General loved gardening

Rover's apperance brought the so long-waited peace to the Norfall Pass. It was different from everything that had come before, this was noticeable even on the battlefield, when rare troops of Tacet Discord made their way too close to where people lived. Jiyan considered this an unwise decision on the part of the rangers under his control. They saw the Lament fall and acted as if the whole war was over. But people needed to rest. Well, he himself needed it. And yet, if not for the message from Baizhi this morning, the general would have continued to burden himself and his subordinates with new tasks.   He did not expect that the analysis of the data he brought from the Sonoro Sphere, which interfered with the Boat Race, would be carried out so quickly. No, the thing was that he didn’t want it to happen so quickly, Jiyan didn’t like returning to those memories so often lately. But Bai probably required some clarification on his part. So now he stood at Shifang's counter, waiting while the pharmacist carefully put Perille's flowers into a paper bag. Baizhi frequently used them in cooking, and Jiyan always gave small gifts to laboratory workers. It seemed to him that, locked between their projects and pressing deadlines, they spent too much time within the four walls of their offices. Such people needed rest more than others, but the general could not force them to go for a walk in the park, so he compensated for the lack of the happiness hormone — in his opinion — with small but pleasant gifts.  Moreover, it was not difficult for him to remember the preferences of each of his acquaintances, even if it was mentioned only once during the entire time of their conversations.   The temperature difference between the street and the room was too noticeable. There was a coolness inside, reinforced by relative silence. Even if someone spoke, they did it with the utmost respect for their other colleagues, who were intently typing, carrying reagents or studying graphs. Baizhi was among them, the silent bees of the learned hive. She frowned amusingly and bit her lower lip, peering at the screen of her pad. Jiyan only smiled slightly at her thoughtful appearance when the doctor noticed him at the entrance. She invited him to come up, and her gaze immediately caught on the paper bag in the general’s hands. It had the Shifang Pharmacy name on it. “Are you feeling unwell?” Bai asked, putting the pad aside and ready to extend her hand to check his temperature. “I’m fine, here are some Perille flowers for you. They need to be placed in a cool place, away from the sunlight,” he explained, repeating the pharmacist’s instructions to her. Baizhi smiled as she took the package from his outstretched hand. Of course she knew what to do with the flowers. And Jiyan knew that she knew. Sometimes he said banal things, simply because he felt calmer that way. “Thank you,” she said, handing him her pad. “The data you extracted from the Sonoro Sphere is quite interesting. It helped us close some old questions. I will show you now.” Baizhi switched into work flow too quickly. The general didn’t even have time to realize what they were talking about now. Or, again, he just didn’t feel like talking about it. Therefore, his gaze darted to Mortefi's workplace, which was now empty. Jiyan looked around the hall, but the doctor was not visible there either, and now the general was the one who was frowning, trying to understand what could have kept Mortefi so busy. He said that he would study the Sphere with Bai, and this meant that he would also be present at the demonstration of the information received to him. And it seems that Baizhi noticed the confusion in Jiyan’s eyes. “He’s not here today,” she said. Jiyan looked at the scientist and lowered his gaze guiltily. She looked as if she already understood everything and was ready to let him go if the general wished that. “He locked himself in his office and no one had seen him for a couple of days. People say that he just sits there all the time, but the system indicates that he is simply the first one to arrive and the last one to leave.” “Thank you, Baizhi,” Jiyan nodded and, for the sake of decency, waited a few moments before leaving her workplace.   The door to Mortefi's personal office was locked, which usually meant that he did not want to see anyone in his room, even if a fire broke out in the building. Even if in normal times he simply did not allow anyone into his laboratory, a locked door always spoke much more about the doctor’s mood. Jiyan took out his pass from his pocket and applied it to the scanner. The system sent a notification to Mortefi and all that was left was to wait. Passing workers also watched this scene and silently looked at each other. For some reason, they were all sure that the general would soon leave, defeated by a soulless piece of metal that did not want to budge. And therefore, when the door did open, Jiyan heard very quiet whispers behind him. And then the door behind him closed and plunged the room into silence, which was diluted only by several quietly noisy fans and the rhythmic clicking of keys on a keyboard. Mortefi did not even turn towards the newcomer, hanging over the table in his usual way. Various non-Sphere reports were displayed on the large screen, but the doctor was looking at his pad right next to the keyboard. “Did my data caused you to spend this much time on work?” “No, there is always a lot of work. Moreover, the city only recently exhaled after one of the biggest TD attacks in recent times.” “Yes, I know. I was there.” “And I was here.” Jiyan might have thought that Mortefi didn't want to have a