"Oh my gods!" - "Marry me!" They say over each other as the first nibble melts in their mouths.

"Just wait 'til I start making some cakes with this stuff." I heft a small bag of leftover cocoa powder.

"You know, we don't need to go to this dinner. Abigail can always get Awakened at the guild. I'm sure she'll under stand... Oh, where'd it all go?" Amelia tries to cajole me as she eats bite after bite of chocolate, until it's all gone. "Apricot, sweetie. Can I have a piece of yours?" She tries looking on top of her head without jostling the pixie.

"Sorry babe, she ate it all already." The pixie is flopped on her back a look of bliss plastered on her tiny face. "Besides, we're almost there, and you don't want to ruin your appetite for dinner. Do you? I promise I'll make you as much as you want later."

"You better." She says with a pout before starting to shiver.

"You okay?" I ask worried.

"Oh, wow! Haah. Yeah." She pants. "I'm good. Woo. I think Apricot just orgasmed from the thought of eating all she wanted."

"Oh, yeah?" A wicked gleam enters my eye as I bend over and whisper to the pixie. "Just wait until I melt some down and drizzle it all over Amelia's naked body." I have to catch Amelia as her knees go weak.

"Oh fuck!" The tiny woman grunts. "You, you, you wonderful, horrible man, you." She shakes her fist at me. "We are doing that, tonight!" She orders.

"Please." Amelia adds. Before taking a deep breath to steady herself.

"Tonight, but right now we've got a dinner to get to. We're almost there, the place should be just around this corner."

We turn the corner and spot Abigail waiting on the porch of a three story, brick building. It looks almost Victorian, with large bay windows and there's even a mini-tower on one side. There's not as much decorative trim as you'd expect, and the roof isn't quite as steep, but that's about the only differences. It's set back a bit on a good sized lot, for the city that is. The yard is filled with flowering bushes and a couple low ornamental trees and bordered by a low brick wall.

"Damn, she must really be doing well for herself with those paintings, if she can afford a place like this." Amelia says under her breath as Abby spots us and starts waving. "She's more like an excitable little puppy than a kitten."

"Very excitable if what you told me is true." Apricot chuckles darkly.

"Hush, the both of you." She gives me the stink eye for my 'innocent' comment earlier. "She may be a woman, but she still acts and reacts like a kid. I don't want you two embarrassing her."

""Yes dear."" Apricot and I say at the exact same time in the exact same way causing Amelia to roll her eyes.

"You guys are here, perfect timing too." Abby rushes out to meet us at the gate. "Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Come on in. Aunt Marta, they're here." She calls out after ushering us into the house.

"I know you're excited, but there's no need to shout dear." The painter walks out from the back, drying her hands on a towel. "Welcome, welcome. Please come on back into the kitchen, the meal should be ready soon."

"Thank you, you have a lovely home.  I love all the plants in the garden." I say honestly. "Here, I didn't know what you'd be serving, so I got a small selection." I hold up a wine carrier with three bottles on it. The carrier's base is shaped and painted to resemble an artist's pallet with a large paint brush sticking up out of the middle. It's bristles flopped over to provide the handle, and three hoops attached to its sides to hold the wine in place

"Oh, thank you. It's lovely." A smile brightens her face. "Ooh, good tastes too." She adds after checking the labels.

"Oh, that's all thanks to a rather... helpful shop clerk." I say after a pause.

"Helpful? Hah! She was practically ready to jump you, even with Amelia standing right there." Apricot chimes in from her perch on Amelia's crown.

"Abigail said you had a Fae companion. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, madam pixie." Marta bows her head. "And, I think I know the place you went to. They've got a good selection there, but that girl can be a bit of a handful.  Or, at least she wants to be." Her laughter rings out to fill the kitchen.

"My apologies." Amelia speaks up as we settle down around the kitchen island. "This is Apricot. She was back at the dungeon too, but was a bit more shy of outsiders back then. Sorrel had to resort to bribing and blackmail to get her to start showing herself."

"Hey, I would’ve... sooner or later." The tiny woman says indignantly,

"And the threat of losing out on your favorite breakfasts had nothing to do with it?" Amelia counters.

"So, what's for dinner? It smells delicious." The pixie changes the subject, eliciting a laugh from Abigail.

"It's a rack of lamb, and farro salad, with hassleback beets, braised leeks, roasted carrots, and sautéed snap peas. And, a lemon blackberry cheesecake for dessert. I just had to repay you for that lovely meal at the dungeon." She says, checking the pans.

"You didn't have to go through so much trouble." Amelia states.

"No trouble at all. The lamb takes almost no time to cook, it just requires a couple hours to marinade, and Abby prepped all the vegetables for me. I can't even take credit for the dessert. Abby said she had to run around a few different stores before she could even find one. Apparently somebody bought out the stock of several confectioners." Amelia's face goes wooden at this, while Apricot and I are struggling not to laugh.

"Yeah, 'somebody' did alright." The pixie finally loses it and starts chortling at Amelia's embarrassment.

