Chương 283: Prosperity

"- and then he just looked at me weirdly before running away. It was a bit weird, but that's okay. I'll still become his friend soon," Raven told enthusiastically, pacing back and forth in the room.

"Hmm? That's great, Raven," said Little Sun Sprite, even though she was only listening with half an ear while she erased and redrew some of the lines on the floor. During the time spent with her teacher, Sprite had seen enough other rituals to know that the one she had been taught was as basic as they came in many regards, and yet she still made mistakes every now and then even after performing it weekly for over eight months.

"Oh, and have you seen the new wing that's being added to the orphanage? Mama Dove said that it was because of the monster surge and looked all sad. Will there be more children arriving then, do you think? More friends would be nice, but… Oh, right. Them being here means that their parents… Now I get why mama looked sad."

"Which is good of you, Raven. Just keep that in mind when you play with them. They have had some tough times, and might need some time to feel safe enough to talk. Some might even get angry even though you've done nothing wrong," Sprite explained, even though part of her mind was still focused on the chalk lines. Just straighten that one out, add the spiral pattern around the spirit coins and…. There. Good to go.

"Thanks, Sprite. I'll do that," Raven agreed readily, while sitting down next to the ritual circle expectantly.

"Now can you please make the pretty cloud appear?"

"Patience, Raven. I will. Let me just make sure… Yes, there," Sprite said, seating herself in the middle of the ritual circle.

"Now, here's another pretty cloud for you." She activated the ritual, and much like they had every time, the lesser spirit coins dissolved as the lines brightened, on their way to form a nebulous cloud that would hover and shimmer around Sprite for a few seconds before vanishing.

"I wonder what it will look like when I am ready?" Sprite idly wondered, looking out the window instead of at the display that she had seen so many times now.

"Ehm, Sprite. The cloud is broken," Raven noted, even reaching over to poke at the elf teenager.

"Raven! Don't do that! Never reach into an ongoing ritual-" Sprite began, but her lecture died on her lips when she finally processed that Raven had indeed been right. Even though the ritual had definitely worked, there was no shimmering cloud, only more condensed motes of blue light. Wait? Blue light? That meant…

"It worked!" Sprite shouted, all hints of decorum and self-control gone as she witnessed the blue field of sparkling stars around her.

"Raven, it worked!"

"But… no cloud…"

"Raven, don't you understand? This means that I am ready!" Sprite cheered, wrapping the younger girl in a fierce hug even as the remnants of the ritual faded around her.

"Come, we have to tell Teacher!"

"I- oh? Oh! Okay!" Raven readily agreed, happy to be dragged along by Sprite as the girls left Sprite's room and raced out into one of the yards of the compound.

"A-Auntie Dove! Have you seen Teacher?" Sprite called a bit breathlessly to where the alchemist was tending to her verdant garden in the early summer sun.

"Dragonfly?" Dove asked, poking her head up above a bushel with some kind of amber leaves.

"Hold on a moment… Ah, she seems to be on her way back from the orphanage. What's the urgency, dear? Oh, wait. Are- did the ritual-?"

"It did, Auntie! I'm ready!" Sprite called, forgetting to act as collected as she usually tried to be around the two matriarchs of the compound. She had long since stopped being surprised in how the essence-users always seemed to know where the others were given what she had been taught of auras.

"Oh! Oh my! So exciting! Hold on, dear! We need to tell Kite! And Crow! And - well - everyone!" As such, Sprite and Raven were joined by an excited silver-ranker too, Dove sweeping each of them up in one arm before moving off at a much greater pace. Sprite didn't even have the time to get self-conscious, so excited was she, and their now much swifter journey took them out the compound gates and rushing down the small, now-paved road that led to the orphanage.

There they found both Dragonfly and Crow walking alongside one another, the two women looking curiously at the approaching group.

"Oh! It's happening! It's time- oh, sorry, dear. You tell them," Dove said, managing to catch herself before calling out the news as she put Sprite down in front of her teacher.

"Sprite? What is this about?" Standing in front of Dragonfly, Sprite managed to find the presence of mind to collect herself somewhat before she made her declaration.

"Teacher. I am ready now." Sprite didn't know what to expected, but it wasn't Dragonfly giving a knowing smile and nod before patting her on the head as she said:"I'm not surprised. There has been something about you lately, Student. Glad to see that my hunch was correct." That look in Dragonfly's eyes sent warm, fuzzy feelings of being seen and understood by someone deep into Sprite's core, and she was dumbfounded for a while before eventually collecting herself.

