Elaine was currently sitting in her aunt’s kitchen, dining with her extended family. Or was that her grandaunt?
Percy hadn’t paid much attention.
She looked like she was having a ton of fun too, catching up with relatives she hadn’t seen in years.
‘I have to hand it to Uncle Gawain for not having a stick up his ass…’ Percy thought.
Typically, nobles only bothered to marry a commoner if they were a Yellow-born, bringing more talented mages into the family. It was practical, if somewhat callous and transactional.
This wasn’t what Elaine’s father had done, however, getting together with his Orange-born wife out of love. This wasn’t news to Percy, but getting a feel for Ragnelle’s humble origins still put everything into perspective.
‘They’re all good people… No wonder Elaine turned out so nice...’
Regardless, Percy was bored out of his mind here. Not only did he not know any of them, but he couldn’t even reveal his existence. Admittedly, the roasted duck tasted nice, but meat was all they’d eaten since Twilight City, so he wasn’t all that excited about it either.
Of course, Elaine was planning to ask them about Archibald and House Avalon later, but she hadn’t brought it up yet, probably not wanting to sour the reunion with what promised to be a gloomy topic.Consequently, Percy had no choice but to wait quietly in a corner of his cousin’s mind.
Luckily, he did have something quite interesting to focus on in the meantime.
Filtering out the conversation, he gathered his willpower, allowing it to spill out of his host’s body. He let it gently unfold inside the modest room, taking great care not to touch any of the others, else they might notice. He also had to avoid breaking anything or making noise, which limited what he could do by quite a bit.
Thankfully, it wasn’t his first time playing with his domain.
Percy felt the invisible field roll like a carpet on the floor around the table, gently brushing against the wooden planks while enveloping the furniture. Given the circumstances, he couldn’t test the range or power of the ability, so he instead concentrated on sensing his surroundings with it.
The tactile feeling of his mind tracing the gaps and grooves of the planks was intoxicating. If he focused harder, he could even tell which ones were dustier or full of scratches and dents – Elaine’s aunt clearly hadn’t swept behind the cupboards in weeks.
‘It’s fascinating… having this much control over your surroundings without spending a single drop of mana…’
He obviously wouldn’t do it, but Percy knew he could bring the whole house down with ease if he wanted, without lifting a finger.
It hadn’t taken him long to discover that he could produce a domain while inhabiting Elaine’s body. This wasn’t even her domain. It was his own. He could only use it due to her grade, but it was made entirely out of his willpower, not hers.
The good news was that he’d managed to replicate some of the tricks his enemies had shown him. After discussing this with his main body, and whenever he and Elaine hadn’t been able to practice the Dance, he’d worked on moulding the domain into a thin protective layer around his cousin’s body, or a condensed blast powerful enough to shatter a large boulder.
Neither he nor Elaine had made much progress with incorporating their understanding of their affinities into the ability, but Percy didn’t even know if he would be able to do that while borrowing her body. Would he have to infuse the properties of his own mana types into it, or his cousin’s?
Either way, they weren’t in a rush.
Percy was about to resume his practice, when he noticed that his host had stopped talking at some point, as had the others. A quick glance revealed that everyone’s plates were empty – Elaine’s, her aunt’s, the husband’s and their adult daughter’s. And the woman had left the room at some point, when Percy wasn’t paying attention.
A minute later, she returned, carrying four wooden bowls in her hands. Looking at the thick, syrupy liquid glistening in a deep golden colour, his borrowed mouth couldn’t help but water.
‘Elaine… is that…?’
His cousin smiled internally.
‘It’s part of the reason I wanted us to come here. I knew my aunt would treat us to some whistling sap. I didn’t realize this until after you left for the Alchemists’ Guild, but you’ve never tried it before, have you? I’m sorry I forgot during the trip to the temple.’
Percy chuckled inwards.
‘I appreciate the sentiment, but you didn’t have to bring us here for that. It’s not a big deal.’
But Elaine shook her head internally, while thanking her aunt for the bowl on the outside.
‘It is a big deal. I’ve said this before, but you can’t spend your whole life training, Percy... I know the last few years have been hectic, but everyone needs to unwind once in a while. Even you. Even if it’s just your clone bringing the memories back later…’
Relinquishing her control over her hands, she let him take over, to enjoy the rare dessert by himself.
Moving the wooden spoon into his cousin’s mouth, he tasted the sticky substance, its rich sweetness reminding him a little of Freddy’s Honey Rolls. But the sap differed a little, as it left a slightly bitter aftertaste. It wasn’t enough to deter the young children it was often given to, but it was more than sufficient to make the snack unique and memorable.
More than anything, it was Elaine’s nice gesture that filled Percy with warmth, however.
‘Thanks, cuz... You’re the best.’