Completed Mushrooms for Tea

[Alistair Wren]

The forest darkened with the onset of night, bathing Alistair's parchment in a shadow. He sat by a fire at the foot of a tree with his knees bent, quill in hand and a sheet of parchment on his thighs.

Craning his neck to the side, he considered the runes he had written and their properties, running his tongue along the edge of his teeth as he thought. He had been away from the college for a week now and had made no progress in the breaking the curse. Frustrated, Alistair scrunched up the parchment on his lap and threw it in the fire, folding his arms with a huff. His stomach rumbled and he started to think about what he should eat for dinner. Pulling himself to his feet, he stretched the cramps out of his back and reached around to straighten his long tunic.

He stepped forward, when he heard a slight whimpering.

Jerking around, he held a hand against his ear and listened. Eyes twitching, he walked around the fire and swerved through the trees, on the look out for some mushrooms. There were plenty growing around the roots, but he would need to look at them closer to discern whether or not they were safe for eating. Short strands of chestnut hair fell around his forehead and framed his soft eyes of the same colour. Peering around the trees, he knelt down at one and gently bent a mushroom over to look at the underneath. It was bright orange. Nope, that caused chills that could last for days. Alistair raised his head when the whimpering returned.

"Hello, is anybody out there?" He called.

Upon turning around, he saw a little orc girl standing between two trees. She was crying, lost by the looks of it, although he would have to talk to her to find more. Gripping the edges of his hood, he swept it down, brushing up strands of messy hair. Eyes wide and the ends of his mouth turned down, his expression appeared fixed and cold. His features slowly creased as he approached the little girl, before he bent down in front of her.

"What's wrong? Are you lost?" Alistair asked, his voice soft, yet lacking in nuance. He realized he had spoken too quietly and coughed, clearing his throat, "where are your parents?" He asked.

A pause followed.

Reaching out, Alistair offered the little orc his hand, "I'm just about to cook myself some dinner, want to come and help me pick some mushrooms?" He asked, managing a reserved smile.

"But don't eat them before I say you can, some of them are poisonous," he warned, a finger placed against the air, "my name is Alistair Wren, by the way, I'm a mage, but not the bad kind of mage, I'm a good mage," he smiled.

A hand held over his heart, Alistair left his other hand in the air for the girl to take if she wanted to, his head tilted towards a bunch of mushrooms as the foot of a tree. He turned around and scanned them, eyes narrowing as he looked for any spots or bright colours. When he turned around, he saw that the girl was still sniffing slightly, so he flung a hand in the air and smiled widely, hos browning, crooked teeth visible.

"Don't be sad! Look what I can do!" He chimed and keeled over, onto the ground, then rolled over the top of himself and sprung up, onto his feet, a big smile on his face.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

Ghoncheh wiped away at her eyes and laughed at the silly stunt that Alister made. "My name is Ghoncheh" she replied to him. Her eyes were still tearring up, but she did her best to keep them down and stoping her voice from cracking. She stood up and looked at him directly, carrying a bag with a broken strap.
"There are bad mages?" Ghoncheh hadn't considered the thought that such mages could exist, magic seemed far too wonderous to be used for bad deeds.

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

After showing the orc girl his roly-poly, Alistair sprung to his feet and brushed dirt off his backside. He straightened his robes and smoothed down the front, puffing and panting. He smiled widely, his browning, crooked teeth visible.

"Hello Ghoncheh!" He chimed.

When he looked down, he saw Ghoncheh still had some tears in the corners of her eyes. The smile on his face suddenly drooped and he leaned down, gripping his long sleeve between his fingers. He wiped Ghoncheh's eyes and placed a hand affectionately behind her back, his eyes coursing over the roots of the trees for mushrooms. Green grass, dotted sparsely with white flowers, it darkened as night fell. A breeze blew through the trees, sweeping up Alistair's robes as he walked and making him cold.

