Quinn woke the next morning feeling oddly refreshed.

Her eyes fluttered open and took in the beautiful scene above her head. She realized that she'd had one of the most peaceful nights of sleep since coming to the Library. She was extremely excited to have woken up in her own bed and not a Kajaro-sponsored dreamscape.

Ever since that fight a couple of weeks ago, it had been one of her biggest fears. She was never entirely sure if, when she went to sleep, she'd truly get to stay inside her own mind. He hadn't touched her physically, and now she had formidable mental defenses so the odds of him planting a second mind bomb were minuscule, but it wasn't impossible.

Aradie hooted and fluttered down next to her, nudging her with her head. "Yes, yes," Quinn said, "I know, we need to go get breakfast." Because if Quinn remembered correctly, she didn't eat the night before.

Quinn noticed a small flashing in the corner of her vision and indicated for it to open up in front of her eyes. She was surprised to see that she had several improvements in her abilities.

Mental Fortitude: Level 7

Mental Barrier: Level 8

She frowned. That must have come from digesting that Mystic's book overnight. While much higher level than she'd been so long ago, Quinn still thought she should be stronger. Still... was the Library just trying to tell her she never checked her own improvements.

You don't often check on the system's information, the Library said. I have to do something.

Quinn nodded to herself. "This is true. Thanks for intruding."

I wasn't intruding. You were broadcasting, the Library said, and left her alone.

Inside the next several minutes, Quinn had showered, put on fresh, comfortable clothes, and sauntered down to the culinary branch. On her way, she waved at Geneva, who was bustling around with some of the assistants, and she waved at Tim and Tom, the shelving golems. They waved back, somewhat stiffly, but that was their way.

Finally, she made her way into the kitchen.

Cook looked up as soon as she walked inside. Quinn had to double check if she was broadcasting her power like she did when she'd first synchronized with the Library. She knew she'd have to watch out for it the next time they synchronized, but right now, she wasn't letting anything leak out.

"Librarian, it is good to have you here," Cook said, inclining their head. And she swore she could hear a smile in their voice, even if sometimes it was most difficult to read their facial expressions, given that their face didn't move much.

"It is awesome to be here," Quinn replied, and sat down next to the stove where Cook was cooking. They were making something Quinn didn't recognize. Not that that was a surprise. There were so many people in the Library these days that somebody might have had specific dietary restrictions that weren't completely covered in the buffet area.

Quinn glanced around and noticed a couple more golems than she'd seen last time. "You have new cooking assistants?" Quinn asked, slightly surprised. But then she remembered that she'd given Misha some permissions way back for simple things like this to make sure that the Library ran smoothly, even if Quinn might be busy.

"Yes," Cook said, "they are surprisingly competent."

Quinn laughed. "I would hope so."

"You would be surprised, Librarian, sometimes not even golems are good at what they are supposed to be good at." Cook gave her a conspiratorial wink, and then went back to their task at hand.

Quinn turned around and really took a good look over this branch of the Library. It was bustling with people. So many of the stoves were in use, with multiple people gathered around them as they experimented and cooked together. Quinn loved this. Sharing cooking was like sharing joy. Everybody deserved to enjoy good food. Or at least Quinn really liked enjoying good food, and she'd share that love of cooking with anybody she could.

"So," Cook said, plating up and sending out what they'd been cooking, "what brings you here?" Then they cocked their head to one side and gave Quinn a very long look. "You did not eat last night," they added, and sighed.

They quickly grabbed another skillet and began cooking something Quinn couldn't recognize. They tossed and they sprinkled, and it was done so fast that Quinn didn't even realize they were cinnamon donuts until they were sitting on the plate in front of her. She smiled, practically salivating a little bit.

"You always know exactly what I like to eat."

"Yes, but you have a very limited palate, Librarian," Cook said. "Tell me, is there something you are craving to make this feel more at home?"

