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Cirrus clouds: ever-changing and fleeting

I dreamed of an endless darkness.

Is it possible, if a dream is utterly empty, that it still counts as dreaming?

Then again, considering I'm pondering a philosophical question in a dream, seeing nothing but darkness doesn't seem so strange, does it?

But, was I really dreaming?

Even before I understood I was a psychic, these vivid dreams played out every deep night. I never remembered the details, nor did I connect them with my abilities.

How could I be sure if this was just a simple dream—or something far more significant?

Got it—words! During sleep, the brain's center for reading isn't active. If I could find some flat text, I could confirm whether I was dreaming or not.

I need to write this down, or I'll forget it again. But how am I supposed to...?

A creaking noise woke me up. As I opened my eyes, the room's lights came on automatically, a soft, warm hue like early morning sunlight. Interesting design.

Another two creaks interrupted my thoughts. I turned my head to find the source—it was Tadao's antlers scraping against the bed frame, making a sound that was... quite unpleasant.

This could be a problem.

But my curiosity got the better of me. Can he roll over while lying down?

I sat up quietly and observed the red deer's sleeping posture. I heard a swishing sound behind me, and when I turned, I noticed the tip of my tail was moving rapidly. I quickly grabbed it to prevent more noise.

“What are you doing?" His voice was sharp, fully awake, with a hint of... suspicion?

Perfect. A wolf with ears perked up, staring intently at a sleeping deer—could this get any stranger?

“Oh, I just woke up and was spacing out on the bed," I said slowly, trying to sound convincing, flattening my ears to the sides.

Great, more lies to add to our relationship. Truly the best strategy.

“Uh... okay?" Tadao sat up too, hugging the blanket to cover himself from the neck down. “Sorry if I reacted a bit strongly. It's my first time sharing a room with someone; I'm just not used to it," he murmured, glancing at my hand, still holding my tail.

“Oh, I can barely remember a time when there wasn't another wolf sleeping next to me," I tried recalling memories from before I was six, but they were fuzzy. “So I guess I don't have that problem."

I looked at Tadao after speaking. He remained in the same position, not moving an inch.

I sighed, released my tail, and decided I didn't want to start my fresh beginning this way.

“I was just wondering... can you turn over while lying down?" I asked, using a casual tone, hoping it didn't sound too strange. Then it hit me—I didn't even know what 'normal conversation' was supposed to sound like.

Tadao froze, and despite my optimism, his expression could only be read as confused. But, after a few seconds, he burst into laughter, clutching the base of his antlers as if he couldn't stop.

That's probably... a good sign, right?

“I can sleep on my side, but the range of motion for my head is kind of limited," Tadao explained, lifting his pillow to reveal a groove on the mattress. “Large cervids like me know this kind of design. The AI even pointed it out when I went to print it—said it's a standard model for the academy."

“Oh!" I lifted my pillow and found the same design on my mattress. “Universal design!" I suddenly understood.

“Uh... what?" The red deer asked, not entirely sure what I was talking about.

“A design that works for people with different needs!" I put the pillow back and heard my tail brush quickly against the bed sheets again. “Since the Senate's full of wolves, I never noticed."

“Oh." Tadao tilted his head slightly, scratching his cheek with his right hand. “Same on Ares—cervids... live together."

“Looks like we'll both be getting used to new things!" I said excitedly, shaking off the lingering discomfort of my tangled winter coat. “I'll use the bathroom first, if you don't mind?"

“You're one of those 'morning and night shower' types?" He gestured 'go ahead' before asking.

“Only in the winter." I climbed down the ladder, chuckling softly at the amusing term. “Once I shed my winter coat, I won't need to shower in the morning."

“Wait," Tadao leaned out of bed, looking at me. “You're not going to shed, are you?"

“Uh..." I thought back to shedding season, the cleaning robots coming out daily to tidy up the fur. “Deer don't shed?"

Tadao responded with a deeply offended expression, and I guiltily scratched my ear. I scanned the room but didn't see a cleaning robot's station.

“I'll clean it up," I raised my right hand, drawing a circle next to my head. Dust and fur on the floor, enveloped by my consciousness's grasp, swirled together into a small ball of indescribable black and gray that floated above my fingertip.

“How did you do that?" I wasn't sure if the emotion in his brown eyes was envy, fear, or both.

“It's hard to explain..." I tossed the dark little ball into the wall's waste disposal chute. “It's like... 'mine.'" I pointed to the floor, but Tadao only seemed more confused. “Holding the world... in the palm of your paw." I slowly raised my hands to waist level, palms up, feeling the pulse of everything around me—which is when I noticed the room had adamantine shielding. Makes sense. With so many psychics, the interference would eventually drain everyone's energy.

“You..." Tadao spoke hesitantly. “Hamp senpai once said that herbivores capable of mastering Domination are rare. It's better to focus on mental waves, where we have the advantage. But I..." His lips moved without sound, something from his past that he couldn't put into words—I understood that feeling. “Can you teach me?" He asked firmly, shaking his head with determination.

“Of course!" I said happily, thrilled to be of help. I felt a cool breeze brush against my leg—was this what Aether felt like?

Either way, I hoped the burdens Tadao couldn't express, those shadows from his past, could be replaced by memories worth keeping. I was fortunate to have this chance, and I believed that everyone deserved “fortune."

“Wanna see something cool?" I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face as I looked at the puzzled red deer.

“Huh?" Tadao tilted his head slightly, signaling confusion.

To answer him, I extended my consciousness and pulled a substantial amount of water from the bathroom pipes, forming a large water sphere that floated by my side.

“Cavitation!" I proudly announced, but Tadao just stared blankly at the water ball.

“Sorry." After a while, he finally noticed his distraction and met my puzzled gaze. “I realized yesterday that water comes out of the pipes here. Getting hit by so much liquid at once... made me freeze up. I've always been a firm anti-Gaia convert..." Tadao chuckled a bit, rubbing his right eye awkwardly. I didn't fully grasp what he meant, but I added the term to my mental to-do list. “It was like being caught in a spotlight—I couldn't move, just staring at the showerhead..."

“Oh." I had completely forgotten how precious water was on Ares. Looking at the floating water sphere, I suddenly had mixed feelings. “So... how do you all... bathe?" I guess it's still called bathing?

“Mist-film showers." Tadao mimed with his fingers. “Tiny droplets of water. Since gravity is lower, it gets sucked up, forming a stable fluid cycle."

I imagined the scene in my head—it seemed similar to dry cleaning.

“Like this?" I separated a portion of the water into fine particles, causing them to orbit in a fixed path, creating a faint misty ring in front of me.

“Exactly." Tadao made that same conflicted expression again. “You really have to teach me how you do this."

“Haha, no problem!" I laughed, then, with no hint of showing off, demonstrated how to complete a full morning wash in under ten seconds using cavitation.