Jiran got right to work preparing the graphene tubes. To cover both handles, he would need several hundred.
Time flew by as he continually improved his methods of working with the graphene. He found that it not only transferred electricity extremely well, but also heat.
When heat was applied to any area of the material, it would transfer almost instantly through the entire sheet. Heating during the rolling process made the material comply with ease and hold its new position longer.
Without the constraint of the graphene constantly unwinding, he was able to roll larger amounts at once.
He used Mayalyn’s scalpel to shave down the tubes that were too long, before evenly spacing them inside the leather strips. With a cushion of aura, he prevented the nearly invisible needles from falling out of the straps as he wound them around the handles of the tonfas.
He was surprised at how easily the tubes were pushed inside the metal handle’s of the tonfas. Just a few kilograms of pressure was more than enough to pierce the tough Tier five silver.
If I had a glove with these on the outside, I could inject mana directly into people with almost no resistance. That’s just ridiculous. I need to remember to look into that later.
Once the straps and tubes were in place, he forced a chemical bonding of all the materials and examined his work.
The leather handles looked completely normal. It wouldn’t be until you grabbed them that you realized they felt prickly, like the tongue of a cat. The leather also felt incredibly secure, but still gave slightly under the pressure of a good grip.
The tubes would make it hard to spin the weapon from a defensive to an offensive stance. The spiked short end made that less desirable anyways, so he wasn’t too concerned with the shortcoming.
The metal had great styling with the leaping tigers and shiny silver aesthetic. For a final touch, Jiran applied a small flame to the tip of his finger and burned the leather handles in a spiral pattern first one way then the other. The end result was a figure eight that wrapped around the grip.
Perfect. She’s going to kick some serious ass with these, and hopefully love them too.
After cleaning up, he tucked her canvas-wrapped weapons under his arm and headed back to the inn with a cheerful smile.
He waved goodnight to Old Krikk who gave him the usual grunt before shooing him out the door and locking it behind him. The fading yellow of Second Father brought a tinge of nostalgia as it created a pink light that played on the clouds, reminding Jiran of Earth.
I always lose track of time down there. I probably won’t be able to get a table for dinner at this rate. Maybe I should invent a clock.
The inn was bustling, the smells of dinner masked by sweat and alcohol. There was no peace to be found, nor an empty table. Jiran ducked into his room to drop off the weapons. He didn’t see Mayalyn with his aura but nothing seemed out of place so he wasn’t concerned.
Guess I’ll go find her so we can eat dinner together. She should be at the market or the training yard. Maybe the library.
Jiran checked the yard of the abandoned manor first since it was close by. Not finding her there, he decided to wrap himself in camouflage and fly over the streets to the market.
Wading through that mess once in a single day is more than enough for me.
A wave of relief swept through him when he found her slowly pushing through the throngs of people, making her way back toward the inn. Unable to resist the temptation, he dropped behind her, still invisible, and reached out to pick her up.
She spun around and pushed off his chest with her hands before he could grab her. A light smile danced across her mouth.
“Nice try,” She gloated.
“Bah, you’re no fun,” he returned her playful smile, happy to see her back to her normal self.
“No peeking!” She demanded while clutching a package to her chest.
Jiran immediately excluded whatever was in the wrapped canvas from his aura.
“Okay, no peeking. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“Not better, talk later dinner?” Jiran found her meek tone far too adorable. He had to look away from her big brown eyes to regain his composure before responding.
“Yes, we can talk after dinner.”
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Jiran enjoyed the mayhem of the city as it embraced the oncoming night.
The crowded streets had a light-hearted, festive feel to them and Jiran smiled as he experienced the energy of the city.
Brandon always wanted to go to Mardi Gras, I wonder if this is how that feels.
Mayalin too was affected by the lively atmosphere. Her joyful smile and the look of wonder in her eyes was infectious.