"That's it!" She finally reaches her breaking point for being teased. "Sorrel, no more chocolate for Apricot. And, wipe that smile off your face." She huffs, before slumping in her seat. "Sorry, that was me." She explains to the amused duo. "Turns out Sorrel here can practically mint his own coin, and I may have gone a little crazy with the shopping this morning." She hangs her head in shame.

"Wow, I thought I had a sweet-tooth." Abigail says under her breath.

"Don't fret, dear." Marta says after sending her niece a look. "I was the same way when I got my first big commission. And with that inventory of yours, it's not like you even have to worry about anything spoiling or going stale. Now, everything is almost ready. Why don't you go sit at the dining table through there, and I'll have Abby help me bring everything in." She ushers us into the next room.

"You're not really going to take away my chocolate are you? I'm sorry, I won't tease you anymore." Apricot pleads as soon as we sit down.

"Heh. Do all pixies has an addictive personality, or is it just you?" I ask.

"I think it's more that you just keep coming up with things for her to be addicted to." Amelia starts to lighten up. "And, no I'm not really going to cut you off from chocolate.. Not after what happened on the street earlier." She adds sotto voce.

"I guess I am pretty bad for pixies." I smile. "First my waffles, then the movies, and now chocolate. I'm sorry Apricot, you never stood a chance."

Abigail then comes in pushing a small cart full of serving dishes. Her aunt following behind with a large platter of lamb. Everything looks and smells amazing. If she hadn't gone into painting, Marta could easily have been a chef.

"Oh, that looks wonderful." Amelia coos.

"Thank you. Please help yourselves; we don't stand on any formality here, not during dinner time." Marta seats herself at the head of the table. "Go on, there's plenty enough for everybody."

"Auntie really is a great cook." Abby says, loading up her plate. "I have to ask, what is this chocolate you guys are talking about? Poor little apricot looked like she was going to die when you said she couldn't have it any more."

"Sorrel's most recent concoction." Amelia sighs out. "He takes this big pod full of weird beans and turns it into the most wondrous creation."

"Big pod... Do you mean cocoa?" Marta asks. "I know a few people who make a drink from the roasted beans, but I never liked the taste." Her nose scrunches up. "Can he really make something good from that?"

"Oh, you have no idea." Apricot adds between mouthfuls.

"He's got this process that would take weeks if he didn't use magic." Her eyes close in remembrance. "He made some for the first time on the way over here." She sighs out at the thought of it.

"I'll make some after dessert." I grin at my girls antics. "Mmm, is this the red we brought? It goes great with the lamb."

"Yes. It's one of my favorites, I always keep a few bottles around." She tops up her own glass. "I must say you have me intrigued at the idea of a new treat."

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"Just you wait." Apricot adds in.

Dinner passes quickly after that, and I go through the process of chocolate making again while we snack on the cheesecake. Amelia and Apricot are practically drooling by the time I form it up into bars.

"Ooh, I love the milk chocolate." Abby moans.

"This is so rich." Marta says around a bite of dark. "I don't know what you did to make money before, but you could bankrupt a kingdom or two by selling this."

"Seriously." Her niece concurs. "You offer this to The Queen and she'll make you a Duke on the spot."

"Hah!" Apricot laughs. "She's so happy with him; I'm surprised she didn't at least knight him already." This revelation stills our hosts' faces.

"Y-you know The Queen?" Abby squeaks out.

"Know her? He danced with her last night." She starts flying around mimicking my dance from last night.

"Apricot, I think we may need to moderate how much chocolate you get in the future. It clearly has a stronger affect on you." I say a bit embarrassed. And get even more so when she ignores me and continues to dance in the air. "Her majesty is now an Awakened with Motion Magic. Kinetomancer's, as they're called, are supposedly rare. And well, I'm an even more rare ArchMage with access to all Magic types."

"And the dance?" Marta asks eyes wide.

"Had to do with Her Majesty's type of magic, it didn't want to be Awakened while she was sitting still. A dance was the best idea I could come up with. Earned her a lovely tattoo." I conjure a copy of it to show them.

"So pretty." Abby coos

"Have you thought about where you'd like yours?" I question the girl. "We were told that the right wrist is traditional, but Amelia has hers on her back. And, mine..." I trail off and roll up my shirt sleeves to show they go past the elbows on both arms. Dark green vines full of vibrant, multi-colored flowers. "Well, they might be a special case."

"Wow." She breaths out. "I had decided to go with the wrist. Will we need to dance?" She asks trying to hide her eagerness.

"Sorry, no. I already promised Amelia that I wouldn't dance with any other women." I smile across the table as I take my love's hand in mine. "I should just be able to hold your hand and talk you through it with a bit of guided meditation."

"We should adjourn to the back yard then. I hired an Earth Mage to prepare a suitable practice area for Abby here" The girl's aunt says after giving her niece an understanding look, as though she's thinking back to her own teenage crushes.

She leads us back behind the house to discover a small walled in courtyard inside the larger yard. The ground is stone with a small pond of water in the near corner, just large and deep enough for a person to jump in without injuring themselves. Opposite the gate sits a thick walled dome with a hole in the side, presumably for Abigail to launch attacks into.

