"You jackass!" Amelia curses at me. "I thought you'd hurt yourself when you fell over."

"Sorry, sorry." I apologize while trying not to laugh again. "I only stumbled because I didn't think your face could turn that shade of red... or be that cute." I mumble out that last part as softly as possible.

"What was that?"

"Ahem. I said the Nature magic doesn't take nearly as much effort for me." I explain trying to cool her anger. "As impressive as this may have looked, the lights I made for the girls last night were much more difficult. I just wasn't watching where I stepped."

"Hmph! I'll let it go." She says. "For now." Turning away, she calls over her shoulder. "Speaking of light's, why don't you set some up for us before the sun sets? Then, I'll get started on dinner and we can try the magic thing again while it cooks."

I walk around the perimeter of the clearing again, leaving a small orb low to the ground every few meters. Returning to the campfire in the center. I then conjure a larger, brighter orb about 4 meters in the air. Amelia has already lit the fire and setup a folding metal tripod over one side of it. "Good idea with the tripod, there. I would have just set the pot on some rocks. You need help with anything?"

"Thanks." She says, looking up at me with a smile. "Daddy may have let me behind this time but I've gone on more than enough trips with him to know my way around a campsite. I've got this covered, it'll just need to simmer for about an hour. Can you seal the entrance? Then, can we..." She trails off, a hesitant look about her.

"Try the magic again?" I answer her unasked question. "Sure. I've got a better idea of what to expect now, so an hour should be plenty of time."

Returning from the now blocked opening. I see her stirring in the last ingredients before turning to me with an eager. "Ready? What do you need me to do?"

"Just let me prepare something real quick." Reaching into the stack of unused firewood, I Plantshape a wide bowl before filling it from one of the water skins. "I want to try something that should help identify of you have one of the basic elements. Sit here in front of the fire." She jumps to obey. "That's good, just get comfortable." Handing her the bowl, I then kneel behind her and place my hand on the center of her back. "Now, I want you to close your eyes and just breathe. Slowly trail your fingers through the water. That's it. Nice... slow... even... breathes..." Each word is accompanied by it's own slow breath.

Using my gentlest voice I guide her through visualizing the elements. "Feel the Earth beneath you, solid and supportive." I send the barest trickle of earth mana out from my palm. "The fire in front of you." Switching to fire mana now. "It's almost alive in it's own way, wanting nothing more than to eat and spread." Pulling back the fire, I send out a wisp of air. "Air surrounds us, it carries the music of the forest to us, tickles through your hair, and curls deep within your chest." No reaction so far, time to try. "Water." I think we've got it. "It's the most mercurial of the elements. Cool and flowing under your fingers now, but it's just as happy to waft about a clouds." A fog rises from the bowl. "Or freeze so solid that it can crush even the hardest of stones." The fog fades to reveal ice chips swirling around her fingers.

"Feel how it resonates deep within you. Water is the source of all life. Water flows through your veins. Water makes up your very core. It doesn't need you to reach out for it, because it's already there waiting for you. You. ARE. WATER!" My voice rises up into a shout. When, with a pulse of mana. The water in the bowl flows up her arm, quickly coating her entire body before dissolving into a wavery blue light and disappearing inside Amelia's body.

*DDDDDIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG* A sound so loud that I can't believe it could come from any real bell.

-You have awakened Amelia Rialta!-

*Ding*

-You gave gained the Title: Awakener. Those with this title will be able to sense potential mages they come into contact with.-

*Ding*

-You have gained the skill Soothing Voice, it is now level 1.-

*Ding*

-You have gained the skill Guided Meditation, it is now level 1-

Dismissing the notifications for later. I look over to the New Water mage. Sitting there with an astonished smile of her face as tears flow freely down her cheeks. She turns to me and gestures with the small ball of water that's floating just above her palms. "It worked." She says in a small voice. "Oh.. Oh, thank you. Thank you, so much. Come here." Reaching out, she opens her arms wide, and... Splashes me right in the face. "Oh, gods!" She exclaims, a mortified look washing over her face.

