Charles Patricius

Upon rising properly, Ailen swept stray hairs from his face and kept his eyes trained on Anais. Something was rather queer about this situation, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Whatever it was, he didn't believe it was anything problematic. Anais didn't even appear to be out of sorts, bar the usual embarrassed reaction. "Everything seems so normal. I don't have any experience dealing with something like this ─ not without valid explanation," he mused to no one in particular.

When Anais finally offered an explanation, it was as strange as the occurrence itself. According to the elafia, this was all the product of a dream she experienced. This wetness was nothing conscious, but... the dream was to blame? How unusual. "A dream that causes the overproduction of liquid mana? Hmm. If I had to make an assumption, I'd say this dream had to be something that tricked the mind. A sexual dream, perhaps? One might experience the physical effects of imagined stimulation, though this still seems rather extreme for that. Tohsaka-san would be more capable of addressing these concerns," he rambled.

The situation surrounding Anais was indeed odd, it would likely only become more odd if she actually explained it. "Don't worry, I'm fine... I don't feel strange or anything really. Everything feels normal..." she murmured. She didn't want to make anyone worry about her, especially when all that happened was that she managed to have amazing sex with herself and a really hot guy she probably made up or whose face she was using to live out her fantasy life. Whatever the case, she wasn't feeling bad and Yume managed to have heard the utterances of Sinais and thus fully understood what happened with her friend.

And then there was the actual things Ailen had to say. He had no explanation for what had happened. The mind tricking the body seemed like a pretty fair evaluation, especially given the nature of the sexual acts she'd been engaged in for the duration of her dream. Beyond that the mention of Mugen tp answer the curiosities of the situation made the lass pause. She had some mild explanations to offer from the perspective a person who experienced the dream. "I... yes the dream was sexual... that is.. apparently pretty normal according to little me," she said quickly. Mugen's mention would disappear either. "Right, it's the weekend not the summer. I gotta focus," she murmured to herself. "I'll add it to the box of questions for him and be brave," Anais said. Maybe not today, but soon. Definitely wouldn't be waiting an eternity or anything. "Also, he had... a face, the other mes also had faces for the most part. It was weird, but... great," she managed still blush. "Well, if it wasn't great I would have had questions. Just a random face or someone we know?~" Yume said, skipping over the bit about Anais's multiple form appearance because it hadn't quite registered yet.

Despite the strange occurrence surrounding her, Anais didn't feel strange at all ─ whether inside or out. Ailen had a single finger trailing the flesh of her arm, down her back and across her buttocks until finally sweeping down her leg. In doing this, he got a proper feel for her mana circuit network... or at least enough of one to determine there were no signs of any trickery. No external force he could register was involved at all.

The dream she had was indeed sexual, and seemingly of high quality. She said something about the weekend and summer, but he had no clue what that was about. Before anything could be said regarding her strange utterance, Anais made the strange decision of... storing questions for Mugen. She never seemed very interested in doing something like that, yet here she was... seeming to mean it completely this time. "Well... whatever the contents of that dream, I'd wager it did wonders for your mental state. You've never spoken of dealing with Tohsaka-san so casually. I suppose it's a good thing in the end. As long as you are well, I have no qualms regardless. Congratulations on dreaming for the first time."

Anais's strange dreaming habits, lead to something of a wellness check from Ailen. She felt his finger traveling along her flesh and understood deeply the interactions with her mana circuits. Though she knew nothing to be wrong with her aside from the outcome of her dreaming being a puddle of her liquid mana in the bed they all shared. Yume understood well enough to follow Anais's references. Apparently the lass was finally able to set a course for her next mentor after some serious procrastination. "Oh? No more procrastination? Good good~" Yume said happy for her friend. "No... I am trying to remember to do things as I should," she murmured.

