20 years after
In the passing years since she gave birth to the half elf child of hers, Frieren was presented with more interesting topics as she conversed with her child as they traveled the countryside and practiced magic.
Little Teufel, though a toddler she was, but very mature in mind, had begun to deviate in other aspects of conjuring magic. Her half elf child began summarizing that she wanted to add mathematics into the equation of spells.
It was adorable to watch as her little girl muttered about using vectors and algebra to her spells, while using a stick to write numbers into the ground. Sure, she taught the girl some basic math, but she didn't figure little Teufel would advance past her teachings and develop her own math on top of what she was taught.
Perhaps she was now, at the moment witnessing the next Flamel, a new branch of spell magic that integrated math into the mana that is spent and used.
Frerien was pretty sure her teacher was looking down at her from the heavens in amusement, the combination of human and elf in one being, bringing forth a new age of spells…it was a nice thought, to bring a life into the world that would one day shatter the foundation of spells and mages.
Much like how her Teacher laid the groundwork for mages of today.
50 years after
Little Teufel, looking like a child nowadays instead of a toddler, looked back at Himmel, who smiled back at his daughter with an aged face and beard, "You've become short over the years…." Teufel spoke straightly.
As promised, the party gathered to watch the meteor shower from a better vantage point as suggested by Frieren, now however they had a plus one given the circumstances between Frieren and Himmel.
Himmel laughed at his daughter's straightforwardness and attitude, "You sure do indeed take after your mother." He remarked, while Frieren tilted her head in curiosity.
"Well…she's not wrong, humans do seem to lose their height when they age…" Frieren remarked, earning some more laughter from Himmel and Heiter, with a twinkle of amusement in the eyes of Eisen.Last edited: 11/10/2024 Award Quote ReplyReport1187Grocamol21/9/2024Reader modeNewAdd bookmarkThreadmarks Threadmarks Chapter 2 | Reflecting on Life a bit New Threadmarks GrocamolA dude that's read too many fanfics21/9/2024Add bookmark#2Teufel, 10 years after Hero Himmel's passing
Teufel honestly felt it ironic that the name given to her was in germanic origin, even more so with what it translated to; however, she would be remiss to also acknowledge that everyone notable she's met in her third life so far, has had their own names in some germanic word for their name, so she really shouldn't complain.
Currently as of late, She and Mother have been traveling the countryside for a bit, mother said she wanted to visit Heiter some time within the next few years and check up on him; in the meanwhile, the two of them have recently stopped at a small quaint village near a coastline. Right now, Mother was off in one of the stores looking for any manner of oddities, while she herself opted to stick outside a small restaurant that hosted a variety of delightful snacks.
Sitting at a two seat table right outside a bakery, Teufel sat while having to use her knees to sit on for better height to reach the table; curse this body of hers that's been taking forever to reach an acceptable height for her, but what was she to do but weight for her Half Elf body to age forward at a snail's pace.
In front of Teufel was a plate of sliced berry pie, the young elf half had a fork in one hand, and an ink well pen in the other; grumbling a bit herself after finishing a bite of her pie, Teufel looked at her pen. She was fine with using it, but it was a bit annoying to be careful with the ink. She's tried looking for graphite pencils, but the product in question has yet to be created or even researched upon.
The best Teufel was able to get was the current writing tool she had right now; it also did not hurt that her mother taught her a spell to erase written mistakes, so at least there was that.
Place her fork down after finishing her slice of berry pie, the young half half gently pushed aside her plate and pulled her note book closer to her so that she could jot more notes down of everything she could comprehend about the spells of this world so far.
Teufel's mother was once the apprentice of Flemme, a great human mage that not only taught her mother how to wield magic, but was also the sole reason that mages today were even able to exist without fear. Flemme was responsible for laying out the groundwork for study on magic, during a time when demons were more prevalent to lay waste on humanity and the late civilisations of her mother's race.
She once asked what her mother thought of the topic of demons, and her simple answer was, 'The only good demon, is a dead demon, simple as that. They do not comprehend love, hate, compassion, they only comprehend strength and power.' were the words of her Mother's opinion on Demons.
