#honestly idk how many things we have that reference the sria reading journey but its a lot now tbh

[snow-system-wol]

Fluffcember Day 25, Midnight

At some point, insecurity had turned to determination, and the latter proved a better motivator. S'ria went from somewhat hesitantly working on his reading in private every now and then to quite earnestly trying daily. G'raha thought he might've actually been starting to like it, rather than viewing it as a chore, and he loved that for S'ria. He did all he could to assist.

S'ria was still too self conscious to work directly with G'raha or to try to read out loud for scrutiny, but he at least provided company and helped find books that were… at the appropriate difficulty but not infantilizing. (Luckily, with Eorzean literacy being somewhere between half and two thirds, it isn't overly difficult to find simpler things meant for adults.)

Sometimes determination got the best of him, though.

G'raha carefully nudged S'ria's door open with his shoulder, carrying a mug in each hand. He placed one down on the desk in front of S'ria and brought his own mug to a comfortable spot on the floor. S'ria drew his blanket tighter around his shoulders and gratefully took a sip of the warm tea.

“Huh. To be honest, I was expecting chai, not chamomile.”

G'raha yawned from the pile of pillows. “I dare say you may need the encouragement to sleep, rather than the encouragement to stay up even later. The book shall wait for you until the morn. Your rest shall not.”

S'ria took another sip of his tea and nodded. “You're not wrong – I didn't realize it'd gotten so late. It should not take too long to get through this last page or few in the chapter. And then I'll go to bed, I promise.”

G'raha smiled and made himself more comfortable, knowing there was entirely a chance he may sleep through the night in a heap of pillows on S'ria's floor if he did so. Occasionally drinking his own tea, G'raha lounged and listened to the quiet sounds of S'ria shifting things at his desk and the mutterings of S'ria sounding things out, too quietly to be understood.