The Darquebane caravan had caused enough confusion when it arrived.
Where everyone would sleep caused considerably more.
Aurabelle's childhood home was enormous by most standards.
It had needed to be.
Twenty-two children required space.
A lot of it.
But most of those children no longer lived beneath the same roof.
Several of Bunny's married siblings had homes scattered throughout the surrounding farms, many within easy walking distance of their parents.
Others shared large houses with brothers, sisters, cousins, or in-laws while saving enough gold to establish homes of their own.
That was simply how the village worked.
Families grew.
Houses grew with them.
Sometimes another room was added.
Sometimes another floor.
Sometimes someone simply built another house fifty yards away.
Property lines seemed considerably less important than family lines.
Even so...
The main house was full.
Very full.
Several siblings had returned home for Aurabelle's unexpected visit.
Children occupied spare rooms.
Cousins had claimed couches.
Someone had apparently volunteered a pantry before being informed that food still needed to be stored there.
So when the question of sleeping arrangements arose...
Jax solved it easily.
"We'll stay in the caravan."
Bunny's mother immediately objected.
"Nonsense."
She looked toward the elegant carriage parked beside the farmhouse.
"All five of you?"
"We'll make room."
Bunny laughed.
"Mom."
Her mother looked at her.
"Come look."
That invitation attracted considerably more people than necessary.
Within moments, nearly two dozen Rabbitkin had gathered around the caravan.
Bunny opened the door.
Then stepped through.
Her mother followed.
And stopped.
"...Oh."
The interior had absolutely no business fitting inside the carriage they'd seen from outside.
A comfortable sitting room stretched before them.
Cushioned chairs.
Shelving.
A large dining table.
Decorative lighting.
Windows that somehow displayed the world outside despite making absolutely no spatial sense.
Someone poked their head through the doorway.
"What's in there?"
Bunny's mother called back.
"A house!"
"It's not a house," Bunny protested.
Her mother looked around.
"It's bigger than your brother's house."
From outside came an offended voice.
"Hey!"
The tour continued.
A fully equipped kitchen.
Storage.
Bathing facilities.
Additional living space.
Bunny's twin stared around in disbelief.
"How?"
Jax shrugged.
"Magic."
The Rabbitkin considered that.
"...I hate when that's the answer."
Eventually they reached the bedroom.
Bunny opened the door.
Her mother stopped again.
So did two sisters behind her.
One brother leaned around them.
At the center of the room rested one enormous bed.
Silence.
Bunny's mother looked at the bed.
Then Llandra.
Then Zee.
Then Nyxian.
Then Jax.
Then her daughter.
"Oh."
One sister nodded slowly.
"Well."
Another whispered,
"I guess they really do all live together."
Bunny's ears turned bright red.
"Can everyone get out of our bedroom now?"
Nyxian leaned against the doorway.
"I don't know. I think we should answer questions."
"No."
"We could explain the sleeping arrangements."
"NO."
The Rabbitkin laughed their way back outside.
There were raised eyebrows.
A few knowing smiles.
But little genuine outrage.
Rabbitkin courtship traditions were hardly puritanical.
And after raising twenty-two children...
Bunny's parents were certainly under no illusions about where children came from.
Eventually the farmhouse quieted.
Lights disappeared from neighboring homes.
The last relatives wandered back across the fields.
And for the first time since arriving...
Aurabelle's village slept.
Morning came early in farming country.
Inside the caravan...
Not quite as early.
Jax slowly opened his eyes.
He couldn't move.
This was not unusual.
Llandra's arm rested across his chest.
Bunny was curled tightly against his side.
Somehow one of Zee's legs had become trapped beneath his.
Nyxian had managed to occupy an unreasonable amount of space despite being only one person.
One of her wings stretched across Zee like a blanket.
Jax stared toward the ceiling.
He considered his options.
Careful extraction.
Shadow Switch.
Amputation.
Bunny's eyes opened.
She looked up at him.
"Morning."
"Help."
"No."
"Bunny."
She grinned.
"We have a big day."
Jax sighed.
"The Trials."
She nodded. "The Trials."
"Five more minutes."
"Nope."
Jax closed his eyes again.
Bunny studied him.
Then smiled.
"Oh."
She disappeared beneath the blankets.
Jax's eyes opened.
"...That's cheating."