I fall over and start shaking. "Oh, Gods. Please be alright." She says, rushing to my side. Amelia's reaching out to grab my shoulders, when I just can't hold it in any longer.

"Bwahahahahahahah!" I erupt in laughter. "Oh Gods, the look on your face."

Her face rapidly morphs from shocked to furious before cracking into laughter. "You jackass!" She hits me. "I thought I really hurt you."

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. Heheh." I give a last chuckle before saying. "Let me up woman. Someone need to stir the pot, and I'm sure you want to investigate your menus."

Stepping back, with one last hit. "Oh, right... Umm, how do I do that?"

"Just say or think 'Status'. System-chan will handle the rest."

"System-chan? Oooh, it's like a book, and that painting of me... It's moving."

"It'll spin around on it's own but you can move it where you want just by thinking it. Try focusing on your face and it'll get bigger. And System-chan is her name, at least, it's the only one I know her by." I can hear the echo of a ding coming from Amelia. "See, that's her agreeing with me." Tapping the spoon clean, I put the lid back on the pot and turn toward my companion.

"Oh, hello System-chan." Another echoed ding. "Hahaha, it's almost like she's talking to me. Oh, the map is blank. How does the inventory work?" She asks while making gestures in the air, like she's flipping through a book.

"You just need to touch something and will it into a slot. System? Any chance we can sync our maps?" *Ding* "Thanks you're the best!"

"Thank you." She looks like she's patting an invisible book. "It shows I've got the skill Flow. Do you have that? How does it work?"

"Flow!" I cast, pulling the leftover water from my clothes. "Is the skill you used to splash me." I send a much reduced water blob back to the bowl she dropped earlier. "Focus on anything in the System and she'll give you more information on it. Magic itself seems to be half instinct half practice. So far, I've been able to figure out a few things by trial and error. But, I know there's more to learn, That's why I want to reach the Capital."

"Flow!" She slowly raises the water from the bowl to her hands.

"Good job!" I toss a full water skin at her feet, almost making her lose focus and drop the spell. "Dinner looks like it'll be a bit. Why don't you practice? See how much water you can lift, move it around, try different shapes. Stuff like that." Seeing her eager nod, I continue. "If you start to feel dizzy, just stop and rest for few minutes. Once you feel comfortable with Flow, I'll try to teach you Condense. Then you can be responsible for filling the water skins from now on." A smile on my face I walk off to the side of the clearing.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Well... A. I don't want to get splashed again." Chuckling at the indignant look on her face, I continue. "And, B. I'm almost out of cotton and need to grow some more."

"Hmph!" She Hmphs at me. "You go play with your plants. Just you wait, and I'll show you what I can do."

"Looking forward to it, just don't let dinner burn... Or flood the fire. Maybe you should put the bags in your inventory too, just in case." She Hmphs again and crosses her arms. I just turn away, but a few seconds later I can hear her walking about the camp, going from bag to bag.

With a smile on my face at her antics I cast Earthshift to loosen the soil in a 1 meter square. Placing cotton seeds into the ground about 10cm apart. I cast Growth once again. Guiding my magic down the staff, into the soil and waiting seeds. The plants rapidly mature, gaining dozens of pink blossoms. Focusing the magic into the buds, they quickly fall off, leaving oversized bolls of fluffy fiber. *Ding* "Excellent! Pounds of cotton for seconds of work, and Growth leveled up. Plantshape!" The bolls pluck themselves from their branches and fall to the ground, freeing the plants up for another round of Growth.

Several rounds of this and I've already got more cotton that I started with, but I can tell the soil is starting to lag. The magic provides all the energy the plants need, but they still draw nutrients from the earth. So, after Plantshaping all the cotton together and pulling it out of the way. I decide to try out a new Nature spell. Pointing my Heartwood Staff at each plant in turn, I cast. "Decompose!" The cotton plants turn into compost before my very eyes. I then use Earthshift to mix the soil and compost together before firming the ground back to how I found it.

Returning to the fire with my new bundle, I find Amelia flat on her back. Shaking my head, I say. "I told you to stop and rest if you felt dizzy." Before flopping down next to her.

