As the wagon rumbled down the path and they finally escaped the danger of angry insects, Mimi grinned up at Beist. The rush of energy that had been coursing through her veins began to ebb, leaving her feeling giddy. She couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter.

“That was AMAZING! You are amazing!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands happily. “Is there anything you can’t pull out of thin air?! First a house, then the coldest cold in the entire world, and then you magic a whole living griffon into existence! That’s just incredible! We’re really lucky we ran into you, or we probably would have ended up as wasp food.”

She sighed as she nestled into the huge seat at the front of the wagon. While most of the space was taken up by Beist’s hulking form, there was still plenty of room for her small frame to get comfortable. Zeke climbed out of her hair and down her body to settle onto her stomach, where he curled up and started to snooze. Mimi patted his little head, her gaze softening.

“I really hope that was the yummiest wasp in the entire world with all the trouble you got us into. Silly boy. Next time you do something that stupid, you will be in serious trouble, mister.” Though her words were harsh, her tone brimmed with love for the little creature. She could never be truly mad at him.

“Why was there an angry swarm of wasps swarming the road, anyway?” she wondered idly, not really directing the question at anyone but just letting it hang in the air.

Beist blushed and shrank into himself, uncomfortable under all the sudden praise. The bluish-grey skin of his face that wasn't covered up by the fur became darker and his ears drooped while his eyes widened slightly. He leaned away from Mimi in the seat next to him, causing the wooden bench to creak slightly under his weight.

"Oh, no, that wasn't- That was just-" He stammered, not good at handling such praise. He instead just latched onto the first thing he could. "I didn't magic Dora into existence, she was just inside a space pocket and I took her back out of it. I can't do anything as impressive as just making a griffon out of nothing. The pumpkin cottage too, that wasn't that impressive. There's much more powerful mages out there. People who can actually summon creatures out of nothing, like Kamille." Beist shook his head and waved a hand.

Beist watched the little gecko crawl around on Mimi with amusement. It reminded him of some of his own animals crawling into his clothes to take a nice nap. He hadn't seen Leni and Nimbus in a while. He wondered if the baby drake had outgrown using his robe as a hammock and his belly as a warming pad. Would Nimbus still fit? Then again, he had grown a bit since the last time they'd met, so the drake might even have more room than before.

"Who is this adorable little trouble maker?" Beist chuckled, looking at the napping lizard.

Beist shook his head and let out a sigh. "A Fae prank. Dropped the nest out of the sky, right onto all the wagons on the road. It's more and more common these days."

Mimi’s eyes widened with surprise as she saw how flustered Beist became under her praise. She hadn’t meant to make him uncomfortable. In fact, she was just being honest about how impressed she was. Seeing him blush and lean away, she bit her lip and softened her tone.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to fluster you! I just… well, I think what you do is amazing, that’s all,” she said earnestly, hoping to ease his discomfort.

When Beist mentioned the space pocket, Mimi’s curiosity piqued again. “A pet pocket? I know you're big, but even you can't have a pocket that fits a whole griffon, surely?” she asked with a playful grin, her tone lightening. “Still, pulling a griffon out of thin air is pretty impressive, no matter how it’s done!”

As Beist asked about Zeke, Mimi’s face lit up with excitement. “Oh, this little troublemaker is Zeke! He’s been with me for as long as I can remember. I found his egg in a destroyed nest, surrounded by broken shells and… well, it was clear that something bad had happened. The mother was… gone, and I guess I just couldn’t leave the last egg there, all alone. I took care of it until Zeke hatched. He’s been my little companion ever since. Loves eating bugs and goes absolutely crazy for agave fruit.”

She glanced down at Zeke with a fond smile, gently stroking his back as he napped peacefully. “He’s my little survivor,” she added softly.

But when Beist explained the origin of the wasp attack, Mimi’s expression shifted from fondness to confusion and concern. “A fae prank? Why would they do something like that?” she asked, her brows furrowing in genuine bewilderment. “I mean, someone could’ve gotten seriously hurt! There were all those wagons on the road… It’s just lucky that the people and animals managed to escape.”

Mimi’s worry deepened as she thought about the implications. “If this has been happening a lot lately, isn’t there anything that can be done? It doesn’t seem safe to just let it go on… What if next time, someone doesn’t get away in time? Or what if the people who ran from the wagons need help? Maybe we should check to see if everyone’s okay?”

