Not so forgotten friends
After collecting Skulduggery, the trio stepped out of a portal into an alley way near to Bespoke tailors. It was still a small walk, as Ghastly had requested that Corvus only portal in due to an emergency. The closest he could get, was a 10 minute walk away.
“So this friend of yours. What’s he like?” Stephanie asked Skulduggery, as they were walking through the streets.
“Honest. Decent. Honourable. And a lot more fun than I’m making him out to be. He also isn’t the biggest fan of magic.” Skulduggery said, through his disguise.
“How can he not like magic? It’s just so...magical!”
Corvus snorted. “Real descriptive.” He drawled, but there was not sting to the words. “You’ve got to remember, there was a 300 year war. Magic can be beautiful and amazing, but it can also be painful, lethal and horrific.”
Stephanie went quiet at that, and Skulduggery spoke up. “It isn’t just that. He’s never really found magic all that interesting. He would easily give it up to live a mundane life. Full of tv drama shows and coffee shop outings.”
“But why can’t he do that anyway? Is his magic super obvious like Corvus’?”
“No. For as much of a decent, and outright nice man he is. He is really, truly ugly. He couldn’t walk into your world without a disguise like mine, so he doesn’t bother.” Skulduggery explained.
Corvus spoke up. “His mother was jinxed during the war while she was pregnant. His head is covered in incurable scars. Trust me, I tried to fix it, but whoever cast the spell was powerful. He could never live a normal life, so he doesn’t. But he also doesn’t really try with the magical community either. Just his business really. Everyone needs top quality clothes, apparently.”
“Then there’s also the special orders. It isn’t easy for the Octopi clan to get clothes.” Skulduggery chimed in. Corvus had to stifle a laugh. Or a groan, he wasn’t really sure which. That didn’t mean he was going to warn Stephanie though.
“There are octopus people?”
“Good grief, of course not.” Skulduggery took a quick step to avoid her swipe at him.
Finally arriving at the shop, Corvus waltzed in first. The place was just like it always was. Materials and fabrics of all sorts lined the walls, making the room a bit of a multicoloured eyesore, at least to him. Ghastly appeared from the back, just as the door closed behind Stephanie. He smiled at them as he approached, and Corvus could see Stephanie stiffen when she caught sight of just how bad the scaring was. Ghastly walked up to Skulduggery first, shaking his hand warmly. He then went over to Corvus, ruffling his already messy hair. He didn’t bother trying to fight it, he knew Ghastly would persist either way.
“Hey you too.” He gave them a look over, before glancing at Stephanie, “and Miss. Do you have a name?” Holding his hand for her to shake.
Stephanie glanced down at his hand, before quickly taking it. “Not yet. Got some ideas though.”
Ghastly nodded, smile slipping slightly. “Just be sure you want this life before you decide. This life isn’t for everyone.”
Ghastly took a deep breath, but nodded. “Well, the occasion calls for the proper outfit. Do you have any colour preferences?” He asked Stephanie, as he took out a notepad.
Clearly taken back by the sudden change of subject, Stephanie stuttered, “Uh, what?”
“For protective clothing. The same as what Corvus wears under his shadow jacket.” Ghastly mock scowled.
“Oh, um, I dunno. Black?” Stephanie said, hesitantly.
Ghastly nodded. Though his eye flitted to Corvus, for the briefest of seconds. Corvus wasn’t even sure he had seen it. “Good choice. Can’t go wrong with black. Any other colours I can throw in?”
Stephanie seemed to think for a moment. “Maybe a dark purple?”
Ghastly snorted slightly. “I should have guessed that.” He said, whilst noting it down.
“I’m not sure I can afford it-“
“I’ll pay for it. Call it rent money, for keeping my car at Gordon’s for the meantime?” Corvus cut in. She looked like she was going to protest, before letting it go and nodding.
“Alright. Just let me lock up, then we can talk properly in the back.” Ghastly said, as he finished scribbling in his notepad.
The trio made their way to the back of the shop, where even more fabrics and material, laid neatly around the space. Corvus walked over to a sofa, and slumped into the corner of it. Stephanie walked slowly up to the same sofa, whilst taking in the place, before sitting in the other corner. “So Ghastly’s going to make me some clothes?” Stephanie said. “Doesn’t he need to take measurements?”
“Nope.” Skulduggery said, from his place in a chair beside them. “Just one glance. That’s all he needs.”
Ghastly then entered the small living room, and sat in the chair opposite the sofa with it fingers steepled. “So, what’s this all about then?”
