durin

Oi, my red-haired friend, why the skeptical look?

Enough with the red-haired thing! My name's Sesa! At least remember your fellow operators' codenames!

Close enough—

Lemme think, well... Sesa, have you ever seen Myrtle's apple?

Are you talking about the Arts device that the Engineering Department borrowed to study? That's no ordinary apple...

Yeah, stuff like that's perfectly ordinary to us. You could buy one off the shelf in a corner store.

What kind of place do you come from?!

Hey, it's a perfectly ordinary place—

The underground tribe of Durin... I'm sure I've heard someone mention them before...

That's not too surprising, plenty of us come up to the surface to have some fun.

If you ask me though—the surface is nice, bright and spacious enough, with lots of interesting things, but the machinery up here's way too primitive.

In any case... I never knew that Rhodes Island had someone like you around, formidable but willing to hide in the crowd... Hmph, I underestimated you!

Hah, say no more. You don't need to explain a thing, I already understand. I won't press you for more details about yourself.

For people like us, this is a fate we must bear... Is that how the saying goes?

Huh?

(This red-haired tall one isn't very bright.)

(Not that it matters though... *Yawn*... So sleepy...)

(I'm about running on empty here too. After all that exercise, if I don't get some sleep... I might not be able to wake up tomorrow...)

If I was really as amazing as you make me sound... *yawn*... My folks wouldn't have spent all that time nagging me.

But I'm frail, always sleepy... Sigh, it's not like I wanted to be like this...

It seems that your past is also shrouded in mystery.

Tell you what, based on the fact that we just fought a heart-pounding battle together, I'm willing to listen to your troubles...

Hey, open your eyes when you walk, you'll trip!

No way I will. So sleepy... *Yawn*...

This... is nothing... back home folks nagged so much that I slipped out and came here...

But... *yawn*... I was born this way. Can't cure it even if you tried...

ZZZzzzzz

Hey, you're in the middle of a sentence, don't just fall asleep on your feet!

Uhh.... Huh?

(*Stretches*)

(*Yawn*... Did I fall asleep again? Huh, where'd this blanket come from? It's real comfy.)

(That red-haired tall one... Sesa, I think is his name... He's already gone, huh.)

My head hurts a little, what time is it...?

It's getting late, Durin. You slept longer than usual this time.

Oh... Rangers, huh.

I exerted myself a little, so I ended up falling asleep. Couldn't help it.

Pops, were you the one who put the blanket over me? Thanks—

Oh, I can't take credit for that.

When this old man came to see you, you were already sound asleep. Aw, you looked so peaceful, I wanted to curl right up there with you.

*Yaaawn*. The quality of my sleep is nothing to envy, Pops.

Haha, that's true.

The young'un named Sesa had been sitting here looking after you, talking about how he owes you a favor. Ho ho, what a good kid.

Woah... He didn't just leave? I'm safe enough here on the ship.

But, hmm. Rhodes Island sure has a lot of nice people.

Haha, we sure do.

But, Durin, color this old man surprised to hear you went to help him. Why didn't you ask us to deal with it?

It was easy enough. Just felt like helping a newbie and all...

I've never seen you so enthusiastic about helping.

I'm familiar with that kind of machinery. You usually don't see stuff like it on the surface... Guess you could call it nostalgia.

Fair enough. You're better than us at that sort of thing anyway.

But enough about that! Um, this blanket here... The next time I see that red-haired tall one, I'll give this back to him.

Oh, and... Pops, what about the barbecue? Don't tell me you guys went and finished everything without me.

I'd never do something like that, and get on your bad side.

Noir Corne is still grilling and left plenty just for you. We were waiting for you to wake up.

Sounds— good—!

Hey, slow down, be careful not to trip. I've never seen you run that fast.

I slept so well, I'm full of energy.

Durin.

When I watch you sleep, I can't help but get a bit worried. And I think... the others probably feel the same way.

Hmm?

Your health...

Old— Man—

*Breathes deeply*

I'm perfectly fine. Just happened to oversleep a little... What's wrong with that?

But...

Don't worry!

I go to Medical for regular check-ups, and I have no trouble with my normal work. Us Durins are tough—

Besides, I can always just blame my condition, and nobody can get mad at me for slacking off during work hours. Isn't that great?

And now, if I can just eat a bunch of meat, maybe I'll grow even stronger.

Haha, I suppose...

...that you'll have to eat plenty today. Let's go. Noir Corne and the others are waiting.

Woohoo—

Hooray! Barbecue, here I come!

Lack of energy, fatigue and listlessness, illness-prone, and a need for sleep to recover from any amount of exertion — Durin has long gotten used to having such a delicate body.

Congenital deficiency is different from disease and cannot be cured with medicine.

She used to be disgruntled and even angry about it, but when she came to the surface and saw its many stories, Durin came to terms with her physical weakness.

Like...

What does it matter if my body's a bit weaker?

Nothing beats getting sleep free and quiet under the sun during those easy hours of the workday.