Greetings, from Celadon!

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"Oh, Tyche?" Jungle Girl looked about, insidiously entertained by the situation at hand, "Tyche, dear? Where ARE you?"

Tyche ducked back behind the tree where Savior hid. She would let Jungle Girl find her, but not yet. She had to amass more forces first.

Little by little, the clovers arose all around...

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Before long, Jungle Girl could stand it no longer. She was far too anxious to do in the little pipsqueak who dared liken herself to a goddess, or even a demi-goddess like her.

"Oh, cut the games, you sad, pitiful girl! I haven't got all day! Come on out already!"

Tyche smirked from behind her tree. Just in time, she thought. If Jungle Girl wanted a fight, she would surely get one. All she needed was a little reinforcement, and now that she had it, she was more than ready. With that, she stepped from behind the tree where she had hidden herself, and put her fingers to her lips, giving a great loud whistle.

"Hylonome!" Tyche called, "I believe you were looking for me?"

Jungle Girl turned, with an insidious smirk, "Ah, the little girl has decided to come out of hiding."

"Yes, you've found me." Tyche snorted nonchalantly, "Though, I should warn you. You should be careful what you wish for...you just might get it!"

And having said her piece, she reached forth a hand. Leafy green tendrils extended forth toward Jungle Girl hatefully. Jungle Girl threw her head back in laughter at the sight. Plants? Really? She was going to be defeated by PLANTS, her own domain? Without a second thought, she put up her hand to stop the oncoming barrage. No way she'd be shown up by some novice agrokinetic.

That made for all the more surprise when she  found herself bound tightly by the clovered vines.

"Wha--?" She looked down, "Plants I can't control? What kind of trick--?"

"Not a trick, hon." Tyche snapped, "Your power extends over plants...except when the plants are clovers. That's where I come in."

Tyche wrenched her hands upward, and back down, crashing the dismayed plant elemental to the ground roughly, before tossing her into several trees. Then she raised several more clover vines to retrieve the recovering Jungle Girl. But her enemy would be ready this time. Vines met with vines, in an agrokinetic grappling match. Each hoped to find, in the viney tangle, an opening wherein they could sneak a well-placed thorn attack to the heart.

"You...you don't belong among the immortals, you stupid girl." Jungle Girl grunted, struggling to stave off planty attacks from all sides, "You may be a goddess, but if you're having trouble handling even me, just think of what the gods higher-up must think of you."

"Just be glad I've only got THIS body to work with." Tyche retorted, "It FORCES me to go easy on you."

She wrenched her hands again, and the plants in contact with Tyche's clovers began slowly to turn into clovers themselves. Jungle Girl watched with a mix of horror and awe, and soon found herself ducking back behind trees as Savior once had.

This was simply ludicrous, she thought. No novice deity would best her. Not now, not ever. And so, she inhaled deeply and turned around, plunging her hands into the tree. She allowed her psyche to take full command of it, and used it to swat back the petty vines Tyche had called up. They wouldn't be given the time to make the prolonged contact Tyche needed to convert her tree into clovers, and so this would do for now.

But Tyche wouldn't give up. The verdant villainess would be defeated one way or another. If she couldn't over-power the nature-based ne'er-do-well, she'd outlast her until she could muster no more strength.

However, she soon realized, that could take all night. Maybe even longer. Jungle Girl would not easily give up the little fortress she had carved out in the mortal world. It would take some quick thinking to take her down in any permanent way.

She pondered her problem as she pounded away at the tree Jungle Girl was using to defend herself. Vines attacked, and the tree riposted. Clover leaves flew her way, only to be caught or slapped back by roots. Clovers were cut up by leaves hurled forward like shuriken. And then, the answer was clear.

Not combat, Tyche thought. Simply contact.

Wait, what? Savior thought from within. What the frack does that mean?