And to be fair, in Teufel's mind, that seemed rather…actually, she did not know what to think of her mother's opinion against Demons, cause she has yet to meet one; but if every story she's heard about demon kin from not just her mother, but also tales and books, Demon's themselves were indeed a race of very problematic entities. They never sought peace, only death against other races, and quite often if it suited the demon's taste, the taste of human flesh.
Honestly, Teufel could not refute the racism if an entire race never saught anything but the death of other races; it also did not help matters when the demonkin were once horrendous looking creatures in ancients past, and only now they were mimicking the looks of humans and others for reasons unknown.
Blinking a bit to herself as she gazed down at her notebook, she looked at her notes of Zoltraak; the very spell itself came from understanding how the spell worked after her Mother fought a demon named Qual. She said that the demon himself was still alive but sealed away, something about which she would have to go back and finish him off now that his magic was no longer a threat.
She had asked why her mother did not finish him then, and the simple answer she got back was that his magic was easily able to penetrate her barriers; now after many decade of humans and her deconstructing the magic to learn it better and know how to better counter it, the modified spell itself had become an arsenal amongst mages of the current time.
Teufel began to write a bit into her notebook as she tried to think of the exact numbers and intricacies that went into creating the spell as well as how much mana was needed; so far, she has had to make guess work on measuring her own mana, using such tools of creating her own device that could absorb mana. It was more or less designed like a weight of sorts, the more mana she put in, the higher the small ball went up in its little device container.
She couldn't put too much in, as the device was still sensitive, but she was able to get out of it a baseline for her mana output, and work from there to know the feeling of how much mana she needed to cast Zoltraak.
"Hmm.." Teufel hummed to herself as she mentally calculated how much was needed for the spell, before jotting down a few more notes of her simple illustration of said spell she drew into her notebook.
Nodding to herself, the young Half half finished her notes and shut her book, before placing her stuff into her briefcase her mother got her. It was a nice simple gift her mother got her for her 50th year, just after she went with her mother and her party to watch the falling stars one more time together.
Shutting her briefcase close, Teufel frowned a bit and looked up in thought for a bit; she remembered the funeral of her father, her mother shed quite a few tears, while she had felt some fall from her eyes. The man was a noteworthy man in his own right, she did not expect to feel an emotion for the man himself at his funeral, but she supposed a part of herself did in fact feel sad to see an actual father figure of her's be in his own coffin.
She never got to be there for her original parents, she never got to know her parents of her second life, but having parents again and actually being around both of them, did bring an emotion she long thought was gone.
Teufel smiled a bit, she supposed this new life of hers wasn't so bad.Last edited: 26/9/2024 Award Quote ReplyReport1010Grocamol21/9/2024Reader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks Threadmarks Chapter 3 | Meeting Fern New Threadmarks GrocamolA dude that's read too many fanfics21/9/2024Add bookmark#3Twenty Years since Himmel's Passing
Teufel was not sure why, but her mother had dragged their journey through the central provinces, the two of them did not even bother passing through the Holy City Strahl as her mother was seemingly intent on looking for Heiter.
While Freiren took the lead for the journey, as she usually did, Teufel herself walked beside her mother to her left, in the midst of jotting down a few notes into her pad of paper.
The little Half-elf carried on her back a few luggages that looked a little too much and too big for her size, but through the wonders of various magic spells her mother taught her, Teufel was able to lug around enough supplies for her journey.
Frieren of course opted to stick with her suitcase of luggage she used to lug her things around with a single hand, but for Teufel, she wanted to optimize the spells of lightweight and minor gravity spells to their utmost usefulness.
There was a time when Teufel asked her mother if there were specific gravity spells that focused on attacks, such as creating a field around one's enemy to flatten them to death, and Frieren responded that there was in fact one.
Let it never be said that her mother knew more than one way to kill a demon, but often chose lower tier spells on top of keeping her mana concealment spell up at all times.
When asked why she kept her mana concealed to such a degree at all times, Frieren explained to her daughter that it was a lesson and order from her Teacher to keep her mana down, as to fool any and all demons whenever Frieren dealt with them.
It was also that day that Frieren ordered her daughter to do the same, and to be frank, Teufel saw merit in the act to beguile a species that sought the destruction of others.
