The next morning when Lea awoke, the air was eerily silent. The sky was filled with dreary, gray clouds that looked as if they would burst any moment. Mist had spread over the field and smoke was drifting up from the fire that had died over night.

Lea felt refreshed, but she had woken up with a sharp pain in her stomach. Probably from hunger, she assumed. Lea felt her chest for the strap of her messenger bag, but it wasn’t there.

Frantically she searched the ground around her, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her bag underneath her robe. Holding it close to herself, she opened it and looked inside to see her last granola bar and only a half a bottle of water. She was running out. Lea turned to ask Tay if she had any water, but Tay was still asleep beside her.

Chewie stirred, then sat up and sniffed Lea’s granola bar that was right in front of his face.

“No…” Lea said, trying to put it away from his twitching nose.

Tay stirred, and then sat up, rubbing her eyes. “ Morning,” she mumbled. “What are you doing?”

“Just eating..” Lea said, “I don’t have much food left.” Lea gently pushed Chewie away as he tried to grab her granola bar.

“I can see that, but what is it?” Tay asked, raising an eyebrow. “It looks like…”

“It’s a granola bar,” Lea answered. “Haven’t you seen one before?”

Tay shook her head. “I don’t know what that is.”

If Tay doesn’t know what a granola bar is, she probably doesn’t really know about “typical” American food, Lea thought. “What do you eat for breakfast?”

“I eat…” Tay started, then pulled her own bag onto her lap. She dug around for a minute, then pulled out a package full of powder, “…this!”

“What is that?” Lea asked, wrinkling her nose. “It looks like powdered milk or something.”

“You’ll see.” Tay said. She pulled a makeshift pan out of her bag, stood up,  and began scurrying around the campsite. She gathered an arm-full of sticks and set them up over the fire she had just relit. It made a small table over the flames, on which she set her pan. Tay used her teeth to rip open the package and dumped the contents into the pan. A bit of powder flew up into the air, and Tay sneezed.

Next, she pulled a water bottle out of her bag and poured it over the powder.

Lea watched as the powder seemed to absorb the water.

The powder rose up before her eyes and transformed into a steaming, hot roll, that oddly enough looked like bread. Tay laughed, and Lea realized her mouth was hanging open. “But… how?” Lea asked, bewildered. In just minutes, Tay had prepared a warm breakfast for herself.

Tay blew on the roll, and broke it in half. “Want some?” She asked, holding a piece out to Lea. “It’s like bread.”

“Um, I’m good, thanks.” Lea muttered, wrinkling her nose. She finished her granola bar as she watched Tay scarf down both pieces. She shook her head. “That can NOT be good for you. I can’t believe you eat that stuff!”

Tay sighed. “I guess I could eat better, but I can’t afford much else.”

“Oh.” Said Lea, hoping she hadn’t offended her new friend.

“You know you’ll have to try it someday. After all, you’re almost out of food, and I have lots left.” Tay added. “The packets are so thin I can fit dozens in my bag.”

“That’s…good, I guess.” Lea said finally. She looked down at her lap. Chewie was asleep. She hated to wake him, but they needed to start their journey for the day. “We’d probably better get going.”

“You’re right.” Tay agreed. She packed everything back into her bag, including her pan which she washed off with some water and leaves. With a mischevious glint in her eye, she kicked over her stick table. Then she threw handfuls of dirt on the fire until it was snuffed out. “Done!” she announced. “Let’s go.”

Lea hurried to pack her own items back into her bag and made sure her lightsaber was firmed attached to her belt. She put back on her Jedi cape and her messenger bag. “Where are we going today?” she asked, while trying to put Chewie back into her hood.

“We’re going to find Darth Rokoi.” Tay said firmly. “We’ll probably get to our destination by noon.”

Lea’s head was suddenly filled with images of her fighting Rokoi under the hot, noon sun, then withering to the ground from the heat. She shook her head to clear her mind. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to fighting.

“Come on, let’s go,” Tay said, taking Lea’s hand.

The bond was strong between them, as the two completely opposite girls disappeared into the mist