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Tohru grabbed a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter to start with, opting to let the others have what they wanted before trying to down anything else.
He kept an eye on Mori. He'd been worried the kid hadn't been eating enough. In fact, that was a concern he had for everyone but himself, since they were still growing.
When the siblings finished, Luka leaned against his sisters. He REALLY didn’t want to talk right now and neither Bean or Lilac were gonna force him to. Bean held Luka close as she sighed.
Mori huddled closer to Tohru and yawned, glancing around the room. Even though he seemed to have finished eating, his stomach was still growling a bit, and he was hugging it tightly to keep it quiet.
Bean looked at Mori, worried about the poor kid. She had made sure her siblings ate enough but she had no idea how much Mori had been eating during this whole thing.
(Sorry for falling off the face of the earth. It's been a week…)
Tohru nudged Mori gently.
"Hey, why don't you take a little more? I didn't see you eat much, and everyone else has had their share."
(Np <3)
Mori looked up at Tohru when he was nudged and flushed lightly, hugging his stomach tighter. "I'll be okay… we have to ration the food. There's more of us now, and not a lot of food."
“Hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll go get more…just eat some more, alright?” Bean smiled sadly, still holding Luka and Lilac close.
He glanced over to Bean, cowering a bit. After a few seconds, he reluctantly picked up a bit more food to quietly eat, staying huddled up against Tohru's side.
"Okay, good… Like I said, we can always hunt and fish and gather edible plants as we need them. We're not going to run out of food. That's a promise," Tohru said.
He carefully placed an arm across Mori's shoulders as the boy moved in closer to him.
Bean nodded in agreement as Lilac looked away. The younger girl held Luka close as he drifted off.
Mori nodded a bit, huddling closer to Tohru as he ate. He still wasn't eating much, but at least his stomach wasn't growling when he was done. "When are we heading out?" He asked softly.
"Soon after we finish eating," Tohru replied, "The sun's rising, so most of the infected should clear out soon enough. I'll check before we get going, though."
Bean nodded. “Okay…” she smiled sadly, holding her siblings closely. Lilac nodded as well and Luka continued to sleep.
Mori yawned a bit and shifted so he was more in Tohru's lap, wanting his closeness. "Mmkay… how do we get to the islands you were talking about?"
(Where are they at now, northeast US maybe?)
(Probably yeah)
(Most likely)
"It's- kind of far…" Tohru admitted, "But it's straight down the coast, so it won't be impossible to find at least."
He let Mori cuddle up closer to him, a little taken aback, but happy nonetheless that the kid had taken to him.
Mori nodded a bit. "How long do you think it'll take to get there, sir?" He asked. "Days, weeks…? Years…?" He cringed a bit at the last one, really hoping it wouldn't take that long. Being only seven, any amount of years felt like an absurd amount of time.
Bean smiled. “Once we get there…life can maybe go back to normal…” she sighed as Luka shifted in his sleep, holding Hailey’s headband close. Bean’s smile faded. “It won’t take years.”
Tohru thought for a moment.
"I don't know exactly. A few weeks, perhaps. I don't imagine it would take more than a month."
Unless something goes horribly wrong…
Mori nodded again and curled in on himself a bit, drawing his arms close to his chest as he huddled up in Tohru's lap. "Okay… how are we gonna get food for that long? The animals have been hiding for a while…"
Bean nodded, looking off into the distance. She definitely seemed a little distracted. Lilac noticed her sister’s concern and hugged her. Bean hugged back, smiling sadly. “We’ll go looking for them…” Bean smiled a little.
"I've kept myself alive for that long and then some, living off the land. We'll be able to do it," Tohru promised.
He placed a hand on Mori's shoulder, trying to be reassuring, but not certain how to go about it.
Bean wanted to add on but when she tried the words couldn’t come out. Was it because Hailey had died on Bean’s watch? Probably. She didn’t really want to discuss it.