This omake was inspired by one of yuiseppe's comics (which is featured in her DeviantArt gallery for all to see!). Thanks, yui! ^_^ Posting it for the day after New Year's Eve seemed appropriate...

~X X X~

As far as elven life went, Gaff thought he had it pretty sweet. Like many of his race, the boyish young elf was the servant of a magician, but he wasn't a familiar bound by the ancient contract between the faerie-folk and the humans. Rather, he was a salaried employee, whose work was valued in good, solid gold. And his mistress, Lillet Blan, was arguably the most powerful among the Royal Magicians despite not having yet seen her twentieth year.

In other words, when Gaff visited home, he got to feel pretty smug about how he was doing, and his mother could brag incessantly across the garden fence. It wasn't every day the formulaic phrase "friend of elves" could be literally applied to a magician, implying genuine friendship. Yes, generally Gaff had a pretty nice life for a young working elf.

Generally.

Most of the time.

"I just changed those sheets this morning!" he moaned, looking at the disheveled state of the bedclothes.

Lillet blushed, the honey-blonde's sheepish expression emphasizing her youth. Amoretta Virgine, the homunculus who was Lillet's wife in all but name, merely tilted her head to one side curiously. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, though, and looking at her made him take in further details in that direction.

"And...and...do you know how long it's going to take to get those stains out of the couch?" Many a novel had expressed scenes of squalor by referring to "unidentifiable stains," but Gaff would have been more than happy to not know which bodily fluids had been involved. "Those are going to set if I don't get to them right away!"

The black cat cradled in Amoretta's arms stirred and raised his head.

"You might also check the fireplace rug," he said helpfully. "I noticed a certain odor when I didst return an hour past."

Gaff's eyes widened. Lillet refused to meet his gaze. Amoretta just shrugged.

"The firelight looks nice on Lillet's skin," she observed without a hint of shame. Gaff just buried his face in his hands and groaned.

"Dad always said, never work for a girl in love, and here I've got two of them. It's bad enough at night, but the next time you two are feeling frisky in the afternoon, could you get a room?"

"Gaff, this is our room," Amoretta pointed out.

"Okay...could you get a room that it's not my job to clean?"