"So… Can we…?"

"Hah! Of course, Sprite. Come on! Let's send Glint to pick up Kite from Braid's workshop and see if Wander and our hard-working weaver would like to join in as well." Dragonfly said, before noticing something in Sprite in that uncanny way she always had.

"Or would you rather keep it a smaller affair?"

"I… No, Teacher, I don't mind. It's just… I'm sure that they have more important things to do, so I don't want to take up their time…"

"Well, we'll just have to ask politely then. But my guess is that they'll be happy to join. A new essence-user awakening to their powers has this special kind of allure, as well as being a cause for celebration. One you deserve as much as anyone, Sprite." As she often did beneath such honest praise, Sprite found herself faltering, but only briefly this time. She was about to become an adult now, at least in some ways, so she had to keep practicing to soldier through instead of freeze.

"T-thank you, Teacher," she managed, voice only shaking slightly. Then she was once more wrapped up in the arms of Dove, the alchemist no longer able to contain herself.

"Oh it will be wonderful, dear! Come, let us hurry back! I have so much cooking to get to! Our little Sprite is growing up!"

"Oh, sweet thing. She's so nervous," Dragonfly murmured to Kite, who was kneeling on the stone patio as he worked on the lines of the essence ritual with deft, sure hands.

"That's not odd. I was too, even though I had not known of the essences waiting for me until that very same day," Kite replied, nodding towards where Sprite stood being bombarded with questions from the rest of the people gathered. Braid and Wander had indeed wanted to come, and along with Crow, Dove, Glint and Verdant Evergreen the relatively small number of people still seemed to have enough of a combined presence to fill the garden nicely.

"I guess so. It's just… I'm not sure if her knowing that this was in store for her was good or not for her nerves. In a way, it has made her work hard. But almost too hard, so scared of failure. And now that we're here… She'll probably sleep like the dead tonight."

"But she does also sleep, dear. Remember in the beginning when she barely dared to leave your side? Sprite has come far, and you've now provided for her the means to reach the very heavens," Kite noted, rising and inspecting his work.

"It seems like we are ready. Sprite? Would you please come over here? It's time to begin!" The elven teenager started at this call, but was quickly ushered over to the patio by her enthusiastic and curious well-wishers. Kite guided her to the center of the circle where she sat down, dressed in only a simple shift and with her dark blue hair tied up in a bun as she was already well-informed of the reactions of one's body once all of the essences had been absorbed.

"So, which one shall we take first?" Kite asked while Auntie Crow helped him light the sticks of mana-stabilizing incense around them.

"Sun," came Sprite's answer, its speed hinting at this being something she had already thought of well in advance. Kite wasn't entirely surprised either, with her full name being Little Sun Sprite as well as her fascination with Dragonfly's flames. At the mention, Dragonfly retrieved the brightly glowing cube from a small chest that rested nearby, handing it over to her student who gingerly took it.

"Thank you again, Teacher. I would have accepted any essence, truly. This… I know that this was more expensive than the one of fire," Sprite murmured, to which Dragonfly reached out and patted her head.

"It's in your name, dear Student. And it was well within my means. Go ahead now. This is yours." Sprite clutched the cube even tighter as she nodded, and as usual the ritual went off without a hitch as the cube dissolved into bright streams like sunlight through a curtain that entered the teenager's body. WWJS (What would Jason see?): Little Sun Sprite has absorbed [Sun essence] Sun essence has bonded to the [Spirit] attribute, changing [Spirit] from Normal to Iron 0 You have awakened Sun essence ability [One's Own Sun]. [Ability] One's Own Sun Spell (Sunlight). Cost: Moderate ongoing mana Cooldown: None Current rank: Iron 0 Effect: Conjure a small orb of sunfire above you that deals ongoing fire damage to nearby enemies.

As a sunlight effect, certain creatures might be especially susceptible to this damage, and it will partially bypass fire resistance. Sprite gasped as the ritual was finished, wobbling slightly where she sat as she took in the world with slightly different eyes.

"Well, don't keep us hanging! What did you get~?" a small choir of Wander's bodies called with curious impatience while most of them deftly dodged Braid's attempts at flicking them on the nose.

"I… can… how?" Sprite asked, turning to Dragonfly who helped the girl onto the grass while Kite and Auntie Crow reset the ritual together.