But now was not the time for explanation. Tyche would require the utmost focus now. With all the plants she had assimilated now, into clovers and clover vines and clover petals, she wrenched her hands a final time, and they rose as a great botanical tidal wave. And there was no way Jungle Girl could psychically repel the arboreal avalanche and use the tree to cover her sides at the same time. The plant elemental was overcome, bogged down in agrokinetic-unresponsive clovers.

How humiliating.

Tyche approached, watching Jungle Girl struggle helplessly in the great green tangle with an air of triumph about her.

"Now..." she said, putting her hands on her hips, "What to do with you?"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Returned now to normal, Savior would now have to make her way back to the manor. Night had nearly fallen, Tyche had gone back to the profound depths of the immortal realm and the Penultimate wouldn't wait for her to arrive to dinner.

[ParallelanPrincess]

Jungle Girl's forest was slowly disappearing. The rooftops of the houses buried under the greenery were slowly coming into view as the grass shrank to normal size.

"My work here is done," Savior said with a weak smile.

The battle had exhausted her. Tyche used more energy and power Savior knew she possessed. Savior trudged back into the city, she could see citizens emerging from buildings.

"That's right, come out from under the bed AFTER I save your sorry auhnah" she muttered.

She blamed Tyche's influence for the look of disdain she was giving the celebrating Celadonians. A few people shook her hand and (probably) congratulated her in Celadonian.

The barcyclops gave her a you-done-good-kid nod as she passed his watering hole. Savior responded with a you're-next-if-you-ever-look-at-me-again glare.

After wading through an impromptu parade she made it to the gates of the Penultimate's manor. Brutus was guarding the main entrance with his arms crossed and a smug look on his face.

"You made it back alive? Impressive." He said with the same tone you use when a toodler has discovered they have a reflection.

Savior rolled her eyes and pushed past him.

"Not in the mood to chat I see. Jungle Girl must have really gotten to you." Brutus said.

Savior stopped, turned, and promptly shouted every Parellan curse word she knew.

Once she had exhausted her mental dictionary of profanity, she made her way to the Penultimate's private office.

[ParallelanPrincess]

"Enter," the Penultimate's voice echoed throughout the hallway. Drama king.

Savior went into his office and sat in her favorite armchair in front of the Penultimate's desk.

"Hast thou slain Hylonome?" The Penultimate asked, dramatically swiveling to face Savior.

"What do you think?" Savior responded sarcastically, picking a clover out of her ponytail.

"Excuse me? The Penultimate asked sternly.  Savior must have forgotten who she was talking to. He didn't give a frag if she just took down a Titan, she was not going to talk to him any kind of way.

"I said, I took care of your weed problem. Happy?" Savior snapped.

The floor of the office shook and Savior saw storm clouds gathering outside the window. The fire in the fireplace flared extremely high as the Penultimate narrowed his eyes.

"W-what I meant to say was I totally took Jungle Girl down."

"Wonderful! I knew you could do it!"

The Penultimate smiled and things returned to normal.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"Well, dang." Savior grumbled, "Somebody's touchy." And she exited the room.

"Indeed." The Penultimate snorted, with an eyebrow raised, as she left, "Better recognize it."

When she was gone, he decided he'd wait for her to finish dinner by playing Final Fantasy XXII: Infinite Dynasty.

Meanwhile, Brutus returned inside. Waiting idly for the kooky clover collector was thirsty work, and afterward, he would have to feed a few animals, clean a few things...do some studying. Some planning.

"What's that?" Terryffinda asked, as she caught him sitting in the library, while she was dusting.

Brutus jumped up quickly and closed the book, growing annoyed, "None of your business, you nosy busybody! Go...go dust something, somewhere else!"

"Well, goodness, Brute." Terryffinda smirked at his sudden agitation, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to do something underhanded."

"Good thing you know better, then." He huffed.

Terryffinda shook her head, and replied simply, with a chuckle, "Indeed."

She left him to his devices to rejoin Nikolai on the other side of the Library; she was sure that whatever he was up to, the Penultimate would handle him if he went too far...

[ParallelanPrincess]

"And that's how I defeated Jungle Girl," Savior spoke into the perfume filled bowel to Himeros.