He shuddered, grabbed his hood and pulled it over his head, then lowered his hand to place it behind Ghoncheh's back. When she asked him if there were bad mages, his features hardened slightly when he thought about the dark mage who had got the better of him in Elbion.

"Unfortunately yes," he nodded, his tone serious all of a sudden, "magic is a wonderful thing, but it can be used to hurt people."

"Ah!" He chimed. In the distance, beneath a ray of dying sunlight, was a smattering of mushrooms. Soft, brown eyes widening, Alistair withdrew his hand from Ghoncheh's back and darted over to them, his hands flailing. He stopped and turned around to face her.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

Bending at his knees, he gently shoved back the cap of a mushroom to check the underside. It was dark grey, just like a good mushroom should have been. Smiling to himself, Alistair picked it and brushed the dirt off.

"Yes, these mushrooms are friendly," he said and popped the mushroom into Ghonchech's bag. He picked another one, brushed the dirt off and took a bite, then put it in the bag with the other one.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

The little orc girl didn't feel the cold that was coming with the night, she just smiled as Alistair helped with the last of her tears.

"Oh..." she said when he replied to her question, "Yes I am hungry!" she replied her mind being brought back from a short daydream about magic.

She eyed the mushrooms he was putting into her bag and wondering what made them special.
"How can you tell the friendly mushrooms from the bad ones? Meat is much easier to tell apart." She crouched down too and sniffed one to see if its rotten like bad meat, picking it up along the way. Her touch of it was gentle but it's smell didn't tell her much.

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

Alistair could feel Ghoncheh recoil when he told her about the bad mages. Hand against her back, he smiled and brushed away some hair that had fallen in his eyes. He still had to deal with that curse Vereshin had put on the faculty. Grumbling at the thought, he uncurled his fists and sighed, "I'll have to work on that tomorrow," he thought to himself.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from the bad mages," he nodded.

Turning back around, he bent down and picked another mushroom, then popped it into Ghoncheh's bag. His robes splayed across the grass, he picked the mushrooms one by one, checking them meticulously for any spots or bright colours. The ray of sunlight shining on them sparkled, the air bristling with residue from the moss and fireflys that had just woken up.

"Friendly mushrooms have a white hat and a black bottom, the bad ones are covered in pretty spots," Alistair said, his eyes fixed on the mushrooms as he picked them. He turned around to face Ghoncheh, "but they don't taste pretty, especially what they can do to your tummy, that's not pretty" he shook his head, his voice gentle, yet monotonous.

"Bad mushrooms can also have a colourful hat, so don't pick those," he warned.

He picked the last mushroom. Just as he was about to put it in Ghoncheh's bag, the dirt from where teh mushrooms had been growing erupted in a small nova of sparkles. Some went straight up Alistair's nose. He leaped back, grabbed his nose in pain and sneezed, keeling over.

"Buggering Hell!" He cursed beneath his breath, "what was...?" His words trailed off as he looked up.

Hovering above the patch of dirt was a fairy. She was about the size of Alistair's hand and was floating angrily above the dirt where he had picked the mushrooms, her delicate wings beating together. She thrust a hand forward and hurled more sparks and Alistair and Ghoncheh, her wings beating faster the more angry she became.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

Following Alistair's explanation she nodded along and helped pick up the friendly mushrooms, staying clear of any of the spotted or colourful mushrooms. Tummy aches from bad things was something she hadn't gotten in a long time. But she still remembered the last time well enough to not want to get them with pretty shrooms.

The sudden burst of light had startled Ghoncheh to drop her bag, some of the recently aquired mushrooms spilling out. When she had opened up her eyes again and looked at where the small explosion was her eyes widened. She was about to try and catch the thing before she fully realized that the bug was human shaped and probably human thinking too, so her hands just awkwardly hovered infront of her.
"Pretty," she said as this was the first fairy she saw.

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

More sparks went up Alistair's nose. Keeling over, he sneezed and rubbed it with his arm, staring angrily at the fairy that had just blasted him with sparkles. Hand on his his nose, he curled his fists into balls and scowled. He could have quite easily thrust a hand forward and mashed the fairy against the tree with telekinesis, but he didn't want to hurt her.

