Wati scooped a handful of fried beanrice into her mouth. Her tongue bathed in its delightful warmth, which offset the cold breeze of the night. She grabbed the mug beside her and sipped the brown liquid that the tableware still housed. The sweet drink complemented the savory taste of the fried beanrice.

Aryo placed an empty plate before him. It was clean, save for the spicy vegetables that were clustered on one side of the plate. He chugged whatever was left inside the mug beside him before turning a curious look at Wati.

“Not done yet?” He said.

Wati remained silent as she meticulously chewed the food in her mouth. She just looked back at him, maintaining a flat expression. He had no rival when it came to eating. Thinking how it stayed that way until now was amusing. Wati tried not to smile or laugh.

“You could be punished for not finishing on time.”

Wati finally swallowed the chewed food. “There's no one here to enforce that,” she said.

“Yeah, but they will surely notice our late return to the base.”

Wati smiled. “It'll be fine.”

Aryo shrugged. He stood up on the rough rug that was laid on the side of the quiet street and approached the Danker who had made their food. Wati overheard Aryo talking to him; his cart was packed with all sorts of ingredients. She scooped another beanrice into her mouth as she looked the other way.

The wooden pavilion-like structure across the street was alive with six Dankers who looked like they were in their mid-forties. Plates of steaming snacks were arranged in the middle of the small gathering. When she was little, Wati used to wander out of the house. There was a similar pavilion-like structure in proximity that she always visited. The middle-aged Dankers there would always invite her in, and Wati would always finish two plates of snacks while listening to their conversation. Then, Aryo would pick her up with a vexed face that always amused her. Wati chuckled, recalling how she never listened to him and kept doing it.

Aryo called her. “Do you have five pia?”

“What?”

“Our dishes are twenty-five in total.”

Wati frowned. “But last week was twenty pia.”

Aryo looked at the Danker who cooked the fried beanrice. He shrugged.

“Sorry sir,” he said. “Prices are rising.”

“Non-negotiable,” Aryo said to Wati.

Wati sighed and fished for five coins in her leather pocket. The two climbed back to their wagon once Wati finished her dinner.

“Sorry for asking you for additional pia.”

Wati nudged his arm. “It's fine.”

“I mean, I promised that it was on me.”

Wati grabbed Aryo's hand and gazed at his eyes. “It's fine,” she said with a gentle smile.

Aryo smiled back and nodded. “Feeling better?”

“It's never a bad day when you're around.”

“Okay.”

Wati kept her gaze. Aryo had grown more handsome than she remembered. Her inner urge to revel in it now burned brighter than ever. She wished they still shared the same bed as they had done once. Wati wanted those moments back. She aspired to lay down the beauty that puberty had granted her on him, but Aryo insisted that they remain friends. It was awkward for him to alternate between friendship banters and romantic vocabularies. Wati thought it was quite irrational. She believed that Aryo just felt unworthy of breaking the maidenhood of a House Councilor’s daughter.

“Are you done?” Aryo said.

“I wish I could stay like this forever,” Wati whispered.

Aryo took a deep breath and unbound the magical chains on the wheels with the bracer he wore. He signaled the two nyambek to start pulling again.

“Aryo,” Wati said.

“What?” Aryo said, trying to ignore Wati's face which was basically in front of his.

“I love you.”

“I love you t–”

Wati gasped with excitement. “Really!?”

“As a friend.”

Wati pouted. Aryo turned to look at her briefly before gently pushing her face away with his left hand.

“Focus,” he said.

Wati crossed her arms. “Fine…”

Wati brought up her list. A handful of subjects within the past couple of hours managed to cooperate, though some did at expenses that Wati had to heavy-heartedly accept. Luckily, none was as terrible as Yanto. It was already late and they still came up short of their quota. Wati took a deep breath, certain that the next subjects were already in deep sleep. She stretched her hands forward, mentally preparing herself for a set of punishments back in base.

“Hey, Aryo,” Wati said.

“Yeah?”

“Let’s just…go back to base.”

“No way,” Aryo said, his attention fixed to the front. “We still have a couple more subjects.”

“It takes two hours to get there, one and a half at best. If anyone is still awake by that time they won’t be at their home. Moreover, these next subjects are living with minimum wage. They probably own nothing worthy to be confiscated.”

Aryo nodded. “You’re probably right. But let’s not get too hasty and be there first. At least we see it with our own eyes.”

Wati groaned and slammed the armrest beside her. “This district is its city at this point. They should divide Urak An into smaller administrative regions.”

“Maybe fix the street layout too,” Aryo said. “I took no wrong turn yet the trip was long enough for me to contemplate my whole life.”