Jiran was reluctant to leave the city’s streets behind, but he was looking forward to dinner and the promised conversation. The common room of the inn was still packed so when he saw a table being vacated, Jiran made a graceful dash to claim it.
They waited for a while before Niila and Miila came out of the kitchen together, heading straight for their table.
“We got you this to celebrate your admission to the academy,” Miila said in her usual polite and friendly tone.
“You’re going to love it! I was up all night engraving it so if you don’t, I’m going to kick your ass!”
“Niila! You said you would behave yourself,” Miila grabbed her sister's sleeve and gave it a strong yank, pulling her off balance.
Jiran shook his head while taking the proffered wooden box the size of his hand.
Opening it quickly, lest a tiny tyrant think him ungrateful, he saw a quill wrapped in dark amber. The feather was heavily stylized in purple and red paint so it looked like it came from an incredibly ornate bird. The amber-coated shaft was molded into the shape of a scholarly man wielding a sword.
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“Wow, this is beautiful! You two did an amazing job. Thank you,” Jiran let his feelings of gratitude show. He was touched by their thoughtful gift and the effort they had put into it.
“You’re welcome, you may now kiss my feet and swear your undying loyalty, my slave.”
“Ouch!” Niila yelled as Jiran karate-chopped her on the head.
Miila pulled her sister by the scruff of her neck toward the kitchen, berating her the entire way. Jiran smiled fondly at the two before returning his attention to the quill. He gently placed it back in its case and then put it in his pocket.
They sat in silence until an overworked, flustered Alatha brought their food. She gave them a tight-lipped smile before rushing off to another table that was loudly yelling for another round.
After dinner, Jiran led Mayalyn into his room and sat down on the bed while he waited patiently for her to share what had been bothering her.
She stood fidgeting for several seconds before sighing and handing him the canvas package. Her eyes were trained on the present with an anxious expression.
“Miila told me, is customer to gift before academy. I fixed for you, hope you like.”
Jiran unfolded the layers of cloth to reveal his school uniform. He pulled the suit jacket out and held it in the air by the shoulders. It took him a few seconds to realize the changes she had made.
Inside, there were hundreds of new pockets sewn into the fabric. Inside each pocket were layers of graphene. He had wondered what she wanted so much of the material for over the last few days and now he was staring at his answer.
The pants and undershirt were similarly reinforced. The uniform would likely offer him more protection than wearing a suit of armor.
Jiran hopped up from the bed and immediately stripped off his day clothes to try on the uniform. Mayalyn spun around in a blur when she realized what he was doing.
All three pieces fit perfectly. The white shirt and black jacket were covered in sharp lines and triangles sewn with gold embroidery and embellished with intricate folds in the cloth.
The blue pants were expertly tailored and pressed, their simplicity serving to accentuate the fine detailing in the shirt and jacket. The stylized M on the left breast, also embroidered in gold, made the uniform feel fancy.
It fit perfectly, snug across his muscled arms and chest. The shoulders and waist were loose enough that he could easily move his limbs through their full range of motion.
Jiran hopped around a few times, shadow-boxing the air.
“It’s wonderful, Mayalyn, thank you,” He gave her a bright smile and a thumbs up.
“You’re welcome,” She said with a sigh of relief.
“The seam here, here, was no good. Much strong now,” She pointed out the area around his crotch on the pants and the left shoulder on the shirt.
Mayalyn to the rescue! I knew they did something shifty to my uniforms.
She began to inch her way closer to the door so he spoke up quickly.
“What did you want to talk about?” Jiran could tell she was going to run away if he didn’t pin her down now.
She looked panicked for a second before her shoulders slumped in defeat. She walked to his bed and sat down. Jiran gave her time to think, thankful she was becoming easier to understand. Just a week ago, This same conversation would have been much harder.
Staring at the floor she said, “I want to go home,” She spoke so softly he had to strain his ears to hear her. When it became clear she would offer nothing further without encouragement, Jiran gently asked, “What’s stopping you?”
