I made a cheesecloth to wring out the pulp after Amelia rinsed it off with her conjured water. "Okay, I think we've gotten everything we can out of this." I toss the bag of pulp into storage to decompose later. "From here it's pretty much just like making cheese making."

I add the vinegar and stir it up watching as the liquid clumps together. "From here it needs to set for a bit, then it's usually rolled out, dried, and then cured for later processing. But, it can be used as-is, by rolling it into bouncy balls, pressing it into molds, or coating fabric to make it water-proof."

"It bounces?" Amelia asks while poking at the mixture with the stirring stick.

"Bounces and stretches, but it can easily be stretched too far, and there's a few other issues too. That's where the sulfur and other additives come in, though." I explain. "Once it's been treated, then the rubber won't get sticky in the heat or brittle in the cold, and lasts a lot longer too. I don't know all the recipes, but the finished products can have a lot of different properties."

"Are you sure you're not an alchemist?" She asks while rolling a bit of the goop into a ball. "If you take this to their guild, you could easily join as a member in high standing. And, that's just for this; I cant wait to see what the finished product will look like."

"Hmm? I suppose I should start thinking about my future." I admit with a sigh. "Following pretty girls around is an admirable life goal and all. But, unless I want to start selling my services, it's not going to earn me a lot of coin."

"I'd rather if you didn't do that. Please." Amelia says with a smile.

"Oh, very well." I let out a put-upon sigh. "I'll just have to find some way to make money other than selling my body."

"Oh, you poor baby, you." Amelia simpers. "Good thing you just happen to know a promising young merchant. You've already shown us half-a-dozen different ways you can make good coin. All you really need to do is decide what interests you most, and whether you want to start your own business, or partner with someone else."

"I'll pick whatever pays the most, so I can do it the least." I laugh, only half-joking. "That way, I can spend the rest of my time having fun."

"Now, that is a proper pixie-like attitude." Apricot gives me an approving nod.

"...okay." Amelia says after a moment. "I guess I can work with that. This rubber stuff is sure to make an impact, but might take a while to catch on. Your paintings should fetch a high price, but the market is somewhat limited. There's always a market for woodworking, but to make any real coin, you would need steady long term contracts. The same goes for clothing and food production, even the exotic stuff because the price will drop if you can provide it regularly."

"You've put a lot of thought into this already, haven't you?"

"Maybe..." She admits before continuing. "As for the mushroom pigments, you'd be better off partnering with an existing dye maker. They should pay well upfront for the recipes, and then would only contact you to occasionally when they needed large amounts of a certain dye. But, Riverton is a trade town, so there's no big dye makers in town."

"...okay." I parrot her earlier hesitation. "My best bet would probably be to set up some sort of partnership with an alchemist for the rubber. That would give me a long-term steady income without a lot of hassle on my end. But, in the meantime, I'll try selling some paintings for some quick coin. At least, until I see if I can reproduce chocolate. It's such an involved process that no one is likely to be able to copy it. Meaning I'll be able to set whatever price I want for the stuff."

"Is it really that good?" She seems somewhat skeptical.

"It really is." I nod, wishing I had some to share with her right now. "And, that's just the basic product; it can be crafted into so many different kinds of treats that are each better than the last."

"We've got to get to town, and get you some of those beans." Apricot says with a hungry look on her face.

"Stormie's doing the best he can." I say. "And, it's not like you're going to lack for sweets in the meantime."

"Mhm." She grumbles a bit. "Can you make those cinnamon rolls again?"

"Sure, I'll get started on the dough now, and pop it in the icebox to rise for tonight's dinner." I set the coagulating rubber aside, and pull out my baking supplies. "But, after I get this mixed up. I want to finish my bike, and then make you some cute clothes. I should be able to use the rubber to make some cute undies." Sexy lingerie is great, but I've always been a sucker for some cute cotton panties.

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"Umm..." The pixie gives me a weird look. "I neither need nor want water-proof underwear."

"Hah!" I bark out a laugh. "It's stretchy, so you put in the waistband, silly. Actually, I'm going to make them from knit cotton, so the whole thing will be a bit stretchy, and should really show off your tush."

"Like that one pair that Amelia keeps wearing for you?" Apricot's talking about these cute side-tie panties that are made from linen, and really do look nice on Amelia. She also has a few pairs of what are basically drawstring tap pants, which aren't half bad looking either.

"Only more form-fitting." I agree while Amelia blushes. "Don't worry, I'll make you some too." I'm no fashion designer, but I've looked at enough girls in their undies that I should be able to manage.

"Just build your bicycle." She huffs out, embarrassed.

