I let Melanie's laughter chase us out of the workshop. "Oops, I kinda forgot that Cat was there."

"Does someone have a crush?" Helen asks in a sing-song voice.

"She saw me in my undies earlier." Their eyes all widen when I say that. "I had to dive into the river to collect some stone and she was watching when I got out. Cat ran off before we even noticed her, but Willow saw and asked us why she turned all red before fleeing."

"Heheheheh. Oh, that poor girl." Helen chuckles with a twinkle in her eye.

"I'm letting Melanie deal with her, but the sooner I move the lab, the better." I sigh. "Especially after that show. And, speaking of shows, I think it's just about time for another round of Sorrel's Archery Extravaganza."

I step up next to the wall I was using earlier and will it to grab onto my feet before lifting me and turning me about until I'm perpendicular to the women. Holding out a hand, Bowthorne hops up into it and we twirl around with a wink at Amelia. Taking just a moment to reacclimatize to this angle before launching shots at the targets, starting at fifty meters and walking out with each consecutive shot until I'm at max range where I finally miss thanks to a sudden gust of wind.

"When did you start practicing air magic?" I accuse Amelia with a smile on my face.

"Quit showing off in front of my friends." She sticks her tongue out at me.

"I thought you brought them here so I could show off." I smirk before hooking her with my bow and pulling her closer for a quick kiss. "Don't worry, I may have given Ren-Ren a scarf but only you get me."

"Gods, you've got him using it now too." Lauren smacks her cousin on the arm. "And, would you please get down from there, I'm getting dizzy just looking at you."

"It looks fun, I want to try." Lianna steps forward as I push off the wall, performing a backflip over Amelia's head before landing.

"Are you sure?" I ask the redhead and proceed to wrap her legs up to the knees when she nods. "Just try to keep your legs straight." She wobbles a bit when I turn her sideways, but manages to keep from falling.

"Okay." She grunts out as soon as she's parallel to the ground. "It looks more fun than it is. Let me down now, please."

"Well if you insist." I snap my fingers and laugh when she flinches thinking I'm going to drop her. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." I command the wall to gently set her on the ground.

"You asked for that one." Amelia pats her friend on the head when she pouts. "Now, come on, let me show you guys the house, for real this time. Sorrel's tastes in jokes may be somewhat annoying, but he has a wonderful sense of style."

"Of course he does, he picked you." Helen says while getting in some head pats from Lianna's other side as we walk to the house.

Delilah gestures for me to hang back a bit with her, so I arch an eyebrow and ask. "Time for the obligatory warning not to hurt your friend?"

"Mhm." She replies with a noncommittal grunt. "I could tell you were just fooling around earlier, so this is more of a plea. Amelia has never been in a serious relationship before and now she's living with the two of you. It's clear that she's fallen hard and I just want what's best for her."

"So do I." We smile and wave at the woman in question when she looks back at us. "I know we rushed things... a lot, but I do love her and Apricot both. I don't want to do anything that would hurt either of them. The only reason I went as far as I did when teasing Lauren is because Apricot can literally smell desire, so she and therefore Amelia know that I'm just goofing around."

"Is what she said about their bond true?" Mollified by my answer, for now, Delilah decides to indulge her curiosity. "Can they really feel what the other one does?"

"You tell me." I let out a low laugh. "Did Amelia look particularly flushed when you met her for lunch."

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"You weren't?" Her eyes go wide until she joins me in my laughter a moment later. "Oh, gods. You are dangerous."

"Mhm." I shrug. "She's going to get me back for it later, but I think it'll be worth it. Especially if she wears the outfit I'm going to make for her."

"Who knew innocent little Amelia had such a wild side hidden away?" She shakes her head. "She got so embarrassed after that drunken kiss with Lianna that I thought it would be years before she actually found someone."

"Are you done threatening him yet?" Amelia pokes her head out of the front door. "I want to show you all the upstairs, this goof is using a mana node as a nightlight for the bathroom."

"Oh, I already finished that." Delilah beams a smile at her friend. "I was just asking to see this outfit he's going to dress you up in later."