Back to the matter at hand though, as Taufel walked beside her mother, she adjusted the pack on her back with a little haft, and continued her brisk walk with her mother Frieren while reaching back and slipping her notepad and pencil into a side pouch of her backpack.
As Frieren herself approached a scraggly looking old and dead tree, she looked up at in confusion, "I think….we are lost…" she remarked, while looking side to side.
Teufel however gave her mother a flat sideways look, "I think we missed the path to Heiter's many times ago." she stated plainly.
Frieren blinked a few times, before turning her head to look down at her daughter, "Then…why didn't you say anything?" she asked with a tilt of her head.
Teufel thumbed at the nearby bushes, "Cause we're being followed," she explained, while the sound of the nearby bushes ruffled before a young girl slowly walked out, prompting both mother and Daughter to turn and greet the child.
"Hello…" The young girl greeted the two with an innocent look, while holding a basket of mushrooms. "I thought you two were lost…and well…" the young girl then looked at Teufel with a curious gaze, "I wasn't sure if I should have approached you or not." she remarked.
Teufel was about to speak to the girl on how she should speak to strangers so easily, but her mother beat her to the punch by stepping forward and asking the girl, "Well, now that you're out and approached us, do you perhaps know where a man known as Heiter lives?" she asked earnestly.
The young girl smiled a bit, but not by much in way of expression as she stared at Frieren, "I see, so you two are visitors." she stated, before turning to leave, "If you follow me, I can lead you there." she finished saying, while she began to lead the way.
"Great!" Frieren expressed kindly, and followed the girl, with Teufel coming in tow.
Heiter's Home
"I'm a bit surprised you're still around, you corrupt priest." Frieren commented in a frank but jesting attitude towards her former party member, who was now a very old man. The two of them were currently in one of the main rooms of the priest's house, as the elf herself sat near a table while the Priest busied himself putting some wood into the fireplace for the coming chill of fall weather.
"Haha." Heiter chuckled warmly as he chucked a small log into the fireplace, "Well this old bag of bones has a few more time left in it…" he remarked back to Frieren, and turned to look at her, "Just wish I had more in me." he digress as he finished chucking one more log into the fireplace, before making his way to the table that Frieren sat it.
While the two former party members chatted on various matters, within the kitchen room, Teufel had busied herself making something with roasted beans she acquired through an expensive trade. The girl, who introduced herself to Teufel, Fern, was in the process of making tea while using a stool to stand over the island counter.
Teufel, who had just pulled out a few things from one of her suitcases she had imbued with magic to lighten their load, brought out herself a gadget of sorts that looked foreign to Fern as she finished brewing Tea for Heiter and his guest Freiren. "What's that stuff?" she asked innocently, while placing two tea cups onto a plate for her to begin pouring tea into them.
Having to use her levitation spell to reach over the island counter, since Fern was using her own stool, Taufel was in the midst of taking out her own kettle, before looking at Fern with raised brow of interest. "Oh, this?" she asked Fern, while gesturing at the odd looking device, and received a nod from fern.
Teufel smiled a bit thinly, "A rather…costly item I managed to get my hands on, it's supposed to help drip boiled water through these roasted beans after I grind a measured amount of them." she explained to the young girl, as she began the process of brewing her own coffee in a very elaborate way.
Using various intricacies of magic and mana stones, Teufel was able to make herself coffee; the effort of casting fire was easy, and acquiring clean waters was just as well, but finding the supply of the exotic bean known as koffee was very taxing on her funds.
Teufel supposed trade was just not prevalent enough for it to be a common commodity; at least chocolate was more widely traded at the very least.
"Oh." Fern commented back with a nod as she finished pouring tea into two teacups, "Does it taste good?" she asked.
Teufel shook her hand with a simple smile, "Not really, it has more of a bitter taste, but it's great for early mornings, and the flavor it provides when served hot." she answered.
"Hmm…" Fern mused, "...can I try some?" she asked, before reaching to grab the plate of teacups to serve Heiter and his guest fresh tea.
Teufel shrugged in response, "I suppose I could part with an additional cup to serve for you." she answered.
Fern smiled back before taking off to serve the tea, "Thanks!"
