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Rare sights were spotted in the Astral Express cabin. The train that is always bustling is now quiet; silent peace fills the air, which seldom happens. The crew was spotted doing their respective activity; Himeko was brewing the new recipe of her coffee, Welt was busy catching up with the animators' community, March was organizing her photos (again), Dan Heng was with the Archives, and even Sunday was composing new songs for his piano.
Stelle was left idle with her phone. She swore that she had done every daily task of every single game installed on her phone. Even side quests that were usually left undone because she had no time to finish were almost all completed, leaving only several ones that didn't catch her interest or were simply too taxing to complete.
I'm bored.
Being idle is a good thing now and then, but wasn't today a little way too stretched? Having nothing to do goes against her principal belief. There's no way the Galactic Baseballer bed rotting for the whole day doing nothing!!
And so, she went out of her room to do some activities. And yep, the best thing to do when you have no important tasks is to bother others.
“Dan Heng, what are you doing?”
Stelle peeked through his slide door, making the archivist in question turn towards her. He raised his brow in annoyance, as if she asked a ridiculous question. He let out an exasperated sigh.
“Well, as you can see.”
It was then that the realization hit. His room was in tatters; books were scattered around the room, monitor displays were all turned on, and she could see an ungodly amount of tabs opened, all while splitting the screen for the searching pages, notes, and the input tools he usually uses to log entries in the data bank.
Uh-oh. It seemed like she came at a bad time.
She went inside, anyway. Stelle found an unfamiliar book lying open in her steps; the pages were using a language she didn't understand.
“Are these books from Mydei's library? Looks like you managed to get them out.”
“Yeah, it was a hassle, but I managed to get them.”
He replied to her, though his eyes kept locking on the screen. Noticing that he didn't bat an eye at her, she sneaked closer, hanging her arms around his shoulders as she peered over them to read the content of the screen.
“Want me to help?”
“That would be nice if you won't get distracted midway and find a way to bother me instead.”
“Ehhh, you meanie. I was only trying to help, you know.”
At her remark, he finally turned towards her with a glare. Dark eye bags were starting to become visible, and she could see several sleepless nights reflected in the steel-blue orbs.
“The look on your face doesn't look like you're trying to help, though.”
Busted.
“But more hands would surely help the task finish faster, right?”
She pestered him further. Surely her boyfriend won't mind a little company, right? Right. He always does. He has a soft spot for her, anyway. He certainly won't turn her away, right?
However, much to her disappointment, her plan didn't seem to work this time. Dan Heng faced her, hands on her wrist as he gently pushed them away.
“Stelle,” he called to her, voice low and weak as if he had resigned to everything.
“Please.”
He asked, voice subtle yet containing desperation on the edge of the tone. He looked as if he couldn't handle working on all the drafts waiting to be done. There's no way she could pester him further when he looked at her like that. And so, she was (subtly) kicked out of the Archives.
Plan #1
Victim: Dan Heng
Status: failed!
Though the plan has failed, the Galactic Baseballer refused to give up!
Time to find another victim.
Stelle looked to her right. The room next to the Archives was calling to her. Of course, she had to bother her best friend, March 7th.
She didn't even bother to knock.
“Hey, March. What are you doing?”
However, Stelle didn't get any reply from her pinklette friend. In her bed, March was asleep with a cucumber on her eyes. Photo sheets strewn about her bedsheet, some were latched onto her hands, while the others were scattered randomly.
She's asleep.
Stelle let out a disappointed huff when she looked at her best friend. It seemed like she had to bother another person, then.
Plan #2
Victim: March 7th
Status: failed!
As she made her way back to the Parlor car, she found Welt was holding a newspaper, a steaming tea in his hand.
“Mr. Yang, what are you doing?”
“Ah, Stelle. I was looking over the latest animation news from my home planet.”
They locked eyes for a bit. The man could sense a hint of curiosity in the youngster's eyes.
“Do you want me to tell you about the history and culture of animations in my home world?”
She felt like she had heard those words before. It was a cue for a lecture that was worth 4 credits.
“Uhh, actually, I was planning to do something else, haha. Nevermind, Mr. Yang. Have a good time!”
He could sense something was off, yet didn't address them.
“You too, child.”
Plan #3
Victim: Welt Yang
Status: failed!
As she made her way over, she got distracted by some melodies coming from the next car. Curious, she decided to take a peek inside.