"That was very rude!" He scolded.

The fairy flung more sparks. Glistening, golden light blasted from the tips of her fingers, it danced beneath the rays of the sun. Flinging out a hand, Alistair redirected them through the trees.

"How would you like for me to mash you against that tree with telekinesis?!" He shouted, struggling to lift his voice.

"That was my home you just picked, you pair of brutes!" The tiny fairy absconded.

Suddenly, Alistair felt bad. Cheeks flushed, he withdrew his hand and recoiled, having no idea that the mushrooms he had picked had been somebody's home. Holding his wrist, he rubbed it, sheepishly fiddling with the hems of his robes.

"Oh bugger, I'm sorry," he exclaimed, "I should have known better," he slumped his shoulders and sighed. Raising a hand, he ran it through his hair and scratched his head, thinking about what he should do to help the fairy.

A pause followed and the fairy stared at Alistair and Ghoncheh, expecting an explanation. An idea came to his head and Alistair snapped his fingers, the ends of his mouth curving upward.

"Ghoncheh, would you mind letting the fairy sit on your shoulder while we find her a new home?" He leaned down and asked.

"My name is Theda!" The fairy barked.

"Theda, come here," Alistair waved a hand towards Ghoncheh.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

Ghocheh wasn't really following the conversation to well, being distracted by the amount of dazzling lights going about. But she did thoought that threathening the fairy with slamming her into a tree with telikinesis would be a bad mage thing to do. Which puts Alistair's good mage status into question.

"It's fine!" she said, letting the fairy on her shoulder, where the fairy was ever do gently slapped with corade hair in one of her pigtails, "You pretty Theda. I'm Ghoncheh" she said to Theda

She leaned down to pick up her bag and fallen out shrooms, and while looking at them wondered and asked the fairy, "But how can you live in these soft things? Someone steps on it and it's ruined, a rock or tree would be better."

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

Alistair felt bad for saying he would mash the fairy against the tree. He really did. Curling up his fists, he shook his head and groaned, disappointed in himself.

"I'm sorry, Theda," he hung his head and pouted like a dog that had just been whacked for peeing on the floor.

"I wouldn't really mash you against a tree," he rubbed his arm awkwardly, his cheeks bright red.

At Alistair's offer to find her a new home, Theda folded her arms and scowled, "very well, but it needs to be soft!" She ordered.

With a burst of sparkles, the fae flew forward and took a seat on Ghoncheh's shoulder.

"Thank you, Ghoncheh," Alistair said softly and patted Ghoncheh on the head.

Mushrooms in Ghoncheh's bag, the three of them continued their walk through the forest. Fireflys illuminated the gaps between the trees, their trunks darkening as night fell. Breathing in, Alistair enjoyed the smell of the grass and the residue hovering above it like a sparkling roof. He gripped the edges of his hood and pulled it up, shrouding his face.

At Ghoncheh's question, Theda beat her wings, "mushrooms are nice to sleep on, but you have to look out for clompy-footed horses like you two squashing them," she snapped.

Hand held against a tree, Alistair scanned a clearing. He looked out for trees that were close together, so there was less of a chance of Theda's new home being disturbed, when he saw it. A bird's nest in a hole in a tree. Eyes wide, he gasped and darted over, waving a hand to Ghoncheh and Theda.

"It's a bird's nest, still full of feathers and spring is nearly over, so nobody lives here any more!" He chimed, hands wrapped around the edge of the hole in the tree. He peered in and pressed his finger against the downy base of the nest. It was very soft, perfect for Theda to sleep on and it was high up, so clompy-footed horses like Ghoncheh and himself couldn't step on it.

Theda folded her arms, eyes narrowing as she looked at them both.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

With Theda on her shoulder and the mushrooms all picked up. She followed a bit behind Alistair but not to far behind.
Ghoncheh kept asking the fairy questions like, "How can you fly? Was that magic?" and the Fairy getting more and more annoyed at having to answer each dumb question.

