"You are such a showoff." She looks past me to where the flock is still drifting about.

"Are you saying you didn't enjoy showing her up at her own game?" I counter, before calling the flock to me and combining them into a simple sphere of wood as they land in my palm. "You want to head home? Abby's probably going to be out here half the night practicing." I look back and she's already shooting more sparks into the target.

"Thank you so much for doing this." Marta speaks up. "She was so looking forward to this night. If there's ever anything we can do for you. Please, just ask."

"Oh, thank you." Amelia says. "Dinner was delicious, and Sorrel loves any chance he can get to show off." She elbows me in the ribs. "We might trouble you for a painting in the future. We've got a little ceremony coming up soon." She takes my hand in hers. "And would like to have something special to commemorate it. You two are invited, of course. Though, we still need to make all the arrangements."

"Congratulations. I'd be honored to create something to mark the day." She smiles wide, and guides us back through the house. "Thank you again for coming over, for the wine, and that lovely carrier. You're welcome over any time."

"WAIT! Don't Leave Yet!" We hear Abigail running to catch us up. "Where'd you go? I didn't even get to say good bye." She spits out before bending over with her hands on her knees. "I had to take a break, and when I looked around you all disappeared." She looks like she wants to cry.

"I'm sorry Abby, I thought you'd be pre-occupied with your magic all night" I rub her on the head as she stands there panting. "You're right, we should have said goodbye first." I admit my wrong.

"No, I'm sorry. I should have realized, you did just get into town yesterday and haven't really had a chance to relax and settle in yet. I still can't believe you met with the Queen." She says under her breath before continuing. "It was selfish of me to drag you here."

"Nonsense, dinner was lovely, and I was more than happy to help you Awaken." I give her one last pat on the head. "Now, don't stay up all night. Okay." I smile at her bashful look. "Good night Marta, thank you again for a lovely meal. Good night Abigail." I wave as we walk off the porch.

"Oh that poor girl." Amelia says under her breath as we walk out the gate. "She's got it bad for you."

"Maybe Sorrel should start a collection." Apricot speaks up. "He's already got Water and Fire, now he just needs Earth and Air."

"Why stop there?" I tease right back. "I've got more than elemental magic after all. I was hoping to head to the Mages guild tomorrow, maybe I'll spot some cuties when I'm there."

"Don't forget, we already know where a couple motion mages are." Amelia joins right in. "The only question is. Do you go for The Queen now? Or, wait for the Princess to grow up."

"Why should he limit himself? He should obviously go for both."

"Speaking of limiting myself. We're completely forgetting about the Fae. I mean, I've already got a pixie. It'd be a shame if I didn't pick up a fairy and a wisp at the very least. And then there's all the other races..."

The night rings with our laughter as we walk home planning my future harem.

***

"Not now Mittens, Momma's not feeling so good." Apricot tries pushing to nosy kitten away. "Ugh. I can't believe I'm saying this. But, I think you were right about chocolate having a strong affect on me."

"So, you were listening when I said that." I raise my eyebrow. "And, here I thought you were too lost dancing with the air."

"Is she seriously hung-over on chocolate? How is that even possible? I thought pixies turned all food into magic." Amelia picks up the cat.

"Don't know, don't care. Just, please whisper." The tiny woman groans and holds her head like it's about to fall off.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm sorry." I breathe out, barely audible. "I don't even know how to treat this. If it was a normal hangover I'd load you up with water. Maybe some conjured water since it's already magic." I offer up a suggestion.

"I'll try anything." She groans again and Amelia takes pity on her and summons a tumbler of ice water. Into which Apricot dunks her whole body before drinking it dry and eating the ice the cup was made from. "More please, I think it's actually working." She doesn't look as pained.

"Anything for my little orange haired beauty." Amelia doubles the size of this glass. Not that it takes Apricot any longer to finish it off.

"Much better, thank you, both of you."

"No problem, and I'm sorry. You were having so much fun last night that I didn't even think to cut you off. We'll just have to be more careful in the future."

"I don't think I would have let you cut her off, I was getting too much good feedback from the bond." Amelia uses a tiny stream of water to caress our pixie. "That and having her lick it all off of me."

"So, now that you're feeling better. What do you two want to do today? I was only joking about finding cuties at the guild, but we should probably check in, and I've got that letter for Coen's master."

"That's fine with me." Amelia says. "Can we maybe go house hunting afterwards? I thought we'd have to wait to make some coin first, but with your Mana Stones..."

"I'm good with whatever you guys want." Apricot give her opinion. "But, I'm surprised you want to move out already."

"I love my parents, but I'm starting to feel like a little kid living with them again. That, and it'd be nice not to have to get dressed just to go pee in the middle of the night."

"Hehehe." I laugh and put my arm around her. "We could probably call in our favor with The Queen to get an estate anywhere in the city. Maybe sweeten the deal with some chocolate if we need to."

"Hah! She'll give you her daughter in exchange for some chocolate." Apricot laughs up from where she's petting Mittens.

