Onward

Chapter 7: Sprites

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"Radio, headlights, brakes, tires, rims. I mean, it's hard to tell now, Dad, before I replaced her parts, Guinevere was actually kind of a piece of junk." Barley was talking about his van, while Ian crossed out 'Play catch' and 'Take a walk' from his list.

"Looks like we're not gonna get to do everything today, Dad. That's okay. I just wanna meet you." Ian placed his foot on top of his Dad's. "But don't worry, we'll, uh, have you fixed up and back home to see...Oh, man. Mom! Barley, we're not gonna be able to get Dad back in time to see Mom."

"Oh." Barley said, looking sad.

"Uh, well, at least your Dad won't have to meet your mom's boyfriend..." (Y/n) pointed out, trying to lighten the mood.

"Haha! "So, you working hard or hardly working?"" Barley held his finger under his nose to act as a mustache as he imitated Bronco, even getting his weird laugh right.

Ian and (Y/n) laughed at his impression.

"Yeah. "Barley, Barley, Barley. Every time there's trouble, I gotta deal with you."" Ian said, trying to do Colt.

"Is that your Colt?" Barley asks.

"Yeah."

"You might wanna work on that." (Y/n) told him.

Suddenly, the van started sputtering.

"No, no, no! Come on, old girl." Barley pulled off the expressway and pulled over on the side of an empty road.

"I thought you said you fixed the van." Ian said.

"Relax. Guinevere is fine. Her stomach is just a little empty."

"But it says we have a full tank." (Y/n) gestures to the dashboard.

Barley laughed. "No. That doesn't work."

Barley opened the back of the van and pulled out an almost empty gas tank.

"Only a few drops left." Barley said. "Maybe if there's a gas station..." Barley stood on top of the van and looked around.

Ian picked up his staff. "Is there a magic way to get gas?" He asked.

"Oh! I like your thinking young mage." Barley climbed (more like fell) down the van and held up the book. "Growth spell! We grow the can, and then the gas inside will grow with it."

"That's kind of weird." (Y/n) said.

"I know! I like it, too." Barley exclaimed, shoving the book in Ian's hands.

"Okay. Loosen up. Heart's fire. Here we go." Ian said to himself.

"Whoa. It's not that simple." Barley chuckles, elbowing (Y/n)'s side. "This one learns a little magic, thinks he's Shamblefoot the Wondrous, am I right (Y/n)?" He asked, throwing an arm around her, while Ian tried not to look jealous.

"Who's Shamblefoot the Wondrous?" She mumbled.

"A growth spell is a little more advanced. Not only do you have to speak from your heart's fire, but now you also have to follow a magic decree." Barley explains, grabbing the book and showing it to Ian.

"A magic what?" Ian asked.

"It's a special rule that keeps the magic working right. This one states, "To magnify an object, you have to magnify your attention upon it." While you cast the spell, you can't let anything distract you." Barley secretly gestured to (Y/n) who was keeping their dad from wandering off.