Bunny's muffled voice answered from somewhere considerably lower.
"I prefer motivating."
Several minutes later...
Jax was suddenly much more willing to get out of bed.
By the time everyone had bathed and dressed, the farm had already been awake for hours.
The smell of breakfast reached them before they entered the house.
Jax stopped in the doorway.
"Oh."
Bunny smiled.
"Yeah."
Fresh bread.
Eggs.
Potatoes roasting with herbs.
Butter.
Fruit.
Sausages.
Something sweet simmering somewhere deeper inside the kitchen.
And pancakes.
A mountain of pancakes.
Jax inhaled again.
"Your family takes breakfast seriously."
"We take every meal seriously."
"Good people."
The main house was already packed.
Not everyone who had celebrated the night before had returned for breakfast.
But enough had.
Children occupied tables.
Adults moved constantly between rooms.
Several relatives had brought additional food from neighboring homes.
Breakfast wasn't being prepared by one household.
It was being assembled by a small village.
Jax disappeared briefly into the caravan.
When he returned...
He carried a wooden spice rack.
The craftsmanship alone caught Bunny's mother's attention.
"What's that?"
Jax approached her.
"Something for you."
The beautifully carved rack held rows of glass containers.
Spices.
Herbs.
Seasonings.
Some familiar.
Others imported from regions she had never visited.
A small recipe book rested behind them.
Her eyes widened.
"For me?"
"Wedding gift."
Bunny immediately corrected him.
"Pre-wedding gift."
Jax nodded.
"Apparently there are Trials first."
Several sisters laughed from across the room.
Her mother ignored them.
She lifted one jar.
Opened it.
Smelled.
Her ears immediately rose.
She tried another.
Then another.
"Oh my..."
She looked at Jax.
"What is this one?"
Jax told her.
"And this?"
He explained that one too.
She flipped open the recipe book.
Her eyes moved quickly across the first page.
Then the second.
Then back toward the spices.
"Oh, we're using these."
Bunny laughed.
"Of course we are."
Her mother immediately grabbed Jax by the arm.
"Come."
Jax allowed himself to be dragged into the kitchen.
Bunny stopped.
Nyxian stopped beside her.
Llandra and Zee joined them.
They exchanged looks.
This could be interesting.
Bunny's mother planted Jax beside a preparation table.
"Alright."
She picked up a whisk.
"This is for incorporating air while mixing. Don't beat everything to death."
Jax nodded solemnly.
"Understood."
She showed him a flat wooden turner.
"This one gets underneath the pancakes without tearing them."
"Important."
"Very."
Then a pair of narrow metal tongs.
"These are for moving hot food without burning your fingers."
Jax examined them.
"Useful."
Bunny slowly covered her face.
Nyxian's shoulders had already begun shaking.
Llandra stepped forward.
"I should probably tell—"
Bunny caught her arm.
"No."
Llandra looked at her.
Bunny shook her head.
"If he wants to do this..."
Nyxian grinned.
"...we let him."
Zee looked toward Jax.
He was listening to Bunny's mother explain the importance of keeping separate utensils for raw and cooked meats with the seriousness of a student receiving sacred instruction.
Zee smiled.
"He likes her."
Bunny peeked through her fingers.
"...Yeah."
Her mother finally handed Jax a spatula.
"Let's see how you do with pancakes."
"Alright."
"Don't worry if the first few are ugly."
Jax nodded.
"I'll try not to disappoint you."
Bunny turned away.
She couldn't watch.
The first pancake was perfect.
Not good.
Perfect.
Evenly browned.
Soft through the center.
Crisp along the very edge.
Her mother stared.
"Beginner's luck."
Jax nodded.
"Probably."
The second was identical.
Then the third.
Then Jax started experimenting.
He looked toward the ingredients spread across the kitchen.
"May I?"
Her mother gestured toward him.
"You're cooking."
That was apparently all the permission he needed.
Jax separated the batter into several bowls.
Into one went small pieces of dark, sweetened cacao.
Another received crushed nuts blended into a creamy paste.
Fresh blueberries disappeared into a third.
A soft sweet cheese mixture went into another, along with a touch of sugar and vanilla.
Bunny's mother watched.
"What are you doing?"
"Giving people choices."
He poured the first variation.
The smell changed almost immediately.
Children began appearing.
One.
Then three.
Then seven.
"What's that?"
