Keylynn looked at the empty mug on the table; Riv should be waking up soon. He slept through the rest of her friends' visit and the evening. She sipped her mushroom tea thoughtfully. She doesn’t want to have to remove the slug mushrooms, but they have a tendency to slough off of her at the worst times. Just this morning she had to remake the pot of tea twice. Slug mushroom slime was not a benefit to her mushroom tea, and she cannot subject Riv to that. He will accuse her of coveting the caffeine crown again.

  Rizae delivered her matrix from her desk in her bedroom before she returned to the green humid room. Keylynn made a habit of summoning her fungaloid familiar more often when she was home because she hadn’t had a need for her while she was at work.

  She propped up her matrix tablet and pulled up her matrix and scrolled to her fungal colony tab.

  Empathic Slime Mould—Eugene: An emphatic slime mould variant that grew from a telephonic slime mould species. A highly emotionally intelligent fungal variant that is capable of not only understanding emotions but also manipulating them. It can feel or manipulate the emotions of those within 20 standard radii of fungal bloom growth. The depth at which it not only experiences but also understands emotions has surpassed what was previously thought possible for fungi. It is unlikely that it will develop any variants.

  Keylynn sipped her mushroom tea and reread the entry about slime Eugene. She was surprised to see how much it had changed from the last time that she checked it. She developed a new category of slime mould altogether, the empathic slime mould. The category designation suggests that there are other empathic slime mould or fungal species that she has yet to discover. Eugene’s caffeine addiction was troubling. Yes, it has the benefits to their growth and ability, but also the detriment that more caffeine will be needed in the future. She didn’t want her slime mould to have to go through something like withdrawals in the future.

  Slug Mushroom: A unique fungal species that transitions between a slow-moving mushroom and a highly motile slime mould. The slime mould acts to find appropriate growth conditions to allow for optimal fruiting body development. The soft mushroom fruiting body is defenceless against predation. Whenever the mushrooms are disturbed in any way, they release themselves from the solid surface they cling to and rapidly transition into their slime mould counterpart. The slime mould has developed defences of its own, including a foul taste, rapid temperature alteration, and causing mild illness upon ingestion.

  Further variant development possible.

  She frowned, feeling the slight sting of disappointment. She had hoped that there would be a reason to keep her slug mushrooms with her. As off-putting as their slime was in her tea, she found them a delightfully unique fungal colony. She also hoped that something in her matrix would explain the effect the slug slime had on Riv’s wakefulness brew. Perhaps she will need to further experiment with the slime at home.

  Her slug mushrooms were ambivalent at best when she asked if they wished to remain with her. She took that as a sign and gently placed them back on her walls.

  Eugene oozed up her arm and undulated on her shoulder. “Yes, I think they are looking quite fine on the wall,” she agreed.

  A pseudopod smacked her cheek lightly.

  “What was that for? If that is your new way of demanding coffee, I do not like that,” she scolded gently.

  “Giving up the slugs? Thank goodness. They were dreadful. They made you look like you were dying from some foreign disease,” Riv mumbled softly as he walked past her. “You do have coffee, do you?”

  “I have morning mushroom tea, free of slug slime,” she assured him with a small smile.

  “Dicks, I prefer coffee, but your tea will do.” He walked into her kitchen.

  She gave the slug mushrooms a small farewell before she followed him into the kitchen. “Thank you for your attempt to tell me,” she whispered to Eugene before giving her slime mould a gentle pat.

  Riv clattered the empty mug on the table. “My mug appears to be empty.”

  Keylynn returned to her seat and gently retrieved his mug and filled it from her teapot. She returned it to his eager hands as he yawned loudly.

  Immediately he brought the mug to his lips and drank from it deeply. “Where are the others?”

  “They departed last evening.”

  He nodded and emptied his mug, holding it out for her to refill. She lifted her teapot and filled his mug before refilling her own. “I’m glad you enjoy my tea.”

  “For your next fungal colony, I beg you to not choose the puff shrooms again. I think it’s time you try a new cultivation of yours,” he suggested before bringing his mug to his lips.

