I could not, as it turned out, trade three points for an all out attack from an I-ranker, regardless of the utility or how much I valued it's usefulness. I managed to barely squeak by at one point per wish for the attacks, and she had to promise me ten attacks per wish to even justify that. It was annoying that this was when I found out the limits of how far I could push things, but I knew there had to be one. No matter how much I valued something, base value DID come into effect, and Minor attacks just couldn't make the jump as they were.

Still, with a contract to give me forty of her 'attacks' (read, healing scans) I managed to give her four points, one for each remaining wish today. She put two in Vitality and two in Perception, which she assumed would effect the scanning abilities of her power. With her original four points from her breakthrough, that put her at nine counting Impact. That was...frustrating. Still, it wasn't the end of the world, she would probably earn a point from the rep of ascending so late in life anyway, so she would be at H-rank soon enough.

Callie seemed completely unbothered, peppering my face with kisses as she told me how amazing I was, and I couldn't stop smiling all the way to bed as we headed to sleep. Amelia told us to be ready for a delicious breakfast, since it was the least she could do. I tried to tell her it wasn't necessary but she insisted, planning to make biscuits and gravy, which I couldn't have brought myself to turn down even if Callie wouldn't have shivved me in my sleep for denying her a delicious meal.

We both headed to our own rooms and passed out after a long night and I slept like a rock knowing that things were so good. Once again, I woke up with a face full of long black hair, and had to fight back a laugh as I realized Callie had snuck back into my room. I shifted slightly, apparently letting the light hit her face, which drew a groan from her as she grabbed a pillow and shoved it over her head. I pulled it away. "Nope. I'm awake now, and I refuse to allow you peace while I must suffer. Wake up."

She pawed at my hand a few times weakly trying to grab the pillow and then flopped back to throw her arm over her eyes. "Stop. It's too bright." Her voice was hoarse but the complete sentences were a good sign. I debated tickling her or something, but this early she was liable to throw me out of bed at the attempt. Size difference or not she was much stronger than me. Finally she groaned again and sat up. "Fine, I'm up. What time is it even? If you woke me up too long before breakfast I'm going to be pissed."

I looked at her flatly. "Yes, how dare I move in my own bed that I went to sleep in alone. What's next? Wearing my own clothes to bed instead of letting you use them?" I looked down meaningfully at the oversized t-shirt she'd stolen from me and worn to sleep. "I'm a lunatic. Who will end my reign of terror?"

She pouted up at me. "In case you're wondering, you're not cute when I'm tired. Also you didn't answer my question about what time it was? Avoidance is the first sign of a guilty conscience." She sighed theatrically and waved off the thought. "Oh well, you can make it up to me. You mentioned cooking for my mom while we were here. As restitution for disturbing my slumber, you can let me pick the meal. We can stop at the market today and pick up the stuff. I figure we can get some cheese, and bread and butter, maybe some tomato soup. I want you to make-"

"Grilled cheese." I cut in dryly. "Yeah, I cracked that code. But sure. I can make grilled cheese for dinner for my night cooking. We can do all your favorite cheeses. Some smoked gouda and maybe a little monterey jack." I leaned down to kiss her. "And we can pretend you didn't ask that to make the dinner thing easier on me because you know how simple grilled cheese is, if you want."

She snorted and looked away to hide her smirk. "Whatever, egomaniac. I just like friend cheese." She leaned over me to see the clock and then squealed in excitement. "Oh! Also breakfast should be ready soon. I'm going to go shower before we eat. Mom's biscuits and gravy are amazing. They might be almost as good as your food." With that she hopped out of bed and bolted for the bathroom. I just smiled, rolled my eyes and got up to get dressed. I preferred to shower at the end of the day rather than the beginning.

The food actually did smell amazing. I wondered if now that she had Impact, Amelia qualified for the Minor Cooking Mastery Skill. I'd never been sure how that worked. Most people broke through in their teens when they didn't have developed Skills yet, so it would be interesting to see how things worked out.

Knowing I might not get much to eat if Callie made it downstairs first, I decided to leave her to her shower and try to get my food before her. She might sulk, but she wouldn't be too mad as long as I didn't eat it all, and considering how much Amelia cooked last time I doubted it. As we headed downstairs, I tried to think through everything we needed to do while we were here.

We had the guild to visit, Maria and Benny to spend time with (as well as Maria to offer a wish to), and only four days or so left here to do all that in. It seemed like both plenty of time and not enough. At least Maria would have Amelia entering the world of capes at the same time, who already knew all about Ascendant life. Having a friend who could guide her would be a huge help to my surrogate little sister.

