"All right, y’all, settle down," Amahle said lightly after giving the reunited lovers several moments to themselves. "Supper’s on the table, and Mamao still needs to wash up before we eat," she chided gently.

"Ah!" Mamao squealed as she pulled back from Saini’s embrace. Her rounded cheeks turned a brilliant shade of pink that deepened when Saini pulled her back in to bestow a final peck on her forehead.

"It’s fine, Honey-dew," Saini said now that her heart was at peace. They would have plenty of time after dinner to become properly reacquainted. The kiss was enough to hold her over for a spell or two, even though she’d have preferred to linger in it for at least a few heartbeats longer, until she’d left her petite partner completely breathless.

"All right," Mamao said as she turned to face Amahle. "I’m sorry, mama, for ignoring you and all, but I brought a few things back special for you," she said as she pulled one of her bulging satchels around to the front, digging into it as she walked towards the table while hunting for something that seemed to be buried under at least three layers of treasures from her travels. "There’s seeds from a prickly pear in here, and I got a whole pile of powders from..."

"Mamao," Amahle interrupted, reaching out with one of her spider-like appendages and placing the tip of it lightly in the middle of the excited witch’s chest. "Wash up, then supper, then gifts. I’m sure you brought back plenty, darlin’, but if you dive right in, then everythin’ll be cold before we get to your second satchel."

"Oh, yes, Mama," Mamao said as she stopped in her tracks. "I’ll just set these down," she said, dropping the first satchel where she stood and the second one halfway from there to the washbasin as she scurried across the floor. "Y’all don’t have to wait for me none, I’ll be there in just a few shakes -splash, splash- and then I can tell you all about the trip and -splash, splash- the other things I found on the way this time and -muffle muffle muffle,-" Mamao said, not pausing for a moment as she washed the dust of the road from her hands and face.

"Let me help wit’ dat’, ma petite," Jacques said, walking in Mamao’s wake and tidying up. He’d already hung her cloak and hat neatly on a peg by the door. Now, he stooped slightly, retrieving the pair of bulging satchels and setting them next to Mamao’s seat at the table.

"Don’ be given’ me dat’ look, Maman," Jacques said as he took his own seat at the table and started serving up the crispy, aromatic catfish. "Y’all know if I hang up her bags, she jus’ gon’a pull ’em back an’ empty ’em halfway on her way to da’ table," he said. "Dis’ is easier."

"It’s fine," Amahle said, surrendering to the inevitable. Heila and Ashlynn had been so neat and orderly when they visited that she’d almost forgotten how chaotic her own coven could be. "Saini, you best make sure she eats a good bit before she starts sharin’ things out."

"Don’t worry none, mama," Saini said, tapping the seat next to her as Mamao scurried over. "I’ll feed her m’self if she gets too distracted."

"We’re glad to have you home, darlin’," Amahle said as the petite witch from the Quillback Clan took her seat. "I’m sure Tala’d say the same if she hadn’t gone east with Ashlynn at the end of summer."

"I brought all the things for Auntie Ashlynn," Mamao said, immediately forgetting about the steaming plate of food in front of her and turning to one of the satchels on the floor. "And things for Tala too and everyone else so as soon as it’s time I can take her presents and..." she said until Saini bopped her on the nose and pointed to the plate.

"Little Brother worked hard on this, Honey-dew," Saini said gently. "Or do you need me to feed you tonight so you remember to eat?"

"Oh, I, um, I, you can, um, I mean, if you want to um," Mamao stammered as her face turned a brilliant shade of pink.

For a moment, the whole table fell into giggles as Saini scooped her petite partner up and set her in her lap as she dutifully fed the Blackberry Witch one morsel of well-seasoned catfish after another.

"Mercy me, Jacques! Jacques! When did y’all get so good with this?" Mamao blurted when she couldn’t hold her words in anymore. "It’s still spicy but not too spicy anymore, and all the herbs are so bright, and nothing is overwhelmed the way it used to be, and I really, really miss your cooking, and this is the best thing to come home to and -mmpf-," she gushed, only to be cut off by the arrival of Saini’s fork bearing another bite of fish.

