The lasagna was too tasty, and I was almost in a food coma. As I was sitting in the living room, relaxing and letting the food settle, Midnight jumped into my lap and curled up. I reached down and began to pet her and gently scratch her behind the ears. Her delighted purring was a balm from the pain of an overly full stomach. I glanced over to the table, where Soot and Meleri were having yet another chess match. This was getting rather common of late, as both of them were sick of losing to me.

  Next to them was Rathina, who was gently preening Winter's feathers. If her happy cooing was anything to go by, Rathina was excellent at it. Millid and Bahruun were sleeping off the massive dinner over in their bedroom. Irenji was pacing back and forth near the door as he waited for Irane. I glanced at him. “You might as well relax Irenji, given the deluge outside. It will be difficult for Irane to find her way here since she can’t track by scent until the weather abates.”

  Irenji looked at me and sat down. “I suppose you’re right. Even our noses would be stomped by this much water.” He looked out the window at the deluge outside, his ears flat against his head. Meleri looked up from her game and, seeing Soot still contemplating his move, rose and walked over to Irenji and gave him a hug.

  “Don’t worry Irane will get her soon enough; it's not like any of us are in any hurry. Now why don’t you come over and watch me beat Soot at his own game for once?” I glanced over at the board. Soot was in a pretty good position, provided he could leverage the rook to force a sacrifice from Meleri’s queen.

  Then, there was a thumping noise from outside the door. Ok? I glanced down at Midnight, who gave an annoyed meow but jumped off my lap so I could investigate. I walked over to the door and opened it. It wasn’t Irane that was outside. Instead, when I looked around I saw a strange, round creature with a sharp peregrine beak for a mouth, large beady brown eyes and green, sponge-like skin. Once it noticed me, it hopped onto the railing, its two long spindly legs ending in hand-like feet that gave it ample grip on the railing.

  A swamp spirit. It must’ve decided to play around because of the rain. It let out a sound akin to an out-of-tune flute, jumped off the railing and back into the torrential downpour. I just shook my head. There were plenty of critters like that around, but they were usually more timid. With the torrential rain, they must be feeling safer, considering sight distance was practically zero and scent WAS zero until it abated.

  Another of the local, more fantastical creatures emerged out of the rain a few moments later. This one was an avian, with a sleek thin body and long green tail feathers and a lime-green feather coating. A Morik. It was drenched and gave a pitiful squawk as it began to preen itself. It ignored me, which wasn’t surprising, as the Morik's meat was poisonous, so it didn’t have any natural predators here in the Midlands. During summer, it could be seen flying about hunting insects late in the day. It must’ve been on its way to the Southlands for the winter as the local ones left a while back.

  Just as I was about to turn and head back inside, I saw movement in the rain, a deeper grey against the curtain of diffuse water. A few moments later, Irane hopped onto the landing pad, and then once she was under the roof she shook wildly. The Morik let out an indignant cry and flew up into the rafters as it was drenched once more. I barely escaped a similar fate by casting up a barrier spell at the last moment.

  “I see you found your way here despite the rain.” Irane stretched. “I asked for directions over at Nettledale. The tree there is a visible landmark even in this atrocious weather. Got myself a guide for the trip, even.” A guide? Oh. I looked around, and a few moments later I noticed something viridian glowing in the fur underneath Irane. “I think you knocked Ivy senseless with your shaking.”

  Irane paused and sat down so she could look at where Ivy was hiding from the rain. “You alright down there?” A few moments later, a somewhat unsteady Ivy flew out from Irane’s fur-coat, unsteady but didn’t seem worse for wear otherwise. “EvEryThinG iS SpinNninG.” I looked at her and just shook my head. “Would some leftovers from today’s dinner help ease the dizziness?”

  Ivy’s unsteady flight improved immediately. “That it could!” I gave her a wry grin and cast a drying spell on Irane, my porch and, as an act of kindness, to the bird above. “Come on in then, both of you. I know a certain someone who’s been impatiently waiting for you, Irane.” She glanced at me as she approached the door, then paused. “Hmm, that’s a bit too tight a fit… one moment…” She gave off a soft leaf-green glow for a few moments and shrank down to the size of a regular wolf. Then she padded inside. A few moments later, I could hear eager noises from inside. Ivy landed on my shoulder. “Irenji, I take it?” I glanced over at her. “Yep.”

  A few minutes later, it was Ivy’s turn to make cheerful noises as she began to devour Meleri’s lasagna at a terrifying rate. “Twhish if tweh bwefht fhoofh eveh, afe phanfhage.” I took a deep breath. “Ivy, stop speaking with food in your mouth, I barely understood a single word of that. Though I can hazard an educated guess. Something about tasty food but pancakes being better?” She gave me a thumbs-up. At least she was consistent. A few minutes and another two slices of lasagna later, Meleri put a stop to further eating. “The rest will be served as lunch tomorrow, and if you eat more of the lasagna, there won’t be enough for everyone.”

