Chapter Text
Nano was, for want of a better word, confused. Here was a man who, in the past few days had gone from being the life and soul of the party, to the quietest, most unresponsive piece of rock in the universe, and then some. It had been days since Lalna had spoken a full sentence. He'd locked himself in his Thaumcraft basement to tinker, rarely came out for food and when he did, limited his phrases to hellos and good nights He also seemed to be wearing his goggles a lot more. But she knew that he wasn't avoiding her. At least, she thought she did.
On the other hand, Rythian had become frustrated. Just when he thought they were getting along, the bastard scientist had decided to lock himself away in his basement, avoiding him at all costs. The other day, the mage had entered the kitchen just in time to see the tails of Lalna's lab coat vanish into the elevator. It was as if the man had the ability to foresee when Rythian was about to enter a room he was in, and quickly make an exit. It was infuriating. After that night a few days ago, it was like everything had gone back to the way it was, only reversed. Now Lalna was the moody, broody one and Rythian was the curious one.
Admittedly, Rythian's thoughts on foresight weren't too far off the truth. In his attempts at avoiding the ender mage, Lalna had rigged his goggles with a special screen in one lens, that was linked up to all the cameras in the building, so he could be aware of where Rythian was at all times. He had also locked the elevator controls so that only he could get into the Thaumcraft basement, and had started work on an extensive magitech project to keep his mind off the mage. That being said, it wasn't really working. His every waking moment was filled with thoughts of Rythian. His obsession had returned, and it was stronger than ever. But underlying it was another thing, something more dangerous, more primal. Lust, love, hatred. Call it what you will, but it was driving him mad!
He could barely concentrate on anything any more. His mind was filled with fantasies, each more vivid than the last. Some of them were tame, gentle. Others were passionate and furious. Lalna's hands shook, and he banished the thoughts from his mind, attempting once again to turn his attention to the project at hand. Small brass gears and thaumic coils spread out in front of him. Little pistons and tiny glass globes were held in spindly mechanisms that spun gently in place. The scientist sighed, and the breath created pushed on small silken sails that were attached to tiny frames, each moving in sequence. He went to work.
In the kitchen of Panda Labs, Nano set about putting together an afternoon snack. She had successfully harvested some mandrakes without too much fuss that afternoon, and decided to take a break from the farming. Besides, she hadn't had a good meal since that morning, and Rincewind had run out of the random assortments of meat that it always seemed to pick up. Behind her the two luggages bumped into one another, fighting over a scrap of wool that had been left on the floor. The Bursar finally pushed Rincewind over and sucked up the wool, adding to the ever growing pile of junk inside it. Nano patted her thigh, and obediently enough for a luggage (which is to say, in mild chaos) The Bursar trotted over to her side. Reaching in to the cavernous depths of what could be considered the rather endless interior that is the inside of a luggage, she pulled out some onions and a couple of tomatoes, and began to slice them up.
In the bedroom above, lying on the deep brown sofa, Rythian contemplated. He had to find a way to corner the scientist. Waiting in the doorway of a room didn't work, and he was still too weak to teleport down to the basement, and the one time he had tried, it felt like he had hit a box in the middle of the aether and bounced right off. He'd ended up unconscious, on his back in the middle of the cabbages, and had woken to the feeling of Nano prodding him with a stick. Suffice to say, he wasn't going to be trying that again any time soon.