sky, the supposed horses and beasts were supposed to continue to mix their patterns of grazing and resting. But some faced a direction within Kiorif’s peripheral.

“-and while my Dad was calling from the truck to get back into the car-”

One of the larger beasts charged forward to slash at the grass at an unseen threat.

“Rookie get your gun,” one of the horse mimicking beasts roared and the horses scattered away.