For a minute, gentle piano notes filled the room. She was enjoying the music before she heard a key smash on them.
“No, no, no. This is wrong.”
Then he tried another combination, yet gave up halfway.
“That's not it… Why doesn't this work?”
He tried doing so once again, then again and again, yet he failed to do so in every attempt.
“No. Nope. That's, ugh. No!”
Hearing all the crash-outs of her fellow passenger, her will to bother him got smaller and smaller.
Yeah, let's not bother him.
Plan #4
Victim: Sunday
Status: failed!
She let out a long sigh. It seemed like everyone on the Express had their own agenda, leaving her idle alone. She made her way onto the party car, spotting a red-haired woman leaning on the bar counter, sipping her coffee.
“Ah, Stelle. Why the long face? Come, sit down.”
Her eyes lit up after finally finding someone to talk to.
“Sighhh, Himeko. I’m so bored. We don't have much to do lately, yet everyone is so busy doing their own thing right now!”
Himeko let out a small giggle at her complaints.
“Perfect timing, then. We happen to be invited to Lushaka. Given our past feats there, they wanted to hand a thank-you gift to the Astral Express crew.”
Stelle immediately went out of her sulking state, her eyes gleaming at Himeko's news.
“Wow, are we having a vacation there? It's that sea planet, right?”
“Precisely. I have just received the news, that's why I haven't announced it to the crew yet. It's best if you prepare your belongings before we go.”
Stelle immediately stood upright from her seat.
“Got it! I'll inform the others!”
“Ah, wait, Stelle–”
Before Himeko managed to finish her sentence, Stelle already bolted out of the car and went right to the next. Himeko shook her head fondly. She was planning to break the news at dinner. But the young member was enthusiastic. Perhaps, it's fine to break the news a little earlier.
They finally arrived at Lushaka. The sea stretched across the horizon, leaving several boats to support its residents. The crew had been given a fancy yacht that probably would hold around 50 people, only for six plus several employees boarding the boat.
“Wow, it's really full of sea!”
Stelle said in awe. She went to the ship's bow, hair fluttering from the wind.
“Amazing, right? I know you're going to go here right after we board the ship.”
March stood beside her, hands on her hips, as she declared proudly.
“The wind feels amazing…”
Stelle was still amazed by the planet's wonders. Not long after, the other young members of the Express approached the two girls.
“It surely is considerate of them to give us a yacht to stroll around the planet.”
Sunday got into the conversation.
“Yeah, but it's not as functional outside the planet.”
“But the thought still counts! Look, if they didn't give us this, then we must go through everything with a motorboat— like how we did before.”
March added, a slight irritation painted her face.
“You guys went here with a motorboat? Damn, that kinda sucked.”
“That wasn't as bad. At least until March accidentally froze part of the ocean when we were fishing and ended up provoking a sleeping whale underneath our boat.”
Dan Heng explained as he deadpanned, which made the pinklette blush at the sudden bring-up of embarrassing memories.
“Hey! I thought you promised not to bring up that thing again!!”
March punched Dan Heng exasperatedly, and he dodged it smoothly.
“At least, we made it back safely. Though we did fall off the boat.”
Stelle laughed at her friend's banter.
“Fishing… That sounds nice.”
Sunday interrupted, hands on his chin as if he's in deep thought.
“I think so too. Wanna try? Let's ask the boat's crew whether they have any fishing rods.”
Stelle enthusiastically went down the bow and sprinted to some employees in sight right after.
“Hey, I managed to get some! Oh, and. I brought Mr. Yang, too.”
Stelle merged back to the trio, and the senior member of the Express followed behind her.
“I heard you guys want to fish. It would be nice. We can catch some and provide the chef here with the materials.”
Welt began to work on his rod, attaching the hook to the string and putting some bait on it.
“Firstly, you have to do this. You can throw it into the ocean after the bait gets attached. After that, we can just wait.”
The younger members were looking at his instructions carefully, even though Dan Heng and March had done it before. After several minutes of waiting, the rod tipped, inducing the reel to roll backwards. Welt swiftly yanked the rod up, reeling the string back to pull up the baited fish. He successfully got a medium-sized carp.
“Just like that, the bait was taken. Here, you can try it yourselves.”