"Shaddup. I Finally managed to get three balls to orbit each other. And, I earned a skill level." Her voice fills with pride. "Then, I kinda just fell over." She finishes lamely.

"Congratulations! I promise the next time won't be half as hard." I try to pat her on the head but she swats my hand away. "Dinner smells like it's ready, the food will help you recover."

"Here." She pulls a bag from her inventory and hands me a couple bowls and spoons from it. "No need to eat from whatever you were going to make out of firewood."

"Hah!" I bark out. "You already got me figured out, huh?" She just nods.

Ladling the rather delicious smelling soup into our bowls. I turn to ask the now sitting Amelia. "If I provide all the ingredients, would you be willing to do most of the cooking? I'm sure I won't be able to make anything half as good as this smells."

Breaking a loaf of bread in half, she dumps one piece in my bowl before snagging her own. "Not every night." She declares flatly. "But, only if you figure out a way to make some fresh bread. I always miss fresh bread when I'm on the road." She then dips hers into the soup before taking a big bite.

"Yeah. I think I can manage that. I'm not too good with mushrooms yet..." At her questioning look, I explain. "Yeast. I got the chance to examine some at the market, and it feels just like mushrooms do. Magically speaking, that is." At her shrug, I continue. "But anyways, I should be able to use a mix of Plantshaping and air magic to re-create it's effects."

The rest of dinner passes in silence. Once we're done eating I use Cleanse to wash the dishes. Earning me a jealous glare from Amelia. "You're teaching me that one too." She states.

"Sure, it's not entirely water based but we should be able to make something work." I reply jovially. "So, you ready to learn Condense? Good. I'm gonna need some help from you afterwards too. I figure a merchant's daughter must know something about fabric. I only know the basic weave, and a bit of knitting my mother forced me to learn after I destroyed one too many socks."

"That's easy enough, though I can't help you with the knitting. My mom banned me from touching her needles after the last knotted monstrosity I tried to make. But Condense first, please."

"Okay, I'll use it first, but I won't pull the water into a ball. I'm just going to increase the moisture in the air. Condense!" Reaching out with my magic as far as I can, I draw all the water molecules in the clearing. Holding them in a rough sphere around the eager mage. I tell her. "Now close your eyes, and just feel for the water in the air."

Sensing her mana flowing out around her I pull mine back and say. "Good, good. You can feel it, now pull it all together." It starts raining on the girl causing her to lose focus.

"Ack!" She shouts and jumps away. Not noticing that the impromptu shower stopped as soon as she opened her eyes.

"Nice first try, but you caused the water to clump together. What you want is for it to all flow into one spot. Now dry off and we can go again." She starts digging in a bag, so I ask her what she's doing.

"Getting a towel..." At my quirked eyebrow, she trails off. "Oh, right! Magic. I can do magic." She laughs. "Flow! Oh, that was much easier." A ball of water was quickly pulled from her hair and clothes.

"Yes. You can do magic. Ready to try again?" At her nod, I cast again. "Condense! Now, just like last time. Reach out with your magic and grab hold of the water. Yeah, just like that. Now pull it all into one spot." As the water coalesces I hear the echo of a ding.

"I did it. I got the skill and everything." A look crosses her eyes. "Hey, how come you always say the spell out loud, but I was able to do this by just focusing? I even tried just saying Condense when I was working on Flow earlier, but it didn't work."

"Good question, but you sorta answered it yourself. Focus." Silently reaching out with my mana. I pull in enough water to make my own ball. "See how that took me a few seconds? Casting the spell out loud acts as a shortcut and gets the magic doing what you want right away."

"Ahh." She nods her head. "Thank you. I mean it. Thank you for this, for giving me magic, for showing me how to do all this." A shadow falls on her eyes, but quickly passes. "For everything."

"You're welcome. But, now it's time for you to pay up."

"Hahah." She laughs at the mock stern expression on my face. "Yes, yes. Fabrics are actually pretty easy to understand. I'm not a weaver, or seamstress, but I did learn the basics from Daddy. There's really just two main parts to any weave. The up and down, Warp. And the left to right, Weft. Plain linen weave is just those crossing over each other. Over, under, over, under. Simple, right? Well the other patterns really just vary how many times the warp and weft cross over and under each other."

