"Does your work allow you a lot of free time?" Rhysel asked Ahin.

"Oh, no," the witch said, shaking his head. "I've got six apprentices to keep track of most of the day, and the more delicate projects to look after when they've gone, and the shop to run - I'm open seven days a week, just shorter hours on weekends."

"That does sound busy. Do apprentices pay to train under you here?" asked Rhysel.

"Well, their parents do, but I don't charge them very much, and they help mind the shop and with making the simpler potions and keeping everything organized," Ahin explained, taking a second leaf of nilir.

She nodded. "I'm more familiar with an apprenticeship system, myself. Although there are likely a few differences even still. How long do they train under you?"

"As long as they want," Ahin said. "There's not really a formal cutoff age or a standardized test to pass such that then, they get declared witches. It's possible to make a living brewing low-grade pep potions and call yourself a witch. Some of the apprentices stay years and years. Some of them shop around for different teachers. I usually charge by the week."

Rhysel nodded. "Of the ones you have now, are they all long-term?"

"One of them's been to three different people in the last month, and I don't know if he's sufficiently impressed to not keep looking elsewhere," Ahin replied. "One's only been for a month, but seems inclined to stick with it. The others are all long-term."

"Do you enjoy teaching them?" asked Rhysel.

"Sure, they're good kids, and helpful to have around. They can make the boring things that'd rot my brain if I had to make them - and of course the shop would be considered deficient without!"

Rhysel laughed. "I suppose I can see that."

"I mean, consider a pep potion," Ahin said, growing increasingly animated as he started talking shop. "There's a half hour in the brewing process where you have to sit there and stare at it until it turns pink. I say a half hour but it could really be as little as five minutes because it's a temperamental potion at that stage, so it has to be continually watched -"

"Ahin, you're babbling," said Rinaal gently.

Rhysel laughed. "I don't mind, although I expect you've all heard this before."

"Of course," said Tekaal dryly.

"Would you mind if I dropped by your shop sometime? I'd like to see how it all works," Rhysel said to the witch.

"Of course you may," he said cheerfully. "Let me know what day so I can get the place spic and span, and not plan on making anything with secret ingredients, but of course."

"Certainly. I can understand about not letting trade secrets out," agreed Rhysel.

"He's gotten more careful about that," said Tekaal.

Ahin glared at his brother. "I swear to you if you tell anyone - anyone at all - there will be dire consequences indeed."

"I know. Your secret is safe with me," Tekaal replied mildly.

"Had a slip up, earlier on?" Rhysel asked.

"That would be an accurate summation," said Tekaal. "It was accidental."

She nodded. "Accidental revelations happen a lot, I've noticed," she said, winking at Tekaal.

"Oh, yes," said Ahin, grinning. "He told me all about that. What did the poems say, Rhysel? He wouldn't let me read them."

"If he doesn't want to share, far be it from me to announce it. They were quite complimentary, though."

Ahin laughed. "That's sweet."

She grinned. "I had no idea he had such feelings. I was quite embarrassed about simply stumbling on them like that."

"And then you didn't mention it until hours and hours later," said Ahin. "I can only imagine how awkward that must have been! Tekaal, you've got to take a leaf out of my book."

"Your book," said Tekaal, "consisted of walking up to Kestaar and saying "Hi, I'm that guy's brother. You're hot, do you want to have dinner sometime?""

Kestaar laughed. "Well, it worked."

Rhysel laughed as well. "At the time, he wasn't really in a position to ask about it, anyway. I was looking for paper to leave him a note when I stumbled across the poetry."

"Yes, I know, he made it clear when he repeated the tale that his excellent new girlfriend was completely blameless," chuckled Ahin.

"That was nice of him," Rhysel said.

"Yes, yes it was," replied Ahin, observing Tekaal's mild discomfiture with amusement.

"Anyway, I mentioned it at the first opportunity - the next day. Wasn't that long. I wouldn't have felt right not telling him I'd found them," said Rhysel. Ahin nodded. "It didn't take much for him to ask me out after that."

"Well, the damage had been done and you didn't want him to move away, so what else was he going to do?" said Ahin, shrugging. "Anyway, I'm glad it's all worked out for you two. I can't hog all the good luck."

She laughed. "Thanks. I appreciate that." She squeezed Tekaal's hand fondly. <I hope I'm not embarrassing you too much.>

<You're not. He is, but I'm used to it.>

She nodded slightly, smiling at Tekaal.

People began to get up and clear their plates.

"When do I get the formal introduction to your great-grandparents?" she asked Tekaal softly.

"Oh, I can introduce you after we've put our dishes in the washer," he replied, picking up his dishes.

She nodded, picking up her plate as well.

A haphazard line formed into the kitchen, everyone putting their dishes into a wire contraption similar to the one Narax had to clean his plates. Rhysel followed along behind Tekaal, putting her dishes in when she got to the rack; like all the others, they disappeared when she'd taken her hand away.