“We’re investigating Gordon’s murder.” Skulduggery said.
Corvus looked at Stephanie, expecting a reaction. He was surprised that there was only a brief flash of understanding on her face. “When did you figure it out?” He asked her.
“On our way here. His death was just too sudden. And what China said, about some items need their owner to die for someone new to claim ownership, it all just added up.” She replied. “When were you going to tell me?”
“Uh, now?” Corvus said with a wince. “Sorry, things have been a bit hectic. Didn’t really get a chance to bring it up, you know?”
Stephanie narrowed her eyes but nodded. They looked back to Ghastly, who had a deep frown on his face. “Murder? He died of a heart attack.” He said, but Stephanie suddenly jumped in.
“Yes, diagnosed by people without knowledge of magic.” She said, slightly heatedly.
“Well, who would want Gordon dead? And what would he possibly have, that he would be killed over?”
“Serpine killed him.” Corvus said. His voice was cold and flat, trying to hold back the anger that flashed through him at the thought. “I scanned his body for any trace magic myself. We just need proof, or to just stop him outright.”
Ghastly’s frown deepened. “I didn’t know you could do that. Are you sure in what you found?”
“Merlin’s last lesson in his journal, was how wizard magic works.” He said, as he listed the points of on his fingers. “Visualisation, Intent, Power. As long as I can visualise the effect and will it to happen strongly enough, I can flood the desire with magic and create new spells. I know what I found. I also know that no one on the Elder council will believe me, without physical proof.”
“So, what do you need me for?”
“We need everything your family has on the Sceptre of the Ancients.”
Ghastly’s smile returned, “Listen, the Sceptre’s story has changed from telling to telling. It’s a myth. A camp story legend.”
“Serpine thinks it’s real. He already killed my uncle to get to it and has tried to have me killed twice to get to some kind of key.” Stephanie said, getting to her feet, and pacing as she thought.
“Look, I’m sorry for your uncle’s death. I honestly respected him quite greatly. He loved magic, yet managed to resist its allure and only observe and write about it. It takes a great deal of strength that I hope you also possess.”
Stephanie folded her arms and looked away. Corvus could tell this was starting to piss her off. This was the first time she was being treated like a little girl, since he had officially met her. Deciding to speak up, Corvus added “She’s already part of this world. She’s been targeted twice now-“
“She’s barely stepped into this world. I’m sure it’s great having someone your age around, but she’s not you-“Ghastly started, before one of his fabrics caught on fire. Specifically, fabric that Stephanie had been glaring at.
“You’re right.” Stephanie said quietly, but there was an anger simmering in her words. “It has been great. Learning magic exists, running around trying to solve a mystery. My life was so boring before. But don't you dare assume that I’m treating this like a game!” Stephanie shouted. The fire flared as did the anger on her face. Corvus instantly focused on trying to snuff out the fire using his magic, but it was resisting, like it had a will of it’s own. “My uncle left me damn near everything! He did that for me! But now he’s dead. So I’m going to do something for him. I’m going to find his murderer, and I’m going to make sure they don’t get away with it. He’s got to have someone on his side!”
Corvus had managed to contain the fire, but with every flare of her anger, the fire fought his control. Nothing he tried would snuff it out. It was taking all his focus just to do this much.
“The Sceptre isn’t real! It’s a fairy tale!” Ghastly said, exasperated.
“I believe it’s real.” Steph said, only to receive a scoff, which made a second flame appear behind Ghastly. Somehow, both these flames had gone unnoticed by Stephanie and Ghastly. Corvus was sure that Skul was having too much fun watching him struggle.
“Of course you believe it’s real. You’re new to this, and everything is fantastic and wonderful, but there is only so far magic can go. Gordon was barely part of this world, and if what you say is true, it got him killed. Are you so desperate to do the same? You’re playing with fire!”
“Everyone around here plays with fire!”
“This really hasn’t gone the way I was expecting.” Skulduggery muttered.
“Ya think!?” Corvus exclaimed, still focusing on the two magical flames, that were growing more intense, even without spreading.
Ghastly turned to Skulduggery, completely ignoring Stephanie and Corvus. “There are rules for things like this.” Ghastly said, pinching his brow in frustration. “There’s a reason we don’t tell everyone we’re out there. She’s a prime example of why.”
With that, Stephanie’ anger, and in turn, the flames in the shop flared even higher. She clearly decided it was pointless arguing, and stomped back out the front door, and slammed it shut behind her. The room was silent, aside from the slight crackling, which was finally starting to die down, now that Stephanie was further from it, effectively cutting its fuel source.
