My consciousness creeps back and I awaken once more, but this time with a ringing in my ears and head. I didn't get hit physically by that cinderblock. My soul or something got hit. And it sent me right back to my body.
[Wade?] "Ugh... Fuck..."
[Tiss] "Oh, the princess has arisen from her slumber. Do you need some coffee, your highness?"
[Wade?] "Desperately..."
I don't even bother to rebuttal Tiss. She walks over to me with a tin cup filled with piping hot coffee. No cream or sugar. The cup is hot, and the coffee inside is even hotter. The bitter taste and scalding heat hit my tongue, but I couldn't be more grateful for it.
[Wade?] "Hoooh hot... But damn that's good."
[Tiss] "Glad you like it. I'm thinking about making some breakfast. You hungry?"
[Wade?] "So hungry."
Tiss sets up a stove and lights it by charging it with mana. Seems to be a magic item.
[Wade?] "Thought you only had ration packs. What's with the stove?"
[Tiss] "Jiji laid a bunch of eggs. She seems to be fine with us having some to eat. I asked her and she didn't seem upset about it."
I stand up and stretch my body, then take a good look at Jiji's nest. She's sitting on a pile of eggs, each with a light gold color.
[Wade?] "Wow, Jiji. You sure laid a lot of eggs. And it's okay for us to have some?"
[Jiji] "Bkaw!"
[Wade?] "Wow, thanks! You're awesome, Jiji!"
I kneel down and grab four eggs from her nest in one hand. While sipping my coffee with the other hand, I go over to Tiss and take a seat beside her. I set my coffee to the side and then hold up the eggs.
[Wade?] "Mind if I do the honors?"
[Tiss] "Go for it. I just oiled the pan."
I set two eggs in my lap while I sit cross-legged. After tapping the shell against the pan, I crack the egg. The white and yolk slip out of the shell and fall into the pan. It starts to sizzle on the hot, greased pan. I crack each of the other eggs and watch as they sizzle and solidify in the pan.
Only a little longer and they'll all be ready to eat. We don't have any salt or other seasonings right now, but I'm sure they're delicious all on their own.
[Wade?] "Jiji, there's something I wanted to ask you."
I stand up so I can move over to Jiji's nest. I take a seat there and look in on the comfy hen.
[Wade?] "We're trying to get back to where we came from. You remember the world where we met, right?"
[Jiji] "Bkaw!"
[Wade?] "Good. Would you be able to lead us to where we can get back?"
[Jiji] "Bawk? ... Bkaw!"
[Wade?] "Oh, you're just the best Jiji."
I return to my spot near Tiss. She's serving us each two eggs on some light wooden plates. She hands me a plate and a fork.
[Tiss] "Homesick?"
[Wade?] "Me? No. Not really. I don't have anywhere to go back to."
[Tiss] "You seem to be in a real rush to get out of here, though."
[Wade?] "I'm more worried about you. You have a family waiting for you. And I'm sure Elyssia is worried sick."
I dig into my simple meal, but Tiss is frozen in place. I glance over and catch a glimpse of the look on her face. I think she had been pushing down the thoughts about those who might be waiting on her to return. She doesn't know the truth about how much time has passed.
But I do. I owe it to her to do absolutely everything to get her home.
[Wade?] "Hey..."
I set down my plate and scoot a bit closer. I reach over and gently grab one of her hands in mine. She sets her plate to the side as well.
[Wade?] "I'll get you home. Okay?"
[Tiss] "Heh... Since when did you become the one looking out for me? You were the biggest weakling until yesterday."
[Wade?] "Hmm... Maybe just natural instinct? Perhaps I'm a natural-born fighter!"
[Tiss] "Maybe, yeah."
Our grips tighten and we share a smile. Together, we eat our meal and finish our coffees. Tiss packs away all of the cooking gear and the dishes into her Item Box.
I pick up Jiji and rest her on my shoulder.
[Jiji] "Bawk!"
[Wade?] "Oh, for real?"
[Jiji] "Bkaw!"
I lean down and collect the remaining 11 eggs. Once in my Item Box, I see that they now have a Legendary label. These will be awesome later.
[Jiji] "Bawk!"
[Wade?] "Yes, ma'am."
As per Jiji's order, I also collect her nest. Inside the Item Box, it's labeled as
Together, the three of us gather together at the entrance to the room. Jiji clucks a couple times and flaps her wings, then the wall vanishes.
With that, the trio of Tiss, Jiji, and I is now ready to depart! Out into the labyrinth!
---------
Once we started exploring the labyrinth, Jiji acted as our compass, of sorts. She'd give me a direction to follow, and then Tiss and I would walk together in that direction. Apparently Jiji has been following a route that should avoid STRING THEORY encounters almost entirely.
[Tiss] "It's almost boring now."
[Wade?] "I know what you mean. I was hoping to get some cool item drops."
[Tiss] "Which is so strange. You seem totally unaffected by that. Monsters typically die and we have to harvest things from them. There's no such things as random items appearing when a monster dies."
[Wade?] "Oh uh! ... It's just something I thought was super cool. That's the only reason I don't think it's strange. Plus, I've never really fought and killed things until recently."
[Tiss] "I don't know why that makes so much sense. Honestly, you're the strangest man I've ever met."
[Wade?] "Well, I aim to impress!"
[Tiss] "Never change, Wade."
[Jiji] "Bkaw!"
[Tiss] "See, Jiji agrees."
[Wade?] "You understand her now?"
[Tiss] "Nope. But I just felt like she agreed."
[Jiji] "Bkaw!"