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  I left the kitchen to let the two continue their arguing. Soot was still contemplating his next move. He was always patient like that. “Are you really stuck or are you just going through every conceivable outcome?” Soot looked up from the board. “A bit of both, Meleri has improved quite a bit, so I need to be certain that opening I spotted isn’t a gambit for something.” I gave him a gentle scratch on the back of the head. “If you say so.”

  I turned my attention over to Irenji and Irane, who were sitting near the door talking softly to one another, their tails wagging up a storm. It would seem they wanted some privacy, so I didn’t feel like intruding in their private conversation. I went back to my chair, and Midnight didn’t waste any time in hopping back up in my lap. “Things keep getting livelier here these days, eh, Meowstress?” I looked across the room.

  “That’s an understatement. At this rate, I will need to expand the house again.” Hmm expanding the house? Doable, of course; I've kept up my spatial studies since Rathina arrived, after all. However… I was quite certain that both Bahruun and Millid would appreciate some privacy at the very least. However, their contract would only last until spring. It would be a bit much to construct a second house just for them to move out. Well, I could ponder that another day. At the very least, I would need to expand the livingroom. It was getting cramped in here, after all.

  Just then, Meleri arrived from the kitchen. “Hey sis, I did some inventory of the pantry and noticed we’re running low on a few essentials that we can’t get from Appleridge.” That got my attention. “Really, what essentials?” Meleri pulled out a small list. “Honey, various processed meats and various minor things that aren't among Appleridge’s comprehensive list of cultivars. It’s all on this here list.

  She handed me the list, and it wasn’t a surprise for me it was mostly various mushrooms. Be it a side effect from my magic, whatever trick the fauns used to cultivate just about anything else, or just the lay of the land itself, only a few select mushrooms would take on those lands. They could grow champignon, and a very tiny patch of chanterelles took as well, but that was the extent of it.

  “Hmm, from this list I will make an albeit uneducated guess and say you’re planning to make something that requires a bunch of mushrooms tomorrow?” Meleri just gave me a wry grin. “Alright then, keep your secrets; however, you are coming along for the shopping. It would be good to have you know where to go case I cannot, for whatever reason. Meleri didn’t seem surprised. “That’s actually a good idea. That way I don’t need to rely on you for stuff like that all the time.” With the agreement made, Meleri returned to her chess game. She lost to Soot about an hour later, as he couldn’t find a hidden gambit and so went for the opening both he and I saw earlier.

  The next morning, the rain was gone, and a beautiful autumn morning was upon us. Both Meleri and I were out the door shortly after dawn. Ivy was with us because, as much as she wanted to stay, she was still required to help with the winter preparations. After giving Soot a whole ton of goodbye hugs, she set off into the trees. “Thanks for being willing to watch the house while we’re away, Bahruun.”

  The sorcerer just waved me off. “Think nothing of it. It’s not like Millid and I have anything better to do anyhow. Besides, I can’t show myself in Nekkal because of the misunderstanding about me being down in the crypts. Besides, house-sitting is just an excuse to laze around and relax, and I still get paid for it thanks to the contract. Oof, it was a joke, Millid.” He reached down and patted Millid, who was giving him an annoyed look. Milled looked up at where Meleri and I were flying on our brooms. “Don’t worry, Lady Morgana, I will make sure Boss takes the house-sitting seriously.” I gave her a warm smile. “Thanks, Millid.”

  Irenji and Irane padded onto the porch as well. Irenji placed his front paws on the railing. “Take care , Meleri; come back soon!” Irane hopped up next to him. “Say, think you could get more of those long, round things with the spicy taste?” Long and spicy… wait. “Meleri, did you feed Irane and Irenji pepperoni?” She gave me a confused look. “I wasn’t supposed to?” I took a deep breath.

  “Well, technically speaking, no. I did not know whether pepperoni is safe for them to consume, and I err on the side of caution when unknown foods are concerned. Since they don’t seem worse for wear, it seems safe, but keep in mind it could have ended poorly.” Meleri’s confused demeanor turned into a grimace. “Right, the reason Midnight and the others can eat what they do is because of the familiar bond. When is the next blood moon again?”

  Before I could say anything, Irane piped up. “Tomorrow night would be the next one, provided the weather holds, I double-checked it with the pixie… Ivy was it? Before she left.” That was sooner than expected, then again Ivy could give more accurate readings on that the closer the event got, and it was a while since I asked. I looked over at Meleri. “Well, you heard her, tomorrow it is, so once we get back from Nekkal we have some preparations to do, especially you, Sis, since you’re getting a two-for-one here.” I glanced down at Irane and Irenji.

  “I… can’t say I condone the idea of going through that twice in one night; it's… rough. However, you’re an adult, so it’s not like I can stop you.” I shook my head. “At any rate, we’re wasting sunlight, everyone ready?” Soot chirped from my shoulder, Winter from my hat, and I could hear Midnight circle the back of the broom and get comfortable. I glanced over at Meleri, who nodded. “Well then, off we go.”