After we finish the whole pan, I turn to start tidying up the yard. As much as I like having them around, most of the trees need to go. I like having all the variety of fruit and nuts at hand though, so I decide that it is finally time for the Franken-trees to rise.

First off, all of the citrus fruits get a tree of their own, as do all of the pomes like apple and pear. I plan to cultivate some more of these by growing out the seeds, but the double handful of varieties I have will suffice for now.

The stone fruits all go together on a third tree and their 'nutty' cousins like walnuts and cashews on the fourth. The few true nuts I have all go together on a fifth tree. All five of them -and one cocoa tree for Apricot- get planted in front of the house before being grown to a respectable height.

Berry bushes and grape vines start growing around and in between all of them. I had thought to graft these all together as well, forcing the resulting bushes to grow into trees. But, I thought this would look better than just some trees standing on their own.

"How did you do that?" Willow asks while staring in wonder at all the different fruits growing on just a handful of trees.

"Magic helped speed things up." I reply with a smile. "But, anyone can do the same if they're patient and know what they're doing. Well, for most of these at least. I did have to cheat a little with a couple of the stone fruits and pretty much this whole tree." I point to the tree full of true nuts. "But as long as the trees are related they can usually be grafted together."

"Will it work with other plants?" William wandered over while the trees were growing.

"Yes, but it's mostly just used to add a high fruiting or sometimes disease-resistant top to hardier rootstock of the same species. That, or to collect the different cultivars of a flower on one bush, I've seen several rose bushes like that." I explain. "The only food stocks I know of that are commonly grafted together are the tomato and potato plants. And, even then it's more just so the person can say they did it than because it's a good idea."

"Or, at least that's why you did it." Apricot guess hit home.

"Maybe." I stick my tongue out at her. "Back before I got into magic, I tried getting several peppers and eggplant to work on the same plant too. But, I only got one of the peppers to take, and the harvest of everything was pretty poor."

"You are such a goof." She sticks her tongue right back out at me.

"I know." I just smile. "Now, I should probably set the exercise equipment up as far from the shop as possible." My smile turns into a glare for the pixie when she laughs at me.

"What am I missing?" William asks his wife, who also has a rather amused look on her face.

"Melanie's new apprentice was rather interested in watching Sorrel swim earlier." She lets out a soft chuckle for my embarrassment.

"Oh, really?" He cocks an eyebrow. "You know, that reminds me of a certain farmer's daughter who used to spend a lot of time at the riverside herself." Sophie blushes slightly at his words.

"Eww, no mushy stuff." Willow whines with a scrunched up face when William embraces his wife.

"So, how do you girls like your new playhouse?" I change the subject. "Apricot is so jealous that she wants me to build something like it for her too."

"It's the best!" Myra declares loudly. "I love the slide."

"The swing is better." Willow interjects, almost as loud.

"Nuh-uh." Her sister shakes her head. "You just say that cause you can go higher than me."

"Oh, it's a shame you two can't get along." I hang my head and put on a disappointed face. "I was thinking about adding something else for you to climb on, but now I'm afraid you'll just fight about it."

Their parents' amusement is clear when the girls instantly stop bickering. "We'll be good. Right, Myra?" Willow prompts her sister.

"We won't fight. I promise." The little thing is practically tearing up at the thought of missing out. "Please, Uncle Sorrel."

"Heheheh. Alright, alright. You win." I hold my hands up in surrender. "But, the workout equipment will be over there too, so if I build this for you, then you have to promise not to play with any of that stuff. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes." - "Uh-huh." Both of their heads bob up and down in agreement.

We all walk over to that side of the farm, where I toss out a few tree seeds in a wide circle. These grow up and in, slowly weaving together to form a two-meter tall, half-dome jungle gym. I paid special attention to make the bark smooth but tough enough for rambunctious children to climb on.

"I'm not done yet." I have to hold the girls back from charging into it. "Just let me add a little hammock net inside first." A bundle of linen fibers swiftly forms itself into a tightly woven net stretched a half-meter off the ground all across the inside.

Once given the go-ahead, Willow climbs straight to the top where the trunks all weave together into a single tree that goes straight up for another two meters before branching out into a canopy to shade the jungle gym from the summer sun.

