(Morgan Pov)

Recreating that portable pull-up dip station I had in my last life was one of the best decisions I have made. It was one of those weird secret Santa gifts I didn't want, but I used it anyway because it was the thought behind the gift.

Even if it was a subtle way to tell me I was getting fat, I'm glad I at least remembered what the parts used to assemble it looked like. I was getting tired of searching for trees or other large objects I could latch onto. I am almost done with my routine, I just need to do my run.

I like to stretch after doing the most intensive exercises of my morning routine. I feel the blood circulating in my veins a lot more smoothly, and I feel some of the exhaustion fade away. It still accumulates and hurts like a bitch, but it makes me feel slightly better.

That's why I decided to do some stretches to help cool down a little before my run. People should be waking up around this time. Which means she should be arriving any time now. Never mind, she is here now.

"Good morning Lynlyn."

Last year Lyn began to join me in my morning exercises. She doesn't wake up as early as I do, so that means she only has time to do the stretches and run alongside me. Which is fine because I don't want her to hurt herself by doing anything too intensive.

That's why I taught her how to do various types of stretches. Nothing too major or complicated, just things to help her out in the future. Stretches that will improve flexibility or will help her build up strength.

Just to be safe I even taught her various stretches that will help her relieve pain in any part of her body. That's not going to be useful for her now, but when you get older your body starts to feel more cumbersome if you don't take care of yourself.

"Mornin' Moron."

"I'm finished with my stretches and am about to start my run. After you finish your stretches you can join me. Oh, remember to properly warm-up before you stretch. The last thing I need is for you to hurt yourself."

"Don't worry, I know what to do by now."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it. Hope you can catch up to me."

It took some time, but I have come to terms with the fact that Moron is now my new nickname. It was a hard pill to swallow, but I can't deny facts. If she says the word moron, I respond to the name by turning my head to face her.

It's all my fault too, I trained myself to respond to that nickname as quickly as possible. For the 9 years I have been with the tribe, I made sure that the nickname did not spread out. I have somewhat succeeded in my endeavors, but eventually, she learned what I was doing.

She doesn't try to call me Moron when we are in the presence of others, but when it's just the two of us the name is fair game. I still "bribe" her, but the context of the situation changed. She now asks for food under the guise of a bribe, but I don't mind it though.

I developed a habit of hoarding things ever since the space in my inventory spell grew. One of my main targets for hoarding is food. So I have plenty of food in case of an emergency or some other kind of disaster. And it's not like I am not willing to share my food with others.

My only rule is you have to ask me for food, I'll rarely go out of my way to offer food to anybody. I have no good reason other than it being one of my few guilty pleasures in this life. I just love watching the pile of food slowly become a mountain.

The only 2 people to ask me for food have been Hassar and Lyn. Hassar occasionally asks for food, but that's only when he gets tired of eating something for too long. Lyn on the other hand regularly asks for food or small snacks to eat.

She used to openly ask me for food, but now she is trying to be more discreet about it. It is not just that, recently there have been small and almost subtle changes to her behavior.

Lyn has always been friendly, kind, caring, and she wears her heart on her sleeve. But I do have to admit that she has always been a bit of a tomboy. She was the only girl in the tribe who decided to learn how to use a weapon, and she is not afraid to be confrontational.

I was used to seeing this strong independent behavior from women given the era I lived in originally. However, in an era like this, that sort of behavior isn't expected from a girl. Even here in the tribe, children are raised to fit into certain gender roles.

Women can be warriors, but they aren't encouraged to do so. They are instead encouraged to become the emotional pillars of a family. They are taught to do the more supportive tasks and to stay back in the camp where it's safer.

There is a clear indication of the way things should be in the tribe. I think Lyn is realizing how unique she is, how much she challenges these ideas. As a way to start fitting in more, I noticed she is trying to emulate her mother's behavior trying to tone down her tomboyish behavior.

From what I have seen, Madelyn is the living definition of a proper lady. She is demure, gentle, very well mannered, and has a sort of graceful air to her. A stark contrast to Lyn who is feisty, passionate, and not afraid to speak her mind.

In my opinion, it wasn't a hard change to spot, but I didn't say anything. I wonder what she could be thinking? This is a very delicate situation. I want to help, but right now she is approaching an important stage in life.

The stage of self-discovery is the most important stage of a person's life, it is the period when people undergo the most mental changes. She has to decide for herself what type of person she wants to be. What she values most. What her dream could be, to pursue it or not.

Many of the other kids are also going through this important stage of life. I learned that the best thing I can do for them is to listen and offer support when they need it. But, I can only do that if they ask for my assistance. It won't do them any good if I just give them the answer.

They need to experience personal successes and failures for themselves. Those experiences will stick with them for the rest of their lives. How do I know? Well, I still haven't forgotten the failures that shaped me into the person I am today.

I can only bide my time while everyone else is discovering themselves. For Lyn, there is a limited window of time where my help is available to her. It's perfectly fine if she doesn't want my help, I just hope she doesn't lose the traits that make her unique.

There are still a lot of ideas that are seen as normal, that I go against my standards of normal. I have been compromising on ideas here and there. At the end of the day, I know what type of person I am and always will be.

I am very much a pragmatic person, I have grown up as a staunch believer of egalitarianism. I realized very quickly that these clear-cut gender roles don't mesh well with me.

Having a person like Lyn who embodies the traits that I see as normal and goes against these gender roles, sort of reassures me. It reminds me that I am not some sort of man ahead of time, that I'm not some sort of contrarian.

My beliefs can be plausible in this world and there may be others who may share them. That's why I have a sort of bias towards her and want to help her in any way I can.

With those thoughts in my mind, I finally finished my morning run. I see Lyn running towards me, I see she is slightly out of breath. Whoops, I guess I went faster than I thought and left her in the dust. I give her a couple of minutes to catch her breath.

She then turns to me and has a sort of determined look in her eyes.

"Morgan, do you have time to talk?"

No nickname, she must want to talk about something serious. I guess the time to have a serious talk has finally come. Very well, I shall respond to her resolve as best as I can. I look directly into her eyes before speaking to her.

"Yes, I do. As of this moment you have my undivided attention, don't worry you can take as much of my time as you want. So what do you want to talk about Lyndis?"