Later
"AAAAHHHH, BLAST BLAST, BOOM, BOOM! BLOW IT ALL UP!" Screamed Fern in hyper active mode, her eyes bloodshot, while she held her staff Heiter gave her as a present. Gone were the build up shots she attempted in causing a hole to be blasted through the far off rock, instead, Fern opted to fire off countless low mana cost shots down at the ground far below to work off the energy she felt buzzing in her body.
In the back, Frieren looked on with a flat look, while Teufel expressed a surprised expression.
"...you're not allowed to give children koffee any more." Frieren stated plainly, before tilting her head, "Although, now I wonder if that koffee boosts mana reserves…she's been going at this for an hour now." she remarked.
Teufel however slowly glanced at her mother with a certain look, "How was I supposed to know the quiet child would change personalities!?" she asked with a wide eyed look. "I was only being a kind guest in sharing my supply of koffee!" she refuted.
A few years later
Teufel
While her mother was still reading up and deciphering the grimoire that Heiter gave her, Teufel offered to help teach Fern to pass the time. Currently, it was winter as the young human girl held her staff and steadily built her mana up to fire off a Zoltraak at the boulder across the valley.
"You're building it up too fast…slow down and conserve your mana." Teufel instructed Fern as the young half elf girl stood beside the human girl.
Fern nodded, "Right." she spoke softly, her face expressing a flat determined look as she held her staff at her side, mana energy gathered at the tip of it by steady amounts. "Now?" she questioned.
Teufel nodded as she felt Fern had accumulated enough mana to fire off a low mana cost Zoltraak, "Fire at will." she told Fern, to which Fern's eye gleamed a bit before firing off her spell towards the boulder.
BWEEM
The Zoltraak spell casted by Fern was able to be fired for quite the distance, but just barely reached the boulder by what Fern could see from a distance. "Hmm…" she let out an annoyed tone, "not enough distance." she noted.
Teufel shook her head at Fern and pointed at the Boulder, "No, you succeeded, but barely." she corrected the young human girl, prompting Fern to look at where Teufel was pointing.
Indeed, there was a mark on the boulder across the valley, but just barely noticeable; a scorch mark was visible, showing that Fern was indeed making progress. Smiling a bit in reaction to her work, Fern glanced over at Teufel. "This is good." she remarked, as she spoke with Teufel.
"Quite ." Teufel nodded in agreement with Fern, before the half elf brought out from her pocket a watch, and noted the time, "It's almost noon." she remarked, before pocketing her watch back while noting the curious look on Fern's face. "It's a nice little thing I got myself when my mother took me to a city, one of the vendors was selling pocket watches, and I wanted to get one." she explained, earning a nod from Fern.
Before Fern began practicing another attempt, Teufel stopped her by reaching out and touching her shoulder, "Ah, almost forgot, I wish to visit the nearby city of Strahl." she spoke, while getting the attention of Fern, "Do you wish to come with, or continue this alone?" Teufel asked earnestly. The young girl could undoubtedly defend herself from any wildlife, and last Teufel checked, there wasn't a problem with roaming bandits or the like harassing the countryside.
Fern frowned a bit as she thought about it, before nodding to Teufel, "I'll come along, I haven't visited the Holy Capital since Heiter took me there, and that's been over two years ago." she spoke quietly.
Turning on her heels to exit the area, Teufel began to walk off with Fern in tow, "By the way." Fern spoke up calmly as caught up with Teufel and walked beside the young Half half, "What sort of staff catalyst do you use?" she asked as she held her own staff close to her while glancing over at Teufel to her left, "Sorry…just curious…I've seen master Frieren's, but I've yet to see yours." she noted with a curious gleam in her eye.
Teufel smiled a bit in response as she walked with Fern through the woods, and conjured out her Staff, "Sure…I don't see why not." she answered the young human girl, and held aloft her own staff in her hands, "Mother gifted to me, before I had it customized to my liking."
"Hmm." Fern hummed a bit as she and Teufel walked through the woods, her eyes trailed to the staff that Teufel conjured out for her to show, "Why do you have a spade piece at the end, and a blade on the other?" she asked curiously, her face expressed little but her eyes gleamed a bit in child wonder.
