The Shadow of Beauty

Ch 11- Off to See the Wizard

A couple days later...

Kendrick was taking an afternoon nap on his bed whilst Twillow sat on the edge of her hanging bed finishing a basket she'd been weaving. She held up the simple form to check it for weak points or gaps. She sighed with frustration, noting it wasn't really good.

"This would be so much easier with magic." She mused.

Though she could utilize her internal magic for little things like transferring flames or bringing small objects within her reach, she kept up her frugal conservancy. In the Parliel Realm her magic was strong and she could have it do multiple tasks at once with little strain. Magic was so easy to replenish there; almost like drinking water when one was thirsty. Here in the Lower Realm it was a desert for magic; she had to conserve what she had.

But as she looked at her less-than-stellar basket, a thought occurred to her. Kendrick knew a human wizard who could utilize the magic of this realm...maybe he knew of some ways she was unfamiliar with to keep her magic replenished. Tossing her craft aside, she fluttered from her bed across the room to where Kendrick was napping.

He was on his back, one hand on his chest, and the other by his side. His chiseled gray chest rose and fell with the huge swell of his breathing. He looked very peaceful and content.

Twillow had never voluntarily ever woken Kendrick. Most of the time he was up before she was and even if she did wake up before him she never dared think of waking him. She didn't want to make him cranky. However, he hadn't ever expressed anger directly at her; annoyance at the worst. He'd been asleep for about a half of an hour so she stiffened her back and landed on his pillow beside his ear.

"Kendrick?" she called out loudly, knowing he wouldn't easily be able to hear her softer voice.

He snored gently, unresponsive. Twillow frowned, not really wanting to scream at him. Then she remembered a fae trick her father used to wake her and her brothers. Turning her back to his ear she let a mischievous smirk cross her mouth. With force, she buzzed her wings against his ear. The reaction was perfect. Kendrick's head jerked to the side away from her, eyes shooting open as his hand hit the wall behind him.

"GEEZ!" He grit his teeth, "What the Hell?!"

"Oh! Did I scare you?" Twillow jumped back but giggled.

Kendrick put a hand over his closed his eyes and expelled a relieved sigh, "Thought I was smashing you..."

"Oh...I-I'm sorry." Twillow apologized, "That's just the way my dad used to wake us up when we wouldn't get out of bed."

"Effective." Kendrick said, stretching his arm mightily. His voice turned playful, "So, why do you dare to wake me?"

"I was just wondering if we could go visit your wizard friend?" Twillow asked.

"Sig? I mean...I know where he lives but I don't think we're friends." he pondered, wondering if he truly was friends with a human.

That would be a first.

"Why do you want to visit him?"

Twillow batted her wings, "I had some questions for him about the magic in this realm."

Kendrick made an amiable expression, "All right. I suppose I haven't stopped by there in a while."

...

Later...

Sig's home was relatively close to the border of Kendrick's territory and the human home range. Kendrick arrived at the home built into the side of a dirt mound at the base of a large tree.