When I got to the kitchen, breakfast was just about ready, and Amelia was putting out plates. She was talking to Alexander, who was actually smiling noticeably. The normally taciturn and formal man looked absolutely ecstatic at the change in lifespan, and grinned brightly when he saw me. "Shane! Good morning. Amy was just catching me up on her evening. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done. I sent for a few of my F-rankers to come and help her with things around the house and ranking up. She doesn't want to relocate to Rajak for several reasons."

"I can speak for myself, thank you." Said Amelia with good humor. "But yes. I'd rather avoid my ex-husband's city. I'm more suited to the Unity, and if I went to the capital I'd be forced to interact with him quite a bit. Stella has a large amount of control over this branch, and I've known her for quite some time. I'm not entirely sold on the idea of a bunch of F-rankers coming to babysit me, but Alex is insistent, and I figure I can have them run errands if nothing else."

It made me smile to think of dangerous WCP assassins, and F-rankers at that, being forced to go buy groceries and water plants by an I-ranker. I knew from seeing them together that Alexander cared a lot about Amelia though, and I had no doubt he'd make sure his people were on their best behavior. "In that case, you might be able to help me out with something actually. If you wouldn't mind."

Amelia raised an eyebrow good naturedly. "I'm happy to hear you out. I won't promise you my firstborn or anything. Oh, no, wait, you've already got her." I stifled a groan at the terrible mom joke, but couldn't fight down a smile. "Jokes aside I'm sure I can help. What did you need?"

I composed myself before responding. "Maria, that's Benny's sister who I grew up with, is probably going to be getting an ability. If you're going to have F-rankers in town to power level you or even just keep an eye out, could you include her in your plans? Nothing crazy, just let her tag along when possible. It would be a huge leg up for her I think. Plus you know a ton about Ascendant life and she's a complete rookie. I trust Stella to help her out if not, I just figured I'd ask.

To my surprise, Amelia looked thrilled. "That sounds lovely! It's been too quiet since Calliope moved away. Having a new face around will really brighten my day. I'd love to show her the ropes, it'll make my own journey starting out so much less monotonous. Early Ascendant grinding can be fairly tedious even to watch after seeing it often enough."

That worked out really well for me. I gave her a grateful smile. "That would be awesome thank you. I'm not positive she's going to decide to unlock an ability, but if she does I feel a lot better knowing she has you looking out for her. Stella and Ian would help her for sure, but they have work and Unity business. Another rookie would be ideal. I owe you one." Before she could protest I changed the subject. "Now I'd love to try some of these biscuits and gravy before your daughter shows up and devours most of them. Though I dont think she'd finish all of it before everyone else eats. Where is everyone else actually?"

Amelia smiled ruefully. "We stayed late at the Druid's Grove. Ezekial actually ended up staying after we left. He and Alyssa hit it off, shes an old friend of Stella, and she'd heard of him even though they officially met. Alyssa never really bothered with the WCP. Anyway, short answer is they're all asleep still. It's not actually that late. Still nine or so. I was planning to let the biscuits and gravy warm in the oven while I waited for everyone to wake up." She chuckled. "I should have figured Callie's boyfriend would have some sort of psychic food sense."

I laughed off the joke and sat down, eager to try the food. Thick, buttery biscuits with heavy sausage gravy were heaped onto the plate, as well as a side of homemade hashbrown casserole with cheese and bacon that I hadn't even noticed, but that smelled absolutely amazing. I shoveled a huge fork full of each into my mouth and almost groaned with appreciation. The biscuits were soft and springy and the casserole was perfectly cooked to bring out the underlying crispiness of the hash browns, which I was pretty sure she had fried first before making the dish.

"Hashbrowns, score!" Came Callie's shout of delight as she practically dove into the seat next to me, heaping a few biscuits and a generous spoon full of hashbrown casserole onto her plate. Without looking, she also stabbed her fork onto my plate to steel a bit of my own hashbrowns, shooting me a grin as she stuffed them in her mouth. Her vengeance at me for coming down early satisfied she started digging in.

I snickered at that but got back to eating myself. I finished up in not too much time and leaned back, satisfied. Amelia handed me a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice that smelled so good I physically couldn't turn it down so I sipped on that as I relaxed while Callie finished eating. As she are, I pieced out my vote for where we spent our day. She'd picked yesterday so I didn't think she'd mind a suggestion. Besides, I think she was as excited as I was to see what ability Maria ended up with.