The partner shuffle seemed to continue as Haiko moved to help Boko place the bamboo guides for the next section of the wall, on the side closest to the lake. The amount of bamboo used for each wall ended up pretty close to the rough count he’d done the day before—about twenty-five bamboo lengths high, stacked horizontally. The pile was still going strong as well because they’d cut the lengths in half to complete two walls for the cost of one. The ceiling didn’t use anywhere near as much, and judging by the third ceiling already being in progress, along with the piles he’d left at each pillar, it was looking like they might actually finish it off before they ran out of light.

August pushed himself to his feet, willing the minor aches away before starting back towards the undercover area, the dispersion of the group making it far easier to approach. He was careful about the angle he came in on; with Rittan holding a ladder upright, Kalter standing on the top of it, and Melon hovering a few meters away from the pair, he didn’t want all three of them to enter the range of [Predator] before he had a chance to actually test out whether or not the new point he’d placed in it had helped or not. Rittan entered it first, and he immediately noted that it felt different; the pulls on his attention were still there, but they’d dropped down to a faint patter of background noise.

The render of the Voithos was somehow even more in focus than it had been the last time he’d had someone within his range—and it left the mental image crystal clear. Despite the pause in his movements, the expanded range still managed to overlap most of Kalter’s presence on the ladder, but there was no increase to the strain like he’d been expecting. He took another careful step forward, collecting Kalter entirely with no change, and then another two steps to intersect with Melon—three perfect renders sat in his mind, and the strain was barely noticeable. The effect of a single point was far more significant than he’d been expecting in alleviating the weight of processing so much information at once.

“Are you alright?” Rittan asked.

“Ah,” August said, wondering at how bizarre his approach must have looked from their perspective. “The range for the sensory skill expanded again, and I wasn’t sure if I could deal with three people at once.”

“Oh, I see,” Rittan said, “Was it another proficiency increase?”

August shook his head.

“I used a skill point on it to test whether or not it that would reduce the information overload,” August admitted, “It seems to have worked out because three people inside the range doesn’t really feel like anything now.”

Kalter’s render shifted on the ladder above, and he glanced up at the movement to meet her gaze.

“Attempting to cover your weakness, huh?” Kalter said, “What’s the range?”

The reference to the earlier—and wholely embarrassing conversation—had him straighten up a bit. He glanced over at Rittan to check whether or not she had shared the details with him, but he seemed unaware.

“Six meters now,” August offered.

“Will you be able to sleep like that?” Rittan asked, glancing over at the temporary lean-to. “You have already moved quite a distance from the huts, so I suppose the increased range doesn’t pose an immediate problem—but that won’t always be the case.”

“I—could definitely sleep next to three people the way it is now, but I don’t know what it’ll be like with more than that.” August said, “I’m fine either way; I don’t mind being a hermit.”

August wasn’t actually sure that was true, but actually admitting—out loud and to an audience of three Voithos—that he was feeling lonely didn’t seem like something he could ever really do. Rittan didn’t seem convinced by his answer either, so he made an attempt to move the conversation on.

“We should probably start thinking about making a better sleeping situation anyway because the only thing the huts really protect us from is the sun and the rain—and the ground would still get wet,” August said, turning to glance at the pillar from which Melon was peering out at them. “I was going to start making some actual beds soon, just to get us off the ground, but I can’t help but think that they won’t be the most comfortable thing ever.”

“I’m certain we will discover a solution to that, as well,” Rittan said, smiling. “It’s just a matter of time—”

“I’m coming down,” Kalter said.

Rittan moved to hold the ladder more firmly in place, and August stepped back away from the base of it to make more room.

“One more thing, and then I’ll get out of your way,” August said, “I was thinking about making a larger, more permanent cooking fire over here somewhere—do you guys have any plans for that already?”

“I recall that a communal eating space was mentioned at some point, but we have discussed no actual details about its placement or design,” Rittan admitted. “Did you have something in mind?”

“I’ve got an outline I’ve been thinking about,” August nodded, “Since we don’t have to worry about ventilation with this one—because of the gap between the walls and the ceiling—we can place it just about anywhere in the overall structure.”

August stepped back and used a knife hand to draw an imaginary square in between the two centermost pillars and the two empty holes of the unfinished expansion that would take the space directly beside the first.

“I’d suggest we put it right in the middle for now, so it will light up the whole interior once the walls and ceiling are finished,” August said, “If there ends up being a third expansion, or more than that, we can always move it over again.”

“Ah, yes, I see what you’re saying,” Rittan said, eyes darting around at the nearby holes. “It will leave the fire uncovered until we finish the first expansion, but that will only take a few days to complete at most.”

Rittan seemed pretty on board with the whole thing, which was more than enough to wipe away the last of his second thoughts about the placement.

“Right, and if it does rain while it’s still uncovered, we can just make a temporary fire to use for a couple of days,” August said in agreement. “I’ll go ahead and get started on that now, so it’s ready for us to use tonight.”

“Very well,” Rittan said before clearing his voice. “August, perhaps you would like Melon to assist you in this task?”