Beist let out a soft chuckle. "Oh no, it's not a literal pocket, it's a spell. It lets me have a little place I can carry around with me that I can put them in. I've asked them about it. They say it's quite comfortable in there. I like to have them with me, but some places, uh, frown upon having a pack of magical creatures walking through the streets. And it also helps lighten the wagon if they're not all packed into it. Makes it easier for Dora to pull."

Beist forgot his momentary flusteredness as he went into explaining the details of the spell cast on some charms.

"Oh, the pet pocket is also helpful for keeping little troublemakers in when they've bitten off more than they can chew." He added, looking at Zeke. He knew from experience. He knew a few of his own companions could cause problems sometimes, but he still loved them and enjoyed their company when they weren't pulling pranks on him or the other animals with him.

Beist looked a little sad to hear Zeke's story, but he was happy to see the lizard napping peacefully. "He must really trust you to be comfortable taking a nap in your lap. You know, Dora and I have a similar story. I found her wounded, some poachers trying to kill her, but she survived. I healed her and she's stuck with me ever since. She's gotten much bigger and stringer since then too. I bet those poachers wouldn't stand a chance against her now! Well, if they were still alive, I mean, but that's not important."

Dora looked back with her beak upturned, as if she was haughtily saying "Of course." to them. Beist gave her a smile and slight chuckle.

"Good questions, but I'm afraid I can't really answer them. Fae have become more and more common ever since that whole ordeal with the Sol Stone breaking, and apparently some giant, godly dragon causing all those earthquakes." Beist let out a sigh. "It's just one thing after another. Things changing and problems arising. Many people are studying it all, I'm sure. I've tried studying some of it just a bit myself, but it's not my area of expertise at all. If you want answers, you'll have to look for them from somewhere else. Maybe the Mage's Guild, or the W.E.F." Beist explained, his tone somewhat apologetic at times. He wished he knew more, but he just didn't. Not that some of the occurrences didn't pique his curiosity, like the appearance of a dragon the size of a mountain, but he hadn't been there to see it himself or fight it. Which was for the best since he wasn't good at fighting at all.

Mimi’s eyes lit up with curiosity as Beist explained the “pet pocket” spell. “That’s such a neat idea! Zeke might like something like that, but I think he’d miss being out in the open too much,” she mused, glancing down at the little gecko. “Still, I can see how it’d be super useful, especially when you’ve got so many friends traveling with you.”

She grinned when Beist mentioned using the spell to keep troublemakers in check. “I might need to learn that trick! Zeke’s usually pretty good, but when he gets into mischief, it’s a whole adventure trying to get him back on track,” she laughed, thinking of all the times she’d had to wrangle him out of tight spots.

As Beist shared the story of how he’d saved Dora, Mimi’s expression softened with understanding. “That’s amazing, Beist. Dora’s lucky to have you. It sounds like you’ve really helped her become the strong, proud griffon she is today. I guess we’ve both got a soft spot for taking in little survivors.”

But when the conversation turned back to the fae and the strange events happening recently, Mimi’s brow furrowed in concern. “A dragon… earthquakes… and now fae playing dangerous pranks? It’s like the world’s gone mad,” she said, her voice tinged with worry. “I don’t really know much about all that big stuff. I’ve mostly just been trying to keep my head above water, you know?”

She paused, trying to push away the daunting thoughts of dragons and magical disasters. That was too much to handle right now. Instead, she focused on the problem at hand—the wasps and the trouble the fae were causing.

“Maybe we can’t do much about dragons or whatever’s going on with that Sol Stone, but these wasp attacks… Maybe there’s something we can do to help folks around here deal with them,” she said, her tone becoming more determined. “We managed to get out of it okay with your potions. Maybe we could make more of those, or come up with some other way to help the locals protect themselves if the fae decide to play another prank like that?”

Mimi looked up at Beist with pleading eyes. “We’ve already handled it once, right? Maybe we can help others be ready if it happens again. At least then, people won’t have to feel so helpless. I just... I don't think I could leave now if there is a possibility for me to help the people here..."

Beist nodded along, chuckling lightly at the mischievous little newt. He was a little embarrassed again at being praised for saving Dora, but he couldn't refute having a soft spot for taking in little survivors. Really, he couldn't refute taking in just about any animal that wanted to go with him. He knew he had too many at home, but he just couldn't say no.

