It was a perfectly ordinary morning in Lolilyuri's demesne. The sun was shining, the bugs were singing, breakfast was cooking, people were getting ready to clean the Um for the week after breakfast, the storm and red moons hung in the sky to give it some variety, and Lori was already thinking of what sort of tool she'd need to help in the mass production of beads. She still had her emergency wispbead—a denominated one of the largest size, but she could probably replace that with one she'd made herself at this point—and while she could use that a size guide, it was probably best to use one of the blank ones she had made. One of those would be perfectly smooth…

She was thinking of going back up to her room to get a tablet and stylus so she could try sketching out what she wanted made to better explain it where Rian finally arrived, sitting down on the bench opposite her. "Good morning, your Bindership," he said cheerfully. It was a bright, happy cheer more intense than anything she'd seen from him before. "Did you sleep well?"

She gave him a flat look. "Rian, is this your way of telling me we have booze in the demesne and you had some before breakfast?"

"No, as far as I know we don't have any booze in the demesne, and no, I'm not drunk," he said, still smiling cheerfully.

"Then why are you acting strange?"

"Hmm? I have no idea what you mean, your Bindership. I'm always like this." For a moment, his cheerfulness briefly shifted to 'deliberately annoying', but it quickly shifted back.

Lori stared at him, then shrugged. Well, if Rian was in a good mood, then that had nothing to do with her. At least he wasn't sighing over having to go to River's Fork. "At least you're no longer sighing over having to go to River's Fork," she said.

Rian blinked as if he'd just realized it himself. For a moment, Lori thought he was going to start sighing again.

He did, in fact, sigh, but he managed to smile as he did so. "Well, it's something we need to do to help keep the people there alive," he said. "Once we've got more infrastructure invested there, optimized the collection of resources, and gotten them some working prototypes to make up for you not being able to maintain bindings there, they should settle down and behave."

"Are you sure you're not drunk? Because all that sounds like you're delirious."

"I'm not drunk! I'm just looking at the problem through fresh eyes. For better or worse, everyone there are our people now, and we need to think of them as such. How about we invite everyone over next time we have a holiday? We can plan it in advance, spend the whole day before bringing everyone over, they can stay in the shelter or the Dungeon, we lock down everything we don't want stolen, and they can spend the holiday with us enjoying themselves so they feel like they're part of the community."

"I was wondering whether you'd gone insane until the point you mentioned taking measures against theft," Lori said.

"I have a new perspective on the situation, I didn't become stupid." His smile didn't change at all.

There were sounds of footsteps, and Lori looked over her shoulder to see Shanalorre approaching. "Good morning Binder Lolilyuri, Lord Rian," she said, bowing to Lori and nodding towards the latter as she carried her dozing cousin on her back. "Do you require my presence this morning?"

Rian glanced at Lori. She considered the matter, then waved a hand dismissively. "I don't think so, Shana," Rian said. "You can go have breakfast with the other children."

"I see. Very well, then. May I speak with you at lunch, Binder Lolilyuri? I have a request on behalf of the children, but it can wait."

Lori nodded. "Fine. We will speak then."

"See you later, Shana," Rian said, making a show of waving goodbye.

Lori was in the middle of rolling her eyes—Shanalorre was literally sitting at a nearby table, and Rian would probably be able to see her all through breakfast—when a slight shift in the air brought a scent to her face. An unfortunately familiar scent. Her nostrils flared, as she tried to figure out where it came from. Who could—?

Her eyes fell on Rian. The person sitting closest to her… and the direction the air had come from.

"Rian," she said flatly. "Have you taken a bath yet?"

"Not yet. I overslept a little, so I decided to come straight here so that there would be someone to get you your fo—"

"Go take a bath."

Rian blinked. "What?"

"Go take a bath," Lori repeated, voice just low enough to be heard over the din of the dining hall. "And make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before you handle any food I might be eating."

"That's a bit rude to say, don't you th—"

"Rian, I recognize that smell from my mothers." That gave Rian pause. Lori saw his eyes widen in realization, his lips pressing together as he began to blush. "Congratulations. Now take a bath and tell them to do the same."

"Yes, your Bindership," Rian said, sounding subdued and mildly embarrassed. He made to stand.

"Rian." He paused. "Was it voluntary on your part?"

His blush deepened, but he nodded with nearly defiant firmness.

"Then again, congratulations. Don't be like my mothers and bring it to the breakfast table."

"Ah… my condolences."

"Bath."

"Right, right. Going, your Bindership!"