When Alistair hopped from the clearing to a tree she hurried behind, Theda pulling on her hair to not lose balance and fall off.
Tip toeing she tried to see into the nest but, "I can't reach it," and she looked at Theda with her glare at Ghoncheh and Alistair, "Could Theda even fly that far up?"

Perhaps taking offence at her flying skills Theda flew up to the tree hole and looked into the nest, "And how would you feel like sleeping on leaves, some of these feathers could poke me in my sleep!"
"Then how about a covering for the feathers?" Ghoncheh replied, taking out a plain napkin and offering it up.

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

Hands on his hips, Alistair looked up in satisfaction as Theda flew off Ghoncheh's shoulder and landed in the hole in the tree. The end of his mouth kinked upwards and he smiled, his cheeks dented with deep dimples.

The Fae then absconded them both with a complaint about the feathers.

Alistair scowled, "what do I look like, fairy-real estate?" Brow furrowed, he glared, not quite where he got the term "real-estate from.

"Get me a bed and make it soft!" Theda demanded, floating in the centre of the hole.

Just as Alistair opened his mouth to shout, Ghoncheh took a napkin out of her bag and handed it to Theda. The Fairy's features softened and she flew down, took the napkin with both hands and lay it in the bird's nest. She lay on the napkin, folded her wings up and wrapped the side over her like a sleeping back. It was big enough to line the nest as well as cover Theda.

"Ooh it's big," Theda gasped. Flattening the napkin down, she flapped her wings and sprung back up, sparkles dancing off her as she floated.

"Yes, this will do quite nicely," she nodded.

"Good job, Ghoncheh," Alistair smiled and patted Ghoncheh on the head.

"Now get lost!" Theda snapped, waving a hand at them both.

"Alright, alright!" Hands in the air, Alistair sprung back, "geez!" He exclaimed and turned around, his hand on Ghoncheh's back.

Huffing, Alistair wiped a layer of sweat off his brow with the long sleeve of his robe and started to walk back to the fire, picking up sticks as he went. He made extra sure there were no fae living under them. Sticks under his arm, he bent down and tugged at Ghoncheh's bag, pulling it open to look inside.

"We got enough mushrooms for both of us, now let's get some more sticks for the fire, it's probably out by now," he nodded, let go of the bag and stood at his full height.

"So what are you doing out here, Ghoncheh? Where are your parents?" He asked.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

Ghoncheh smiled widely when Theda was finally happy with her new home. And Wider even when Alistair patted her head. And unexpectedly had to hurry with him, being slightly pushed on her back by Alistair, when the fairy yelled at them to scram.

Seeing him pick up sticks by the road, she helped pick up some too, "We won't eat them raw?" she asked when he mentioned the fire.

"My parents are at home! I'm traveling, to learn magic like you can!" She smiled wide, she wanted to ask him if he could teach her some, but she didn't want to be a bother, "Could magic even fix my bag?" She added, showing where her bags strap had been broken.

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

A bundle of sticks in his arm, Alistair picked up some bark and laughed when Ghoncheh asked if they would eat the mushrooms raw.

"Oh no, I'll fry them with some oil," he shook his head.

Once they had gathered up enough sticks and dried bark, the two of them headed back to the foot of the tree where Alistair had set up his fire. Slugging the sticks down, he arched neck back and stretched, brushing back his hood as he did so. He broke sticks apart placed them on the fire and screwed up some pieces of parchment which he had used to write spells that didn't work, then put them on the fire.

There were still some embers, so they caught onto the parchment and ignited the twigs. He reached into his big, string bag and grabbed a frying pan, which he set on the fire.

"You want to hand me some mushrooms, Gho?" He asked, an arm extended.

"You're out here all by yourself? Gee, that must be scary," eyes wide, he creased his brow and bent his legs at the knee, his hands resting on his thighs, "what were crying about just now? Are you homesick?" He asked.

