Do You Take Requests?

Elena of Avalor Live text reaction: Giant Steps

I enjoy reading other people's posts where they watch episodes of shows and write reactions to things in the episode while they're still watching it. So I decided to make one for this new episode: Giant Steps. 

Reaction starts under the cut (Spoilers for the episode since this is a reaction)

She needs a crew 

Wait has she gone to Australia 

Also I love that fish on the wall 

To bad it wouldn't be able to sing most likely

Is that a wanted poster for the bat on the wall?

And it looks like she's selling Esteban’s hat as well 

oooooh I think I feel a song coming on

 also the letter text is so clear I could probably translate this

if I felt like it 

Man, Elena is a fast writer 

I really like the accordion in this song but so far it's been pretty casual 

I don't know, I guess I was just expecting a big old villain song 

What a cute parrot! Naomi should get a parrot

Oh that's a sword for a second I thought it could be a chainsaw 

Don't mind him that's just casual Joe, casually showing off his casual sword to his casual friends Casually 

Wow there's a lot of lens flares in this song, was it directed by JJ Abrams?

Maybe it's not even a big threat Naomi's coming to warn them about, maybe she's just going to come back to say hi at this point, she seems like she's really missing Elena 

This is why she needs a crew, then she wouldn't be lonely 

Having a good cry together?! All of the hurt comfort and angst fanfiction possibilities! 

Oh look there's the not-Ash little girl 

yes the Elena and Naomi feels are strong with this one 

Ship does not rhyme with fate! this is the second time a line hasn't rhymed and it bugs me 

And she's broke

Maybe she should have asked for some money along with a ship eh?

The Bat Wanted poster Is hilarious 

And so starts her career as a bounty hunter 

“So how much gold are you giving for his capture?” “heaps of it.” “But how much gold exactly?” “HEAPS. OF. IT.”

Yeah when you just draw bags of money on the poster it's probably a scam 

Naomi unrolls the wanted poster, Me: *Gasps out loud* They all look so good!

 I wonder if you captured those three along with the bat if they give you an extra gold for that or if they just only give you a reward for the bat

You probably wouldn't get any gold though cuz it's probably a scam

Sudden zoom in on the poster while there's a bell in the background like what

 reminds me how they always always seem to do that during dramatic moments in Star Trek

What's in the bag a knife, a phaser, or is she just giving her the bag 

Maybe a special knockout powder?

Oh cool it's one of those endless Space Bags 

also what a cute red bird 

This episodes giving lots of birds 

But the Winged being I want to see most is Chatana

Oh look she sells harpoons! What does the store not have?

The necklace, of course she wants the necklace, I was thinking about was oddly noticeable with Naomi wearing two necklaces so of course she's going to have to give one away

Will she give it to her, Probably

Yep now she has the Magic Bag

And she got the take the wanted poster as well?! Wow !

It's not illegal to take down wanted posters?

Boy there is probably some kid out there who has fifty wanted posters just up decorating their room because they are very well drawn 

I mean if I lived in that world and knew I couldn't get punished for it I would totally have a few of them up 

Ash and Chatana just look so snug in their pictures, when why was Esteban just looks so innocent compared to them 

Wait so ash gave Chatana the diadem off screen? okay...

I've been waiting months for this, yes, YES team Ash team Ash team Ash YES!

Now I finally get to see more of Chatana

 I will finally get to see what her personality is really like yes

~~ but now I have to eat supper so intermission

Sarah give me spoilers Darn it ~~

 Anyway

 the bat can shape-shift!? wow I always thought that Esteban’s teleportation powers would take them to Vestrella but I was wrong

Of course they're seen immediately, probably because of Ash’s yelling

Wait if you Caught the Jaquin babies, what would you do with them Esteban?

