Ari had gotten a little whiny over the fact that even the other cats wanted to continue the exploration of the snowy mountain range in the hope of finding something new and interesting. The jaguar was heavily against that idea because she really hates the cold. As a result, Sophia introduced a new guideline to the group’s traveling formation. She suggested that not all have to be traveling together all the time, and if someone wants to stay in the domain, the others could still be out and exploring.

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting it to turn out like this.” On the following day, when most of the group returned to the regular world to explore the mountains, Ari immediately took advantage of the newly introduced guidelines and decided to stay in the cottage to evade the cold she hated so much.

“Do you not wish my company?” The jaguar wasn’t the only one who stayed behind as she was currently sitting together with Fen in the cottage’s living room.

“That’s absolutely not what I meant!” She shook her head a few times. “Do you really dislike the cold so much that you also decided to stay behind?”

"No, it's not quite on your level. I mean, you really made quite the scene yesterday."

“Ahaha…” She could only awkwardly scratch her cheek.

"I don't exactly enjoy it, though. My fur lets me tolerate it, but if I can avoid it, I will avoid it. I mean, unless it leads to something interesting, but I don't think that mountain range will lead to anything too big in the next few days."

“I see!”

"Also, Sophia and you all are great, but I need a break every now and then. The group's a bit too hyper to be with 24/7. I know I'm oftentimes part of the problem when it comes to getting excited, but I hope you understand what I mean."

“Ah, I’m sorry about ruining your day off, then.”

“It’s fine.” Fen shook his head. “You’re the one I’d mind the least keeping me company when I need a break.”

“Really?” She tilted her head. “How do you know? Actually, I think this is the first time since we met that it’s just the two of us.”

“Now that you mention it, that might actually be the cause.” He nodded once before continuing. “You’re easily the most grounded one out of the group, though. I doubt you’d be the cause to ruin my day off.”

“Happy to hear that someone still thinks I’m normal.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far!” The wolf shook his head a few times.

“Ah.”

“Anyway, do you have any plans for today, or were you just taking it easy?” Fen decided to not further elaborate on the previous topic.

“…” She stared at him for a moment because of the earlier jab, but Ari eventually decided to let it go. “I haven’t really thought about it. I’m just happy not being in that nightmarish cold today. Oh, maybe I’ll visit the bioluminescent forest we began creating the other day.”

“I had completely forgotten about that already.”

“Ahaha, too much is going on lately, huh?”

“That is very true.”

“What about you?” Ari kept looking at him. “Any plans on your end?”

“It wouldn’t be the first day I happily slept through completely.”

“You really enjoy your days off to the fullest, huh?”

“For some, doing absolutely nothing is the very definition of holidays.”

“Hmm.” The jaguar didn’t seem too convinced.

"I've also been contemplating putting more work into the biome Sophia gave me to play with. I might start it for real today."

“Oh!” The jaguar thought that would be more fitting for the occasion. “Wait, what was your biome again? I can’t really remember what it was.”

“Just a good old deciduous forest. I feel like something basic might be pretty nice. I also like the feel inside those forests, so I thought about making my own.”

“Deciduous, those are the trees that lose their leaves in fall, right?”

“Exactly.” He nodded. “My version will be evergreen, though. Summer is my favorite season in that kind of forest because I like the woody smell inside when it's warm, and the dim light shining through the green leaves is very relaxing, too.”

“That sounds lovely!” Ari was becoming a fan of his plan. “Although, making it permanently fall for the colored foliage could be nice, too.”

“That is true, but I really like the lush green.”

“That’s fair.” She couldn’t blame him for his preference. “I also agree that a summer theme would be the most comfy.”

“Yes.”

“I like it! I’m a fan of the massive jungle Maya and I created around the cottage here, but a nice and simple forest will be a great place to relax.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping to accomplish." The wolf agreed with her. "Do you want to help me out?”

“Eh?” The jaguar hadn't expected that. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “You went completely bonkers on the jungle, but I’m sure you can hold back enough to create something that is just nice.”

