“She’s asleep?” Safi exclaimed. “At this time?”

I took a more careful look around the room. I saw ingredients everywhere, sketches strewn across the table and surrounding floor. I was all too familiar with this process as it mirrored my own perfectly. I was coming to understand the out of sync sleep schedule as well, she was working on something.

I had only dabbled in arrays but I had a good few friends who mastered the field. I knew enough to recognise a good one, much like sculpting. I was trying to hold myself back from sneaking in and taking a gander, meanwhile Safi began to close the door. I gave way allowing her to close it fully.

“I want to talk to her,” she said with a resolute expression.

“Me too,” I said. She looked a little surprised at my declaration. “I want to see what she’s working on,” I clarified.

“Maybe she’s studying something in the area…” said Safi.

“I think she’s working on something and wants to be left alone,” I offered my own speculation.

“Maybe we shouldn’t disturb her then,” said Safi. She looked like she was finally feeling a little bad for intruding. Having said that, she sat down on the veranda floor and looked out at the surrounding woods. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind visitors,” she said, trying to convince herself.

We waited for a while, wild speculation aplenty as we threw caution to the wind, talking and laughing rather more noisily than perhaps we should have been. Our efforts went to waste as the woman inside remained sleeping.

Eventually we cultivated, I tried to explain how to break through a bottleneck to Safi who could not stop asking me to help her. I could, but it was better to learn just in case she needed to do it alone in the future.

Safi eventually settled into her meditative state as did I. Unfortunately I had to stay alert as we were quite exposed and there was a mysterious cultivator in the room behind us. I eventually gave up on the half hearted cultivation and began to train my body instead.

The wooden floor provided plenty of room for some stretches. I was yet again unimpressed by this body, unable to even touch my toes with unbent legs. Suddenly the door was thrown open, the woman strode out of her cabin and perfectly planted her foot between Safi’s crossed legs.

I watched it unfold in slow motion, the catch of her toes on Safi’s leg then the ensuing scream as she plummeted to the floor. She rolled down the stairs and landed in the deep snow.

I hurriedly got up, before noticing that Safi had begun to break through her bottleneck. Without the option to wake her up I walked down the small stairs to the woman.

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She was stuck, her head and body almost fully encased by the snow. She was trying desperately to push herself out but her hands kept sinking in providing no support.

“I’m going to help you out! Is that alright?” I asked with a slightly raised voice hoping she could hear me. I heard her mumble something then suddenly.

“YES, GET ME THE FUCK OUT! WHAT THE FUCK?” she shouted. Startled, I grabbed her arm and tugged. I collapsed backwards onto the top stair as she popped out of the snow, landing on the lower stairs in front of me.

She slowly turned to face me, she was fuming. “What, in the celestial shit, are you doing?” she asked through gritted teeth. I sensed that perhaps we had not had the best of starts.

In what was becoming a trend that I was not enjoying, I was lost for words. “Well, we wanted to introduce ourselves,” I managed to eke out.

“And how long have you and your booby trap friend been waiting to introduce yourselves?” she asked mockingly as she stood up and brushed the remaining snow from her clothes. I could only shrug my shoulders. The woman glared at me then made her way up the stairs. She stopped next to Safi and pointed at her.

“Is she having a fucking breakthrough?” she asked. I nodded.

“It’s just a bottleneck breakthrough, I think your scream might have triggered it…” I said with a short smile.

“Oh, I’m so glad I could help,” she said with plenty of sarcasm and an exaggerated eye roll to top it off. I followed her slowly, unsure of what I could say to remedy the situation.

“I was wondering what you were doing all the way out here?” I asked, she looked like she was ready to slam the door on us and I hadn’t waited this long for that to happen.

“Minding my own business,” she said. A not so subtle hint considering her glare. I realised that this approach was not going to get me anywhere.

“You spooked me with your array,” I said truthfully. “I thought I was going to have to fight someone.” I brandished my fists in a mock stance.

She smirked a little. “What, that thing? It’s just to keep the creatures away...” she said with significantly less venom. She stayed at the door without closing it so I continued.

“Is it your design?” I asked.

“It might be,” she replied. “What’s it to you?”

“The radial line led me right to you, maybe throw an illusion formation in there to throw people off.” I tried to display some of my knowledge hoping that would warm her to me a little bit.

It worked somewhat, her face went from tepid neutral to slightly inquisitive after my boast. “I never saw the point,” she countered. “No one travels in this season anyway. Or at least I thought that was the case. You do realise it’s not exactly prime journey weather…”

“Of that I’m fully aware, we were trapped in a cave by a snowstorm for three days,” I said with a wry smile.

“Sounds fucking delightful,” she sneered.

“It wasn’t all bad,” I shrugged.

“So, now that you know I’m not going to...” she raised her fists in the same way I had. “...fight you,” she put them down again. “Are you going to leave?” she asked ruthlessly.

“Now?” I said as I looked to the fast disappearing light. “Would you mind if we camped on your front lawn?” I asked hesitantly. I figured it was safe enough thanks to the array not to mention she clearly had no plans of sleeping.

She looked out at the waist deep snow. “Do you have sleeping bags?” she asked, I nodded. “You can set them up inside… But, don’t you dare snore.”