In response to Fern's question, Teufel held her staff up a bit further to hold it horizontally in front of her, the half elf began to hold her staff with one hand and gentle brushed her palm along the catalyst for conjuring her spells, "I wanted something to give me an edge if I am to ever find myself in close combat, even though we are in a bit of a peaceful era.." she began to note with her eyes inspecting her staff in front of her, she glanced back at Fern while leaning her staff up against her shoulder.
"The spade part is very utilitarian, really, and the blade on the other end is what I like to call a bayonet." Teufel explained, while Fern's attention was now wholly on the young half elf as she explained the uses of the additions to her staff, "If I ever find myself in a close quarters combat with an enemy, and I can't get a spell going, I'll always have these additions to aid me." she explained.
Fern nodded in acceptance, and spoke with a calm voice, "I see…." she remarked, "But what sort of demons are you expecting to fight?" she asked, while giving Teufel a sideways look, "I don't think there'd be a need to be that ready." Fern noted with a soft frown.
Teufel shook her head negatively, before speaking up, "Not Demons, Fern, anyone can be a danger, even humans." she warned Fern, while giving Fern back a sideways look of her own as the two females continued walking through the woods, "And unlike what Mother has said how Demons operate and behave, Humans are more complex and dangerous."
"What do you mean by that?" Fern asked Teufel in confusion, "Heiter said Demons have more mana than Humans, and are thus more dangerous, so I don't understand how Humans are more dangerous."
Teufel shook her head, "I'll explain when you're older, Fern, you are only a little girl afterall." she remarked with a small somber smile.
Unable to help herself, the young girl Fern puffed her cheeks out in annoyance and pouted at Teufel's answer, "You're a little girl too." she shot back, earning a grumble from Teufel in response, while expressing a glowering look back at Fern.
"I may be little, but I'm over fifty years old! There's a difference!" Teufel insisted, earning a bit of a giggle and a small smile from Fern.
Strahl, the Holy Capital
While the streets weren't exactly bustling with people from street to street, there was indeed enough activity of folks milling about doing business, traveling from one temple to another, making a pilgrimage into the city, to finding an inn to stay at for the night. Fern and Teufel in particular were in the midst of passing through the market street where vendors were hawking their wares.
"It's really busy here." Fern noted with a visible reaction of her eyes glancing from side to side of the various vendors, the human girl herself walked beside Teufel to the left of her while the Half elf herself carried with her a briefcase. Fern then glanced over at Teufel while eyeing the Briefcase for a bit, before looking back up at Teufel, "What was that spell again, that let you carry that much stuff into your suitcase…" she asked.
Indeed, as when the two young girls reached the city wall where the guards inspected each person before allowing them in, the girls were no exception to the rule. When Teufel offered her briefcase to be searched and inspected, the amount of objects the guards pulled out superseded the space the suitcase allowed.
Teufel smirked a bit and explained as she and Fern walked through the market street, "It's the same spell that allows mother to carry a lot of stuff in her own traveling suitcase." she answered, and gave Fern a sideways look, "Curious to learn it?" she asked.
Fern looked to think on it for a bit, before nodding, "After I finish mastering Zoltraak." she answered.
Teufel frowned in response to Fern's answer, "Mastering will take more time, I think what you're looking for is to gain enough understanding of it to the point that you can cast it without issue."
Fern frowned back at Teufel's comment, "But…isn't that called mastering it?" she asked with a tilt of her head.
Teufel shook her head, "Well, maybe I was being subjective on the matter." she remarked while thumbing her chin in thought, while gaining a curious gaze from Fern, "I'd like to think of Master a spell, is when you can use a spell as a base to create new magic from it, to understand its intricacies and such." she pondered.
"Hmm…" Fern nodded in agreement, "I can't understand that a bit." she noted, before she began to look around, "By the way, what do you plan on doing first around here?" she asked.
Teufel blinked for a bit, before answering Fern as she dug out a small pouch from her coat pocket, "I need to exchange some Reich gold coins for Stahl coins." she answered, before pocketing her bag of currency, "But since the Stahl coin is weaker the further you leave this area, I'll only need to exchange a few."
"I see." Fern noted as the two girls continued walking through the market, "So what do you intend on buying?" she asked.
