We finish our workout as planned and head to the forest. Unexpectedly, Inari is waiting for us at the fort.
"Hello."
"Hi, Inari!" Sakura and I greet the leader of the fairies, respectively.
"I thought I'd have to pull you two apart based on how Woohee was reacting."
"We made up." I don't give any details and just try to move on. Given my tone, Inari should pick up on my intentions.
"Very well. So, everything is progressing smoothly?" She drops the topic and spins a new one.
"Um, yes? Wait, what do you mean?" Inari stares at me. She almost seems suspicious.
"You didn't plan that?"
"What? Pissing off Sakura? No, I try to keep everyone happy."
"Oh…" Inari sighs as she turns away from me.
"Why do you sound so disappointed?"
"No, I just thought you had something prepared."
"What am I? A sociopath?"
"I… Nevermind." Inari looks away bashfully.
[Adorable. It's strange to see the normally omnipotent Inari misread a situation, but I suppose there's always more to learn, even if you're thousands of years old.]
She quickly changes the subject.
"I've noticed that you have been hunting the mean stars."
"Pffft." I struggle to hold back my laughter when I hear her speak the ridiculous name that Woohee uses. "You mean the Punctastars?"
"Is that what you humans call them? Fairies have a… straightforward naming convention." Inari's face gains a slight reddish tint.
"So, what do you call the Brontobeasts?" Inari hesitates for a moment before responding.
"So are you going to start your exercises? Or do you want to meditate first?" I smile mischievously. I could press the issue, but I let her change the subject.
"Let's go work out."
"But what do the fairies call–" Josh begins to ask a dangerous question.
"To the den!" I interrupt him and walk swiftly in the direction of the cave. Inari follows close behind me. We arrive at the basement, and I unveil my plan to Josh. "Josh, did you bring your tools?"
"Yes." He pulls a hammer and chisel out of his bag.
"Perfect. Now let's make some weights out of stone."
"What stone?" Josh tilts his head in confusion.
"This whole cave is made of stone; can't we use that?" I gesture broadly at the solid walls surrounding us.
"No. How would we get pieces of stone out of the wall? Also, the cave might collapse if we do." I hadn't considered these things, so I quickly develop a new plan.
"How about the fort? That's in pretty small pieces after Inari blew it up."
"I can make the pieces smaller as well." Inari backs me up with her offer. Josh puts his hand on his chin and thinks for a moment before responding.
"I need to look at the stone." Josh ascends through the cave, and we all follow him. The remnants of the fort are lying scattered loosely around the area. Most parts properly remain within the fort, but some are lodged into the ground several meters away. We all survey the structure as Josh thinks to himself.
"This isn't good material."
"What makes you say that?" I ask.
"The shale is fragile; it can easily break if we're not careful."
"But can you carve it?"
"It's really easy to carve because it breaks so easily."
"Perfect. Then all we need to do is be careful. What do you think, Sakura?" I make sure to keep her engaged so she doesn't feel isolated. I'm sure there are a lot of conflicting emotions swirling around inside her that she needs to work through. I'm no therapist, so she will have to figure it out for herself, but I can at least make sure she doesn't feel isolated.
"Ah." Sakura opens and closes her mouth a few times, but no words come out. I soften my gaze and give her a chance to collect herself. I gently coax her with a smile as she hesitates. After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence, Sakura takes a deep breath. "I think we should do what Josh says!"
She hunches her shoulders and almost shouts her answer at us. I blink a few times and turn to Josh.
"What should we do?"
"Let's look around the area to see if there are any better rocks we can use." It would be strange if there were more rocks in the area, but I decided to humor him. We wander around the area for a few minutes. I take my time and observe the undergrowth at my feet. The roots of the enormous Mammoth trees rise and fall along the surface, making small mounds and valleys. A variety of insects scurry away from each of my clumsy footsteps. Small plants and bushes fight for space around the roots of the Mammoth trees, implying some kind of mutually beneficial or parasitic relationship. Given that there is no direct sunlight in this part of the forest, the small plants likely get nutrients from the roots Mammoth of the trees. I think back to my biology class which explained the exchange of oxygen, water, and nitrates that occur at a plant's roots. I don't remember the specifics, but I was struck by the amount of motion happening below my feet. They all seem so inert; learning that there is so much movement under the surface is illuminating. While pondering these abstract thoughts, I hear Inari's voice.
"Aren't there stones lying loose in the cave where you first met Woohee?" I'd completely forgotten. When Tyrion fell through the ground, he landed on a pile of rocks. Woohee was buried under one as well.
"Let's take a look." I lead the way to the other side of the cave that we haven't explored up to this point. We walk into the dimly lit hole in the ground and see nothing but darkness.
[Well, this is why we don't go over here.]
The trickle of ambient light only extends for a couple of meters, so we carefully feel our way into the passage.
"Here, let me help." Inari raises her hand toward the cave entrance, and a yellow circle appears at the tip of her fingers.
"Lumen!" A small orb of light shines at her command, scattering around the length of the tunnel.
Now that the area is illuminated, we all look around. There's much more loose rock than I remember. I see many big and small pieces in various colors littering the floor.