Once he was gone, Lori eyed the table, trying to remember where Rian's hands had touched it. She was going to have to blast that with steam and unseen light later…

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Breakfast had already started by the time Rian returned carrying three bowls of food and a plate filled with bread for five people, his hair damp from his bath. "The girls are just finishing up," he said.

"They would certainly be women now, wouldn't they?" Lori said blandly.

His hand rose up to cover his face. "Can you please leave the subject? Please?"

Lori rolled her eyes. "Fine. But bathe afterwards from now on. You handle food for Shana and her cousin too."

Rian winced. "All right, that's… fair. Now can we leave the subject?"

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"What subject?"

Rian opened his mouth, then paused. He closed his mouth, and nodded. "I'll get the rest of the food, then."

"Don't you have some sort of rotation?"

He smiled mischievously. "Well, they're not here, so I have to do it." He winked.

Lori rolled her eyes at him. She had no idea why he was so insistent on fetching the food rather than letting the three do it. It wasn't because they'd been sleeping with him, he'd been like that for a long time. Shaking her head, she picked one of the bowls, helped herself to bread, and started eating.

While Rian was gone, Umu, Mikon and Riz finally arrived. Lori eyed them warily, but judging from the moisture on Riz's short pink hair, they had bathed. Mikon was wearing a wide, brilliant smile that bore a strong relation to the expression Rian had worn earlier, while Umu was wide-eyed and flushed as she tried to make herself as small and unobtrusive as possible, and doing very badly at it. Riz had a serene expression on her face and a slight bounce in her step.

The three sat down opposite her, Umu a greater distance than usual from the other two than having a space open for Rian justified. The blonde stared down at the table, while Riz slouched and leaned her elbows down on the tabletop, Mikon leaning against her side as the weaver sometimes did. The pink-haired weaver took the two bowls remaining on the table and passed them to the other women. "Eat up you two, or it will get cold," she said, her smile looking almost painful it was so wide.

"You sure?" Riz said, even as she took some bread and dipped it into the bowl.

"Go ahead, I'll wait for Rian to come back."

Umu twitched, but accepted the bowl, not meeting the other weavers face. She began to eat

When Rian came back with more bowls of food, a jug of water and some cups, the three women turned towards him immediately. Riz's serene expression turned into a smile, while Umu's face reddened further as Rian sat down between the two of them.

"Thank you, Rian," Mikon said brightly as she accepted a bowl from him.

Lori braced herself, but fortunately it seemed that the rather sickening displays of blatant flirting her mothers had indulged in on the mornings after wasn't practiced by everyone… or perhaps these four hadn't reached that point yet. Instead, they all settled down to a quiet breakfast… with all hands above the table and accounted for.

Rian had managed to start eating—he was eating quite enthusiastically, actually—and was a quarter of the way through his food before he finally slowed down. "So, I've been thinking…"

Lori gave him a flat look. "How much extra work is this going to cause me?"

"Not that kind of thinking… though admittedly, I was wondering if we can just mix ground white stuff with molten copper so they're suspended in the metal when it cools… but I digress. I think we should be making more long-term plans."

"That is a very vague subject. Be more specific."

"I think we need to start a school for the children," Rian said.

That… hadn't been what Lori had been expecting him to say. Honestly, she'd thought he'd say something about her needing to get around to building more workshops, or expanding some of their current infrastructure. "What?"

"We need to stop thinking only in terms of what we need to do this season or our next one." Rian leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table to do so as he entwined his fingers together and rested his chin on his thumbs. "Our goals need to be longer term, assuming our continued survival and growth over the next decade."

"And you think a school for the children is the most urgent thing to start on?"

"Lori," Rian's said, and she blinked in surprise at the use of her name. Her lord's voice was completely serious. "If you get the monopoly you want, this demesne is going to become rich and very, very busy. To best take advantage of a monopoly, we will need to scale up production to be able to meet the demand for our product, or we'll incentivize people breaking the monopoly due to insufficient supply. To meet that demand, we'll need raw and refined materials in sufficient quantities. To get those materials, we'll need to send people to get them. To get those materials on a regular basis, we will need established contracts with suppliers to provide things we can't produce ourselves. Those contracts will need negotiation, they'll need to be read to make sure what's written is what was agreed upon. And unless you want those negotiations to take forever, I can't be the only one doing them. We need people who can do these things, who can read contracts to make sure there aren't any unfavorable clauses hidden in the agreement, who can write our own contracts and know how to hide clauses in our favor. We need people who can do calculations and negotiate prices. Since we have neither the time or the leeway to train any of the people of the demesne who are currently working, we need to train those who aren't working. So we need a school."

