Two hours later, I wake up, relaxed and refreshed. The previous night had been mildly uncomfortable, what with sleeping in a tree and all. I can easily see the room in the dim light. Lillith has managed to kick off her blankets, and one of them is wrapped between her legs. I silently step over to her, check her heartbeat with a hand just barely brushing her neck, then leave softly. Once the door is shut, I accelerate myself and steel my body for a long, fast run. As I run, I remember the thought that had flitted through my head of how easy it would be to sink my teeth into fresh, sapient blood, and shudder. ‘I cannot do that, I promised her that she would be safe with me. Alastor, remind me of the promise I made if I ever get too close to breaking it, ok?’

‘Understood, master, I will assist in keeping the promise.’ I notice that he is more somber than normal, perhaps he too is troubled by it.

My thoughts eventually turn to more pleasant things, like her sitting next to me on the rock after swimming, and playing with the lights at bed, and I settle into a long run.

‘Funny, I never used to like running, yet this feels like I could run for hours.’ I run around the lake in ever widening circles until I notice the sun brightening the sky gently, at which point I run home, catching an animal for blood on the way. When I get to the cabin I sit on the rock, waiting for the girls to get out of the one room area. After a half hour, I start debating going inside anyways. When Lillith walks out, she’s wearing a light blue crop top and jeans again. She yawns, sees me and waves, then walks back inside. A minute passes and she comes back out, holding a plate of scrambled eggs. She walks over and sits beside me.

“Good morning.” She says.

“Good morning.” I smile at her.

“Umm, is it ok if I eat near you?” She asks. “I don’t want to be rude or anything.”

“It’s alright by me, it smells good, but it doesn’t make me hungry.” She considers this and nods.

“So, could you eat real food if you wanted to?” She asks after swallowing a bite or two.

“I can, it just doesn’t fill me up at all, my body has no use for it.”

“That makes sense. Do you want some then? It’s not like it costs me anything to make.” She says, somewhat shyly.

“Thanks, but I’m good for now, found an animal on my run.” I smile at her again. She smiles back, then takes another bite of her eggs.

“They have syrup on them.” She comments. I grin.

“How was your rest? I hope I didn’t disturb you when I got up for my run.” I say. She pauses, chewing, then shakes her head and swallows.

“I never saw you, nope. You were fine.” She says. “I slept well. So did Twila. I think she’s up now, but I don’t know. It might be a while.” She hesitates. “Umm… so, when you bond with my mind, can you hear everything all the time? Or just what I tell you, like when I talk to Alastor?” I hear the when instead of the if in her question and get a small thrill down my spine.

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“Just what you choose to tell me, and you’ll just hear from me what I choose to send you. As a side note, with this connection, I will be able to see through your eyes. I will ask before doing so, however.” Lillith nods.

“Then, I think I’m ready, if you still want to do it.” She says.

“Okay, please turn to face me, take my hands and look at me.” A shudder washes over both of us as our minds are psychically linked.

I let go of her hand, ‘Feel alright?’ I ask silently. Lillith nods, then I can hear her voice in my mind.

‘A little strange, but I guess I’ll get used to it.’ She thinks at me.

I nod, ‘What do you want to do today? I want to train with my more combat based powers. And maybe start picking up enchanting.’

‘Sounds good.’ She replies. ‘Do you want to train together? And how?’ Her knee bumps mine as she sets her plate aside.

“Might as well,” I say out loud, “Just start shooting bolts at each other?” She blinks.

“Umm… I suppose that would work?” She says.

“I’m limited to arcane bolts, elemental, and space magic. I do have a few shields on me, and a really tough body, so I can tank a few hits from you.” I say.

“My powers aren’t really for combat, but I can improvise them. I’m pretty good for healing and protecting though.” She says, biting her lip. “I have elemental powers and that's pretty much it for hitting things. I can change gravity and make shields and light and illusions though. I think. Once I practice more I can do illusions. Last night was about as complicated as I get. But I can take a lot of damage in a short time.”

“Okay, well, in that case, I want to focus on enchanting then.”

I sit and think about what I want to work towards for a bit. “I want to make a sword, one that hides as a medallion when not in use.” I tell her. She tilts her head.

“Where did you get that idea?” She asks.

“Have you seen any of the Transformers movies?” I ask. “Well, in one of them, the main character gets a medallion that can crawl around his body and transforms into a sword when he needs it.” Lillith nods.

“Cool.” She says. “So... How do you make that?”

“Well, it should be a matter of infusing a chunk of metal, presumably with runes, with a significant amount of magic, it will need to be able to hold the medallion shape, be able to move around me, and sense when I need it in its true form.”

Lillith nods at that, then turns to look behind her, seeming to hear something. I turn to follow her gaze and see Twila behind us at the cabin. I wave at her, and turn back to ponder the question. I hear Lillith snort and see her turn forwards again.

“It should be a magitech item, and therefore arcanomancy should be able to build and power it.” I muse. ‘I’ll be right back, I’m gonna make Twila some food.’ Lillith thinks as she stands, grabs her plate, and walks away, her wings glimmering as one brushes me. I almost don’t notice her leaving, as I pondered the question deeply. I start with pulling up all data on the best sword materials that I snagged back on Earth, and choose an alloy that my AI helps me calculate out. With that knowledge, I create a 10-pound sword, shaping it as I like, knowing I cannot adjust it once the magic is applied.

I hear a shriek and some giggles from the cabin, then Twila and Lillith walk back out.

“That’s a big sword.” Lillith says, biting her lip.

“It is, but I can handle it.” I stand up and step away, starting to work through some cuts and slices, adjusting the weight until it feels perfect.

“Oh, I believe it.” Twila says, nudging Lillith, presumably to watch me. I glance up to see Lillith roll her eyes, but watch me all the same. I ignore them for the moment, focusing on getting the sword just right.