"Maybe if it affected her like it does you." Amelia adds with her own laugh

"I can barely keep up with the two of you, I don't need a harem, least of all with an actual princess in it."

"Oh? But we already know you're into little girls." Apricot gestures to herself. "What's one more?"

"Eww, too far babe, too far." Amelia starts making fake retching noises.

"You are one messed up little pixie." I take a deep breath and shake my head. "And with that, I think we should head out. Before anymore strange ideas pop into your head."

"Oh, fine. You guys are no fun." She says before diving in and giving Mittens a big hug. "Bye bye buddy, sorry for leaving you all alone again."

"You want to take him with?" I lean over and scratch the tabby on his head. "I've been trying to get him to ride on my shoulders, and I can always keep him out of trouble with magic."

"Can we?" She looks up from his fur, her eyes going wide as saucers.

"Of course. Can't have my favorite pixie going without her mighty steed."

"You don't even have to ask." Amelia chides the silly little thing. "We love you, and if want or need anything within our power, we will give it to you."

"Then, the wedding?" She asks nervously.

"Oh, I guess we haven't really talked about it. But, I thought it was a given, what with the bond and all." I look to Amelia for confirmation and she nods. "We may have started off on the wrong foot, but you're ours now Apricot. We're family."

"You already fit in with us before the bond, that just added another dimension to our friendship."

"A sexy dimension." I joke.

"Hush, I'm being serious." My violent girl smacks me again. "If this was bothering you, why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"I don't know." Apricot mumbles and hides her face in Mittens' fur. "Just blame the chocolate; it's got me all emotional." She wipes tears away on the kitten. "Come on you lunkers. Let's go find the next harem member, I'm hoping for a cute redhead." She flies up, right back to her old self.

"No, it's gotta be a sexy elf, maybe with a bit of a domineering vibe."

"I was hoping for a bunny girl, actually. Just imagine those silky smooth ears trailing up and down your body." I trail my fingers up and down Amelia's back. "Come on Mittens, it's rabbit season." I pick him up and head out the door.

"You gonna let him get away with that?" Apricot lands on Amelia's shoulder and goads her on. "It is not rabbit season, it is Redhead season."

"Elf season." Amelia contradicts.

"Wabbit season." I call back to them. Laughing my ass off that they fell into the gag without ever seeing bugs bunny before.

***

"No! Fucking! Way!" Apricot breathes out emphatically as Amelia and I are stopped stunned in the doorway to the Mages guild. "Quick wish for something else." She orders.

"I'm kinda afraid to." I say honestly. "Where are you going Mittens?" The kitten, tired of riding on my shoulder, jumps down while we're distracted.

"You kept telling him it was wabbit season, I think he believed you. Look he's going straight for her." Amelia chuckles. I had to play them a few episodes of Bugs Bunny on the way over. Mainly so they'd quit staring at me like a mad man every time I'd mutter 'wabbit season' and start giggling maniacally.

Now, we're standing here blocking the doorway as our kitten stalks up to the bunny eared receptionist. A bunny girl who just happens to be sitting right next to a redhead and an elf.

"Well, go after him. Ya lunkers. That's my steed that's getting away."

"You just want to steer him to the redhead." Amelia giggles and charges after the kitten, likely so she can steer him towards the elf.

The place isn't that crowded, but the little guy has always been a trouble magnet. And I find myself resorting to magic to stop more than one person from accidentally stepping on him. "Sorry, sorry." I have to rush forward and apologize to the people who ran into an unexpected wall. "Amelia would you quit trying to herd him, and just catch the little bugger." I laugh and follow in their wake.

The commotion draws the receptionists' eyes and the one with rabbit ears leans over the counter and coos at Mittens. "Aww, and who do we have here?"

'Yes! Bunny girl for the win.' The girls look back at me with identical looks of disgust, almost as though they could read my mind. I just grin and whisper "Wabbit season" when I catch them up.

"That is Mittens." Apricot explains. "He used to be the finest pixie steed in the kingdom, until he betrayed me, that is." She sighs melodramatically, causing Amelia and me to break out in giggles.

"You want up on the desk buddy?" Amelia picks him up and sets him before the receptionist.

"A pixie. Then you must be Mages Rumex and Rialta." I'm surprised, she didn't pause at the revelation, not even for a beat.

"I see the gossip mill is hard at work." I tease. "Yes, that's us. And this poor, broken-hearted thing is Apricot. Don't worry sweetie, he didn't betray you. He's just young, and in need of more training." I very gently ruffle her hair.

"I suppose." She lets out a long, drawn out sigh. "Maybe I can use some chocolate to bribe him to do what I want."

"No!" I snap out harsher than I mean to. "Sorry, but it's very bad for cats and dogs. Makes them very sick, could even kill them. I would have warned you sooner, but you girls eat it as soon as I make a batch."

"Oh." She holds her hand over her mouth.

"Don't worry I wouldn't have let him get hurt. This little danger magnet has me watching him like a hawk. Speaking of." I let out an exasperated sigh. "Get out of there!" The little pest was mid dive bomb into the receptionist's cleavage. I had to grab him out of the air with a wind spell before he touched down.

