After a moment, I raise my hands before I raise my eyebrows saying, "Let's just keep it simple for now. I don't think marrying so soon would be a good idea regardless."

My mother crosses her arms as she says, "I like the idea of you settling down. You've been at war for 10 years. Surely you're sick of fighting by now?"

I purse my lips as thoughts scatter from my mind. The idea of fighting for my life affects me very little at this point. While we didn't fight every day during my campaigns, we fought enough and in harsh enough positions that I no longer fear battle or sleeping without a roof.

In fact, this respite with Gorge has been the longest rest I've had from combat for at least five years. The shift in my internal thoughts frightens me to a lesser extent. I've killed so many things and people for the name of the Empire that I feel numb to the idea of killing or fighting. It feels less like a way to survive and more like a way of life.

My pause drags for a moment too long, so my mother hugs my side as she says, "I didn't mean anything by it. It's fine that we get to see you and know you're safe. Just know you have a home here."

Her words snap me from my trance before I say, "It's ok mom. You don't have to worry about it. I just lost myself in thought is all."

My father says his words sniping a sharp, piercing statement as usual, 'It' the thoughts you could be thinking that worry us son."

Gorge lifts one of my baked goods before she bites into the mound of different ingredients. A look of utter shock spawns on her face before she murmurs over a full mouth, "I can't believe it. How is this decent?"

The loaded statement readjusts the atmosphere so that my parents no longer worry about my each word. The small gesture allows me to say, "Because I learned from the best."

My mother smiles for a moment before my father's stern look lessens as well. Gorge gobbles the treat with the same snapping hunger as the earlier treats before she says, "This tastes so different though. Her's is a soft, elegant mixture of flavors kept in check by the texture. Your's is like biting into a bunch of different pieces. It makes each bite different with a different texture."

My father bites into my treat before he nods his head in approval. He says with the treat fogging his words before he swallows mid sentence, "It's surprisingly good...I didn't expect you to have become so much better at cooking, though I still prefer your mothers."

The topic of the discussion bites into the food before she chews with an intense look of concentration on her face. She says after a moment of hesitation, "Mine is better, but what you have here is menu worthy once we adjust the appearance some."

I grin as I say, "I managed to compete at least, right?"

Gorge nods her head in amazement before she gulps down four of my own pastries as I say, "We can add almost anything to the top of the goods if you want some more variety. I designed the bread so that it works with just about anything sweet or salty. Spicy stuff doesn't really work with it, but I actually prefered salty seasonings on mine."

Gorge nods her head, so I pace back to the pantry before my mother whispers in a voice I can barely make out from the enhanced senses of my mutations, "Do you know about his...changes."

Gorge whispers low enough that I miss her words, but my mother replies, "Thank goodness. I thought he may have hid them from you...He seemed shy about them."

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I jerk the seasonings from the closet before they have more time to discuss me. Setting two bowls on the table, I pop the tops on several seasonings from cumin to pepper as I mix them together with a variety of oils. I create two different pastes before I grab a piece of my own bread.

After dipping the treat into my paste, I gulp down a bite before I say, "This is how I enjoyed mine the most. The taste reminds me of the times between battles."

Gorge dips her own half eaten piece into the paste before she shrugs saying, "I think I would prefer a sweeter piece, but this was better than the normal stuff."

I squint my eyes before I say, "Would you mind telling me why?"

She raises an eyebrow at me for a moment before she tilts her head saying, "It suits the bread better. I'm no food critic unfortunately."

I frown for a moment before I say while lifting my arms, "I think it's because the tangy-ness from the lemon slices causes a sort of enhancing effect on the other herbs that involve salt. It really draws out the flavor."

Gorge leans towards me  as she says, "So why are their lemons in the bread?"

I face my palms towards her as I say, "I know what you're thinking, "soldiers wouldn't be sent lemons!""  I turn my gaze as I raise a single finger, "but lemon slices provide two specific benefits. Namely, they provide plenty of vitamin c which is a very difficult to produce vitamin from biomancing while each slice itself can be used for seasoning purposes. They really boost the soldier's moral when you've been eating plain rice for the last week."

My mother chimes, "I can see why you're both dating. You really complement each other."

I roll my eyes before Gorge  lays her hand on her chin saying, "He does have a habit of explaining stuff I haven't seen from my village. It's always an adventure as well."

I frown before I say, "Speaking of adventures, how about you go play with Micheal Allure. I'm sure he'd be thrilled for company."

She grins with a teasing glance as she says, "Oh, I don't know if he would want to play with a stranger."

I retort with my own snarky grin while saying, "I'm sure if you don't talk much it'll be fine."

My father suppresses his laughter for a moment before a far more genuine smile grows on Gorge's lips as she says, "I suppose I could offer him some company. I won't be gone to long however."

She winks at me during the last statement, so I frown as I say, "I'll try to make the most of it."

She saunters off before she enters the side room where she puts on a hyper happy face as she says, "Hey there Micheal. My name's Allure. Would you like to play?"

The door closes at her last statement, so I turn towards my mother and father saying, "I need to talk about something important before she comes back."

My father shakes his head as he says, "I can't believe it. I guess girls really do melt for a man in a uniform."

My mother elbows his side before she scrambles from his trance as I snap, "It took a little more than just a uniform to woo someone like her."

My mother glances upwards as she says, "So what's the matter? I thought we were done with serious talk for now."

I bite my lip for a moment before I look around saying, "I should go ahead and handle this early. What would you do if I told you I could find a way to not just stop The Fog, but make it our allies?"