Arista smiles as she takes the piece of candy from him, "Thank you, a little incentive never hurts. What do you say Celine?"
Excited about the treat she smiles, "Thank you! I good girl!"
She chuckles, "Okay Celine, let's go see Nana and Poppy. We'll see you later Halfpocket."
Celine waves goodbye as the leave and head to her grandparents house.
Getting to her in-laws home she knocks on the door.
As they wait for Michael, Rajni looks over at Toni, "So, you think Michael will have something that will make it easier for you to get used to a different weapon?"
"I'm not sure," Toni said. "We'll see, I guess."
Marla opens the door. "Oh, hello, Arista. Hello, Celine."
Giving Marla a smile she says, "Hey, just thought I'd come by and see how things are going for the wedding and what I still might need to get to help with the meal for the girls reception tomorrow. I thought I'g bring Celine with me so she can see you guys."
Celine smiles up at her Nana, "Hi Nana!"
Michael walks into the sitting room. "Sorry about the wait. Did you find what you needed, Toni?"
"Kjell's prices were a bit out of my range," Toni says. "But Rajni is a ranger, could that work for what you're thinking?"
"Sure," Michael says. "It's a fairly simple process."
Rajni looks between Toni and Michael, wondering what they were both thinking. Looking up at Michael she asks, "What process?"
Michael taps his chin. "I'll try to explain this as easily as possible...Toni emptied her mind of the knowledge to be a Summoner, so she can fill her mind with new knowledge. Since you've been trained to be a ranger, I can draw on that knowledge and give it to Toni."
"I have the main courses finished and ready to heat up tomorrow evening," Marla answers. "But I'm short on side dishes."
Getting a slightly worried expression on her face she asks, "But..that doesn't mean I'll stop being a ranger right? I'll still be able to hunt for the town and stuff right?"
She nods, "So, what about a salad with a light citrus vinaigrette, the beef and barley soup....and then...hmmmm....you made the roasted chicken and vegetables right? Was that what they had settled on?"
Marla nods. "Soup and salad sound just fine. They didn't want anything too fancy since we didn't have a lot of time to prepare for the wedding."
Michael smiles. "It won't affect you in any way."
He goes to a cabinet and takes out a glass ball. "All I need you to do is hold it while I cast a few spells. Once I'm done, Toni, you can put this under your pillow and "study" while you sleep tonight."
Giving Marla a smile she says, "Okay then, I'll just pick up everything I need and make the soup today, and then I can make the salad and dressing tomorrow right before we eat so that it's fresh. How's everything else going?"
Rajni holds out her hands for the orb, "So, you just need me to hold it and that will help Toni?"
Michael nods and hands Rajni the orb. "That's all I need you to do. Ready?"
"As it always goes when there's a life-changing event on the horizon," Marla answers. "Everyone is nervous and only the boys don't seem to care."
Arista nods, "Yeah, I seem to remember not caring about stuff like that when I was younger, though that seems like it was a long long time ago now. I'm sure they'll feel differently once they get older. When Alethiro and I got married, I was so nervous and excited that I could barely sit still long enough for Esme to do my hair." Giving Marla a smile she asks, "So, aside from the soup and salad, is there anything else that I can do to help you guys with the wedding tomorrow?"
Carefully taking the orb from him, Rajni nods, "Yeah, I'm ready."
"I could use some help decorating around three or so," Marla says. "I have everything we need."
As Michael begins reciting his spell, Rajni seems to fall into a deep trance. She feels her body going through the motions of her ranger training even though she doesn't move and the fleeting memories of spells being taught to her but they fade before she can remember them. After a few minutes, Michael finishes his incantation and the ball in Rajni's hands is filled with a pearl-colored mist.
Giving her mother-in-law a smile, "Sure, I'll be happy to. I better get off to the market now."
Celine goes to her nana and wraps her arms around her, "Bye Nana, love you. See you morrow."
Marla hugs Celine. "I love you too. Be good for Mommy, like you always are."
"Have a good day, Arista," she adds.
Giving Marla a hug she says, "You too, I'll see you tomorrow around three and I'll bring the soup with me along with the salad fixin's."
Marla smiles. "Alright then."
Giving Marla a parting wave and smile, Arista takes Celine's hand and makes her way to the market to buy everything she needs before heading home.
Walking into the house she says, "We're back."
Rajni blinks a couple of times, "Wow...well, that was kind of weird...but not bad really. Here you go Toni." She says, holding out the orb to her friend.
"Thanks, Rajni," Toni says, taking the orb. "What do I owe you, Michael?"
"Another glass orb, but you can get that to me whenever you return," Michael says.
Alethiro walks in from the kitchen. "Welcome back, love. Was everything okay?"
She looks over at Micheal, "Thanks for this Michael." Looking back at Toni she says, "Well, I guess now we just need to pick up some stuff for you to use. Do you know what kind of bow you would like to use?"
She nods while setting her groceries down on the counter, "Yeah, Marla has the main course covered. I just need to handle making the soup and salad. I was going to go over there tomorrow around 3 to help decorate and stuff. I can make the soup tomorrow after breakfast, and I can make the salad right before the reception so that it's fresh."
Michael walks the two women to the door. "I hope that helps, Toni."
"It should," Toni says to Michael before turning to Rajni. "I still have that crossbow, so I think I can use that and see how it goes."
She starts walking back toward the tailor shop. "And I do have armor."
Alethiro nods. "Good, that's not a whole lot to worry about."
"Is there anything else you need to get ready for your trip? Is there anything else I can do to help?" She asks, wanting to be as supportive as possible. She knew these last couple of weeks had not been easy on her friend and she wanted her to know that she was there for her.
She kind of shrugs, "Yeah, I guess so. Let me put this stuff away and season the beef I got for the soup. That way it will have time to absorb the flavors of the spices and when I make the soup tomorrow after breakfast, it'll have a nice flavor to it."
Giving her husband a kiss, Arista starts putting the things she got from the market, before starting to rub seasoning into the beef she bought at the market for the beef barley soup she was going to make for the reception.
Alethiro follows Arista into the kitchen. "Did you get a whetstone?"
"I really can't think of anything I need," Toni says. "I am getting a little hungry, though."
Arista nods as she wipes off her hands and goes to her bag, "Yes sweetheart, he sells them in packs of five, so I got you a pack of them. They should last you a good long while." She says while taking the pack of sharpening stones out of her bag. Taking them to her husband, she gives him a soft kiss. Smiling at him she asks, "Is there anything else you need that I can help you with?" The corner of her mouth turns up ever so slightly in a smirk.
Celine comes into the kitchen after getting washed up and tugs on her mommy's skirt, "I good girl mommy, I has my treat now then sleep?"
Giving him another quick kiss before turning her attention to Celine, "Okay, you were a very good girl while we were out. So, after you have your lunch, you can have the piece of candy that Mr. Halfpocket gave me for you, then you can take your nap. Deal my little munchkin?"
Celine smiles, "Deal, my mommy."
Arista shakes her head as she makes a small sandwich aznd cuts up an apple for Celine to have with her lunch. As her daughter sits at the table having lunch, Arista goes back to her meat. Wrapping it up, she sticks it in the fridge before sauntering back over to her husband, "Sooo...is there anything else you need from me?"
"You wanna get something to eat somewhere after we drop that off at the house? Dillon was gonna have dinner with us later, but it's been a while since breakfast and I think I could use a little something too. I'm trying to give mama time to get used to me and Dillon being together....but, it's hard to wait sometimes. It's...it's getting harder and harder to leave him." She says, unable to keep her thoughts to herself. A small smile forms on her lips as she thinks about him.