Once the mixture and the slowly plumping fruit were evenly divided between the two Carboys, they were sealed up and checked for any possible issues. Enoki let out a breath. “Ok. So. That’s good. Now, putting it up and waiting and checking.”

“Yes. I’ll be interested to see how this goes where impurities are concerned. I’ll be taking careful notes to share with Infer-” En’mat’s ears lowered as she cut off her own thought. Enoki gave her a quick hug.

“It’ll be ok, En’mat. If you wanna serve the gods you can. If you don’t… I dunno become a kick ass brewer somewhere.” Ze grinned. “Maybe you can become my supplier for a chain of restaurants I can make when this is done.”

“Oh? What will it be called? Blessed Deadly dishes?” En’mat let out a small chuckle as she ruffled Enoki’s hair.

As Ze let go, ze closed her eyes. “Maybe. Or maybe like… Heaven and Hell Dining.” 

Enoki noticed a tug on hir tail and didn’t pay it much mind. Ze assumed that ze had just gone forward a bit too much. “The real question is the theme. I know a lot of styles of food, but they don’t really exist here. I mean sort of anyway. But we could do an around the world thing.”

“Enoki.”

Eyes still closed, Enoki was now deep in thought. “Yeah, that is a bit much. Maybe I could do theme days?”

“Enoki?”

“Oh but what if theme days aren’t enjoyable here and-” Enoki was interrupted by En’mat turning Enoki’s head to see hir nearly forgotten outfit was slowly pulling hir closer to the entrance.

“I think your clothing is getting jealous.” En’mat said calmly as a few of the helpers chuckled behind her.

“Oh right. Um. Whose shirt did I borrow?” Enoki looked at all the elves in the room. “You probably want it back.”

The elf with the streaks came back over. “I did but I can wait until they magic themselves on. And then,” the elf looked at the robes En’mat was still wearing despite everything. “Do you need me to bring down clothing before you handle the cursed wood? The temple may want that back.”

En’mat lightly touched the sleeves, looking at the flame designs. “I’m not sure I have anything else that isn’t from before I started at the temple.”

Enoki grumbled as ze started to go through the barrier, shortening hir tail as ze did. “Damn temple nearly cost all the elves everything. They can give up a few robes.” 

“Still, I was excommunicated.” She knelt down to better look Enoki in the eyes as hir clothes reformed onto hir body. “It would be right, wouldn’t it?”

“Want my opinion?” 

“Of course.” En’mat smiled a little. “It’ll probably be the opposite of what I need to do.”

“Ha. Ha. Look. The gods didn’t kick you out. A bitch with a problem believing things she can’t see was the problem. Even if I had bled in front of her, that Inferno still would have put money down that I was an evil demon. And I’ll admit, I could be wrong about what I’m doing.” Ze put hir hands on hir hips as Bob and McStabby melted back down to head into their proper places. “But if I am right and the gods are helping? That temple will eat its words.”

“And if you are wrong or fail?” En’mat’s ears twitched up slightly, curious as to what Enoki would say next.

“I mean, when I worked at a pizza place that wrongly fired me I kept everything out of spite. Made them hunt me down for the stuff.” Ze lightly tugged on the gloves, making them a touch longer. As ze brushed some dust off the clothing, it shifted from the chef outfit to the normal blue and gold armor. “Because even if they treated me like shit at the end, I had some good memories of working there.”

“Well, then. If they want to take this robe at least, it’ll be after I use it and its protections to help me.” En’mat looked back to the elf. “Please tell mother I will be taking everything that I currently own clothing wise. Including the robes and any specialty tools I have.”

The elf smiled and walked out, taking the shirt from Enoki as ze held it up. Enoki looked back to the room in time to see the other elves helping to carry out equipment that was cleaned. En’mat carried out the first container of future melomel. Wordlessly, a second elf got the other container and followed her into the curtain. Enoki quickly followed, wondering if the tools for trimming the wood were inside as well.

Not seeing any, ze looked at the two elves who were trying to avoid touching the cloth. “So, do I need to make the tools?”

“Please? We can’t use holy ones I think. It would corrupt them.” En’mat called back, already at the halfway point of the space. 