He seems better at this villain stuff than I thought 

Also both Ash and Chatana seem way too confident about this 

I'm predicting it will be their Achilles heel 

Bold of Mateo to assume that she would be looking for her friend instead of the villains 

Probably spied on Naomi before 

It seems Mateo's more Curious boy Then I thought he's willing to spy on someone if they're a friend 

And she's right there, she probably ran past Armando and everyone else that's why they didn't get it notified of her arrival 

Like she always does 

Yay clumsy Mateo

And he didn't drop it!

No one expected you back this soon Naomi not even the audience 

Lesbians lesbians lesbians 

It's great other than the crippling loneliness 

Mateo asks the kind of questions that I asked on tumblr ask blogs anonymously 

“Ancient at least I thought she was ancient '' if she said that to Chatana’s face which you take it as a compliment or an insult I wonder?

Also continuity!

And of course she's only going to bring Gabe because he is the only guard She Knows by name 

Sarcasm aside though I'm glad that these four will get to have another adventure together 

They are the Ultimate Adventure team 

Well Isabel is always welcome on it 

But it is illegal for her to try to fight Esteban 

Or Witness Elena seriously killing him 

Wait is she going because she wants to be with Elena 

Or to get the prize money 

Probably both 

I sure hope Elena doesn't feel betrayed if Naomi tries to get that prize money I mean she has to make a living somehow 

Yes Elena, the team 

It is the only team strong enough to defeat the evil team 

Oh boy every time Chatana walks she looks like she's on a Runway! She is so poised and confident looking 

Also it seems that they have gotten past that cloaking spell 

And Esteban gets smacked in the face

They just love you using him for slapstick don't they?

I just love it how bat says casually that they're being watched 

And Ash and Chatana flip out like they're about to be caught by the thought police 

Okay, Esteban is hilarious 

*Ash Eyeroll*

I wonder who has done more eye rolls in the series Ash or Esteban?

And she blocked it again, I guess it wears off over time?

SOME kind of cloaking spell!? it looks like the same one they were using before!

I sure hope Philly wasn't conscious with Chatana all those years

She CAN fly!

And we finally get to see her make a monster and it's so cool!!!

Spiders spiders everywhere!

Flying spider tornado!

