Sleep deprivation. It wasn't exactly good for you.
That said, insomnia wasn't something that a person willingly controlled, and instead Okarin laid awake until the first rays of sunlight peaked above the clouds in Yato Machi. It was an a particularly unpleasant feeling... for night to turn to morning... yet to not have slept for much of it. The futon was soft, but no amount of creature comforts made this luxurious residence any more welcoming than Okarin's shack in Scribel.
The Japanese-style room felt cold and empty.
It was morning.
—Good morning.
Ah, perhaps Okarin should say it aloud. That was the polite way to do it.
"
Good morning," Okarin said to the birds outside of their balcony.
They tried to smile.
There was no response.
No real surprises there.
+ + +
Okarin spent the first hour of the morning folding their futon and putting it away with their one arm.
In theory, they were still supposed to be recuperating, but that two-faced
shrine maiden flying snake (seriously, those Eastern dragons? They're just flying snakes!) had politely offered to let Okarin rest a few more days before giving them chores around the shrine. Truthfully, their relationship was still heavily strained, and Okarin hated the miko in almost every way.
In Okarin's opinion, she was the type of person who smiled at you and pretended to be nice... the kind who acted cute and helpless for the sake of being cute... when in reality she was poisonous and predatory as a snake because well... (she's a flying snake!!!).
The slime person strolled to one of the natural springs on the mountain. The
White River began on the slopes of the
Winter Mountain, and there were many hot springs and mineral springs dotted across the slopes. Okarin walked to a nearby spring hidden behind a bamboo grove, and confirmed that nobody was nearby. They quickly removed their clothes, tucked it in a small corner, and slipped into the spring.
And no, Okarin wasn't taking a vacation.
This was serious hardcore bathing.
Slime training!
Okarin badly needed to recover mass, and for a slime person that meant drinking a lot of water and eating lots of vegetation. Okarin paddled over to a patch of ivy and bamboo shoots that was growing off of a rock and they... simply... sat directly on top of it.
*glub* *glub* *glub*
*glub* *glub*
...
The slime person stared awkwardly off to the side.
*glub* *glub* *glub* *glub*
*glub* *glub* *glub*
*glub* *glub*
...
Yeah... that was pretty much it.
The next step was sit here and stare off into space nonstop for the... next two weeks...?
Just to regrow their arm...?
The training was obvious very...
intense...
Well, maybe not.
But welp, that was the life of a slime, right?
Okarin stared at the wall of bamboo.
They twiddled their fingers.
+ + +
Anyhow, stuff for a quest report.
The water was... mineral-y.
Since yeah, it's a mineral spring.
It had a faint taste of mana. Lots of things in grown Yato Machi have a faint mana-like flavor.
There are these small fishies that swim around in the spring. They're too small for a person to eat, but they're cute little goldfish.
In general, Yato Machi was extremely safe. There weren't any real threats on the mountain or in the city itself.
The other thing about Yato Machi was that there were these little stone dragon statues everywhere... like little figurines.
Gaahhhh, Okarin hated those dragon statues.
It reminded them of the miko who was....
"
Stupid flying snakes!" Okarin muttered aloud as they submerged their face and blew bubbles in the spring.
"
Who's a stupid flying snake?" A voice chimed in out of nowhere.
"
I mean those dra—"
Okarin froze.
They slowly turned their head around.
A short little girl was floating above the water and smiling at Okarin.
"
Were you about to say draaa~ gon~ ?" She said cheerfully.
Okarin choked and almost bolted out of the spring.
Although they remembered at the last minute that they were naked.
"
Oh, Seiryuu... Not you! Definitely not you!" Okarin mumbled somewhat non-distinctly.
"
Sora isn't the only dragon on the Winter Mountain, you know~"
The Azure Dragon still had an amicable attitude.
"
I thought you didn't usually come up to Yato Machi?" Okarin said, attempting to deflect the topic.
"
Eh? I'm anywhere and everywhere the River is! The springs are part of the river, so of course I'm here~"
Okarin blinked a few times.
"
So even the hot springs...?"
"
Yup! I see and hear everything! In the women's bath houses and the men's!"
The young slime blushed all of a sudden, although they weren't entirely sure why.
"
W-Wait so... so... you really see everything...?"
"
Of course! I also don't mind that you're drinking my water either, although it kind of tickles a little."
"
So I'm basically eating you...?!"
For some weird reason Okarin was shocked to hear this.
As a life-long vegetarian... the very concept of eating a sentient organism was equivalent to a terrifying revelation.
"
It's not a big deal though, y'know?"
The little river dragon puffed out her chest.
"
It's my divine duty to give life to Fuyu Machi and the surrounding villages. I protect the city, bless the rain, wash the earth, and bring water to the farms. Without me, there wouldn't be a Fuyu Machi at all! I'm pretty amazing, right? Right? Right?! I'm clearly the best Guardian!"
Apparently, Seiryuu had a bit of an ego.
"
I... see..." Okarin was still stunned from shock.
So essentially Seiryuu could feel, see, and hear everything that happened near moving water in this entire region?
That posed a little bit of a problem. It was also a ridiculous ability.
Okarin was a deeply private person... especially when it came to... feeding...
Weirdly, they felt somewhat violated.
Was there really no other way for Okarin to regenerate themselves away from the prying eyes of the river guardian?
"
Anyhow I'm curious about when you got here. What in the world happened to that lizardgirl? All of the bones in her body were shattered! It was really quite something. A really ugly sight to behold when you stumbled by the White River. You're an extraordinarily lucky slime!"
Memories flashed through Okarin's mind, and the slime person straightened.
They bowed deeply.
"
I never got a chance to thank you for that. You saved us."
The river dragon girl shrugged, and then she grinned.
"
I heard you're a little ball of trouble, aren't you? Got an entire building destroyed less than a few hours in?"
"
That was an extraordinary situation."
"
Hai~ Hai~ Totally believable~"
"
What happened to the lizardgirl, by the way. Is she okay?"
"
Hmm? You don't know her name? I would have thought you must have been close traveling companions, especially the way you painstakingly dragged her over here in her state. She was pretty much next-to-dead, you know?"
"
Ah... I met her along the way. Ran into an oni. Her brother died though. I hope she's doing okay. I want to go see her later."
"
Hmm... You're a weird one."
"
Excuse me?"
Seiryuu did a little spin and floated in the air upside down, her hair hanging.
"
You're pretty talkative right now. But last night you were gloomy. The evening before, you were bouncing off of walls from excitement. And the in afternoon you looked like you were ready to slice poor Sora up into little ribbons (scawy~!). I haven't gotten a good read on your personality~!"
Okarin stared for a bit at the river dragon's eyes.
Then they looked down at their hands.
"
My personality, huh?"
"
Right now, you're mellow! Mellow like Mello-rin! There's also Dere-karin, Yan-karin, Dan-karin... is there a Tsun-karin?"
"
I don't know what those terms mean..."
"
Mhm~ But I don't dislike the way that you are right now either~ So don't worry about it!"
Seiryuu seemed to be especially frivolous and light-hearted.
"
Okay... Thanks..."
"
Anyhow, I have to get going now! I just wanted to say hi to the resident herb slime! Oh, and don't eat all the plants off the riverbank! I like to keep a bunch of them around, so don't eat everything~!"
The dragon gave a quick wave and promptly disappeared into the water before Okarin could respond.
The slime was left staring at an empty natural spring at a bamboo grove on the slopes of the Winter Mountain.
Okarin blinked a few times.
And then they sighed.