Aphrodite was out and Eros was reporting to the Pantheon. Himeros was the only at Aphrodite's palace who could answer the goddesses calls. Savior and he were on cordial terms. The two had rarely crossed paths during the years Savior lived with Aphrodite.There was something about the god's sensual aura that disturbed Savior.

"That is quite a tale. The Mistress will be most pleased to hear about your progress," Himeros said in that annoyingly lewd tone.

"We, that is to say the Erotes, are proud of our 'little clover' finally fulfilling her destiny. Especially after the issues we had with your predecessor."

Savior raised an eyebrow. Did Himeros know why Tyche hated Aphrodite? One way to find out...

"Tell me everything you know about Tyche and Aphrodite's relationship," Savior demanded.

Himeros smirked. Hedylogos was going to flip when he heard about this.

"Take a seat, Savior. Uncle Himeros is going to tell you a bedtime story."

[ParallelanPrincess]

"The last Tyche's human name was odd as well. Eydis Voclain. Princess Edyis Voclain. Before you ask, that kingdom is long gone. Traditionally, deities that...'come back' as humans are alerted of their status on their eighteenth birthday. The Mistress intended to do the same with you."

"And she didn't because?" Savior pressed.

Himeros looked away for a bit. The Mistress had her reasons and he knew exactly what they were. However, what Savior didn't know wouldn't kill her.

"I'm afraid you'll have to ask her," Himeros said, turning back to Savior.

He knew that Savior didn't have the courage to question Aphrodite in person. Few people did.

"Now, where was I? Ah, yes. On the eve of Eydis's eighteenth birthday, two women arrived at her palace-"

"And one of them was Aphrodte," Savior finished.

"Don't interrupt."

"Sorry, won't happen again"

"As I was saying. The two women were Aphrodite and Hera. Don't interrupt.. They presented themselves to Eydis as travelers searching for a place to spend the night. This was to judge Eydis's character and generosity. The goddess of luck can be neither selfish nor cold hearted.

In true royal brat fashion, Eydis turned them away. I know, harsh. The next day, the two revealed themselves and then...everything went to Hades.

~~~~~

"You expect me to believe that you hags are goddesses?" Eydis said condescendingly as she stared at the two cloaked women standing before her throne.

The last thing she wanted to spend her birthday doing was humoring a pair of senile old women.

Aphrodite fumed. This arrogant brat! She's show her a hag! Aphrodite tossed aside her cloak to reveal the stunning beatuy beneath.

"I AM APHRODITE, GODDESS OF LOVE!" she roared, her voice echoing off the palace walls.

"Fascinating," Eydis said sarcasticly. "And you are?" she asked the remaining cloaked woman.

"Hera, wife of Zeus," Hera sighed, throwing of her cloak. Aphrodite was far too hammy for her tastes.

[ParallelanPrincess]

"Okay, and I care because?" Eydis asked.

"Because, you rude, spoiled-" Aphrodite began. Hera held up a hand to silence her.

"I believe I can handle it from here. You can wait for me outside." Hera said.

"But I-"

"Outside,  Aphrodite.

~~~~~~
"To this day, The Mistress has no idea what Eydis and Hera discussed. Only that afterwards they became quite close. The rumor around the Pantheon is that Hera was the only person your predecessor liked and vice versa. At least that's what Hedylogos says," Himeros said.

"That still doesn't explain why Tyche hated Aphrodite!" Savior said impatiently.

"Doesn't it? Hera hates Aphrodite. Hera has a conversation with the new Tyche. Next thing you know the new Tyche hates Aphrodite and is best friends with Hera. I thought you were smart."

"So...Hera manipulated her?"

"Possibly. No one knows for sure. Eydis never wasted an opportunity to undermine Aphrodite or suck up to Hera. Now if you're done with your questions I have an assignment that needs tending to."

"Thanks, Himeros. Don't forget to pass on my message to Lady Aphrodite."

"Will do."