"Other favorite foods?" Quinn asked. "Oh, I don't know. Can you make a schnitzel, like a rahmenschnitzel? It's like a creamy sauce over a pork schnitzel. Or maybe some prawn cocktails. I love a good prawn cocktail. I do love a good cut of lamb, but it has to be cooked just right."

Cook looked at Quinn and blinked rapidly. "I have ascertained those recipes. I will endeavor to make them a part of your regular consumption, Librarian."

Quinn looked at him agape. "Really?"

"Yes." Cook managed to sound slightly affronted that she felt she had to ask.

"I don't suppose you could do a roast pork sandwich with crackling, could you? I've had it a few times and it's just divine." Quinn hoped she wasn't pushing her luck.

Cook actually laughed. The metallic sound echoed through the kitchen, bouncing off pots and pans as it passed them. Almost like a flurry of bells. "I will do my very best. Just make sure that anything else you enjoy eating, you let me know."

"You've always seemed to know what I might like," Quinn said. "How did you do that?"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"I must admit to having been a little nosy. You used to be very bad at keeping your thoughts to yourself, and so it was quite easy to pluck images from your head when you were hungry. It isn't anymore, and so I must ask, because you no longer throw your preferences at me anymore like you used to. Even if it was inadvertently."

Quinn laughed. "The Library kept telling me I was leaking thoughts. I'm glad I leaked some of my food preferences."

Cook leaned in conspiratorially. "You know what? I am also glad that you accidentally leaked some of your favorite foods."

"Thanks, Cook."

"Any time, Librarian. I will send a care package to your office to make sure that you eat properly."

"How did you know I was about to head there?" Quinn asked.

They turned to her as if surprised she asked. "Because you look like you're determined to do something."

"I am," Quinn said, and headed off.

She meandered into her office and sat down, breathing a little more easily for the first time in quite a while. For some reason, absorbing those texts last night, talking to the core, waking up without having experienced one of Kajaro's dream states, and then getting to talk to Cook for a little bit, and request food that she genuinely and dearly missed... It all felt like things were sort of coming together after all. Even if she knew a portion of that was simply an illusion.

But she was well-rested and well-fed and ready to tackle the day in the office and things she was sure she was supposed to be doing. Things like talking to Malakai to make sure he understood that she wasn't feeling guilty, to try and make sure that she didn't make him feel guilty. She needed to speak to Milaro, and to Nishpa. Not to mention she had to go and visit Escadril and speak to the family that had her book. And she also needed to take a deep breath, because she was doing it again.

And this time, Quinn didn't need anybody to tell her she was overdoing things. She leaned back in her chair to stretch. Aradie pecked the side of her ear softly, which still, by the way, hurt, before taking off to her perch next to the couch.

"You know, you didn't have to tweak it so hard," Quinn said.

Aradie raised an eyebrow, which Quinn thought was a very odd ability for an owl to have. It was more of an eyebrow ridge or something. Anyway, Quinn pulled her legs up and crossed them in her massive chair behind her desk and sat, closing her eyes. She envisioned the way Hal had her work, her fire, through all of her veins, every part of her body, making sure it knew her intricately.

That she, in turn, understood and welcomed it.

Things went a lot smoother when the fire that made up a part of your being didn't feel unwanted.

It was an absurd amount of space she had to move it through. Realizing that was when she knew she was stuck in this form for no. The more she learned, she knew that she was literally squashed into it. It didn't feel uncomfortable, though. She just had a lot of blood vessels to send the fire around in, to make sure that it was a part of her, that she could control it, that it would work with her instead of against her. These were very important elements.

She got caught up in it so much that she only vaguely noticed somebody approaching the room. As she ran the fire around in her body even more, she muttered about how everyone seemed concerned about her mental state. Not only the Library and Hal and Milaro, but also Cook and Aradie and the rest of them.

"You know," Dottie's voice came quite unexpectedly.

Quinn opened her eyes. "What do I know?"

