Stars Dancing [Dreams-To-Lovers Romance]

Do you know that "sibling" is an Earth word? You probably do now. I wonder if you knew back then. It's English. I'm learning English. And I'm getting really good at cussing. English has great cuss words.

Like 'fuck." I love the word "fuck." I'm adding it to the sex scenes. Do you think it's funny?

- Sibsil Creed, Stories of Shurwinn (2766)

"You know, I think this is good enough to serve in a restaurant," Lirin said. We were eating the curry I'd brought for dinner. It was my favorite, with mushrooms and peas and a creamy tomato gravy.

I responded, "I like it, but I think it misses the rice. I'm not sure anyone would want to eat it this way." I used chopped zucchini squash in place of rice which gave it some bulk, but it wasn't as good as the original dish.

"Well," she nodded. "I agree with you about the rice. But for people who need to make dietary changes, I think this is a delicious substitution."

"I like it too. Have you considered sharing this recipe with people— the general public?" inquired Denten.

"What, like start a restaurant?" I asked.

"Or a cookbook— ah, an uncook book?"

I laughed, "A Medica's Guide to Uncooking Curry."

Lirin chuckled, "You were saying you were looking for what to do long term."

"That's true," I nodded. I kept having thoughts roll around in my head, but I wasn't getting any clearer about what I needed to do next. "I— I don't really know what I'm supposed to do, and I don't really know what kind of options there are in Shurwinn outside of the monastery and gardening. I mean, do I just go back to the Recruiter and say, 'What kind of job can I get?'"

"Well, you could do that," Lirin suggested. "Are there things that interest you? You have a lot of experience, Ryst."

"Yeah, I have a lot of knowledge about business from my family— you know Novaceutica, right? The cosmetics corporation? So, I have so much knowledge of that and the skin care lines. And my medica training and all of the research. But none of that really feels quite right. There's something out there, though. I have this feeling like there's something for me, but I can't see it yet. Like when the sun is dawning and you can see large shapes around you, but there's not enough light yet to be able to illuminate the shape of them clearly. It's a vague thing, just out of reach."

"What is the favorite thing you have done in your past careers?" Denten asked.

I didn't hesitate. "Research. I really like patient care, and I like educating. Educating medica students, and educating patients. I like teaching people about what is going on with their bodies and solving a problem. But research is the most exciting way to discover new ways to help people."

"Well, if that is what excites you the most, then maybe that is a direction you can look in," Denten replied.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I shook my head. "No, research is complicated and has a lot of moving parts. That's why it goes on in University Medica Hospitals. Because all the departments are counting on the research division to have all the staffers that are needed— data gathering, patient recruitment, statistics. I didn't do all of those jobs, I was just the lead. It's a lot of people involved. And I just don't see myself going into one of the Universities here to apply for a job."

He nodded thoughtfully. "If you could do research again, is there something you'd like to investigate? You say you like solving problems, and that is what excites you? Is there something you could look into that would interest you?"

"Besides myself?" I said, and we all laughed. "I mean, informally, I'm trying to record everything I can about my Talent so I can know how to use it. So, that's a kind of research, but I'm not sure that can help other people solve their problems."

"Maybe an uncook book could help people? There must be others who have dietary needs," Lirin said. "You can't be the only one who needs this, Ryst."

My mind wandered. There was something there, just out of sight. Something niggled at me, but I couldn't tell what. "Maybe that's something to think about, Lirin. And that chocolate you made was so good. It was practically a health food, not a desert. Maybe that's a direction."

"We've owned our own business for decades, and I can tell you, it is very rewarding," Lirin offered. "Yes, it is hard at times. It's not without challenges, but every job has challenges. We have a lot of knowledge and a lot of connections, and we want to support you. Anyone you'd like to talk to about opportunities, that sort of thing."

"Thank you," I replied. "I'm sure I'll need to take you up on that. I just have some thinking to do. Once I have a direction to go in, I am sure I'll need a lot of help. I still only barely know Shurwinn, and most of what I know is the monastery."

A cookbook— or uncook book— didn't seem like something I was ready for yet. But, really, how much information was there out there on the dietary plan I'd been using? Was there more I could learn about it? Maybe that was what I needed to seek. I had some research to do.

You asked me to tell my story since I was there when it all started. But where do I start to tell the story of how everything changed? Did it start in the dining commons when I stood at the window watching her eating lunch outside and alone and decided to ask her if she disliked soup?

Or did it start when I asked her to dance?

And what of the moment that I asked her to be an acolyte? Is that when it all began?

But what of the times that came before? Did it start when she landed on Shurwinn sandstone? Or before when she was born on a sphere that showed her too little kindness?

How do you know where to begin a story like this?

Perhaps it all really changed the day she didn't show up to the dojo. I didn't find her that day or the next. Sorchen was the only one I could think of to ask because Sorchen had been the one to get Ryst to eat lunch in the dining commons. I had hoped she could help Ryst with whatever questions she had about The Art and Practice, but as I cleaned tables near them I only heard something about Paulo and nuns.

I never really liked Sorchen before that— sly Sorchen with her cunning look that said she knew something no one else knew. She fell short of arrogance. It was cavalier; yes, "cavalier" was the right word for her. As though she knew she was surrounded by small-mindedness and had decided not to care.

But it was Sorchen who had broken past that Ryst barrier. Her aura of intellectualism and mystique had been just what Ryst needed to open up. So when Sorchen said Ryst needed a refrigerator and juice, I got the cooler. Glorian, Rillan, and the others who liked kitchen work gave me bottles of juice to fill it, and I took it to Ryst's room.

Gone was the warrior. She was a wilted version of herself. But I turned away because I knew Sorchen wasn't the only prideful woman there, and Ryst would not like me to see her weak and pitiful. But my glance caught something that speared me right through.

It wasn't pride in Sorchen's face. The way her hand pushed sweaty hair off forehead was mothering. This was a side of Sorchen we no longer saw, for she no longer had someone to mother.

I left the room soundlessly and closed the door. It wasn't the first time I wondered how to get Lirin to Ryst. But it wasn't until much later that I realized Lirin wasn't the best choice for Ryst then. She needed Sorchen to soften her gently— with intellect first, and kindness next. She needed Lirin later— to fully welcome her home.

- Sibsil Creed, Stories of Shurwinn (2857)