Wati looked at Aryo with intrigue. “Really? Your whole life?”

“That’s just an exaggeration.” Aryo looked at Wati and chuckled. “You know I’m too shortsighted for that.”

Wati nudged her knee to him. “Stop underestimating yourself. You know you’re greater than that. I know you are.”

Aryo smiled at her. “I appreciate the encouragement,” he said. He reached behind his head and rubbed the part under his helmet. “I’m…not keen on having high expectations of myself.”

“Is that the reason why you rejected me two years a–”

“No, don’t bring it there.”

Wati raised her hands in front of her chest and gently waved them at him. “R-right…right,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

Aryo sighed.

The wind howled. The roads were devoid of people. The silence, which was broken by the occasional caravans that passed by them, made Wati a little bit restless. She shifted closer to Aryo and leaned gently on him. Her hands overlapped on her lap.

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“Aryo,” she said.

“What?” Aryo responded with his usual casual tone.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I forgive you,” Aryo said. “I also apologize if I…or what I said…hurt you. I don’t mean to, but…by the Almighty Three…” The Danker looked down.

“It’s okay…” Wati said, forcing a smile. In doing so, she felt her eyes welling up.

Wati covered her eyes with her fingers and struggled not to sniff. At that moment, she felt a pat on her left shoulder.

“Don’t cry…” Aryo said. “You’re a tough girl, Wati. I bet I would break if I had to go through what had happened to you.”

A glimpse of that night flashed before her eyes. Two silhouettes performed amidst a crowd of fire. One of them was her mother. The other was an unknown black-cloaked figure with a sword as tall as him. And that sword went through her mother’s chest. Wati sniffed. She still wondered to this point why she deserved such tragedy.

Aryo opened his right hand in front of her. Wati looked at him intrigued. Even the shadow caused by the wagon lantern behind him failed to dim out how bright his face was.

“We’re still friends right?” Aryo said. “Friends help each other.”

Wati grabbed his hand and smiled at him. “Thank you, Aryo…” she said. “For everything.”

The hand-holding was brief as Aryo had to steer where the nyambek were going. Wati kept her right palm close to her mouth. She chuckled as butterflies filled her stomach. She wished their gauntlets were not in the way.

“Next year will be our last service year,” Wati said, still leaning on Aryo. “Do you have any plans?”

Aryo shrugged. “I'm probably just going to renew the contract.”

Wati chuckled. “Getting comfortable with the job are you?”

“I prefer an assured monthly wage. I have to take care of my mother.”

“You don't want to go to the magical colleges with me?”

“Cool proposition,” Aryo said. His eyes wandered around briefly. “Unfortunately, I've made peace with poking things with my spear.”

“Surely, you're not thinking of doing that for the rest of your lives?”

“I'll think about the rest later.” A smile formed on his face as he turned toward Wati. “Besides, who do you think would lift the shield for you?”

Wati flattened her lips. She used her left hand to cover her mouth and slap Aryo’s leg with the other. It was frustrating how he could be this flattering but still refused to be her significant other. She wished that would change one day.

A cargo caravan sped past them at an intersection. The coachman constantly whipped the straps as his sight was locked to the front. The two nyambek pulling the caravan ran like there was no tomorrow. Just as Wati looked away, there was a clamor that caught her attention. The caravan capsized. There was another nyambek on the road beside it along with two other Dankers.

Wati immediately leaped off her wagon and ran toward the scene. The three victims tried to recover themselves. More people were drawn toward the accident and voluntarily assisted. Wati helped the coachman of the caravan. He was able to stand up by himself after her assistance.

Aryo finally came to help control the traffic. The two other victims were male and female. Both were students of the magical college: Pa-Kem University, as shown by the emblem emblazoned on their juniper robes with pale brown sewings. The male was conscious but the female was not. Wati secured the female student from the rest, providing a space for her. Blood was dripping from her head. Wati asked around for a first aid kit but none of the locals had them.

“How is she!?” The male student asked Wati with a worried expression.

He stood before her with a posture that clearly showed his leg injury.

“She's still breathing, but requires immediate treatment,” Wati said. “A Mantra of Wellspring could be useful.”

“I can't do it…”

“What do you mean you can't?” Wati let her irritation show on her face. “It's a mandatory Mantra to be studied by students like you.”

“Look ma'am,” the student said. “Mantra of Wellspring has various kinds of spells. Healing is one of them but there are many–”

“Shut up,” Wati said, extending her right index finger at him. “I don't need your lecture.”