"Okay, we'll talk about underwear later." I mix up the dough, knead it for a few minutes, and then set it aside to rise.

It only takes a few minutes to finish the frame, but the moving parts took a bit longer. The wheel hubs are a bit over-sized, and I had to use roller bearings instead of ball bearing, but they spin well enough.

"Now, to see if it works." I jump off the wagon and mount my new bike.

"How are you not falling over?" Amelia asks as I easily keep pace with the wagon.

"Good question?" I take my hands off the handlebar and lift them in an 'I don't know' gesture. "It takes a bit to learn how to ride, but once you get used to it, it's as easy as walking."

"I want one." Apricot demands.

"Sure, just let me put this one through its paces first." I lean forward to reduce my drag and start pouring on the speed.

The bike is heavy, and not nearly as smooth as I'm used to. But, my added strength more than makes up for it. It doesn't take long before I'm going faster than I've gone on a bike before. I feel like I could go faster, but I'm not used to riding a fixie, and the 'gear' ratio is a bit off. So, I slow down and wait for the girls to catch up.

"I definitely need to make friends with a blacksmith or, better yet, learn some earth magic." I say after hopping back up next to Amelia. "But, it worked better than I expected."

"I'll say." She nods. "I don't think Storm could run that fast, even without a rider."

"I really want one." The pixie reiterates.

"Let me make you some clothes first, that dress will get caught in the belt. And, don't say you'll just ride nude." I cut her off before she can even open her mouth. "You will fall over, likely at speed, and I'd rather you keep your skin intact when you do."

"Fine, but it better look cute."

"I'll do my best." I promise.

I start by extruding out the rubber into long strings for the waistband and use magic to dry it out. The stuff isn't as stretchy as I'd like, but it'll do until we reach Riverton and I can get my hands on some sulfur to vulcanize it properly.

While the girls are playing with the thin rubber band, I retrieve some cotton from storage and make a thick yarn from it to practice knitting. It doesn't take me long to get the hang of it again, and figure out that if I make all the loops at once with magic I can knit a whole row at a time.

It's slowing me down having to go from a row of knit to a row of purl. So, I make a test swatch into a circle and just spiral up it with the knit stitch. I'm pretty sure this is how machines do it, at least I remember seeing circular knitting machines when I googled 'how to knit faster' when mom forced me to knit my own socks.

"That's amazing." Amelia exclaims as a long tube quickly forms. "I thought watching you make the canvas was interesting, but I've never seen knitting go so fast."

"I'm glad I got all that practice making the tent." I cut the tube in half, and use some of the extra fabric to add heels and toes. "The stuff I want to make is a bit finer than what's used in socks." I hand them to Amelia since Apricot doesn't need any with her slippers. "I'll add some rib knit to the top of those later, but I want to try making something finer now."

"These are nice." She fingers the fabric. "I shouldn't be jealous, but I really am. I just never could get the hang of knitting."

"If past me could see this, he'd be jealous too. I had to learn all this by hand, and I can still remember the hand-cramps." I say while making a much finer, light-weight thread for the panties.

Once the thread is done, I make enough fabric for a couple pairs of basic bikini-cut panties. There was a bit of trouble with the elastic sticking inside the waistband, but that was solved by wrapping the rubber in a sheathe of fibers first.

"Alright, lift your dress up." Apricot takes the whole thing off. "That works." I grin down at her body before shaping the fabric to fit her perfectly.

"Ooh, those are cute." Amelia coos at her lover's new undies.

"Take off the ones you're wearing and I'll make you a pair." I hold up the extra fabric with an expectant look.

"I don't even know why she put them back on." Apricot slides her hands up under the blonde's dress and quickly relieves Amelia of her underwear.

"So, one of us could take them off of her." I answer. "Now, hold up her dress."

"Okay. Yeah, I can see why you like these." Apricot admits after I finish 'sewing' everything together.

"I know, right." I give Amelia's butt a good squeeze. "I'll make some sexier stuff later, but you two could wear nothing but these, and I'd be a very happy man."

"Ooh, these are so comfortable." Amelia runs her hands over the fabric, until she realizes what she's doing, and starts blushing. "I may have been wrong about you making a lot of coin selling clothes. I know, I'd definitely pay for these."

"Can you do bras too." I'm surprised to hear this question come from Apricot. "I always wondered why you lunkers used them, but after a few days at human size I'm beginning to understand."

"It'll be more difficult, but I should be able to manage." I slide Amelia's dress down so I can see hers, though it's more of a bralette than anything. She also has a couple of lace-up bandeaus. "Yeah, I think I can manage this." I lick my lips as her nipples start to harden.

***