Jax flipped the pancake.
"Chocolate."
A child's eyes widened.
"Chocolate... pancake?"
"Yes."
Another child pointed.
"What's that one?"
"Blueberry."
"And that?"
"Peanut butter."
Another pancake hit the skillet.
"And that one?"
Jax smiled.
"Cheesecake."
Silence.
Then—
"I WANT CHEESECAKE!"
"ME TOO!"
"CHOCOLATE!"
"CAN I HAVE BOTH?!"
The kitchen descended into chaos.
Jax laughed.
"Everyone eats."
That somehow made it worse.
Bunny's mother stared as Jax worked.
One skillet became two.
Then three.
He moved between them effortlessly.
Flip.
Turn.
Plate.
Pour.
Check the heat.
Move another.
He never rushed.
He simply became faster.
And the plates...
Those were something else entirely.
Jax refused to simply stack pancakes and send them away.
Fresh berries surrounded some.
Thin slices of apple and pear fanned around others.
A few received lightly sweetened cream.
Others were finished with crushed nuts.
He arranged fruit around the plates with ridiculous precision.
Different colors.
Different shapes.
Different textures.
Food that had been ordinary farm breakfast fifteen minutes earlier suddenly looked like something served at an expensive Solmere restaurant.
One of Bunny's nieces stared at her plate.
"It's too pretty."
Jax placed another berry beside the pancakes.
"Food should make you happy before you taste it."
She considered this profound wisdom.
Then immediately destroyed the entire arrangement with syrup.
Jax watched.
"...Also acceptable."
Bunny laughed.
Somewhere during the third batch...
Bunny's mother finally became suspicious.
Jax wasn't learning.
He was adjusting.
He tasted one of the family's sauces.
Added a pinch of salt.
Something from his new spice rack.
A touch of acidity.
He tasted again.
Nodded.
Then handed the spoon to the woman preparing it.
She tried it.
Her ears shot upright.
"Oh!"
Jax smiled.
"Good base."
He moved on.
Another cook struggled to get eggs finished at the same time as the potatoes.
Jax reorganized the timing.
Someone else had bread browning too quickly.
He moved the pan.
No commands.
No criticism.
Just little suggestions.
And somehow...
Within minutes...
The entire kitchen was following him.
That was when Bunny's mother slowly walked toward her daughter.
Aurabelle was desperately trying not to laugh.
Her mother stopped directly in front of her.
"Does he cook?"
Bunny bit her lip.
"...A little."
Nyxian snorted.
Her mother narrowed her eyes.
"How little?"
Llandra answered this time.
"He's a renowned chef."
Zee added,
"He owns restaurants."
Nyxian smiled brightly.
"Quite a few restaurants."
Bunny's mother's ears slowly lowered.
She looked toward Jax.
Then back toward Bunny.
"I explained a whisk to him."
Bunny lost it.
She doubled over laughing.
"I tried!"
"No, you didn't!"
"I thought about trying!"
"You let me explain kitchen tools to a professional chef!"
Bunny could barely breathe.
Her mother pointed accusingly.
"I explained a spoon, Aurabelle!"
That did it.
Nyxian nearly fell against the wall.
Zee covered her mouth.
Llandra abandoned any attempt at maintaining dignity.
Even several people cooking nearby started laughing.
Bunny wiped tears from her eyes.
"You didn't explain the spoon!"
"I practically did!"
"Mom!" Bunny almost fell over crying with laughter.
"I might as well have!"
Across the kitchen...
Jax looked over.
"Everything alright?"
Four Vixens answered simultaneously.
"YES!"
Bunny's mother stared at him.
Then at her daughter.
"I'm going to remember this."
Bunny grinned.
"I missed you too."
Jax eventually noticed several cooks watching him.
Not merely watching.
Waiting.
He recognized that look.
He'd seen it in his own kitchens.
People who wanted to improve...
But weren't sure what came next.
So he stopped.
"Can I tell you something?"
Several Rabbitkin nodded.
The Vixens groaned.
Bunny immediately whispered,
"Here it comes."
Nyxian straightened dramatically.
Llandra fought a smile.
Jax rested his hands against the preparation table.
"Food is of the earth."
Behind him...
Four women silently mouthed the words.
"But flavor was bestowed by the gods."
Nyxian raised an invisible conductor's baton.
