Ar'Kendrithyst

What Erick called ‘burgers’ and what everyone else called ‘patties’, sizzled on the flat top stove, next to a nice pile of caramelized onions. Those two items alone were enough to fill the kitchen and the rest of the first floor of the house with savory smells. Kiri scattered bright red and black spices on the browning meat, further flavoring the air with dried peppers and crushed peppercorns.

“You know? You’re the only one who doesn’t cook with bluebell,” Erick said, as he washed the lettuce for the salad.

Kiri tossed the grilling onions, saying, “I don’t see the appeal. It’s too… soft? Not exactly flowery, even though it is a flower, but… it’s like? Eh. It’s too subtle. That’s the word.” She added more ground peppercorns, saying, “I want to taste the spice.”

Erick said, “There’s this spice on Earth that’s a lot worse than bluebell. It’s called parsley, and I never understood why anyone cooked with it. It’s basically lettuce, but sized for sprinkling—”

The door to the house opened. Someone walked inside.

Erick glanced over, through the light, his eyes acting as though he was there in person, in the foyer. He spoke through the light, to the arrival, saying, “Welcome home, Teressa!”

Teressa looked around. “What’s going on?”

Erick, still in the kitchen, but with senses in the foyer, said, “I’m playing around with [Lightwalk]. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes.” He withdrew back to himself, and called out, “I tapped the keg already!”

Teressa walked into the kitchen, saying, “You call it [Lightwalk], but that is not [Lightwalk].”

With a gentle grip of white glows, and while he was chopping onions three meters away, Erick filled a mug of beer for Teressa. He floated it toward her, saying, “A guy has to have some secrets, right?”

Teressa took the mug and a sip, then said, “I’m not complaining. Just sayin’.”

Kiri watched as Erick floated a jar of salad dressing out of the cold box, using nothing but a wrap of white glows. She said, “I think I need to get [Lightwalk]. Is that option for the light dungeon still available?”

“Yes.” Erick said, “As far as I know. Just gotta talk to Merith, the River Mage who oversees the whole thing. You remember her?”

“I remember her.”

“They might have some people currently harvesting it all, so you probably have to put in a request.” Erick said, “But whenever you want to go is fine with me. We can handle you being gone for a week.”

Kiri smiled as she poked at the onions, saying, “Thank you.”

“It’s an option for everyone.” Erick said, “Far as I know, that’s what I asked for and what the Headmaster agreed to.”

“I don’t want it,” Teressa said, walking over to the grill. “No bluebell?”

Kiri smirked, saying, “You can make dinner tomorrow with all the bluebell you want. I’m going to look into getting [Lightwalk]. Maybe they’ll be able to take me tomorrow and I can avoid your bluebell travesties.”

“Have you tried aura work, Kiri?” Erick asked, setting the finished salad aside. “I couldn’t manage any, but you should theoretically be able to remake every spell using that, too.”

Kiri flipped the cooked burgers, then added cheese. As slices of yellow melted into the meat, she said, “Aura work was considered purely esoteric back at the Tower, so I never got the opportunity, and I never had the desire. We mostly just fought with each other and learned how to work the spells necessary to hold the line, to be proper soldiers.” She added, “I mean. Obviously, soldiers are needed, and I learned a lot. But being out in the world had been better for me, I think. The point is: I never heard of anyone remaking any spells with any aura work, either. The only things they taught were how to feel out your aura, so you could avoid hitting your allies with any aura spells.”

“I still have to try that [Fireball Aura].” Erick said, “I wonder if it would hurt.”

Teressa laughed, then said, “I’ll get the rod of [Treat Wounds] ready.”

Kiri said, “The first time I used my [Fireball Aura] was the last time I ever used that awful thing. I needed a rush to the doctor— That reminds me. I once saw Jane use a [Force Shrapnel] fire aura, and a [Cleanse Aura] at the same time. It was interesting. They worked well together, for reasons I never really considered until recently.”

“Oxygen makes fire burn better.” Erick nodded, saying, “[Cleanse] would restore the oxygen in the air. Seems like an interesting spell?”

Kiri smiled, then added, “I made my first really good spell in a long while, this morning.”

“Oh?!” Erick asked, “Good job, Kiri! What’d you make?”

Kiri popped out a blue box, saying, “It’s… A minor goal that worked itself out, after I watched your [Comet Swarm] last night.”