After Myrra left, Ian returned to his setup. He cycled through different sensors, optical, thermal, and field-based, hoping one might catch what the cameras couldn't. But nothing gave even a blip. He logged his observations, filed the data, and stored everything away with a tired sigh.
By the time he looked up, it was well into the night. Sleep wasn't essential with his level of advancement, but he figured Myrra would be waiting. He shut the system down and padded softly through the quiet facility.
Inside the bedroom, the lights were dimmed. Myrra lay asleep near the wall, one arm draped over Enira. The two elves were tangled together, peaceful and still.
Myrra's slender frame was wrapped around Enira's fuller one, her arm resting across Enira's bare stomach. Their clothes, light nightwear clinging faintly to their skin, had shifted as they slept, revealing smooth lines of pale thighs, the soft dip of Enira's waist, the graceful arch of Myrra's back.
Ian quitely pulled his interface and took a quick snapshot. Evidence of their betrayal.
Then, with a small shake of his head, he stepped away and went to sleep in the guest room.
Early morning, soft light filtered through the slats of the window, and Ian stirred to the faint sensation of something brushing against his cheek.
He opened his eyes slowly, only to find Myrra kneeling beside him, leaning close and fiddling with his face with suspicious concentration.
Ian's voice came out low and groggy. "What are you doing?"
Myrra startled, quickly turning her face away, her cheeks tinged faintly pink. "Nothing," she said too fast, shoving something small into her hand and trying to hide it behind her back.
Ian squinted and with one smooth motion pulled her onto the bed. Myrra yelped, falling lightly on top of him, bracing herself with both hands on his chest.
"Show me your arms," Ian said, eyeing her with suspicion.
"No," she said flatly, looking away again, clearly guilty but trying to act stubborn.
That only made him more curious. "Ohh?" Ian leaned in, one arm snaking around her waist. He gave a playful smack to her backside.
Myrra let out a surprised squeak. "Ian! You bully me…"
Ian smirked. "Then stop acting suspicious."
After some more struggling, flushed cheeks, and muffled giggles, she finally gave in, revealing a small brush.
"I was just… putting a little makeup on you," she admitted, sheepish. "Your sleeping face was too serious. I thought I'd make it cuter."
Ian gave her an unimpressed look.
She leaned her chin on his chest, eyes twinkling. "You should be grateful. I'm improving your charm."
Ian let out a quiet laugh, brushing her hair back gently. "You slept early."
Myrra pouted. "Only because someone didn't come to bed. I waited."
Ian kissed her forehead. "Sorry. Got caught up again."
"Hmph." Myrra shifted slightly "Good thing my kind sister Enira was there to give me company."
Ian raised a brow. "Is that a threat?"
She smiled sweetly, her voice full of mock warning. "Just saying… if you keep ignoring me, I might run away with her."
Ian gave her a look, then smacked her backside again, just firm enough to make her squeak.
Myrra gasped and immediately retaliated, biting his shoulder.
They rolled into a tangle, half teasing, half clinging, her legs across his, his arm wrapped firmly around her waist.
Ian's hand moved to soft mound of her breast. Myrra's breathing grew rapid.
But before anything more could happen, the door creaked open.
"Myrra, is Ian awake-" Enira's voice cut off as she stepped in, then immediately turned her head, eyes wide. "Ah.. sorry to disturb!" She quickly closed the door behind her.
Myrra buried her face in Ian's chest, mortified. "See what you did…"
Ian chuckled. "What's there to be ashamed of?" He sat up, then suddenly lifted her into a princess carry.
"We should express our love."
Myrra wriggled slightly in his arms, cheeks red. "Put me down!"
At the doorway, Ian finally set her down, to which Myrra gave him a light tap. "Now go freshen up and get ready."
After the usual class, Ian was walking with Myrra through the mage instrument section. Cailen and Varian were also there, poking around as usual.
The place was filled with shelves and floating platforms holding all kinds of magical and mechanical devices - recorders, monitors, strange arrays that looked like half-grown insects and half-assembled tools. Faint hums and flickers filled the air, a mix of crystal light and soft buzzing.
Ian walked slowly, eyes scanning the shelves.
He tapped a strange spherical thing with rods sticking out. "What even is this?"
Varian leaned in beside him. "Some kind of old feedback amplifier. We still use it back on our island."
Myrra turned toward him, squinting with playful suspicion. "Speaking of your island, we still haven't met this mystery fiancée of yours."
Varian gave an awkward laugh, scratching his cheek. "You'll meet her soon… she's just busy right now."
From behind, Cailen sighed with mock misery. "Everyone's got someone these days…"
Ian turned and patted his shoulder. "Rhys is with you on this."
That got a laugh out of both Myrra and Varian.
Well Rhys used to have all kinds of girlfriends, but ever since Laeroth came back, he's been disciplining him, hasn't left him any room to slip.
Ian kept moving, eyes skimming. He picked up a long, thin crystal-threaded scanner, a memory bead array, and a silent perception lens, none of them high-end, but good enough to try.
He carried them up to the front counter and dropped them on the table.
The clerk, a bored-looking elf with half-shut eyes, scanned them lazily and rang them up without much fuss. Ian paid, took the wrapped package, and turned to leave
Returning to his facility, Ian spent a few hours testing the instruments, but nothing worked. Still, during the testing, he uncovered something. A lead. A preliminary idea about what the issue might be.