“Ghastly, did you leave the key in the door?” Corvus asked, seemingly at random.
Ghastly was rubbing his face, but froze when he realised he had the key in his pocket. “How-“
“So, surprise. She’s a wizard. Like me. You have now caused both wizards in this dimension accidental magic. Skul can pay for the damages, since he DIDN’T help me.” Corvus said, as he made his way to the front door. He stopped as he was about to leave the room, “I know you care, Ghastly, and I can appreciate you trying to keep us safe. Just, try more gently next time.” Corvus said over his shoulder, before leaving the room.
When he got to the front door, he found it had locked itself again. Sighing, he dropped into his shadow, and slid under the door, coming back up just outside the store. He could see Stephanie leaning against a wall across the road. Making sure he didn’t surprise her, he walked up to her and lent against the wall next to her. They stayed in silence for a few moments. Corvus, letting his magic relax and Stephanie was glaring at a crack in the pavement.
“So, there’s no doubt at all that you have magic now.” He said. By the way her head snapped to her, she clearly hadn’t noticed what she had done.
“What do you mean?” She asked in a rush.
“Well, for starters, how did you get out here?”
“I walked out?”
“And how did you do that, after Ghastly locked up?” he asked, with an eyebrow raised. Stephanie opened her mouth to reply, when she snapped it shut with an audible click.
She was wide eyed and silent, just staring into Corvus’ eyes, before a muffled squeal sounded from her, and she lept at him, pulling him into a tight embrace. She was slightly bouncing on the spot with joy, before she seemed to remember what she was doing and quickly pushed herself back. “I did not just do that.” She said, seriously.
He made a point to look mock-confused. “That’s funny. My memory seems to have missed the last few minutes.” He said, then winked at her. “Oh, you also set fire to his shop.”
That got her to freeze up, before slowly slumping. “How didn’t I notice that?”
“Ghastly has a very distracting face” he nodded sagely.
Stephanie looked at him in horror. The horror quickly turned to a snort, which suddenly turned into full blown laughter. Corvus joined her in laughter, at first in relief that wasn’t offended by what he said, but it quickly became true laughter, as hers proved to be very infectious.
Skulduggery emerged from the shop a few minutes later, to find them coming down from their laughter. He stood there for a few moments, with his head cocked to the side slightly as if he wasn’t sure what to make of the situation. “So that went well” he said eventually, his voice slightly chipper.
That almost got Corvus to snort again. “No worse than when he met me, let’s be honest.”
Skulduggery nodded and hummed in agreement. Stephanie looked up at the skeleton. “So is he going to help us or not?”
“Well, he isn’t fighting your place in our world now. But he doesn’t agree that you should be part of the case.”
Stephanie snorted ruefully. “Oh, really?” She said bitterly.
“He seems to think I’m being irresponsible.”
“And what do you think?”
“I have been known to be irresponsible before. It’s entirely plausible that it’s happening again.
“Do you think I’m in danger?”
Corvus spoke up, “Absolutely. Serpine believes that you have whatever he is looking for. Once he learns who you are or where you are, he will send someone else after you. If not, go for you himself. I would love for you to stay somewhere guarded and safe, learning magic to defend yourself. But right now, the safest place is with me. I can portal you out of danger, if it is needed, to somewhere safe. And while your with me, I can teach you to defend yourself far better than a book can.”
“Then let’s get one thing clear. I will not be side-lined on this. He was my uncle, just as much as he was your godfather. It’s my life that’s in danger. That means it’s my choice to be here. You do not send me away, when the going gets tough. Have I made myself clear?”
Corvus mocked standing at attention. “Crystal clear, ma’am!” He barked out. He could see her lips twitch, as she tried to glare at him.
“Well, I’m convinced.” Skulduggery said from behind her.
“Then what are we standing around here for?”
“My thoughts exactly.” The skeleton said, as he started to walk back towards the alley they arrived in.
While they were walking, Stephanie turned her head to talk to Skulduggery. “You never actually said why we needed Ghastly’s help.”
Skulduggery tilted his head, “We needed to look at his family’s collection. Like China, Ghastly’s family were collectors of literature and art. Anything to do with the Ancients. If we want to find out how counter it, or destroy it, the answers would be there.”
“But he’s not going to let us now, is he?”
“Ghastly is one of the most stubborn people I know. It will take him at least four days to calm down. Then it will be just a matter of convincing him.”