The bowl of perfume clouded and  Himeros was gone. Savior stared where Himeros' face had been moments before. She and Aphrodite needed to have a nice, long conversation at the first opportunity.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

And if Aphrodite had anything to say about it, that opportunity would not come for a long, long time.

"Penultimate." She called out, becoming visible as he turned around, "How have things been going on around here? Anything particularly interesting happen, of late?"

The Penultimate put down his book, and sighed, "Yeah, sure. Um, Mr. Fluffums got a new collar. Nikolai tried and failed to explain Finnegan's Wake to me. Terryffinda finally managed to beat Zei at chess. Savior beat Jungle Girl--"

"Wait-wait just a second!" Aphrodite stopped the Penultimate at that last item, "Rewind it. Pause. Now...play. Tyche took on Hylonome? And won?"

The Penultimate rolled his eyes, "Hehe, I figured that last part might catch attention. Well, yeah, turns out Savior got some assistance from Eydis to defeat Hylonome. What she did with her after, I'm not quite clear on, though. Probably banished her. Savior couldn't say, but from what she said, Eydis quickly receded back into the divine realm afterward. Seemed angry."

"Eydis? Good gods, why the deva did she call on Eydis for help? She'd have done better with her domain of luck if she had called on Dionassa, the Tyche before Eydis. Or hell, if she had called me."

The Penultimate snickered. Bridgette came through the door, and the two turned back to face her.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, surprised at the presence of the goddess, "Master Penultimate, I...I had no idea you were entertaining company!"

"Company?" Aphrodite's expression grew annoyed, "You call HIM Master Penultimate, and all I get is "company"? Um, President Bill Clinton is company. The King of Gandrei is company. I am the goddess of love and beauty! You had better recognize it, peasant, and BOW DOWN in the presence of divinity!"

Bridgette's eyes grew wide, and she fell on her hands and knees, "Please don't turn me into a pig! I don't want to fall in love with my reflection, or a tree or a rock, please!"

Aphrodite snickered at the maid's response and bade her stand back up, "Lighten up, girl, I was only joking. I mean, honestly, I haven't turned a person into a pig for an insult, for...um, at least a couple days! No worries. Oh, and it was Nemesis who made Narcissus fall in love with his own reflection, not me, if you recall the tale accurately."

Bridgette was silent, only nodding in fearful agreement, and then exited with haste.

"So", Aphrodite turned back to the Penultimate, "Savior defeated Hylonome. That's great news! Any idea what her next assignment will be?"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The next day, as one would expect, Savior was incredibly tired. As such, not much would be done to clean up around her; no one's room would be cleaned with the occupant still in that room. So, since Savior likely wouldn't be up until around 2, old Zei and Dyndron would be among the few who had some free time to spare around the manor.

"Alright, Dyndron." Zei grumbled, "I've been watching Brutus beat the living watoosie out of you for some time now, and I don't like it. Not one bit. You have great potential, but you lack any discipline, and discipline is what truly helps you win a battle, along with courage, intelligence and good old-fashioned wisdom. And those are things an arrogant philistine like Brutus could never teach you. So our lesson begins with this."

The old man headed to a door on the opposite side of the room. He slid the keyhole to the other side of the door and then inserted the key. He entered; he came back out, rolling a giant stone wheel. He rolled the stone wheel to the center of the floor and kicked it over on its side.

Then he turned to Dyndron, and pointed at the wheel, "Alright, boy. Move that stone, all the way back into the door. I'll be back tonight to see how you've come along."

Without another word, Zei turned and left the young butler to his own devices.

[ParallelanPrincess]

Broken mirrors. Hornets nests. A key. Random images flashed into Savior's mind as she tossed and turned. Her  dreams were too benign to be called nightmares yet there seemed to be a hint of lucidity. Savior was fully aware she was asleep. However, she had no idea what these strange images meant.

~~~~~~
Savior was staring at a mirror. It was cracked, chipped, and offered no reflection. The mirror seemed to be a doorway into darkness. Savior was supposed to step in to the darkness. Not now, but soon.

She could hear the angered buzzing of hornets coming from the darkness. Savior would face the hornets. They had stolen the key and she needed it back. Not now, but soon.

