A/N: This is an apology chapter to make up for the long wait for the last one.

AdanValdovinos3: Patience young Padawan.

RonaldM40196867: Don't know if there should be more movies. I'd rather have another Hogwarts Legacy. Maybe set in modern times, or in the 80's after Voldemort's defeat.

hqjkat: Yeah, sorry about skipping it, but I'm not trying to make this a just lemons story. There's plot here! Just have to find it…

Krieger Techpriest: Yeah, Ron's going to be changing roles here when I get to GoF and moving forward. I don't want to give much away about it, but I'll be honest, Ron is not one of my favorite characters. I'm not going to be cruel to him or bash on him. But he will be making his own decisions that will come back and bite him in the ass.

Elchabon: I'm a dialogue slut. I love dialogue so much. I have the most fun with it over fight scenes, sex scenes, general exposition and set up. It's a bad habit, but I'm working on breaking it.

Trying something out this chapter and arc: non-linear chapters! Let me know if any of you get confused at what's happening when and where and I'll throw in scene notes to help with the transition. I hope through actions and dialogue it's clear enough though!

Chapter 15: A Vacation From My Vacation

The warm air of early summer was a comfort compared to the ice and snow from just a few short months previous. It was honestly a whirlwind of mundanity that threw Naruto for a loop. Standing at the Hogwarts Express platform at Hogsmeade, seeing off his friends and girlfriend had him reflecting over the past few months.

February had Naruto and Hermione celebrating their first Valentine's Day together. Naruto had gone all-out and completely wooed her. The night they spent together had Hermione voluntarily skipping class the following day. A first to be sure! Harry had also finally mastered casting a Patronus! Despite the Dementors being recalled after Sirius' exoneration, he still had Lupin teach it to him for the future.

March saw Naruto shake up his early morning routine and offered to teach anyone who wanted to learn some martial arts. After demonstrating how it could be used in conjunction with spellcasting, he had a few takers – Harry and Cedric Diggory, but that was it. Seemed the novelty of Naruto had worn off by then and while people still looked to him for tutoring or learning spells, most decided that what they liked most was just exercising and working on improving being in shape. He was also impressed with Hermione, Daphne, Harry, and Ron's progress in silent and wandless magic. Ron had gained a bit of an inferiority complex about it as the other three were miles ahead of him, and it showed in Ron being a bit more distant, especially around Naruto.

March was also the first month that Daphne turned a profit for her thrift store in Hogsmeade. It wasn't much, but after January and February being bust, and running in the red, even the meager profit was heartening. Daphne kept Naruto on, and he spent a few hours every Sunday morning going through the donations from the week previous, making sure nothing was cursed, charmed, jinxed, hexed, or otherwise in a state that wouldn't serve its new owners well.

April saw the little thrift store start to pick up steam even more and had turned an even bigger profit. To say that Daphne was over the moon over her business venture was putting it mildly. Daphne was also informed by her father that he had reconsidered the engagement and was nullifying it if she so wished. There was a caveat, however, and that was that it would only be nulled after the first of the next year. It was due to Cassius Warrington's father hoping that she would reconsider and their houses unifying in the future would still happen. She was expected to let herself be courted properly, so she would be meeting with her betrothed every two weeks for the remainder of the year. Daphne was just happy that she could be done with the whole thing in just 8 short months – a total of just 16 dates. Easy peasy.

April also saw Hermione do something that everyone, but especially Naruto, had encouraged her to do: she dropped Divination completely, and decided that she would complete Muggle Studies this year, but wouldn't take it the following. Shortly after that, the final Quidditch match with Slytherin resulted in Gryffindor winning the Inter-House Cup for the first time since Ron's brother Charlie was a Seeker. Oliver Wood was over the moon, having won the Cup for his final year, proving that he was a good captain and professional material.

May was the lead-up to their finals the first week of June. Naruto had been in high demand for some dalliances as stress relief that entire month. His little orange planner hadn't been so active the four months prior. Some days he barely had the chance to wipe the sweat off his back from one encounter before having to go to the next. Hermione really came into her dominant personality during that month. She was still the same, but she strutted her stuff and really let it be known by all the women that had booked Naruto that she was in charge. By that point of the year, it was an open secret that Naruto was pretty much a gigolo and Hermione was basically his pimp as he had correctly called her back in January.