Stelle was mesmerized by Welt's catch, then spiritedly took one of the rods and went to the edge of the rear, throwing the baited hook into the open sea. The other follows by taking the rod, each starting to throw one into the sea from their respective stance.
Dan Heng stood beside Stelle, calmly casting the rod onto the sea. Stelle grinned mischievously beside him.
“Hey, Dan Heng. Up for a challenge?”
Dan Heng turned his head towards her.
“Whoever gets more catches may ask anything from the one who loses. What about it?”
Dan Heng grinned at her suggestion.
“Bring it on. Be prepared to lose, though.”
“As if!” A cheeky grin slashed across her face as she challenged him on.
15 minutes later, Dan Heng had caught five fish; meanwhile, Stelle hadn't caught any. Carps, tuna, trout… Is that a jellyfish? Stelle peeked over Dan Heng's bucket, eyes opened dumbfoundedly as she compared her catch and his.
“Dan Heng, you must be secretly communicating with the fish, right? RIGHT?? Why are they eating your bait and NOT MINE?? We have 5 catch differences here.”
Stelle squinted at his bucket and then at him; he just deadpanned. Sensing the ruckus, March and Sunday drifted closer to see what was happening.
“Wow, you caught a lot, Dan Heng!”
“I know, right? He must be secretly plotting something with the fish there.”
Stelle gestured as if she were whispering to the two friends, yet voiced audibly enough for Dan Heng to hear. March laughed heartily at the two's shenanigans.
“Did you hear her right, Dan Heng? You must be secretly sending signals to the fish down there. I mean, surely they would want to help you impress your girlfriend, right?”
Sunday nodded slightly, expressing his approval.
“Being able to communicate with animals is surely handy.”
Dan Heng's ear twitched at his friend's accusations.
“I did not.”
“You did.”
Frustration began to grow within Stelle. While her friends were having a banter, she looked downwards from the railing, assessing where the fish might be beneath the clear surface.
Then she suddenly got an idea.
“Alright, fine. If they don't want to eat my bait, then I will catch them myself!”
She climbed on the rails and then eagerly jumped down to the sea, causing the three to gasp in surprise.
“Wait, Miss Stelle!”
“Stelle?!”
“Did she just throw herself right into the sea?!”
The trio immediately strode to the platform, which she jumped from, eyes assessing the surface, trying to spot her. The grey hair could be seen diving deeper into the sea, however, gradually getting further and further away from sight. The three thought that she was simply diving to catch fish. Yet after minutes of waiting, she didn't come back to the surface. March gasped at the sudden realization.
“Is she DROWNING??”
“Can she even swim?”
The halovian and pinklette exchanged glances with one another, both dumbfounded at Stelle's recklessness. Dan Heng didn't take more time to think. He took his outer shirt off and dived down, right where Stelle jumped off. Not long after, Dan Heng could be seen carrying Stelle on his shoulder, along with an orangey mollusk attached to the girl. Sunday helped them climb back up using a rescue rope.
As soon as they reached the deck, Stelle dropped to the floor and coughed up several mouthfuls of water. The octopus latched so tightly on her skin. Its mouth opening hovered dangerously around the girl's head. The tentacles heavily sucked her and caused her gray hair to be in a complete disarray.
“You are not eating her.”
Dan Heng glared at the octopus, causing the mollusk to let go of the grip and shied away from Stelle. Noticing her prey (or was it the other way around?) getting away, Stelle swiftly whacked its head hard, causing it to lose its color. Stelle whacked it once again to prevent it from leaking tint all over her body, successfully making it dead in the process.
“Huff… Look, I caught a big fish!”
Stelle enthusiastically flexed her octopus to her friends, causing the three to sigh.
“Firstly, it's not a fish. Secondly, you drowned while trying to catch them. It's hard to call it a win. Thirdly, why did you think swimming down to the open, unfamiliar sea would be a good idea?”
Dan Heng didn't even look impressed. March laughed loudly at her silly appearance, skin painted with reddish suction marks, almost comically making her look like she just gotten a cupping therapy. Sunday chuckled amusedly at the sight.
“Tch, there's a thrill in exploring the unknown!”
Stelle huffed, defending herself. Though her friends didn't seem convinced.
“You—pfft– Look at you! You look like you're the one being hunted down instead of the other way around.”
March tried her best not to laugh (failed), hands clutching her stomach as she bent over from all the glee.