"Just focus inward, Sprite, much like when meditating. It should come to you instinctively," Dragonfly urged, her student following her instructions.

"I… Yes, there it is. Heavens… Is this how it feels?"

"Oh just wait until there's twenty of them~!" Wander cheered, but fell silent as a surge of mana passed through Sprite's body that caused a burning orb roughly the size of a head to appear in the air above the not-yet iron-ranker. There was something distinct about it that separated it from Dragonfly's flames however; a quality that seemed to lean into different concepts.

"Well… Who would have thought that the sun essence would give a sun," Wander noted with cheerful sarcasm.

"Congratulations, Sprite! If that thing damages nasties trying to get to you, you certainly will be a menace to swarms like me~!"

"Just don't overtax your mana," Dove advised.

"Our little Kite knows all too well what happens then, as he does that to people all the time."

"I… yes, Auntie," Sprite said, reluctantly letting the small sun fade out.

"Oh, don't worry, Student. We'll have you practicing your path until you drop in the days to come. That sun is part of you forever now, after all. It isn't going anywhere," Dragonfly consoled her.

"And besides, I think we're ready for the next one," she finished, handing Sprite her next essence.

"Growth. It suits you, Student." The cube was clearer and much less glowy than the last one, with expanding ripples inside that gave the image of it constantly expanding even though the actual size of the essence never changed. Another ritual came and went, and this time some of Sprite's nervousness seemed to have given way to the excitement that had constantly been there as well, just hidden beneath the surface. WWJS (What would Jason see?): Little Sun Sprite has absorbed [Growth essence] Growth essence has bonded to the [Power] attribute, changing [Power] from Normal to Iron 0 You have awakened Growth essence ability [Arcane Expansion]. [Ability] Arcane Expansion Spell Cost: Varies Cooldown: None Current rank: Iron 0 Effect: Target an ongoing magical effect to cause it to expand and grow in size for a moderate duration. This also increases the potency of the effect. Can only target effects with mana constructs present in the physical world.

Cost varies with the mana cost of target effect. As Sprite had now done so once, she didn't need any prompt to make another demonstration of her newest power." Expand the mana!" With a short chant, the miniature sun above Sprite's head increased in size as did the range of its light. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"That sounds amazing! Try it on this!" Dragonfly called before conjuring her fiery greataxe that floated on its own in the air between them. Sprite did as told, repeating the chant again as she targeted her teacher's weapon. Much like with the sun, this caused the axe to grow as well, albeit to a much lesser degree than Sprite's own spell.

"Don't fret, Sprite. It would be odd if your iron-ranked spell would have the same effect on my silver-ranked conjuration," Dragonfly consoled her student as Sprite failed to hide the disappointment on her face.

"Still, I'm not sure you ever told me why you chose the growth essence. As I said, it suits you, but…" she said, trailing off to let the young woman choose if she wanted to answer. Sprite seemed nervous for a moment, but after a look around and seeing only familiar, friendly faces, she eventually spoke.

"I… Never wanted to feel small again." The words would barely have been audible had not everyone present beside her been silver-rankers, and both Sprite's rising blush as well as the remembered, faint fear in her aura was telling enough.

"Sorry, that is stupid, but-""Student, you are learning from the woman who - as a girl - swore that she would kill all monsters in the world," Dragonfly replied.

"I believe that we can treat ourselves to a few sentiments that just feel right even if our minds know that they lack reason."

"And who said being small was all bad, huh~?" Wander asked pointedly, even if the small rat tugging at the bottom of Sprite's shift while others stood with crossed arms and faux-disapproval in their eyes did have their intended effect as the elf girl couldn't help but smile at the scene.

"Tell me about it," Dragonfly sighed, glancing around at the others, every one of whom but Crow and Wander in her rat form stood distinctly taller.

"Husband, are we ready for the final essence?"

"Indeed we are, dear. Sprite? Are you ready?"

"Y-yes, Senior Brother Kite!"

"And you remember what to do with the confluence?"

"Yes."

"Good," Kite smiled.

"Then all that is left is for my dear wife to reveal the last one then," he said, his pointed look causing everyone to look Dragonfly's way as it was her turn to look a bit flustered.

"Sprite… I…" Dragonfly began, her earlier light tone replaced with one much more emotional.