Tekaal raised his voice a little to attract the attention of the old couple. "Great-grandmother! Great-grandfather! You haven't met Rhysel yet."

They looked at him, looked at Rhysel, and made their slow way over through the thinning crowd. Tekaal's great-grandfather walked with a cane; his wife managed without, but shuffled laboriously. "Hello, dear," she said kindly.

"Hello," Rhysel said, smiling cheerily. "Pleased to meet you." <Should I give her the cookies now?>

<Yes.>

"I'm Ravis," the old woman said. "This is Pelitan. It's good to meet you too."

<Any special greeting or phrase when I do?>

<Well, "Good Lufelsis", but nothing other than that.>

<All right.> Rhysel smiled at the couple, pulling the pack of cookies out of the pouch on her belt. "Good Lufelsis," she said as she offered them to the woman.

"Oh, thank you," said Ravis, taking the cookies smilingly.

"You're welcome."

"Tell us about yourself, Rhysel," suggested Pelitan kindly. "We've only heard a little, secondhand from Rinaal."

"Well," she said amiably, "what would you like to know?"

"How did you meet Tekaal?" Ravis asked.

"Keo - she's the wife of the headmaster at the school where Tekaal works - introduced us."

"Oh, that's nice," Ravis replied. "And do you work there too?"

"I'll be starting there next term, although I've been doing some preliminary work there from time to time."

"What will you be teaching?"

She glanced around the room a moment to see if Esten was within hearing distance. He was. "A introductory course on how magic from my world works," she said.

Esten meandered surreptitiously nearer without interrupting his conversation with Balket.

"Oh, you're from another world! I wonder why Rinaal didn't say," mused Pelitan.

"Yes. I'm sort of stuck here for a while. Since people seem interested in my world, I may as well put my knowledge of it to use."

"That sounds nice," said Ravis. "Well, Pelitan and I will be in the parlor. Thank you again for the cookies."

"You're welcome. It was a pleasure to meet you."

They smiled again and moved off.

"They seem nice," she said to Tekaal.

"They are," he agreed.

"Don't socialize much?"

"They're very tired much of the time," he said. "They're very old. Usually they just sit together, looking at books or talking to each other."

She nodded. "Would it be impolite of me to ask how old they are?"

He shook his head. "I don't remember exactly, but they're both nearly three hundred years old."

"Wow."

"Yes. I find it nice to know that living a long time runs in my family, though," he added with a smile.

She smiled. "I can imagine. I'm certainly not going to complain about it." He chuckled, and she winked at him. "So, what happens now?"

"Well," he said, "it looked like a game of pel-pwon is starting, Mubil is being persuaded to take the children out for shaved ice, and Ahin is leading a political discussion. If none of those catch your fancy, I can bring you home or we can do something else."

"Well, I don't know how to play pel-pwon and I probably wouldn't do much besides sit quietly in a political discussion. But I'm not ready to go home yet either. Any suggestions?"

"Do you like shaved ice?" he asked, smiling.

"Flavored, I assume?"

He nodded.

"If it's like what I think it is, then yes."

"Then we could join Mubil and the children."

She nodded agreeably. "I'd enjoy that if you would."

"By all means." He led her over to where Mubil was taking some aaberik out of a box set into the wall in the front hall with Rasam, Ansil, and Nemlaal watching her expectantly. "May we join you?" he asked her.

"Oh, of course," she replied, smiling at him and closing the box. She pocketed the aaberik, counted the children, and held open the door for everyone.

Rhysel followed Tekaal out.

The group walked down to the street and along it for a few blocks, the children animatedly discussing nwer teams.

"Are you normally the one who looked after the children?" Rhysel asked Mubil.

"Well, the ones who live in the house are both my grandchildren, so yes, but Rinaal helps," Mubil replied.

"Do the two of you do most of the teaching as well?"

"They're still little enough that we don't do much of that, but yes," she replied.

Rhysel nodded quietly.

Eventually they arrived at a crowded little shop advertising "Shaved Ice" in bright red letters. "What flavor does everyone want?" asked Mubil.

"Blueberry!" shouted Rasam.

"Banana," said Nemlaal and Ansil simultaneously. Mubil glanced to Tekaal and Rhysel.

"Grape," Tekaal told her.

"Peach?" Rhysel inquired.

Mubil nodded and waded through the crowd into the shop. A few minutes later she emerged with a tray full of little cones of colorful ice poking down through circular holes. She handed a blue one to Rasam, a yellow one each to her grandchildren, a pinkish one to Rhysel, and a purple one to Tekaal before picking up her own bright red one and biting into it.

"Thank you," Rhysel said, which prompted the children to chorus the same phrase as well.

"You're welcome," Mubil replied. They began walking back towards the house, nibbling on their shaved ice.

<I wasn't expect her to pay. Do you think she'd mind if I offered to pay for my own?> Rhysel sent to Tekaal.

<I think it would be best not to offer,> he replied.

<All right.>

---

Home Table of Contents Dramatis Personae Setting Gallery News About Us Contact Us