"Ah, thank goodness, that sounds a lot easier than I was expecting."

"The patterns I know go like this. Twill has two over, two under, but the rows are staggered to create a diagonal pattern. Satin is four or five or more over, and one under. The staggering is more spread out than twill too. Basket weave is just like plain weave, but you use two threads as one." She draws a couple examples in the dirt. "See plain weave is one over one, but basket is two over two."

"Got it." I nod.

"The last one I know is cross weave. It's a little different because the weft is actually two thread that cross back and forth through the warp." She draws three vertical lines, and then what looks like a pair of snakes twining through them. One always going over the warp, while the second always goes under the warp, but over the first one. "There's a lot more weaves out there but I know more about how to sell them, than how to make 'em."

"Thanks, this helps a lot." I quickly Plantshape some oversized samples to make sure I have the basic concept down.

"Yeah, you've got it. Don't know why on earth you want to try weaving without a loom, though. The stuff you made for the bags is fine."

"Heh, it's more for practicing my fine control than for a need of fabric. Though, having some soft pajamas might be nice." I say with a smile.

"Crazy man!" She sighs "Oh, who knows. Maybe you'll end up re-inventing star weave. I've never actually seen any, but there's only one family that makes it and they keep the loom under lock and guard. No one except the head and his heir are even allowed in the room. There's even rumors that a magical trap will destroy it if anyone else gets close."

Weaving lesson over, we each begin to practice our respective magics. Somewhat fixated on the idea I threw out as a joke earlier, I focus on mastering the Satin weave. Starting out with a ten centimeter square and threads the size of my pinky.

*Ding*

-You have learned the skill Weaving, it is now level 1-

That makes it a lot easier to hold the pattern, now I can put my whole mind to the magic. Slowly, I decrease the thread size while increasing the area. After about an hour, and several Skill levels, I decide to stop for the night. The threads are larger than what you'd see in modern clothing, and the weave is a bit loose, But I'm happy with it, especially for a first attempt. I swiftly shape the fabric into a pair of loose pants, add a drawstring, and call it done.

"Not bad. Not perfect, but not bad." I speak to myself while examining the new pajamas.

"Hmm?" Amelia looks up from a dozen spinning water balls. "Done already? Ahh, it's getting late." She stretches out her back. "Can you douse the big light, please? We should get to bed soon if we want to be on our way by first light again."

"Sure, just let me make some mattresses first. I've got all this cotton, we might as well use it. Plantshape!" The pile of unused fibers flows out into two fluffy mats. Laying them out at right angles to each other near the fire. I wave away the big light and bank the fire, laying in a few of the larger branches.

Walking towards the latrine with my new pants I look over my should at Amelia. "I'm going to get changed. Do you need anything else before we bed down for the night?"

Testing her new mattress with a hand, she replies. "No, thank you. You've done more than enough."

Finishing my business, I leave the latrine wearing my new Pajamas. Returning to the fire I pass by Amelia as she carries a small bag to the outhouse. I try sending her a small smile but I don't think she saw it, her eyes seemed pretty far off.

Laying on my back in my new bedroll, I cast my eyes heavenward. The soft night sounds of the forest and the occasional pop of the fire seem to fade away as I stare up at the night sky. 'The stars seem so different from back home, there's a moon too but even it looks wrong. No! This is home now. I need to accept that.' I tell myself before being interrupted by a cough.

"Sorrel, can I sleep next to you?" Amelia asks softly from next to my feet. She seems to be wearing nothing but a thin nightshirt. Standing there, clutching her blanket to her chest. I can see tear tracks glisten down her cheeks in the light from the fire.

Looking up at crying woman, I beckon her closer. "This is a probably a bad idea, but I can't think of any good ones right now." Lifting my blanket, I shift over for her to lay down next to me.

"Thank you." She whispers into my ear as she lays down. Clutching to my side like a drowning woman might grasp a piece of driftwood. "I'm sorry. I Can handle it when I'm moving about, doing something. But when I slow down, when it gets quiet, I..." She trails off, burying her face in my shoulder.

