"You wanted to practice your archery right?" I ask Apricot once we get settled into the clearing. "Give me a few minutes, and I'll set up some targets for us."

"Oh, yeah." She bobs her head with a happy smile on her face. "Thanks for reminding me." She takes out her bow and gives it a test draw. "Nng, slight problem."

I turn around to see that this outfit lifts her up a bit more than her first dress did, meaning her left breast is now in the way of the bowstring.

"One sec, and I'll make you a chest guard." I'm already weaving together a thick, roughly triangular pad to protect the left side of her chest. "I should give you an arm guard too." They both get reinforced with a top layer of compressed wood.

"Much better, thank you." She does a couple of test shots to get used to it.

"Well, I can't have anything happen to those gorgeous breasts of yours." I give the unpadded one a quick caress before dancing off to set up the targets.

I'm not worried about destroying arrows, so I just make basic wooden targets for us. The woods are less dense here, but I can make stands as easily as targets. They get set up every ten meters out to the hundred-twenty meter mark. This would normally be a crazy distance for me, but it's one I feel I can hit now.

Apricot waits for me to get out of the way before firing at the thirty-meter target. Her shot goes a bit wide, but she at least hit the edge, if only by a centimeter.

"Uh, any chance I could have a go?" Roddy asks a bit sheepishly.

"Yeah, just let me make you a bow... You don't need a boob guard too do you?" I chuckle.

"No, but a bracer would be nice." He shakes his head.

I size a longbow for him, along with a quiver to hang from his belt, and a large bundle of arrows to fill it. "You want one too?" I ask Amelia.

"No, I'm happy to just watch my brother make a fool of himself." She has to bite back a laugh as the brother in question just missed the ten-meter target.

"Shut up." He grouses and lines up another shot, but his form is garbage.

"Hold up." I walk over and force him to stand and hold the bow properly. "You're jerking the string too much when you release. Just let it slip off your fingers." I stand opposite him, and fire with my offhand to demonstrate.

"Gah!" He shakes his fingers out after loosing an arrow, but at least he hit the target this time. "Can I get some of those bead things Apricot has?" I add some and he tries a test fire. "That's much better, thank you."

"Did you have to help him out?" Amelia whines half-heartedly. "I wanted to see how many times he would miss."

"Oh, be nice to your brother." I say before leaning in close and so only she can hear me. "He's still really bad. I mean, my little sister did better the first time she picked up a bow, and she wasn't even ten yet."

While she's failing to hold back her giggle, I plaster an innocent smile on my face and walk over to take aim at the seventy-meter target. It's the standard Olympic distance, and what I used to practice on, but now I'm using it to warm up.

My first shot is a little high and to the right, but the next two hit right outside the bull’s-eye on opposite sides. The fourth and fifth hit inside, but the sixth goes dead center. Smiling at that, I move on to the next target and slowly, but steadily increase my accuracy at longer and longer distances.

"I give up." Roddy throws in the towel after failing to hit the thirty-meter target for the umpteenth time. "I don't think I'm cut out to be an archer."

"Normally, I'd say it just takes practice, but... yeah that's probably for the best." Even Apricot has a decent grouping on the fifty and has no trouble at least hitting the sixty. But, aside from one lucky shot, he hasn't been able to touch the thirty.

"Oh, Roddy, it's alright." Amelia grins. "You can always get Ashley to protect you."

"Oh, shut up." He huffs. "And, gimme your book. You're not even reading it, you just keep staring at them." Rodrick snatches it from his sister's hands. "Wait, you stole this from Aunt Carmen, didn't you? Hahahah." He laughs at her embarrassed look.

"I think I'm done too." Apricot says while clutching her hand. "My fingers are starting to cramp."

"Let me see." I take her hand and start massaging the meat of her palm. "Here, open your mouth." I produce some healing sap on the tip of my finger and stick it between her waiting lips. "Now, be a good girl and drink it all up. Hahahah." I bust up laughing when Roddy blushes a deep crimson and rushes off back to camp.

"That was mean." Amelia says between giggles. "I approve." Temmie even throws in an amused *Ding* as sort of an auditory thumbs up.

"Alright, let's go collect the arrows." I pull my finger from the pixie's mouth with a 'pop'. "Then I should get started on dinner while we still have the light."

"Mmm, you are so sweet." Apricot licks her lips. "I'm going to suck you dry tonight."

"I'll look forward to it, but you still have to pick up your arrows." I turn her around and pat her on the butt to get her moving in the right direction.

"You are such a tease." She growls and stalks over to the target, her hips swaying seductively.

"Nnh." I have to force myself to look away when she bends over to pick up an arrow, and shows off that she never put her panties back on. "Oh gods, that woman is sex incarnate. Do you think your brother will come looking for us if we disappear for a few hours?"

