Despite the opinions of most who knew him, Suwa wasn't particularly lazy. Unmotivated, perhaps, but not lazy. The difference might not be easily distinguishable in most cases, but in situations where he found motivation, the distinction was clear. Like suddenly finding himself with an opportunity to learn secrets he hadn't even known existed.

And with such strong motivation, Suwa rose from his bed before any other. In fact, it could barely even be called morning by the time he was making his way to see Rena. Excitement and curiosity were the two factors that could drive him more than any other, and the things Sezio claimed he could be taught incited both.

However unexpected it might have been for Suwa to be moving about so early, he was not the only one already awake. The nomadic life of a traveler was one that afforded few luxuries, so while Suwa was on his way to meet Rena, Sezio’s group was rising to meet the day as well.

Sezio's group still had a few food rations from before, but if they wanted to eat properly, they would need to forage for more. Thus, the early waking hours.

“What a morning, huh, Moiya?” The skinnier of the men claimed as he yawned with a stretch.

“If you can call it that, Luika,” Moiya replied. “Morning still hasn't fully woken from twilight yet, it seems.”

“If it had, it would be too late,” yawned Sezio, “Whose turn was it to find breakfast?”

“That'd be Luika and Dobin. I did my part last time.”

“Moiya's always so quick to remember the duties of someone else but seems to forget when it's her work that needs done. Strange, don't you think?” Luika teased.

“At least forgetting is more excusable than simply trying to avoid it, Luika.”

“Oh, I’m not sure what you mean, Moiya. Can you please explain more clearly?”

“That's enough, you two. Now where's Belo?”

Just as Sezio was looking for the final member of their group, Belo entered the camp carrying two vine-made nooses holding a single rabbit each. “I set these last night, just in case. It looks like we got lucky.”

“Lucky? How can you catch something while sleeping when I can rarely find anything while I'm actively hunting?”

“It’s because you're too noisy, Luika,” Moiya quipped. “Even I would be hiding if I could.”

“Maybe you can't get meat, but could you still find us a few edible plants? Just be careful. From what I could tell, the wilds in this area are especially unwelcoming to gehm.”

“Sure thing, Sezio. I'll do my best.”

“You might want to try harder than that,” Moiya called out to Luika as he left the camp. “Well, then, let me see those rabbits, Belo.”

Despite most gehm subsisting on vegetation alone—fruits and tubers, as well as edible leaves and grasses—it had started to become increasingly common for some gehm to hunt and consume animals. However, even among those who did, the thought of eating intelligent beasts was still unacceptable and avoided.

“Do you really think that boy will show up, Sezio?” Moiya asked while dressing one of the rabbits does to prepare for cooking.

“Who's to say? But if he does, he's welcome.”

“Of course. Well, he’s definitely an interesting one, if nothing else.” Moiya's honesty was one of the most refreshing things about her, in Sezio's opinion, and he laughed when hearing her speak so frankly.

As the group continued their morning banter, Sezio set a pile of dried branches in a patch of dirt that they had cleared out beforehand. After stacking them in a cone-like shape with a gap in the front, he gathered a handful of dried moss and grasses. While clenched tightly in Sezio's fist, smoke started to rise from the ball of dried grass and seeped out from between his fingers. Sezio then opened his hand, revealing a small flame burning atop the handful of kindling.

Sticking the burning ball of kindling into the gap left in his wood pile, Sezio raised his now empty hand up while slowly curling his fingers as if coaxing the flame to grow hotter. Despite the absurdity of the gesture, the flame seemed to respond, growing larger and more intense until it spread to the pile of wood and ignited it.

“How did you do that?!” a sudden and excited voice shouted from behind them. Suwa had arrived just in time to witness something he had never seen before.

“Good morning, Suwa,” Sezio responded, “and …?”

“Oh, this is Rena. I wanted her to meet you too. But, more importantly, is that what you meant about a way to defend ourselves? What is it?”

While Sezio was trying to respond to Suwa's enthusiastic questioning, Moiya was busy glaring at Rena. In no way did Rena seem interested in backing down from Moiya's blatant attempt at intimidation as she glared back.

“Great. They're multiplying. How is it that we've now ended up with two children? I hope you're not expecting any kind of special accommodation or training. We’re not here to deal with children.”

“I could say the same to you. We have no place here for outsiders. You'll only make our situation worse by staying.”

“Okay, girls. I would rather not need to break off a fight so early in the morning.” With Sezio occupied with Suwa, Belo was the one left to reel in Moiya; a particularly tough job considering Moiya only ever listened to Sezio.

“Rena! Did you see the fire? And Sezio said that something like that is the very basics. I told you. If we learn from them, then—”

“Suwa,” Rena interrupted, “I understand what you're looking for, but you're not going to find it here—not with these people. Let's just go home. You're wasting your time here, and Deia and Feris still need you.”

“Yeah, but …”

Rena sighed, “Suit yourself. I've already seen what I need to, and I'm not interested.”

Just as Rena was leaving, Luika was returning with a few handfuls of root vegetables and a couple pieces of spiky fruit in his arms, which he dropped as they bumped into each other. “Oh, hello.”

“Save it, Luika, she was just leaving.” With a shooing gesture, Moiya kept Rena moving, who only responded with a head shake. As Rena left, Suwa wasn't sure what to do.

“I don't suppose you've eaten yet. Would you like to join us, Suwa?” Sezio offered.

“But I …”

“Don't worry, I understand if you want to go after her, I just thought that this would be a good opportunity to get some of your questions answered.”

Whether intentional or not, Sezio said exactly the right thing to get Suwa to stay. With one last look toward Rena, Suwa resigned himself to staying with a smile, and even offered to help cook.