The carriage had left Arcane city and was now on the road to the southern part of the Consolia region. Finn was sitting at his seat with a boring look. the carriage had travelled for some time on the road with nobody in the group talking at all. Marv kept checking his inventory every few minutes while Alyssa kept making her ice models. Masha kept looking between the two then staring off into space. Finn was wondering what type of relationship the group had with each other but decided it better to not unnecessarily involve himself. he also kept quiet and the carriage didn't meet any obstacles.
nighttime had arrived and the group decided to rest for a bit before continuing. Finn released the horses and let them feed on a patch of grass not far from the group. he then set up a campfire not too distant from the road. Marv got off from the carriage and offered his help to Finn. since Finn didn't refuse Marv tried his best to help and in about 20 minutes everything was set. the ladies came to the campfire a bit later and sat down staring at the fire. something still wasn't right to Finn but still decided to not be involved.
Marv sighed in his heart and looked at the two girls. he had calmed down from his fear of Alyssa and was trying to move on. however, the issue was Masha. he remembered first when he saw her and immediately placed her in the tsundere knight category. he now regretted thinking like that but he still wanted to avoid situations between them. just to be safe...
he was now sitting with his back to a forest and his knees close to his chest. he called his status screen and tried playing around with it. he was so engrossed with his system he failed to see the approaching Alyssa. she was still wearing her white robe and a smug grin on her face. she sat beside Marv with her knees to her chest and looked sideways to Marv.
"May I ask...what is on your mind right now Marvin?"
"I'm scared that you will kill me if I'm alone with Masha."
Marv was so engrossed with his status screen that he didn't realize what he had just said. he was inspecting his inventory when he felt his right-hand being intertwined with another hand. he looked down to see his fingers interlaced with Alyssa. he looked up to see Alyssa's smiling face as she let out a similar aura to his...wife...
Marv slowly withdrew his hand and looked away saying.
"I'm sorry...I just..."
"it's ok...I understand."
Marv let out a sigh as he appreciated Alyssa more, however, her next sentence destroyed any hope for the future.
"I'll just make you forget the past...we can do it slowly if you want but we will make you forget that past."
Marv felt someone breathing on his neck and looked around to see Alyssa's face real close to his. he didn't think badly of Alyssa he just...feared her. but superman finally came to save the day.
"Hello, guys...sorry to interrupt but it seems we have got a pack of stray wolves slowly approaching our camp. I can't deal with them so please help."
Finn was bowing respectfully again at Marv and Alyssa. he ruined Alyssa's mood while gaining respect from Marv. however, just as Marv was about to stand up to help Masha appeared from the other side of the camp to offer her own help. Finn agreed and Marv had no problems about it. Alyssa was pouting by herself in a secluded area away from the light of the campfire. Masha then headed out to take care of the wolves.
************
The morning had arrived and while the group was still asleep Marv had already removed some ingredients from his inventory and was experimenting with them. it didn't seem like he had a cooking skill but he tried to discover one if he indeed had one. he cooked a stew from some strange meat with a bit of vegetable. the savoury scent was in the air and the other three approached the centre of the camp to see Marv cooking. the scent temporarily made Finn put away his look of exasperation. Alyssa leaned over Marv's shoulder to see what he was cooking.
"oh! I see you're using some giant salamander meat."
"would you say it's good meat?"
"well...it has a strong smoky flavour if roasted and if boiled it has a really tangy taste!"
Marv narrowed his eyes in wonder. what the hell was meat having a tangy taste for... he still focused back to his stew as he took out three wooden bowls from a sack not too far. he poured two scoops of the stew into each bowl. he stood by the side waiting for any reviews on his cooking. he remembered back when he was married to prove to his wife he wasn't useless. now it was time to see if it still worked as well as he remembered.
finally, the reviews came his way.
"meh."
"meh."
"meh."
they all responded in unison temporarily stunning Marv. he shook for a bit before regaining his composure. he asked as to why they thought of his cooking in such a way and their responses were in unison again.
"nothing special."
they all looked at each other and nodded in unison. Marv was no longer doing the cooking, not because his cooking was terrible, but because it was too average. never had Marv been hit below the belt in such a manner.
after everything was tidied up and the rest of the stew was finished they packed up. Finn fetched the horses and once more sat on the driver's seat. he said it should probably take about a week of travelling before they reach the village. with this, the group set off once more while the sun was still rising. Alyssa once again started playing with ice statues but was now forming flames in her other hand. she then made both elements fight to the death before repeating. Marv and Masha were watching intently while within their heads they both thought.
{is this how she's like when bored...}