>She didn't quite wake, but sensed he was trying to leave anyway, and
>slipped the hand that had been lying on his chest the rest of the way
>over him, tightening her hold with a mumbled "nooo."
>

Congratulations, G has been promoted from horsey to teddy bear.

>"How did you manage to light those chandeliers?" Remilia wondered, looking up.
>"Neither one of you can fly."
>"Wasn't easy!" Meiling replied with a broad grin, and Remilia considered
>pointing out that that wasn't an answer, but then decided against it.
>

Two options come to mind: pinpoint firebending or Meiling hoisting G up to the requisite height.

>"Oh, ye gods, my little sister is a naturist," Remilia said, observing the
>scene through the fingers of one hand.
>

This got a good chuckle, especially since Remilia really should have seen Flandre's utter lack of modesty in the situation coming.

>"This is amazing," Flandre agreed. "I think we should give Stephen a raise."
>"Who's Stephen?" Remilia wondered.
>"The salamander."
>"You've named the salamander?"
>

Of course she did. I do wonder how many other unexpected namings Flandre might indulge in as time goes on. She seems the sort of name her personal transportation, and possibly even notable appliances once the has some.

>"Yeah, why? Is there anything wrong with that?"
>"No, I suppose not. Why Stephen, thought?"
>Flandre shrugged, making ripples in the water around her. "He just looks like
>a Stephen. Unless he's a girl. I can't really tell."
>

I'm a bit curious about the criteria for 'looking like a Stephen' but that's mostly since it also happens to be my name and I'm sincerely hoping I look the part.

>"This was a triumph," Meiling said.
>Gryphon nodded. "I'm making a note here: huge success." Without looking away
>from the bath, they bumped fists.
>

Heh, I'm guessing this one was considered blaringly obvious enough to not need a reference entry. I wonder if that game exists in UF for G to get the reference he just made?

>"Very well, then. If—I should say when, because I'm sure it's inevitable—Flan >makes such a request of you again, you needn't refuse on my account."
>

I must admit, Remilia's bit here surprised me. I had expected her more traditional nature to have drawn the line G clearly expected, but it didn't. Though if things between them go the way Flandre certainly seems interested in I hope she finds something other than variations on 'brother' to call the man.

>"Well, no, that's true, but still, it would be nice to have an option that
>doesn't involve trimming and lighting two or three hundred candles every night, >even if they do never seem to burn down."
>"Maman was very proud of that particular invention."
>

Remilia the Elder seems to have been the sort of magical inventor you often expect but seldom see in most traditional fantasy settings, the person applying all that magical juice to making life better in small but deeply practical and satisfying ways.

>On a subliminal level, they had probably noticed the patter of it on the roof
>abating, but the first conscious indication of it they had was Flandre suddenly
>appearing in the hatchway leading back down to the second-floor hallway.
>"Bro! Meiling! It stopped raining! Let's go do the thing!"
>

I'm not sure if it is intentional, perhaps as a sign/side effect of Flandre becoming herself and growing in a more modern age, that her speech patterns seem more modern in my mind that pretty much anyone else in the household.

>Gryphon smiled. "See? It's all connected. Now then..." He turned and squared up
>to the targets. "Divine Flash—Donnerwetter!"
>The bolt of lightning lanced out from his extended fingers and blew away
>another of the torches.
>

Is it me, or has teaching the witches to touch the Force somehow strengthened G's own connection to it? I have this sense that in a lot of earlier stories that touched on the Force flavored foundations of his fighting style it was all much less potent (I specifically recall a scene in one story where he evened somewhat surprised himself by managing some telekinesis to retrieve a weapon.)

>"M'lady..." said Sakuya from behind her hand.
>"Oh, come now, Sakuya. You were the cutest thing. Don't you think your fiancée
>deserves to see that? On her birthday, no less?"
>"... I suppose," the maid conceded, lowering her hand and giving Meiling an >embarrassed smile.
>

Seems like Sakuya is settled into the new rhythm at the mansion, she seems much more emotive here, or maybe Remilia was just particularly on target when it came to her lovingly administered teasing.

>Before he could finish the sentence, lightning split the sky above the west
>lawn, momentarily flash-blinding him again, and the thunderous report rattled
>the windows. Miraculously, none of the panes broke, but as Gryphon's vision
>cleared, he saw that the gazebo had been hit and now lay in fragments.
>

A memorable way to make an entrance, though not without its drawbacks as seen later.

>"Oh, 'ello, Sakuya," said Lena cheerfully before Gryphon could introduce the
>maid. "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes? You're looking well."
>Sakuya looked slightly confused. "I'm sorry, have we met?"
>"Ah, bollocks, I've done it again," Lena grumbled.
>"Now you know how I felt," Gryphon said to Sakuya with a little smile. "Lena's
>a time traveler, like us. We must all be out of order to each other."
>

...and the confluence of the various timelines in this tale just got even more tangled. At this point I'm picturing the picture used in a lot of conspiracy memes depicting a wild eyed fellow in front of a cork board that looks like someone threw a ball of yarn and box of thumbtacks at repeatedly until some of them stuck.

>"Whatever you're doing, turn it off!" Gryphon shouted over the noise.
>

I feel like this is a reference I'm missing, but I'm not sure if it isn't a false positive due to this also possibly being one of those stock lines that come up in such situations.

>Sakuya consulted her vortex manipulator's instruments, then said dryly,
>"Probably because The World isn't brute-forcing the entire timestream like
>someone I could mention."
>"Oi! I can 'ear you."
>"Wonderful! It would have been wasted, otherwise," Sakuya said with just a
>trace of impish humor.
>

Sakuya's wit is as sharp as her murder implements I see. This might be more of the 'loosening up' I thought I saw earlier, or maybe it is just her getting some more time to shine?

>"I'm sure I'll adapt in a day or two," said Lena, and then, with a wry grin,
>"I'm not exactly unfamiliar with creatures of the night—right, Chief?"
>Gryphon chuckled. "Indeed."
>

It was noted where our time witch was imported from, so does that make this a reference to said source, or a tale yet to be told?

>"Well... I suppose there's no reason why that wouldn't work," said Gryphon
>after a moment's thought.
>

Mosquito jokes aside, is Remilia's appetite truly that small that a month's worth of her hard to acquire dietary supplement would be easily portable in luggage?

>"You, all by yourself in the big city?" said Flandre, skeptical. "You've barely
>left this house for the past 150 years, except for your date last week." She
>giggled. "You'd better take Sakuya with you or you'll get lost trying to find
>the train station."
>

This whole sequence was pretty much Flandre gold, facilitated by Remilia's dignity. Somehow I doubt Flandre will ever fully get tired of causing indignant Remilia noises.

	-={(Astynax)}=- "This Space For Rent."