Elin felt pressured at finding the person who had made the bread before they left that morning. She couldn't say why she felt like if they started moving that she'd miss her chance, but she couldn't dispel the fear, no matter what. Almost like it was something warning her that something bad would happen if she didn't find him by then.
Despite her paranoia over the matter, she tried to keep herself as cheerful as possible. She wasn't sure where she should start looking for him, only a vague description that she wasn't sure she had paid enough attention to when it'd been given to her.
While the army wasn't exactly large, as far as what she'd heard others say about it, it wasn't really small either. She wasn't sure how many people were in it, but she knew it was more than she'd have liked at this moment.
After all, the more people who were in it, the harder it was to find one specific person in it. Especially when most people didn't know who she was trying to look for, even with the description she'd been given.
Even when she'd been searching for an hour and the camp started to move, she couldn't help but try to continue her search.
She was at least used to walking so it didn't bother her to keep up with others while moving from person to person, trying to see if she could find the one who had made that bread.
If she could just find him, she was certain that she'd be able to get a chance to try and make some porridge with whatever grain it was that he'd used to make the bread with. She hoped it was wheat, or close enough to it that it wouldn't matter, but she was willing to accept any kind of grain.
As that would allow her to get something completely different from that stew they'd been having for so long. Something that was at least closer to what she remembered from her world. Something that might help ease the homesickness that she was feeling right then.
When they stopped for lunch, she wasn't sure if it was leftover stew from a previous meal that they were being served or if it was from breakfast, Elin only knew that it was merely a reminder that she wasn't making any progress in her search. That she had pretty much wasted the entire morning on her fruitless search for someone who might have decided to leave the army or something during that time.
Despite that thought, she refused to let herself get disheartened. She was determined to find that person, even if she had to check each person in Kim's army, no matter how long that took.
Not that conducting that search while they were moving helped any.
All she could tell about that was trying to search for that person while they were moving was taking longer than it would have if she could have done this search while they were still in one place.
Yet, she refused to let any of her negative thoughts, doubts, and worries make her even consider aborting her search. She knew that eventually she'd be able to find the person whose description she'd been given. Even though she couldn't remember seeing them when she'd had to check everyone in the camp to see if they'd been infected by the devourers or had the devourers eggs put inside their head.
She told herself that she hadn't been looking for them then, so it wasn't surprising that she didn't remember them. After all, there were so many faces that she'd seen go by at that time that she couldn't really remember most of them. They all just meshed into a blur that seemed to blend with each other.
She suspected that Kim had noticed her absence during this time, but she didn't want to give up on her search. She was confident that Kim would understand what she was going this, even though she hadn't told Kim that she was conducting this search in the first place.
A few people had told her, after letting her know they didn't know who she was looking for, that she'd find the person she was looking for in the last place she looked, and she couldn't believe they'd say something like that.
Of course she'd find them in the last place she looked. Why would she keep looking for them after she'd already found them? When someone mentioned that to her, she really wanted to use some of her attack magic on them, but didn't. Mostly because she knew that she'd have to heal them afterwards.
Which would just only sour her mood even more.
One person had even told her that she'd probably find them after she'd stopped looking for him. Which she didn't understand the logic behind that statement, and the person wouldn't elaborate, aside from telling her that that's how they always found things that they'd lost.
Not that she felt she could count on that to work. Especially since she couldn't even begin to understand how that would work.
Even as the sun started to go down, indicating that they were going to be stopping soon, she hadn't yet found the person she was searching for. Which made her start to wonder if her earlier paranoia was in fact something of a premonition, even though she didn't think that sort of thing actually occurred.
When they stopped for the day, Elin found herself, worn out, tired, and hungry. With no closer to finding the person who she'd been searching for at all. She liked to think that she had searched most of the camp, but she wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't even gotten through half of it.
It wasn't like there was any way to accurately tell how much of the camp she'd searched.
