"There's no Neuroi in Rythe but there's no telephones either. Our worlds are really different."

"Telephones are new. The history books say everyone got their act together when the Neuroi didn't just go away. The Unity Agreements- Well, I feel like we'd have a bunch more wars on our hands if the Neuroi disappeared tomorrow. But we've had ridiculous extremes of technological advancement in the last thirty years."

"It did sound like a lot of the interesting stuff was really recent."

"There were interesting things before, but... More Athrai-style, sort of? A singing field of flowers. Leagues of witches controlling government from the shadows. I was friends with a yellow talking fox once, didn't even seem to be a cursed human. There's a purple spring in Liberion. Turns anyone who drinks from it purple for a few days. Of course, the war's more important than any of that."

"Yeah, that does sound... athrai-style. Well. Maybe I can get an athra to deal with the Neuroi."

"Maybe you can. In the meantime, do you prefer rice with fish, or rice with pork, or potatoes and butter? Isn't rationing fun?"

"I'll try potatoes and butter!"

Potatoes and butter: Is surprisingly tasty!

Gren has rice and pork and hands over a little paper ticket marked 'L' to acquire a mug of coffee on top of that. "Tasty, tasty caffeine."

"What's that?" he asks, about the paper.

"A ticket for 'Luxury rations'. Coffee, tobacco, candy, eggs and milk. Higher ranks get more of 'em."

"I should learn to read at some point if I'm going to be here for weeks."

"...You don't get reading from listening to people, of course you don't. Well, I'm no teacher but... The Romangan alphabet is used by most of the languages you'll hear around here. Pronunciation's tricky though." She pulls out a pencil. "A, B, C..."

Literacy! Yay! He follows along delightedly.

The lesson will be a bit slow, being squeezed in between sips of coffee and bits of porkrice.

And Gren is almost managing not to consciously think about how she's socializing with a cute not-forbidden-by-military-regulations guy.

The cute not-forbidden-by-military-regulations guy is really happy about learning to read. Even if it's slow.

...And even though her religious and moral views on the whole thing have mellowed out, the overall standoffish maybe-later attitude has inertia. She'll pick at it later, maybe. For now she'll keep teaching him the basics of reading, and that's it.

Their food is gone soon enough. "I want to go see if Juno's found you a bunk yet."

"All right," he says agreeably.

So they fly back to her hanger and rest her flying-thing in it and walk to go find Juno.

Juno has two options: A tent that Tiro can set up in the unused-but-still-enclosed-by-walls area somewhere, or a slot in a bunkhouse full of fifty soldiers. Well, probably only forty-five or so after today. Maybe he can swing something better tomorrow, but it was kinda short notice.

Eh, he'll go for the tent, thanks.

And now Tiro has a tent, and Gren has paperwork to do. "We're on a rest cycle for the next three days, so come find me tomorrow if you want something and don't know who else to talk to."

"Will do!" he says cheerfully, and he goes off to find somewhere to set up his tent and then spends some time listening to passing conversations.

Passing conversations are very soldiery. My insane commander's so strict, did you hear what Samril from 13th did? I miss home/booze/my family/my girlfriend. If I find contraband on you again you'll be cleaning the latrines for months!

His vocabulary expands, as does his understanding of the situation. It's useful.

There's also a fair amount of mourning going on, and worrying about friends in the hospital now.

A place to set up his tent is easy enough to find.

Now he has a tent.

He wishes he'd brought more artifacts. If he had something for healing... but he doesn't. Well, in a few weeks he'll get to go home and quest for an athra.