“We don’t have four days though. Do we?”
“No. Luckily, I know where they are kept.”
Corvus sucked in a breath through his teeth. “We’re going to break into the Vault, aren’t we?”
Stephanie looked between Corvus and Skulduggery. “Is that our only choice?”
Skulduggery nodded, as they turned into the alley they arrived in. “We haven’t got time to negotiate with him, I’m afraid.”
“So we break into a vault?”
“Not just a vault. The Vault. It’s a series of chambers, hidden beneath the Dublin Municipal Art Gallery. Highly protected, they don’t take kindly to trespassers.”
“Well then.” Stephanie said with a shrug. “We best not get caught then.”
Skulduggery and Corvus looked at each other, then back to Stephanie. “I knew you had an instinct for this job.” They said in unison.
Stephanie shuddered. There was glint in Corvus’ eyes, that she knew Skulduggery would have if he had eyes. “You two can be scary when you’re in sync. You know that, right?”
They both nodded, and Corvus grinned. “It’s why we’re the best at what we do.” They said, again in unison.
“Stop that!” Stephanie cried out, but Corvus could see the amusement in her eyes. He chuckled, as he summoned a portal around them, and they disappeared into the darkness.
------------‐----------------------------------Scene break---------------------------------------------------
The Art Gallery was exactly as he expected it to be. Filled with art that he didn’t understand, and honestly, kind of boring. He had decided to stake out the inside of the gallery, whilst Skulduggery and Stephanie were doing their own stake out from the outside. He had already been around the public side twice, making sure to memorise every inch of the place so that he could portal in if necessary. He had also found all the cameras and other security measures that had been electronically installed, along with the deceptively ornate door, that lead to the Vault. He briefly scan it for any magical protects, and had stumbled at the sheer amount on it. The only way they were getting in and out of there, was by manually unlocking it.
Nearing the end of opening hours, he decided to slip into a bathroom so he could fall into his shadow, and stay behind after closing hours. He made sure to stay hidden until half an hour after closing time, before pulling himself from his shadows. After casting a strong camouflaging spell on himself, he made his shadow magic form an oval shaped board to stand on, before also camouflaging it. He then slowly made it float, so that he wouldn’t touch the floor, preventing himself from activating any pressure sensors in the floor.
By the time he had finished all his preparations, it was late evening and the evening sunlight was just on the verge of dying. Opening the door, he slowly floated out, looking both ways to ensure he hadn’t been seen by any security guards, and slowly made his way back to the entrance to the Vault. He was just about to float around a corner, when a woman in blue overalls walked into view.
Corvus was instantly on edge. Not only was she in his way, she also had slight frown on her face and was sniff the air. She turned to face him, but before speaking, her face grimaced in pain and she fell to the floor. Corvus started to float backwards to gain some space, when the woman’s back arched, lifting her face for him to see. She was in clear agony and her mouth was open in a silent scream. She lifted her hands to her head, and Corvus though she was just going to grip her hair in pain. But as she gripped her hair, she pulled and her skin pulled away with her hands, revealing bleach white skin beneath.
Corvus couldn’t move. He was transfixed in morbid curiosity at the sickening sight before him. The woman continued to pull away at her flesh, as the creature beneath clawed its way to the surface. Her bones were cracking as they shifted size and form, from straight standing, to hunched, capable of running on all fours. When the transformation ended, Corvus was staring at a tall, pale figure. He had a flash back to the thing that killed his parents. The differences were obvious though. Whilst his parents killer stood tall and looked more skeletal, this creature was clearly an animalistic killer. Tall but hunched. Beady black eyes and pale skin. There was no intelligence in those eyes. Just pure bloodlust.
The creature sniffed, clearly catching his scent and growled as it lowered itself into a pouncing position. Just as it was about to move, Corvus snapped out of his horrified trance, and quickly opened a portal behind himself. The creature leaped as he through himself through the portal, closing it so quickly, that the end of his shoe was cut off by the portal closing. He was hyperventilating, staring at the spit where his portal had been, when he was startled by a hand landing on his shoulder. Only the slightly magnetic feeling stopped him from attacking Stephanie, as she stood there, a clear look of worry on her face.
“Vampires.” Corvus said, between ragged breaths. “Fucking vampires!”
“We tried to warn you, but my phone wouldn’t connect.” Stephanie said, her face pinched in what looked like guilt. Of course. He had been in the shadows at that point. Phone signal wouldn’t reach somewhere like that.