“Shush!”

“I had to do it~.” Fen sounded rather smug. “So, do you want to accompany me?”

“I’m not sure if I’ll be of any help because of the big difference in our magic power, but I would love to try!”

“Maya also has less than I do, and the two of you still created that massive jungle that is way more than I want for my forest. I think it should be fine."

“Ahaha, fair point.”

“Sophia gave me a spot in her domain together with a portal.” He just continued. “Together with some land and a couple of beech, oak, and maple saplings. I had already expanded it to around 100 meters in diameter, but that’s about it.”

“Alright, sounds like fun!”

Having decided on a plan for the day, the rather uncommon duo left the cottage and took the portal Sophia had prepared for the wolf to start his own biome.

----------------

"Oho, it has gotten a little denser around here." The two arrived at Fen's spot, and he took a quick glance at their surroundings. “The trees grew quite a bit, too.”

“It already looks lovely!” Ari was also looking around. “You were right about the lighting, too!” She turned her head up towards the canopy and noticed how the light was making it shine in a bright green while a few rays made it through and lightly illuminated the bottom layer they were in at the moment. “So cozy! It’s kinda dim, but the glow and the few extra light rays make it just right! Especially compared to the jungle where it’s basically pitch black.”

“Yeah, this is just right.” He agreed with her evaluation. "Your jungle is great, and I love the massive trees we made. I will definitely make many more in the future, but everything being oversized wouldn't fit the theme I'm going for here. The overgrowth would also block out all the light, and the feeling would be gone."

“You are so right with that!” The jaguar nodded along. “Even better, down here, you don't even realize that the light isn’t coming from the sun but Sophia’s white domain background thing. The green glow from the canopy makes it look just like sunlight.”

“That’s the best part.” Fen felt the same. “Our blondie really needs to do something about that. Her domain is the most fascinating thing I’ve witnessed, but it’s quite hard on the eyes.”

“Especially in the morning when you just woke up and get your eyes seared if you don’t remember when opening the window or something like that. Maya removed too much of the jungle around the cottage…” Ari agreed with his complaint. “She did say that it will take a while, right?”

“The concentration of ambient magic needs to be high enough or something like that.” He tried to remember what Sophia had told them.

“I guess we just need more trees to block it for the time being, huh?”

“Exactly what I was thinking!”

“Do you want to continue the forest in a specific way?” Ari looked around again. “After all, it’s your oasis, so I don’t want to ruin anything.”

“I prefer maple over oak over beech trees. Do what you want with that information.”

“Focus on maple, got it.” The jaguar smiled at him. “Anything else?”

“The trees can be a little bigger than usual, but nothing too extreme, please.” He then gestured around him. “This area is pretty much perfect.”

“I see!” She nodded. “Can you really control it, though? For a single tree, yes, you use less of your magic to feed it, but how do you do that for a whole area you want to expand? In the jungle, Maya and I just dumped it into the area, and we know to what that led.”

“I am not exactly sure about that, actually.”

“Ehh…?” It wasn’t the explanation Ari had hoped for. “How should I do it, then?”

"When I made this part, I stretched out my released magic as thin as possible. That way, the saplings could only absorb a little magic, I guess? The rest was used to create more shrubbery and soil and all that. Honestly, I have no idea how this domain works.”

"Don't look at me with that questioning expression!” The jaguar shook her head. "I'm like the least adept when it comes to magic in this group!"

“I think you’re selling yourself a bit short.” He shook his head. “I’ve seen you do some very promising things before. You just need some more training~.”

“T-Thanks.” She got a little bashful. “So… Stretching out my released magic as thin as possible while hoping for the best…?”

“That’s what I’m going to do.” He nodded. “Also, that second part, about hoping for the best, is the way to do any big magic.”

“Why do I feel like Fey would disagree with that?” Ari didn’t believe him.

“D-Don’t worry about it!” He just turned his head away.

Afterward, after having agreed on something loosely resembling a plan, the two got to work on shaping Fen’s normal biome in Sophia’s domain.

 

 

---

---