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.