"Wee, it's so bouncy." Myra, on the other hand, headed for the netting and started bouncing up and down in the middle.

"Oh, my." Sophie shakes her head with a rueful smile. "All their little friends are going to be even more jealous."

"Oh, they're welcome to come play." I offer. "Just so long as they stay out of the alchemy lab, that is. I'm going to start looking for a new location starting tomorrow, but then I have to help at the healing fair the day after. And, who knows what properties are available, so it might take a while."

"You don't have to move it on our account." William says. "We spoke with Melanie and she told us how committed you are to safety. I mean look, you even added that net and the thick carpet of clover all around."

"Heheheh, he is a bit of a softie." Apricot teases me.

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"I was responsible for watching my sister most of the time when we were younger." I shrug my shoulders. "She had more energy in her than even these two. She never really got hurt, but I still learned quickly to prevent accidents before they could happen."

"You big softie." She wraps her arms around my waist.

While the girls play on their new jungle gym, I set up my actual gym. The climbing wall/stairs got scrapped not just because of its size. The morning runs are more than enough for my legs and if I feel like climbing, I'll just scale the oaks. After everything is where I want it, I add a privacy hedge around the are, just in case.

"Now, what should I do with the archery range?" The firing line is set right outside of the lab. "I guess I could make floating targets."

"Or, you could not worry so much about a thirteen-year-old girl." Apricot pokes me in the side. It's not like she's going to jump you, or anything.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I say while rubbing the spot she poked. "But, I'm still counting on you to protect me when I practice. Which I was hoping to do now."

"Fine, but you have to make me a crossbow." She counters. "Since you're too afraid to give me a proper ballista."

"Hah!" I snort out a laugh. "Alright, but it'll take me a bit to make one, I've only seen the ones my archery teacher had in his collection. He only let me fire one of them, and even then it was only in my hands a few times."

"As long as you're working on it." She nods.

I bring out a chunk of hickory and start compressing it down to form the staves, stirrup, and the latch mechanism. These parts are typically made from metal, but I already know that magically modified wood can handle the forces involved.

"I really need to talk to Ed about metalworking." I comment while testing the bow limbs for strength. "And, oh man. I wonder if I could make a compound bow. Our teacher never even let us touch his, but it's a simple enough design. I just need some bearings that are good enough to work in the cams."

"That's great, but please focus on this for now." Apricot rolls her eyes, already used to how I tend to get lost in an idea.

"Yes, Dear." I stick my tongue out at her while making the rest of the bow out of plain hickory to keep the weight down. "But, if I can figure that out, then I could make you a compound crossbow that would make this one look like a children's toy."

And, that's saying something, especially when you consider the fact that the crossbow I'm making for her will have as much power behind it as Bowthorne.

"Cool." She slowly nods her head. "Just, uh... one question. What is a compound bow?"

"Imagine a bow, but the string is attached to a pulley system." I draw her a quick sketch of a round cam. "See, when you pull back this string on the outside, this one on the inside uses the mechanical advantage to draw the staves closer. You get a lot more power for a lot less draw weight."

"Well, I understood more power." She chuckles. "So, yes, please."

"And, speaking of pulleys. I need to make a few for the windlass." I start doing just that, basing the design on the one I used before. "Alright... Now, could you please step back while I see if this thing is going to shatter or not."

"If it will make you happy." She sighs and rolls her eyes. "But, you really are a worrywart sometimes."

"I know, but better safe than sorry." I wait until she moves back before winding back the string. "It looks fine so far, just let me fire a couple of test shots."

I cut one of my regular arrows short enough to fit the crossbow and take aim at the target fifty meters from here. My aim sucks, but the power is definitely there and the bow seems to handle the force without a problem. It only takes me two more shots to actually hit the target.

"Why did you even make that thing if you can just cock it by hand?" Apricot smirks.

"Heheheh." I can't help but chuckle. "It's your crossbow, Sweetie. If you want a good cock, you'll just have to use your own hands. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to defy gravity."

Grabbing a chunk of the climbing wall out of storage, I secure it strongly to the ground before lifting one foot to it. And, then I lift the other and slowly shuffle upwards until my head is on the same level as an incredulous pixie.

