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Lady Dream Berry
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>Slow down on the hand-holding, Casanova. We wouldn't want to tire out your harem workers too fast, would we?
Just once isn't going to be a problem. If I did it to them every night it would be.
>IS separate training necessary? Stargazer could run with Reisarf. That would train her endurance with Independent Action just as well as putting her to work. The only problem is, of course, we miss out on her contributing to the work process, but I think that's worth sacrificing considering how important morale is turning out to be.
It's not necessary for physical training, no. I did it to get a little extra labour out of them and so they'd gain a better appreciation of what the other provides to their partnership. Also Stargazer was being over-protective of Reisarf in the mock battle, to the detriment of the rest of the team. The idea was she'd learn something horrible won't happen the moment he goes out of her sight.
>Let's try it like this. you want Reisarf to be stronger, not so he doesn't need her, but so they can become an even more formidable team.
Hmm, true. The separation seems to be the real issue here.
>You could explain it like, you'll borrow mana from them, but because that drains them a bit, they can work together again for a while so they're not under the additional strain of working independently.
"We need to reshuffle how we're working, a little. With the reduced gold, my mana is stretching as far as I'd hoped. I'll need the two of you to stay together, to reduce the strain on you, but instead I'll need to borrow some mana from you.
"I suppose that's fine." Reisarf says. Is he hesitant?
I lose my temper a little. "I know an alienist is about watching and listening for hidden knowledge and secret signs. I haven't worked with an alienist before but even I know silence and secrecy is their watchword. So let me share a little secret with you; I'm not used to being a person. I'm not perfect and I don't always see things I should. If something's wrong, I need you to tell me! I won't understand if you don't speak up!"
He blinks. "Ah, I'm sorry. I know what you're trying to do, but we've just never been separated before. It's... a little scary."
>Well, he left his past behind, and he didn't do it in pursuit of a goal, he did it to be with Stargazer.
>To motivate him, I think you have to offer him something he doesn't have, but probably needs. A place to belong. Community. Family. The trick is to offer him that without threatening or competing with his bond with Stargazer.
>You may have been pushing too hard on having them work apart. There are logical benefits to having them work apart at times, but you need to be cognizant of the fact that these two are a unit, and be considerate of that. You said it yourself, you can't just pay lip service to the feelings of your followers.
Belonging, yes.
"No, I definitely would not be trying to keep you apart!" I say. I consider physically pushing them together to emphasise my point but that might be read the wrong way and Stargazer doesn't seem to like being touched. "It's just... we all need to fit together now. We all have to get used to working with each other. It's not just a dungeon we're building out here, it's our future."
After some negotiation, we sit near my Heart. Stargazer is in position to leech the raw mana directly off my Heart as it seeps out. I still don't like anyone touching it but I will tolerate this. It shows I trust her. Besides, my Heart is anchored now by the lines of force which tie me into the dungeon. A mere tap isn't going to unseat it. Stargazer hasn't exactly done mana transfer before - she's only leeched from Reisarf's supply. I'll leave receiving mana from her last that for another day, when I'm sure she's not going to be difficult.
"I know it's an imposition." I say to Reisarf as I offer him my hand. "But we're so thinly stretched." I sigh. "If we had more people, if we had more gold, if we had more mana... I'm starting to feel like an echo chamber."
"I don't mind." Reisarf says. He inspects my hand for a moment because he takes hold. His hand is very small and very warm, almost feverishly so. "You have fingernails!"
"Is it that strange?" I say. "I always have preferred clay golems, they're easy to mould."
"Oh just the level of detail is surprising." he says. "You have teeth-"
"They're quartz pebbles."
"and eyelashes-"
"Rock dust."
"and all these other small details. It just seems a little strange when you've said your golem is expendable."
I look away. "If I do something, I want to do it right."
"Did I say something wrong?"
I sigh. "Sorry, no it's just even though this body of mine is something common and cheaply made, it is something precious to me. I can't adequately describe what it's like being able to move around after thousands of years of stillness."
"Maybe you should join in these runs and exercises you're organising for everyone then." Reisarf says.
I squint at him. "You do know golems can't exercise right?"
"It would just be for the pure joy of motion and participation then, wouldn't it?"
Hmmmmm.
>Oh, I just thought of a way for them to work together on moving the water. Reisarf can just bucket it out while Stargazer does her thing.
"Come to think of it, for your exercises what if you try carrying buckets of water out from here while Stargazer is moving it her way, hmmm? That way you two can have some more time together."
His silence is diplomatic. The boy does have sticks for arms.
I nudge him. "Just think, with the right exercise and diet, you could be as big and strong as Hin some day."
Reisarf laughs.
"Actually, that reminds me." I nod at Stargazer. "Before, with the mock battle, you mentioned there's a limit on how much mana can be used for her Independent Action but how much can she hold in total and for how long?"
He exchanges a long look with Stargazer. "The main time limit is she'd slowly consume it to sustain herself. A lot more, she says. She's not sure how much. If it goes too high her body would... overflow?"
"Wait, you mean she's a natural mana battery?" This has possibilities. "Hmmm, I think we need to experiment with this. We'll try moving her completely over to raw mana and practice supplying you with mana." This seems to go down well with both of them.
With that in mind, I take additional mana from Reisarf, until my body feels refulgent with mana. It's disconcerting feeling the dull emptiness of my Heart while feeling so grossly incandescent at the same time. I leave the two of them to practice the mana transfer on their own.
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