Enoki followed and paused. Looking at the end of the shelves, ze noticed some numbers and a dial. Carefully, ze turned the dial to the left, watching the numbers go down as a soft blue light turned on the set of shelves.When ze put hir hand under the light, ze would feel the drop in temperature. When ze turned it to the right and saw the numbers go up, the light turned red and started getting warmer.

“Oooh. Hey, En’mat!”

The elf had her ears as low as possible and a frown on her face as she walked around, carrying the carboy. “There is nowhere to put this that is the ideal temperature.”

Enoki calmly walked over. “They got a neat feature. Thermostat settings.”

“Thermo what now?” En’mat glanced at Enoki, the ears looking ready to just go and stay flat.

“Just put them on the lower shelves.” Ze waved as ze went over to the dial. “Gimme the number you want these at.”

“I- oh 65 units.” As she started to set the first jar of future melomel in place, Enoki quickly changed the dial to 65. En’mat nearly jumped as she felt the temperature change. “Sorry! But hey look, everything can be kept its own temperature now.”

“This is very good. Alright. Let’s leave them here and we can start cutting the wood down.” En’mat was already heading back to the huge piece. “I have no idea how much is usable. Or how we can safely dispose of it later.”

“I mean, can we maybe, I dunno... Save the chunks? Maybe I need to make cursed smoked meats or something later.”

En’mat’s ears, which had only just started to rise back up, dipped down again. As she tried to find the words to argue, her ears twitched up and down before settling in a natural position. “I suppose you have a point. Fine. But don’t eat any more sap!”

“I won’t eat any more unprepared sap.”

“ANY sap.” En’mat shot Enoki a pleading look. “Please. I do not want you to feel even a fraction of what I did.”

Enoki looked down at that. Right. Poor En’mat was probably more traumatized by that entire thing than Enoki had been. “Ok. But if we can, I want to save any sap, ok? It might be helpful later. For a dish maybe.”

“Fine. If there is any we can save, you may save it. But for now, help me prepare the wood.” She gently put her hand on it. “The fact it feels so dry already is a good sign at least.”

“Well, I guess the gods wanted to make sure we could use the wood fast.” Enoki looked at the wood, touching it with a gloved hand. “How long have you had to wait for wood to cure before?”

“With enchanted trees? 20 years or so. Not terribly long but far too long. Make a wedge and a sledge hammer for me.” En’mat was already singing to help make some arms to turn the wood, looking for the perfect spot.

“Sure thing.” Bob and McStabby quickly shaped themselves into the needed tools as Enoki handed them over. 

En’mat nodded and climbed on top, the ceiling of the room seeming to raise up as she did in an effort to stay out of the way. Enoki watched as she placed the wedge and lined up her shot before slamming down hard. A huge split started down the middle of the wood. And with it, screaming began to escape. The immediate area shifted to the darkness the two had experienced before. En’mat’s skin flushed gold and silver, her eyes going wide as the screaming from inside the wood continued. 

Enoki covered hir ears and ran to pull En’mat down when ze saw the leftover bees wax in the corner. The same holy beeswax from the cells of honey ze harvested. On a whim, ze quickly tore off a piece of it and quickly threw it in hir mouth. The chance worked as the world seemed warmer. Kinder. Even the screaming changed to a soft crying. Enoki looked up to see it was coming from En’mat, the tears running down her face as she held the sledgehammer loosely in her hands.

“I lost my dream… I lost…” The words were choked out in another sob as she looked down into the tree and the pooling sap. 

“En’mat! Hold on!” Enoki grabbed more of the wax, rolling it up as ze quickly started climbing up the side of the log. 

The broken priestess turned to Enoki, tears still streaming down. Her glamor showed cracks. “Why… why did I lose it for doing the right thing?”

Enoki did hir best to balance hirself on the half broken log and walked over slowly. “I dunno but can you eat this please?”

“Why? So I can fall further? I should let it consume me… take me from this loneliness” Enoki looked down to see the sap was trying to make a small tentace in an attempt to steal En’mat away.

And En’mat was leaning towards it. “Maybe this will keep me from being alone.”