Feathers & a Dash of Magic

Chapter 11: That Awkward Friend Stage

Virgil led the way as best as he could remember, trying to find familiar trees but they all looked the same. He was right about the lighting making it look different, because he was starting to feel less and less confident about the route they were taking.

That was until he saw a flash of orange fur and he smiled. The fox froze in the bush for a moment before running out towards Virgil, making Logan jump in surprise and hold the gift basket closer.

"Darrell!" he greeted as the fox yipped in joy. "Hey buddy, I see you're excited to see me again."

The fox continued to chirp in joy, his tail wagging in excitement. Virgil couldn't help but laugh, bending down to scratch his head.

"Do you think you could take us to Roman's house?" the fairy asked, looking over to Logan who was still holding the basket to his chest.

The fox yipped in response, running around both of them in a circle before running off. It stopped for a moment and looked at them, barking again.

"I'll take that as a yes," Virgil said with a smile as he stood up. He looked back to the alchemist again. "Come on city boy."

"I deeply regret telling you that I had moved here from a city," he replied.

They followed the fox, who practically ran and stopped when he was far ahead, but not out of sight the whole time. Virgil found it cute, Logan found it slightly annoying, both continued their way through the forest.

The fairy found himself relaxing, there were no signs of the hunters and there didn't seem to be any traps. Plus, Logan was there, he might not be able to provide much protection but his presence still gave Virgil comfort.

It didn't take long to reach Roman's house, confusing Virgil for a moment. Guess the trip was slower last time because of his injury. Well, that and his fear, that was a very long day, and he was unconscious for most of it.

Instead of going to the door, Darrell ran around the house and yipped at them to follow. While Virgil and Logan were following the fox, they heard Roman's voice.

"Woah, careful Darrell!" Virgil passed the corner of the house and saw Roman in a small garden. There were small plants in them, though what kind Virgil couldn't tell, probably the herbs he always gave the Millers. It looked like he was watering them since he had a watering can in his hand, trying not to drop it as Darrell ran around him. "You can't be in here, no animals allowed."

Darrell yipped again and turned his head to Virgil and Logan, the fairy tensing up when Roman looked up at them.

"Hello Roman," Logan greeted, Virgil silently thanking him for being the first to speak. "Apologies for intruding but Patton and Virgil wanted to give you a gift for aiding Virgil."

"Oh! Uh, thank you," Roman said, setting his watering can down and walking over. Logan held out the gift basket and Roman took it from him, curiosity written on his face.

"It's not much," Virgil said with a slight shrug. "Just some things from our farm."

Roman smiled at them. "Thank you for this, you didn't have to."

"Patton still would have given it to you."

"He does seem like the kind to do this, he seems like a good brother." Darrell dashed back to Virgil, circling around his legs before bumping his head against him like a cat, making Roman laugh. "It looks like someone is happy that you're here. How is your leg?"

"Oh, i-it's okay, thanks to you," Virgil answered. God, he felt so awkward. It was like all of his social skills were thrown out the window, not that he had much. He never really talked to many people except those he had to talk to, which was still quite a bit considering the amount of times he's bought or sold to and from really everyone in Matela.

"We had taken out the stitches this morning," Logan explained. "May I ask where you learned to do stitches?"

"Well, trial and error kinda," Roman answered with a laugh. "But mostly because my mom taught me how to sew. Though, after I got a nasty cut the first time on my own, I quickly learned that it was easier to pull out several small stitches than one giant thread."

"You practiced on yourself?"

"No- well kinda let's just say I got hurt a lot."

That weird heavy and muddy emotion seemed to grow in Roman's chest again, making Virgil frown. Each time he talked to the witch, he learned more but had more questions. Question was, did he want to know the answers?

"You've never gone to a medical professional?" Logan asked.

"And risk them finding out that I'm a witch? No way. Besides, I never really had the chance to find help. I got used to it and eventually decided I was better on my own."

"But you seem like the social type, don't you miss it?" Virgil asked before he could stop himself.

Roman's eyes got sad. "Yes, but every time I try befriending humans, somehow someone finds out. I find ways to cope, and besides, I have the forest animals to talk to." He got down and reached out towards Darrell, who stepped closer to get several scratches. "They're really nice to talk to, it took me a while to learn how to do so but now I eventually became friends with them. They have interesting things to say if you give them a chance to listen, and they see me as sort of a guardian now." The witch laughed, his eyes becoming brighter again.

"So you had to learn their language?" Virgil sat down and scratched Darrell on the back, who was just happy to have so much attention. "It wasn't like you magically learned what they were saying?"

"Well, some of it is magic I suppose, like I just know what they want to say. Besides, no language can be directly translated into another one, there's always small changes," Roman explained. "Animals are the same way. They have body language, different calls, and if you listen very carefully you can hear them hum or grunt softly. I don't think humans can hear it, but I have heard that fairies have sensitive senses so maybe you can?"

"You can hear things others can't too?"

Roman couldn't help but laugh at the curiosity in Virgil's eyes. "Yeah, witches have heightened senses too. It's useful, isn't it?"

"I guess, it can be."

"May I ask what kind of magic you use?" Logan asked, slightly excited. "I've heard that witches can use all kinds!"

"I mostly use plant magic and potion making, and yes that does use magic because you have to put energy into it for it to work," Roman explained. "That's what I mainly use anyway, but I've practiced with others like pyro magic and what not."

"What about healing?" Virgil asked. "Or empathy magic?"

"I tried healing but just couldn't get the hang of it, hence the potions. They take more time, but I have a few healing potions on hand. And as for empathy magic, I got overwhelmed the first time I tried it and decided never again. You have empathy magic too, right?"

The fairy nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I have a book on all kinds of magical creatures, and it wasn't written by a human so I trust it better than any other book written about us. The book belonged to my mother, and I've read it about twenty times. Would you like to borrow it?"

Virgil's eyes widened and he seemed to light up even more. "Uh, sure."

Roman stood up, dusting the dirt off of his pants. "Then I'll be right back, hold on."

They both watched as Roman quickly went inside, taking the gift basket with him. How much information does the book have on fairies? Will Virgil finally be able to learn more about his species? And can he teach himself magic with it?