A Night to Remember

The group of three continued to traverse the wasteland without any hints of stopping. Their footsteps left tracks in the barren soil, but they were soon covered due to the billowing of the wind.

"It's getting late." Sion eyed the horizon, the dark-brown skies shifting into an even darker shade of their color. "We should make camp for the night."

"I agree." Melanie nodded as she looked up at the sky. "At least it isn't going to rain anytime soon."

Sion winced at the mention of it raining.

"Yeah, wouldn't want our skin to melt off." Sion shivered as he recalled the memory of the poor fool who went out during one such rain.

Due to the effects of the radiation, rainwater was incredibly acidic. As for how that happened, Sion had no idea, nor did the rest of the survivors, only that whenever it rained, people made sure to stay inside.

A few drops is okay. Staying in the rain for at least a minute will only induce some slight irritation. However, staying for five minutes or more is a surefire way to get yourself killed.

They also didn't have the equipment necessary to traverse open areas during rainfall.

"Nicole, be a dear and grab the tents from the bags." The rabbit girl nodded and dropped her bag, before grabbing the tents folded within. Sion also had a tent inside his bag and did the same.

Melanie was the only one who didn't have a tent inside her bag, instead, she had various items inside that would help them with starting a fire.

"How's the temperature in this area at night?" Sion asked while laying out the foundation of his tent.

"Low. Possibly reaching the negatives. Fortunately, I've brought some thick clothes for our journey." Melanie grabbed a few dry branches from a dead tree nearby. "I've also placed some in your bag."

Smiling at Sion, Melanie grabbed some tinder and a lighter, before placing the tinder below the stack of dry branches. Lighting it with the lighter, she ensured that the fire would go strong before nodding, satisfied with the result.

Meanwhile, Sion and Nicole both helped each other with setting up their tents. It didn't take too long for them to set up the tents, and not a few minutes later, the group of three were left with a fully functional campsite.

"Sit tight, you two. I'll be cooking up some food." Melanie took a pot and a kitchen utensil and began cooking some food from the packets she had brought.

Simple instant food, nothing too extravagant.

While she did so, Sion and Nicole opted to sit silently on the ground after laying out some thick blankets. As they waited for food to be cooked, they basked in the silence, the only audible sounds coming from the pot of boiling water.

Sion kept on glancing at Nicole, a bit curious about her animal traits because he was one now. He could control his tail and his extra animal ears, something reminiscent of a monkey, but extra actions with them were hard to manage.

"What are you staring at?" Nicole raised an eyebrow at him for ogling her too much. Chuckling sheepishly, Sion gave an awkward smile as he replied.

"Nothing. Just curious about your Radite parts." Sion wiggled his own and grabbed his tail, flinching slightly due to how sensitive it was. "To be frank, I just got these a few days ago. Before that, I was a full-fledged human."

"Oh, a New-Turner, eh?" Nicole smirked. "Trust me, the first few weeks of your turning will be a bit irritating. It took me about three weeks to manage moving my rabbit ears perfectly. Not to mention the sensory overload of my five senses."

Sion winced at her words, also noticing how everything he heard, felt, saw, smelled, and tasted felt amplified ten times over.

"Yeah, I've been adapting…" Sion rubbed his arm as he smiled. "Anyway, how is it? Being a Radite?"

"Oh, it's the best!" As if a switch had been turned, Nicole began blabbering out her experiences being a Radite. "It's so much fun being a Radite! I can move faster than my old body could! I can smell, see, and hear clearly! It also made my chores easier!"

A smile crept across his face as Sion listened to the suddenly energetic rabbit girl. Melanie, on the sidelines, who was busy cooking their food, saw the exchange and felt an upward tug on her lips.

Suddenly, Nicole closed her mouth and a huge blush ran over her cheeks. She turned away from Sion, who was listening intently, a grin creeping up his face.

"Shut up." Nicole pouted, while both Sion and Melanie exchanged a knowing look with each other.

Once the food was cooked, the three of them began eating with gusto, none more so than Nicole, who wanted to bury herself under the sleeping bag they had brought.

"I'll take first watch. You two rest." Nodding, Melanie and Nicole stood up from their seats and silently went inside their tent, the rabbit girl glaring all the while at Sion with a faint blush.

A few hours later, as Sion kept watch while tending to the fire, he heard a flap opening from behind. Turning around, he saw Nicole coming out with drowsy eyes.

"Your turn to keep watch?" She nodded groggily, and Sion shrugged. Standing up from his post, he walked past Nicole to head to his tent, only to be stopped when he felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Thanks... for listening to me earlier." Nicole smiled softly as she averted her gaze from the man, a soft blush on her cheeks. "You're the first person I could chat with about random topics. I guess… I just went a little overboard."

"You mean that soliloquy you gave off earlier?" Her blush increased as she shyly nodded. "Don't worry Bun, I'm in the same boat as you, remember?" Sion smiled as he rustled the soft, black hair of the rabbit girl. "I just turned, so I can count on you for things I don't know about Radites, right, senior?"

Nicole glared at Sion when she heard the nickname, but otherwise kept quiet as she felt Sion's hand rub her head.

Sion went back into his tent and Nicole looked at him for a brief second before turning around to begin with her task.