I conjure four chairs for us to sit on. Two off to the side for Marta and Amelia, plus one crashed out pixie that's sprawled in her hair. And, two facing each other for Abby and myself.

"Just sit down, close your eyes, and listen to my voice." I take the soon-to-be Fire Mage by the hand and guide her to her seat. "The sun is the greatest source of fire, and even though it's not in the sky right now, it can still be felt. Feel the heat radiating up from the stone beneath our feet. The motion of the wind as it blows across our skin. These are just two aspects of Fire." I summon dozens of flames to surround us. "Fire is life and death, creation and destruction. Fire is there on even the coldest of nights. Fire will burn in everything until the universe itself burns out." I draw the fire in and have it start dancing along her skin, drawing gasps from our observers. "Feel the heat in you. Stoke the flames. Bring it to life. Become Fire!" Her eyes fly open glowing orange, as the now familiar deafening tone of an Awakening rings out.

*DDDDDIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG*

-You have awakened Abigail Adeen!-

"Haah!" The newly Awakened Mage pants out. "There's so much." She's looking down at the flames that still surround her. "I can feel how hungry it is, but you're not letting it burn me." She twirls the flames around her fingers before spotting her new tattoo. "Aww, it's the kitty." She starts tearing up at the image of a playful fire kitten sitting on her wrist.

"I'm not holding the fire back any more, it's all you now." I smile at Abigail as her tears evaporate before they can even roll down her cheeks. "You understand the lesson I had to teach you now, yes? I'm sorry I had to scare you like that."

"No. I'm sorry, I was acting so stupid. I had no idea what it was really like." She grabs my hand as I stand up.

"It's not entirely your fault. You were almost forced into something you didn't want and weren't ready for. Your entire world got flipped upside down, then you were told you had magic but couldn't get to it yet. Your attitude was somewhat understandable." I trace the kitten on her wrist. "You know to show it the respect it deserves now. But, enough heavy stuff. Why don't you show us what you can do?" I gesture to the target opposite us.

"Thank you." Her eyes flare up as she looks down range. "Flame!" She calls out and flings her arm like she's throwing a ball. Only to have a tiny candle flame slowly drift forward before guttering out halfway there.

"Snerk!" Marta loses it.

"Auntie!" Her niece whines. "It was my first try, I can do this." She tries again, and makes it three quarters of the way there this time.

"Don't just release it, the fire needs to feed off of your magic. Send your magic with it, or pack enough in that it can last." I advise her.

"Flame!" The spark flies straight and splashes against the inside of the dome. "I did it!" She bounces up and down.

"Very good, now try lighting this log on fire." I pull some wood from my inventory and hold it in front of her.

"Easy." She laughs before casting. "Flame! Come on! Flame! Burn damn you." She focuses everything she has at before flopping into her seat, weak-kneed. "Haah. Why.. Ha.. Won't it burn?" Her voice comes out between pants.

"Is that how you light a fire? Just stick a match against a thick log and wait for it to catch?" I use my free hand to gesture from where she was attacking it, to the ragged edge. "Or do you start a small flame and let it grow?" I conjure the same candle sized flame she used, only mine catches onto the dry wood instantly. "Just because you have magic doesn't mean you can stop using your head."

"Hahaha." Her Aunt starts laughing whole-heartedly now. "Oh, thank you Abby-girl. I haven't laughed this hard in years." She says, wiping away tears from her eyes.

"Auntie." The girl tries to stay serious but her Aunt's laughter quickly infects her. "Okay, okay. Any more advice? Oh, great ArchMage Sorrel?" She does a courtly bow from her seat.

"Yes. Work on your Mana Manipulation. I've notice that most of the mages I've come across in the city seem to disregard it." I shake my head. "Not, that I'm complaining since that only served to raise the price I got for the Mana Stones I sold. But, once you get it high enough you can do things that you wouldn't think should be possible with just fire magic. Like making a glass kitten in mid air. Or." I think of something, and raise the log above my head. "Amelia, care to demonstrate?"

"Love to. Steam!" Amelia points a finger at the log and it catches fire. She then smirks and blows on her finger like a smoking gun.

"Whuh?" Abby's mouth drops open. "B-b-but s-she’s a water mage, isn't she?"

"She is. But, there's no reason Water can't be used to start a fire. Just as there's no reason Fire can't be used to do this." I suck the heat out of the log so quickly that the very flames themselves become frozen. Giving it a tap with my free hand causes the whole log to shatter into crystals. "Or Air to do this." I compress it all back together into a solid lump. "Or Earth to do this." I have that lump unfurl into a giant butterfly and flap its wings, lifting into the sky. Only to shatter into a flock of smaller butterflies, each a different species.

"I get it, I get it." She raises her hands in surrender. "I'll work on Mana Manipulation. Can you really make Mana Stones? I was talking to some people at the guild and they said you need to have Mana Control before you can do that."

I just start a fireball in my hand and will the Fire Mana to crystallize, leaving a small round stone about the size of a thumbnail. "Here, consider it an extra bit of motivation." I toss it to her and walk over to Amelia.