dialogue with him if the doctor had not previously let him into the office. It was more like one of the manifestations of the real Mort that he already knew. A man who sometimes does impulsive and stupid things. For example, now he probably would like the general to be able to read his thoughts. “You and I are the same! Dragon of Jinzhou! I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that we begin to hear each other’s thoughts from a distance, ha!” Mortefi once remarked at the dawn of their friendship. “Rover told me what happened on the day you brought me the recording of the Sonoro Sphere,” the doctor, having decided to direct the conversation in the direction he needed, spoke again. Jiyan briefly replayed the memories of that day in his head. He went through only the facts, but his chest still felt a wave of sadness. It was too painful to think about it on repeat, let alone voice this pain. Again and again, disturbing old scars that bleed all over. After so many years… In addition to the already existing sensations, a bitter feeling of shame was added. It was generated by a voice that Mortefi used only to awaken this particular emotion. Addressing Jiyan in his arrogant teacher's tone, which made you want to start making excuses for him, like a second-grader in front of your class teacher. The worst part was that this shame now outweighed his years of experience as a Midnight Ranger. Jiyan didn't want and shouldn't make excuses to Mortefi. They both understood why Rover was the only one who knew what had happened down to the smallest detail. “Did you really make her promise to fulfill your last wish?” the pause that the doctor waited seemed to completely kill Jiyan’s confidence. “Her?” Now Mortefi looked at the general. He appeared tired and offended. Very tired. So much so that the thoughts about it drove Jiyan’s attempt to formulate an answer out of his head. “Are you feeling unwell?” taking a step towards the doctor, he asked. “No.” “But you don't sleep.” “Oh, don’t flatter yourself, I sleep like a newborn. In sacred ignorance.” “Were you offended by what I asked or who I asked?” Jiyan calmed down and exhaled when the essence of the issue became clear. “When Jinshi asked everyone to treat our guest well, she did not mean to add her name to our testament.” “I can assure you, doctor, her name is not there. Unlike…” “Don't,” Mort hissed. “Don’t even think about talking to me about your death. And, Guardian forbid me, don't you dare to die. I’ll pull you out of the otherworld by the scruff of the neck, just to kick you.” “Yes, I believe that you are capable of this if you feel the right motivation. But I dare to assure you that there is no death in my immediate plans,” the general crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head to the side. “Of course, this was noticeable from your recent actions…” “This is my job. And my oath. You, like no one else, should understand this.” Mortefi fell silent. Of course he understood this. He felt Jiyan even more strongly than any other person in his place. Perhaps this was the reason for his emotions and thoughts. He began to perceive him as close to him from the very moment they met. The general's rationality should only reinforce the doctor's confidence in his words. But how tired he was of this rationality with which he had surrounded himself for many years. “Cabbage,” Jiyan said one day after much thought in the silence of their night walk. “You are like a cabbage that has surrounded itself with so many layers of leaves that it has long forgotten that it is an aloe.” Mortefi did not specify why he was an aloe plant. Of the two of them, Jiyan was the one who enjoyed gardening in his free time. “I understand. Just… can I ask you to make another oath?.. To me.” Jiyan silently approached the doctor and, almost without blinking, looked into his eyes. “Return to me. Every time you leave, no matter where you go. Come back.” But Jiyan didn't answer, even if he really wanted to. Mortefi didn't insist on this even, because he also understood the reason. The general did not make promises that he could not keep.  

***

  “Did you seriously say that?” Mortefi asked through a laugh that he no longer even tried to hold back. The doctor wiped the tears from his eyes, blinked, trying to focus his vision on the road under his feet, but still stopped and succumbed to another wave of laughter. “I don’t understand what made you laugh so much about this. It was an absolutely serious and important decision that I made while in my clear mind.” But the doctor still continued to laugh, unable to stop. He tried a couple of times to look away, to think about something else, but his brain time after time brought back to his memory an imaginary scene where the great general of the Midnight Rangers, with an absolutely serious look, says the most absurd absurdity that could only be said to a complete stranger. “Oh, of course, Mister... “Take-my-seed” ha,” he barely finished this phrase and laughed loudly again, causing passers-by to turn in horror at the two of them. Someone even grabbed their child by the shoulders and hastily left the road, turning somewhere to the side. “Mortefi,” Jiyan, coming closer to the man and looking around, called him over. “Mort! Your skin is warm, please calm down,” he tried to hurry the doc, but he seemed to have finally given up and succumbed to the laughter. “Please, people are watching.” In the end, the general also surrendered, leaving Mortefi alone with emotions that were beyond his control. Taking a couple of steps back and turning around only to monitor the condition of the doctor sitting on the sidewalk and laughing.