"I get homesick, it hasn't been long since I left the university," brow creased, he lowered his head and spoke, his tone sad.

The fire crackled away, belching steam into the air. Alistair slid on some bark and the flames grew larger. He reached into his bag, crabbed a bottle and pulled out the cork, then poured a smidgen of oil into the pan. Ghoncheh then told him that she was travelling across the land to learn magic. Alistair sprung up, almost dropping the bottle. Somebody else who liked magic!

"You're learning magic?!" He gasped, "I double major in healing and enchanting at the Elbion college, but I had to choose two subjects in combative magic to complete my healing unit, and combative magic is blegh," waffling on, Alistair laughed. He held the handle of the frying pan and rolled it around to spread the oil.

"I am okay at telekinesis though, sort of okay in aerokinesis," he waggled his hand.

"What about you? What kind of magic are you learning?" He asked. Kneeling beside the fire, he shook the frying pan about, the oil sizzling and sputtering, "do you want to show me some of your spells?" He offered, dimples denting his fair cheeks as he smiled.

The sun aged, disappearing behind the hills like light seeping through an ajar door. Beams cascaded onto the grass, their breadth a stage for fireflies as they illuminated the cusp of evening. A symphony of cicadas played a shrill tune and the grass dampened beneath Alistair's feet, soaking the hems of his robes. His legs started to grow sore, so he let the frying pan go and sat down.

"I could teach you some if you like!" He chimed, eyes widening as he waited eagerly for Ghoncheh to show him what she had learned so far.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

She was handing him the mushrooms as they chatted, "I wasn't homesick, I was just sad."

"What was the university like? Was it big?" She observed how he prepeared the pan and fire for cooking, she wanted to learn many things, and observation was always the first step to gaining knowledge.

Her hands were jittery, she was excited hearing from Alistair, and what magic he knew, "What's 'aerokinesis'?" she asked not knowing the term, her eyes sparkling.

"I want to learn all of it! Yes please show me!" She almost stood up from excitement.

"My dad didn't want me to learn, he wanted me to know the sword, and I do a bit!" she tugged at the overly large sword she was somehow able to hide at her side, "and I don't know where to start. But a nice Komodo lady showed me this," She took her two hands, two fingers covering half of her thumb, and moved them making the thumb appear to detach, if it wasn't for her stumbling and her actual thumb being still visible. She laughed, "Not actual magic, but I do want to learn actual magic! If you could, please teach me yes!"

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

"Thank you, Gho," Alistair said as Ghoncheh handed him some mushrooms. He threw them in the frying pan and shook them around, flaring up the oil and making them sizzle. He left some raw ones aside for Ghoncheh.

When she said she was sad, Alistair creased his brow, "aw, what made you sad?" He asked, cooking the mushroom as he spoke.

Ghoncheh then asked him about the university, to which he smiled, remembering it fondly.

"Yes, the College of Elbion is a huge castle," the frying pan in one hand, he waved the other around in the air, trying to convey the size of the university, "I lived in a dormitory with a bunch of other mages like me," his voice trailed off and he sounded sad all of a sudden as he remembered his colleagues. Slumping his shoulders, Alistair sighed, putting the thought to the back of his mind.

"Aerokinesis is the manipulation of wind and the air," he nodded, "like this," he extended a hand and swept up a bunch of leaves, then sent them whirling around in a tiny tornado. The air whooshed around them, sending the fire into a dance, "hehe, whoops," Alistair chuckled.

Once the mushrooms were cooked, he took the frying pan off the fire and set it on some rocks. He picked up a mushroom with his hands, but immediately threw it back down because it was took hot, "owchie!" He yelped.

"Here you go, Ghoncheh," he said and handed Ghoncheh some raw mushrooms.

When Ghoncheh sprung up and said that she wanted Alistair to teach her magic, the young mage only laughed, happy to teach her. Leaving the frying pan aside, he took a bite out of a mushroom, threw it back and stood, brushing dirt and leaves off his robes as he walked over to Ghoncheh.