"Gimme him." Amelia says with a hint of jealousy, before she snatches him out of my hands only to tuck him into her own shirt.

"Been teaching him bad habits, have we?" I rub the small of her back. "Sorry 'bout that." I direct to the bunny girl.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" She's trying to keep a straight face at our antics, and her fellow co-workers are doing their best, and failing, to hide their snickers.

"Some information would be great." I smile down at the kitten that's now resting contentedly with just its head poking out of Amelia's shirt. Turning back to clerk, I continue. "We're still relatively new to the whole Magic thing, and even newer to the Capital. So, anything you could tell us about the Guild would be lovely. Oh, and I have an introductory letter to a Master Devlen from his student Coen." I hand it over.

"Of course." She says sharply before turning to the redhead that can't seem to stop giggling. "Claire. Could you pass me a couple introductory packets, and then go see if Master Devlen is free." The giggling girl does so, but I can just see the corner of her lips mouth 'spoilsport' when she turns to leave after handing them over.

"I'm sure you're wondering." She continues after handing us an envelope with a small booklet and several pamphlets in it. "And, the answer is no. You do not need to join the guild. We do, however, offer many benefits for those who do." She starts in on the sales pitch. "For just a small yearly fee, which can be paid directly or worked off through jobs for the Guild, you gain access to our library, trainers, and apprenticeship programs." The bunny girl points to the relevant pamphlets.

"The Guild also uses its collective manpower to secure jobs, setup leveling trips, and work out profitable deals for selling Magical goods."

"Oh, I didn't even think of that. I hope we weren't stepping on anyone’s toes when we sold some Mana Stones yesterday." She does a remarkable job controlling her expression, with only her eyes dilating slightly. But, her neighbor isn't nearly as sanguine, as she nearly gapes at my offhand mention. 'It's really not that hard to gain Mana Control, people. Seriously!' I can't help but think.

"Sounds like a fairly decent setup. Somewhat similar to the Merchant's Guild." Amelia speaks up. "I have to ask though. What would be our responsibilities as members?"

"I can answer this one Damita." An older man radiating a strong sense of Earth Magic comes walking up with the red-haired Claire in his wake. "I'm Welbie Devlen." He shakes our hands in turn, and even offers Apricot his pinkie. Not showing a hint of awkwardness, even though she's sitting on Mitten's head which is still poking out of Amelia's shirt.

"Please just call me Devlen though. Everyone does." He grins. "And, to answer your question. We typically require our members to work on a certain number of jobs per year. But, I think we can probably waive both the fee and the requirement in this case. It's not every day we get a Fae Bonded and an ArchMage joining up, after all. Not to mention the discovers of the first dungeon found in this part of the world in centuries.. and, other accolades which have yet to be officially announced." He smirks, obviously in the know about Queen Vivian. "We do ask that all our members help out to the best of their abilities in the case of emergencies. But, those are thankfully rare."

"That sounds more than agreeable. I'd still like a chance to go over the paperwork, but there shouldn't be any issues." Amelia nods.

"Not a problem, there's a copy of the basic membership form in the booklet. And, no need to sign anything today. Please, take your time." I can see why Coen said everyone likes Devlen. He's got this easy going attitude that draws you in. "I'll give you a tour of the facilities. Just let me know if you have any questions." He motions us through a doorway deeper into the building. "Thank you Damita, Claire, Hana." Devlin says that last name with a hint of humor. The elf it belongs to is still sitting there with her mouth slightly open, and a glazed look in her eyes.

"Yeah, actually now that you mention it. Damita said something about leveling trips." I recount part of her spiel. "Coen was level fifteen, but we seem to have a hit a plateau after reaching level five."

"Oh, yes? It's remarkable that you've already reached the first plateau." His head bobs excitedly. "Most Awakened that stay in the cities never go past level five. It is possible to do so through nothing but Feats, and skill leveling. Possible, but extremely difficult."

"So, how do you get past it?" Amelia questions. Apricot even nods since she's fairly low level, herself. Not that it means as much for the Fae.

"Combat, unfortunately." He has a sad look on his face. "The guild arranges regular trips into the mountains up north to fight the beasties that inhabit them. Though, the new dungeon may be added to the roation soon. Now, I understand that fighting isn't for everyone." He says at the somewhat dissapointed looks on our faces. "But the benefits of leveling far out-weigh the risks, especially on our carefully guarded trips." The Earth Mage explains. "See, we've learned that a person’s health, Mana pool, and longevity are tied as much into their level as they are into one's statistics."

'So, that means that I probably had better stats than Coen at the time, and he only had more Mana because of his level. Wow, I really am a cheat.' A smile creeps onto my face as I think of this.

"I did hit level four after dealing with the ambush." Amelia adds. "And, some extra Mana would be useful." She glances between me and Apricot, likely thinking of my Embiggen spell.

"Ah, the eternal lament of the mage. No matter how much you have, or how fast it recovers. You always want more Mana." The man chuckles. "Not that you really need to worry about it." He nods to me. "Though, recharging one's mana is the least of a Mana Stone's uses."