Just before finals, it was revealed that Lupin was a werewolf publicly. And even though the full moon wasn't until June 6th, and he had been faithfully taking his potions to keep his transformation under check and the finals would be complete well before the night and his transformation, there was a lot of mistrust surrounding him. Because of that, he had ended up resigning the following morning and expressing his regret to the quartet that he had come to Hogwarts with at the beginning of the prior term.

All of this led to now, Naruto seeing his friends off while he was staying behind to meet up with Jiraiya as they would be travelling to Bulgaria for an adventure and some backpacking. Naruto had gotten a lead from an ancient tome he found in the library, and it required he visit a Veela commune. Hermione, while supportive of his goal, was less-than-impressed by his going to a metaphorical nest of beautiful, seductive women.

"I still don't like it," she huffed, while snuggled into Naruto's arms, a pout firmly on her lips.

"I know, babe," Naruto said, pressing his lips into the crown of her head. "Here's an idea: you're going to be vacationing in the south of France again this year, right? Why don't you try shacking up with a few random French guys? I keep telling you that you can see other people than me, I'm not the jealous type."

Hermione was silent for a bit, contemplating what Naruto has said. "Maybe."

"You do what's comfortable for you, okay? The stereotype of the French and being good lovers must be there for a reason, right? Have some fun! I'll still be here when we come back, promise," he declared.

"You can't be mad if you drive me into another man's arms, and I leave you," she commented, gauging his reaction out of the corner of her eye.

"If you find someone else that makes you happier than I do, I'll be disappointed, but I'll understand. I don't own you," the blonde smiled, before pressing his lips to hers. "'Sides, I'm not worried. I'm the best there is," that caused Hermione to snort in amusement.

They were interrupted by the rest of the group coming over to interrupt them. "The Express is leaving in ten," Ron said, jerking his thumb back to the train. "We better get on and get a compartment."

Naruto separated from Hermione, before casting his gaze across the group. "Alrighty, I better let you all get to it then," he then spotted Jiraiya making his way through the throng of bustling students towards him. "Looks like my ride's here as well."

Naruto and Daphne were the only two staying behind, so they said their goodbyes to the others. Naruto wished Harry a fun time in The Bahamas, Sirius' idea that he stole from Dumbledore. He gave Ron encouragement to practice more with his silent and wandless casting as he expressed how excited he'd be to see his progress. As for Tracey, he wished her a safe trip to Greece, where her own family was going to go on holiday.

Jiraiya sidled up to Naruto and Daphne who waved the train off as it exited the station. When it had exited Hogsmeade, Daphne turned to Naruto. "So when do you think you'll be able to come back to verify none of what we took in is otherwise dangerous for our customers?"

"I should have some time the first week of July, so if there's any items that you're really concerned about, just keep them in the back and I'll handle them all as soon as I'm back," he confirmed.

"Hmm. I guess that will have to do then. I hope that this lead in Bulgaria turns out to be what you were looking for," she said genially. "Even if it means you lose those beautiful eyes of yours."

"You just like that I can see when things have spells cast on them. And since you're my friend, I do it for free," he deadpanned.

"I offered to pay you!" she pointed out, defensively.

"Once."

The two glared into each other's eyes, before breaking out in laughter at their goofiness. Daphne wrapped him in a hug around his shoulders, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"Seriously, be safe. Okay? I know you can't die, but that doesn't mean I don't want you to get hurt," she said into his neck, planting a soft kiss on the juncture of his shoulder and neck.

"I promise," he said, hugging her just a bit tighter.

When they pulled back, Daphne did as she had back at the end of November and pulled him down into another fiery kiss, the second shared between them. Daphne deepened it with her probing tongue. When they separated for some air, Daphne placed two more chaste and one lingering kiss on his lips before resting down off her tip toes and planted her feet fully back on the ground.

"What was that for?" Naruto asked in confusion, dazed just a bit.

"Well, I've got twelve more dates and 6 months with Cassius before my engagement is nullified. That's a promise that after the first of the year, I'm coming after you. And Hermione of course," she smiled prettily at him.

"Is that so? You already discuss that with Hermione?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure I can meet up with her over the summer to discuss it."

"Very well then," he smiled amusedly at her.