Ash and Esteban’s reactions are valid

BABY spider Eagles! that changes everything 

Now that means that they're really cute 

I would still be distracted by them though

Esteban sass 

Ash threats

If they weren't so evil they make a great sitcom team 

~~~break to watch final episode of Pride and Prejudice with my family~~

Gabe makes yet another strategy which will be most likely ignored or never brought up again 

Points for trying, Captain 

Oh good, that’s just webs, thought it was something else for a moment 

Down they go, too bad she can't use levaloop with that sceptre and they're going to have a hard Landing 

Woo he didn't use levaloop he's learning new spells 

Yay team Ash back views! I've been needing these for artistic purposes 

Did Phili just spit fire Let me back that up 

Wow I think he did

Awww,  “Little one”

They must train together a lot, Ash just needs to give Esteban a look and he does what they need 

That's the same unlocking spell as before

 do the Maruveians only have one kind of lock spell

Also wait did Chatana teach that to Ash at some point?

Because she certainly didn't use that on the gate before to unlock Chatana...

Oh nice unlocking effects 

some...BODY ONCE TOLD ME

MAMA <--May I also mention that my theory was right 

Wait all of Chatana's creatures are locked up here?

I guess there are the Sunbird jars 

True she was captured, (much better excuse than Pink Diamond’s)

And here is Esteban, the king of sucking up 

In a way, Kizin Reminds me of Sarah

He Likes the tall funny man 

Good recovery Esteban, you didn't make any snide comment that time 

And now everyone else sucks up 

Except Phili 

Chatana smile 

Kizin has other friends? AWW, he Just wants to help his friends! 

Ash has done nothing other than that spell so far except yell and complain to others

And there goes a bat

We will probably get him later... or maybe we will just leave him

Oh look will team Avalor attack him immediately or will they try and reason with him first 

If you needed more guards why didn't you just grab them in the first place 

I know Migs and Skyler are Guardians but couldn't you have gotten another Guardian to go and get reinforcements? 

Elena never planned ahead for things

Gabe the running LOL 

So you're going to just attack him instead of reasoning with him? okay 

I think that trip wire might be a little high Naomi

Wait Shouldn't Elena and Mateo wait on the other side of the tripwire so that they can surround Kizim just in case 

Naomi tie the tripwire you won't be strong enough to hold it up yourself 

Or maybe you will you are pretty strong 

Hey look there's the bat

No Naomi, no Naomi no tie the rope Naomi, and then go after him 

Tell Elena of your financial troubles don't risk it all 

(to quote Ash:) foolish child....

Looks like the bats in the bag 

Also why was he attacking ships in the first place, for the LOLs?

More Gabe running 

*Sigh* should have tied it...

She hurt him he hurt her 

Very good, Gabe protect 

See Don't Use Magic on Kizim, use Magic on yourself 

Oh yeah use the wizard to unlock the pots

And then an extra 

You know it seems like every episode where Elena could do a lot more she gets injured and then another character has to save the day 

It happened in the episode with the merman Prince 

Naomi just sort of stands there and watches 

Okay that scene is funnier in context than it is in the trailer 

First aid! Someone actually knows how to do first aid!

Mateo disobeyed a plan and now Naomi disobeyed the plan

When will they learn that disobeying plans always leads to bad things 

Sorry Princess I'm broke 

And Too Proud to Beg 

Okay, this is a complicated situation, on one hand Naomi is a big help in defeating villains on the other, why don't they just get a royal guard who is good with a lasso? 

I mean there are definitely some personal emotions running here 

But also it might have been better to wait to become a Captain until after the villains had been caught

I just think this might be both their faults

Although running out to the bat and not tying the Rope yeah

Little scared Mateo noise

I thought it was just going to run head-on into a wall 

LOL if one man can't do it get the other guy to do it

Gabe with magic well that would be interesting…

Well yeah, he's normally there 

Wait he's not going to attack Keatamos is he?

Gabe and Matteo wouldn't allow that 

“Hello friends” awww

Uh-oh is right, that many shaking pots is never good 

And now they're here to save the day 

When you forget you have an injury 

Although she Naomi should have felt the arm first to see how the sling should be set 

He likes one cousin and dislikes the other

Wait magic wands are handed?

Don't worry that Blaze probably didn't hit the wood that's everywhere around here 

How would releasing the bat help, I feel like he'd be on Kizim's side 

Couldn't you have just caught him in the bag with the bat still inside 

Actually no, the bat would get squished 

Well Gabe, you are bringing the burn today

Esteban reacts to waiting for things the same way I do 

Esteban knows he's the universe is punching bag 

Ash facepalm 

Chatana does care 

And Phili never will 

OOOOh Other allies!??!

It just seems like the Delgados inexplicably know about every different darkforce and possible magic thing there is 

She is angsting, Naomi, Which she always does alone 

Wow her arm is in a cast

Couldn't they just fix it with magic?

Does no one in this world know a healing spell? 

Actually that wouldn't surprise me.

Get a room you two! Oh, you do have a room 

now kiss 

They love each other 

You know you can hire your own ship crew at some point right?

I mean Captains classically command other crew members.

Wait is she coming back to the council

No Naomi don't ruin your life with politics! 

Get out while you still can! 

Wait, Naomi doesn't know she was replaced 

Well it would be easier on Julio if he didn't have two jobs… 

Which is the responsible thing to do 

She lives to serve 

Hugs 

Every episode with Chatana so far has had Elena Naomi angst 

That's the end of my reaction.

~~~~~

So here's my Mini review. Overall I liked the episode, sure the big conflicts could have been avoided if people actually talked with each other about their feelings first before the disasters, but that happens so often in TV shows I'm almost used to it. I loved seeing the villain force again (especially Chatana). Hopefully we will see them again soon. I wonder what job Naomi will get now, (Maybe being the minister of ships)?

how do you think is older, Elena or Esteban?

