Ricely Done

Shibani's eyes danced from Dan to the crevice and back again. He knew he shouldn't get distracted – he was here to work after all, not sleep or loaf around – but the work was hard and tedious, and his curiosity was at an all-time high. Something in there had a pretty glow, like a nightlight. It spilled onto the green and yellow plants around the entrance. He wanted to check it out rather badly, but he also didn't want to abandon Dan...

Speaking of Dan, the other bun glanced his way and Shibani quickly returned to reaping rice. He felt his heart strum, a little flustered at being caught doing nothing. Dan had said that it would be hard work; Shibani was the one who insisted on coming along still. He didn't want to end up being a burden because he didn't listen, and he didn't want Dan to think that he couldn't do this, so he continued along his section of the field with a new determination. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could even impress Dan again? With every slice, his shoulders burned a little more but his sack also filled a little more.

Before long he had to go get a new sack. He hefted the first one to the ground near their supplies, even as his mind began to question if he filled it enough. A moment of scrutiny allowed him to shrug that away. If it wasn't totally full, it was still pretty full. That had to be enough, right? Weight was still a consideration...

He snagged a new sack and walked back to his previous field. He missed the look on Dan's face when the man turned around – the warmth in his eyes at Shibani's honest efforts to help. Shibani's eyes were focused on the distant field as he walked.

No, that's not quite accurate. His eyes were trained on that crevice visible just past the field. It called his name.

As he neared his previous harvesting hub, he took one last glance back to Dan, and decided instead to continue along to the crevice. He had already filled one sack, it should be fine to go check it out, right? He would be quick about it, and return to this field as soon as he'd taken a peek. His curiosity would be sated, he would have a reprieve from what felt like endless fields of grain, and he'd have a story to tell Dan afterwards.

It never occurred to him that there might be danger lurking inside – Dan was his protection up until now, after all – but fortunately there wasn't. Instead, once he rounded the edge of the crevice and peered inside he saw brilliant blue crystals speckled along the ceiling of a small cave, casting their light on a small patch of rice below. The rocky walls were oddly smoothed for a natural formation, though Shibani doesn't take any time thinking as to why that might be. With a single-minded focus, he strolsl for the rice patch.

Though it appeared small from a distance, once he was closer he could tell that the tiny field didn't even hold enough to fill a rice sack and still leave enough behind for the next year. The grains themselves seemed to hold a bluish hue, though Shibani was fairly sure that it was just the lighting. Rice didn't glow blue. But, rice growing in this little enclave still had to be something special, right?

He considered going to get Dan to show him, but took a moment to reconsider. To do that would both show that he was loafing off, and pull Dan away from his own work. He knew the man wasn't fond of interruptions, especially on a time crunch. After some considerations, he had a solution – reap the rice, then go get Dan when the sack wasn't empty! That way it would be obvious that he wasn't just playing around, he was still working, and Dan would be farther along in his own work too.

With a self-satisfied smile, he began reaping the rice. He took his sweet time, picking around stalks so that he would thin the field rather than razing any particular sections. If this was good rice, he would make sure it came back again. Besides, Dan probably wouldn't want him to flatten it entirely. Something about being rude to nature or whatever.

Just as he was trying to decide if he'd harvested enough, he heard his name called from the rice fields outside. Oh, he probably should have at least mentioned to Dan that he was stepping out of sight! He called back that he was here, and his own voice echoed all around him in the cave. In fact, it seemed to only echo in the cave, as he heard Dan call out again, louder this time. Oops...

Well, it was good timing anyways. He had the rice to show off to Dan, and this little cave to show off to Dan. Twisting shut the sack to keep the grains contained, he took one last glance around before exiting.

“I'm over here...!”

Thanks to the subsequent worried spiel from Dan about not sneaking off, Shibani forgot to show off his special rice or the cavern. Oh well. Dan surely would see the grains of his labor when they returned home.