~~~~

"Gimme back mah stuff", Savior mumbled in her sleep.

Savior's less than sweet dreams were interrupted by the sound of a large crash.

<WHAT *untranslatable idiom* ?!>  Savior shouted as she jerked awake.

The clock on her dresser informed her it was four in the afternoon, way past time to wake up. With a grunt Savior got out of her wonderfully comfortable bed and prepared to seize what was left of the day.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Savior walked past a room where Dyndron had been struggling to move a huge stone wheel for the past couple hours, and headed downstairs. Zei greeted her as he headed up the stairs, and she headed down to the dining room.

"Greetings, young Savior." came a deep voice, and Savior whirled around, fearing the Penultimate had called Tyr Krakskul to give her a personal wake-up call.

Fortunately, she was greeted by a much smaller man. And, if her judgment didn't fail her, he was human, albeit a large human. Easily 6'4 like Brutus, broad shoulders, barrel chested. And...dressed in a cook's uniform?

"Erm...hey..." Savior replied nervously, fishing for a name in her mind.

"Cook." He replied, crossing his arms, with a playfully suspicious look on his face, "Ivan Cook."

"Oh, yeah!" Savior said, recalling the name and face at last, "Um, yeah, Ivan...Cook."

"Right." He replied, "Well, you can just call me Cook. And since you were late for breakfast...and lunch...I figure you can come out and help me round up dinner."

"Huhwha?" Savior was startled by the thought, "Help you catch dinner? Wha-what the heck do I look like...some kind of assistant?"

"Not yet, you don't." Cook turned around, heading back toward the kitchen with a chuckle, "I'll be back in a minute with your uniform and your...weapons of choice. Chef's choice, of course."

He was gone into the kitchen, and shortly returned with what looked like a toolbelt around his waist. He handed Savior the same thing.

Cook chuckled again, as Savior looked through the belt's different compartment; this wasn't a toolbelt; it was like a utility belt! Complete with forks, spoons, regular knives, butter knives, a can opener, a steak fork, a butcher knife, a ladle, and a few spices, Savior marveled at all the different compartments.

A wicked glint flashed in Cook's eye, "I hear that your powers make you a good shot. So count this as both your first cooking lesson, and your first weapons lesson. Oh, and don't fret. You're not NEARLY ready yet, but after some practice, I'll let you try the spatula..."

[ParallelanPrincess]

Never before had spatulas seemed so awesome. Savior was ready to embrace her inner Emeril. If this was the punishment for missing meals, she'd have to oversleep more often.

"What are we hunting? Minotaurs? Basilisks?" Savior asked gleefully, strapping on her utility belt.

"Yales." Ivan said with a wicked smile.

"Awe-WHAT? You mean the thing with the rotating horns and the tusks? You have those here?" Savior was shocked. Yale meat was a delicacy among the gods. She didn't know that mortals still caught them, let alone ate them.

"Exactly. They're native to Celadon and often travel in herds in the nearby forests. Have you eaten it before? Yale meat is quite delicious and their horns enhance the flavor of anything they are mixed with."

Ivan would never have pegged Savior as a food expert. Her description was surprisingly spot on.  Few Celadonians were fool enough to confront a Yale head on, and Parallela was infamous for being a reclusive country...

"I've eaten it tons of times. I just didn't know other mor-" Savior stopped short. Too much information. Cook didn't know about Aphrodite and the Erotes.

"Really now? Where have you eaten it? I thought I was one of the only folks in Celadon who could prepare a proper Yale stew."

Ivan eyed Savior suspiciously. Brutus had been hinting there was something unusual about this one.

"Oh, here and there. My...foster family was good friends with a famous chef."

"And who was that? I'd love to exchange a few cooking tips." Ivan questioned. If there was someone who could rival his cooking prowess he needed to know who, what, when, where, and why.