Don't get me wrong, but isn’t Esteban at least 40 years older than her? Ha ha, just joking!  I know you're asking which one was born first, I get it. I think it was probably Esteban and he was born about a year before she was. But that's just my headcanon.

King Roland II/Queen Miranda sketches because they are so cute together! Also, they never kissed on the lips in the show, so I needed to correct that.

Thank you for answering my ask about Carla! It ALWAYS bugged me the way Elena handled the Delgados. They weren’t threats anymore post “The Magic Within.” The entire reason Victor was turned to stone was because he ended dark persuits. Prisons exist to keep dangerous people safe from society. Victor and Carla were no longer threats post “The Magic Within.” The idea that they would’ve been kept there forever, despite a change of heart bothers me. I also love your idea with the dog!

Yeah it haunted me after The Magic Within. I mean okay I can see why Elena and the Grand Council would be hesitant to give them a second chance, they had betrayed their trust on multiple occasions beforehand and even almost killed them, so there was some justifiable fear there.

The problem was that this time it was pretty clear that Carla couldn't be lying about this. Her father really had been turned to stone and she really was sad and all alone. Even if Elena didn't believe what Carla said about Victor wanting to change she could have used her scepter power to see what he had said. Plus she'd already forgiven others like Vestia and Cruz for the things they'd done, so it was annoying that she hadn't even tried with them.

The dungeon itself has always unsettled me. The cells are small and dark and we've never seen any proper beds or wash areas in them. Not even a pillow or a bucket. Plus if you look closely in some scenes, there are large piles of ash on the floor from the torches which could end up being a health hazard if they aren't cleaned up. I don't think it was the creative team's intent to make the dungeon look as unethical as it appeared to be, but that's how the cookie crumbles.

As for whether they would have been kept there forever, well, I guess my personal headcanon is that Elena was probably planning on creating a final ruling for them only after they had caught Ash and Esteban, so she wasn't lying when she said “I'll deal with you later.” (Still not a good policy though considering that it could have taken years to catch them).

Yes, thank you! After TMW I was watching a bunch of scenes with the dungeon to see if Carla really would be alone and I was very happy when I realized she wouldn't be seeing that in “To Save a Sunbird” it actually shows that there is also a dog in the dungeon.

This was actually incredibly comforting to know because even in the best-case scenario where Carla actually does become friends with some of the guards and/or palace staff looking after her, it's not like they could give her any true unconditional love considering the circumstances and their own judgments of her. But the dog would, because dogs are loving and adorable and pure. (All right this is straying into headcanon territory but it's a comforting headcanon).

[Here's a screenshot from “To Save a Sunbird” of the dungeon. The first arrow I added points to a large pile of ash on the floor which really shouldn't be there. The second arrow points to the dog sleeping in the foreground.]

Are you taking requests? If you are, could you draw Sirena!Elena? If you’re not, than I apologize for this ask.

Sure! Here you go!

I really like Wish and I think it's neat that the movie went for a watercolor style because I love watercolors! One of my favorite parts of Wish is Asha and Dahlia’s relationship, so I had to paint it. (Original pencil sketch under the cut)

Since your still taking requests can you draw Rebecca? If you can you draw her celebrating Passover (no pressure)

Of course, here you go!

Sketches of young and old Roland II and Tilly I made. Their child designs are really cute, and also I think it's funny how tall he becomes compared to her. Are these two separate artworks, or is this some kind of time travel/future/past vision scenario? You decide!

mateo and quita moz for the writing requests please :D

(This story is set after "Spirit of a Wizard” and before "The Lightning Warrior")

 Mateo paced back and forth in the wooden hallway.  “I shouldn't be worried about this… this is going to be fine. All I have to do is go in there, say hi, then maybe we can talk, and if he's busy I can leave. No big deal right?”  He said to himself.  His clenched fist lingered near the mass of roots which made up the door, hesitating. He had only ever talked to Quita Moz once when he was with Elena, and he felt like he hadn't made the best impression. 

