Nonetheless, Quintin hollers below. "Oh Jadelyn, where art thou?" followed by a low fowl snicker.
Quintin knows I have a loathing spite of being called by my middle name, and numerous times have I told him of it. I ignore the summoning of him till I've finished my last spell. With setting my feather and spellbook down, I pick up Jadestorm and slump down to my spell bag, plucking it up like a flower from the garden. Whilst striding out, I find him lounging around on the steps with his new familiar. It seems as though he has a new one every moon.
"Took thou long enough," Quintin spouts with an eye roll of his own design.
"Yes, yes. I am still witchling, you know? I still have spells and brews to learn," I reply, hinting at my hutwork.
We stroll downward to the overgrown moss path and then make our way down through the town. Taking in the spell of pine trees and wet dead leaves. We walk with silence for a while till I notice that as we've been walking, Jadestorm has put a boundary between Quintin while following behind with an unusual grimace towards his new familiar.
"I see you have a new familiar. What is it?" I ask, almost trying to comfort Jadestorm.
"Ah yes, HE is an Imp, and IT has a name. The name is JUBKIN," Quintin replies in a sly tone.
"Cool brooms! I've never seen one before! Can I hold 'em? Oh, does he actually turn into this really giant dragon thing when he's angry? When did you get him? Do they come in different colors?" I bombard him with questions, ignoring his tone.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, one, you cannot hold HIM. Two, yes, he actually DOES turn into a really giant dragon when he is angered. Three, I got him the last moon, and four he does come in a variety of colors," Quintin remarks in a miffed modulated voice.
"You really 'oughta get rid of that mangy cat that's been following us. You do know those are the-" Quintin starts to add before I cut him off.
"Oh, that's rubbish talk! Jadestorm was my Apa's. Never mind that, but Jadestorm has always been there for me, so I plan to do the same for him," I deliver with an unruly tone. One I don't use very often, but Quintin had no place to talk in that cursed rubbish of replacing him.
I stoop down and pick up Jadestorm, then stop alongside the well. Quintin joins me, and we both say our chants. It's a tradition that is carried on for many generations and is essential for all Murders to teach the younglings. Muder always says so, so we have protection over any dangers. I believe it's a human tale, though.
We make our way past the well toward town and walk the street, admiring every merchant and cauldron on the way. I stopped at a particular merchant shop I'd seen this morning from atop of the dome. As we walk in, Mr. Jexon greets us from behind the counter with a sweet smile then returns to a book of his own he had written. I stroll around the shop, looking at all the spell books and feathers that'd never been touched by a soul, it seems. Quintin walks behind me, showing me all the books, he has read and noting the best part of them. I place my palm on the cool surface counter and reach up to a book on the shelf.
Mr. Jexon turns and grabs the book for me, "Now that's a good tale," he assures me "I remember reading that when I was a young warlock like your friend there, that's how thou know it sticks!" he finishes.
"Perfect," I exclaim as I open the book to the first page, "No Man's Land," I mumble under my breath to myself. "How many chips?" I ask, breaking the excitement to dig in my overall pocket.
"Oh no, it's on the house, dear," he announces with joy in his voice.
I look at him astonished by the offer. "Oh, okay, thank you, sir!" I reply with a bow.
I gaze down at Jadestorm with a childish simper and walk out of the shop, sliding the book ever so gently in my spell bag along with making a sandwich with my books before setting Jadestorm on top. I lay my hand on the bag for extra protection, just in case. I take a glance back at Mr. Jexon and see him smiling with satisfaction.
Quintin grabs my arm "C'mon now, we're going into the forest to practice your spells. I've already asked for Apa's permission," he exclaims with a rather cheekish smile that changes the mood from excitement to adventurous.
" Hmm," I drew out, "Alright then. I do suppose I can show you my new spells I've learned over the witch's eves, and I can even read my book!" I reply, remembering when I glided effortlessly to the top of the dome.
When remembering my effortless glide through the dome, I also dawned on the scene of the letter for Mr. Persephone in the odd font of handwriting and the blood red ink. Though I pushed the thought down, trying not to ruin the mood, Quintin said he had asked his Apa for permission, which is quite peculiar. Quintin never speaks of his apa or asks permission from anyone in that matter. So, the letter just bubbles right back up, floating around in my brain. With the thought of out in the fog, there was an unwanted eerie feeling left hanging in the air.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROzDpygLEa
As we walk down the street, I stroke Jadestorm, who has snuck his head out of the bag sniffing around at all the bakeries we pass by on our way to the forest. We pass the well once again and rephrase our chants from before. Though I changed mine a bit, I asked to send my thanks to Mr. Jexon and to keep him out of harm's way. Quintin's chant is always the same, keep him safe on his journeys and protect the helpless, quick and simple. During the time of me chanting, Quintin has wandered around the well twice, mumbling to his Imp.
"Shall we continue?" he asks, more so commanding than a question.
I nod, and we continue to the forest edge. A slight hint of hesitation flutters through my chest as though someone had opened a cage of worrisome butterflies inside of me. I push the feeling down and tread down the slope following Quintin into the leaf littered ground of moss and mud. With every step, I can feel the mud grasping at the bottom of my patterns and the leaves shaping to them. I look back with a chuckle, realizing we had been leaving footprints in the mud like a map to follow back.
"What are you snickering at?" Quintin questions as I scurry beside him.
"Oh, nothing, really. We're just leaving a little tail," I reply with a grin.