A rough clearing of a throat interrupted the duo. Jiraiya was looking at his watch, "Wrap this up, lover-boy," his accent was as thick as ever. "The portkey activates in a minute and a half," he then held out a plain black umbrella.

Naruto reached his hand out and grasped around the umbrella, hand a couple inches above Jiraiya's own. "Alrighty, Daph. I'll see you in a few weeks in July. Take care."

"You too!" and with that, Naruto and Jiraiya were whisked away.

The Balkan Mountains were a sight to be had, and the climate in the summer made one feel like they were in the states at the same time. The weather was high 70s Fahrenheit (Mid 20s Celsius) to Low 80s (Low 30s). The humidity was similar as well. All in all, very familiar to our blonde hero. He just wished that he had more time to enjoy the sights.

Naruto's arms pumped as fast as he could, carrying him forward while his legs worked harder than he had ever pushed them. His breaths were coming out in heavy pants and sweat was pouring down his body. He paid no heed as he crashed through the underbrush and lower branches of the forest around him. A loud roar echoed through the forest behind him, spurring him on even more than before.

"Shitshitshitshitshit!" he cursed as he ran. "No one said anything about that cave being inhabited!"

Another roar, louder and much closer echoed out and he could hear the accompanying crashing and snapping of trees behind him. He wasn't getting away from this one, it seemed. Didn't mean he wasn't going to keep trying. He was barely able to take a half dozen more strides as the biggest Graphorn that he had ever seen came crashing through a tree that was somewhere close to a meter wide, casting splinters every direction as the beast glowing a menacing orange that flared from its chest to the base of its skull. Naruto's only action was to dodge into a short-distance apparition or "slide" as they called it back in Ilvermorny.

Naruto's assessment of the situation was that he was not going to be able to get away from this beast, maybe he could make it rethink on mashing him into a paste that he would rather not be turned into as healing from that would s-u-u-u-ck.

Around his hands and feet glowed orbs of magic that denoted he had charged and locked in his spell choice for the next four casts using his unique style of casting. The faint purple of the orbs would give people an idea about what was going to be cast if they were observing him. "Alright!" he yelled at the Graphorn as it was starting to stalk back toward him, still aglow in indignation of Naruto's intrusion into its territory. "I'm sorry I spooked you, but if you keep coming after me, I'm going to fight back!"

It was widely accepted that most magical beasts that interacted with magical folk could discern intent behind their words. If this Graphorn understood what Naruto tried to convey, it didn't give two shits at his sentiment. With another deafening roar it propelled its bulk directly at Naruto. Being prepped for this turn of events, Naruto launched his spells. Two quick punches followed by a pair of quick snap kicks launched four Bombarda Maximas at the charging beast. Each spell landed in rapid succession in the same general area on the charging beast. It was only through watching the spells have literally no effect on it that he remembered that Graphorn skin is tougher than even dragon skin and scale and was even more resistant to magic as well. He reacted to this, but he may as well have just stood and threw up as many shields in succession as he could. Because as he tried to slide away like he had done before, his opponent showed that it was capable of learning. Using its forelimb as a feint, Naruto slid away and right into the path of the Graphorn's tail without any protection. He wasn't even able to cross his arms as the tail slipped under his arms and caught him directly in the chest. The air was driven out of his lungs as his ribs stood little chance from taking the colossal hit.

The human mind is an amazing piece of evolution. Because as the hit shattered his rib cage, driving shards of broken bone into all the squishy organs it was meant to protect, along with the blunt-force trauma of the giant tail also, Naruto oddly felt no pain. Instead, he only had one thought: 'I think I should have used Diffindo Maxima instead.'

The next thing that the blonde knew he was airborne, his back leading the charge through several trees before the loud, droning sound that he had been ignoring in the background made itself known. It was a waterfall. That he was launched off the cliff of. Again, the brain is a mystery as the last conscious thought Naruto had before his head impacted with the water like it was concrete from how high he fell was 'Wait a minute – a waterfall?' and then darkness.

Naruto stumbled just a bit as he and Jiraiya landed from their portkey journey. "Here we are," the rough voice of his godfather intoned. "Apriltsi, Bulgaria. This was the closest destination I could get to the Veela commune. They don't allow direct portkey into their village."

"That's fine, let's get a taxi. Sooner we get there, the better," it was obvious that Naruto was jazzed up to finally follow up on his lead to a ritual site that was said to be so ancient that the magic there had coalesced into a font that could counteract any magical malady.