 The first thing he’d asked the Oracle was “Can I call you Quita?” He shook his head as he remembered. What was he thinking!? It was one thing to be awkward around nobility or the palace staff, but it was another thing entirely to give a bad impression to an all-knowing ancient magical being who might be one of the only beings who he could really discuss Maruviain magic with! He desperately wanted to, but he was afraid that his questions would sound childish to someone so old and wise. So the only time he'd ever really met the Oracle was when Elena insisted he come along with her for her crystal tamborita lesson. (A tamborita made out of crystal! It was just as beautiful as he'd imagined. He even got to hold it at one point!)

 Sure, he’d visited the other Sunbirds with Elena, and they were welcoming to him, but they weren't as interested in magic as Quita Moz (If you could even get them on this subject when talking with them). But now that he had his new tamborita from his grandfather's secret library, questions about it had been gnawing away at him and he finally mustered up enough courage to come here and try and ask those questions himself (after a little convincing from Elena, Luna, and Skylar). Maybe if they were here, they'd be able to help him, but they’d encouraged him to do it on his own. So here he was, he was going to walk through that door and say hello, no more hesitation. 

 Or maybe not. “No I really shouldn't bother him, he might not even be here right now…” He told himself. He turned to leave when suddenly the massive roots parted in front of him surprising him so much he fell backward onto the floor. Now that the door was open, he could see the giant Oracle inside, awake and looking down at him.

 He quickly stumbled back up to his feet and tried to brush himself off while making an attempt at a wave. “Hello uh hola, hi there Quita Moz, it’s me Mateo! Hi! Sorry to make a surprise visit like this. I just…”

 Quita Moz slithered towards the door “Greetings Mateo. It isn't a surprise to see that you're here.”

 He looked up at him in awe, “Were you able to foresee my visit?”

  “No,  I did not get any visions about it, I just heard you talking to yourself in the hallway for the past 10 minutes.”

 Mateo turned red “Congratulations me, you messed up your introduction yet again.” he thought. But he couldn't turn back now. “May I come in and speak with you? Por favor?”

 He gestured with his wing “I don't see why not, you may come in.”

 As Mateo walked through the door he looked at the roots that had been pulled away. “I'm glad to see that your door grew back after Kizin broke it. Maybe I should think about getting a door made out of living material for my wizard nook at the palace.” An anxious thought occurred to him “I'm sorry about not stopping Kizin before he got in here.” he apologized “But at least we stopped him before he released the other monsters, so all’s well that ends well right?” he awkwardly laughed and did a thumbs up.

 Quita Moz's expression remained neutral “I agree. It's actually quite impressive that you were able to stop him so quickly. The last time he escaped, much more was destroyed than a door.”

 “Oh well, it was mostly Naomi. She was the one who did all the stuff with the magic bag that day. Also, Elena and Gabe were there to stop him too, I was just sort of, you know, being part of the team.” He said pacing back and forth while flexing his fingers. 

 “You shouldn’t sell yourself short, Elena told me how important your research was in defeating him.”

 He stopped pacing and made eye contact “She did?” 

 He nodded. “Yes, she always speaks very highly of you, you are evidently quite good at your job.” 

 He could feel the excitement rising in his chest. He took his tamberita out of his holster and held it so that his hands didn't just flail around with enthusiasm. So, Quita Moz didn't think he was a total joke after all! “Well, thank you. Thanks. That's good to hear!” 

 “You're welcome.” Then the sunbird looked puzzled and seemed to stare at him more closely. “Did you paint me on your tamborita?”