"I wish I could say no." Amelia's eyes are locked on her lover's hips. "But, maybe a quickie farther off into the woods?" She barely has enough time to finish her sentence before I lift her into my arms and dash off into the woods, aiming for a more tightly packed copse of tree a few hundred meters away.

...

"Took you long enough." Rodrick says without looking up from the book.

"Well, you know what they say..." The smile can be heard in my voice. "Practice makes perfect."

"And, Sorrel didn't want to stop until he hit his target." Apricot adds with a shit-eating grin. Meanwhile, poor Amelia is blushing a bright, cherry red.

"Okay." Her brother replies distractedly. "Just let me finish this chapter, and I'll take care of that rabbit for you." Amelia has to clamp her hands on our mouth to keep us from laughing at his cluelessness.

"That's alright, I'll take care of it." There's not enough time to drain it properly, so I'll need to use magic to get rid of the blood anyways.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Sorrel." Amelia says my name with a laugh. "You really need to quit hunting small game with that bow of yours." The bunny’s head is pretty much just gone.

"Well, if you see some elephants around here, you can point me in their direction." I cast cleanse on the insides of the rabbit to take care of the blood and bowels before skinning and gutting it.

"I thought you didn't know how to do that." Apricot says with a scrunched up nose.

"I didn't say that." I counter. "I said I didn't like to because it's gross." It really, really is. Especially if you don't have magic to clear away the blood and poop.

"Yeah, I see why mom always made dad take care of this part back when they were running a caravan." Amelia's and Apricot's faces clear up when I magic away the gross parts.

"Just think about the pecan Sandies I'm going to make for dessert." I tell her while getting the meat ready to brown.

"You know, you don't have to make pecan everything just for me." She smiles at me.

"Heheh." I smile back at her. "Don't worry, I was planning to make a few other kinds too."

Once the meat is done browning, I add boiling water and set it to simmer. While that's doing its thing, I grow all the nuts I'll need for the various cookies. Wishing the whole time that I had a proper fully stocked kitchen. I know how to make do without a lot, but some of my favorite treats are locked behind ingredients that I just don't have.

"The first thing I need to do when I find a good-sized lot is to start a freaking orchard." I've got dozens of miniature nut and fruit trees growing in wooden pots. "That or make one giant Franken-tree."

"Franken?" Amelia tilts her head to one side.

"Oh, yeah. You wouldn't have heard of that story." I look up from picking some actual apricots to use for jam in some thumbprint cookies. "It's a very famous horror novel where I'm from. In it, a Doctor Frankenstein creates a monster by stitching together various body parts in an attempt to create life."

"Couldn't he just go knock someone up." Apricot laughs.

"He probably should have." I chuckle along with her. "Because, despite his creation being intelligent, the doctor becomes filled with revulsion and soon remorse after creating it. The monster, shunned by its creator, wanders off and eventually finds and murders Frankenstein’s brother. And, all this is just the opening, there's a whole thing where the moster -who is never named, by the way- tracks his creator down and asks for a mate, and that ends about as well as you'd expect."

"Nnh, that sounds like such a good book." Amelia whines. "I wish I could read it."

"Hmm." I hesitate for a moment; I have the book in my head thanks to VeeGee and would love to share it with her. That, and I do need to tell them about my origins, but now is just not the right time. 'Fuck it!' I quickly decide to try translating it for her. "I know the story pretty well; it may take some doing, but I might be able to write it down for you."

"Oh, please, please, please, please." She begs.

"I'll do my best, but it might take a while." She still lights up at my words. "And, I should warn you the prose tends towards the flowery side." Now there's an understatement. "So, even though it's a great story, you might find it a bit of a slog to get through."

"It can't be worse than this." Roddy says after finally closing his book. "It's engaging, but I wish I could just shake the author and tell them to get to the damned point."

"It gets better around the middle." Amelia tells him and snatches up one of the first cookies to finish baking. "But, the last few pages are a real slog, as Sorrel put it."

"Do I need to bring out the donut cage again?" I grumble because the three of them have nearly devoured the first batch of cookies.

"Sorry, Babe." Amelia's shy smile is highlighted by the cookie crumbs clinging to her lips.

"Here, just take this batch and let me cook in peace." I dump a couple dozen snickerdoodles that just finished cooking into a large bowl and hand it to the sweets obsessed blonde.

I'm able to finish the rest of the cookies in peace after that. Well, peaceful if you don't count the predatory looks the girls kept sending in my direction, or should I say the cookie's direction.

"Here." I say after a few minutes. "Eat your rabbit, then you can make yourself sick on cookies"

"Hehehe." Apricot giggles. "Amelia's already learned the trick to turn food into magic, so we don't have to worry about that."

"Wait, my sister can eat all the sweets she wants now?" Roddy blinks at her before turning to me with a commiserating look on his face. "Oh, you poor bastard, she's never going to let you leave the kitchen."

"Shut up!" She hits him hard enough to make him wince. "I'm not that bad."