"I feel you, my mother didn't like magic either, she thought all magic was evil," he shook his head, recalling his mother's attitude towards him wanting to take up magic.

"You can wield a sword? I can't do that," Alistair laughed.

He chuckled when Ghoncheh showed him her little trick, "so there are many different kinds of magic, some of it involves healing others and calming them down, others involve controlling fire, earth, wind and water and others deal with enhancing the properties of objects," he explained the various schools that were taught at the college.

"There are also illusions, which involve manipulating light to trick others," he nodded.

"What kind of magic interests you the most?" Hands on his hips, he turned around and asked.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

She was embarrassed for her reason for crying, "I don't wanna tell" she said keeping her eyes on Alistair's cooking.

She listened intently to him talking about his experiences. But not really noticing that the topic seemed to have lowered Alistair's mood.
The crackle of the fire reflected in Ghoncheh's eyes as the tiny fire tornado dwindled. How did magic even work, to control such forces of nature.

"My dad says magic isn't honourable," she forgot to eat as the conversation about magic continued, "But I don't believe that!"

"Sword learning is easy. Every knowledge has a start, for swords and knifes thats how to hold it," she took out a little tanning knife from her bag and showed how to grip it right to Alistair. Something that her mother taught her. "But what's the start to learning magic? It's easy to say that I want to learn to control the earth and to heal wounds, but how does one start?"

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

"Alright, alright!" Alistair threw up his hands, a smile on his face, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," nodding, he spoke calmly, fanning the mushrooms with a leaf to cool them.

If Ghoncheh didn't want to talk about what made her cry, that was alright. He knew if he had been crying about something, the last thing he would want to do was talk about it.

Once the mushrooms were cooler, he picked one up, took a bite and ate it, then popped the rest of it into his mouth.

When Ghoncheh mentioned her father and his attitude towards magic, Alistair rolled his eyes and groaned. It was an attitude he was all too familiar with. Many of the Knights of Vel Anir and the Orc tribes regarded magic as dishonorable, weak or something mages used to compensate for their lack of physical strength.

Alistair shook his head, "a lot of Orcs think that, but not you," he smiled, placing a hand on Ghoncheh's shoulder, "forming an opinion that is different to most people's is a sign of being clever, it's also very brave," looking down, Alistair winked and handed Ghoncheh a raw mushroom.

"Now that's where we disagree," he laughed when Ghoncheh told him that wielding a sword was easy. It wasn't easy!

Recoiling, Alistair watched as she demonstrated how to grip the blade, before she offered it to him to let him have try. Eyes shifting, he raised a hand and scratched the back of his head, the end of his mouth drawn back in apprehension. Alistair stifled a chuckled and tried to hold the sword, "uhh..." he wondered aloud, rearranging his hands over and over again. He was clearly uncomfortable. Letting go of the sword, he released a bout of hearty laughter and blushed, dismissing his pathetic effort to hold the sword with a wave of his hand.

"I don't like swords," he grumbled.

An awkward pause followed. Cheeks bright red, Alistair turned around to face Ghoncheh, a sheepish grin on his face.

"The start to learning any school of magic is focus, you can't let external distractions break your concentration while you're maintaining a spell," a finger raised in the air, he spoke sternly, like a teacher far beyond his years.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

"I don't think I'm clever," she says, still smiling, "I'm just different. Like, I talk too much! But that just made the traders like me more. Gave dad better prices." She smiles a bit mischievously.

Ghoncheh atempted to help guide Alisair's arms around the tanning knife, resulting in failure, "Must be because you're an adult, we kids learn better. Do you not even like knifes you cut food with? You don't have strong teeth, so surelly you need those."

When Alistair started his explanation, she listened intently, "How does one practice focus?"

