Ash woke in her own bed though she wasn't alone, a slender arm curled around her waist as the bed swayed gently in the cool air of the grove. Luna stirred as Ash woke, her voice a grumble from having just been woken herself, "Not without me, you don't," she said, "We have to take care of your routines."
"What do you plan to do when you're busy with the festival preparations?" She kept her voice even, tried not to sound either hurt that Luna would have to go or too eager to see her leave.
"I'll log in around the time you wake up and take care of it," she grumbled as she released Ash and moved to stand and stretch by the mirror.
Ash joined her, surveying the room critically as she did so. Despite Luna's appearance of mischief the day before, everything looked the same. Scowling slightly, she stole the brush out of Luna's hand and took care of her hair by herself in her elven form. Only once she was done did she hand the brush back and change to allow Luna to make certain her mane and tail were in acceptable condition.
"I'll have to get a shedding brush all too soon," Luna grumbled slightly as she removed the tangles Ash had managed to put into her tail by sleeping on the ground beside Lord Sidus, "The seasons seem to move ever so swiftly of late."
Ash snorted slightly and lashed her tail, "At least let the weather begin to have the chill of fall before you start complaining of the coming spring," she grumbled before leading the way downstairs.
She froze on the small landing, finally spying at least a little of the mischief Luna had been up to while she'd been in the dungeon. Both the living room and kitchen of her lower floor were furnished. It wasn't anything grand but it was a fair bit more than she'd had to start with. She turned her color-shifting gaze to Luna, attempting to admonish her even if it was a futile effort.
Luna gave her a slight pat on the rump to encourage her down the stairs, "I'll be staying here too. I deserve some comforts and don't have the patience to wait for you to earn the money for all of them," she grinned as Ash started walking again, "I also did some looking around and used a few little trinkets I bought to determine the best places to set up your plants. Everything's marked out for you."
They stepped outside and, true to her word, the location of each potential garden bed was framed out with stones. There was also a small wooden stake with words engraved into them to tell her whether the bed would support the growth of food rather than just herbs. It was a small gesture, a way for Luna to ease the burden of figuring everything out without taking over and doing things for Ash.
Unlike some of the other guardians of her kind, Luna had always believed strongly in encouraging Ash's autonomy. She'd seen some of the other Starborn, had never liked how they were forced to depend on their guardian for everything. All too often, they were treated like very important animals and not people with their own thoughts and opinions. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Ash was the only one of her kind that had been trained in combat. Ash was the only one that knew how to dodge enemy attacks, the only one that knew how to weave spells under duress.
They chatted idly as they went through Ash's morning routine. Eventually Ash was seated in one of the chairs, talking to Luna as she made them a warm breakfast. She contemplated the water in her goblet every once in a while as she sipped at it.
"I take it you have to leave before long?" She said softly.
"I do," Luna responded, "I have a full day of work ahead of me planning the festival. That said, I do have a few things to keep you occupied while I'm gone."
She placed food in front of Ash before seating herself and starting on her own meal. Ash wouldn't eat until she was done with the water but it wouldn't take her long. She liked her meals warm just as much as Luna did and had already spent over twenty minutes nursing the goblet of water as she contemplated what she was going to do.
Only when they were both done eating did Luna speak again, pulling a book from her inventory, "A beginner's manual for alchemy for you as a present. The inner cover has a note that will guide you to where you can obtain seeds for a reasonable price as well as a location or two where you can gather some yourself."
Ash picked up the book, leafing through it curiously, "Was it expensive?"
"I know better than to get you expensive gifts," Luna rolled her eyes slightly, "While you always appreciate them, you spend far too much time thinking about how to repay them and not nearly enough enjoying them."
Ash nodded slightly, unable to argue, "You said a few things," she prompted.
"Right," Luna grinned, "There's an auction that happens twice a month over in the city of Gold Arches that might interest you. I've already spoken with Gardenia and Yarrow and they'll be able to get you there easy enough since they've both been. Once you're there, you'll be able to use the teleport arrays to go back and forth as you please."
She handed over a piece of paper that had the location she was looking for on it that Ash spent a moment frowning over, "I don't exactly have the spare funds for an auction," she remarked.
"That's the beauty of it. First, the next one isn't for at least two weeks which will give you time to get settled into alchemy. Considering the influx of new people, you'll be able to make an actual profit off of your projects with the guild so long as they meet minimum requirements. You'll make more if you make better stuff. The auction is also for small bundles of items that boost the growth of profession skills so it'll help you out. Beyond that, it's normal practice to team up with a stranger in there and combine your funds while splitting the items."