"When you left it to me to pick the final essence for you… You know that you can always still change your mind, right?" At that statement, everyone present fell silent as they all comprehended the gravitas of such a choice. But unlike before, it was Sprite's turn to seem undeterred as she answered.

"I do, Teacher, but… I want this."

"Oh, little Sprite. From child to young woman… How you have grown," Dragonfly murmured, reaching into her satchel to produce a silk-wrapped cube.

"Just… Know that along with my decision to marry Kite and the decision to take you in, this might have been one of the most significant choices I've made in my life. Heavens, it's gonna leave a mark on your soul for the rest of your life. I… Thank you. For the confidence. It's an honor." Dragonfly then unwrapped the essence, displaying a cube whose hazy insides seemed to hint at faraway reflections of both light and darkness that shifted and danced.

"I will offer you this omen essence. From what I've gathered, an omen is a sign of something good or bad to come. And for me, you've heralded something wonderful. You are my first student, and teaching you… I know you will not be my last. I was rather lost when we met, at least in a sense. So while it may sound like something corny out of those books Glint loves to read… Our meeting helped me find my path too."

By now, both student and teacher had started sniffling, Sprite trying to keep a straight face while Dragonfly - true to form - simply embraced the passion before doing the same with Sprite in the most literal of senses.

"Tha- thank you, Teacher," Sprite managed between her sniffles, taking the cube from Dragonfly.

"Oh, your foes won't feel the same gratitude, I'm sure," Dragonfly replied with a teary smile.

"Because your appearance will definitely bring ill tidings for them."

"Have you looked up the confluence, then?" Crow asked as the more emotional moment seemed to have passed, even while one strand of her animated hair passed a handkerchief to her much more emotional wife.

"I have. It's prosperity," Dragonfly replied, causing a general hum of approval among those gathered.

"It is indeed quite poetic," Kite agreed.

"You, dear wife, swept in like a wildfire that burned the dangers in Sprite's life, creating the ashes to nourish her growth through which she - like the grand tree reborn - will bring prosperity to everyone around her."

"Oh hush, husband. Don't do that, or I'll just start crying again," Dragonfly laughed, while Sprite - true to both her personality and her teenage years - seemed to take the attempted poetics with much more seriousness as she entered the ritual circle.

"Time for you to truly step into the world of magic, Sprite," Kite said encouragingly as the ritual circle began to glow.

"Although I suppose that you've already been living in it for some time now, waiting to catch up." Once the ritual had passed, with the omen essence fully absorbed into Sprite, there wasn't any time for more questions before the last and final piece of her path manifested. The prosperity confluence was awash with golden light that seemed to want to spill out from the cubical boundary, which was exactly what it did when Sprite touched it.

As the light started pouring into her, all of the silvers present could feel her aura shift and change as the magical puzzle that was Sprite's soul received its final piece. WWJS (What would Jason see?): Little Sun Sprite has absorbed [Omen essence] Omen essence has bonded to the [Speed] attribute, changing [Speed] from Normal to Iron 0 You have awakened Omen essence ability [Momentous Tidings].

[Ability] Momentous Tidings Spell Cost: Moderate mana Cooldown: 30s Current rank: Iron 0 Effect: If the target is an enemy creature, inflict an instance of [Ill Tidings] upon it. If the target is a friendly creature, apply an instance of [Good Tidings]. [Ill Tidings] (Affliction, Curse) - The next instance of damage suffered by this creature is increased, as long as that damage isn't an ongoing effect. Triggering this increased damage consumes this affliction.

[Good Tidings] (Boon) - The next instance of healing applied to this creature is increased, as long as that healing isn't an ongoing effect. Triggering this increase consumes this boon.

Little Sun Sprite has absorbed [Prosperity essence] Prosperity essence has bonded to the [Recovery] attribute, changing [Recovery] from Normal to Iron 0 You have awakened Prosperity essence ability [Wellspring of Vitality]. [Ability] Wellspring of Vitality Spell Cost: Moderate mana/varies Cooldown: 5m Current rank: Iron 0 Effect: Conjure a glowing wellspring of healing energies that spread from beneath your feet.

While the wellspring remains, you may pay a cost of up to high mana to direct its energies to flow into a target of your choice that is in contact with it or directly above it, healing it. The amount of healing increases along with the mana paid. The well has a limited amount of healing available when conjured, and will dissolve once that healing is spent.

