Introductions

“-and then there was a huge boom, and sparks and fire were everywhere! And in the middle of it all-“

Eva was enthusiastically recounting last night’s events to seemingly each individual in town, showing off Wish in an ill-fitting borrowed dress. First she had told her parents everything last night, and they had invited Wish to stay with them.

“-she was right there, not getting burned up or anything! Well, her clothes got pretty scorched…”

Then in the morning, they went to the town herbalist so Eva could ask for the day off work to show Wish around.

“She fell out of the sky and landed without a scratch! And you can’t see it right now but-“

To the bakery for breakfast, with the entire shop as Eva’s rapt audience.

“-she glows! The whole way back to my house she glowed like a star! In fact I wonder if-“

A stop to regale the old men lounging outside the tavern with the story.

“-maybe she is a star? She doesn’t know what she is, she just knows she was looking at stars and now she’s here.”

At the magic shop, a wizard called Master Finnigan muttered something about auras and celestial magic as he squinted at Wish through various crystals, then gave his apprentice Asa, a friend of Eva’s, permission to take the day off and accompany them.

“Oh and one more thing, I ran into a stranger hunting right before Wish landed. His name is Orion, he escorted us back home, which was nice, but he’s definitely a poacher so I thought you should know.”

This last part was directed towards Captain Prichard and two guards just outside the guard station.

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I couldn’t stop staring at Eva’s hair. I felt bad but she didn’t seem to mind, or notice really. My blue glow, or “aura” as Master Finnigan called it, had made it hard to tell the exact color of her hair last night, and the candlelight at her parents’ house hadn’t helped much either. But out in the sun, it shone like polished wood, somewhere right between brown and blonde. And her eyes seemed a different shade of green each and every second. Perhaps I stared at her to distract myself from everyone staring at me. For the moment, the captain and the guards were focused on her as she described Orion, so I took the opportunity to study the group.

Asa, the wizard’s apprentice, dressed in a loose white shirt and a dark blue buttoned vest with matching trousers, had chattered away with Eva as we had walked. He seemed around her age, clearly close friends with her. His light sandy hair bounced and swung every which way in a thin braid that seemed to twitch according to his mood, like a cat’s tail. He had a black length of cloth tied around his forehead, possibly to keep sweat out of his eyes. He matched Eva’s enthusiasm and energy, but his brown eyes held a gentleness that was very disarming.

I dared a peek at the female guard, a slightly intimidating young woman with hair the color of shadows cast by dying embers. Her steel-grey eyes met mine like a sword clash, and in the past I would have looked away, but I wanted so badly to embrace this new life that I shied away from old habits. I set myself to hold her gaze. She smiled and, without breaking eye contact, leaned over and whispered something to the other guard, a young man with golden hair, who also looked at me. Again, I willed myself to meet a stranger’s gaze. What struck me about his eyes was how fiery they were, although calling green “fiery” felt odd. He too smiled, and somehow with those two smiling at me, I felt like I could conquer anything.

“Oh! Sorry Wish, I forgot to introduce you.”

Eva had noticed my oddly amiable stare down with the guards.

“That’s my brother Alexandros, and our friend Sigrid. And of course this is Captain Prichard.”

Finally I met the Captain’s dark eyes above his salt-and-pepper beard.

“It’s nice to meet you all.”

Alexandros laughed. “I wonder how many times you’ve said that today. I’m sure Eva and Asa have introduced you to the whole town by now.”

Sigrid frowned slightly and leaned towards me. “I can’t help but notice you keep fidgeting with that dress, we’ll have to find you something that fits more comfortably. Believe me, I know how important comfort is to movement.”

Captain Prichard chuckled. “Well maybe you can take her clothes shopping today Sigrid.” He gazed out over the street, then locked onto something. “That is, after we take care of our poacher friend there.”

We all turned to look. Just across the street, with two unsavory looking men, was Orion. He had his head down as he kept trying to soothe a big black dog that was clearly trying to stay near him, but its leash was in the hand of the larger man, who seemed to delight in yanking the dog away whenever Orion was about to pat it.

Eva kept her voice low. “Yes, that’s him.”

Prichard sniffed. “I think I’ll have a word with those gents. Eva, you only saw the boy last night?”

She nodded. With a thoughtful harrumph, Prichard went across the street and greeted the men.

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Orion knew what was expected of him. Head down, keep quiet, speak when spoken to. Even though it meant danger for them, he was glad the captain had come over, because at least Virgil was too distracted to keep Sirius away from him. He stroked his fur in an attempt to make up for many, many days of rough handling. Sirius leaned against Orion and let out a big, doggy sigh of satisfaction. They were together and that’s what mattered. 

He was so focused on Sirius that Virgil had to say his name twice before he noticed.

“Orion! You listening? The captain here was complimenting my dog.”

Orion mutely nodded. Prichard squinted thoughtfully at him. 

“As I was saying, a fine dog indeed. Is he any good for hunting?”

Virgil responded, though Prichard was still looking at Orion. “Oh no sir, he doesn’t follow commands, that’s why I keep him on a real tight leash. So’s to keep him out of trouble.”

“Well we certainly don’t want trouble in our town. Is this your son?”

At Virgil’s side, Tristan finally spoke up. “No sir, he ain’t either of ours, we just took him in after he lost his family.”

Orion swallowed all the things he wanted to say in response to that blatant lie.

“Ah, so you took guardianship of him?”

“No sir, it’s a real informal arrangement, we saw no need for fancy paperwork.”

“Well that’s lucky for you folks, otherwise I’d have to hold you responsible for this young man’s poaching last night.”

There was a heavy pause. Virgil tightened his grip on the leash.

“Seems you’re the one who needs a leash. Maybe a few nights in a cell would do you good.”

Orion said nothing, continuing to stare at the dust.

“Aw don’t worry, I’ll take special care of your dog while you’re in there.”

Orion remembered the last time Virgil and Tristan took “special” care of Sirius. Something in him snapped.

Prichard started to speak. “Oh so this dog is his, not yours-?”

Seeming to know what Orion was doing before he himself knew, Sirius lunged forward as he cut the leash with his dagger, and they both sped down the street. Alexandros and Sigrid ran to intercept them. Orion dodged, but stumbled as he saw Wish. Sirius skidded to a halt beside him, and in a moment Prichard, Tristan, and Virgil caught up. Virgil grabbed him by his shirt collar, lifted him off the ground, and bellowed.

“Why you ungrateful brat, just for that I’ll give both you and your mangy mutt a-“ He stopped, glancing around at the group. Prichard smiled, but it was not a friendly smile. He spoke low, calm voice.

“It is a very serious crime to coerce someone to commit a crime on behalf of another.”

Tristan narrowed his eyes as Virgil spluttered incoherently.

“What are you implying, sir?”

Prichard gazed at the sky like he was admiring the weather. Alexandros and Sigrid, as if responding to some silent command, stepped forward and placed themselves between Orion and his companions. Alexandros kept a firm grip on Orion’s shoulder. Prichard smiled again, but his voice was somehow threatening.

“Implying? Nothing at all, my good sirs.”

He looked down from the sky back at Virgil and Tristan, his eyes now like stone.

“Nothing at all.”

Virgil tried to speak once, twice, three times before thinking better of it and looking away. Tristan held Prichards gaze, then turned, and simply walked away. Virgil followed, yelling spitefullywhat Orion had wanted to hear for so long without even knowing it.

“You’re on your own, boy.”