Chapter Seventy-Five - Flower Picking

Chapter Seventy-Five - Flower Picking

Chapter Seventy-Five - Flower Picking

I woke up to something pushing my chest in a very rude place.

I would have dismissed it, but whatever it was was warm and moved a little, and it was very distracting. So I slid one eye open and took in the interior of the tent. The walls were painted in splotches of bright blue where the morning sunlight beat against the canvas, and as I came awake, I noticed the happy birdsong of a forest coming to life.

Then my eyes focused and I noticed the prompt hovering before me.

Congratulations! Through repeated actions your Friendmaking skill has improved and is now eligible for rank up!

Rank C costs one (1) General Point

Had that levelled while I slept?

How?

The warm weight on my chest shifted again and I looked down. Awen was hugging me. One arm over my chest, with a hand pressed up on my tummy where my shirt had ridden up and her head was using me as a pillow.

It was kind of cute. That was, until her mouth worked and I saw a line of drool leak out to stain my shirt.

I giggled, then giggled harder when the noise made Awen smile in her sleep. The poor thing must have been having a nice dream. Determined not to wake her up, I shuffled to the side, carefully extricating myself from her grip with what little agility I had so early in the morning.

When I finally stumbled out of the tent it was to find Amaryllis sitting by the burnt out campfire, a pen in one talon and a metallic tablet on one leg and Orange lounging on the other.

Morning, I said.

You managed to pry her off you, Amaryllis asked as she finished writing a line down on the paper before her. She signed her name at the bottom with a flourish, then blew across the page.

Hmm, I said. Yeah. I guess shes not used to sleeping with people and glomped onto the warmth.

Yes, Im sure thats exactly whats happening, Amaryllis said. She folded the page carefully, then scribbled something on the back.

Whatre you writing? I wondered as I turned around and snuck back into the tent. My armour was laying off to one side where I had chucked it off before bed. Once I retrieved it I could start dressing again.

A letter to my family. I keep them informed.

Of our adventures?

Amongst other things. She disappeared the letter and her writing into her ring and then stood up with a groan. Had she been sitting there all throughout her watch? Hardtack on the road? Amaryllis asked.

Sure. It wasnt exactly a five-star breakfast, and maybe Awen would be a teensy bit disappointed, but it would allow us to make a bit more headway on our trip.

According to Awen a caravan from Rosenbell to Greenshade took four to five days. On foot, it would take us a bit longer, though it was possible we could take shortcuts where there were no roads.

Once I was all armoured up, we set about cleaning the camp, picking up our things, and generally getting ready for the day until the last thing left to stuff away was the tent and the equipment within.Fịndd new updates at novelhall.com

I crawled under the flap and found Awen curled up in a little ball under a pile of blankets. I almost felt bad for waking her up, but she had gotten her eight hours and then some. Awen? I whispered as I shook her shoulder.

She made a little whining noise and shifted to be deeper under the blankets.

I laughed. Awen, wakey wakey, no eggs and hardtack.

I wasnt good at rhyming.

That had been a lot easier than making it from scratch.

Physical Manakinesis

F - 35%

I hummed, then waved my hand in the air in a cutting gesture while firing a burst of cleaning magic. It swept out and pushed against the top of the nearby grass.

I tried the same with fire aspect mana. It wasnt quite right, and all I did was waste a lot of mana and warm the air up, but it felt right. Not a spell, not really, but pure elemental mana pushed into the world to do something.

Physical Manakinesis

F - 38%

And it seemed as if I was on the right track, more or less. Neat, I said.

Figure something out? Amaryllis asked.

I think so. But magic is complicated.

Amaryllis snorted. Idiot. If it was easy everyone would be using it. Im impressed youre even trying, you strike me more as a hit things hard kind of person than a light them on fire sort.

Awa, I dont think Broccoli is like that.

I dont want to light people on fire, I said. Just the world around me. I should learn more defensive magic, just in case though.

There are spells that create bursts of blinding light with light aspect mana. Or you could learn some earth aspect spells for defensive uses, but youre on the far end of that spectrum with your cleaning focus. Im afraid that most of the aspects that will be easy for you to use are more intangible. Amaryllis hummed. Maybe water? There are some shield spells that use natural water. And air aspect has a few interesting spells that can deflect arrows or weaker blows. Its not adjacent to cleaning but near enough.

That sounds brilliant, I said.

I bet that air and fire combined really well too. It would be hard to justify using thermobaric spells in the cause of making friends, but Im sure the use would come up eventually.

Awa, miss Broccoli, look, Awen said, neatly cutting off all my glorious daydreams of mushroom clouds.

I followed her pointing finger to a distant patch of the prairies to the west that were covered in colourful flowers. It was a little spot between two hills, protected from the wind coming from the west and probably a nice place for water to gather.

We should check it out! I said.

Amaryllis sighed. Its not too far out of the way, she admitted.

Good eye, Awen, I said.

It, it was nothing? the girl said.

I eyed the ditch on the side of the road, then decided that I ought to help Awen across. So with a grin I scooped her up in a princess carry and hopped over to the other side before she had even finished squeaking.

Moron, Amaryllis said as she took a running leap and flapped her arms twice before landing by our side.

I would have gotten you next, I said as I lowered a red-faced Awen. Poor girl, she must have been embarrassed that she needed help. I would need to tell her that I was always there to help if she needed it, and that she didnt need to fuss over it.

The day you carry me like that is the day I clip my own wings, Amaryllis said. Now, lets go pick some flowers.

***