"And you don't have to."

"Good, good. When should I come back?"

"Whenever, I guess? I mean if you want to try it out I can just call her back here..."

"...I want to have a deal, though, and that seems like one of the several things that'll annoy her."

"No, it's the explaining part that annoys her, she wants to have an opinion on what deal you'll make."

"Well, you've probably explained enough that I can make a deal without feeling like I don't know what I'm getting into now if you think calling her back will work?"

"Yeah, okay." He takes a deep breath to psych himself up and disappears into the back of the shop.

"...You have opinions on this, Kaede? I'll probably be stuck-ish here for a few months if I make a deal."

"I might want to occasionally visit other places to share your other ideas with the right people but otherwise I'm cool."

"Good!" It's kind of exciting again now that she's over the trepidation the word 'apprentice' brought out.

Apprentice and master return after a couple of minutes.

"So. Got more of a clue what you want?" she asks.

"Yes. I want to chip in a few hours a day - four, six, something like that - helping to build it or doing other things to make your life easier, and possibly chip in some money. It'd be more if I didn't want to start seriously studying enchanting too. I do have much more remembered detail about it than that little sketch, I know what problems plagued the first one and stuff. I want to learn how this sort of crafting is done here so I can adjust my other ideas to it along the way, if it's not a bother. And I want a percentage of the profits generated from using it after it's finished, for a few years."

"...fine, that works, yeah. I'll want you to work on other stuff, too, and help me with the more boring tasks."

"Of course. Never been one to shy away from work - just trying to be clear about things. And by 'a percentage' I mean perhaps fifteen."

"Yeah that works."

"Great! Unless Kaede really wants to show me something - well, I'd better go introduce myself to the local enchanter's guild, actually. I'll come back in an hour or two?"

"I'm cool," says Kaede.

    "Two hours," says the master who does not like to be named.

    "Local guild chapter isn't that big," warns Tap.

"Two hours. My name's Grendyne, by the way, and goodbye for now."

"'Bye," she says, waving in her direction dismissively.

"It was nice meeting you," says Tap.

"Likewise - see you soon."

"...I think that went well!"

"It did! I've met some arts types like that much worse to deal with."

"So should we go find the Enchanters' Guild now? Will it be weird if I don't know how to enchant much yet? That's normal, right?"

"Oh, yeah, you're young enough you could've Expressed recently.—did I tell you about Expressing, I should perhaps tell you about that."

"Getting magic?" For Witches it happens by accident at age nine to twelve, sometimes a little older or younger.

"It's a bit more complicated than that."

Okay so did I mention that magic is very idiosyncratic and changes a lot person to person?