Quintin straightens up and continues walking, ignoring my comment. We walk in silence for the rest of the journey only to hear the occasional chirp of birds and songs of fairies in the trees. Jadestorm had fallen asleep in my spell bag, which only added to the weight of the books, making it a bit harder to walk in the mud. There's a loud snap from beyond the trail that startles Jadestorm awake with a jolt of his head poking out of the bag. I stop to usher him back to sleep, Quintin stops too and looks around, mumbling something to Jubkin. Once I had Jadestorm feeling better and assured that it was nothing, I turned and gave Quintin a questioning glance. He answers with a shrug supposing it was a Grimble, one of the usual goblins, and suggests we be careful here on out.
We continued down the trail to our spot in a circular area that had been littered with leaves and fallen trees, making the area a perfect hideaway. I pick Jadestorm up out of my spell bag before setting it down on the stump that lays in the middle. I pull out my spell book and begin to flip through the pages to find the perfect spell to show Quintin.
"What spell do you plan on showing me?" Quintin asks.
I flick to the next page and spout out, feeling a sense of power surge through me, "I'll... summon my book to me!"
"Yes, yes, do that one," Quintin answers, seeming distracted.
"Okay!" I reply.
I positioned myself the way Mr. Swethent had told me too and recited the chant in my head before saying it.
"Accio!" I shout with excitement, following it with another "Accio!"
My spell bag slowly opens as Jadestorm sits beside it proudly. My new book slowly and hesitantly peeks out of my bag before hovering over to lay perfectly in my hands as I stare it down. Focusing on nothing else but the book as I lower it into my hands.
I look over to Quintin with a giant grin harboring my face. "See! Did you see it? I summoned my book from my bag all the way to me! Did you see it?" I ask without waiting for an answer.
"Yes, I saw it, although I do believe you could work on relaxing your posture, and maybe on your chanting. You sound like you're demanding the spell to happen. I'd suggest you work on that," Quintin adds before turning to ramble on to Jubkin.
"Hmm, alright then, I'll just read my new book then since I have it," I reply to his criticism.
I walk over to the stump and prop myself up against it. I turn my book to the first page and begin to read. Quintin comes and slumps down beside me, adjusting his hat like he's about to make an announcement.
"Sorry E, would you like to play cat-and-mouse?" Quintin suggests with the slightest bit of regret bubbling in his throat.
I closed my book with a smirk and set it in my bag before throwing it over my shoulder along with putting Jaddestorm in the bag.
"Only if I can be the mouse first!" I reply with a smirk settling on my face.
"It's only fair. You did learn the levitation spell today, did you not?" Quintin adds to prove his point.
I take a glance back at Quintin, and he gives an approving nod, letting me know I can go and hide. I strut off from the stump, past the fallen trees that mark our spot and down to the creek. As I jump down into the creek, Jadestorm gives off an odd meow.
"Shhh, Jadestorm! Quintin will hear you!" I imply, trying not to giggle.
As I make my way through the mud and puddles from the old, dried creek, I hear the fairies singing. I caught on to their songs because they had been singing an old lullaby Muder had sung to me as a baby in my cot. Now humming my way through the mud, I realized they had stopped. I poke my head up and look around, Quintin must be catting now. I slump down and duck walk underneath the creek bed where water has carved out a little cave. Crawling inside the little mud cave, Jadestorm gives a swift swat of his paw to my arm.
"Ow, what gives Jadestorm? I'm trying to find a hiding place," I whisper, thinking he'll answer back.
Jadestorm hops out of my bag and returns out to the creek and trots onward farther down the creek. I peek my head out before following him.
"Jadestorm, wait up," I ask of him, almost short of breath from duck walking the whole way through the creek.
Jadestorm replies with a short meow as though something is bothering him.
I stop and return to standing to run after Jadestorm, plucking him up off the creek's floor. Passing a fallen log, I climbed up out of the creek before looking around, which had been a grave mistake. I spot Quintin before he turns to spot me. I dash towards a tree and start to climb only to be notified by Jadestorm not to with a low, hesitant growl. Rolling my eyes, I peek my head around the tree to see Quintin running in a different direction. With a slight giggle, I turned to Jadestorm, who had jumped out of my arms.
"Where should we hide now?" I ask once again, expecting an answer.
Before Jadestorm could reply, I answered my own question by spotting another little mud cave.
"C'mon, now, I've found a spot!" I whisper yell.
Jadestorm trots behind me with a paranoid look settling on his muzzle, flinching at every sound. We made it to the mud cave only to discover there had been loads of water along with critters hiding inside. With a gasp, I turn away to find a new spot. We walk along the creek bed, ducking down at every noise. As we make it to our new spot, I take a deep breath and look around, hoping Quintin wasn't nearby. I duck down under the log before setting my bag down and crawling in. The spot was decently clean beside the leaves that have fallen through the holes. Jadestorm steps in with a cautious step before laying down on my lap.
We sat in the log for a bit before the fairies that had started to sing again stopped and started to mumble words of their own language. A soft fog rolls in, almost drowning the forest floor. I peeked my head out of the log and looked around for something, almost expecting someone to be there, but there was no one in sight. Granite the fog didn't help with seeing things. I slip out of the log onto the dampened forest floor. My knees scrape against the ground, leaving mud on them. I take a glance back at Jadestorm to check if he's following. Jadestorm nods as though he had read my mind.
We crawl out of the log and walk blindly through the fog. Picking up Jadestorm, I strut down to the creek and follow the edge back to our spot. We reached the end of the creek where our spot was supposed to be.
"Hmm, must've gone the wrong way. Let's turn -" I try to spit out.
"Haha! I got you, you're the cat now!" Quintin announces as he grabs me and twirls me around, picking me up.
"Dangit! You little sneaker! Hmph, fine, I'm counting now," I squeal, tying to wriggle out of Quintin's grasp.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
