"So, agents or clothiers first?" I ask once we get back to the carriage.

"I think you know my vote." Lauren answers eagerly.

"That works." Amelia agrees with her friend. "They'll probably have space requirements that we should learn about before looking at properties."

"I was just going to go for the biggest lot we could get." I admit. "But, this will give me a chance to see what equipment we'll need." I hop into the driver's seat and let Flicker know which way we're heading, only to stiffen a moment later when Amelia conjures her spell again.

It would seem that the brief reprieve that the candy bought me is over and done with. The three of them are chatting like this is any other shopping trip while I sit at the reins, straddling the line between heaven and hell. Amelia didn't just bring back the water to tease me with. No, now she's added in a gentle electric tingle. Luckily, her control really has gotten better.

Still, her payback for yesterday has reminded me that I still need to master electrolysis. So I do my best to ignore this delicious torture and induce a current into a glass of water. Every time I get close though, Amelia ups the ante just long enough to distract me.

"What's the matter, Sorrel?" Apricot asks with a twinkle in her eye. It's not bad enough that she's helping Amelia to distract me, now she has to tease me about it. "It doesn't usually take you this long to master a new spell."

"Mhm. I suppose I didn't get enough sleep last night." I reply in as level of a voice as I can. "For some reason, I just can't seem to focus today. It's probably a good thing that I haven't tried burning it yet."

"Wait. I know magic can do a lot, but you're trying to set water on fire?" Lauren says, incredulously.

"The elements that make up water, technically." I reply with a laugh and channel my inner Mark Watney. "Luckily, in the history of humanity, nothing bad has ever happened from lighting hydrogen on fire. Especially not while one is distracted." I add with a cough when Amelia gives me a bigger zap for my sass.

"Please, try not to blow us all up." Amelia gives me a squeeze that nearly makes me explode.

"N-no worries of that." I reassure her and get right back to it, not willing to lose the war of wills. "I'm not going to play around with anything much bigger than a candle until my head is clear." I say with just the slightest emphasis on the word 'head'.

"And, how dangerous is that candle going to be?" Lauren looks worried now.

"Oh, it'll be hot enough to melt stone once I get the magic working properly." I say over my shoulder with a sweet smile.

"And, you're able to do that with a joke spell and a glass of water?" She lets out a little whimper. "I thought you two talking about using the storage spell on small animals was crazy. Amelia, your new boyfriend is starting to look kinda scary." Lauren says half serious, half joking.

"You do know that ever since they bonded, she's stronger than I am, right?" I counter. "I may be slightly more skilled for the moment, but with Apricot's tutoring, she's going to catch me up soon." My words seem to mollify the blonde as much as they worry her friend.

They don't mollify Amelia enough to stop her toying with me, but she does lower the intensity a little bit. Just a little, though.

"Little Amy is a big bad mage now?" Lauren gulps. "So, you say your brothers are up in the teeth and I have to do is have sex with them?" That nervous question sets us all to laughing.

"Hehehe. It might take a bit more than that." The pixie admits with a giggle. "I know a few Fae that have fooled around with lunkers before, but I never heard of anything like what we have." Apricot sends a loving smile at her partner.

"We were both in the same mindset, wanting the same thing, feeling the same things." Amelia explains, and the emotion in her voice causes her friend to blush. "And... well, something just opened up between us." Amelia returns the smile in kind.

"Wow." Lauren is a bit speechless after that confession. "Oh, uh, it looks like we're here. We should start at Rem's, he's the sec... third-best clothier in town."

...

"Lauren... Amelia, it's been ages. Where have you been girl?" A rather fancy looking, older elf pulls her close and kisses her cheek. "And, when did you start wearing starweave?" That last bit comes out in a hushed whisper.

"Since I figured out how to make it for her. Nice to meet you, I'm Sorrel and this is Apricot." I pull the pixie forward with me before she can run off to explore the shop.

"Sorrel, Sorrel..." He taps his chin while pondering my name. "Wait, are you the one that has Blanche on a tear today? She sent all of her apprentices and workers out to warn everyone in the district not to work with some jumped up greenskin. No offense."

"Ah, what a lovely woman." The venom practically drips from my tongue. "Now, I'm even gladder that I chose not to work with her."

"Oh, that gods damned cow!" Amelia lets her anger get the better of her, and unfortunately me since she hasn't dropped her spell yet. "Eeep, sorry." She dismisses her magic and blushes a deep crimson when I let out a high-pitched squeak.

"Is everything alright?" Rem and Lauren are looking between the two of us while Apricot starts laughing her head off.

"Yeah... Just... uh, Amelia lost uh, control of her magic for a second there." I say in a tight voice while blinking back tears. "I took the brunt of it. I know she wouldn't want anyone to get hurt." Two unrelated related but true statements.

"Oh, gods. Are you alright?" Lauren looks shocked, both at what I told her and at Apricot's increased laughter.

"I'll be fine." I cough out and send a zap into the pixie's backside to get her to shut up. "It was just a bit unexpected is all, and I didn't exactly have time to brace myself." Not that you can brace for having your junk crushed.

"Are you sure you're alright?" The out of control mage asks while looking like she's about to die from shame.

"Yeah, you should let us examine the wound." Apricot giggles and nullifies the second spark I try to send at her.

