Feathers & a Dash of Magic

Chapter 30: Late Night Talks

"I'm-I'm okay," he told Darrell, looking over as he reached to pet him. "It was just a nightmare."

The witch looked around the room with a small sniffle. He was still at Virgil and Patton's house, both of them insisting he stays over just in case. The only room they had open was their parents room, and even though Roman said he didn't mind sleeping on the couch they let him stay in there.

There was an old perfume smell, faded and almost gone, but still there. Dust covered small decorations, glass animals and jewelry boxes. A lighter sat on a dresser, a tall standing mirror next to it. An old dress was worn by a wire torso, it was fancy and hanging from the headless neck were some jewels. On the wall was a hook that held a man's jacket and straw hat.

It felt wrong sleeping in this room, intrusive. This place held memories of people Roman didn't know. Memories of people that were special to Virgil and Patton. People that were killed because of the hunters from Randsted. Those hunters ruined everything.

Roman stood up from the bed, fixing the blanket as Darrell jumped next to him. He smoothed it out as best as he could before he went over to the door. The moment he opened it, he heard the quiet clink of metal on metal. There were footsteps in the kitchen before a door opened and closed.

Frowning, the witch walked to the living room. He looked at the front door, then to the door that led outside from the kitchen. There was a teapot on the kitchen counter that wasn't there before, the smell of tea leaves filled the air. He had a feeling he knew who was outside, and it was only confirmed when he walked closer to the door and saw through the small glass window in it two dark wings.

He opened it, cringing at the creak it made. Virgil turned around, spotting the witch before looking away again. Something in his hands steamed, it was most likely a mug filled with the tea that he made.

"It's late, you should be sleeping," the fairy said.

Darrell ran over to his side, sniffing at the tea cup in hand before Virgil scratched his head.

"You should be resting too, you used a lot of magic today," Roman reminded him, closing the door. He sat down next to Virgil, setting his feet onto the grass below the wooden porch.

"I don't want to sleep." Virgil took a sip from his mug, still looking out at the vegetable fields.

"Nightmares?" The fairy nodded, and Roman looked down at the grass. "I had a nightmare too. Listen, I'm really sorry that I-"

"Don't. Don't do that. You did help me, we both were strong enough to beat them. So please don't blame yourself for what happened out there, I can feel your guilt coming from you."

Roman laughed a humorless chuckle. "Right, I forget that you use empath magic."

The other shrugged. "I never learned how to stop."

"Doesn't it ever get overwhelming?"

"All the time. But at this point, I'm afraid that if I somehow stop then I'll never learn how to use it again. Funny enough, it helps the most when it hurts, I know when other people are hurting. But other times... it helps my own anxiety. Whenever I feel like I'm annoying someone, I just focus on what they're feeling, and remind myself that people like me."

"It's a double edged sword, huh?"

"Yeah..." Virgil looked down at his cup. "Uh... do you want tea?"

"I'm good, but I'm glad you got something to calm yourself down. When you finish that, you should try to go back to bed."

"Only if you do."

Roman smiled. "That's fair." He reached out and made a blade of grass grow before he plucked it. He twisted it around, tying a knot. "I dreamed about my brother, and the monster hunters."

Virgil looked over with a worried frown. "I'm sorry."

The witch shrugged. "In my dream, my brother saw me and told me that I killed him. He didn't do that in real life, he didn't get the chance then. Before he could sense my magic, I saw him get knocked out. I hide in the wheat field, trying to get to the nearby forest. I somehow made it, but I left him behind. The land was flat, but the trees hid me well enough to escape."

Virgil stretched one of his wings out, engulfing Roman with it. "I'm sure he would be happy to hear you got out alive."

"Is it selfish to hope he doesn't blame me?"

"No, I don't think so. No one wants to be seen in a negative light, and you were only a kid."

"I was seventeen."

"That's still young. But whether it's selfish or not, it can't be changed. You need to live with your choices, even if it hurts, because you grow from them. You didn't run earlier today. They had guns and... and dogs, you were outnumbered, and I could tell you were afraid. But you stayed, prepared to fight them all for me. You didn't have to."

Roman looked down at Virgil's bandaged hand. He held the handle of his mug with his left hand, and steadied it with the tips of his injured hand. The bandages were clean, a bright white against the darkness. "You still got hurt."

"I got hurt because I did something dumb," Virgil laughed. "I should have used my magic, but I got so angry when they shot you that it took over and I tackled them. Hell, I grabbed the iron part of the gun with my bare hand! All without thinking. That was my fault, not yours."

"I wish my potion could heal that, but it's not strong enough to. Injuries like that can only be healed by pure healing magic, not potions."

"Injuries like this?"

"Iron burns or cuts on fairies, silver on werewolves, you know, repellents. It just sucks I guess."

"Yeah, but I'll be fine. I have gloves for a reason, and Patton will help me out if I need it. What about you, are you feeling better?"

Roman rubbed his shoulder. "Much."

Virgil shivered at the night cold, his feather ruffling a bit. "Well, one good thing came out of today."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, we found out what Darrell's power is." They looked over at the fox, who barked at the sound of his name. "He can grow big and his fur can turn into metal."

"While that is awesome, how does that reflect any part of me though?"

"Well, he only turned into that after you were shot, and I was... yeah. I think he did it to protect and save us."

Roman reached over and scratched under Darrell's chin with a smile. "Our little hero."

Darrell purred as he leaned in.

"He's protective just like you, and he now has the power to protect us," Virgil explained further. "I think that reflects you perfectly, you've become a protector of sorts."

Roman's eyes softened. "I guess I did."

A/N: This has been driving me crazy but both Remus and Janus will be in the story, much later and very much alive