"Well... Helping out with these wasp attacks might be a bit more complicated than that. If I sold that blizzard potion, especially cheaply, there's nothing to stop anyone who buys it from using it for things other than escaping from wasps. It could end up just making a new wave of pranksters going around causing cold snaps. That, and I have no idea where the fae will strike next." Beist explained, running his fingers through his beard as he spoke.

"It's not so bad. The wasp stings are painful, of course, but they're not lethal except in extremely high dosages, which no one in their right mind would be able to receive if they just run away from the wasps. I can sell some antidotes pretty cheaply though. Those shouldn't be able to be abused."

Mimi deflated at Beist’s notion that the blizzard potions would most likely be used for ill rather than good. She could only imagine too well the sort of havoc this magic could cause in the wrong hands. The giant was right, handing out what basically surmounted to freezing explosions was not the right answer to dealing with a few wasps.

The idea of supplying the locals with simple antidotes for any potential wasp stings sounded like a much better idea! And it might even be something she could help with!
“Is it a difficult potion to make? If not will you teach me? I really want to help the people here... and this would be a great way to do just that!” Her eyes glittered with excitement. “And once I can make that potion we can split up to hand them out and, you know, cover more ground. Or... I guess you can get back on your way to wherever you were going... It’s not like you expected to be stuck with some gremlin today, hehe. Sorry about that” Mimi blushed self consciously, only now realising that she hand kind of forced her presence on the gentle giant. The old man surely had better things to do than humour her little whims. “Or uhh.. you know... just say the word and I’ll be out of your hair.” Quite literally, considering her current position on the seat beside him meant that she was partially submerged in Beist's soft fluff. 

"Oh, no. It's not a difficult to make potion at all. It would be a very good potion for a beginner alchemist to start with. I don't mind teaching you. It would make it a lot easier to make so many of them with some help." Beist answered with a smile.

An antidote for wasp venom was a very simple potion, and the ingredients were easy to obtain. It was basically just a very watered down antitoxin. Wasp venom wasn't that strong, so it wasn't hard to cure. He probably had enough ingredients already on him to make enough to supply a town for a while. Of course, that'd still take a while, but it would probably take more time to distribute the potion into a lot of vials than it would to brew a batch of the stuff.

"The nearest town isn't far. We can stop there and start making some potions." He continued, looking down at Mimi and noticing she was barely able to fit on the seat with him, and was stuffed up against him. "Sorry I take up so much room. You can ride inside the wagon if you'd like. There's plenty of space. And you can stop being in my hair so literally..." He finished apologetically.

Beist scooched over on the seat as much as he could without making the wagon too weighed down on one side to give Mimi some more space. He was too used to sitting in the middle of the seat that he had done it without realizing he had given Mimi hardly any room to sit.

“Oh, nonono, I don’t mind. Actually, your fur is really soft and warm. It’s nice...” Mimi’s flushed cheeks grew even brighter. Why was she so bad at explaining her thoughts? But then Mimi realised that Beist was probably too nice to just outright tell her that he was getting tired of her presence. For a moment she considered if she should just leave and save the giant the hassle of dealing with her further, but she did really want to learn how to make this antidote and use it to help people. Instead, she decided to take Beist’s suggestion, hoping that giving him a bit of solitude would be enough to not have him hate being stuck with her. “I guess I probably should give you your space back.” With that she clambered up onto the wagon’s roof and from there slid through one of its windows into the wagon’s interior.

Once inside Mimi found an empty space on the floor to sit, pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. It had been a long day and exhaustion gripped her the moment she settled. The inside of the wagon smelled of all manner of plants and herbs, mixed with the warm scents of different animals. It was a very comforting smell that helped soothe Mimi’s anxious mind a little.

She must have dozed off for a bit because she was jolted awake when the wagon came to a stop. She could hear voices and footsteps outside. Glancing out the window she confirmed that they had arrived in the little town Beist had mentioned earlier. Mimi stretched and patted her face, trying to fully wake herself back up. One more bit of concentration and work and then she could be done with the day. She could do this!

She would take meticulous notes and watch with rapt attention while Beist was teaching her how to brew the antidote. Once she understood the process, she would do her best to assist him, especially by taking on any tasks that her small and nimble fingers would be better suited for than Beist’s massive claws.