Chapter 87: BBQ Catsects

"Wah? Why just us? That doesn't seem fair? How bad is he?"

"Well, Sasha said something about being the type to push a person off the side of a cliff if he thought it would help them."

The color drained from Kyrina's face, and I started to laugh, and I moved to give her a kiss. Kyrina was surprised at first but pressed into my lips and kissed me back. After pulling apart, we finished eating and cleaned up our mess, returning the cups and tossing the leaf in the fire pit. There were a couple more ponds in the area, so we decided to go for a walk.

"Where does the race start?" I asked as we walked along the edge of a pond, watching birds and bugs fly around.

"From inside the capital. That is when most of the deaths occur, from what I know. The King puts traps up all over the city and hires bands of mercenaries to kill the contestants. The last King was like that; I cant see why this one would be different, Maybe worse.

That was a disturbing thought, the idea of the King openly trying to kill the contestants, and yet people still joined with vigor and excitement. We would have to be very careful inside there, but I didn't want to waste our last free da talking about this. There would be time for all of that tomorrow.

Kyrina was still wearing the soft green dress that was only a bit dirty, but It didn't matter. She was gorgeous, and I watched her stand, turned away from me, looking out over the water. I walked up behind her, and she fell back against me as I got close.

I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin softly on her shoulder. I looked out across the water with her resting against me. It was peaceful, something we had to bask in right now with the race and training. After standing for a while, we both walked back hand in hand to see what the others were doing.

We found them sitting near the man cooking at a table that had been set up for them. Tama and Mikota noticed us first and waved us down. I told Kyrina to got sit, and I would get us more food to snack on.

I went back over to the meat cooker and asked the man for six more and then reconsidered and ordered twenty, glancing at the almost cleared plater that was at the table. The man got the skewers ready and hand them to me. I was able to leave when I heard his voice call to stop me.

"Hey, are you going to be going outside any time soon?"

"I think we will be tomorrow, but I can't be sure. Why, what's up?"

"There are these things called Catsects, they are like a large spotted cat with a furry grotesques bug head. Now, they look horrible, but I'm sure you can agree that they taste pretty good." The cook nodded to the skewers in my hands.

Ahh! He is trying to get me to do a quest for him! Now, this was something I did know about!

"Yeah, If I find some, I'll bring them back without the heads!"

The man smiled and went back to his cooking like I wasn't there. It was so easy to get tied into these worlds and forget that these were all just programs, but not much different could be said about us. I guess we just had free will; this guy will continue making skewers even if the entire place was destroyed and he was the only one left.

I took the platter back to the table, and Tama and Mikota lit up at the sight of all the food. Iona and Tilly ate more as well, but I didn't talk to them much, and I felt like we were growing apart. I waste sure how to deal with these feelings, everything was so free before, and it wasn't like I wanted to go back to being so flippant.

Kyrina nudged me, and I looked over at her, and she was smiling.

"Worried about everyone again?"

"Am I so easy to read?"

"It was that or one of you twenty other worries."

"Hmm, I just want us all to get through this, and I'm scared that's not going to happen."

The fear was real, and denying it wasn't going to help. Saying it out loud helped; this point was starting to eat at me. The problem was there was nothing I could do about it, leaving me in a powerless state. I couldn't lose them; I know it's just a game, but that doesn't change the loss.

"I get it, but that's why we all have to work hard!"

"Yeah, Dave! Stop making me look like some prissy little girl that needs your protection!" Mikota pushed her chest out, and Tama copied her.

Jeez, they sure were getting along well. The two of the girls were like sisters, but maybe that was a good thing. Being with Kyrina now wouldn't let me forge that same bond, and I didn't want Tama to get lost. Maybe this would be a way to fix one of the problems with trying to help the girls get into the game.

"I hope you all try your best in training; I don't wanna lose anyone so let give this our all!"

Everyone cheered; our little group was getting stares from the people around us, but the girls ignored them. I wasn't going to stop them with the challenging days ahead. Soon, everyone had finished eating, and the chatter had died down to jokes and laughs. Everyone was looking tired, and we were directed to our own huts.

When we reached ours, I followed Krina inside, and we stripped down. There was still some sand stuck on me, and I brushed off before getting into the blanket on a thick mat. No five-star hotel, but I had Kyrina's body tucked in tight with mine.

I fell asleep with her in my arms.