I bide my time and wait until Brygida has stepped back down from the step ladder before I announce myself. Of the trio, mother, daughter and familiar, only the cat is not surprised, as I step closer. At least Captain Whiskers hasn't used an identification skill on me, but she was very much aware of my approach from the very start. Of that I have no doubt.

"Good morning! Are the three of you alright?"

Brygida apparently does not currently share her familiar's senses though. She jumps a little, as I announce myself. It's a good thing that she isn't on that ladder anymore.

The girl bows deeply as she turns to face me, but it's her mother Rysia who actually welcomes me.

"A good morning to you, too. We are fine. Very much so in fact. Thanks to you. With my daughter's familiar missing we were quite stressed out. Didn't get any proper sleep at all. Now though we can rest at ease again."

Only then does Brygida herself speak up.

"Are you here to learn how to meditate to speed up your Mana recovery?"

Of course she hasn't forgotten. It has only been a night after all. I nod to confirm it anyway.

"Yes. If you can make some time for me anyway. If it isn't too much trouble."

Rysia walks up behind her daughter and puts her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"I think Brygida should try to show you the basics. If we are really lucky she might even be able to unlock a teaching skill doing it."

And of course the mother can focus on running the shop in the meantime, but that is left unsaid. The girl perks up anyway, as the possibility of unlocking a new skill is mentioned. Of course. If she is anything like Marla unlocking a new skill and possibly earning the easy first few level ups might mean a level up for her class too.

I bow, first to the mother, then to the younger witch.

"I'll be in your care then."

"Please, come in."

Only the cat remains outside, sitting there as the queen of the window sill, as the rest of us head inside. Again I'm almost overwhelmed by the clutter of the shop and especially the smell of the many aromatic herbs hung from the rafters to dry.

While Rysia returns to the workshop in the back that looks so much like a mix of kitchen and distillery, her daughter leads me to a small table with two chairs off to the side. The young witch sits down on of those chairs while I seat myself on the other.

She doesn't delve right into the matter at hand though. Instead she closes her eyes for a moment. I'm already afraid that I might be missing something, when she opens them again, nodding to herself. It seems, she only did some hard thinking on how to go about this.

"Alright. Since you mentioned being short on Mana you probably know some spells or skills that use it. Which in turn means you are familiar with the feeling of your Mana draining away too. Right?"

I nod as I try to recall the feeling, unpleasant as it may be. Is that feeling really the key to reversing the process in some manner? I'm not quite sure, but I can't really rule out the possibility either. Brygida may still be a witch in training, but she still has a deeper understanding of this matter than me.

Brygida beams up at me as she continues.

"You probably already guessed it. The goal isn't to work towards that feeling. But when you do the meditation right and the environmental Mana seeps into your body it should feel a little like that, except in reverse, if that makes any sense."

It does make sense, in the weird way that is normal for magic I guess. The young witch takes a deep breath and as I nod once more she pushes onward.

"As for the meditation itself, there are many ways to do it. I'll teach you what works best for me, but you might have to make changes to adapt these teachings to your own needs."

I'm quite impressed with her lecture so far. We are just getting started, but she is doing pretty well. I wouldn't be surprised if she unlocks a teaching skill long before I unlock a skill for meditation.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The young witch turned teacher in the meantime goes on.

"I already mentioned what it will feel like if you succeed. It probably will come as a surprise at first. Don't let it distract you. As for what we are aiming to achieve, it's to mimic the state we all achieve naturally while in deep sleep."

This time around I don't just nod. I blink in surprise.

"You mean to teach me a way to achieve a dreamlike state?"

She is quick to shake her head in response.

"No."

That single word carries a lot of weight and determination. She is quick to elaborate.

"Dreaming usually happens only in the last few moments before we wake back up. What we want to mimic is the state of deepest sleep that comes before."

Understanding dawns upon me.

"Oh! So that is why I don't regenerate as much when I don't sleep enough? I don't get enough of that undisturbed deep sleep? What about sleeping accommodations?"

She nods and rolls her eyes at the same time.

"There are silly theories about specifically designed beds and bedrooms. Lots of nonsense in general. A good bed and a quiet bedroom will help you fall asleep faster though. And if there are no outside disturbances you won't be pulled from that deep sleep prematurely either."

That makes sense. It explains why the adventurers' guild has pretty decent beds for its members. In their eyes it's an investment into the future. An adventurer that is out of Mana will never perform quite as well as they possibly could after all.

