[Kitsumi]

"Well, anyways," Malcolm was quick to speak up, hoping to avoid any sort of argument from his sons. "I think I've explained enough about how to find and collect water. The two of you should do just fine if you find yourselves lost in the desert without me, I would think."

[Kitsumi]

After a moment of silence, Malcolm spoke again. "Should I continue with a different lesson, or would you prefer to hear a story about a time that your grandfather took me out into this desert when I was about your age?"

Both Rylan and Roman noticeably perked up at those words.

[Kitsumi]

"I vote for story!" Rylan said. "I want to know all about what you and grandpa did out here together."

Roman nodded. "I agree," he said. "I'm eager to learn more about your childhood. And I'm sure that we could both learn a lot from your stories, which is a bonus."

[Kitsumi]

"I had a feeling you would both want the story," Malcolm said. "The timing is about right for one, too. It's starting to get too hot out here." He looked up, noting the sun's position in the sky. "We should head back towards camp, and find safety in the shade."

[Kitsumi]

The three men began walking back towards their tents. The walk, which had seemed so easy earlier, somehow felt much more exhausting this time. The heat seemed to make everything more difficult, and it didn't help that all three of them were soon drenched in sweat, their clothes sticking to their bodies.

[Kitsumi]

"Give me your canteens, and head into my tent," Malcolm said as all of them reached the campsite. "I'll fill them for you, so that we can all have some nice cool water to drink."

Rylan quickly passed his own canteen over, but Roman hesitated.

"We can fill our own," Roman said.

[Kitsumi]

"Come on, son, just hand it over," Malcolm's voice took on a hint of authority as he spoke. "There's no point in all three of us standing out here in the sun. And I'm more accustomed to this heat than either of you are." Of course, hopefully that would change soon...

[Kitsumi]

Soon, Malcolm would put his sons through a harsh conditioning process that would leave them more prepared to deal with these sorts of environments. But for now, he was happy to let them rest in the shade while he filled their canteens. He was starting to get used to acting like a father to them.

[Kitsumi]

"Alright, if you insist," Roman, somewhat grudgingly, passed his canteen over to his father. "We'll be waiting for you inside of the tent." With that, he turned and unzipped the opening to Malcolm's tent. Rylan was right behind him, desperate to get out of the heat and into the cool shade.

[Kitsumi]

Once they were inside the tent, Rylan peeled off his sticky shirt. It felt several degrees cooler in here, thanks to the protection from the sun that they had put on the outside of the tent.

"This feels amazing," the younger brother sighed, stretching out. "I'm never leaving this tent again."

[Kitsumi]

"I highly doubt that you could survive very long without leaving the tent," Roman said. "What about food and water? This place would become a biohazard from your waste if you didn't leave to use the latrine."

Rylan rolled his eyes. "It's a joke, Rome. I know that I can't just stay in here forever."

[Kitsumi]

"Of course, I knew that," Roman said. But the way that he averted his gaze made it seem like he was lying, simply trying to save face. He wasn't always the best at detecting humor or sarcasm, and it was something that embarrassed him more than just a little bit.

[Kitsumi]

"Here we go, boys." The opening of the tent unzipped, revealing Malcolm. He carried all three canteens in his hands, full of water, and something else as well. "Today is a bit of a special day, so I figured we should have something a little nicer than dehydrated meals for once."

[Kitsumi]

"Of course," he continued. "This stuff is dehydrated too, otherwise it wouldn't have lasted out here in the heat. But I can guarantee that this will be a lot tastier than those packaged meals we've been eating." He revealed what he had been hiding: dried fruit, nuts, and some sort of jerky.

[Kitsumi]

"Jerky!" Rylan lunged for it, tearing open the plastic bag that it had been packaged in, and popping a piece into his mouth. "Oh mah gah," he mumbled, his words slurred due to the fact that his mouth was full of food. It was nice to finally be eating flavorful food again.