“What’s stopping you?”
“Don’t know where, home. Don’t know how far, home,” Her fists were tightly clenched and every muscle in her body flexed as her frustrations came to the surface.
“So you did come from outside the empire? Tell me about your home, maybe I’ve heard of something that could help.”
So she did. She spoke of growing up on an island protected by her family. She talked about the bright colors and smells of the ocean that she missed so much. She told him about her father's invention that teleported her on that fateful morning, and about being lost and alone until she met Jiran.
“Was it a lot warmer there?” Jiran asked her suddenly, interrupting her story.
“Yes, always warmer, miss warmer too. Cold here.”
“That's our first clue then!” Jiran said so matter of factly that Mayalyn finally broke eye contact with the floor and looked at his cheerful face.
“Clue is what?”
“A clue, hint, lead, idea. We can figure out where your home is because it is always warm there. Look,” Jiran formed a shaping in the air of dirt and air from outside his window. As the ball took shape he spoke.
“This is Madra, we live somewhere up here on the top half. This line in the middle is always warmer, and the top and bottom are always cooler.”
Jiran then formed random lines through the ball, depicting continents and oceans. He had no idea what the continents actually looked like, but for this demonstration, it didn't matter.
“Each of these oceans should also be a different color and have a unique smell. If you remember what your ocean smells and looks like it should be very possible to find your islands.
“All we need to do is go in a circle around this line until we find the right ocean, then search it until we find your home.”
It took several seconds for his words to translate and sink in. During that time, Jiran watched as her expression changed several times. From the sadness of a girl lost in a huge world, to disbelief, then finally settled on hope.
Tears fell from her eyes, they traveled down her cheeks and fell unabated to the floor. She didn't blink or rub her eyes. She needed to see his expression, see the honesty in his eyes never wavering as he spoke with absolute confidence. When she finally allowed herself to believe him, the floodgates opened.
Jiran held his friend’s head in his lap while she cried. He spoke to her while gently stroking her hair.
“We need to get stronger, Mayalyn. The ocean is full of powerful monsters. Let’s get stronger, together, until nothing can stop us. Then we’ll go and find your family.”
She nodded her head and cried all the harder. Eventually, the emotional overload concluded and she sat up wiping the tears from her face.
Seeing her mostly recovered, he reached under his bed and pulled out the wrapped tonfas.
“I got you a gift too.”
She unwrapped the weapons and ran her fingers down the engraved tigers before picking one up and grasping the hilt. Her eyebrows bunched together as she felt the strange texture of the leather.
“C’mon! Let’s go test them,” The excitement in Jiran’s voice could not be contained.
He scooped her up in his aura and launched them both out the window toward the nearby manor. Once in the yard, he faced her.
“Use only a little of your chakha while holding them. Try to form an electrical element if you can,” He demonstrated with a small current jumping between his fingers.
Mayalyn focused briefly before crouching in a stance suitable for leaping in any direction. He felt the tingle in the air before he saw both tonfas light up with multiple currents that jumped between each weapon. They looked like two plasma balls interacting with each other.
Mayalyn jumped back and dropped them as the currents traveled up her arms shocking her as well.
Her mouth and eyes were wide open in awe as she rubbed her hands and forearms.
“Oops! I’ll have to make you some non-conductive gloves.”
“That was amazing!” She reached down and picked the weapons back up.
Jiran laughed as she shocked herself again, once more dropping both weapons. Her hair was already standing straight up when she grabbed them for the third time, a cheerful smile on her face.
Jiran fully enjoyed the feelings coursing through him at that moment:
The desire to continue growing stronger so he could help Mayalyn.
The excitement at the prospect of starting school in the morning.
He reveled at the buzz of energy in the air as an entire city celebrated the new students who would one day put their lives on the line to protect the empire.
Jiran’s chest swelled with pride at the thought of joining them.