"A few books." Teufel answered with a smile back at Fern, "Maybe even a grimoire if one is at an acceptable price." she added.
"Ah." Fern said with a small nod, "Any spell in particular that you are looking for?" she asked, earning a shrug from Teufel.
Expressing a small smile, Teufel spoke back to Fern. "Not really, mother enjoys collecting grimoires, and I do enjoy reading a book or two during our trips she takes me on." she explained to Fern.
"Oh." Fern noted, before looking on ahead and pointed at a store far down the street, "Like that place there? It's the place Heiter took me into, and bought a book from." She offered.
"Excellent!" Teufel nodded forward, her pace picking up with Fern following with, "Hopefully they take Reich coins, so I don't have to exchange them at a bank beforehand." she remarked.
Fleisch's bookstore
Within the bookstore that the two girls ventured into, the store itself was lined with books and scrolls all the way to the ceiling. While Ferne expressed wonderment at all the books and scroll available as she trailed after Teufel, the half half herself strolled around while skimming her sight along the covers and spines of the books.
"Hmm." Teufel hummed as she reached out and gently slid her finger across the front cover of a book, "Recipes on cooking…" she spoke aloud softly, earning the attention of Fern as she stepped up beside Teufel to look at the book in question.
"What kind of cooking?" she asked in burgeoning curiosity, as the two of the looked at the book in question.
"Don't know." Teufel responded as she reached out to pull out the book and read it, "it looks like…the author was a survivalist, and wrote down meals to cook in the wilderness." The half elf answered as her eyes skimmed through each page she flipped through, before shutting the book close.
Teufel took quick notice of Fern's eyes on the book in her hands, and couldn't help but express an amused reaction at Fern, "Curious enough to own it?" she asked, while offering it out to Fern.
Hesitantly reaching for the book, Fern retracted her hand, and shook her head, "I don't think I have enough money to own it." she answered with a downcast look.
Teufel however shook her head, and hefted the book under her arm, "nonsense, I'll buy it for you, in commemoration of the progress you made so far with your training, you've really come along since mother had taken you under her wing." she remarked with a calm smile.
Fern looked back at Teufel with a grateful smile, "Please…you've done enough for me as well, you don't have to." she shook her head.
"Then I'll buy it for myself." Teufel said back to Fern, earning a surprise look from the young girl as the half elf girl walked with the book still under her arm, "I'll lend it to you whenever I can…afterall, it's always a good idea to have the means to survive in the wild."
As Teufel walked off through the book store to shop for more books, Fern couldn't help but smile at how kind the daughter of master Frieren was, and smart as well…though, she guessed that was a given since she was over fifty years old, it was hard to forget that the half elf girl wasn't just a young girl, as her appearance belied her true age.
Strahl, Holy City Capital
Exiting out from the bookstore, now with a few books under her ownership and stored away in her briefcase she carried with her, Teufel turned and waited for Fern to exit out as well. As the young girl Fern exited out, both of them began their trek through the city. As the two of them strolled through the streets, Teufel chose to speak up to the young girl to chat and pass the time.
"So Fern." Teufel spoke aloud, her voice carried over the soft thrumming of city goers and crowds that walked the streets, "What other spells do you know, besides the one you are practicing?" she asked, while making a momentary glance at the girl walking beside her.
"Hmm?" Fern momentarily glanced back at Teufel as she walked with the half elf girl, "Oh, uh…" She paused speaking as her eyes trailed upwards in thought, before looking back down over at Teufel, "Well, other than Zoltraak, I've been trying levitate, but Master Frieren says I should stick to Zoltraak." she answered earnestly.
Teufel nodded in understanding as the two of them continued to walk side by side through the bustling streets. On any other given time, it looked like two young girls without parents with them; for the two of them, it was a seventy something year old girl traveling with a young child.
Teufel spoke up as they rounded a corner where there were more businesses and street markets, "That understandable, after all, you already seem to understand how to access your mana at such a young age, you should also ask my mother to teach you mana detection along with mana concealment." she noted with a nod to herself, "But of course, after you master Zoltraak, then I'm sure she'd be welcome to teach you." she assured her.
Fern frowned for a bit, before speaking her mind as she remembered something, "But Master Frieren doesn't seem like she'd want to stick around that long…" she remarked with a furrowed brow.