Power surged through Sprite's aura, the teenager's eyes lighting up with the sense of intense, inexorable energy which Kite remembered all too well from his own ascension to iron rank as well as from all the other people he had helped undergo this very ritual. But Sprite had also been forewarned of what would come next, making her exhilaration mix with a certain amount of growing trepidation that soon clearly spilled into her expression as her aura started shuddering.

"That's our cue. A moment, please," Dragonfly said as Auntie Crow and Auntie Dove quickly stepped up to join her at the stone patio just as the first convulsions and signs of the foul, black goop started appearing across Sprite's skin. The rest was hidden from view, however, as conjured plants quickly sprung up around them to shield the teenager's tribulation from the onlookers.

"Oof, that part was nasty," Wander said while all of her bodies shuddered.

"I thought I was about to die when it happened~."

"Indeed," Kite agreed with a wince, shared by the rest of the essence-users present.

"While I've understood it to be a long tradition of welcome into the ranks of the essence-users, I can honestly say that I've stopped withholding it from those I help. As the years passed, it just started feeling cruel."

"Huh. Then I wish it would have been you who did mine. The guy I hired from the Magic Society back then was all too happy to let me discover the suffering for myself. Perhaps I should go back and find him. Pay a nice little visit and nibble on his toes a bit, and not in the naughty way~," Wander muttered darkly.

Soon enough though, Sprite's involuntary self-purge was over and the freshly minted iron-ranker was helped down from the patio while Dragonfly let flames wash over the stone to turn whatever remained of the goop to ashes. The young woman quickly found her feet now too, even though she looked at the world and the essence-users around her almost as if seeing them for the first time.

"How are you feeling," Kite asked with a smile as they converged to congratulate her.

"I… Senior Brother, you're so… solid. Is… These are your auras, aren't they?" Sprite said, seeming almost overwhelmed by their presence even though Kite and everyone present was careful to not let too much of their spirits slip.

"Indeed they are. You've just received a new sense, Sprite, so it isn't odd for it to be a bit much in the beginning," Kite said consolingly.

"And… have these been here all along? It's just that I haven't been able to notice?"

"Indeed…"

"Heavens…" was all that the teenager could manage before Dragonfly caught her in another, fierce hug.

"You did it, Sprite. My very first student, now with a path to call her own!" Kite's wife cheered.

"And what a path so far. Our very own little sun!"

"And it isn't entirely over yet," Kite noted.

"We still have a few awakening stones set aside too, to give you a proper start. But first, food and celebration. I expect that the evening will be late before we are well and truly done." Given how utterly exhausting the day had been, Little Sun Sprite was more than surprised to find that she couldn't sleep that night.

Instead, an onlooker from the outside might notice a light in her window flickering on and off regularly, as Sprite couldn't help but reconjure her own tiny sun that floated pleasantly above her while casting a gentle, warm light. At least it felt so to her and those she liked, but from the instinctive knowledge passed down by the power, Sprite knew that any considering themselves her enemy and out to harm her would have quite a different view of its rays.

"I'm… finally home, am I not?" she murmured to herself.

"Or rather, I have been for a long time." There had been so many moments where Sprite had fretted and turned at the thought of Dragonfly and the others eventually growing bored of her and casting her out. That these talks of a future would amount to nothing, as people always talked a lot and made promises they couldn't keep. But now, she had magic. Costly magic too, from what little she had learned of the omen essence in particular.

So in the end there weren't many more arguments the tiny part of her that still feared could muster. Not only the essences either, but awakening stones too. She had gotten one stone from her teacher - an awakening stone of the inferno - and one stone of journeys from Senior Brother Kite.

Then she had been surprised with Auntie Dove and Auntie Crow gifting her one, the pair sending an overjoyed Raven to deliver the stone of the seed, and further surprises had come when Wander and Braid did the same with an awakening stone of connections. And lastly, Kite had delivered a gift from Young Master Will and his… whatever Lady Laevyeth was to him, even though both Kite and Dragonfly had been forced to stifle their exasperated sighs when Sprite opened the gift box to find an awakening stone of the spear.

"You know… you don't have to use all of them," a slightly pained Dragonfly had said with an apologetic tone.

"Will is… Well, I'm sure you noticed that he has quite a thing for spears." Not one to ever be ungrateful, Sprite had still insisted, and now all five of those stones had been added to her soul, forever part of her as powers to be explored and used to the best of her abilities.

