The expanse of the courtyard was too long to move quietly through and not expend all of his MP since that required Phase-Shift. The refraction of Camouflage was too pronounced at his level. He still made noise while using Phase-Shift, which was something he was glad to have found out before battle. Occasionally the rubber in his boots would squeak at an inopportune time and telegraph his location. Aurora would fire off a stream of ion balls and she could easily find where he was when they impacted him and dispersed around his form, the others traveling on to the distance.
Once he found a new route that allowed him to bypass her, she also changed her approach, her competitive nature not giving him a chance to gloat as she shut him down time and again. When he finally called uncle and toweled off, he glanced at the fruits of his labors: one level for Camouflage (Level 6) and Phase-Shift (Level 7) jumping three whole levels.
Satisfied that Gus was familiar with the techniques, they headed back to the cafeteria.
Three trays were on the counter lining one wall. Red, blue, and pink gels sat in the trays, sixteen of each. Gus picked one up and looked closely at it.
“They kind of look like those tiny soaps you put in the dishwasher,” he said, squishing the rubbery film around the colored liquid. He lifted it to his mouth to eat a red gel.
“Wait! Do you trust me?” she asked with puppy-dog eyes.
“Less when you say it like that.”
“Don’t be a baby. Hold your hand out like this.” She lifted her arm up to her side like she was being sworn in for court. Gus did the same and she zapped him point blank with an ion ball.
A flash of itchiness followed by an intense burning sensation hit Gus’ hand as it started to blister. “Damn! What the—”
“Hurry, eat the gel now.”
Gus popped it in his mouth and bit down. A strong cherry flavor hit him, then disappeared before he could swallow. He expected there to be liquid but all that was left was the chewy outer casing, which quickly dissolved as he continued to chew. A second after he had bit down, he looked at his hand. The pain was gone and the small dip in his HP jumped back to 100%. His hand looked pristine and the red, sunburned appearance and blisters had disappeared.
“It wouldn’t have done anything if you ate it at full health. Sorry if that hurt.”
Gus marveled as he flipped his hand back and forth, feeling it with his other hand. “That was so worth the FP!” he raved, and excitedly ordered the cafeteria to continually make the gels so they would have a surplus when needed.
“How should we carry these? They look a little fragile,” Aurora wondered aloud.
“I think I know just the thing. Hey, maybe I can teach you too. Have you ever sewn anything?”
They stopped at the dispensary to grab some cloth scraps, and a supply room for some Velcro. They headed back outside, and Gus used Ether Leash to bring two chairs down to Atlantis beach. They both kicked off their boots and dug their feet into the soft sand.
Gus, Nick, Aurora, and Daphne shared information so that she could see how to manipulate the weaves to make a small bag of holding. Since she had experience and a basic understanding of ether weaves, she bypassed having to use palm fronds and she set to replicating the complicated weaves, but it still took some trial and error to remember the basics.
“I always wanted a crafting ability,” she mentioned offhandedly. “My old mentor, Rory, was so good with his hands. We would fix vehicles all day, and he just had a magic touch. I got pretty good, but I wasn’t naturally talented at it. After hours, he would carve these little figurines out of wood and paint them. They were so lifelike, and were only about three-quarters of an inch tall. I don’t know how he didn’t break the wood while carving them.
“I especially liked this one with a paladin he did, his sword uplifted like he was going to smite something and his cape flapping behind him. He had painted it so that the armor had a mirror finish on it too. He gave it to me for my eighteenth birthday.”
Her voice turned melancholy. “It was on the station when it went down.”
Gus looked up but quickly returned to his work when his weave started to fizzle and unravel. “I’m sorry, Aurora. When we get back, maybe he can make you another, yeah?”
She smiled again, Gus’ optimism that they would overcome and make it home bolstering the uncertainty behind her facade of strength.
“Yeah. First thing when we get back.” She turned back to her work. “Okay, I think I got this first part done, what now?”
“Hold on, speedster,” Gus caught up and finished the small ring of weaves. “Hold yours tight and watch how I connect the two ends together.” Gus made the loops and turns larger than average so she could see what he was doing then cinched them together. As the sides connected a shimmer pulsed around the tiny ring.
With his ring stable he turned his attention to her and guided her as she tied the weave. He laughed a little as her tongue snuck out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated. Gus saw the shimmer with her ring as well and knew that it was finished.
“Now the easy part. See these loops? Just connect them