"What on earth are you doing?" She asks in-between laughs when I shift Blackthorne into bow mode.

"I need to exercise anyways, and I figured this would be an excellent workout for my core." My lower legs are held tight by the wood of the wall, but only up to my knees. Keeping myself perpendicular to the vertical wall is taking the use of damn near every muscle I have. "Now, let's see if I can adjust to arrows falling left instead of down."

"You are so fucking weird." My pixie starts laughing so hard that she ends up falling on her ass. "Oh, gods. Amelia's friends are staring at her because she just started cracking up for no reason. How long can you stay up there for, she wants to bring them to see this, says they'll never believe her otherwise."

"It's a lot more work than I thought it would be." I hedge, not wanting to be put on show. "But, I guess I can manage for a while, at least until I get used to shooting like this."

"Good enough." She nods. "They're on their way."

"Yay." I deadpan and try to focus on my shooting.

"Uh, Sorrel." Apricot says in a soft voice a few minutes later. "I kinda messed up the pulleys." Looking over, I see a completely tangled mess that used to be a perfectly functional windlass.

"Hahaha. Just give me your crossbow, I'll cock it for you." I shift my bow to my vines for the few seconds it takes to load her weapon. "I should probably switch sides too; now that I'm finally starting to hit my targets."

I will the wood of the wall to rotate me so that I'm now facing the ground instead of the sky. Then, taking the bow up in my offhand, I sight on the target and just barely manage to hit the edge of it on my first try.

"I kinda hate that you're better like that than I am with this." Apricot huffs and hands me the crossbow again.

"You'll get there." I hand it back and pat her on the head. "This isn't all that hard once you get used to it, but you're trying to learn a brand new weapon. One that looks to be a bit heavy for you." I say when I see just how wobbly her arms are. "Sorry, I tried to keep the weight down as much as possible. Why don't you try using a stand?"

"Well, that's a little better." She says after resting the end of the weapon on the tripod I just made for her. "Hah, I hit it."

"Good job." I ready the weapon for Apricot again and we go on like that for a while, her taking a single shot for every two of mine. "Hold on a moment, I need a quick break. The muscles of my back are at their limit." The wood holding onto me flows until I get deposited upright on the ground, which now feels weird after being horizontal for so long.

"Are you alright?" She drops the thankfully unloaded crossbow and rushes over when I wobble a little.

"I'm okay, just a little disoriented." I pull her into a hug and hold her until the world settles down. "I want to say it's like getting out of bed too fast, but I wasn't lightheaded, just seeing things crookedly."

"You goof." She says that, but gladly sinks into the hug. "So, how long before you can climb back up? Amelia will be here with her friends in a few minutes."

"Just let me down a smoothie real quick, refreshing the muscles when they're held taut like that is a real pain." I bring one out of storage and start gulping it down. "That and I want to move the wall. It's time to work on my other side, but I need to practice with my offhand more."

"How much do you want to bet that the guards are going to want to try this for themselves tomorrow?" She laughs while the wall moves itself to the new location.

"I guess that depends on whether Derby was paying attention or not." A quick cast of Farsight shows him on duty, but looking particularly bored. At least until a carriage full of beautiful women rolls up to the gate. "Damn, you didn't say all of her friends were hot."

"I know, right?" Apricot practically pants while staring at the projection. "Don't let her know I told you, but she's made out with that redhead beastkin before. And, she used to fantasize about the elf all the time before we met her. She's already said no to asking them to join us for a night, even if you weren't being punished. Said it got a little weird for a while after she and Lianna made out and doesn't want to ruin their friendships."

"Oh, you never fuck your girl's friends, that never ends well." I shake my head and drop the spell... after getting one last good look at them.

"Nnh. I know, but did you see them?" The pixie gives herself a shake. "Stupid lunkers and your stupid sexual hang-ups."

"Aww, don't worry, Apricot." I take her hand and we walk forward to wait for them. "Just think about all the fun you're going to have 'punishing' me later."

"In that case, you'd better make sure to save some stamina." She growls before morphing her face into a smile when the carriage rolls up. "You're going to need it."