[Ability] Eye of the Sun - Sun essence, awakening stone of the Inferno Spell (Sunlight) Cost: High mana Cooldown: 5m Current rank: Iron 0 Effect: Call down a pillar of fire from above, dealing high fire damage to creatures within the area and inflicting them with [Flash Blindness]. As a sunlight effect, certain creatures might be especially susceptible to this damage, and it will partially bypass fire resistance. [Flash Blindness] (Affliction, light, magic) - Afflicted creature cannot see for the duration.

[Ability] Golden Cat - Prosperity essence, awakening stone of Journeys Ritual (familiar) Cost: Extreme stamina, extreme mana Cooldown: None Current rank: Iron 0 Effect: Summon a Golden Cat to serve as a familiar. The Golden Cat is a quick and nimble creature able to serve as both steed and bringer of prosperity through increased recovery and decreased cooldowns for every ally within its radiance.

[Ability] Seed of Potential - Omen essence, awakening stone of the Seed Special ability Cost: Moderate mana Cooldown: 10m Current rank: Iron 0 Effect: Summon three floating seeds around you that remain for the duration. Whenever you activate one of your powers, you may spend one seed to empower its effect. Number of seeds increases with rank.

[Ability] Unification of Progress - Growth essence, awakening stone of Connections Special ability (aura) Cost: None Cooldown: None Current rank: Iron 0 Effect: Allies within your aura have their essence powers advance at an accelerated pace. This effect is severely limited for beings of a higher rank.

[Ability] Dayspear - Sun essence, awakening stone of the Spear Spell (Sunlight) Cost: Moderate mana Cooldown: 10s Current rank: Iron 0 Effect: Conjure and launch a spear of condensed sunfire to target a single foe, dealing moderate fire damage. Effective at piercing through solid defenses. As a sunlight effect, certain creatures might be especially susceptible to this damage, and it will partially bypass fire resistance.

Two mighty spells of varied types of destruction, one means of empowerment, an aura that Wander joked would net Sprite a ridiculous number of friends and - last but not least - a familiar. Sprite could barely contain her eagerness to travel with Teacher and Senior Brother Kite to purchase the materials. While a Golden Cat wasn't something she had seen before, it sounded glorious.

So while Sprite might have been unable to sleep properly that night, at least the waking dreams she had of everything now within her grasp painted quite the beautiful picture.

"Well, dear, I would call today quite the success," Kite remarked to his wife as they lay in their bed.

"I know, Kite. I could barely stop myself from bursting into tears again when the others brought out their gifts. It feels almost like a child of ours has grown up and become an adult," Dragonfly mused, seeming at least partially content, though Kite felt that there was something still gnawing at her.

"Well, in most ways she has been, at least for a time. Much like Uncle Walker has been like a parent to me and Force to you. Taking on a young one and guiding them for years? Especially an orphan like us? I would call that a connection to cherish and learn from for when we eventually have children of our own. But don't think you can hide those troubled thoughts of yours from me, wife. What's bothering you?"

"The surge," Dragonfly sighed, not putting up any resistance to Kite's probing.

"Ah," Kite replied, catching her meaning.

"Indeed, a dangerous time for a new iron. It might hit within a year."

"I know," Dragonfly half whined.

"And with the surge protocols in place, I won't be guaranteed to be there to protect her. It will be great for her growth if things go well. But if not… It was only two surges ago that my sister died, and she was an iron just like Sprite."

"But at least circumstances are quite different for Sprite," Kite remarked as he started his attempt at consoling the worries of his wife.

"She has us, who might not always be far away."

"True."

"And - assuming that she'd be willing - she will have the guild. The Adventure Society does prioritize guild members being stationed closer together."

"... also true."

"Also -" Kite finished, hugging Dragonfly closer to him to really help his finisher find its mark.

"- I am not beyond pulling a few strings and making a few requests with the local branch directors. Nothing big, mind you, but assuring that Sprite won't be flung too far away from us shouldn't be too outrageous, especially as the Adventure Society here in the north is very fond of the guild as things stand. It might sound underhanded in a way, but for this cause I will say with certainty that I can bear the guilt." After a few more moments of tension, Dragonfly finally relaxed as she melted against Kite's chest.

"Oh, husband. You know exactly what to say."

"I do try to please."

"And that besides, I don't want to coddle Sprite too much either. She will need to grow into her own role as an adventurer too. Just… within reasonable reach. Gods, these things are hard to balance."

"At least hopefully practice can make perfect, love."