“But it was indeed dangerous, Miss Stelle. If you were to be more patient, maybe you would get a catch. Look, I got a swordfish.”
Sunday showed her his catch, a magnificent Blue Marlin in his hands.
“I got a tuna!”
Stelle stared blankly at their catches. Why was it only she who didn't get any catches?
“Damn!! Why are you guys so lucky?”
Stelle got up, pointing accusingly at them.
“Y’all teaming up against me, RIGHT? You guys are secretly using invisible power like Dan Heng??”
“I didn't do anything.” Sunday shrugged.
“Oh, come on. Just admit you suck at fishing, Stelle.” March said between her laughs, voice breathless from laughing too much.
“I surely used a power that you don't possess, Miss Stelle.”
Sunday approached, causing the girl to look up at him.
“Oh? Is this confession time?”
Stelle challenged him, hands folding in front of her chest.
“It's called patience.”
He said with a straight face. He didn't even laugh, yet he caused March to burst out laughing, clutching her stomach once more. Even the stoic Dan Heng laughed at his remark.
“Wha—”
Stelle was flabbergasted at Sunday's nonchalant teasing, and a reddish blush began to creep across her cheeks.
“You guys are so mean to me…”
She faked a sob dramatically. Dan Heng patted her head to offer comfort.
“Dan Heng, don't bully me too! (sobs)”
He grinned at her pleading gaze, yet gave in anyway.
“We need to get these catches to the kitchen and get you treated, too.”
Sunday nodded at Dan Heng’s suggestion.
“Agreed. They need to cook this now so the food will be ready by dinner. I'll bring them to the kitchen.”
Sunday carried his Blue Marlin and Stelle's octopus. March helped by carrying her tuna and Dan Heng's bucket of catches.
“I'll go with Sunday. Go get yourself treated!”
The two darted off to the yacht's kitchen, leaving the two alone at the stern. Dan Heng grabbed Stelle's hand and started walking, dragging her to the medic room.
Stelle sat down on the medical cot while Dan Heng rummaged through the drawer for some ointments. Finally found the one he's looking for, he crouched down in front of Stelle to apply them.
“Don't laugh.”
The raven-haired looked up to her.
“I am not laughing.”
“But you are. Look, the corner of your mouth curled up by 30 degrees. You're laughing inside.”
That made her boyfriend let out a snort. Stelle pouted at his response and sighed.
“I just wanted to catch some fish like you and the others…”
Stelle let out a long breath; disappointment painted her face from the failed fishing.
“Anyway, who knows that I actually can't swim. I mean, most of the time I already know how to do things. It's lowkey surprising that I can't swim. SWIMMING. That's like, a basic life skill that might save you from drowning like I just did.”
Stelle idly swung her legs back and forth while Dan Heng applied ointments to her wounds.
“Don't move too much, I'm still applying ointment. If you want it that much, I can teach you how to swim.”
That made the previously sulking girl light up at his suggestion.
“Really? You'd teach me?”
“Yeah, but not in the sea. Let's use the pool inside the yacht for safety purposes.”
Stelle gleamed at his answer, feet kicking enthusiastically at the edge of the bed.
“Yay!”
“Hey, hey. Stay still!”
He warned, holding back a smile. After thoroughly applying the ointments to her, they went back to the kitchen to lend a hand. Not long after, the Astral Express crew gathered at the table, sharing a warm, lively dinner, like how families would have.
Stelle is both a good and a bad student. Good in a way that she learns quickly, bad in a way that she hyperexperiment the hell out of everything a little too much. Dan Heng held the girl's hand as she practiced kicking through the water, slowly guiding her so she didn't drown midway.
“That is not how you do it.”
“But it should be more efficient this way, right?”
It's already almost noon, yet Stelle could barely swim straight, almost drowning mid-run with each attempt from exaggerating her moves.
“Posture, posture. Keep your posture straight. How many times do I have to say this…"
Dan Heng ran a hand over his face and sighed. The sun is almost shining right into their crown; swimming a minute longer might turn his brain into a mushy slime.
“That's enough for the day, let's continue tomorrow.”
“Ehh, are we done already?”
Dan Heng shot her a tired, defeated look.
“Yes. Unless you wish to get a sunburn and turn red all over once again. Let's go back and have lunch.”
Dan Heng got up from the pool and then extended his hand to Stelle so she could climb out.