My young teacher clears her throat pulling my attention back to the here and now.

"Anyway, I'll try to demonstrate. Sit, close your eyes, calm your heart, empty your mind and do your best to block out the mundane world. Imagine the ambient Mana like a pleasant smell on the breeze and try to breathe it in. For me it tends to taste a little like lightning. Although it rather is the other way around. Lightning tastes a little like ambient Mana because it tends to dissipate into ambient Mana quickly."

She makes it sound so easy, yet I have doubts if it really is. And how exactly does lightning taste? Worse, why does she know what lightning tastes like? That sounds like a worrisome experience a child her age should not have.

I drive those thoughts from my mind. She told me to empty my mind after all. That sounds like it's the hardest part of the exercise so I probably should get started early trying to achieve that state. Instead I focus my attention on the girl sitting there across from me.

Brygida really just sits there with her eyes closed and her hands folded in her lap. At least at first. Then her breathing starts to slow. Her heartbeat slows too. Enough so that I'm able to notice. Her eyes don't move behind the closed lids either. It really is like she is falling asleep in her chair.

I try to pay even closer attention to her, straining all my senses in the process. And for the briefest of moments something does indeed tickle my nose. The most peculiar of smells. Then she starts to reverse the changes. Her heart speeds up again and her breathing quickens too. It's only then when a healthy color returns to her cheeks, that I realize that she has paled a little as well in her meditative state.

As she opens her eyes again I lean back once more. If nothing else, I'm pretty sure that my [Perception] just improved another little bit.

The young witch flashes me another smile full of childlike enthusiasm.

"Your turn. Sit. Close your eyes. Calm your breathing and your heart. Clear your mind. It helps, for me at least, to focus on my breathing. Oh! Try not to actually fall asleep. I'll laugh at you if you fall off your chair!"

It may sound adorable coming out of her mouth, but I have no doubt that she'll make good on that threat, thus I take it to heart. I adjust my pose a little and fold my hands in my lap, mimicking the young witch. Mimicking someone should be easy, right? I'm a doppelganger after all!

As I close my eyes I drive that thought from my mind too. No more distractions! Calming my heart is harder than anticipated though and in the end I only manage to achieve success indirectly, when I slow my breathing.

Clearing my mind is even harder. For once my [Perception] is working against me. It's pretty hard to banish all those stray thoughts sparked by what I hear or smell. And here in a witch's alchemical workshop in a busy town there are lots of things to smell and hear. Before I can achieve that new, unfamiliar state of mind, Brygida's voice pulls me back.

"Let's have a little break and stretch our legs. Besides, I'm a little hungry. You can try again afterwards."

I blink at the girl standing in front of me.

"Wha … how long?"

My voice sounds weird. Probably because my throat is parched. I really need to drink something. Then my stomach rumbles. Yes, I need to get something to eat too.

Brygida in turn just keeps smiling, as she answers my question.

"It's almost noon. I didn't want to disturb you any sooner, because it looked like you were getting close. Your throat and your voice? The empty stomach? Consider those part of the lesson too. There is a reason why we don't keep meditating for hours upon hours even if we could use a little more Mana."

I lick my dry lips, as I get up and stretch.

"How does noodle soup sound? Someone showed me a marvelous little eatery not too long ago. Their Noodle soup is awesome! My treat!"

Technically these lessons I receive are to repay me for healing her familiar, but it never hurts to build connections. Even more so when the person in question is easy to get along with.

Brygida looks over to her mother, as if to seek permission. Rysia, who is busy stirring some kind of potion in a cauldron, just nods without saying a word.

"We'll be back in a bit."

Without any further delay I'm off, the witch's daughter walking alongside me. Finding the eatery I have in mind turns out to be a little more tricky than anticipated, but I manage. We manage to secure the last two free places for us too. We don't dawdle though. Other people want a chance to enjoy the shops tasty soup too after all.

Two bowls of tasty noodle soup with plenty of vegetables and a little meat too cost me two pennies. I pay with my single silver shilling though to get a little change. I need a lot more pennies than shillings after all.

Before long we are on our way back to Rysia's shop, full and content.

Brygida is quick to resume my lesson. She does so before we even get back to her home by sharing another little tidbit of information.

"Meditation tends to be easier if you aren't hungry. You shouldn't overeat either though. An upset stomach can make meditation near impossible!"

I blink in surprise, but I don't question that bit of wisdom either. It's not so hard to believe after all.

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