Within a couple of hours, June managed to have Jenni comprehend all the mental and spiritual exercises she needed to be ready for spellcasting.
Seeing her devouring the teachings like a sponge, June complimented that the adept was already prepared to learn a spell or two. But she left it for later, having received a call from the elders about some other duty she would have to complete.
She departed along with Kiara and the bodyguard, saying she would be back after completing whatever was needed of her.
After getting her stomach full, Jenni also departed to meet her father, leaving only Dawn and Gale in the house to clean the dishes. Gale could have cleaned them all with just a spell, expending a little of his radiance essence. Yet he found himself next to Dawn, washing the dishes mundanely, using his hands and a scrubber.
"So," he said and found himself lost for words. The night was still young; he could have invested his time in runesmithing or studying his soul domain, but he felt like he needed to talk with her right now.
"Do you want me to recount memories about your past?" Dawn said, her eyes on the dish she was cleaning.
"Yeah, that would be. . ." Gale said. He was already finished with his portion of the dishes and took a couple of hers. "Thank you."
Dawn smiled as both of them moved to the couch, sitting face to face. "How about a story I heard from your disciple, Lin?" she asked. Getting no rebuttal from him, she continued. "It was about four years ago, when you first appeared where she lived and decided to leave everything and become a farmer instead."
Gale had already heard of his notion of becoming a farmer, and he believed it, no matter how far-fetched it seemed. His expertise in farming seemed not that great, but Dawn mentioned he managed fine with some help.
"You actually went to buy land from her before she became your disciple," Dawn continued. "As it turns out, she was having some trouble with the huge plot of land, with her father dead and no one else to tend to the farm. On top of all, some local hoodlums were messing with her on a daily basis. Oh, I forgot to add that she was not even a copper ranker at that time. Some weird state of hers didn't let her advance the way a normal ranker does. . ."
Gale listened to her carefully as the tale moved along. It wasn't a heroic story of him fighting a demon or saving a damsel in distress; it was just an earthly matter of people finding themselves.
Gale actually cracked up when he heard there was actually a little thief—who was eventually a friend of his—who had taken Lin's house as his lair to stay hidden. He tried to scare both of them away, but Gale was already a gold ranker by then, and the little thief, being an Iron ranker, could not help but give him the due respect.
Dawn blushed harder. . . He guided her head down to his and raised his head a little until their lips met in an explosion of sweetness.
"I never thought I'd~" she muttered, her heartbeat rising.
"You could have done a lot better than me," Gale chuckled, clasping her face between his palms. She felt so delicate in his calloused palms.
"No," Dawn said firmly as he pushed back into her lap again.
"So long as you are happy," he said, closing his eyes once more.
"I have never been so happy in my life," she muttered, resting one palm on his chest and the other brushing his hair.
His lips curved up in a smile. "You told a story of my past. Now tell me something of yours..."
Dawn fell silent for a while. "You already know," she muttered. "I can tell you about my time in the Mystic Palace and how---"
Dawn cut short as someone entered through the gate. His void sense spread a little to make out that it was June, back from finishing her task.
"Are you waiting for me there?" June asked, as her eyes darted around. "Where's Dawn?"
Gale sighed. He hadn't bothered to move from her lap, but Dawn had already vanished at the first notice of June entering the house.
Even his awareness needed to do more of a thorough search to find her now.