"Yeah, no," Jiraiya replied flippantly, much to Naruto's consternation. "There are no roads that reach the commune. You can either hike to it or you can wait for the next supply run that the eunuchs will make, and you can hitch a ride with their carriage. Should be the end of the week."

"That's bullshit," Naruto groaned, suddenly very aware that his lack of a broom finally kicked him in the ass. "Should've bought a broom last year, but no! Had to listen to my mom and invest my money to 'prepare for the future'. Well here, I am, mom, it's the future and I'd be more prepared with a broom!"

Jiraiya just stared at his godson. "Why are you acting like an idiot? I mean, you are one, but why are you more of an idiot?"

Naruto let out a calming breath as he interlocked his fingers behind his head. He looked around and finally took in his surroundings fully. "It's the air around here. There's some weird magic swirling about and it's messing with my mind and my emotions."

"What's it doing to you? Analyze it for me."

He took a deep breath, allowing the feeling to wash over him and then he got to analyzing like Jiraiya instructed. "Similar feeling to the Confundus Charm, mind has a fog about it. Warmth traveling to all my extremities. Energy is bubbling within me. Feel like I need to get laid."

Both came to the same conclusion, "The Allure."

It was no secret that Veela had a natural magic about them, The Allure. It was a natural enticement charm, with effects akin to a Love Potion. Made you dumb and horny if you were attracted to women.

"Fuck, and I'm how far from the commune and I'm feeling the effects of this?"

"Hey," Jiraiya interrupted him before he could spiral with a smack to his head. "This is your first exposure to it, right? And you've been extra sensitive to ambient magic for the last four years. Now that you're aware of it, steel your mind. Throw up your Occlumency shields. That'll help."

Doing as instructed the effects were immediate. "Good call, old man."

"Of course."

"So, you're not going to come with me? Figure you'd be all over the Veela, you pervert."

"Normally, yes. But I visited this Veela commune about thirty years ago or so. I've no doubt that some of the Veela up there are my descendants. Not taking any chances of spying on my own flesh and blood by happenstance. Or doing worse."

Naruto screwed his face up in disgust. "Fair point. But you're okay with me potentially bedding them?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "They just carry my genes. I don't claim them as mine – I didn't get to claim them on my taxes. Besides, there's some very lovely ladies in this village I'll be able to spend some time with myself."

"Alright! On that note, I'm off. I'll link up with you when I learn the location of that magic font," Naruto said, turning away and starting on his way.

Jiraiya watched him get halfway down the block, "Hey, that's the wrong direction. It's west of the village, not east." He watched as the blonde did a spin on his heel and started his way back, just before he passed the older man, Jiraiya thrust a map and compass into his chest. "I circled the map and even noted how far and the specific direction you need to go. If you get lost, this is fully on you this time. And I'm not coming looking for you, brat. It's almost 10 miles, you should make it in time for dinner. If you don't get lost."

Naruto glared at Jiraiya as he then walked away, "Prick."

The old man had been right. He hated that fact. Naruto stood in front of the gateway to the Veela commune. It was a large estate with multiple housing and outbuildings. Folding the map and tucking it and the compass into one of his expanded coat pockets, he rapped his knuckles against the wood of the gate.

A slide was opened, showing a grizzled man with a bushy gray beard and hair pulled into a neat ponytail. He eyed Naruto up and down, taking him in. "какво?"

A blush started to form across Naruto's cheeks. Now realizing that he didn't speak Bulgarian, he was stuck on what his next step should be.

"ти глух ли си? какво искаш?"

"Uhhhh… Sorry, I'm looking for some information," English and saying it slow enough that he hoped they'd understand. Just like any other American tourist. Merlin. He hated being stereotypical.

"дръж се," and the man stepped away and closed the peephole.

"Wait! Come back, I hiked all the way up here! I need information on a font that is said to be so powerful it can cure magical maladies! It's supposed to be near here. I came all the way from Scotland today!" he started rambling, hoping to call the man back.

He was interrupted from continuing further when the peephole was opened again, this time a younger man was there. The acne scars on his cheeks confirmed his age. "You are, B-brit?"

"You speak English?!" Naruto said elated.

"Yes, small amount," he was shaky and unsure if what he was saying was correct.

