Hard Light (NaNoWriMo15)

Chapter 12 - A Reluctant Trainee

Leah woke up with the blankets covering her that she was pretty sure she hadn't put on herself.

Her muscles ached, but the gentle morning light streaming through her ceiling was a welcome sight. There was a significant difference between the sunlight that touched the desert and that which touched the League, and Leah found a new appreciation for it as she lay in bed, staring at the sky.

Skies above it was nice not waking up to Kieran's voice for once.

She took her time getting out of bed, stretching out her legs that seemed stiffer than the crystalite walls themselves. Still in her clothes from yesterday, she found the energy to leave the bed and grab a fresh pair. She glanced at Illiya's Radiant garbs before deciding against it. She was going to spend most of today in her room anyway, and it was only going to get in the way.

Leah meandered down to the dining hall to disappear back into her room with the food. She'd woken up late, so there were few who had seen her. Biting into a piece of fruit, she found she was somewhat grateful for the fact. Being alone with her thoughts was the one place she was certain of where she stood, not having to worry about someone catching onto her midnight activities or impressing the people she still hoped to call colleagues.

She sat on the edge of her bed, planning how she was going to setup her room as she ate. After the expedition, she was more certain than ever she wanted to be here. There was nothing that was going to stop her finding a cure, and a smile crept onto her face as she finished her food and went about unpacking her books.

Her filled journals went on the highest shelves, the ones specific to the ruins near her home. The one under that was her general reference guides--things she'd managed to get a hold of in Teridia and filled up the sides with her own notes and diagrams. Beside them were her own self-written papers, then her blank journals and recovered artifacts she found interesting, until finally she was left with only the to-be documented journals from the expedition.

Leah set to work.

She organised them section-by-section, getting all the information down into the League's copy. Off to the side, she made her own notes of the thoughts that struck her as she worked through it, ones that were too intriguing to lose. The work was cathartic, methodical, and she made a steady pace through it, even going so far as to re-draw some of the worst of the sketches. Even so, some of them were beyond saving, and she was forced to note on the side that sufficient detail hadn't been recorded.

It was dusk before Leah glanced up from her work, periodically snacking on the remains of her breakfast to get her through the day.

Part of her wanted to keep working. She was almost done with the Leagues copy, and if she got it down tonight, she could start on her own. That was going to bring its own dilemmas--did she include the door she and Shade had found? That seemed like it might be the kind of thing to get Emrys' attention, but strangely enough, it felt like a betrayal to Shade.

She tapped her fingers on the pages before closing it, deciding she'd think some more on it before making a decision.

Walking into the dining area during dinner was weird. The breakfast hall had been eerily silent and echoed with the lack of people, but even now, the dining hall felt empty. Compared to the lively streets of Hulari and its constant noise, even the activity inside the town they'd lodged at, it felt too quiet. There were conversations, but they were constrained. Nothing like the expedition team's loud, enthusiastic discussions.

Illiya called her over to their table when Leah stood around awkwardly, unsure if she was still invited at all. She half expected to be bombarded with questions about the expedition, but after only a few, their attentions turned elsewhere. Even so, even in the background of the conversation, at least she was occasionally acknowledged as Illiya filled her in on a joke or another Radiant explained the details of some lab technique. Leah told herself she was content to sit and listen and learn, but the smile was hard to hold onto.