Dawnpoint

Chapter 19

Waking up before anyone else, Micah threw the leftovers in the pot and lit the fire. It took him a few tried to get the initial spark, trying to imitate how Oryn had done it. He grinned when the wood started to crackle, small flames flickering as it gradually grew. Attaching the pot onto the metal, he hummed as he stirred, hopeful for their future and finding a way back.

"Why are you up?" Oryn asked through a yawn as he plodded into the kitchen rubbing his eyes.

"Making breakfast," Micah said whilst looking up with a smile, sprinkling a few leaves and crushed herbs into it. "Or dinner, whatever time it is."

Oryn hummed and walked over, sitting by the fire and holding his hands out to it, rubbing them together. "Why are you happy?"

Micah shrugged. The feelings of dread and despair still overwhelmed him, and he knew that he wasn't truly happy, but he still smiled and went about his day as though nothing was real.

"I saw my friends."

Oryn yawned again and nodded, looking toward the door. Phoenix came in next, sniffing the air. Once he spotted Micah cooking, he raised his eyebrow and sat beside Oryn.

"This makes a change," he said with an amused smile.

"It's almost ready," Micah responded, grabbing the last of the bowls from the side.

Liliana came running into the room, tripping over her feet as she shoved her boots on and gratefully accepted the bowl from Micah. When she tasted it, she groaned and took another sip.

"I might start asking you to cook more!" she announced as she continued eating. "This is so much better than Nix's."

"You'll be cooking your own meals if you carry on," Phoenix scolded with a smack to the arm.

Liliana rubbed it and held her bowl away from him, playfully scowling. "Why are you so mean to me?"

Phoenix scoffed and took a sip of his own meal. "Because you're an ungrateful brat."

Micah chuckled as they started hitting each other and throwing small remarks and insults. When he tasted his food, he found it more tolerable now, having grown used to the different tastes this world offered. He also realised he had adapted quickly to the ash floating through the air, hardly even noticing it as he breathed it just like oxygen. The whole situation was domesticated, almost as if they were a group of friends on a camping trip rather than stuck in a nightmarish world that tore apart your very essence of being.

Looking over at Oryn, he noticed he was simply twisting his bowl in his hands, watching the food spin in circles. He wore a small frown, barely having taken a sip, and tapped his left foot gently, the soft hits creating a nice beat. Returning his attention to Phoenix and Liliana, he interrupted their fight with a loud cough.

"We only have two bowls left," he said but Liliana only grinned at him with a shrug.

"It's fine, we'll take a trip to the river to wash them."

He blinked. And then scowled.

"You're telling me there's been a river I could bathe in this whole time, and you never told me?" he snapped.

Phoenix laughed. "You never asked."

"I've been living in filth and sweat for the past week!" he continued, discarding his bowl, and pointed to his head. "My hair's a mess, I'm itchy, I stink-"

Oryn grabbed his arm. He looked over and finally stopped shouting; he sighed and then jabbed his index finger towards the two, glaring.

"I hate you both."