Beyond this point, Ailen claimed that her mental and physical state were well, so he chose to just congratulate her on dreaming for the first time. "Arigatou, Shishou... sorry about the bed," she managed softly while she looked to her friend. The question of who was in her dream received an answer from the girl as she realized that even if the surname she had for the lad wasn't recognized she'd spoken about him quite a bit considering her summer activities. "It was Seigen," she murmured. Yume's eyes widened. "Oh? The boy from the shrine, that you spend your summers talking to... that none of us have met? He's the first face of your usually faceless dreams?" she mused seeming to find that to be interesting. The name also hit her ears weird now that she was thinking about it. Maybe it was simply knowing Mugen that did that sort of thing. She couldn't help but be happy for her friend, especially given her resurgence in habits that Yume recognized as belonging to Iino Miko. Maybe dreaming had allowed her to be more herself? She supposed she could always find out, after slipping into her soul later.

"That's good. It is always best to avoid being in a state of stagnation, but also to avoid being in a state of hurry. Continuous growth is what I find to be healthiest," Ailen preached while placing a gentle hand right between the girl's antlers. She was well on her way with an attitude like that. Upon hearing Anais's apology over the bed, the elf shook his head without hesitation. "It's nothing worth concern. It's only a bed, and it's only mana. If anything, this turn of events means... this is certainly your room~" he said with a chuckle.

Since all three of them awake, Ailen climbed out of bed, lingering for a few moments. All that mana he'd been steeping in could easily be left upon his body, but... he was surrounded by humans who shied away from such behavior. "Hmm. I suppose, though, present company would say it's in good taste to wash this off myself. Shame. I'll be doing that before getting started on everyone's breakfast."

Ailen had general advice to offer. According to him, it was best to avoid stagnation, not be in a hurry to do anything but instead to choose a steady pace. That was fairly healthy advice, and Anais understood it. Yume also understood Ailen's meaning, and though she was far from being a procrastinator she was indeed the type to rush headlong into things. "Hai, Shishou," Anais managed. Of course that gentle hand atop her head between her antlers was a great source of comfort. She smiled and blushed those extra ears twitching. What was more, he claimed her apology was unnecessary. They usually were, but she still offered them as it was in her nature to do so. He made the light joke that it simply made the room hers and she managed to look a bit sheepish about it. "If you say so...I'll clean this up and help with breakfast," she murmured, seeming to begin readying herself to exit bed. "Aw♥!~ Mi-chan's so cute~" Yume mused.

Still it would appear that they'd be moving on soon enough... Though neither Yume nor Anais had moved just yet, Ailen was making his way out of bed, while commenting about washing off the mana that had been soaking into his body. "That's right Ai-aniki, can't go around dripping in Mi-sauce around humans... they'll think you have a weird kink~" Yume teased. Of course she also understood it a bit. In truth she didn't mind the Mi-sauce as she'd begun calling it. "That's really embarrassing can you not call it that... also yes. I remembered him when I saw him in dream... but it's weird. I didn't remember you, until I actually laid eyes on you... and according to little me, people in my dreams don't normally have faces at all. For him to have one and have it be perfect was a bit weird," she said... accidentally commenting on Seigen's appearance in a casual way.

As Ailen prepared for whatever form of bath this subspace home had, Anais spoke of cleaning the mess she'd made before helping with breakfast. She didn't have to do anything like that, but he supposed he never mentioned something brought into the room the previous night. "Ah, don't worry yourself with that. On the nightstand there, you should find some Mantlebloom cuttings. If you expose them to liquid mana, they will be nourished and grow. If it wasn't covered in one of the lessons, let me briefly explain it," he said while moving toward the nightstand and opening his satchel.

What he pulled from that satchel looked like a strip of velvety moss, which he tossed toward the elafia. "I originally intended to make a blanket of this myself, considering its benefits ─ but I saw no need last night. When exposed to a liquid source of mana, Mantlebloom grows into a mossy blanket-like form that has bioluminescent blooms. It is very good to use as a blanket on one's bed, and is even gifted to royalty in some places. It does, however, require some maintenance. The amount of feeding it requires will changed depending on the quality of mana used. That works similarly to its trimming as well."

Anais was indeed the type of person who would have cleaned up after herself, embarrassing as it was. The elafia had full intentions of committing to the walk of shame with soiled bedding and washing it like a normal human. Interestingly enough, Ailen claimed she didn't have to bother with it, he'd brought Mantlebloom into the room. Anais searched her mind but found nothing directly related to it. "That wasn't in a set I've gotten," she said after a few seconds. Of course, Ailen would explain at least lightly, and she could always ask for some more specifics. Always attentive Anais listened to her mentor and finally let go of Yume if only to catch the piece of velvety moss tossed to her.