"It's mostly based off of a guardswoman outfit from back home." I say with a smirk when Amelia blushes. "With the minor difference of a short skirt and long black stockings." I start knitting the hose together in front of them, almost causing Lauren to trip over her own feet in her rush to get a better look.

"How are you doing that?" She asks while peering at the knitting as closely as she can.

"Magic." I have to chuckle when she growls at me. "My mom taught me to knit when I ruined one too many pairs of socks. Going in a spiral like this is just easier than switching back and forth between knit and purl; I use the same technique to make these shirts."

"Easy there, Ren." Her cousin puts her arms around the elf's shoulders. "I'm sure that if you ask Amelia nicely she'll have Sorrel make some for you. Maybe even a cute little garter belt to go with it too."

"Nnh?" The elf just looks at Amelia with pleading eyes.

"I'll... think about it." The blonde answers imperiously.

"Weren't you going to show everyone the bedroom?" I make the finished stockings disappear. "I know the bed is big, but I'm not sure it will fit all seven of us. Though, I suppose we won't know until we try."

"Oh, shut up and go exercise some more." Amelia shoves me back out the door, her cheeks bright red. "And, not a word out of you or you're going with him." She glares at a giggling Apricot.

Laughing as she closes the door in my face, I walk over to the trees and berry bushes. I need to replenish my stock of smoothies before I go any further. I've barely even gotten started when I hear the door open.

"And, stay out!" Amelia tosses a chortling Apricot outside before slamming the door shut.

"What'd you do?" I ask while helping her to her feet.

"Nothing." She struggles to keep a straight face. "Lianna was asking about my wings, so I just tried to give her a better look at where they join to my back. And, then, for no reason at all, Amelia got upset and threw me out."

"So, you tried to flash her friends? Nice." I shoot her a thumbs-up. "Well, you can keep me company; just let me put on some music. I'm feeling in the mood for Bowie."

Starting up the [Best of Bowie] playlist, I have to go with Heroes as the first song. "I. I will be king. And, you. You will be queen..." The pervert pixie sings along with me and it's not long before I notice we have an audience.

Amelia's friends are craning their heads out of the upstairs window, so I transition the song into "Let's Dance", pulling Apricot into my arms to do just that. When they're still watching at the end, I switch over to the Bee Gees with "You Should Be Dancing."

Amelia is just shaking her head at the lyrics, but her friends seem to like it. So, I keep up the disco music, Apricot and I dancing around the garden as all the food the guards and I will need for the next couple weeks grows up around us.

The five of them rejoin us soon after. Apricot and I stalk towards Amelia and pulls her into a three-way dance, much to her embarrassment and her friends' amusement. After passing her between the two of us for a song, I put on something slower and we sidle up on each side of her.

"I love you, Amelia." I breathe into her ear from behind, Apricot pressing into her from the front. "Sorry for teasing you and your friends so much, but I'm sure you'll find a way to punish me for it later." With that said, I gently scrape my teeth along her earlobe before dancing away.

"Bastard." She growls at me while Apricot supports her weight. The fire in her eyes tells me that I may have pushed her just a little too far.

"So, are you girls staying for dinner?" I say, but what I'm really asking is whether they'll protect me from the evil guardswoman. "I don't have enough silk to go around, but I can do plenty with cotton and linen." I'm not above a little bribery either.

"Well, it would be wrong for us to abandon Amelia, leaving her to deal with the two of you on her own." That's what Lauren's mouth is saying, but her eyes are practically begging for the clothes.

"Fantastic." I beam at the four of them. "I was planning to make some dandelion wine and could use some taste-testers too." Helen and Delilah both perk up at that.

"He said the magic word, I'm in." Delilah laughs. "Can you make any other varieties?"

"I should be able to work with anything that can be fermented." I reply with a nod. "But, I don't know any way to speed up the aging process, yet. And, so much about grapes comes from the soil they're grown in and I haven't even begun messing around with that yet."

"I know a few fruit wines that are still decent without being aged." Helen offers.

"Well, let's start with the dandelions. I want to test with some different sugars and yeast strains." I made sure to save samples from each fruit I got at the imported food store, but haven't had a good reason to use them yet.