[Kitsumi]

"Save some for the rest of us," Malcolm advised, although he was chuckling at his son's enthusiasm. "Here, Rome, you want some of the fruit?" He offered it to his elder son, who gratefully accepted it.

"Thank you, father," Roman said, before popping what looked like a dried apple slice into his mouth.

[Kitsumi]

After eating another couple of pieces of the beef jerky, Rylan was finally ready to release the bag. He passed it on to his brother, who in turn offered up the dried fruit in exchange. The younger brother reached into the fruit, grabbing something at random and chewing it slowly, savoring it.

[Kitsumi]

"Whoa, this practically tastes like candy or something," Rylan exclaimed, surprised. "I didn't realize that fruit could taste like this!"

Malcolm nodded. "It's probably because we've been eating nothing but flavorless food for so long. Anything with sugar, even in small amounts, is going to taste much more sweet than normal."

[Kitsumi]

"It's very good, father," Roman said, once he had finished chewing and swallowed the piece of beef jerky he had been eating. "This was thoughtful of you. Thank you."

"You know," Malcolm reached over to take a piece of beef jerky for himself. "Your grandfather and I used to have meals like this."

[Kitsumi]

Sensing that the story time was about to start, both Roman and Rylan sat up a bit straighter, leaning closer to their father. They were both eager to hear whatever it was he was about to tell them. Even a story about food could sound interesting when coming from their father.

[Kitsumi]

"The job took us pretty much everywhere," Malcolm began. His voice had deepened slightly, as he slipped into storytelling mode. He knew exactly how to build suspense, even when just telling a casual story such as this. When he paused to take a bite from the jerky, his sons were both at the edge of their seats.

[Kitsumi]

"We travelled throughout Lambastia, and Barakka as well," Malcolm continued. "From the coldest of cold, in the Fe'gan Mountains, to the deadly heat of this very desert. Jungles, forests, plains... we saw them all, my father and I. I can remember each place as if I visited it only yesterday."

[Kitsumi]

Looking from one son to the other, Malcolm barely managed to keep his face expressionless. He wanted to smile, seeing how enraptured both of his boys were in his story. They practically had swirls in their eyes, hypnotized by their father's voice. He had them exactly where he wanted them.

[Kitsumi]

"On one of these trips," Malcolm continued. "We made a miscalculation. We were in the Tengel Rainforest, and had brought enough food for the length of time we had planned on staying. But halfway through the trip, a storm set in. We weren't camped on high enough ground, and we lost everything."

[Kitsumi]

"Our tents, our food... all of it was washed away by the flooding." Malcolm closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly lost in the memory. "All we had left were the tools we had been carrying with us. And those were minimal, as we had kept most things in our packs."