Before long, my three hundred seconds of downti were just about up. It seriously did feel a lot shorter than five minutes though, I an I had tooth-brushing sessions that went for a lot longer than this.
Perception's a bitch ain't it? I could sit with my hands outstretched for five minutes, and feel like five centuries had passed, whereas I could spend the sa amount of ti for a mont of sandwich-eating reprieve, and blink my eyes like five tis, and boom - my sandwich was gone, the water's depleted, and I, unfortunately, had to stop being treated.
Ash promptly got rid of any incriminating evidence of a ti spent in leisure by balling the wrappings under a fist, stuffing it alongside a little compressed plastic bit that was once an empty bottle.
"I suppose it'd be best if I take my leave now before any suspicions co arising," Ash said, slowly standing back up on her feet. "It was brief, but I hope you had a pleasant ti. I certainly did..."
There it was again, the glint of moonlight shaping her outline with a luminous glow… how srizing her eyes shimred then, no doubt made even better by the smile she bowed her head with.
"Thank you, Master… for indulging this selfish servant's request."
And again, those were words I would never catch her saying before today… she was always so reserved, always so reluctant with her wants. I'd ask but… how the hell do you point sothing like that out without sounding awkward?
She already had one foot past the doorway, and I knew if I let her go and don't ask now, the thought is just gonna pester on all night long.
Without even thinking it through, I said the first thing that ca teetering at the tip of my tongue, "You know, you're smiling a lot more lately."
Ash ca to a sudden stop, her back facing towards . For a mont, nothing at first, then I heard her voice, even more jovial than ever, "Do you dislike it?"
I drew my head back… wasn't expecting that, okay…
"Not really," I answered.
"Do you find it unbecoming of ?" She asked again, this ti her head turned slightly back.
"Far from it," I said, very much bemused by all this. "I just… it's peculiar, is all. I ant nothing by it."
Ash chuckled. "Indeed. I suppose it is rather uncharacteristic of , is it not?"
I raised my hands. "Hey, you said it not ."
"Yet all the sa, if it serves to please you," She turned right around again, smiling that smile so warm and wide. "Then shouldn't I just keep smiling for you?"
For a mont I thought I went temporarily blind, but no… I was just bedazzled, maybe a little too much. It felt a flashbang went boom in my head, and all my billion zillion neurons were scrambling around, knocking into walls.
But I recovered, luckily I recovered.
"I won't... argue with that logic," I said, extra careful not to slur or stumble. "By all ans then, carry on."
"Of course, Master," She said, her tone with a surprise hint of mischief. "Your wish is my command, after all."
I'm liking this new Ash more and more, already.
With a final graceful bow, Ash officially took her leave, departing to the sixth floor with so words of encouragent fading into the distance. "Keep doing your best, Master. You'll pull through, you always have."
Well then, pretty sure that will go down as the most bizarre interaction I've had all night. Then again, that was the only interaction I had all night… and probably will be the only one… but hey, I ain't complaining, it's a tough act to follow anyway.
Pretty soon, I got back to the grind, hands outstretched and focus sharp. It was just a short break, but already I felt more at ease than I was before it… nothing ached, nothing cramped… magic was steady flow through my open palms.
Guess that whole 'don't eat' thing really was a myth, after all. It's okay Irene, rumors sotis get the best of us. No sha in it, no sha at all. In fact, if anything, I think it might have given the exact opposite effects.
After a long while of even more absolute monotony, hour by hour, I could feel myself steadily improving. Ria was fading at a rate faster than ever before, every instance, taking a shorter amount of ti than the last.
I still couldn't get it to disappear her whole, but what I did find, was that now I could reverse the magic. When I felt my limits being reached, or even the slightest waver in my focus… I could simply just undo the effects, make whatever had faded turn to solid form again.
It wasn't perfect, it wasn't consistent, sotis I'd still ss up, sotis she'd still be sliced… but at least now, I could do sothing about it. Seeing the blood spurting, seeing her limbs missing… there are just so things you just don't get used to.
And if the feeling of discouragent does co, and make no mistake, it always does… I could always just look back on those brief five minutes, and it'd always perk right back up.
I didn't think I'd be encountering anything else for the rest of the night, and then my phone buzzed in my pocket. Nothing too out of the blue, system notifications always does that to it, as well as the weather app… happened a few tis already, so like always, I just chose to ignore it.
Then it buzzed again, and again.
Now I knew sothing was up.
For the second ti tonight, I was being interrupted by a task so urgent… by a cellphone of all things, really puts how serious I was for all this into perspective, doesn't it?
Whatever case, I already had it out of my pocket, squinting harshly from the blinding glare that greeted my light-deprived pupils. It took a few seconds of adjusting, but I finally ca face-to-face with my attention-diverting culprit.
Text ssages… my God, who would have thought? I'm so surprised. It's not like I -
Oh, wait… Amanda was texting ? Okay, now I am surprised. We're in the sa damn building, why all the hush-hush?
I tapped her icon, and small white blurbs with even smaller letters within them instantly filled the screen.
>
I got back just a simple three-word reply, and I let out a little chuckle.
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