Erik woke at dawn, his mind already clear despite the early hour. It had not been a particularly peaceful night for him. He spent most of the night debating if leaving to search for the others was the right thing to do, and in the end, he decided. Sleep didn't find him easily. He found Rick preparing their morning meal, using meat from the previous day's hunts.
"You're up early," Erik said to the clone, accepting a portion of the heated meat.
"The eggs needed checking," Rick said. "They started getting darker during the night."
If their color changed, it meant the eggs were growing well. Erik nodded, and the two sat at the table, eating in silence.
"I also went to check the crops," the clone said. "The mushrooms are growing nicely, and so are the vegetables," Rick said.
"That's good to hear. I would be confused if that didn't happen, given how much mana I poured into them."