Lori found herself leaning back slightly as Rian spoke. The three on either side of him were looking at him too. He didn't raise his voice, but as he spoke his speech gradually picked up speed. His gaze never left her, his eyes intense. When he finished, she had to take a moment to realize that he had actually stopped speaking. "That…" That had been a far more coherent and detailed argument than she usually got from him. Very detailed, in fact. "How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Technically, since last night," he said promptly. "If you mean useful thinking however, then only during my bath."

She raised her eyebrows. "Last night?" The gazes of the three next to Rian also became intent.

His lips pressed together for a moment before he said, very evenly, "Yes, last night."

The urge to comment on the timing was very strong. Several had already come to mind, all along the lines of asking him how bored he'd been, or whether he'd had nothing better to do, but she restrained herself. They had left the subject, after all, and given how motherly he sometimes was… No. She had abandoned the subject as soon as possible with her mothers before, and she saw no reason to change that now… no matter how many sarcastic comments she was managing to think of. "I see," she said instead. "Didn't I tell you to rest?"

"You've said many things, some of which had contradictory implications," Rian said flatly. Mikon nodded, snickering to herself slightly.

Lori shrugged. "I have no objections to the proposal. It sounds like a 'dealing with people' matter, so I'll leave it to you."

Instead of sighing or rolling his eyes, Rian nodded. "I'll see if I can set one up by this summer. The sooner we can get this started, the more time they'll have to learn. We can set up a school room somewhere, and I can find people who can teach them. I can do it, and maybe Cassan might be willing, maybe some of the doctors and medics…"

There was a cough from behind Lori and about a pace to one side. "Excuse me, Lord Rian, Binder Lolilyuri," Shanalorre said as Lori quickly turned to face her. "I couldn't help overhearing Lord Rian's impassioned proposal. If I may, I am willing to volunteer to assist in this endeavor. I was taught how to read, write and how to interpret and calculate numbers. As I am responsible for the well-being of a number of the children already, I volunteer to teach them the necessary skills. It will also free Lord Rian to continue to perform his duties for the demesne."

A conflicted look came over Rian's face. "Thank you for offering, Shana, but—"

"Lord Rian, I understand you see me as a child." Lori blinked at that, looking at her lord incredulously. Really? He actually thought that? "However, I am a Dungeon Binder. More importantly, I can read, write, do calculations, am not needed for any other duties save for emergencies, and I already have charge of the children that need to be taught. Taking on this duty justifies the continued expenditure of resources to sustain me."

For some reason, Rian twitched.

"A sound argument," Lori agreed. It would certainly be useful if Shanalorre had more to do than healing. While healing was important if Lori got sick or injured—and her idiots too, she supposed—they didn't exactly need it every day. "You can discuss matters further with Rian when he gets back. Is there anything else, Binder Shanalorre?" She pointedly emphasized the title for Rian's benefit.

"Nothing at the moment, Binder Lolilyuri, though I still wish to speak with you later."

"Get back to eating, then."

Shanalorre bowed, and turned back to her meal as Lori shifted to sit on her bench properly again.

"We'll discuss the matter further after you return, Rian," Lori said. "Hopefully you'll have a more concrete plan by then. And be more respectful of Binder Shanalorre. She's still a Dungeon Binder, after all. Is there anything else?"

"Nothing that can't wait at the moment. We'll still have to discuss the next expedition to Covehold and such, now that you're not busy digging."

Lori nodded. "When you return then. I'll try your proposal of suspending the samples in copper in the meantime." The white Iridescence had shown it wouldn't react to heat of combustion, but she'd test that first by exposing it to copper-melting temperatures. If it still didn't react…well, trying to suspend it in molten copper should be fine.

Rian twitched. "Oh, come on! At least let me be there when you do that! It was my idea!"

Lori rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll wait. I'll need to test the second prototype in any case." Shaking her head, she went back to her food.

He sighed relief, then bent down and did the same.

Riz turned towards him. "Since last night? Were you bored or something?" Umu's head snapped sideways to look at him, looking aghast.

Rian flushed, glancing towards Lori, who met him with an utterly bored expression. "I didn't fall asleep right away, you know," he said. "Just… thinking of the future… raising children and… things like that…" His words faded into muttering.

"…oh…" Riz said, face no longer as serene and looking a little flushed.

Mikon just kept on smiling, humming to herself as she ate.