“It’s fine. That was my fault anyway.” He said, as he finally calmed down. He was slick with sweat, and probably needed a shower, but the cool night air felt good on his wet skin, helping ground him from his fear.
“I assume you have a plan” Stephanie said, as she looked at the skeleton.
“I suppose I am rather good at those.” He said, lightening the mood.
Corvus let his words wash over him, before standing. “For now, we need to get you home Steph. It’s you last night before you start training. You might want to enjoy being with your family for the night.”
Stephanie sighed but nodded. “Yeah, who knows how long it will be until I see them again.”
Corvus shrugged. “Who knows. Could be a day. Could be a month. I guarantee that it won’t be longer than that. If we get to a week with no results, we look at other methods of controlling your magic. Then the really lessons begin.”
Stephanie smiled. “Thanks. Shall we go then?”
Corvus nodded and opened a portal before turning to Skulduggery. “Are you coming?”
“No. I have some things to collect before the break in. I’ll call you when I need picking up.” He said, before dropping off the roof and slowing himself using his air manipulation.
He shook his head in exasperation. The skeleton could be such a show off sometimes. Turning to Stephanie, he held his elbow out for her to take. She thread her arm through his automatically, and together, they walked through the portal, straight into Stephanie’s room. Reflection Stephanie was sat at her desk, reading what appeared to be one of Gordon’s books. She looked up at them with a blank face. “Welcome back.” The reflection then looked directly at Stephanie. “Are you ready to resume your life?”
Stephanie looked at the reflection apprehensively. “Uh, yes. You’ll have to take over from tomorrow for up to a month. Will that be ok?” she asked.
The reflection Stephanie nodded. “Of course. I am capable of impersonating you for up to a year before any issues should arise.”
Stephanie nodded, and her reflection stepped back into the mirror. She then tapped the mirror, and wobbled as memories from the day flooded her. Corvus moved to support her, but it was unnecessary as she quickly regained herself. She sighed and turned to Corvus, “They’ve already eaten. I don’t suppose you can get me some dinner?”
Corvus nodded. “Absolutely.” He checked his phone for the time. “It’s only eight now, go spend a few hours with your parents. Text me when they’ve gone to bed and I’ll bring it over.”
Stephanie smiled at him. “Thanks” And as she left the room, he opened a portal straight to his kitchen at Skulduggery’s house, immediately getting started on a bigger dinner than usual.
Not knowing how much time he had, he decided to make a simple Cottage Pie for them to share, and put the leftovers in the fridge. He finished cooking not long before ten, so placed a stasis charm on the food, so that it would still be hot whilst he waited for Stephanie’s message. Deciding to take a quick shower while he waited, he entered the bathroom and stripped down to nothing. Once the hot water hit him, he realised just how much he needed it. The hot water washed away all the aches and stress of the day, and especially the sweat from his encounter with the vampire. The thought of that creature sent a chill down his spine. He had faced down killers before, alone as well as with Skulduggery, but he had never felt fear like it. It wouldn’t stop him doing his job, but he knew he was shaken from the experience.
A tone from his phone snapped him out of his thoughts. Getting out of the shower, and drying himself with water manipulation, he checked his phone. It was half past ten, but luckily he hadn’t missed any messages before Stephanie’s first one. Going to his room and quickly getting dressed, he went to the kitchen to grab the two meals, and opened a portal to Stephanie’s room. She had also clearly had a shower, and was sat on her bed in pyjamas with damp hair. The smell of her shampoo struck his noise like a wrecking ball. It wasn’t anything silly like strawberries. It was simple, just identifiable as shampoo.
She looked up from her phone when he placed the two plates on the table. “Do you mind if I join you for dinner?”
She smiled and nodded as she walked over to he small table. There was only one chair, but with a wave of his hand, the table extended enough for both of them and her chair duplicated. “I’ll put it all back to normal when I leave” he said at her slightly panicked look.
“That’s fine. Just make sure you’re quiet. My mum’s a light sleeper. As much as she might like you, she probably won’t be happy with a boy being in my room.”
He faked a confused look on his face. “Why? We’re just eating.”
“Well, you know. You’re a boy...and we’re alone.” She said haltingly as she started to blush.
“My dear Stephanie,” he said as he leant closer to her. “You’re not having impure thoughts, are you?”
She spluttered slightly as her blush grew to almost neon levels, and he let out a deep laugh, causing her to face to morph to panic and she threw her hands over his mouth. She was staring at the door, but nothing happened.
