Jun''s door was rapped with the rhythmic rhythm that jarred the still morning. He set down his pen and his journal lying under it, half-filled by the jotted notes and sketches of the night before. Yogundr stirs around his shoulders, its head lifting lazily as though equally curious of the interruption.
That is coming, Jun called out, getting out of his desk. Opening the door, he found Riry standing there, hands on hips, and that bad habit of mischief in her grin. Purple Hair shone brightly during the morning sun and behind was she hovering a shimmering of a Sleeping Leviathan, a faint glow emitted from its ethereal body.
You''re alive after all, Riry goaded, striding past him into the cabin without waiting for an invitation. "I was starting to think you''d gone full hermit on me."
Jun closed the door, suppressing a chuckle. "Good morning to you too. What brings you out here?
"You, of course. Somebody has to remind you not to drown in piles of books or try to turn the place into a livable planet through some accident." Her eyes narrowed at him. "You never take a break, Jun. You know normal people do breaks."
Jun shrugged once more, scratching at his neck. "There''s work to be done. But now you''re here, so… He gestured to the cups.".
Riry flopped down across the clutter of his workbench, her glance lighting on the open journal, and the half-hundred assorted tools. "Tea would be nice, then," she said. "And maybe, I''ll get you to knock off for five minutes".
They sat down a few minutes later, mugs of steaming Chronoweed tea between them. The rich earthy aroma of the brew filled the cabin, mingling with faint scents of leather and metal emanating from Jun''s various projects.
"So," Riry said, blowing on her tea. "What''s the latest in your grand plans? Terraforming? World domination?"
Jun smiled cynically. "Neither. I''ve been working on getting ripple energy into tools and structures. Books I read have given me some nice insights, but there''s much too much left out."
"Gaps I could probably fill," Riry said, leaning forward. "Come on, let me see."
Jun handed her his journal, and she flipped through it, furrowing her brow in concentration. "You''re thorough, I''ll give you that. But." She pointed to one of his sketches. "Here. If you are stabilizing mana flow through this conduit, you''re going to need a second grounding point. Otherwise, it will loop back and overload."
"Good catch," Jun admitted, making a note. "That''s why I need you around more often."This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Riry''s grin spread. "Careful, shadow boy. Keep flattering me like that, and I might never leave."
---
Afternoon was falling over the city, and Jun still read aloud from "Cultivating Mana Gardens," his voice steady as he struggled through the dense text. Riry listened intently, occasionally interjecting with corrections or trivia.
"Vaerlun really underestimated Glowroot''s adaptability," she said at one point. "In the wild, I''ve seen it grow in almost barren soil as long as there''s a decent mana current nearby."
"I''ll add that to the notes," Jun replied, jotting it down. "You''ve seen a lot more of Gaia than I have.".
"Perks of being a Bomra," Riry said with a shrug. "We''re supposed to ''understand the land we''re meant to protect,'' or something like that."
Jun glanced at her, his tone softening. "Does it ever bother you? All the expectations?"
She hesitated, her gaze dropping to her tea. "Sometimes. But out here? With you? It doesn''t feel so heavy."
Warmth bloomed in his chest, but he didn''t raise his eyes from the book. "I am glad,
As the day grew old, Riry relaxed, and she rested, her tenseness oozing out and away into some quiet comfort within. Her chin sank down to nestle upon one hand as she regarded Jun while he read of "Forging the Ether" in that very low, smooth cadence of sound, rolling her words over him like some lullaby.
"You''re doing well at this," she mumbled, her eyelids drooping. "Actually makes me think you should have been a teacher or something."
"Not sure I''m patient enough for that," Jun replied with a small smile.
Riry''s head drops to the side, breathing slows, and she falls asleep. Jun looks up from his book to find that she has fallen asleep. For a moment, he just looks at her, taking in the relaxed lines of her face and the way her hair shimmers even in the dim light of the cabin.
He got up quietly and fetched a blanket, which he wrapped over her shoulders. Yogundr uncoiled a little, watching the scene with a faint hiss of approval.
"You are getting attached to her," the shadow snake said.
Jun didn''t say anything. He sat back down and went back to his work. But the faint smile on his lips remained.
Jun''s Journal Entry:
Today was something I did not expect, yet it was good. Riry came around breaking my solitude once again and reminding me to live. The whole day has been spent by us comparing notes and the books I am reading. She''s brilliant—how she filled in all the gaps which I had not even looked for or even noticed, making stories out of concepts that seemed abstract and hollow otherwise.
She corrected Vaerlun''s assessment of Glowroot, adding her firsthand observations of its adaptability. She also pointed out a flaw in my conduit design, which might have cost me hours of experimentation later. I''m grateful for her perspective and her company. It''s easy to lose myself in my work, but she pulls me back into the world.
Riry slept till evening hours; but I lie awake thinking much how much I depended on her. Not only has she knowhow, but has also brought brightness into this small cabin. Riry is really not a coworker or simply a friend to me; she somehow became an inalienable factor in this overall journey.
Tomorrow, I''ll work on revising the conduit design and continue the experiments with Ecliptium. But tonight, I''ll let myself appreciate the peace she''s brought to this place.