Biast stumbled for words, He felt ashamed, for he had not thought about Clive in in all the chaos. "Wh-what?" he stammered, guilt twisting his voice.
"I... I don't know," he mumbled, searching for an explanation that wouldn't disappoint Amina..
Amina gave him a disappointed look. " I thought it would be easier searching for Clive if we had known something about his whereabouts."
Biast opened his mouth to speak but all of a sudden it hit him. During his fight with Aevis he hazily remembered Aevis saying Clive was the sergeant.
" He's alive ! " He shouted, startling Amina, whose body shuddered at his sudden shout.
Amina blinked with confusion and gave him a puzzled look.
Biast repeated his words again, " He's alive Amina ! " he continued, " During the fight, Aevis mentioned Clive being with the Sergeant! "
Her eyes lit up as she immediately asked, " "Did he say where they were headed?" she pressed, hope flickering in her voice.
Biast turned his down, " I..I don't remember"
He was expecting Amina to return to her sad and disappointed state yet again but to his surprise she remained optimistic. She straightened her shoulders and quickly began walking around gathering their supplies which were scattered on the ground. Biast looked around his surroundings. A piece of cloth beneath a tree under which Biast had rested all this while, several empty coconut shells and a cantina. and a doused fire in the middle which must have kept him warm throughout the night.
"We need to leave now " she spoke while tucking the spyglass into a pouch. Before Biast could make sense of where they were going she spoke again, " The sergeant must be heading to Var'yn . It is a port to the east of the capital. If we go by foot, we can reach there within a day. So we-"
Her sentence was cut short by a loud growl erupting from Biast's stomach. Heat flooded his cheeks as he flushed a deep red. "Sorry… guess this big boy is hungry," he mumbled sheepishly.
Amina felt bad herself. " Of course he has not eaten anything for two days, How could I be so inconsiderate ? " she chided herself for not considering his needs. She quickly retrieved a canteen and a chipped coconut shell from her pouch.
She looked up at Biast who was towering above her and patted her down down on the soft grass beside her. "Here," she said, offering him the makeshift bowl. "I made some soup this morning. It's not much, but it should hold you over."
Biast was a little hesitant first, especially since this was Amina but he couldn't resist his hunger and sat down beside her. She handed him the empty coconut shell and poured some soup into it and gestured him to drink. Biast hesitated, eyeing the soup, It had a sickly color to it with a few clumps of unrecognizable vegetables bobbing up and down on its surface. He felt nauseous just looking at it but had to eat or rather drink in this case.
"Looks... interesting," he managed, his voice laced with doubt. Amina chuckled. "It is an acquired taste, I'll admit."
He gulped and took a small sip. He was surprised when he realized it didn't taste as bad he had thought. If anything it was very rich and buttery. ItIt was cold, but surprisingly delicious.
"Not bad," he admitted, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
Amina gave him a slight chuckle and spoke, " You didn't expect it to be so good didn't you ? "
He took another sip and nodded at her.
Amina let out a small laugh, then burst into full-fledged giggles, covering her mouth with her hand.
Biast looked at her and asked, " What..? "
"You have soup... all over your mustache," she said, pointing at him while still laughing struggling to keep her eyes open. Biast was surprised, for this was the first time she had seen this side of Amina.
Biast hadn't even thought about that. He fumbled to replace the coconut shell on the grass, but the uneven surface sent it rolling away. Amina, noticing his struggle, grabbed a cloth from her bag and gently wiped the soup from his mustache.. For a moment both just looked into each other's eyes.
Biast was the first to faze out of it. He quickly cleared his throat, breaking the tension lingering in the air, "Is there anything to eat besides soup?" he asked, hoping to deflect the awkwardness.
Amina also quickly fumbled around trying to break the tension. She rummaged through her bag hoping desperately that she could find something to eat. Relief washed over her as her fingers brushed against a soft object. She pulled it out.
A large, overripe banana. Its was skin mottled with black spots. It was soft and squishy to the touch and the ends had blackened quite a bit indicating it was overripe.
"Maybe I should look for something else—"
She was caught off guard when Biast quickly snatched the banana from her hand. In a split second he peeled of the skin to eat it.
" Don't eat it ! " Amina rasped, but he didn't pay heed to her.
"Don't worry about it," he said with a mouthful of mushy banana. "This is a perfectly healthy banana"
The next few minutes went by silently , say for the sounds of gulping and munches of eating. Amina leaned against a nearby tree, her gaze fixed on the ruins of the city below.
"So many lives lost…." She mumbled to herself.
Biast, having finished his banana, turned his head towards the devastation caused by the Insaldurian forces.
" No one expected their technology to be so advanced, Amina, there was nothing anyone could have done to stop this "
"No, not advanced " she spoke, " They are ancient. I think these people…they are the descendants of the fallen "