-Callen-

  Instead of going home for the day, Sis and I went to Nightshade. Sis waited outside while I went up and settled, gradually harmonizing with Nightshade. I finally felt the connection between us. She passed over the feeling of ‘A new sprout blooming early in the coming spring.’ As poetic and passive as ever, Nightshade didn’t elaborate on the earlier warning. My current theory is that Nightshade's previous master liked learning, which was passed on to Nightshade, but as an ancient plant, she lacked the urgency of short-lived people.

  I calm myself and sort out the questions that I felt needed answering.

  “Why did our stats unlock now?” Several minutes passed by in the silence, but chatting with Nightshade took time, especially when nothing urgent was occurring. The worm incident was one of the speediest communications I had ever shared with her. There was a reason Sis stayed outside. The quiet and slow communication would drive her crazy while she was doing nothing.

  “You have bloomed beautifully, and all those who see you acknowledge you. You have long been qualified, but now your pair has also proven herself.” I get the image of a flower with two heads. One was blooming early and the other later, but it wasn’t fully mature until both were blooming.

  “Is it a matter of acknowledgement? The people around us consider us fully capable, and that makes our stats available?” Quietly the dripping of water accompanies us in the evening light.

  “One can bloom under different circumstances; in harsh conditions, one might bloom to survive. One might bloom when the conditions encourage it, but usually one will bloom when it is time. You and your pair have bloomed under the encouragement of your circumstances. Both are outstanding and have been recognized by the fields around them as a wonderful flower.” Seemed like a flowery way of confirming that our stats are available because our community respects me and Sis as adults.

  “You warned us if we didn’t balance our spirit with our body and mind there would be consequences?” I move onto the more important dilemma. Instead of words, Nightshade starts her explanation with imagery. Two seeds side by side in comparison: one germinates and forms roots in the soil, and then the other one that seems to resonate with me. It doesn’t grow roots, instead reaching for light. The first is slow but solidly planted; the second is faster but lacks foundation.

  “Your spirit’s connection to the system is weak. To grow fruit would risk uprooting you. You will always lack the roots of native beings, but your spiritual training has strengthened the soil. What is safe for you to bear is changing, but I can imprint a guide to show you how much is safe.” With that I feel a vine begin to wrap around my wrist. On the surface it’s uncomfortable, but from my perspective I feel something wrapping around my being before withdrawing, leaving a trace of some kind of imprint. My best take on what had just happened was Nightshade using some kind of advanced enchantment skill using my body as the material.

  I begin to reach back to figure out what she had done, but I feel the emotion of weariness before the onset of winter. Nightshade had exhausted herself and needed rest before I asked further. I try to explore the feelings she left, but it’s far too complex. Eventually I break my meditation and walk to the edge of Nightshade’s garden tower, looking off into the town as the sun sets. On my wrist I notice a band of vines circling my arm like a vividly detailed tattoo, and it feels distinctly like some kind of enchantment. I feed it mana, and in my vision a green screen similar to the status window appears.

  I focus my new arm enchantment onto a bed of flowers next to me, and another number pops up.

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  Honestly, I’m a bit spooked by the formidable numbers from the flower and also a bit confused about what the number means now. That is until Nightshade passes over to me a ‘potato storing nutrients through a cold winter.’ Well, I guess this is one of Nightshade's secret contingencies. I look around the greenhouse of flowers and feel a new sense of appreciation. In the back I notice one of the flowers withered, and it hadn’t been before I entered. I reach over with my new enchantment and test it.

  Again Nightshade reaches to me with another feeling: ‘A dead flower composting and feeding a new flower.’ It seems the enchantment took more out of my familiar than I had anticipated. I could only silently thank her and hope this didn’t have consequences later.

  I head back down to Callia, who is boxing against a nearby tree. The number of fist-shaped imprints makes me almost feel bad for the tree but also shows just how quickly Callia had improved her punching skills. Truly my sister was born for violence.

  “Nightshade was able to answer some of my questions but also made a bit more for me to work through going forward. I also got a magic tattoo, but I think we will need to explore what it does.”

  A general briefing on our way home and another couple checks with my enchantment on my sister and the nearby plants.

  Callia

  Young Tree

  Random bush

  Our first objective was determining what contributed to the numbers. We compared it to various parts of our status and found the first number represented the total of both our stat points combined. The second number was a bit harder, but considering the first was the existing stats, the second was likely related to our spiritual skills. We couldn’t seem to find a decent standard for that one, so we’ll have to wait and test what increases that total.

  Finally we made it home, but a stern mom was waiting for us in the doorway. She menacingly had her arms crossed and a soup ladle in hand. It seems we had forgotten Rule #2 of home survival: never be late without forewarning family. A quick shared look with Callia has us communicating, ‘Our excuse will be good enough, right?’ ‘It doesn’t matter; Mom will beat us for not telling her before we run off.’ It seems to be a grim night.

  Late for Dinner

  Ela, Marek, Reesia, Nixie, and even Crescent had been invited over, but all of them sat around the table. A big family dinner was prepared, but the main protagonists of today weren’t just late. They had been waiting for nearly two hours since word had reached them of the twins' hunt finishing. The whole town had been abuzz with the news that Callen and Callia had somehow managed to slay an upper-mid-level monster.

  Ela had taken the opportunity to spur the whole family into getting a small feast with all of their favorite foods. After all, Callia had promised Ela she would come straight home after every hunt. It was going to be a great family moment, but now the food had gone cold, and so had Ela’s mood.

  Crescent was given some food and sent home before it got too late, but Ela made sure nobody else left the table. Ela had decided this time everyone would suffer from the twins' willful and chaotic nature. It had been years of Ela correcting the twins every time they ran for dangerous ideas, and it had been Ela getting caught in the worst of their traps.

  After the third hour, Ela called over to Nixie.

  “Nixie dear, could you please prepare a hole for the twins?” Without hesitation Nixie sprinted from her seat to get to the backyard digging. Anything to escape the frosty atmosphere at the table. Marek tried to sneak out while Ela was distracted, but before he made it to the stairs, Ela had him by the ear.

  “Dear, you're not going to make Nixie do all the work, right?” Marek quickly jumped out and dashed out of the room. Leaving only Ela and an uncomfortable Reesia.

  “Reesia, don't be so worried. It’s not you who I’m upset with.” Ela quietly rubbed Reesia’s shoulder before continuing.

  “Go put little Rylin to sleep and take care of him. I’m going to be occupied for several hours.”

  With that, Ela moved to the door of the house, watching the road. Slowly the sun set, and in the dark she saw Callen and Callia talking animatedly. They saw her and froze. Good, they know they’ve done wrong. All that was left was to make sure they are disciplined. Ela waited while in the backyard the sound of shoveling was reaching her from the depths of a very deep hole.