“Don’t worry. I silenced the room and charmed the door so if anyone were to try to come in, they would change their mind. I’ll remove the magic when I go though. Just didn’t want our first date to get interrupted.” He said with a wink, after removing her surprisingly soft hands from his mouth.
Her blush stayed, but she took a deep breath to compose herself. “A date and then I’ll be moving in with you. We are moving fast.” She said as she sent a wink back.
He laughed again, even as he blushed. “Well, nothing’s going to be boring with you around.” He said with a grin.
She snorted, and then took a small mouthful of food. He was about to start eating, when she let out an undignified moan. His mouth went dry as he looked at her. Her eyes were rolled back and fluttering as she continued to moan before she finally swallowed. He also had to swallow and tear his eyes away from her and back to his own food. “Where did you learn to cook like this? It’s incredible!” She exclaimed as she dove back into her food. Thankfully she wasn’t looking at him, as he was sure his blush completely outdid any he had directly caused before.
He cleared his throat before talking, knowing his voice would betray him otherwise. “Oh, you know. Here and there. Learning as I went.” He breathed a sigh of relief that his voice didn’t crack when he spoke.
She looked up at him sharply at those words. “No-one taught you? Seriously?”
“Well, I was shown how different appliances worked before I came here. But I taught myself. I never had anyone to give reliable feedback before.”
A dark look flitted over her face, before going back to bliss as she took another bite. “Well it’s the best thing I’ve ever had. If you get tired of detective work, you could easily open a restaurant.”
He chuckled slightly. “No thanks. I doubt I would enjoy cooking as work, but I’ll take the compliment.”
They descended into comfortable silence as they finished their meals, luckily with a lack of moans from Stephanie. Corvus didn’t think he would be able to focus on his food if she did. Just as they were finishing their meal, a small portal opened at Corvus’ shoulder. He looked at Stephanie, as her eyes went wide. He could feel something slither down his arm and wrap around his arm with a quiet hiss.
“Don’t worry” he said calmly as he stroked the snake’s head. “I was going to introduce you tomorrow, but he clearly had other ideas.”
He eyes were still wide, but she at least calmed down somewhat. “Why do you have a snake?” she asked, as calmly as she could.
“He was a gift from Gordon. He took me to the zoo to see what animals I could speak to. All lizards were the answer, so he got me a snake. He’s changed a lot over the years but he’s a good friend.” He said, with a small smile on his face.
“Hello female” his familiar hissed. Stephanie said nothing, only stared at the snake in slight trepidation.
“I assume you didn’t understand him?” Stephanie shook her head in the negative. “Shame. He said hello. This is Monty the python. No, I didn’t know about the films before I named him.” He then looked at the black snake. “This is Stephanie. It’s not her taken name so it will change at some point.”
Monty hissed in understanding and nodded, flicking his tail back and forth in a wave. “Is, is he waving?”
Corvus glanced at the snake’s tail before looking back. “Yup. After a few months of owning him, he starting absorbing some of my necromancy magic. He changed from his normal colours to black and purple and can open portals so he can take himself hunting. He can always find me as well. I read that some animals bond to wizards, giving them small magical abilities and extending their life. I’m pretty sure that’s what happened.” He said with a small self-satisfied smirk.
Stephanie was just staring at the snake before looking at him. “So you can speak to all lizards?”
“Yep. Some have weird accents that make them hard to understand but I manage if I focus hard enough.”
“Do you think I will be able to?”
“Well,” he started as he pulled out the notes he made on her magic. “You have roughly the same potential in Druid magic as me. That’s nature magic, anything to do with animals. It’s how I talk to lizards and can turn into a bird. We will go to a zoo at some point to try an narrow down if you can speak to any animals, but you might just not be able to. You will definitely be able to turn into your true animal form, but that took me around a year of meditation and self understanding. You have to understand yourself completely, not rejecting any part of yourself to be able to transform.”
Stephanie nodded, and let out a massive yawn. Chuckling, he got up and gathered the plates and cutlery from their dinner. “I’ll let you sleep now. I’ll pick you up around 10 tomorrow?” he turned to look at her, but she had fallen asleep in her chair. Opening a small portal, he sent his belongings through and Monty followed them. He then arranged her bed, ready to lay her in it, and gently picked her up from her seat. She wasn’t light but she also wasn’t heavy for him either. Tucking her in, he looked at her peaceful form, before opening a bigger portal for himself, and stepping through to his own room. He knew the next day was going to be very busy.