Rations

"You've got to be kidding me!" Erica blurted out, the first sound since the nearby brook's babbling filled the silence.
Everyone looked up. Joshua had a spoonful of soup in his mouth as Damon was about to scoop up some more instant mashed potato with disinterest. Both, along with Erica, were seated around a campfire with cooking utensils and cans of food under the night sky. Nearby, Kashii stood watch, though now he was watching Erica with her sudden outburst.
"What's wrong?" Damon asked calmly. This kind of behaviour was rather out of character for her, so he was careful not to say anything inflamitory.
"What's wrong? These crappy canned sausages is what's wrong! These are gross, borderline inedible!" Erica was gesturing animatedly at the squat open can in her hand.
"I thought they were pretty okay," Joshua mumbled after swallowing his soup, an admittedly unapealing beef broth with dried noodles and vegetables rehydrating in the bowl.
Erica shot him a glare, "Well, we don't all have crap taste! I for one can't stand this stuff. These are rations from Bladefell, right? I don't know how the militaries up there keep their soldiers from revolting if they live off these!"
"Food's food, right?" Damon asked, genuinely confused, "As long as we're getting the nutrients we need, it shouldn't matter what form it takes."
"You can't be serious."
"Besides, we were gifted these rations after fending off Diezen action. Since the Altean Army doesn't have much in the way of money, we can use whatever we can get."
"Oh gods, you are serious," Erica pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand while giving a chuckling Joshua the stink eye again, "Okay, look, this food is for soldiers in the field, when proper kitchens can't be used."
"We are soldiers, in the field, without access to a kitchen," Damon enunciated each point with a poke of his spoon.
"Let me finish! That's for a large scale operation. We are three people in an army of mechans. We don't need rations to feed a literal army, we just need food for the three of us. We should be able to afford, if not requisition, fresh food from the locals, no?"
"We don't make a point of begging the people of the world for supplies," Joshua opened up what was presumably his second can of sausages, "And as for afford, i know I have some funds, but do either of you keep money on you?"
The brook continued its quiet rush of water.
"That's what I thought," Joshua bit a chunk of sausage off, "And I'm not about to blow my gambling stash on expensive food when we've got free stuff right here."
"Is there really such a difference in types of food?" Kashii spoke up, his mechanical voice cutting through the darkness, "Like Damon said, I thought food was food?"
"Kashii," Erica started, "I'll forgive you since you can't eat, but these two boneheads should know better than to just subsist on this garbage perpetually when we have better option available to us! Fresh food will be more nutritious than this crap anyways, and I can't remember the last time I had a home cooked meal. Look, I'll cook whatever we get, but I need to get something with some flavour!"
Damon regarded his bowl of mashed potatoes, "...You really think we should be cooking fresh food instead of this? I admit it isn't exactly inspiring, but-"
"I insist that we go out and get some proper food for breakfast tomorrow! Think about it, Joshua," Erica appealed to him, "Omlettes, crispy bacon, fluffy white bread with some honey, and that's just breakfast!"
All of their mouths were watering at the short list. Kashii looked between the three of them in turn, trying to guess who would speak next.
It was Joshua, who said, "You make a convincing argument, though you're gonna owe me."
"Oh, thank the gods," Erica breathed in relief.
"Where are we going to be getting any of that stuff?" Damon piped up.
"We passed a village on our way here," Erica mused, "There should be a market there with most, if not all, of the stuff I mentioned. And even if it doesn't have everything, they'll have other stuff on offer too! We can improvise a bit."
Damon sighed, "Alright, so we have tomorrow's breakfast sorted out, so will you please pipe down and eat something? It's not often that I get to rest at all, and I'd like to make the most of this time."
"Of course," Erica replied quietly, setting down her can of sausages to get herself some of the mashed potato by the fire, then muttered to herself, "I just have to suffer through tonight's rations, and tomorrow we can start eating like normal people again."
Joshua stole the can of sausages from next to Erica, "I really don't get why you dislike these so much. Sure, they're chewy, bland, and soggy, but they're still meat."
She didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, she tucked into her bowl of mash, thinking of a culinarily brighter tomorrow.
Damon took one of the sausages from Joshua and took a bite before grimacing, "You're right, these things are foul."