'Don't say Demeter. Don't say Demeter.' Savior thought. She had talked herself into a corner again.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Fortunately, Cook intuited that he had spoken out of place. It was likely something she didn't want to talk about.

"Ah, never mind." He patted her on the shoulder, "Maybe some other time. Let's get out into the field. These things aren't going to be easy to find, and they won't go down without a fight, so we should get started quick."

Cook made sure the two were fully equipped, that all of their equipment was in the right places, and the two were off.

The hunting grounds nearest to them was actually on the Penultimate's vast estate, about a couple miles out, and so it didn't take long to reach the woods where they'd be hunting, but, as Cook had anticipated, they would be out there a while. A good hour of nothing but sitting and listening to noises and watching stuff.

Not to say any of it wasn't worth it-- the scenery was absolutely lovely-- but it certainly wouldn't have hurt if they had maybe taken a snack or something. But Ivan assured, that was all the beauty of going on the hunt on an empty stomach-- it made you all the more of a predator.

And so, they would observe the flitting fairies and pixies and sprites and spriggans. The occasional feasel, gongolongo, enlaudigus or foxibara. The forest was surrounded all about with a rainbow of flowers and plants and animals, especially birds. The serenity struck Savior silent with wonder, and Cook's silence was tense and vigilant. The right sound, the right crunch of dead leaves on the forest floor, and he and Savior would have themselves a good-sized critter to bring back home. A couple times they were fooled by a passing unicorn, or a hippalectryon-- even a kelpie from a nearby lake--but they remained optimistic that a Yale would eventually--

"Look!" Ivan cried out, calling Savior's attention, and pulling her back just as a rampant creature dashed just inches over her lap; it slid to a stop, over the dry leaves, with the sharpness of Ivan's cry, and turned back around, facing the two with brash arrogance that betrayed its gender --obviously male-- "It's the Yale!"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The great chimerical monster menaced the two of them, snorted haughtily, and then lowered its head, padding the ground with its hoof. It was either clearing the ground to set down a pretty picnic blanket or getting ready to charge the two. The ladder sounded more likely, and so Cook cued Savior to take cover.

Right on time, the Yale narrowly missed Savior's chest with a well-aimed horn that had been curled to resemble a bull's horn. The other horn remained straight, riposting the butter-knife that Cook threw at the Yale. The intelligent beast kicked the butter knife back behind himself, assuring the culinary assassin wouldn't regain it easily.

Again he charged, now aiming his horns forward like dual javelins. But even his impeccable aim wouldn't make an easy target of the highly trained Cook-for-the-Penultimate. As he had done with bulls and horses and other beasts in the past, he made his body weight useful, shifting it to give him the advantage. He caught the great beast by the neck, just as the thing whizzed by, and held on for dear life.

He rode it a short while, attempting to stab it here, or trip it there, but the Yale was also a master warrior. His horns would easily defend against such blunt attacks. It would be an insult to his species if he couldn't. Jab here, parry there, lunge, thrust, but neither man nor beast could manage a touche!

Finally, the Yale thought the animal equivalent of 'screw it all' and bucked the large man off of him with all the force he could muster. Ivan hit the tree some kind of way, and his wind was knocked right out of him. His consciousness teetered. Finally feeling slightly winded, the Yale kept his game face. One annoying and arrogant human down, one to go...

Savior was confident at first, sure that Ivan could handle his own against this creature --surely he had fought bigger, and won, right?-- but now...now she was alone. Ivan was as good as out of the game, with being knocked silly for the moment, and so...

Where the heck were her utensils?! Had she dropped them in all the excitement? Had her hands simply gone numb, unable to feel that she was already touching the utility belt? Good gravy, she hated not knowing what to do in a pinch... Finally! She felt sensation return to her hands. She reached down to the first thing she could find and, without even caring to look down and see what the heck she had grabbed a hold of, hastily let fly and attempted ducking out of the way, bracing herself for the worst.