Ailen made his explanation, and it was clear to Anais that this was exceedingly valuable and also very useful. Her fingertips ran over the softness of this particular plant and it felt amazing to her. Her eyes were sparkling as she listened. It seemed like a lot to give her simply as a matter handle her body's nightly emissions. She couldn't help but smile. "That's really cool," she murmured. Yume also moved out of bed choosing to stretch. She re-equipped her dress and essentially fed the extra mana on her person directly to it, no mess involved. At the same time, Anais looked at Ailen almost timidly. "I'd could really use this, but are you sure you don't want it for yourself?" she asked for clarification. "Oh, and do I need anything specific to trim it with?" she asked. She found herself easily being able to care for plants, even if she was a tiny bit spastic in most cases. If she was correct, she could simply place this root side down onto the wet spot and watch it grow to accommodate it. She'd likely need some tools to keep it trimmed to the appropriate size, but she'd added such things to a list in her mind for the sake of expanding her alchemy based abilities. Maybe she should get a second magic bag, specifically for her study related items? "Mi-chan did you still have your year seven science project on your desk?" Yume asked seemingly at random. She'd last seen the girl this kind of excited over exactly that. "Yeah, it blooms at the most random times, but its environment was meant to be self sustaining," she explained.

"Hmm..." Ailen was wondering if he'd actually included Mantlebloom in Anais's lessons. It wasn't part of the lab she learned about during that first day, so he did have doubts of its appearance. Nevertheless, the elf was confident in his ability to explain all that was immediately necessary. "I see. I'll have to walk you through the workshop that contains it. There are many water-based plants in that one, so your horizons will be expanded greatly with knowledge of it," he said with a curt nod.

Once Anais had the plant she would be needing, she asked a rather important question. Maintenance was a necessary part of Mantlebloom ─ more so than with many other flora species. The tiniest of gleams appeared in Ailen's eye as her question was presented. "Yes; good of you to ask! Mantlebloom can be trimmed with shears imbued with liquid mana of any sort, allowing a clean trim that causes it no harm and effectively prunes it to promote healthy growth. A sharp enough pair of enchanted scissors could also do the trick, so long as the cut is seamless. Alternatively, a preferred method you may also find interest in would be the use of harmonic sound waves. It is an art form among some specialists to literally shape the Mantlebloom by that method, periodically doing so as to retain its shape and cause self-pruning to an extent," he preached, seeming to have forgotten about his own bathing plans amid his rambling.

Ailen was a good teacher. Though Anais had learned quite a bit about water based plants in one of her lectures those were ones specifically related to running waters and stagnant pools for bathing. This would be something a bit different. It was fine as well, as it gave her something to look forward to learning. In true mentor fashion, Ailen mentioned wanting to walk her through the workshop which included these particular plants. "Hai, it'll be fun!~" she chimed seemingly pleased. She noted in her own mind to remember this particular mention so they could make their way back to it.

After having her question answered, Yume watched with an amused smile on her face. The conversation between Anais and Ailen was always 'nerd cute' she'd started referring to it in her head as such. Either one of them would go off on a tangent and both would be eager, excited and distracted while the conversation was taking place. Ailen explained various methods which could be used to care for the Mantlebloom. And Anais took note of it, and the praise she received for asking the proper question in the first place. There were some pretty standard methods of care and then the last mentioned was potentially the most appealing to Anais. A harmonic sound wave method of manipulating and trimming the Mantlebloom. "Really? I can do that? That's awesome! Does it have specific types of sound it likes, or is like specific to the type of mana it takes in or the size of the plant? Or is it one of those things that's very specific to both individual and plant, like bonsai trees?" she asked various questions immediately. if there was a musical art she could use to care for the plant she'd fully explore that. She figured given her skills it might be something she found herself capable of doing with greater ease. Not that she wouldn't learn more analog methods as well. Just as Ailen had initially forgotten his bathing, Anais was still holding the plant in her hands as she found out how to care for it, instead of letting it immediately absorb the fluids of her previous night.