Teufel paused in her steps to speak plainly with Fern, while Fern herself stopped as well to see what the young half elf had to say, "Well…" she began to say, as if she were measuring her words wisely, "Heiter is…"
"You don't have to say it." Fern interrupted Teufel with a sad look, but softly smiled anyways, "Master Heiter…he's not long for this world…but I am thankful." she said softly.
"Right." Teufel nodded, seeing that the young girl was more mature for her age than she assume, Teufel spoke more with a curt tone, "If that is the case, then I believe it wouldn't be far to reason that Heiter wanted mother to take you with us on our trips after his passing." she stated.
"You think she won't mind?" Fern asked Teufel as the two girls began continuing their trek onward.
With a flat look on her face, that expressed some measure of annoyance that she could not help but let show, Teufel spoke. "At least I won't be the only one getting my mother up and ready to go in the mornings." she commented.
While Fern glanced sideways to look at Teufel, she spoke with a confused tone, "I'm sorry? Your mother has trouble getting up?" she asked.
"Just…" Teufel began to say, before releasing an annoyed grunt, "Nothing." She shook her head as Fern walked beside her, and looked at Fern with a sideways glance back, "mother can just be a bit slow in the mornings, that's all." she grumbled.
"Oh." Fern remarked with a wide eyed look, and nodded in understanding, "Then, why don't you let her drink your koffee?" she asked with a tilt of her head in wonder. "Didn't you say it's good for mornings?" Fern followed up by asking.
Teufel paused in her steps, as she thought back to the time she offered her mother a sip. As Fern too paused to look at the other girl in curiosity as the half elf thought over what was asked.
Past
With a yawn, Frieren, wrapped in her outside camp blanket, rolled around to blearly look at the campfire going again, the early morning temperature of spring being a bit nippy, but the fire gave her some measure of warmth.
Blinking a bit more as she witnessed her young daughter handle the fire herself, the half elf girl was in the midst of assembling something over the fire, and finishing it, before turning around to rummage through one of her suitcases.
She didn't want to speak yet, as she was still a bit tired, but she kept a curious eye open and watched her daughter come back with a kettle and a small wooden box with a lid on it.
Once Teufel came back to the fire, she set aside her things and sat with her knees bent, and began to stoke the flames a bit with a stick. The young half elf momentarily looked up, and noticed her mother was somewhat awake, and expressed a surprised look on her face, "did I wake you?" she asked.
"No." Fireren shook her head as she layed on her side while still wrapped in her camping blanking, letting out another yawn, before looking back at her Daughter once more with a tired morning look, "Are you making breakfast?" she asked.
Teufel shook her head as she began to set up something over the fire, "No, I'm making coffee. I just bought the supplies for it during our last trip through the city we just passed through." her daughter explained as she began boiling water in the kettle she placed over the fire.
"Hmm." Frieren made a curious look as she steadily sat up in her cover, and gently pulled her arms out to unwrap herself from her blanket, "What's koffee?" she asked as she finished unwrapping herself, and conversed with her child while hugging her knees to her chest with a smile, "Is it delicious?" Frieren curiously asked.
Teufel shook her head again, and explained as she began setting up another standing with a glass pot and everything, "The seller said it's great for waking up to drink, but it has a bitter taste to it." she answered as she worked the process of making the stuff called koffee.
While Teufel brewed her koffee, Frieren tilted her head in wonder as she continued to converse with her child, "You like bitter? I thought you liked sweet things like that chocolate bar you bought last year."
As the kettle began to whistle from steam exiting its spout, Teufel took the kettle off from the fire before she conversed more with her mother while she began to gently pour her boiled water into the koffee making mechanism, "doesn't mean I can't have a broad taste for things." Teufel explained with a curt tone.
"Hmm." Frieren hummed in a somewhat agreeing tone, and smiled again, "I suppose so…is there enough for two?" she asked, wanting to try the koffee drink that her twenty year old daughter bought for herself.
After finishing the pouring of the boiling water from the kettle, Teufel looked back over at her Mother while she placed it in the kettle to converse with her, "Should be, I made enough for a couple servings." she answered.