  “Were you—hold on.” She stood abruptly and walked briskly to her sample jars. She didn’t have any new cultivations that she was working on, but she did have something from Ody’s Journey. When her colonies were failing, she had samples of Eugene and her brown slime mould sharing a sample jar, as the others were filled with jungle samples.

  “This tea really grows on you!” Riv yelled from the kitchen to her cheerfully.

  Carefully she opened the sample jar and smiled at its contents. The jar was lined with thin hair-like filaments. At the top of each filament was a small cluster of dark-coloured spores. She couldn’t tell the exact colour of the spores, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that her two slime moulds have come together to make, hopefully, something new.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  Almost giddy, she returned to the kitchen cradling the sample jar. “You have my thanks, Riv. I have not been cultivating as much as I used to, but I do have one possibility.”

  He set the mug down and gave her a happy smile. “You need me. I always knew it was true.”

  “So how long were you awake in a frenzy this time?” She inquired before sipping from her tea.

  Remorse filled his face, sending the tips of his ears to droop towards the ground. “I managed to send something to the future. First it was my five minutes, then twenty, and lastly an hour. I then turned my attentions towards reversing the process. But no matter how I tried to engineer the formula, it didn’t work. I couldn’t sleep until I was successful. I thought I finally had it.” He traced the natural grain of her table absently as he spoke.

  She reached over and placed her hands over his and gave them a comforting squeeze. “Then I suppose you will have to turn your attentions to your plans to smash my coffee empire to pieces and snatch the caffeine crown from my head.” She wished he would stop focusing on trying to change something in the past. The past has always been something immutable; it cannot be changed no matter how hard one wishes to. A tree cannot revert itself back to a seed and grow anew. Even the most powerful and wisest of wizards were powerless against the direction of the hands of time.

  He winced. “You remember that, huh?”

  “How can I forget such promises? I’ll have to have a caffeine crown fashioned and wear it at every chance I get, just so you have the chance to rip it from my head. All I ask is to be kind with my hair,” she stated matter-of-factly. She was sure that Barnibus could probably make such a thing for her. Especially once he hears the full story.

  He pressed his face flat on her table, and the tips of his ears were bright red. “The worst part is I know you’ll do it, so I have to do it.”

  “You were extremely passionate, and you do have your wakefulness brews, and you are a wizard who can successfully manipulate time, are you not?” She teased him with a smirk. She looked forward to donning her caffeine crown.

  “Does everyone else know of my new passions?” He grumbled against the table.

  She didn’t feel the need to tell him about his vague messages in the group chat. “I think they have some ideas.”

  Slowly he sat and straightened his robes. “Well, I have an empire to plan and another to smash.” He hopped down from her chair. “And you owe me five books. I’ll make my selection and leave. I’ll give them back in a timely fashion.”

  He walked towards her book room confidently. Knowing Riv, he may take hours to make his selection, or he will already have them picked out.

  She sipped her mushroom tea and turned her attention to her sample jar. The spores inside will need a stable environment to take root and grow. Like with slime, Eugene, she will need to try a variety of environments. In addition to several sample jars of various environments—one dry, one moist, one in a bright place, and one in a dark place—she will cultivate the spores on different locations on her body.

  She collected all the sample jars that she needed and set to work curating each environment she wished to test. She kept an ear out for Riv while she worked. When she finished with the last sample jar, he quietly left her book room, closing the door behind him. She looked up and watched him walk to her door with six tomes in his possession.

  She chuckled and transplanted spores into each of the new sample jars that she prepared. While she had the jar containing the spores open, she gently transplanted the spores in her hair, shoulders, and torso. Her hair will keep the spores warm and protected. For her shoulders and her torso, she had to form a lattice with her hyphae to provide the spores with a safe, warm place to latch onto.

  With her visit with her friends a success, she has no reason to delay her invitation to Tiv. Slime Eugene wound themselves around her arm and gave her a comforting squeeze.