"Awe, dis’ ain’t nuttin’ special, ma petite," Jacques said with a wide, toothy grin. "I been practicin’ up a bit, dat’s all," he said with a modesty that fell far short of the size of his smile.

"One of Little Sister Ashlynn’s witches, your cousin Heila, really doesn’t take too well to spicy things," Amahle added helpfully. "She and Jacques didn’t get off on the right foot to start, and he’s been working hard to mend the fences a bit."

"Oh?" Saini said, raising a brow at the Sandbox Witch. "Little Brother took a shine to cousin Heila? Why didn’t you just say so, Jacques? I’d have teased you less ’bout the fish bein’ art. If it’s cooking for your sweetums, it’s always art!"

"It don’ be like dat," Jacques said quickly. "She’s jus’ a tiny little thing, smaller den you, ma petite," he told Mamao. "An’ I jus’ wanna make her feel welcome when she visits next time. Ain’t nuttin’ wrong wit’ a bit of courtesy, non?"

"Nothing wrong at all but if she is your sweet and you need to make her something sweet and you want a gift that will keep, then I have something right here," Mamao gushed as she reached for her satchel again, this time ducking under the bonk from Saini as she retrieved a small bottle filled with a dark purplish liquid that had a consistency similar to maple syrup.

"I made this from mountain berries, and I brought it back special to share with all of you for breakfast in the morning or whenever we want a treat that’s a little sweet but not too sweet, and there’s a bit of mint in there too, and... Oh," Mamao said as she cut herself off. "I did it again. Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"It’s fine, darlin’," Amahle said, leaning back in her chair as she savored another bite of crispy fish. "But since you’re going to start pulling things out and telling stories, can you start with one that’s been botherin’ me? You came back powerful quick, dumplin’, but how? I know it weren’t Esselk’ti bringing you, she visited in the fall, so who brought you back so fast?"

"Oh, well, your letter said that Auntie Ashlynn needed this seed for a witch for her coven and she’s only just getting started and her first witches are so important and if she already knows someone and doesn’t have a seed for them then it’s just tragic so I didn’t waste any time once I got your letter and I went straight from the mountain back to the Thousand Spires and asked Cousin Makya if someone could carry back the seed so at least you’d have that much but he... he... he..." she trailed off as she saw a fierce, disapproving glint forming among the pupils of Amahle’s eyes.

"Honey-dew," Saini said in a suddenly somber tone. "Y’all aren’t s’posed to intrude on him now that he’s an orphan. It’s not polite."

"Dat’s more den impolite, cher," Jacques said, staring at Mamao in disbelief. "Cousin Makya ain’t jus’ a cousin. He’s still de Eldritch Emperor even if he ain’t de Sandstorm Witch no more..."

"Mamao," Amahle said sternly as she tried to imagine the kind of trouble the most inquisitive and the most impulsive member of her coven may have just gotten into. Amahle had been taught by the Great Witch who brought Makya into her coven as the Sandstorm witch, but her teacher had passed on long ago, and the current Mother of Storms had nothing to do with the Eldritch Emperor.

If Makya was lucky, the powers he once wielded as the Sandstorm Witch would simply fade over time as he lost his connection to the power of the world. If he were unlucky, however, and the current Mother of Storms decided to create a new Sandstorm Witch, then whatever power of witchcraft he still held would be torn away from him to reside with the next witch to carry his title.

By centuries-long tradition, active witches left orphans like Makya in peace, only visiting when invited lest they become a painful reminder of what had been lost to the cycle of life and death. In the case of powerful lords like Makya, that became even more important as a visit from a witch could easily destabilize his rule.

"But it’s fine, Mama," Mamao protested. "It really, really is! I already went to the Thousand Spires on my way to the mountains, and I was just coming back, so I already knew what no one knows...."

"Mama, Auntie Violca took him in," Mamao said. "Cousin Makya isn’t just the Emperor anymore," she said excitedly. "He’s the Sandstorm Witch again!"