"Nice." Frieren said with a smile as she leaned her chin down against her knees as she watched her daughter lean over to one of her open suitcases and pull out two cups with handles on them.
"Just a warning though." Teufel spoke as she placed the cups atop a flat rock that she had grabbed from somewhere to have a flat surface, "It's best you sip, not drink." she warned while she began pouring the koffee into the two cups she set down.
"Sure." Frieren noted, "I've drank hot tea before, so it should be the same, right?" she asked as Teufel carried over a cup of the black looking water. "Huh…you sure it's safe?" Frieren asked as she accepted the cup from her daughter.
Once Teufel walked back to her spot to pick up her own cup, she looked back at her mother, "It is." she assured her mother, before she began to take a small sip from her cup.
"Hm." Frieren hummed as she watched her daughter frown a bit as she lowered her cup from her mouth, "Is it that bad?" she asked her daughter.
"...no." Teufel answered with a shake of her head, and looked elsewhere but her as she took another sip from her cup of koffee. After finished her second sip, Teufel lowered her cup away from her mouth and spoke with a put off tone, "It just doesn't measure up." she spoke in a frank tone.
"To the sweetness of chocolate?" Frieren asked with a curious tone, "Or tea?" she added, before she chose to take an experimental sip of her own. As the flavor and bitterness touched her tongue, she couldn't help but express a dour look on her face. "This is bitter." She spoke observantly as lowered her cup from her mouth, but began to feel something stir within her as the koffee began to work its way through her system.
As the two drank more of their drinks in mild silence, the sound of the campfire snapping and cracking from the flames burning through the wood filled the air around them, in the far off distance around them, morning birds began to chirp a bit.
Once Frieren finished her cup, she lowered it aside to place it down, and sat up from her spot; Teufel in the meanwhile, having finished her cup of coffee, poured herself another while Frieren walked off. "I'll be back, I have this strange built up energy that's bothering me." Teufel's mother spoke while giving her daughter a glance back, before walking off into the woods.
Teufel watched her mother leave through the woods, before she disappeared fully; the young half elf looked at what remained of her brew, and noted there was barely any left for another cup, and shrugged to herself. She would finish what remained of it all, and begin cleaning up camp.
With one last sip of what remained in her cup of Koffee, Teufel stood up and began to put out the fire, before she started the process of cleaning the camp site up; while the young elf was packing her stuff up, and loud boom cause her to jumpscare a bit in surprise, and then look up as a flock of birds flew away from the direction that her mother went.
With an uncertain look about her, Teufel felt out with her mana detection to make sure her mother was alright; feeling out and finding her mother's mana signature, she noted that her mother was indeed fine, and was currently heading back to the camp. Whatever her mother did, she must have used a spell that caused the loud noise.
As Teufel finished packing up her own things, Frieren finally returned with a satisfied smile, "We should leave." she spoke plainly.
"...what did you do?" Teufel asked with a now curious look as she stood among her things, "I heard a loud boom." she remarked.
"Yeah…" Frieren answered, before looking a bit dour, "Excuse me." she pardoned herself, before rushing back off into the woods. "I don't like koffee!" Teufel's mother hollered back.
Teufel wasn't sure what the matter was with her mother, but now she felt something in her own bladder, and began to feel squeamish. "Oh…." she realized, as to what her mother was doing, before she chastised herself.
Koffee was not just a stimulant to the mind, but to the body as well. And her mother was feeling the full effect of the stimulant, and her as well. Clicking her teeth in annoyance, she should probably not consume koffee that often, as now she was needing to use the bathroom as well.
With a bit of a grumble to herself as Teufel's mother finally came back, the young half elf excused herself next and left in the opposite direction, "I'll be back." she hollered.
Present
"Mother doesn't like koffee." Teufel explained to Fern with a straight look in the eye, "Something about it gives her too much energy, and other things." she added.
"Like what other things?" Fern asked, curious as to what other things were.
With a flat look, Teufel spoke, "Remember what you needed to do after you had your caffeine rush, crashed, and…well…had to excuse yourself?" she questioned with a look in her eye.
With a look of understanding on her face, Fern spoke with a calm tone, "Oh…" she remarked, before frowning a bit with a nod.
Author's Note