Warm sunlight slipped through the cave's entrance. Birds sang outside, and the air smelled fresh.Pramit slowly opened his eyes, yawning.
"Ahhh… what a good sleep," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
When he sat up, he froze.Across the room, Etmoni was sitting with her arms crossed, staring at him with a blank face.
"Oh… it's you," Pramit said lazily. "You're still here?"
Etmoni frowned.
"Still here? You were the one sleeping like a rock! Do you even know what happened last night?"
Pramit blinked slowly.
"Hmm… I had a dream about a monster exploding. Pretty cool, right?"
Etmoni's eye twitched.
"That wasn't a dream! You actually did that!"
He tilted his head.
"I did?"
She sighed loudly.
"You saved me, idiot. A huge monster attacked me, and the ground swallowed it, then fire rained from the sky!"
Pramit scratched his hair and yawned again.
"Sounds like a lot of work. Glad I was asleep for that."
Etmoni couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You… you're impossible."
Pramit looked around and spotted the remains of the cold water bucket near his bed.
"Did you, by the way, pour water on me?"
Etmoni looked away, pretending to whistle.
"Maybe. You weren't waking up."
He gave a small smirk.
"Guess it didn't work."
Etmoni rolled her eyes but couldn't help a small laugh.
"You're the laziest person I've ever met."
Pramit smiled lightly, leaning back on the bed.
"That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me here."
For a moment, they both sat in silence. The morning light filled the cave, warm and calm.
Then Pramit suddenly said,
"You know, you should be careful. You can't just trust random people out here."
Etmoni looked surprised, then smirked.
"If it was anyone else, I wouldn't. But if it's you, then it's fine."
Pramit looked confused.
"Because I saved you?"
She laughed.
"No. Because you're too lazy to do anything bad."
He blinked. Then gave a small shrug.
"Can't argue with that."
Etmoni chuckled softly and shook her head.
"Unbelievable."
The cave filled with the sound of their laughter — a rare peaceful moment in the strange new world.
After breakfast, Etmoni stood near the cave entrance with her bow on her back.The forest looked calm again, but the smell of smoke still hung in the air.
She looked at Pramit, who was lying flat on the floor, staring at the ceiling with no plan to move.
"You're not coming?" she asked.
"Coming where?" he replied without looking up.
"To the nearest town, of course! It's dangerous to stay here. Monsters are acting strange lately."
Pramit gave a lazy sigh.
"Hmm… too far. Too much walking. Maybe tomorrow."
Etmoni frowned.
"Tomorrow? You said that yesterday too."
"Yeah, but this time I mean it," he said with a straight face.
She stared at him for a few seconds.
"You're unbelievable…"
She turned to leave but then stopped.Her pride told her to just go — but her gut said leaving him alone wasn't a good idea.He was strong, yes, but also the kind of person who could sleep through a monster attack.
Etmoni let out a deep sigh.
"Fine. You're coming with me."
Pramit lazily waved a hand.
"No thanks. I'm good here."
That was it. She snapped.
"You're coming even if I have to drag you!"
Before Pramit could react, she bent down, grabbed him by the arm, and somehow managed to lift him onto her shoulder.
"H-Hey! Wait! I didn't agree to this!"
"Too bad! You'll just sleep in the forest and get eaten otherwise."
He hung over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, sighing.
"This is kidnapping…"
"Call it an escort service," she said with a grin.
Pramit groaned, eyes half-closed.
"You know… I really liked that cave."
"You can build another one later," Etmoni said sharply. "For now, you're coming with me."
"Fine, but if we walk too long, I'm sleeping on the road."
"You'll do no such thing!"
As they left the cave, birds scattered above the trees, and the morning breeze brushed through the forest.One walked with determination.The other — hung like luggage, yawning at the world.