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There was a stark silence between the two as they walked through the Koraha desert. They both felt the silence, but lacked any idea on how to address it. Leo wanted to help, but wasn’t prepared to get a new companion. Marem silently thought of the caravan as she walked.

“I’m sorry about what happened— with your friends,” apologized Leo.

“You don’t have anything to say sorry about, they weren’t my friends and you didn’t do anything,” Marem disputed.

Leo continued, “I just meant that I’m sorry they’re dead.”

Marem sighed, “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to snap at you. Just been a really shitty day.”

“That makes sense.”

Even if the talk was light, there was a certain ease that came with having a conversation. Though their journey had barely just started, having barely left the view of the caravan, it already came to an abrupt stop. Marem stopped on some flat terrain and put down her backpack. He approached as she began to unpack her backpack, trying his best to not spray her with sand.

“What’s up?” questioned Leo.

“Well I haven’t eaten in what feels like days,” she responded, “so I’m gonna sit down and eat.”

Leo realized he hadn’t had breakfast, so he opted to join her. She pulled out a wooden slab and placed it on the ground. The slab floated a few inches up, as Marem rummaged through her bag.

Leo grabbed a packed sandwich from his bag, even though he started to run low on premade meals from Koram. Marem opened up a pack of adventuring rations. Leo sat across from her at the table as the two began to eat silently. His sandwich was certainly worse for wear from travel and fighting, as he couldn’t help but eye her rations.

The rations contained a bowl of soup, the steam spreading its aromatic scent around. He wondered how it kept so warm, but assumed that magic had to be involved. Then he wondered if the soup is magic and permanently warm, or if the container was magic in keeping food warm. This was when he remembered that they are in the middle of a desert, and that the food was likely warmed by the sun or something.

Marem enjoyed her hearty chicken soup, savoring each spoonful. She enjoyed a warm soup on a warm day, as warm goes with warm. This was something she’d gotten surprisingly heavy criticism for before, but when you nearly die to a giant arm, you get to eat whatever you please. She looked on at Leo as he ate lukewarm sandwiches that seemed to have been used as a makeshift shield from their appearance. Marem wondered what exactly his food situation was, and if he even had enough suitable food for the journey.

She grabbed a cup from her bag and filled it with soup, sliding the cup to Leo's half of the table as she carried on eating. He started to drink his portion of soup, touched by the gesture. He ripped off part of his sandwich and reached over to hand it to her, afraid of what a slide would do.

Marem took a bite, mostly to be polite, yet was shocked at just how good the sandwich was. The sandwich was as difficult to contain as a sandwich could be, but that hardly mattered to her. The seasoning was fine tuned, and despite the damage to the food, it was still fresh and flavorful. In short, yummy sandwich.

The two of them enjoyed their meals together, not having much to say as they ate. Once they finished eating, they put away the used packaging, and Marem packed up her table. As they continued their walk, drinking from their canteens, they started to talk.

“So, what are you headed to Edheim for?” asked Leo.

“Have some family matters that I’m going to handle,” she answered, “How about you?”

“Oh, looking for some world ending dangers and to talk with the king,” he admitted.

“What?”

“What?”

“What do you mean by world ending dangers and the king?” questioned Marem.

Leo realized that his Charisma was likely low due to his inability to talk like a normal person. He was certain that what he said sounded crazy, and that there weren't many good ways to continue a conversation from here. He decided to trust her, just as he trusted Koram and Buddy, hoping he didn’t always need to keep his strength a secret.

“So I am now realizing that sounded crazy, and that basically anything I say will sound crazy now. We don’t know each other well, but I don’t want you to think I’m some psycho either,” Leo pleaded, “So just hear me out here, and then decide if I’m crazy.”

Marem had her guard raised, but she was willing to hear him out. He had done nothing but help so far, and may be a messenger for the king or an adventurer.

“Okay, I’ll let you speak,” Marem cautiously accepted.

Leo didn’t want to tell her about his arrival from another world, as that definitely was too crazy to sell, so he opted to start the story from his first night here. He told her about the bastard slime and broken limbs. Then he mentioned a strange elixir that changed him forever. He avoided terms like status or stats, opting to let her fill in the blanks.

Leo described his large jumps and powerful punches, though this drew an incredulous look. His demonstration helped it seem a bit more believable. He told her about Koram and Buddy, as she listened intently.

The tale of the fight with David drew her attention in, and the loss of Buddy elicited a pained look and condolences. He explained his way here, the monsters he faced, and the unique class he wielded. By the time he caught up to the modern day, he realized his rattling had gone on for hours by now.

When he finished, he looked at her expectantly. Marem had kept true and let him speak, not interrupting him as he told the tale, though this meant Leo wasn’t certain what exactly ran through her mind as he spoke.

“Must say, Leo, you are either an exceptional liar, a raving lunatic, or the next big hero,” Marem ribbed, “But despite how unbelievable that all was, I feel inclined to believe you. Of course, the fact that you jumped thousands of feet in the air doesn’t hurt your case.”

“Oh thank God,” blurted out Leo.

Marem laughed, “Honestly, didn’t expect all that from you. Don’t know what I expected, but it wasn't that.”

Leo laughed along, though he realized he had been talking about himself all day. The only things he knew about Marem was her name and a nondescript reason to travel. He wanted to ask for more information about her, as he tried to figure out how to not make it sound like he was hitting on her.

“Now that I’ve stammered about myself all day,” Leo awkwardly added, “What about you?”