Fresh stacks another lantern on top of the pile and sighs. It’s exhausting work, making this many of them. She doesn’t have any soul-points, as far as she can tell, so she still isn’t sure what exactly her magic is using when she casts a spell. But it’s still a little exhausting in a sense. It’s as if every spell drained a little of her own physical energy as well. With all of the stress lately and all of the work and all of her bad nights of sleep, she’s starting to feel the toll of the many days weighing down on her.

She sighs again, stacking another lantern onto the collection.

“You look tired,” says Jubilee, not looking up from the ledger as they scratch down into it with the pen.

“I aaaam~” sighs Fresh, setting to work to make another lantern. Restocking the shelves is an easy task, as they all looked just about the same as they had this morning when they had opened the store. But she still needs to make most of the three-hundred lanterns for the order of the city-guard. Basil hadn’t said anything about the church wanting any lanterns just yet, but Jubilee had told her to wait. It’s only a matter of time. They’ll probably ‘expect’ a discount as well, they inform her with an indigence painted in their eyes.

Fresh sighs a third time and lowers her hands. The girl, sitting cross-legged, slumps backwards and flops onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.

“You good?” asks Jubilee, flipping a page in the ledger.

Fresh sighs a fourth time as her answer and stares up vacantly, her mind trying to find a thought to cling on to, any thought at all. But there is simply nothing that comes into focus. All she can think about is nothing at all. Her mind is simply empty. Tired. There’s so much work to do. She rolls her head to the side, looking at the shelves that need to be filled with new items that she still has to come up with.

Then she rolls her head to the other side, looking at the stack of lanterns that she has to complete, so that they can finish the order on time.

Her head rolls back straight and she stares at the ceiling and sighs again, a fifth time.

Jubilee slams the ledger shut. “Okay. I can’t watch this tragedy anymore. What’s the matter?” Jubilee walks out from behind the counter.

Fresh raises an arm, lifting it straight up towards the ceiling for no other purpose than to just hold it up into the air. “Jubileeeee~” Her arm flops back down, slapping against the floor next to herself. “I’m tiiiired~”

The sound of Jubilee’s boots stops next to her and a masked face leans over her from above, as Jubilee stands there with their hands on their hips, looking at the wretch below themselves.

“Jubilee?”

“What?”

“You’re upside down.”

Jubilee sighs this time, shaking their head and then seems to think for a moment. “Wanna take the day off tomorrow?”

“Huh?” asks Fresh, leaning her head back to look up at Jubilee. “Really?!” She flops around, wrapping her arms around Jubilee’s legs and pulling herself closer to her friend, who swings their arms around, struggling to keep their balance. “Are we allowed to do that?!”

Jubilee tries to pull their legs free, but Fresh doesn’t let go. “Why wouldn’t we be? We work for ourselves.”

“What about the merchants’ guild dues and all of that?”

“We only have to pay those percentages if we make a profit. If we’re closed, we’re not making a single Obol.” They shrug, pulling one of their legs free and stepping back a step. “It’s not like we’re making money right now anyways. Damn summer.” Fresh claws forward, grabbing hold of her friend’s escaped leg again. “Do you mind?” asks Jubilee, annoyed.

“I mind,” replies Fresh. “But that would be nice!”

“Alright, then we’ll take a day off tomorrow.” Jubilee rubs the back of their hood. “Maybe a break will do us all some good.” They pull their other leg free, trying to get away again, but Fresh reaches out and grabs it before they can escape. “I’ll make a sign.”

The rest of the night passes, the two of them finishing their work and Fresh, much to her surprise, sleeps the best that she has in a while. No strange, haunting dreams come to plague her in the night. No dark visions of futures that could and might be. Not even a single demon that tries to steal her feet. There is simply nothing. Nothing but her and the blankness of her mind as she rests. Her body and spirit regenerating and healing through a deep process.

The morning comes and the girl opens her eyes, not sure what exactly it is that triggered her deep sleep, but she is quietly thankful for it nonetheless, as she gets up well-rested for the first time in a long time. Her toes, all still there, wiggle in the new carpet that has a few dark stains on it already, which she does her best to ignore.

Getting ready for the day, she then heads to the kitchen and begins her new favorite ritual, tearing open the window to feel the morning breeze come to greet her to a new day, together with the sounds of the early life coming to blossom outside on the peaceful, summer morning. Glowing, she sets to work, making them a real breakfast. Today, she’s just going to make some eggs in a pan and some buttered toast, together with some thin fruit tea. It’s a simple breakfast, but something she’s been deeply craving.