“Guys, are you done swimming? It's almost lunchtime. Himeko had already called for you both!”
March emerged from the door leading to the interior of the yacht. However, she gasped right after fully registering her two friends.
“Guys… Hurry back inside. Both of you are so red. If we took a photo, people might mistake you both as a pair of tomatoes.”
The two exchanged glances at March's remark. Stelle strode further and spotted an interior ornament that reflected light to see herself; March was right.
“... I can lend you sunblock if you need any.”
Stelle let out a dumbfounded smile at her friend's suggestion.
“Yeah, I think I'll need that.”
“Anyways, hurry up!”
March went away first, leaving the two behind.
“Coming.”
“Make sure to clean yourself quickly, Himeko has an announcement to make.”
“You don't have to worry. I'm the fastest when it comes to taking a bath!”
That made March turn towards Stelle, eyes squinting in response.
“Right, I forgot. I should've said, please make sure to wash yourself thoroughly instead.”
The girl in question simply giggled. The two went back inside, going to their respective rooms to clean up.
The night has come. The crew had gone to their designated rooms to retreat for the night. Stelle approached the pool, toes going inside slightly to test the water. She slowly sank down and started practicing the techniques Dan Heng taught her during the day.
“Straight posture, feet and arms going up and down to the water, alternating in each stroke…. Hmm.”
Stelle tried to apply the theory into action, yet the moves still didn't seem right as she barely moved an inch.
“Ugh, why doesn't this work?”
Frustrated by the constant failure, Stelle floated by her back, letting the water surface carry her body.
As she was gazing up at the sky, she spotted a black hair at the corner of her vision. Dan Heng stared down at her, assessing, lowkey judging, yet not in mockery.
“Hey, cold dragon young. Why are you here?”
His eyes squinted at her response.
“Why are you here?”
Stelle didn't answer and instead kicked her feet rhythmically to move closer to him.
“Well, you can just see.”
“Were you practicing what I taught you earlier?”
Stelle let out a quiet ‘uh-huh’, feet kicking once again, which made her further from him.
“Judging from your current movement, your kick is already on the spot. Turn over, let me see how your arms move.”
“That is–”
Stelle turned towards him, standing right by the pool.
“Exactly my problem, Dan Heng! You don't know how frustrating it was to not be able to spot exactly where I was doing things wrong.”
Stelle sighed and submerged herself underwater once more.
“Just try to move first. I'll help you once you do.”
Stelle shot him a glare from the corner of her eyes, yet did what he suggested anyway.
“Like this?”
Stelle emerged once more after a lap of swimming. Dan Heng met her gaze, his expression thoughtful.
“If it's hard for you to make sense of what I meant, then how about this?”
Dan Heng pointed his fingers upwards, causing a water current to push her limbs around.
“Try to follow the flow.”
Stelle blinked at the utilization of Cloudhymn.
“You can do that?”
He nodded in silence. Stelle could feel the stream gently guiding her limbs. She slowly positioned herself to align with the current and then pushed the hand downward; never too far away to break from the streamline position, yet with enough force to push her forward.
“Hey, it worked!”
Stelle excitedly said to him, and he just smiled in response.
“Great. Now try to do a lap.”
Without him saying so, she already went down, making her way to the nearest wall to start practicing again.
“Fuhhh… Did I do that right?”
She burst through the surface, taking a deep breath from the sudden cardio in the night. Dan Heng smiled at her feat, finally grasping the fundamentals of freestyle swimming.
“Good job. You got the moves right.”
Stelle shot her fists into the air.
“Yeah! Finally!!”
She giddily swam around the pool. Her boyfriend watched her from the sidelines, fondness painted in his steel-blue eyes.
“But, you know, Dan Heng. If you could use Cloudhymn to help me, why didn't you use that from the start? I might just need several hours to get used to it.”
Dan Heng avoided her gaze, and a pinkish hue bloomed across his cheeks.
“No way. You’re being sneaky. Do you like ghosting over your girlfriend’s body mid-practice that much?”
She shot him a dumbfounded look. He got up and offered Stelle a hand.
“Let's go back, it's already late.”
“Hey, you didn't answer me.”
Stelle squinted at him, though his eyes shied away from her gaze. The blush on his face can't lie, though.