 Oh no, he'd meant to ask about this more tactfully but now that the Oracle had seen it, the words just burst out of him all at once. “No, I mean, maybe? I mean, I didn't paint it! I found it in my abuelo's library, along with some old robes of his and I decided to start using it because it's so cool! And I realized it looks like you, and I didn't know that my abuelo even knew that you existed, so I didn't know if it was coincidence or if it was on purpose! And I wanted to know if you ever met my grandfather Alacazar before?”

 The sunbird spread his wings and furrowed his brow “Whoa, slow down Mateo, deep breaths. You look like you're about to fall over again.”

 “Right. Yes. Yep. Deep breaths.” Mateo breathed in and out for a few counts before Quita Moz continued. 

 “So Alacazar was the one who made it? That makes sense, he was quite the artisan when it came to crafting tamboritas, and he did quite the handsome job on this one. May I see it more closely for a minute?”

 “Yes, of course!” Said Mateo, handing it to him. “So you did know him! That's so cool, but I thought that everyone assumed that the sunbirds had disappeared since before he became the royal wizard?”

 Quita Moz Held the tamborita in his tail feathers like they were a hand. “We had disappeared, it was a calculated decision. There were certain things that needed to be dealt with before we made our presence known again, and you never know when it's the right time to come back after being gone for so long.” He turned the tamborita over. “Hardly anyone knew that we were back, but Alacazar was curious to a fault and eventually found us. He visited me a few times before humans were banned from visiting Vallestrella.”

 “Wow, that's amazing! You must have had a lot of time to talk with him and get to know him, right?”

 “Well, yes, we discussed things, monsters, magic, the future…”

 “So you told him prophecies about the future? His future?” Mateo was becoming ever more excited. The whole concept of prediction magic was fascinating, and yet with all he had read up about it he felt like he had barely scratched the surface of understanding it. 

 “Well, the flames can be pretty finicky at times, they didn't always show things every time he came to visit.”

 “Is there anything specific you can remember?”

 “Hmm.” He handed back the tamborita. “Yes, this is a very  good wand.” Said the Oracle, not answering his question. “I'm surprised you didn't start using it sooner.”

 “I only found the library last week. Before then, I had just been sleeping on top of it without ever knowing it was there. Although it was supposed to be a secret library, so I guess that makes sense.”

 “I see…so Alacazar didn't even tell his family about it?” It was hard for Mateo to read the sunbird’s expression. Was he just curious or was he concerned?

 Mateo shook his head “Oh no, my mom didn't know about it, and it wasn't in any of his journals either.”

 “Then it's quite lucky that you found it.”

 “Well, it wasn't quite luck….” Mateo replied, hoping Quita Moz wouldn't ask him any more about it. He could barely talk about it with his own mother, let alone an ancient Oracle he just formally met. 

 “Either way, it does fulfill a prophecy.” Quita Moz replied.

 “Wait, it does?”

 “Yes, you'd asked if I'd ever told Alacazar any prophecies in regards to him. Long ago in the flames I saw a young wizard with brown curly hair, wearing red robes, casting spells in his name. Now that I recall it, yes the wizard in the vision was wearing the same robes as you are now.”

 Mateo jumped up “You saw me?!”

 “Well, at the time neither of us were sure who it could be. After his daughter Rafa was born, he told me it must be her and that he was planning on teaching her magic when she was old enough. He said that he planned on surprising her with robes and her own tamborita as soon as she was ready.”

 “So then…He must have made these robes for her.” Mateo said. He had wondered why they fit him so well when the rest of his grandfather's robes had such wide shoulders. Some old people in town said he looked a lot like his mom, so it must be true of visions of the future as well.

 “Yes, although the flames' picture was unclear. Now that you're standing here before me I see that it must have been you all along. I'm sure that he'd be glad to know you’d found them and could wear them.”

 “That's just what Elena said! I mean, Elena was there, when I found the robes and the tamborita and she also thought that I should have them. I mean, otherwise they'd just be sitting there collecting dust. But now that I know this was foretold, that makes them even more special!” 