Wati closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, ignoring further rambling from the student. She raised her hands and prayed to Visha — the Goddess of Love and Blessing — in Puh-Soro, the ancient Danker language. Wati felt a cold trickle in her arm. Her hands glowed pale golden with particles orbiting it. When she aimed it at the unconscious student, her arm muscles suddenly felt like boiling. Her head was hammered from within with a force that was akin to the head blow she had suffered once in a sparring session. Wati's face shriveled and she eventually broke the prayer. The pale golden glow dispersed as she took quick and short breaths.

“Y-you almost did it!” The male student said. “Do it again, do it!”

Wati looked at her hands. It was ironic for an apprentice of magic to ask a regular grunt to cast a healing spell. Wati had tried her best but she was ill-conditioned to properly cast them.

“What are you waiting for?” The male student said again.

Wati instead stood up and approached him. She tore the left sleeve of his robe and cut them into makeshift bandages, ignoring the student’s cry at the ruining of his college attire. Wati then tied them around the female student's head to stem the bleeding. The male student continued to pepper Wati with unpleasant words but she remained indifferent. She then had to save him from a seemingly drunken local who suddenly leaped at him with a fist ready in hand.

Four PNS soldiers came to the scene with a wagon to carry the injured female student. There was also an animal care unit that took care of the unconscious nyambek that the two students had ridden on. Wati and Aryo helped take care of the capsized caravan. They also made sure that none took advantage of the accident and stole its scattered contents.

The caravan itself suffered minor damage. The coachman claimed that the intersection was clear when he was about to cross. He said that the two students appeared out of nowhere. Locals who had been observing reported that the boy was using a Mantra of Wellspring to speed up his galloping nyambek.

Wati and Aryo returned to their wagon once the commotion had settled. Aryo grabbed a sack of raw beanrice and fed the nyambek. Wati grabbed a fist of beanrice from the same sack so that the other oversized walking tadpole didn’t have to wait. The two creatures growled once they finished their meal.

“Did you do it?” Aryo said.

“Did I do what?”

“I know you did it.”

Wati sighed and puckered her lips. “Well, unsuccessful.”

Aryo flashed his eyebrows and smiled. “You're still reading that textbook right?”

“Studying…”

“Remember,” Aryo said. “You just bought that book last month and you’ve only been studying it by yourself during the little break we have.”

Wati half-smiled. “I’m aware that students of magical colleges can cast a spell in a month because that’s what they do.”

“I’m just making sure that you don’t belittle yourself for struggling to cast a Mantra of Wellspring. Be patient. You’ll get there eventually, as long as you don’t quit.”

Wati nodded. “I appreciate your encouragement.”

“Anytime.”

Wati looked back at the site of the accident. Her lips twisted, thinking how those two students risked their lives to get their share of juvenile joy. Not everyone was fortunate enough for a seat in the magical colleges, especially the Pa-Kem University which ranked first in Nur-Fadhil, and fourth in Mananggal. They should be grateful by spending their time to master the arts of Mantra. She hoped the accident would open their eyes.

Wati was about to hop onto her seat when she suddenly noticed a lump of white fur with a mix of gray behind the back wheels. Its form was round, almost spherical. Its head tilted around the wheel as it sniffed and rubbed itself on it.

“Poosh!” Wati said, keeping her tone down to not agitate the creature.

Wati crouched with her right hand extended. She made a clucking noise that caught the attention of the poosh. The creature stepped to the side and rubbed itself on the wheel one more time before approaching Wati. It sniffed Wati’s hand and pushed the side of its face against her fingers. Wati gave it strokes that were gentle at first but slowly became more vigorous. Seeing that it felt comfortable, Wati proceeded to squeeze its face, which caused it to finally make a sound. Hearing its meek high-pitch meow drove Wati to pick it up and squeeze it against her.

She noticed Aryo looking at her from the corner of her eye. Wati turned around, still crouching.

“Look at it!” Wati said with the tone of a person who was overwhelmed by cuteness. She cradled the creature like it was her baby as Aryo approached her.

“That’s a cute one indeed,” Aryo said, reaching for the creature.

The poosh let Aryo rub its head.

“Does it have an owner?” Aryo continued.

Wati lifted the creature in front of her face and turned it around. She didn’t see any sign that it belonged to anyone.

“Doesn’t seem so,” Wati said. “Maybe it owns this part of Urak An, though.”

Aryo chuckled. “Yeah, right.”

Wati placed the poosh down and waved at her. But when she started walking away, the poosh began meowing at her. It approached her and rubbed her on the boots as if it wanted her to bring it. Wati ignored it. She watched the poosh sitting still on the sidewalk as she sat. Their eyes met as the creature kept on meowing. Wati took a deep breath and conceded. She picked up the poosh and let it rest on her shoulder.

Aryo laughed.

“Shut up,” Wati said.