Morning arrived with a dull gray light.

The sky was still moss green, but the mist had grown thinner.

Inside the cabin, a quiet stir began.

Eren opened his eyes.

When he lifted his head, he saw the others:

Mücella was sleeping curled up.

Mert was staring silently at one spot—as if he hadn’t slept at all.

Yaman was sleeping by the door, his back resting against the wall.

And then… their stomachs.

Everyone’s belly started to rumble stubbornly.

Eren smiled faintly.

No one had eaten a single bite the night before.

---

Yaman stretched and got to his feet.

He rolled his shoulders, feeling a new flexibility and strength in his muscles.

> “I’ll go… fix us some breakfast,” he said, grinning.

No one objected.

They all had the same look in their eyes: Hunger.

Yaman threw on an old leather jacket and headed out the door,

disappearing into the mist.

---

Yaman’s Return

About an hour later…

Footsteps.

Then…

Yaman appeared in the doorway, his arms full of supplies.

A small mountain rabbit,

Two bunches of fresh mushrooms,

Wild berries and roots,

A handful of edible greens.

He dropped them all to the floor

and put his hands proudly on his hips.

Mert’s eyes went wide in astonishment:

> “You managed to find… all this… in so little time?”

Mücella rubbed her eyes, hardly believing it.

Eren just smiled and nodded.

Yaman chuckled, turning to Mert with a teasing grin:

> “Brains don’t fill your belly, my dear Mert.

Muscles do.

If you keep thinking, you’ll stay hungry—if you hunt, you’ll eat.”

Mert narrowed his eyes and looked down,

then muttered softly:

> “I know.

But in this world, we need to protect more than just our stomachs…

We have to protect our minds too.”

Eren stepped in to lighten the mood:

> “We need both.

Muscle… and brains.”

Mücella smiled gently.

For the first time that morning, a spark of life flickered through the cabin’s heavy silence.