I could feel Ashie approaching before she entered my domain. This is new. There is also Marle, but I didn’t sense her. They both got a bit confused about strawberries being moved outside, but took them all the same.
“Do we really have to pick them all?” Marle asks.
“It’s not a requirement… but dungeon left them out, so it’s nice to take them”
“I see. It was a nice gesture and all, but I am not crazy about eating them every weak”
“Maybe we should give some to Lumi.” Ashie teased.
“I would like to know her a bit better first, but you currently could”
What are they talking about? I began suspecting strawberries had some special symbolism here. This would shed some light on two weeks ago. Wonder what it could be. What am I saying by I surrounding myself with them? Whatever it is, these two seem to like it, and that’s good enough for me.
“I sure Mi will like them, if you don’t,” Ashe said. Then revealed that a pouch on her belt held a mouse. The exact same mouse she took two weeks ago. She began feeding it the berries. It’s not under my control anymore, but I feel a connection.
“You named your familiar Mi. You named a mouse Mi. What’s next? A cat called Meow. A crow named Cro”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Let me guess, you would name them hurricane or something like that”
“Hurricane? Why?”
“On that’s right. I haven’t shown you” She placed Mi on the ground. “Alright Mi, do a hurricane”.
Then I saw it. Mi formed a swarm, completely alone. The magic was unstable and quickly fell apart, but I certainly found this trick very impressive.
Then I saw the most devious grin form on Marles face. “You are right. Hurricane is a perfect name”
There was a groan, and then a pause from Ashie. “Look Marle, I love you, I really do, but sometimes, I hate you.”
As much as I enjoyed listening to them bicker. I had to make some changes to my strategy. With them getting to strawberries first, I won’t have time to reconstitution swarms between the rooms. I had enough rats to still roll up a few swarms in the first room while still giving them a good fight in the basement, at least for today. Perhaps I should. Today I will mix pack and assassins. While nest weak, I can do just assassins and keep the pack rats for the boss fight. That sounds good, and here they come.
The fight was good. I didn’t notice new tricks on their side, beside the armour of course. Marie had the same thick fabric and chin boots as Ashie. Nonetheless, I was able to squeeze decent mana out of them. The more we do it, the less I have to think about it. Ania seems to not only inspire my rats, but direct hem too. I think I have enough troops to do it again next week without additional spawners. I should also use marbles again, Ashie might be forgetting they are still there.
I am looking forward to the next week. For now, 10 whole days of battling bats and watching strawberries grow. I am so lonely. Mana aside, I am glad to see Ashie bring a friend here. It’s really nice to watch them interact. I would like to be their friend, but I am not sure how to communicate it to them.