Naruto fist pumped in success and stepped forward a bit, "I'm American. I'm here looking for information."

This seemed to shock the young man, who noticed that his eyes glowed. "You are American wizard?"

"I am, but I go to school at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts!" the man said in surprise. "Please wait."

The peephole was closed again, but the sound of metal on metal and the clanking of chains on wood indicated that something was happening on the other side. Soon, the gate was opened for him, and the young man beckoned him in.

The man looked Naruto up and down fully. "You no balls?"

Naruto sweat-dropped, "N-no. I still have them."

"Ah, no stay then. Return home," he moved to bar his entry further.

Naruto panicked as his mind raced. He thought back to Ino and what she had done back at the trial of Sirius and how she learned how to speak English fluently. He remembered how the magic flowed within him and how it went into her. Magic was all about intent, just needed to know how it flowed to make a spell work. That's why wands were used in Britain, it helped conduct the magic in the correct way with the motions a witch or wizard used. But when you could feel it and see it, it was child's play to cast any spell. He would be doing it on the fly, but he should be able to do it.

"H-hold on! Let's introduce ourselves first. I'm Naruto," he held his hand out to the other man.

He was elated as the man grasped his hand in greeting, "Georgi."

Naruto immediately tightened his grip and let his magic flow just how Ino's had only instead of conducting through their lips, Naruto did it through their clasped hands. Ino had a point when she said a kiss was much faster. As the magic finally entered his own brain, he was met with drawn wands from the two men.

"What did you do?! What did you just cast?! You whoreson, answer me!" the older man was yelling out.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I needed a way to better communicate with you two!"

Both men stopped dead, completely stunned.

"You are speaking perfect Bulgarian, as if you had your entire life," Georgi said stunned. He lowered his wand and looked at the older man. "Boris, lower your wand. He cast that spell silently and wandlessly. If he was here to cause trouble, I don't think you or I would be able to stop him."

"I swear, I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm here looking for information. I read in a book back at Hogwarts that there is a font of magic around here that has been used for centuries to cure any magically induced malady. I'm cursed. Have been for four years. I think this is my best bet at breaking it."

"Kid, I've been here for going on fifty years. Ever since I graduated from Durmstrang. I've never heard of such a thing here," Boris said.

"The book mentioned that it was ritual that was performed by Veela, so they may know of it. Is there anyway that I can speak with someone?"

"Kid, you know about the Veela's Allure, right? You are doing well for a man with his balls and being so close to the Allure. Are you homosexual?" Boris asked, genuinely curious.

"No."

"I do not mean to offend. Gogo and I are. It's why we were castrated and sent to guard the Veela," Boris said, gesturing to Georgi. "Even men who prefer the company of other men will succumb to the power of The Allure in this sanctuary. Only a man with immense mental fortitude can even hope to function normally."

"Not to brag, but I have very high Occlumency skills. I've been practicing them since I was seven, so nine, almost ten years now. When I arrived with my godfather down in Apriltsi I could feel it. That was the first time I ever experienced it, so I was unprepared. But I've had my mental shields up for the last six hours as I hiked my way up here. And even now, I don't feel anything," he explained, hoping to get through to the other men.

Boris stared at him before turning to Georgi, "Gogo, fetch Matron Vasilka. She will decide what should be done with this visitor." The younger boy nodded, before walking off toward the main building.

Naruto's introduction to Matron Vasilka was interesting indeed. She showed her age, but also her beauty with motherly curves all around. She was a pureblood Veela and had blasted him with a concentrated blast of her Allure, and she was impressed that he easily withstood it. She had bid him to follow her to her office without even an introduction. When they were sequestered, that was when she started with all the formalities.

Naruto after introducing himself had explained again about why he was there. After laying it all out on the line, he had pleaded for her help. The silence that followed stretched on far longer than he had anticipated that it would. Vasilka had stared off in the distance, contemplation on her face. The lines of age on her face deepened. Her long silvery hair and pale complexion really made the blue of her eyes stand out.

"I know of this place you are referring to," her husky voice filled the silence. "We are willing to help you as well. We all know of the ritual and can perform it easily."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "I'm sensing a 'but' in here, cliché as it is."

A smile crossed Vasilka's plump lips, "Very astute. There is the matter of both the payment for our services, as well as another small matter."