So, she decided to give up on finding the person. Besides, she was starting to have trouble remembering what the description she'd been given was. It might be because she was getting rather tired, but she couldn't remember if he was supposed to have blond or brown hair or if he was supposed to be lean or muscular.
She also wondered if she should just skip dinner. She knew it would be stew again, and she was starting to wonder if she should stop eating so much of it.
Maybe her hunger would help her get over not being able to find any way to get anything other than just this lousy stew that she was getting so sick of.
She doubted it was something that she'd be able to explain to anyone, so she didn't even plan on it. Although, she suspected that Kim would probably try to press the issue, though Elin wasn't looking forward to that discussion. Even if she managed to explain it to Kim in a way that Kim understood, she wasn't sure it would do any good.
Although, she also wasn't sure where Kim would be, as she started to look around. She hadn't left the 'command' area of the camp before, so she wasn't sure where they might have set it up this time, but she had a feeling that it'd be easier to find than a specific soldier in the army had been.
Still, she couldn't help but worry that she was essentially on the far side of the camp from where the command area would be. Where the senior officers, as well as Kim, typically were. Where the orders and new directives were sent out to the rest of the camp from.
Although, Elin knew that Kim hadn't sent anything out herself like that, that was always the officers, who merely listened to what Kim said and issued the orders based on what Kim said when it came time to move or like with the devourer situation.
"Excuse me," Elin said to some of the soldiers as they were setting up some tents. "Would you know where I could find the command area of the camp?"
"That what of the camp?" the solder asked, sounding rather confused.
"Uh, where the general and other officers are at," Elin said, not sure what it was about 'command area' that wasn't clear.
"Oh that," the person said, nodding. "You'll want to head in that direction. It should be near the edge of the trees."
Elin thanked the person before heading in the direction he'd indicated. Directly towards the sun setting behind the trees.
Elin hoped that she would be able to find the area quickly, though she wasn't sure just how far she'd have to walk. As it wasn't like there was any real structure as to how the camp was set up. As mostly it looked to Elin like the tents were set up more haphazardly, and situated where it was convenient, so she couldn't see very far ahead. Although, the trees were still visible enough.
The only real difference she saw from this location as to their previous campsite was that the trees weren't on a slope here, but rather flat, so she could only see the trees on the edge of the forest, but she wasn't concerned about that and quickly pushed those idle thoughts out of her mind.
When she finally found the command area, she couldn't help but feel relieved. If nothing else, she knew she'd find Kim's comforting arms here. Where she'd be able to relax once she was in those arms.
Although, she also felt a big challenge present itself in front of her: her resolve to not eat any more of the stew was wavering as her hunger made itself known when she smelled the stew that was being cooked.
Elin debated about if she should just give in or not, when she heard a familiar voice say from behind her, "There you are! I was looking for you all day,"
Elin couldn't help but smile sheepishly as she turned around to face Kim. "I was looking for someone," she murmured, unsure if Kim even heard her.
"Well, doesn't matter," Kim said. "I learned about someone who had made something that goes great with the stew. Something I didn't expect to find on this trip."
"What's that?" Elin asked, not sure why she had a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Well, I'll let you see for yourself," Kim said, a hint of mischief in her voice as she took Elin's arm in hers and started walking with her. "The man who made it has been talking with Lance all day about what else they could try to enhance the meals here."
"Really?" Elin asked, feeling like she was about to find the effort she'd spent the entire day on was going to be a complete waste.
"Yeah," Kim said, leading Elin over to a nearby campfire past a couple tents. "We'll have some stew and I'll show you what it is that's so good about what I mentioned."
Elin smiled weakly, not sure how else to react. She really hoped that her suspicions were going to turn out to be wrong. That she hadn't wasted the time she'd spent looking for that person. That he hadn't been here all day.
Yet, as Elin accepted the bowl of stew from Kim, she felt like crying when Kim handed her a hunk of bread. The same kind that she'd been given just that morning to go with her breakfast.