“Jase!” the pixies shouted upon entering the basement shop.

“What’s wrong?” I asked jumping up from where I had been working on some soapwort soap. I reached out to Lily at the same time and felt she was fine, which erased my biggest fear.

“Nothing!” the pixies chorused.

“Then you didn’t have to shout,” I chided the little mischief makers.

“Sorry Jase,” Lily said before the others apologized as well.

“You all apologized very quickly,” I mused out loud rubbing my chin. “I suppose you want something, something sweet in fact.”

“Don’t tease us!” the pixies cried.

“Alright,” I laughed. “Why don’t you tell me what’s got all of you so excited other than candy?”

“Can we have some candy first?” Lily asked.

“Sure,” I answered digging into my candy pouch and handing each pixie a lemon or orange drop. It only took them a minute or two to eat the sweets. “Ok, now spill the beans.”

“We don’t have any beans,” Yam giggled.

“We could get some though,” Lily added giving me a thoughtful look. I could tell she was faking it though and not really considering going after beans.

“You know spilling beans everywhere wouldn’t be a bad prank,” April said.

“Oh! I like that,” May replied.

“We can try it on the Farmers first!” Willow said. The rest started to look excited about the prospect of a new prank.

“Ahem,” I said.

“We probably shouldn’t be plotting in front of a human even if it’s my Jase,” Lily said.

“Lily…”

“We’re just teasing you!” Lily replied.

“Uh huh.”

“Anyway, we saw your new perspective apprentice,” Lily said.

“Oh? Isn’t that why you all flew off in a hurry for?” I asked.

“Yeah…”

“She’s pretty,” Willow said.

“That’s nice,” I replied. “I’m more concerned about whether she’s smart, hardworking, and willing to learn.”

“He actually is,” Lily said after checking my feelings over the bond. “I’m shocked.”

“That’s disappointing,” Yam said.

“We were hoping to watch you get tongue tied,” April said.

“Or just blush and clam up,” May added.

“What did I do to deserve all this?” I muttered to myself.

“Bond with a pixie!” the pixies shouted before buzzing all around me.

“Et tu, Lily? I asked clutching my heart.

“Of course! I’m the ringleader!” my familiar replied.

“Technically Elder Trillium is the ringleader,” Willow pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s true,” May agreed.

“Whatever!” Lily exclaimed before giving chase to Willow and May.

This led to the others joining in the game. I laughed and smiled to myself. Getting the pixies off the subject of the perspective apprentice had been easier than I thought. Now it was just a matter of time until Gabriela brought her niece here.

*

“Someone is approaching the house,” I said as I tried to determine more by using the energy around me later that afternoon.

“You’re right,” Lily replied. “Actually, there are three people approaching us.”

“Are you cheating somehow, or do you get that much from your magic?” I asked.

“Some of both,” Lily giggled.

“Why am I not surprised?” I rhetorically asked.

“Because you know me so well,” Lily answered even though she knew I didn’t mean anything by the question.

“How are you cheating?”

“Terror let me know it was a man and two women,” Lily answered.

“You’re getting along with the mockingbird now?” I asked. “It’s probably Gabriela then.”

“Yep! We terrorize other familiars and small animals when they get near the fence while you work,” Lily replied ignoring my guess of who was walking to our home. “It’s a lot of fun.”

“And then the villagers blame me and get that much more distant when their familiars report to them what happened,” I said doing my best to keep my humor from Lily.

“That hadn’t happened so far!” Lily replied. “Hey! No joking like that.”

“They’re here,” I said just before there was a knock at the basement outer door.

“Nice catch!” Lily praised me. “Using the wind to listen or expanding your awareness?”

“Using the wind as best I can,” I answered getting up from my chair and walking to the door.

“You’ll get the hang of it eventually,” Lily said. “I have confidence in you.”

“Thanks sweet one,” I replied stopping at the door. “Ready for this?”

“The question is, are you ready?” Lily asked turning my question back on me.

“As ready as I can be,” I answered opening the door. It was Gabriela, one of her workers, whom I admit to never catching his name, and a girl. “Hi Gabriela. Come for your order?”

“Hi Jase. I’ll come back for the order later. You know Juan already. This is my niece, Isabella,” Gabriela replied introducing me to the girl.