Reordinate the Fate

Fourth Destination: Let's Explore It!

The five 'escapers' slept in a tent together overnight. In the morning, Risa woke up for the first time because she felt the extreme cold in her hands and feet. The girl sits down and patted Max's shoulder who was on her right, "Get up, it's already morning."

Max opened his eyes, “You can sleep a little longer while we here. The temperature in the morning is too low to be used for activities.”  However, contrary to his words, the man gets up and moves out from the tent, "Luckily I got used to it."

Risa obeys Max and laying back down. Risa thinks she would suffer from hypothermia if she really pushing herself out of the tent in this condition. The girl turned to the left and hugs her friend who was still closing his eyes.

"Hug me, Stevan. This is very cold." Stevan seemed to hear the words of his childhood friend, he puts his hands around Risa's back without opening his eyes at all. Risa feels the sleepiness coming back along with the warm sensation she gets. She closes her eyes and goes back to sleep.

“Risa! Risa!” It feels like not long after Risa closed her eyes, she can feels someone shakes her body and hear someone's voice softly. "Get up!"

Risa opens her eyes and found Stevan whom today woke her up, more precisely shaking her body which was still in his embrance. "It's already 10 o'clock. It won't be too cold outside." Risa let go of Stevan and rubbed her eyes.

"Did I sleep for that long?" Risa stretchs her body while yawning.

"Yes. Cliff already woke you up for two times, but you didn't wake up.” Stevan added, “You didn't take your arms off of me either. So I couldn't wake.”

Risa throws the blanket that she folded neatly, "Don't use me as an excuse for your laziness, Freak!" Risa moved outside leaving Stevan laughing lightly.

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"Gosh, I really feel hungry." Stevan put on his jacket as he walked out of the tent. "Your face feels hungry, your energy must be burned out to keep your body temperature." Max answered from in front of the fire. The fire was still burning even though the sun had almost reaches the top of the head.

Stevan moves closer to Max, standing by beside the fire. "You don't need to say that we still have to find food to fulfill this hunger." said the boy to Max who replies with a raised shoulder, "Fine, I will not say that."

"Where's Risa?"

"She's washing her face in the river, as soon as he got out of the tent."

Stevan nodded. Max stands up, “Let's get ready. Everyone have to go find food main ingredients,” Max turned to Cliff and Will who were sitting on the log. "But this campsite can't just be abandoned."

"I'll be here." Will preceded when Stevan was about to open his mouth, "You'd better go, get some more fresh air, and get energized." Will pointed at the boy who chuckled for failing a chance to be relaxed and lazy all the day.

"Are you going with us?" Risa coming with her wet face and body trembling feels the cold water. Cliff who saw that immediately handed over his towel that was on his lap, "Wear this."

Risa accepts it while chuckling, “Hehe, thank you. I forgot my towel in the tent.” After wiping her face, the girl turned her gaze to Max, who had just repeated that they will be going to looking for foods.

"I am coming along."

Stevan sighed, “Of course. Needless to say that, we also know that you won't want to be left at the campjng area for a whole day.”

“Yeah. It'll be very boring, you know?” Risa replied.

"If you are ready, we will go now." Cliff rose to his feet when Max said that. The adventurer is busy to distribute net bags to everyone. He also gives Stevan a fish spear. A long sharp wood to Cliff, and a dagger to Risa.

"It looks like you're going to kill every animal you'll find." Will commented.

Max holds a machete in his hand, “We'll leave this camp to you.  Keep the fire so that it won't be gone out." Will waved, “I'll relax and make the leaf creations you taught me earlier. You guys be careful. Bring back nets full of catches to pleased our stomach."

★★★

"Leaf creation?” Risa asked as they walked in silence for a long time.

“Max made a hat out of long and short leaves in the forest when he was alone. We got up and learned how to made it. Will loved that kind of handicraft.” Cliff replied, “I feel this long-sharp wood is really dangerous. Sharp objects are all really dangerous." The little boy talking to himself and stares at the long wood that he was carrying.

“I can make some hand creations. I will show more at the next destination.”

"Where did you get this fish spear?" Stevan stared at the fish spear in his hand. Shaped like the X-Bow but the size is about a gun. It doesn't look like any traditional simple hunting tool that the other carries.

“It's in the equipment bag. I just assembled it. Be careful, you can accidentaly pull the trigger."

"How could you—" Stevan stopped talking and stepping at once, because Max had also stopped moving. The other two follows to stop beside him. Risa whispering, "What's wrong?"

"You don't need to whisper." Max replied, "Look at the fruit!"  Max point one top of the tree with his machete, "This is an orange tree."

"So oranges aren't just… orange?" Risa asked.

Stevan who heard it immediately slapped softly the top of Risa's head, "You're looks like a child that only referring to elementary school textbooks, Freak." Ignoring the groaning and grumbling Risa, Stevan said, "It's a green orange, right?"

“Stevan is right. Oranges doesn't always grow in orange color. The orange one are mostly kind of mandarin oranges. There are several types that grow up green, like this one. But this type of orange will turn yellowish if it's ripe." Max studied the oranges tree. “It would be really cool if I climbed up and grabbed the oranges one by one. But it's just wasting time and stupid. You can cut it with that equipment, Little boy.”

Cliff looks up and raises his long-sharp wood in his hand. The oranges are easy to reach and drop with a total height of nearly four meters.  Cliff cut it right away, beside the oranges tree. "Let's try."

Without hesitation, Max grabs an orange and peels it. The sweet and sour aroma of oranges immediately come up around. Max devoured it, "Hmm, it's edible."

They each takes one and eat it slowly as they walks. Cliff put some other oranges into his net bag. "As far as I know, oranges don't grow in mountain areas like this." Stevan throws the seeds and orange peel from among the trees.

Max confirmed, “There aren't many orange trees like that around here.  Maybe it's not their natural habitat, someone might brought oranges here back then. But it can turns out that it is purely grown here. Of course no one knows about natural wonders, right?” Max stopped again, "It's a kind of pear."

"Should I do the cut again?"

Max nodded in response to Cliff. Cliff moved the long wood then. But this time the pears doesn’t fall straight down as their hope,

"AW!"

Risa holds the top of her head. "Forgive me!" Cliff immediately lowered his long wood, "Are you okay?" A pear was slightly bounced, thrown and fell right on top of Risa's head.  Risa rubbed her head to relieve the pain, “Just a little dizzy. For your information, the fruit is quite heavy.”

Max said, “You're right. Some types of fruit from trees that grow in natural forest like this tend to be bigger and heavier than the fruit we can find in cities. Fruits that receive too many artificial chemicals will eventually show un-optimal development than the ones grown without it.”

The man grabs some of the fruit that fell together with the one which hit Risa's head and put them in the net bag. He takes one and cut the fresh pale-yellow fruit, divided it into four, then handed it over to each person. “It's also edible." Max eats it first, “But don't eat the peel for now. We haven't wash it. Just in case if something poisonous sticked over the peel.”

Max walks again, “I think fruit is enough for today. Tomorrow we will look for vitamin again. Now let's find something more than just fiber and vitamins.” Risa swallowed the sweet and fresh fruit before saying, "We're looking for protein!"

★★★