WHUM!!! THUD.

A couple seconds passed, and she thought at last to look up. Certainly, if her fate was upon her, it was over by now. She may as well at least pay salutations to Saint Peter, head on in and get it all over with--

"WHAT THE--?!"  Savior's attention snapped around and she saw Ivan, who could barely muster up anything beyond wide-eyed, slack-jawed amazement.

There at the foot of the tree where Savior once cowered, the Yale lay sprawled on its belly, hooves poking out from either corner of its torso and flank. The thing was dead as a doornail. Savior stood shakily, and walked over to as gruesome a sight as any kid should see as a child. In charging at Savior, the Yale had scared out of her one good throw of a dinner knife. The thing stuck shallowly in the big bully's forehead, and so, when he missed Savior and instead hit the tree, what would have just knocked him out, instead drove the knife further in, and killed the beast.

Cook blinked absently for a second, only regaining mental composure when Savior plucked her winning weapon from the Yale's head and came back to his side. He patted her on the head, with a smile.

"Kid, that...that was beautiful. If that result is what I could get with sheer dumb luck, I'd vow never to train or prepare a day in my life."

[ParallelanPrincess]

Cook covered the Yale and fashioned a gurney to carry the horse-sized creature as he and Savior made their way back to the manor. Savior was uncharacteristically silent. She couldn't stop staring at the Yale's corpse, as the trekked through the hunting grounds. Cook quickly assessed what was wrong with the girl.

"First hunt?" Cook asked cautiously.

"No. My first time actually killin' somethin', though," Savior said quietly."It's not a big deal," she continued.

"A great huntress once told me that this" she motioned to the Yale, "was part of the natural order. Hunting was just another way the world went 'round. You just had to make sure you never killed more than was necessary or you would upset the balance. Hunting is both a way of life and part of life. We need only observe the boundaries between survival, sport, and murder to understand the beauty of The Hunt."

Cook was momentary shocked by her insight. Savior sounded profound for a child who spent most of her time playing in the greenhouse. She was friends with a culinary genius and a wise hunter. Suddenly it didn't seem so surprising that she was the Penultimate's apprentice.

[ParallelanPrincess]

"Is it done yet?" Savior asked for the hundredth time. The smell of the cooking Yale meat was driving her insane. She literally hadn't eaten all day.

"No. For the last time, it's going to take another two hours, forty minutes, and twenty-six seconds." Cook said, patiently dicing up some vegetables and putting them in the stew.

Savior groaned and pouted from her perch on the kitchen counter. Cook may have let her hunt, but it would be months before she got to do any actual cooking.

Cook ignored Savior's whining. Savior had hints of sage-like wisdom, but she was still twelve. He needed to occupy her and get her butt off his counter.

"Don't you need saffron and rosemary?" Savior asked fiddling with her utility belt.

"Of course not. You don't make Yale Stew with that." Cook said dismissively. Silly girl, he scoffed in his mind, saffron...

"Uh...if you say so." Savior shrugged, twirling a spoon between her fingers.

"Wait. Did that chef friend of yours use saffron and rosemary?" Cook remembered the man (or woman, you never knew) Savior mentioned earlier.

"Yeah, and philyra and essence of hyacinth, too. She said it enhanced the flavor and tenderized the meat or something."

"Savior."

"Yeeees?"

"Go get every single plant she used from the greenhouse and bring them to me. I think it's time to update my cookbook."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Night had fallen, and it was nearly time for dinner. Zei came back up the stairs to check on his pupil, who had come back from his fifth break and still had yet to move that immense stone wheel an inch. Dyndron turned when he had sensed the faint tremor of Zei's feet planted in the doorway.

"I see you have yet to meet the requirements of your training." Zei looked up at the ceiling smugly.

Panting, Dyndron frowned at the old man, "I...you...what the...I can't move this stupid boulder! How'd you do it???"