"You are the gods of this kitchen."
Bunny's lips moved perfectly along with him.
"Each dish is a reflection of your soul."
Jax picked up a spoon and tasted the sauce again.
He looked toward the young Rabbitkin woman who had prepared it.
"Will your dish be tainted by hurry and haste?"
Nyxian and Bunny silently joined him.
"Or will your dish be flavorful with love and taste?"
The Rabbitkin cooks stared at him.
Then...
One of Bunny's sisters whispered,
"That's actually kind of beautiful."
Nyxian dropped her imaginary baton.
"Don't encourage him."
Jax ignored her.
He pointed toward the sauce.
"This is good."
The woman smiled.
"Don't make mine."
He handed the spoon back.
"Make yours better."
Something changed.
It was subtle.
But Bunny saw it.
The cooks started tasting more.
Adjusting.
Talking to one another.
Someone grabbed another spice.
Someone else changed how they plated the potatoes.
One of Bunny's brothers started arranging sliced fruit after watching Jax.
The kitchen became louder.
More energetic.
Not frantic.
Excited.
Jax stepped backward.
And let them work.
Breakfast lasted nearly two hours.
Not because anyone ate slowly.
Because people kept arriving.
Relatives wandered over from neighboring houses.
Children returned for seconds.
Then thirds.
Word somehow spread about the strange new pancakes.
One elderly Rabbitkin arrived claiming he'd only come to return a borrowed tool.
He ate four.
By the end...
Almost nothing remained.
Jax stood near the doorway drinking something warm when Bunny's mother approached him.
He smiled.
"Breakfast was excellent."
She smacked him on the shoulder.
Hard enough to make the sound carry.
Jax blinked.
"You didn't tell me you were a chef."
"I don't remember being asked."
"You let me teach you!"
"You were doing a very good job."
She stared.
Jax's smile betrayed him.
"You were making fun of me."
"No."
A pause.
"Maybe a little."
She smacked him again.
"You let me explain a whisk."
"I learned a lot."
"About whisks?"
"About you."
That stopped her.
Jax's expression softened.
"I wanted to spend time with Aurabelle's mother."
He glanced toward the kitchen.
"And you seemed happiest in there."
Her annoyance disappeared.
Not completely.
But enough.
"You could've said that."
"Then you would've treated me differently."
She considered him.
"...Probably."
"Exactly."
Her ears twitched.
Then she smiled.
"You are trouble."
"I've been told that."
"Frequently?"
"Increasingly."
She laughed.
Then looked across the room.
Aurabelle stood talking with two of her sisters.
Happy.
Animated.
Home.
But every few moments...
Her eyes found Jax.
And every time they did...
Something in her expression changed.
Pride.
Affection.
Trust.
Her mother recognized it immediately.
She'd worn that expression herself once.
Maybe she still did.
She crossed the room.
"Belle."
Aurabelle turned.
"Yeah?"
Her mother pulled her into a hug.
No warning.
No explanation.
Bunny froze for half a second.
Then hugged her back.
"What's this for?"
Her mother squeezed a little tighter.
"Nothing."
Bunny looked over her shoulder toward Jax.
Then smiled.
She understood anyway.
Her mother's name was Arial.
Jax had learned that yesterday along with nearly a hundred others.
But this morning...
He'd actually gotten to know her.
Arial released her daughter.
She still wouldn't give the blessing.
That belonged to Aurabelle's father.
And Jax hadn't earned it.
Not officially.
Arial looked toward the window.
Outside...
Several of her sons were already gathering.
Stretching.
Talking.
Laughing.
Preparing.
She almost felt sorry for them.
Almost.
Arial looked back toward Jax.
"Enjoy breakfast?"
"Very much."
"Good."
Her smile became considerably more mischievous.
"Because my husband is waiting outside."
Jax looked through the window.
Bunny's brothers noticed him.
Several grinned.
Bunny sighed.
"Here we go."
Nyxian immediately stood.
"I've been waiting all morning for this."
Zee looked concerned.
"Should we bring healing supplies?"
Llandra considered the Rabbitkin outside.
Then looked at Jax.
"Yes."
Arial blinked.
"For Jax?"
Llandra smiled.
"No."
Outside...
Aurabelle's brothers waited.
And standing among them was their father.
The man whose approval actually mattered.
Breakfast was over.
It was time for the Trials.