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

Ghoncheh dismissed Alistair's compliment bashfully, to which he smiled. Standing in the center of the clearing, he wiped grease from the mushroom onto his robes and laughed when Ghoncheh remarked about the traders liking her. He had the opposite problem, he talked too little, especially when meeting people he didn't know for the first time, unless he was talking about magic, then he couldn't shut up.

"I'm different too!" He chimed, "but I sometimes have trouble with talking at all, especially when I meet new people," blushing, he shied away.

Alistair laughed when Ghoncheh said that children learned better than adults, which was sort of true.

"Of course I like the knives I use to cut my food with, but I had trouble learning to use them when I was a child," he said, giving Ghoncheh back her sword.

"Knives like that aren't used to hurt people though, so that's why I like them and not swords."

The fireflies grew brighter as the forest darkened. Night was on its' way. Raising a hand to his forehead, Alistair turned around and looked at the sun disappearing behind the hills. Soon, they would have to go to sleep. When Ghoncheh asked him to teach her how to focus before casting magic, he darted to his string bag leaning up against a tree, dove in and grabbed a spellbook, which was bound with clasps. Waving a hand, he levitated the book in the air and flicked a finger, undoing the clasps.

The book floated onto his palm and he turned to a page with a few simple spells that he could teach Ghoncheh. The book in hand, he walked up to her and bent at his knees, then sat on the grass.

"Here, I'll show you," he waved a hand, inviting Ghoncheh to sit down.

Running his hand along the page, he reached down and scooped a few dead leaves. He looked for ones which weren't quite dead, but still green and had some moisture left.

"Can you read runes? That's another step towards learning magic," he said, pointing to the page.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

"Don't worry! You talk more than my dad, so you should be fine," her father having been a trader by profession already had to talk more than the average seret orc, doesn't mean that that was a huge amount though.

She nodded at Alistairs words, but didn't fully agree. Swords are just tools, the people behind them are the ones hurting other people.

Alistair had hurried up and taken out a book. It didn't really interest Ghoncheh until it started to levitate, most likelly through his actions. She came closer to look at it, and sat down next to Alistair as he motioned towards her. Looking intently at the pages, like a child looking at their first picture book. A comparison made even stronger when Ghoncheh answered Alistair's question, "I can't read them, will you teach me that too?" Her eyes were glistening with a strong will to learn.

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

Sitting in the leaves, Alistair crossed his legs, the hems of his navy robes splayed across the grass. Book on his lap, he flicked a finger and sent the pages into a flurry, stopping on a section with a few simple healing spells that he could teach Ghoncheh.

"These are just exercises, but they're good for getting a grasp at pronunciation," he said, running his finger down the page.

He handed Ghoncheh some of the still-green leaves.

"Yes, I can teach you!" He chimed, pointing to the first spell on the page, "this spell will restore life to a dying leaf, it's an easy one that you can practice to get a grasp of healing," he said, his voice gentle and tolerant.

"Take the leaf and hold your hand above it," he instructed. He picked up on of the leaves and did the same, holding his hand above it with his fingers splayed out, "like this."

"Now repeat after me," he began, "light of the sun and the force by which the world turns around it, grant thee life," he read the spell aloud. Speaking slowly, hew drew out his words so Ghoncheh could understand them, but he probably spoke too quickly.

As he uttered the spell, Alistair waved his hand in a circular motion. Green tendrils dripped off his fingers and poured into the leaf, renewing its' heath and vitality. The stem felt wet again and the cracks fused together, the leaf blossoming as though it was still attached to a tree. Of course, it wouldn't last. The leaf needed to be growing from a tree to stay alive, so the spell would wear off, just like healing couldn't bring a person back to life.

"Now focus, ignore all external distractions and concentrate on the spell," the leaf between his fingers, Alistair spoke sternly, his other hand held against the air, "speak clearly, you don't want it to be interrupted, or else it will fail," he nodded.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

Ghoncheh's eyes followed Alistair's finger as it went over the runes in his book. She gently took hold of the leaf that he gave to her, "Just for leaves?" she asked when he explained.