"I've had worse and thankfully, there's no permanent damage." Amelia cringes when I stress 'permanent'. It's a good thing that I know how to heal. "And, please ignore Apricot; she has a twisted sense of humor."

"Uh... if you say so." Rem eyes us a little suspiciously.

"Can we get back to the reason for our visit?" I say to change the subject. "Wolfsfeld is only trying to smear my name in the mud because I turned her down as a partner for my new venture. A venture where I'm making this." We left the sample square with Amelia's mother, so I bring out another spool of pseudo silk and quickly spin and weave it onto a simple handkerchief.

"Is that silk? You can make silk?" The clothier starts examining the fabric with a professional eye. "No, it's not, but it is damned close."

"Calling it cotton silk for lack of a better name, and because that's what it's made of." I explain. "It's just a little alchemical trick from my homelands. And, before you ask. Yes, I can do everything myself but, unless it's for my girls, I don't particularly care to. That's why we're looking for business partners."

"This... wow. I think I need to sit down." He guides us over to a sitting area near the back. "To tell the truth, I was going to retire soon; James has been asking me to join him in the capital for a while now. I was planning to leave things to Tidus and Calida, they've been doing most of the work recently anyways."

"It honestly doesn't matter to me who I work with. As long as it's not that cow, that is." His lips curl up at that. "Why don't you bring them out and see what they think of the idea?"

"That I think I can do." He gets up and dashes into the back.

"Are you really okay?" Amelia leans closer as soon as the old elf is out of sight. She looks like she wants to pull down my pants and check for herself.

"I'm fine." I smile and close the distance between us for a quick kiss. "Just promise to keep working on your control, please." This gets another round of giggles from Apricot. "Though, I may need to apply some of that licorice extract to the affected area. I'm pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that it's useful for this type of injury." It's my turn to laugh as Apricot goes pale.

"Mmm, it might take days, even weeks of treatment." Amelia joins in, and Lauren just looks even more confused than before.

"Nng. That's low and you know it." Apricot huffs before slumping into her seat with a pout.

"Don't worry, Sweetie." I slip a vine around her waist and pull her closer to whisper in her ear. "I think we all know that pixie kisses are a much more effective treatment. Though, Amelia wasn't wrong about it taking days or weeks of treatment." The three of us have matching grins and Lauren has gone from confused to embarrassed.

Fortunately, Rem comes to her rescue with his apprentices. Tidus, if it weren't for his flashy clothing could be the very definition of average, from height, to build, to looks, there's a nothing that stands out about him. Calida might be pretty, but it's kinda hard to tell under all the makeup she's wearing.

I stand and greet them with a smile. "Hello, thank you for taking the time to speak with us."

"Shouldn't it be us thanking you for this opportunity?" Calida responds with a rather annoying laugh.

"Yes." Tidus continues. "Rem showed us this new silk of yours, and we'd have to be fools to turn down this chance."

"Excellent." I nod and we all sit down. "As long as your attitude is better than that Wolfsfeld woman's, then we shouldn't have any problems working together. Now, production is limited at the moment, but we're about to find a new property to expand the operation onto. But, I'm new to the textile arts and need to know what you'll need from me."

"Well, we don't weave our own fabric here." Rem opens. "But, I will be happy to take you over to the weavers we contract with."

"That's fine, but if any of you are friendly with Felicia." I reply with a snake-like smile. "Well, I would very much like to poach her from her master. I already dropped a big hint that I'd be willing to work with her, but a little reinforcement can't hurt."

"Oh, I like the way you think." Tidus' grin grows to match mine. "She's one of the best weavers in town, and I'd normally say you wouldn't have a chance. But, with this..." He waves the handkerchief about.

"I'm going to be building the new factory from the ground up, so I can give her anything she wants." I take out a chunk of firewood and start morphing it into fanciful shapes. "I'm also connected to the head of the enchanting guild, and have recently made contact with a rather skilled machinist turned clockmaker. So, as long as the equipment exists, I can probably build it, or at least buy it. That goes for you too, anything from sewing machines to thimbles. If you need it, I can probably make it."

"Sewing machines?" All three of their eyes light up.

"Oh, gods." I drop my head into my hands. "You're still doing everything by hand, aren't you? You don't have power looms either, right? Oh, this is going to cost me so many clocks. What am I going to do with them all." Apricot and Amelia start cracking up but everyone else just looks beyond confused.

"The clockmaker's business isn't doing that well." Amelia explains. "He'd only work with Sorrel after making him buy a clock."

"And, they had just bought one the day before too." Apricot adds with a titter.

"Mnh." I can't help but whimper. "Okay, the sewing machine shouldn't be too difficult, though getting all the timings and tensioning just right is going to be a pain. But, I've never even seen a power loom, and wouldn't know where to begin making a regular one."

"Well, I'd be happy to take you to meet our weavers." Rem offers, the excitement clear in his voice. "But, could you tell me more about how the machine works?"

"Oh, it's just a simple lockstitch using two threads." I can already feel the headache coming on. "The needle punches through the top of the fabric and then the tension on the first thread loosens so that a small shuttle can wrap around the second thread coming from the bobbin." I make a simplified model to demonstrate.

"You know, I could use a new clock." I have to laugh at his enthusiasm.

"Heheheh. Alright, I guess we can swing by Sinclair's, but I still need to get a good look at a loom." As much as I don't want to.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Tidus, Calida, watch the shop." They look crestfallen that they don't get to come along.