"Whatever you say, Amy." He dances out of the way before she can smack him again.

"Nng." She glares at him, right up until she takes her first bite, then the food gets all of her attention.

"So, we'll be reaching the city tomorrow." I speak up after a moment. "Is there anything I should know beforehand?"

"Not really." Amelia shrugs. "Riverton is a trade city, so it's a pretty eclectic place. I would warn about pick-pockets, but they can't get into storage."

"The docks can be a bit rough after dark, but as long as you don't go walking down any dark alleys you should be fine." Her brother adds. "Oh, and since it's on the river, the sewer slimes tend towards the large size, but they haven't eaten anyone in ages." I'm not sure if he's joking or not.

"Basic city rules, then?" I nod my head. "Watch your wallet, and avoid the rougher areas... including the sewers. Which is such a shame, I was really looking forward to checking them out too."

"Hah!" Apricot finds my sarcasm hilarious for some reason.

"Any recommendations for an inn while I'm getting situated?" Even if her parents were cool with letting me stay with her, it would just be too awkward for me. "And, speaking of. Who should I speak to about finding some land? Are there housing agents, or what?"

"Inside the walls, yes." She nods. "But, if you want a farm, you'll probably have to speak to the farmers themselves. As for inns... Briar's may not be the best, but it's close to our house, and I should be able to get you a discount."

"You mean you're not just going to drag him home like a stray cat." Amelia's brother teases her. "I'm pretty sure he won't pee on your bed like the last one that 'followed you home'."

I can see that Apricot is just dying to make a dirty joke about that. So, I pull out a handful of thumbprint cookies to distract her. And, I swear I hear the echo of a *boo* coming from Temmie when I do.

"Roddy." Amelia growls out his name in warning.

"Alright, alright." Her brother raises his hands in surrender. "I'm just teasing. Mom and dad are pretty relaxed, but I don't think anyone is relaxed enough to let a strange man stay in their daughter's room."

"Do you think they'd be okay with a strange pixie?" I smile at the orange-haired glutton when she pauses mid-chew to look at me. "I'd feel bad about monopolizing Apricot."

"I don't want us to be apart either, but I'm not going to let you sleep alone." My pixie stares me straight in the eyes. "Not with your nightmares." I feel a bit of magic around mine and Amelia's ears, letting me know that that last sentence was just for us.

"I wish we could all just stay at the inn together." Amelia groans. "But, after what happened, I just know mom is not going to let me and Roddy out of her sight."

"Ugh. Don't remind me." This time it's her brother's turn to groan. "She was bad enough last time we had to go take care of aunt Carmen, but after us getting attacked. Nnh, she's going to smother us."

"We'll work something out." Apricot reaches over my lap to take Amelia's hand. "I know. We can just play up how badly your brother was injured, so you'll be free to spend the days with us."

"Don't you dare!" He glares at the tempted look on his sister's face.

"No need to sacrifice your brother." I laugh. "I'm sure everything will work out... But, I'm not above bribing my way into her good graces. Maybe she'd like a portrait of the two of you?"

"Hmm?" Rodrick strokes his chin as he thinks it over. "I don't know if that would work, but it certainly won't hurt."

"That is a kind of a good idea." Amelia nods. "But, you need to make Roddy some new clothes first. He's more of a wrinkled mess than usual."

"Oh, yeah." I smack myself lightly on the forehead. "Sorry man, but between the guitar and the archery I just completely forgot about that. I should have enough magic in me right now for at least one outfit, but I can do more in the morning."

"Oh. Well, if you could remake these pants, and I'd like one of your shirts." He pauses for a second. "But, maybe with long sleeves."

"I can do that." I take out my painting supplies and draw up a shirt for him. "How about something like this? It's called a Henley, no idea where the name comes from though."

"Yeah, that's not bad." He nods. "I like that light grey too."

I nibble on some cookies while knitting and weaving his clothes. The girls chat about our plans after we reach the city, though it's mostly just Amelia telling Apricot about all the best restaurants and bakeries that she wants to take us to.

I finish up the shirt first, and he quickly changes into it. Amelia then pulls him closer to the fire to get a better look. She tries to comb his hair only to be shooed away by Roddy, who snatches up the comb and does it himself.

The amused smile on her face and the faux-annoyed look on his as she fixes a loose strand of hair has me put down the weaving and take up the 'paints' to capture the scene. The two of them are sitting side by side on a log, lit by the firelight. Amelia turned toward Rodrick as she reaches up to fix his hair.

"Oh, that's a good one." Apricot compliments the picture. "Amelia, do you think your mom will like this one?"

"Hah! She'll love it." She smiles at her brother. "He caught your expression perfectly, Roddy." She shows the picture to him, but he just rolls his eyes.

"It's fine, but she'll probably want a proper portrait too."

"That's fine, but it'll have to wait until morning. I've barely got enough juice left to finish your outfit."

***