The problem wasn't with visibility or the hardware. The symbols weren't seen in the traditional sense, they were being transmitted directly through the information field itself.
He realized that when he closed his eyes, or stayed within a certain proximity to the source, the patterns would still appear in his mind. Not as images, but as structured impressions, direct transference.
Ian pulled out his research notes on the Axomorphs. It had been a few months since he began working on constructing a functional body for Eryndor, and he already had some preliminary results undergoing early-stage testing.
But what intrigued him even more was what he had uncovered about how these creatures interacted with the information field, consciously. Unlike most intelligent species, who only interfaced with the field on a subconscious level and gradually developed more control as their life level increased, the Axomorphs seemed fundamentally different.
They didn't appear to possess a proper subconscious at all, at least not in the conventional sense. Their internal processes were more like layered functional instructions, precise and insulated, which might shield them from the cognitive chaos most beings faced when accessing the information field directly. That insulation made it easier for them to operate in the field consciously. But for other intelligent lifeforms, that same approach could become a disadvantage, causing instability, hence the need for a gradual, structured evolution in accessing those layers.
Ian ran a set of neural transmission experiments on the Axomorph samples. After a great deal of effort decoding the captured signals, he finally managed to extract a rough outline, fragments of patterned responses, perhaps even symbols.
Ian leaned back, a tired grin tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Finally done," he exhaled, watching the decoded signals flicker faintly across the screen.
The quality was low, far from anything usable yet. There were many hurdles ahead. But this was progress, a foundation he could build on. A path forward.
Satisfied, Ian stood up and stretched, the lingering weight of hours of effort finally lifting. He walked out toward the living section, expecting to see someone.
But the room was quiet.
He looked around. No one.
He figured as much - Myrra was probably still at the academy finishing up her training sessions, and Enira out for some work.
Disappointed, Ian sighed and made his way back to his private apartment. The silence was a bit too still after the buzz of his discovery.
An hour or so later, the front door clicked open.
Myrra stumbled in, her hair slightly frizzy, clothes slightly creased and dusty, her expression drained. She spotted Ian on the couch and immediately walked over, dragging her feet like a tired child.
Without even a word, she leaned into him, burying her face into his chest.
"Mmmf…" she mumbled into his shirt. "I'm exhausted… My shoulders are killing me…"
Ian smiled softly and wrapped an arm around her.
"Can you…" she paused, lifting her head to look at him with a hopeful pout, "…bathe me?"
Ian smirked. "If I ever say no to that, then it's not me, you're talking to someone else."
Before she could respond, he scooped her up into a princess carry, drawing a soft, surprised laugh from her as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
He carried her into the bathroom and positioned her in front of the shower, meticulously unbuttoning her top with a slow, deliberate touch. Each garment that fell away revealed more of her shapely form – a body that was both slender and alluringly curved.
He turned on the water, ensuring it was at a comfortable temperature before beginning to cleanse her. He washed her swiftly but thoroughly, starting with her neck and shoulders, moving down to her chest and stomach, and then to her hips and legs.
Ian then removed the rest of his own clothing and joined her in the bathtub. He supported her slightly leaning against him, allowing her to feel the warmth and strength of his bare skin against her own.
He lathered her neck and chest, moving gradually to her firm, rounded breasts, teasing her erect nipples. She moaned softly as he touched her, her body responding to his every caress. He continued the sensual exploration, tracing his hands over her abdomen and back, and finally reaching her thighs.
With a gentle touch, he parted her folds and slid a finger inside her, causing her to gasp at the sudden intrusion. The sound of her wetness filled the room as he moved his digit in and out, bringing her closer to the brink of pleasure.
Myrra leaned towards Ian, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss that grew increasingly intense as their tongues danced and explored each other's mouths. Their saliva mingled as they breathed heavily into one another, the intimate contact leaving them both gasping for air.
Breaking away, Ian turned her around. He began to soap her back, his hands gliding over her skin in gentle circles. She closed her eyes, allowing him to cleanse her thoroughly and tenderly.
With a gentle lift, Ian positioned himself against her, and she slowly took him in, feeling him fill her completely. Both of them gasped as she descended, her body stretching to accommodate his length.
They remained in that position for a while, savoring the sensations. Ian enjoyed the wet, tight heat enveloping him, while Myrra reveled in the fullness that his presence brought to her core. His shaft rubbed against her most sensitive spot, sending waves of pleasure through her body.
He kissed and licked the nape of her neck, his tongue tracing a path down her spine, causing her to shiver with pleasure.
Eventually, Ian began to thrust in her while they remained sitting... Myrra also moved her hips in sync, attempting to satisfy him.
Only sounds that could be heard were their muffled moans and the slap of skin against skin, echoing off the tiles of the bathroom.
The world outside the steamed-up bathroom window became a distant memory as they both succumbed to the rising tide of ecstasy. They remained in that pose, their limbs entwined, as the evidence of their passion marked a glistening trail down their thighs.
With a gasp, Myrra finally spoke up, "I thought you were going to wash me clean."
Ian let out a slow breath, his fingers gliding gently down her back. "No worries," he murmured, brushing her damp hair over her shoulder. "We've got all the time in the world."
He then gently rotated her, and the duo continued their sensual dance in the dimly lit bathroom, the echoes of their pleasure filling the air once more.