"I understand completely." I Gently stroke her hair. "I've tried not thinking about it, burying myself in the Magic, keeping on the move. Anything to distract me from the fact that I lost everything." Tears of my own start leaking out as the enormity of the past few days threatens to overwhelm me.

Lifting her head at the change in my breathing. Amelia leans over and, looking me in the eyes as if seeking approval, she slowly presses her lips against mine. What starts out as a tentative, somewhat clumsy kiss quickly deepens. Our tears leak out and mingle together as our two broken souls stare into one another. Hoping to find something to fill the cracks.

"This is still a bad idea." I tell the young woman clinging to me when she comes up for breath.

"I don't care, I just need to feel something beside this empty pain right now." Lifting herself up, Amelia moves to straddle my waist. Her hands reach up and start unbuttoning her shirt. "Take off your pants" She orders me.

I don't even bother trying to pull them down, only taking a second to move my vines out of sight. Then Plantshaping the pajamas off as my eyes roam the soft skin that is being slowly revealed to the firelight. The last button finally out of the way she lets her nightshirt slide off her shoulders.

Settling her weight down onto me. She lets out a small gasp as her heat comes into contact with my shaft. "Ahn. it's so hard. I've nev.. I'm a..." She trails off, lowering her head to hide her face behind a curtain of blonde locks. Her hips slowly grind forward, seemingly of their own accord.

Reaching up, I stroke the side of her face. Gently raising her head to look in to her eyes once more. "It's okay." I speak, my voice gone husky with desire. "The first time can hurt, but I may be able to do something about that." I silently cast Healing Sap, coating my swollen member with it. Hoping to use it as lubrication in addition to it's restorative powers.

Without taking my eyes from her I use my other hand to guide us together. I slide the tip of myself, slick with sap, between her folds. She gasps out again, and then, before I can stop her she slides herself down onto me, hissing in pain before the sap can do it's job.

"Easy, easy" I soothe the beauty sharing herself with me, body and soul. "Just rock back and forth until you get used to it." Moving my hands to her hips to demonstrate. She quickly gets into a rhythm and I start to join her. Matching my movements to hers, my hands roam up her body to find and gently cup her breasts. I send my thumbs to tease lightly over her nipples.

Her breath catches, and she loses her rhythm for a moment. "Yesss!" She growls out. Resuming her efforts and increasing the pace. She tells me. "More. Please, give me more."

Not wanting to disappoint, I squeeze tighter, playing my thumbs over her sensitive nubs. Deepening my thrusts, driving into her as she slides down onto me. "Oh Gods." I grunt and almost lose it as I feel her tightening around me. Lost in her orgasm, her motions become jerky and she seems to lose control of her body for a moment. Taking charge. I hold onto her and flip us around so that she's now the one laying on the mattress.

Her Climax fading. I hold myself at her opening with just the very tip of myself inside her. Waiting for her eyes to regain focus and once they do I stare into her and slowly, oh so slowly, slide my length deep into her wetness. Our eyes locked together, I pull her to me for another kiss. Tongues intertwined, I start rocking my hips mimicking her earlier movements.

Pulling my mouth from hers with a wicked smile. I lick my lips and shift my focus to her breasts. "Oh. Oh, no." She breathes out, and I can feel her begin to squeeze me in anticipation.

"Oh, yes." I breathe back. Leaning down, I flick my tongue out in time with a particularly hard thrust.

Throwing her head back. She moans out. "Oh gods, yes! Please Sorrel, more."

Granting her wish. I twirl my tongue around the nipple before latching on to the pink tip of her creamy white breast. Softly sucking on her while teasing the swollen nub with the tip of my tongue. Feeling her inching closer to another orgasm I take my right hand and lightly pinch her nipple. Teasing it between my fingertips is last push needed to send her over the edge once again. Dragging me along with her this time.

A few jerky thrusts is all I can manage to do before I give up and just bury myself as deep inside of her as I can get. Amelia clenching around my length as I pour everything into her.