"Well, of course we're worried about you, dear. You are technically mostly a dragon, right? You understand that."

"Well, sort of, I guess. I mean, I know I'm not human. I'd be dead by now if I was human, but I don't really get it yet."

"Hmm," Dottie said. Quinn was quite certain if she could see Dottie's face, or if Dottie had facial features, then the bench would have been pursing her lips in thought. Probably looking down at her, too.

"Look, you've all got volatile tempers, the lot of you," Dottie said. "That's very important. You need to stay calm and cool and collected. For that, you need your exercises. To make sure you're controlling not only your power, but your temper. We don't want it controlling you."

"I take it that would be bad?" Quinn asked, even though she couldn't imagine a universe where it would be good.

Dottie paused, perhaps for dramatic flair, but probably because she was trying to figure out why Quinn would ask such an obvious question. "That would be very bad."

Quinn nodded. She'd known that was the answer, but at the same time, she'd sort of hoped it didn't need to be foreboding. "How did you know I was thinking about that?"

Dottie actually stopped and swiveled. Quinn could practically feel the bench's eyes narrowing at her. "Well, I'm a supperellux futora. I'm not an idiot. I can see. And everything adds up. You're a part of the Library. Sort of. Either way, you're our Librarian, and we need you. So we need you not to set the Library on fire when you lose your potentially volatile temper. If you need help meditating, I'm very good at it."

Quinn didn't doubt that for a second. After all, Dottie was a bench, even if she was a busy one.

"Thanks," Quinn said. "I think I'll take your advice."

"Excellent," Dottie said. "Don't mind me. I just have some things to do so I can help you get the rest of the books for the combat wing."

Quinn smiled. She knew Dottie would take care of herself. Instead, she just let herself go deeper into a trance while she traced all of her mana channels, blood vessels, and each and every ability as it wove itself through her system. This is what her training with Drevicia allowed her to see. She no longer had to act on pure instinct.

These abilities were understandable, even if they were complex. And there were so many ways her channels could adjust and morph for specific affinities.

"Yes, dear, you should spend time gathering and centering yourself. Not always gallivanting around and getting into fights, and getting yourself all caught up in nasty stuff that you don't need to be," Dottie advised.

Quinn grinned, her eyes still closed. "Well, I may not need to be, but it helps me in the Library."

"Very well. Do what you like, but I think you should relax." Dottie sounded like she might be pouting a little.

Quinn took the advice of relaxing to heart. While peaceful downtime didn't exactly seem right to her at that point in time, not when they had so many injuries and so much still hanging over their heads, she did realize that she needed to grasp those moments where she could to center, to recalibrate, and to prepare herself in what little time they seemed to have.

Of course, she'd love to do nothing more than to study books, recuperate, study books, recalibrate, study books, and keep going.

Books, books, books, books, books.

That, technically, was her lifelong dream, sort of. Although she did now realize it had been heavily influenced by her genetics. She frowned. No, she'd come to peace with that. She was still who she was. And once the academy branch was open... she'd find fiction from other worlds.

They'd be magical in their own right.

Grounding herself, Quinn looked inside again and began building her mental defenses along with what she'd learned in the books she'd devoured the previous night. Mystic's Conundrums of the Mind in Overpower had useful exercises in it for basically creating solid steel walls from the barriers she had put around her mind. It gave them more power, more stability, and allowed for fewer instances where others might be able to insert themselves into cracks of her psyche. She loved this book. There was a lot that she needed to implement from it.

The other books were good too, knowing how better to shield people, understanding the dimensional shifts that they were about to encounter from a different perspective... They were also extremely valuable sets of information. But they were ones that Quinn still needed more information to fully understand.

And that's when she felt his presence. Her eyes fluttered open as Milaro walked into the room.

"Ah, I thought I'd find you here. Do you have a moment?" he asked. But for once his words weren't light and jovial. Milaro was actually being serious.

"Of course," Quinn said, but intuition told her to brace herself.