Later that day:
"Aha! I did it." I said after making the water ball disappear without a trace.
Lily and Iris congratulated me and lightly applauded, and I thanked them.
"Now I just need to figure out how to get it back out." I said as I returned to my practice. It's like I'm developing muscle memory with muscles I didn't know existed. Actually, maybe these 'muscles' do not exist.
Meanwhile, Emily and Enna finally arrived at the elf village gate.
"Hello, do you have some business with us?" asked the gate guard.
"This is going to sound really strange, but have you seen a boy with two fairies?" asked Emily.
"What do you know about him?" said the guard, with a serious expression.
"He is our husband." replied Emily.
"What? Then, what is he doing with two fairies?" said the guard, growing bewildered.
"If you want to know more about him, you will have to ask him," said Enna.
"I understand."
"Anyway, we need to be with him. Is he in there?" said Emily.
"Yes, he is."
A little later, I was feeling kind of stupid. I moved on to trying to store regular objects, and found that it was way, way easier. Why on earth did I think that storing magic liquids would be a good place to start? Magic. Liquids.
My practice took much longer than it should have because I decided to start by jumping right into the deep end. I should have gotten a clue when Lily and Iris expressed quite a bit of confusion about what I was doing.
I heard a knock and went to the door. Emily and Enna rushed in when I opened the door. Then Enna picked me up for a hug and Emily joined the hug from behind.
"Finally," said Emily.
"Took you long enough," said Lily. "You two are so slow."
Emily and Enna responded with scowls.
"So, will the elves let us live here?" asked Enna.
"They said they would consider it." I replied.
"I wasn't sure they would even let you in," said Emily. "Elves are sort of conceited, and I don't think they like humans."
"I see. I have been feeling rather unwelcome here."
"So, what do you want to do?" asked Enna
"I was thinking we should leave before we accidentally offend the elves or something. I don't want to be here if they don't want me here."
"Okay then, let's leave in the morning. Where do you want to go next?" said Emily
"Well, I do have one idea, but I don't know if it would work."
I told the four of them my idea, which is something I was only considering out of frustration and impatience. To my surprise, Emily and Enna loved the idea. Even though it was my idea, I was pretty reluctant to enact it, but Emily and Enna encouraged me to do it. Emily seemed particularly excited about it.
Lily and Iris just wanted to know why I didn't want to live with the fairies. I explained to them that I would like to live with the fairies, but I would need to secure clothes and a source of regular food in order to live with the fairies. Lily and Iris reluctantly accepted my explanation.