“You could have stayed if you wanted,” Lily said to me. I could feel her concern. “Having more human contact would be good for you.”

“Perhaps,” I replied.

“You got angry with Carol.”

“I know. Her accusation about my pricing hit a nerve especially when I’ve always priced fairly,” I replied as we exited the village. “Come on, let’s take a longer walk through the woods. It’s not quite dark yet.”

“Sure,” Lily agreed buzzing along beside me. “You’re ignoring my other comment though.”

“What’s the point of being around people that don’t want me around them?” I asked. We fell silent for a while.

“You’ve been rather reclusive,” Lily pointed out.

“And the villagers have been less than welcoming even after I’ve met most of them,” I counter.

“You knew these mountain folk would be this way when we agreed to move up here,” Lily said.

“Yeah. But it seems they’ve had no problems welcoming Trinity,” I counter.

“She is also a young and attractive woman that Stonecroft’s chief, and wife have welcomed and given a house in the village whereas we were tossed out the first day,” Lily retorted. It was getting too dark to see.

“Good point,” I conceded just before tripping over something. “AAAAA!”

“Jase, are you alright?” Lily asked. She was doing an admirable job of not laughing at me even though I could feel her mirth.

“Yes. I hurt my pride more than anything else, I think. It’s too dark to see!”

“Create a light globe then,” Lily said before laughing since she was no longer able to hold back. I did as my familiar advised. Looking toward my feet, I noticed a thick branch I had tripped over. “And no, I didn’t put the branch in your path.”

“I didn’t say anything,” I protested.

“You were wondering though.”

“Maybe because a certain someone likes to prank me including tripping me up a few times,” I replied. I focused and increased the energy I fed to my light globe. It brightened so I could better see my surroundings.

“We really got off track,” Lily observed.

“Yeah. I don’t recognize this area.”

“It’s your fault!” Lily said.

“My fault? I’m not the one that can see in the dark!” I protested.

“I thought you knew where you were going and would make a light globe without being prompted to,” Lily countered.

“Isn’t it part of a familiar’s duty to keep their bond mate safe?” I retorted. I was grinning now.

“We’re safe. There are no predators or other hazards around…unless you count branches in the woods as hazards.”

“Ha-ha,” I replied. Lily giggled and I laughed. I noticed a vaguely familiar looking plant by my feet. I stood and pointed. “That plant looks familiar, but not enough for me to recall its name.”

Lily flew closer to the cluster of plants. “Stevia rebaudiana.”

“Candyleaf,” I said as the scientific name triggered my memory. “It’s supposed to have a few medical properties.”

“It can also be used as a sugar substitute,” Lily added.

“Really?” I asked as I dusted off my pants.

“Uh huh.”

“No flowers,” I commented.

“The network shows people cut those off and harvested the leaves,” Lily supplied knowing that was what I was wondering.

“Well, let’s take some and see what we can do with it,” I said.

“You have something in mind,” Lilly said and then pouted. “You’re keeping whatever you’re thinking from me.”

“I am,” I agreed as I bent down. I began harvesting some of the leaves. “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see.”

“Jase!” Lily whined. “That’s not fair!”

*

“Why are we going into the village so early?” Lily asked the next morning.

“I want some lemons, if anybody has any,” I answer.

“You’re not going to tell me why, are you?”

“No.”

“You saw something on the network you want to try, didn’t you?” Lily asked.

“Maybe.”

“I can look at your browser history, you know,” Lily replied.

“Fine. I want to try making some lemon drops along with something else,” I said.

“Lemon drops?” Lily questioned. “Why would anyone want sour candy?”

“I imagine because they like the taste,” I replied. “You can see the proof of that on the network.”

“True.”

“Besides. If the lemon drops are really sour or tart tasting, you can use them to prank the other pixies and villagers,” I said. Lily’s eyes light up.

“Ok! I’m game!” my familiar replied making me laugh.

*

“Good morning, Simon,” I greet the old merchant that runs Stonecroft’s general store.

“Morning Jase,” he replied. His hound familiar looks up. Lily and her exchange some nonverbal communication. “I rarely see you in here.”

“That’s true. Except buying a little meat, eggs, and the like, I haven’t come in much,” I agreed. “Haven’t had a lot to sell either.”

“Is that changing?” Simon asked.

“Perhaps, at least the buying part,” I answered.

“I’m always open to new suppliers and customers,” the merchant said smiling for the first time. “So, what will it be today?”

“Got any lemons?”

“Actually, yes. Got them from a caravan that came in three days ago,” Simon answered. His eyes widened as Lily flew figure eights in the air leaving a small trail of pink dust in the air.

“Showoff!” I told my familiar. She smiled.

“That is a sight,” Simon agreed.

“Was it Marcus’ group,” I worriedly asked.

“No. It was Samantha and Bart Neal’s group,” the merchant replied. “You would know that if you came into the village more.”

“Good. Marcus is supposed to be bringing me some alchemical equipment back,” I informed Simon.

“So, you’re why he’s running late.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Marcus sent a messenger pigeon saying he would be a few days late due to waiting on some equipment being made in Asheville,” the merchant answered.

“Ah.”

“The lemons are with the rest of the produce.”

“Thanks,” I replied walking toward those boxes.

“I have some oranges too,” Simon said smugly. I got a dozen of each as well as a dozen apples.

“You didn’t tell me you had apples.”

Simon shrugged. “Didn’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“How much for a dozen of each?” I asked.

“I usually charge a cent each since fruit is hard to get,” Simon answered.

“Could have gotten some more crabapples,” Lily whispered to me.

“True,” I agreed.

“Let me ask you something,” Simon said.

“Sure.”

“Is there something that I could take to help my…third leg stand straighter?” the merchant asked. He even blushed a little as my eyes widened when I catch his meaning.

Lily laughed. “I can’t believe he asked you that!”

“I’m sure there is something,” I hesitantly replied. It was hard to smother my own laughter.

“Ginseng and ginkgo will work,” Lily helpfully told me. “Ginkgo is in the secret garden too.”

“Well? Is there or isn’t there?”

“There is. I’ll have to find them in the forest, so it might take a day or two.”

“Alright,” Simon said smiling at me. “I can wait that long.”

“Um, yeah. How much for the fruit?” I asked.

“18 cents for all of it. I’ll give you a 2 for 1 cent discount.”

“Thank you!” I replied. “I’ll be sure to return the discount when I bring you the…treatment.”

“We have a deal then,” Simon said and started to bag my fruit.