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Concavenator:
The inn in Yakak'ratu had seemed so squalid, when Kukri had been comparing to the velvet cushions of the chapterhouse in Grikaa and not to bare windswept stone; but now it felt as comfortable as an egg in a warm nest. The pain in Kukri's ankle had mostly disappeared, only to return in sudden fits when she turned under the blankets with too little caution. Even the troubling thoughts of the previous days were scarce, since she spent most of that time unconscious, or sipping hot teas thickened with generous doses of penguin blubber.
But now the funds were starting to run low. It was time to move back to the capital, do the serious interpretation work, and present the results to the Guild's fellows. One grey morning she pulled up in a sitting position in her bed, with her tail still safely tucked below, and told Giya: “It's time for me to leave. Today I will look for a sled back to Grikaa, and leave with our data and many fond memories. I hope you too have had the chance to rest, as my offer to take you with me still stands. Will you come?” And offered her a mug, glistening with fat.
pinkgothic:
The logistics of the offer were still unclear, even to Kukri. It was of course easy for Giya to join Kukri in travel, but a little harder for Giya to stay in Grikaa once there. Still, compared to their shared adventure across the inhospitable ice, it was bound to be an easy exercise.
No doubt as the hardships of the trek faded in intensity in her memories, Kukri would grumble and protest the inconveniences as they arose, but the fact remained: As Giya's host and mentor, she would figure out a way.
Concavenator:
“I– I would”, said Giya, rising from the stool. “I will tell my father I am leaving – my sisters, if I can – it will not take long, there is, there is little I can take –” She folded down the documents she had been studying (although she wasn't quite able to read completely on her own, she had taken a keen interest to the maps and diagrams, and spent a full hundredth of a day in contemplation of an engraving of folded sedimentary layers) and fastened her coat, as if readying to run out in the snow in that very moment.
Just as she turned to climb down the ladder to the inn's entrance, she turned and asked: “Maybe you'd like to come too, if you have this time…?”