"See? At least Cutie has an appreciation for the culinary arts," Kaya praised, patting the giant bear-like arm next to her. She looked back over at Veer, raising a defiant eyebrow. "Tomorrow, we are making Beggar's Chicken. And if you want even a single bite of it, you're going to have to help us gather the firewood."
Veer resting his chin in his hand, watching her with a lazy, captivated smile. "As you wish, my fierce general. If digging in the dirt gets me a taste of your modern world, I'll bring you an entire forest of timber."
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The rest of the evening passed in a comfortable, albeit bizarre, domestic harmony. The roaring campfire slowly crackled down into a bed of glowing orange embers, casting long, dancing shadows across the cavern walls. Exhaustion finally overpowered Kaya's germaphobia, and she collapsed onto a makeshift bed of thick, surprisingly soft animal pelts, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep almost the second her head hit the bundle of furs.