  “How would you like a cup of coffee this morning?” She asked, sounding calmer than she felt. Words spoken were like time; once they had been spoken, there was no going back.

  What if she were to decline because Keylynn took too long?

  Eugene filled her with the comforting feelings of a warm hug, the same feelings she feels whenever she drinks coffee with Tiv.

  The Cup Stop was moderately busy with the mid-morning crowd. It was after the early morning rush and before the lunchtime rush. She found her usual seat at the serving counter close to the coffee machine, where Tiv was currently working.

  Tiv looked up from the coffee that she was making, and a smile blossomed on her face. “You survived the mimic farm, and the weird mushrooms are free from your face.”

  Keylynn chuckled. “You aren’t the only one to celebrate my farewells to the slug mushrooms. May I have a coffee and one of your cinnamon pastries? I have thought of little since leaving for the mimic farm.”

  “I always have coffee and a pastry set aside for you,” Tiv promised as she set a plate down in front of her. “In fact, you will get the first one fresh from the oven.”

  “I am very lucky indeed to have survived then,” Keylynn smiled at her. She was being ridiculous with how nervous she was. Tiv was warm, kind, and inviting. The last thing she could ever be is cold and dismissive. Even if she did find joy in the absence of her slug mushrooms.

  Tiv finished the coffee that she was working on and set it on a tray. “Give me a couple of minutes, then you can regale me with your tales of the mimic farm.” She walked into the back kitchen.

  Keylynn placed Pebble on the table in front of the plate. She wasn’t the only one who had developed a taste for cinnamon pastries. The little mimic chirped in delight and stared at the plate.

  “We must wait for it to be delivered from the oven,” she whispered before they climbed on the plate.

  Within a minute Tiv returned with a tray of Biscuit's signature spiralled cinnamon pastries steaming fresh from the oven. Using a set of tongs, she set one of the plate in front of Keylynn with a smile before carrying and delivering pastries to the rest of her waiting customers.

  Tiv returned with the tray nearly empty and set the rest of them in a display case. She set to work making two coffees at the machine, and Keylynn watched her work while she broke apart the pastry and set smaller pieces in front of little Pebble.

  Setting both mugs on the counter gently, Tiv took a seat. “I have the men handling customers for a few minutes. I am in much need of a break.”

  Keylynn lifted her mug to her lips and breathed in deeply the warm, comforting aroma of her coffee. She sipped it, allowing the beverage to give her a warm hug on the inside. “Are you still wanting to try a dirt nap?” She blurted out before she lost her nerve.

  Tiv coughed mid-sip and set her mug down. “Yes, I am. Of course.”

  “You do not seem so certain.” Keylynn eyed her suspiciously. Was it all in her head? She thought Tiv liked her and wanted to know her better outside of the cafe.

  “Don’t take my reaction as anything more than surprise. I am curious about what brought this sudden invitation.” Tiv inquired in response.

  Keylynn wiped her hands on her pants. “I would like to invite you to my dwelling for a dirt nap. That is if you’d like to. I can’t guarantee when I’ll be sent out of office again.” She explained quickly. Clearly it was a mistake to ever bring it up again. Tiv was simply being polite.

  Tiv’s smile widened. “I would love to. If you’re concerned about work, how about tonight? You can tell me all about the mimic farm.”

  Keylynn nodded. “I—yes, tonight, okay.” She nodded again.

  Tiv chuckled and sipped from her mug. “Alright, so I can meet you here around closing time?”

  Keylynn nodded and sipped her coffee and almost choked on it. She set it down carefully. “Yes. Right, you do not knowing where my dwelling dwells.”

  Tiv smirked. “You must have had an interesting morning.”

  Keylynn’s heart leapt in relief at the change of topics. She sucked in a deep breath before she answered. “I’ve had a strange return to the office.” She continued to tell Tiv the entire story about Riv and his ravings about her coffee empire. She allowed slime Eugene to finish her coffee. It was far too treacherous to attempt to talk and drink at the same time.

  ? The Dungeon Janitor ?

  by FREKY