The quiet peace of the dark storage room was immediately shattered.
"Um... Host?" the System whispered, hovering just inches from her face, its digital glow irritatingly bright against her closed eyelids.
"What the heck?" Heena groaned, refusing to move a single muscle.
"Host, I think you forgot something."
Heena let out a long, suffering sigh. "System, I am tired. Do not irritate me."
"Um, Host, you really are forgetting something important," the golden lion cub insisted, lightly tapping her shoulder with a glowing paw.
Heena snapped her eyes open, raw irritation flashing in the dim room. "What?! I am—"
She froze. The words died instantly in her throat.
A sudden, hollow ache violently clawed its way up her torso. She belatedly realized exactly what she had forgotten.
Food.