 “Indeed, although It is a surprise to me that he would choose to paint me on the tamborita.”

 “Well, I can see why, you were friends! You're the one who told him this prophecy in the first place, and you're majestic looking so why not paint you on it to honor you?”

 “Honor me?” 

 “Of course! You deserve to be honored as much as anyone else I know. You've always helped Elena with her scepter, you taught her spells that were essential for protecting the Kingdom, and you told her about the darkness so she can prepare for it; even if we're not sure what it is yet. You're so amazing! Ha, that's why I was so nervous to meet you and I guess I still am.” He saw the sunbird’s expression was one of apprehension. “Wait, you don't feel that way?”

 He shook his head “It's apparent that Alacazar as well as yourself held me in quite high regard but I did not do much to earn it.”

 “What do you mean? You've been helping us out a ton!”

 “Well, I've been helping Avalor in the present, but back then it was different. Over four decades ago I had visions of some kind of danger coming to Avalor, a dark force that would be hidden from view until its time had come...but I decided not to go through the portal to warn Alacazar about it. I decided that keeping my existence a secret was more important than seeking him out, and I just assured myself that it wouldn't be a big deal. That whatever it was, the kingdom of Avalor could defeat it and I wouldn't need to worry about it. But then it turned out that the threat was Shuriki.”

 Mateo stood still, taking this all in.

 “I only found out what happened when I overheard a jaquin patrol talking about the devastation. Now you are the last wizard left in Avalor.” he sighed “If only you had the chance to meet him. It's funny that you were afraid to meet me, because I've always been dreading the day that you would all learn this.”

 Quita Moz bowed his head, he voice going quiet: "I'm sorry for my inaction, and all the horrors that caused and I’m sorry that you were unable to meet him. You really are a lot like your grandfather, curious, kind, and eager."

 After a long moment of silence, Mateo replied, barely any more than a whisper. “I did meet him, and I-I wasn't able to save him either.”

 “You...did?”

 “Yes I-I-I—” he stuttered as a pain he'd been trying to bury in his heart shot to the surface.

 “Mateo…” Quita Moz spread out his wings towards the young wizard. With eyes full of tears, he ran over to him and accepted the hug.

~~~~~~~~~~

Three weeks later…

 “Hi Quita Moz!” said Mateo as he ran through the door of the cave. 

 Quita Moz looked over at the young wizard, who was carrying a very large backpack and wearing an even larger smile. “Hello Mateo, did you bring those potions you wanted me to look at?”

 “Yes right here!” he said, holding up a few of the shimmering bottles.

 “Great, those look- wait, is that your Maruvian spellbreaker potion?”

 "Yep, it's from the latest batch where I added raíz de estrella to help restore the equilibrium of a target's inner magic after the potion has broken the initial effects of the target spell. It worked well on my plant tests. But umm, what do you think?"

 "Mateo, that's…really clever, I hadn't considered that before, but that plant is a natural counter to the effects of hojas azules de frambuesa, so that makes sense it would balance it out."

 “That's what I thought! I mean, it just sort of came to me one day when I was helping my mom pick berries for Sunday dessert. Then when I tried it out on Monday, whoosh, instantly more effective!”

 “You'll have to show me then.” Said Quita Moz. 

 “Of course, I brought along a whole bag's worth of things to test it on. Let me just set up.”

 As he watched Mateo set up, Quita Moz smiled. The young wizards' zest for magic was contagious. A memory flashed in his mind of many many summers ago when another young man had come to show him some plants that he’d discovered in caves around the valley. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed this, knowing someone who loved magic with all their heart and wanted to share their discoveries with another. 

 When Mateo left hours later, as the sun began to set, Quita Moz watched him leave, thinking about the apprentices of his past who eventually he never saw again. But he was content that he would see Mateo again in two weeks' time. No disappearing, and no pacing.