"I'm not the wealthiest of wizards, but I should be able to pay, just name your price. And as far as the other small matter, I will do everything I can to assist you with that as well."

"The small matter is that we don't know the exact location of the font. No one in the last two and a half centuries has been able to pay the price for our services or has failed at paying them. As a result, none of the Veela in the last two hundred years have ever set foot in the font's location, and we have been cut off due to lack of maintenance of the wards. If our connection is restored it will be a small matter to complete the ritual," she then leaned forward on her elbows, fingers steepled in front of her face.

"Well, I shouldn't have a hard time finding that then," he gestured at his glowing eyes. "If you can point me in the general direction, I should be able to see the ancient magic gathering. I can then perform the maintenance to the wards and re-establish your ability to travel there at will."

She appraised him with an impressed look. "I see. Then there is only the matter of your payment."

"Of course. Name your price."

"It is not money that is needed to perform this ritual. It is life essence. And the price is new life," she explained.

Naruto caught on quick. "New life as in… babies."

"Your guess is correct. This community that we have built is isolated. We are monitored by our own Ministry. They regard us as threats to the world at large. We are not permitted to leave in large numbers. We are only able to go out and breed every ten years. We are much like humans, we are just as susceptible to illness and sudden death. Plus, we can only breed with each other so much before we must introduce new genes or else we risk going extinct due to too much inbreeding," she explained, leaning forward more, using her mature womanly wiles to visually ensnare the young blonde who could withstand her allure. "Your payment is to sew your seed into the fertile field that is my people so that we may continue to live on. A full week, as many of my people as you can. If you survive after a full week, we will happily and easily complete the ritual to break your curse for you. After you find the font of course. Do we have an agreement?"

Naruto eyed the extended hand for just a moment before grasping it gently and raising it to his lips. He planted a kiss on the back of her hand, before locking his eyes on hers through his bangs. "When do I start?"

Naruto heaved in a deep gasp as his head broke the surface of the water, he was pinned by the current of the waterfall to a rock. He glanced around in confusion, looking for the Graphorn. He then remembered the sequence of events that lead him to being in the water. He looked at the cliff above the waterfall. All he could see was a tree that he undoubtedly toppled with his body as he flew off the cliff. No sign of the Graphorn.

He patted his chest, knowing that his ribs had been splintered, but all he could feel was his ribcage whole again. That and the positioning of the sun let him know that he had been underwater for at least a couple hours. He was lucky that he had died in a way that he was fully lights out while his body repaired itself. That would have been one painful regeneration. Fighting the current, Naruto dragged himself to the bank of the river.

When he was back on land, he sat and analyzed the waterfall for a minute. He pulled out a book from one of his expanded pockets. He groaned that it was waterlogged. But he was lucky that none of the ink had run as he started flipping through it. It was a local guidebook, given to him by Vasilka to aid in his search for the font. It was within two miles of one of the waterfalls in the region. Luckily there were only six in the immediate area. He opened the book to the one that the font was close to, he looked over the picture that was there, just a bit water damaged. Not enough to conflate the two. As he looked at the page, he looked at the waterfall, then back down to the picture. He then pulled out an equally waterlogged local map. Being able to speak Bulgarian, he learned did not translate to also being able to read or write with it. So, it took him a couple minutes before his shoulders sagged.

"This is Babsko Praskalo Waterfall. I needed to go to the Karlovsko Praskalo Waterfall," he then looked back down at the map, using the scale at the bottom to gauge the distance. "I went four miles in the wrong direction and startled a territorial Graphorn. Got killed by said territorial Graphorn as well. And now I'm ten miles of mountainous terrain from where I'm supposed to be instead of the five I originally was?"

Only one sentiment came to the soaked blonde.

"Fuck my life."

End Chapter 15

A/N: Again, apologies for how long between the last 2 chapters it was. I never intended at all to make that long of a wait. I think what it was is that I was overburdened with training new people at work (that's what I am at the company I work for). I'm damn good at what I do, but it's always stressful when I'm training people virtually across the country. Doesn't help that my partner this go around is someone I never worked with before and she's a total bitch. My training style and hers do NOT mesh at all. She's making me consider stepping down from my training role and taking a different position in the company. That's a big deal because I have a REAL cushy job. But enough about my day-to-day woes. Please just enjoy this 2-in-a-row update! See you all next time.