They say when you're having fun, time will pass like a flowing wind. That was what Stelle felt. The crew had spent their time afloat in the ocean, and now it was time to go back to the train.
Stelle found herself at the seashore, walking barefoot on the sandy beach. Though the planet consists mostly of ocean bodies, several protruding lands could accommodate intergalactic affairs, like her case. The train was parked far away from the shore to keep the body out of the humid air.
Everyone was up to their respective activities. Some were packing their belongings, some were busy wrapping fishing catches to bring back to the Express for the Conductor to cook, and some were taking pictures before they left the planet for good.
And there she was, not particularly doing anything, walking around the seashore as if she was trying to etch the memories they made during the stay through her sensory senses; the salty air, the soft yet textured sand that stuck to her feet, the crimson light painting the sky as the sun set.
Stelle closed her eyes and then approached the water. The intermittent tide washed her feet away, yet retreated back to the water not long after.
Stelle wondered how it would feel to swim in the ocean. She hadn't had the chance due to her past incident.
As she pondered whether to give in to her curiosity or not, she could hear a footstep growing closer.
“There you are. I was looking for you everywhere.”
She turned around and found a pair of steel-blue eyes staring right at her.
“You can say that I'm saying goodbye.”
He chuckled at her sentiment.
“It's rare for you to get sentimental.”
“I mean, it was rare for us to actually have a good time, with no incident at all.”
“You almost drowned, though.”
That made the girl pinch his side in retaliation.
“Hey! At least I can swim now.”
They exchanged banter for a bit before Dan Heng broke the contact.
“Do you wish to swim, then?”
“Huh?”
“Swimming. Before we depart.”
Dan Heng looked at the open sea that the girl followed. She had indeed been thinking of what it would feel like. Dan Heng could read the subtle shift in her expression, which confirmed his guess.
“Go. I'll watch from the shore.”
“B–but we're departing soon.”
“I can use Cloudhymn to clean you up.”
Stelle looked up to him, eyes shining bright as if they contained the stars in the sky. She broke into a quiet chuckle.
“Well then, I'm going!”
The ashen-haired girl approached the sea excitedly, slowly getting into her position and starting to move, sporadically diving down, then emerging upward once again. At some point, she began to gather trinkets she found on the sea floor; seashells, coral fragments, even seaweed that looked flashy enough to catch her eye.
“Hey, Dan Heng! I found something that looks like you.”
“Oh, what is it?”
“Come here and see!”
Dan Heng sensed a mischief buried in her tone, yet he went to her anyway.
“Down there, look. It's so similar to you.”
He followed her eyes; the seabed underneath their feet contained nothing more than corals and some rocks. However, at the corner of her pointed fingers, he saw a lone sea urchin hiding under a stone slab.
“Are you telling me that I look like a sea urchin?”
Stelle nodded, and a crooked smile began to creep over her face.
“Yup! I mean, it's thorny and all. Kinda just like you.”
Dan Heng lifted his fingers up, causing water to spray on her face.
“Huh— hey! You're using Cloudhymn. That's cheating!!”
“I thought the rules are meant to be broken?”
Stelle gaped at the use of her catchphrase.
“You're copying me!”
“I'm not.”
It was Stelle’s turn to splash some water on his face.
“Take this!”
…Which he dodged impeccably. Dan Heng grinned at her persistent attempt to splash on him.
“Picking a fight on a Vidyadhara's home turf isn't a wise move.”
Stelle huffed in annoyance. She dived inside the seawater, pulling him downward towards her.
“Wha—”
Too late. He surfaced a moment later, clothes soaked from the contact. Stelle grinned at his dumbfounded look.
“I have my ways.”
It was Dan Heng’s turn to return the favor, finally making the girl wet as well.
What followed was the same cycle: pulling and pushing, breaking the surface just to dive again. Both thoroughly got soaked from head to toe from the exchange. At some point, they found themselves at the seashore. Laughter filled the air from their playful skirmish, leaving both lovers in a breathless amusement.
Much to their disappointment, their phone rang with call. It's time to retreat. Stelle and Dan Heng exchanged glances. The man slowly rose up along with her, successfully drying both of them in the process. They walked hand in hand, moving towards their designated meeting point.
“This was a pleasant stay.”
Stelle said softly, almost a whisper. It didn't escape the sharp hearing of the Vidyadhara. He clutched her hand harder.
“Agreed.”