She followed his instructions, the leaf in her left hand and her right hand above it. She repeated his words a bit delayed, "Light of the sun and the wo-force by which the world turn around it, grant life.." she moved her hand like his, but clearly it had failed from her incorrect incantation. She was disappointed, the corners of her mouth going down, but she had not given up.

She repeated the process again, Alistair had corrected her, still some mistakes, but the incantation was better than before. She repeated and repeated the spell, each time getting closer, each time her focus being more and more set on the leaf without any distractions, until. It worked. Her eyes had gone big when the green tendrils appeared and the leaf looked like freshly picked from the tree.

"I did it!" her eyes shone like stars, "I did it! I made magic!" she stood up and threw herself onto Alistair into hug, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

Alistair gave Ghoncheh an encouraging nod as she tried to recite the spell. The rejuvenated leaf between his fingers, he watched on eagerly, silently cheering her on as she repeated the incantation over and over. The ends of his mouth curved upwards and he smiled, "come on, you can do it!" He thought to himself, almost curling his hand into a fist in enthusiasm.

Ghoncheh tried a few times, but they were unsuccessful.

"The force by which it moves," Alistair reminded her, drawing out the words slowly, "yes, good, stay focused," hand held against the air, he nodded assuredly.

Ghoncheh then pronounced the spell correctly and the green energy flowed from her fingers and into the leaf. The veins were filled with moisture and it turned a vivid green again. The spell had worked. The little orc girl exclaimed happily, clearly overjoyed with her final try at casting the spell.

"You did! Well done, Ghoncheh!" Alistair smiled, his eyes wide. He closed the spell book, set it down and stood, then placed a hand on Ghoncheh's shoulder.

What happened next was not expected.

Exlclaiming her thanks, Ghoncheh threw her arms around Alistair and hugged him. Cheeks reddening, Alistair returned the hug. He wrapped his arms around the little girl and patted her on the back, laughing with joy as he did so.

"You did really well!" He chimed.

Night had fallen by now. Fireflies danced around and illuminated the shadows of the forest, the sky the colour of Alistair's eyes. Stretching, the young mage yawned, tired from a day of travel. Stars dotted the sky, surrounding a young moon.

"We better get to bed then," Alistair yawned, placing his hands on his hips, "I'm heading back to Elbion in the morning," he said. Picking up his book, Alistair walked over to his sleeping roll and sat down, looking up at Ghoncheh, "would you like to come with me? There is a mage there who is also an Orc, I'm sure he would love to meet you," Alistair smiled with the suggestion, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Ghoncheh

 

[Ghoncheh]

Letting Alistair free from the hug, her stomach had grumbled, so she quickly stuffed her mouth with the prepeared mushrooms.

Eating the mushrooms she nodded when Alistair suggested that they go to sleep. Chocking a bit when he mentioned going to Ebilon with him.

"I woulf lofe tho!" she said, food in her mouth. Nodding as she said this.

When she had finished eating, she took out her bed roll and round a spot next to a fallen tree were she would have been protected from the wind.
"Good bight Alistair," she said with a tired voice as she laied down.

Alistair Wren

 

[Alistair Wren]

"Wonderful, we'll head off first thing in the morning," Alistair nodded, grabbing the frying pan. He ate a few fried mushrooms, took a gulp of water from his flask and took off his boots.

"I can't wait to show you Elbion, you'll love it there!" He exclaimed happily, yawning.

Taking off his belt and sash, Alistair threw them aside and took off the thick, outer layer of his robes. He was wearing a light robe underneath, over a shift, drawers and hose. Stretching, he climbed underneath his sleeping roll and lay down, waving to Ghoncheh.

"Good night, Ghoncheh, see you in the morning," he yawned, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The stars glinted in the sky, the fireflies illuminating the shadows of the forest. As Alistair and Ghoncheh slept, Theda the fairy flew overhead and blessed them with a spell, granting them a peaceful and uneventful morning when they woke up.

The End​

Ghoncheh