Mahina's Diary

(This diary is written ICly by Mahina.)

950 FI (Insert specific date here)

To all the future "me"s (or past "me"s somehow found this),

Welcome! You'll find all sorts of interesting stuff about my days and thoughts here, should you ever need them, and especially if it is because I am doing something important and then you would definitely need to know more context about whatever I was thinking or doing at a certain time because this might also help you in finding the exact moment where you would need to travel further back in time or travel better into the future.

So from present me, you're quite welcome and yes, I do have some honey rolls in the larder so feel free to help yourself- especially since Simon (my guylove) doesn't come back until the morrow and Alexandria knows when Loni (Allonia, my girllove) will be back. She's always off getting neat things and coming back with fun stories.

So this is what I did today:

I made sweet rolls.

It took me a lot longer than normal because first I had to find Gabriele's cookbook (to past "me"s, Gabriele was my mentor and friend- she passed on and is sorely missed!) and then I had to find all the things I needed which was harder than normal because usually Simon cooks and he has everything in different places. But once I found everything I just followed the directions, except I used extra honey because Symphonia the Bee Queen was mad that I hadn't visited lately and did I even bother using the honey she so graciously gifts me? Plus, she told me that honey is the ultimate food source anyway so I am cheating myself by not eating it. So I promised her I would eat honey every day but I guess I don't eat as much honey as I should because I still have half a jar left and she wants me back the day after Simon comes back. She can be so contrary but she's really nice to be giving me honey even though I'm not a bee. But I do plant the flowers she requests by the hive so it's not like I don't do anything for her!

Back to the rolls. They smelled so good and tasted even better though they are kind of sweet. Squirt did not care for the little bit I gave him so I gave him a treat.

I meant to write this down earlier but keep forgetting but will write it here because this is probably the best place since I forget things a lot.

    Squirt's Treat Recipe
   4 thin strips of meat, smoked and cured with a 1-1-3 beet sugar & salt brine
   1 spoonful of fish oil
   After the meat has been smoked and cured, coat strips with the fish oil. 
   Place in the oven hearth in the panini iron plates for 2 minutes, then turn, then 2 more minutes. 
   Immediately cut into tiny pieces. Place pieces in clean rag and allow to cool. 
   Placed cooled treats in the ceramic jar marked Squirt's Treats.

Simon figured out the recipe for me because Squirt really likes jerky but it's not squishy enough for his little snakey tummy and gave him the worst indigestion. Simon came up with the idea that if we let the oil soak in, it would have kind of a firm but gummy texture and would not only be better on Squirt's tummy but also keep a little longer because he says things keep longer if there's oil in them. He's older so I believe him.

Speaking of Simon, he gave me a list of things to do if I could while he's gone. He didn't want to go at first but we really needed more willyroot and my foot is still stinging from trying to lift the flour barrel and dropping it on my foot. Allonia had just left and he doesn't like her so he didn't want to send her anyhow (he says he can't trust her, he's so silly).

950 FI (Insert specific date here) Day 2

Dear "me"s,

Simon is back with the willyroot and some extra treats for me, including a new tunic for making preparations since I burned a hole through my old one (as well as my dress). I really hate being so clumsy. Simon jokes that one of these days I'll burn the shop down but I am secretly afraid he's right which is why I went through the trouble to replace all the candles and lanterns with hooded oil lanterns. That way if I do knock one over it's less likely to break and if it does break, it is more likely to go out and not start a fire. But when I can, I'd rather use spells anyway. I have this neat spell that I can cast that puts light around something and I use that when I can because I put them around this string of beads that I made and it looks really pretty! But Simon keeps telling me I need to save my spells on something important so I only do it when he's not here or when I know I won't be using spells for anything else. He is right, though- why waste a spell when you can just use a lantern? I think this will be one of my new mottos.

The only problem with this motto is that it doesn't rhyme and I have this really cute quirk that I talk in rhymes, usually with a good beat. I need to find a way to make this rhyme so I can actually say it.

Let's see. A spell is best used here / when lan-tern oil isn't here. Ugh. No way. I used "here" too many times. Let's try again. A lan-tern's best instead / don't waste a spell in bed. Wait, if I'm in bed, I could waste a spell because I'm going to study them and sleep and get it back. So that doesn't work. Hrmmm.. Don't waste a spell in head / just use lantern instead!

PERFECT! Now it can join my other mottos. I need to write these down in case future "me"s forget them.

• Don't waste a spell in head, just use lantern instead!
• A bird in hand won't wait for you to feed a date.
• Use I before the E except after the C.
• I better watch my hand and where-ever I land.

(This is actually from Gabriele who would always tell me to watch my hand and to try to look before I fell on something, but I tend to not remember it because it all happens so fast.)

Simon also brought back with him some friend named Venn that is also a cleric. I guess Simon had told him some stuff on the way because he asked me why I didn't become a cleric like Simon. Well isn't it obvious? C and C. The last thing I want to be known as is Mahina the Clumsy Cleric. Mahina the Clumsy Druid doesn't sound as elegant so people wouldn't call me that. But oh what teasing I would get with that kind of elegant misnomer. So no cleric! Besides, people are... incomprehensible. I don't understand people very well and I'm always putting my foot in my mouth. I relate to animals so much better.

Squirt agrees!

950 FI (Day Three)

Dear "me"s,

I was sitting up at the shop counter minding the store while Simon was making some potions or something when I had the most amazing but really bad visions. Simon says they're just crazy spells but I think my soul travels and communes with other souls kind of like how I can travel through time. I think these are some of my special elf abilities.

ANYWAY, my soul was with Allonia. First, she's talking to the famous gnome bard. I didn't know she was friends with a famous person! I need to ask her about it. Wait, I can't because she's dead. Yes, I'm coming to that. Okay, okay. FOCUS, Mahina! Okay. So then I see her bribing some tall guy. I don't know who she is and I can't really see where they are or anything. She's ignoring my soul because she's on an important mission of some sort. Maybe for the famous friend of hers? I wish I could remember his name. Gallahad? Gallant? Gad? Gantry?

OKAY OKAY I still do not remember and my doodles aren't helping anyone remember. So let me think.

OKAY, that's it and she's happy and she's sad. Now this one is weird because there's a strange man in it and he's wearing like a professor outfit or maybe he's in business or something. I DON'T KNOW!

She's talking to him and he's tall and she is determined.

But what are they saying?

I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE THEN it goes into another place and Allonia is being all sneaky on the roof of some building. There's this little thing. No, it's like a window? But small. Some opening. Then she shivers! Is she cold? Is she spooked? I can't tell but whatever it is it's not pleasant.

THIS NEXT ONE IS IMPORTANT!

She's in Aeabelle. Not Silenti but Arabelle proper and she's going into a tavern. THERE IS A BIG DOOR! And I stomp my feet and protest because I want her home but she ignores me and walks through it anyway, LAME!

Now it skips to somewhere and there's undead yuckies everywhere! I help guide her arrows with my elf powers to help save her!

But then she's in MORE trouble. How? What good tavern owner lets undead in his basement? Now she's outside another door and there's magic glitteries everywhere. She has some sort of sword sheath and she uses it and the door opens.

BUT I CAN'T WALK THROUGH IT! WHY? IT'S OPEN!

She doesn't want to be there but it's too late- her old flame or something is killed, then she is snapped in half and begs me for forgiveness & kisses me.

ONE HALF IS MINE BUT THE OTHER NEVER WAS!