Fresh smiles as she works, unable to avoid noticing that her body is bobbing up and down as she buzzes around the kitchen, busy with her work like a bee flying through the early light of the day. The only thing she is really missing is coffee, but that doesn’t seem to exist here, as far as she’s able to tell. But maybe it’s for the best. The last thing the world needs is caffeine addicted adventurers. “Although…”

She scratches her cheek, looking at the canister of tea. It would be a great idea for a product.

Fresh shakes her head, getting the thoughts out of it. Today is her day off. “No work stuff. No work stuff,” she repeats to herself, trying to get the mantra into her head. Today she’s just going to relax. She’s going to make a nice breakfast for the two of them, then she’s going to just take a walk through the city. Maybe Jubilee will even go with her? Or maybe Basil too. Maybe all three of them can go on a walk together. Fresh smiles, she hopes so.

Looking back to the stove, she returns to it, remembering to make an extra plate for Basil as well. She isn’t sure if the priestess eats at the church or not, but she always seems to be happy about getting food.

“Morning,” calls Jubilee walking past the kitchen. “Smells good.”

“Good morning!” calls Fresh out over her shoulder. “Thanks! I’ll be done in a minute.” She sets to work, slicing some bread and throwing it into the hot pan to get it crispy and warm again. She kind of wishes they could just eat at the table, since they have one now. But she understands that Jubilee wouldn’t go for it. “Oh well,” she shrugs and heads downstairs.

The two of them eat together. “So, do you want to walk through the city with me today?”

“It’s going to get really hot later.”

“Maybe we can buy new clothes together?” asks Fresh excitedly.

“Creep.”

“I am not!” she says, biting into her toast loudly in protest. Fresh asks Jubilee how they want to spend the day, she hopes that they can walk together a little.

“It’s supposed to be a day off, how is walking relaxing?”

“It is! We can look at all of the stores and we can explore the city and talk to a lot of people! It will be fun!”

“Sounds stressful to me. I hate walking,” says Jubilee, taking a loud drink of their tea.

“Jubileeee~”

Jubilee sighs. “Fine. But only until the afternoon, it’s going to get hot as all hell and I don’t want to be out there.” Fresh beams in excitement. Eventually the door knocks and Jubilee yells out over the counter. “We’re closed! Fuck off!”

“Jubilee!” scolds Fresh, getting up to go look. She pulls the door open. “Hi, Basil!”

“Good morning,” says Basil, tilting her head. “Uh… is there no work today?”

Fresh looks at her somewhat let down expression curiously. “We’re taking a day off today, Basil. We just decided last night after you left.”

“Oh…” says the priestess, apparently somewhat unsettled.

Fresh clasps the priestess hands excitedly. “Will you spend the day with us?”

The priestess looks down to the cold, clammy hands holding hers. “I don’t think I can, I need to find some other work for today then, if you don’t need me. But thank you for the offer.”

Fresh looks at the priestess, not really understanding. But then she thinks she gets it. “You’re still getting paid, Basil,” says Fresh, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“I am?” asks Basil, surprised.

“She is?!” asks Jubilee, just as surprised, but with a much different tone.

Fresh nods, pulling the priestess inside, perhaps half-against her will. “Of course, that wouldn’t be fair if we close because of me and then you can’t buy food tonight.”

“Life isn’t fair,” barks Jubilee.

“Jubilee! Don’t demoralize the employees!” says Fresh, closing the door behind Basil.

Jubilee gets up, adjusting their mask and looking at her. “The employees are demoralizing ME.”

The three of them spend the next half-hour chatting. Fresh drinks her tea and watches in delight as Basil wolfs down the plate that she had prepared for her. She wonders why the priestess is always so hungry. Surely she has enough money to buy good food now? Sure, the priestess indulges herself on some niceties like jewelry once in a while, but Fresh doesn’t think she’s spending every cent of hers on that.

Soon enough, the three of them finish and Fresh cleans up their plates, coming back down with her bag over her shoulder and an excited expression on her face as she runs down the staircase. “Let’s goo—IAH!”

Her foot slips and she tumbles forward, down the stairs, her hands gripping the railing that she had installed a while back. Fresh spins around, thudding down onto the steps exactly where she was standing.

“You okay?” asks Jubilee.

Fresh shakes out her sore wrists and looks up at her worried friends. “That was close,” she remarks. “I’m fine!” getting up, somewhat shakily, she carefully makes her way down the stairs, thankful that she had made that railing.

“Are you sure? Please be careful on staircases,” says Basil.

That really was close, thinks Fresh as she waves her friends off. If she had lost any health from that fall, Basil would have seen. Smiling to hide the nervousness in her face, she reaches the bottom of the steps and straightens out her bag and robe.

“I’m fine! Come on, let’s go!” she says and rushes to the door, the two of them trailing behind her as they go to head out into the city for the day.