The old man crossed his arms and shook his head with a sigh. Kids these days. Not a one of them had a lick of sense. They were so concerned with the aesthetics of exercise and healthy living; so concerned with brute force and action and adventure and fame and fortune. They didn't even care for intellect and wit, which truly mattered when it was all said and done.

"If I tell you, you're gonna be angry with me, I know it." Zei teased, "And you'll be even angrier at yourself for not thinking of it."

Dyndron looked at the stone wheel. Then at Zei. Then at the stone wheel again. Then back at Zei.

"Wha-what's there to think of? It's a rock. It needs moving. I'm trying to move it!"

Zei snickered as Dyndron resumed his attempts to move the wheel. As suspected, Dyndron would continue to fail. Zei would watch a few more minutes before, finally, his funny bone could stand no more. He walked up to the stone wheel and put his hand on Dyndron's shoulder, shaking his head and chuckling.

"Stand aside, my boy. And cover your face."

Dyndron did as he was told, and Zei rubbed his hands together. He tented his hands, closed his eyes slowly, inhaled deeply and then put up his right hand, balled into a fist.

"GORILLA HAND STRIKE!"

Zei brought down his fist with tremendous force, and the stone wheel shattered as though it had been pummeled by a Hammrskaen's warhammer. The old man cued Dyndron to open his eyes, and he admired his mentor's handiwork, slack-jawed.

"See?" Zei smiled, "One does not always simply move a large object. Physical strength and speed is nice, but one must also be aware of effective ways to use it. Rather than tiring yourself out by moving a whole big object, try breaking it down. Things are always easier to take care of once broken...especially people."

Dyndron chuckled weakly; partly out of awe, and partly out of pure terror, "You...you're gonna teach me how to do that, right?"

Zei burst into laughter, holding his gut, and then his face fell, "Ahem...oh. You were serious? Um...sure. Maybe someday. But first...put these back where they belong."

Dyndron's old mentor patted Dyndron on the shoulder, opened the door where the stone wheel belonged, and exited the room, suggesting that Dyndron hurry and do the same. Cook would be done with dinner any minute.

[ParallelanPrincess]

"Are you positively sure these are the right ingredients?" Cook asked looking in the basket of herbs Savior returned with.

 It was full of myrtle,olives, saffron, hyacinth, parsley, walnuts, and aconite. All ingredients that should never be mixed together. Savior had even brought back a rose of all things.

" I am 98.7% sure that this is all the stuff De-my chef friend used." Savior said.

Remembering what Demeter used was the easy part. Finding them in the greenhouse was tricky. Savior flipped her coin at least 12 times to pick what route to go in the large greenhouse. Luckily, she found a backdoor in the greenhouse that lead straight to the kitchen.

"Very well, then. You sound sure enough. You go set the table. I'll kick the food up a notch with your ingredients." Cook cracked his neck and knuckles.

Savior gave a salute and went off to set the table.

Two hours later the stew was done and Cook summoned the manor's inhabitants to dinner. Once everyone was seated, he held a hand for them to come to order.

"Tonight's meal would not have been possible without the contributions of little friend, Savior," Cook announced.

A small round of applause followed, as Savior blushed.

"So without further ado. Let's eat!" Cook said.

There was a scraping of spoons and a clinking of dishes and then...

"Oh my gods..."

"Oh, my..."

"This is.."

Savior held her breath.

"DELICIOUS!"

And Savior exhaled.

"Ivan, this is the business! What did you put in this?" The Penultimate asked, from his seat at the head of the table.

"A good chef never reveals his secrets," Cook replied as he passed the rolls to Terryffinda.

"Savior aren't you going to eat?" Bridgette asked. Savior was watching everyone else eat with wide eyed fascination.

"Huh-wha? Oh, yeah!" Savior said grabbing a spoon and dipping it into her bowl. She silently sucked (not slurped because young ladies do not do that) the amber liquid from her spoon.

Savior's taste buds exploded and the resulting explosion caused a memory of eating the same meal with the Erotes to surface.

Home.

This was home.

And that was awesome.

"Cook, you are the best cook ever!"