The Golden Gift

Chapter Seven, Golden Gloves

Hunter's Perspective

After calming down and lighting the old fireplace in the living room, Edric wrapped us up in a worn blanket from the hallway closet. Now he could conserve magic and we had a source of light. "It's really cold in here, good thing for my fire-starting shenanigan skills." Edric commented and pet the sleeping fox in his lap. I reached over and slowly pet the side of Ruru's head, smiling as she leaned into my touch. She may be a little sassy rascal, but she's still adorable. "How long do you think the storm will go on for?" I asked and leaned against the calm and geeky male. He lightly shrugged and wrapped an arm around me. "It could be a long time, you know how the weather is... I'm glad I brought food and water at least." Edric mentioned and looked out of the window. "And at least this house still has its protective spell against harsh weather, I guess its artifact is still here." He suggested and I tilted my head. "Artifact?" I asked curiously and he looked down at me sympathetically.

I guess he thought I was uncultured, which seems to ring true sometimes. "Yeah, every building in the Boiling Isles requires a protective artifact before it's built. Well, every official building. I know some houses that were built long ago in the Savage Ages didn't have required artifacts. You just protected your home with an acid-resistant area spell. But nowadays it's required, because they're very easy to produce and a favor to the people living there." He explained and opened his bag, pulling out a small food container. I watched eagerly as he pried it open and revealed a set of sandwiches with celery and fright juice in a box. He offered a sandwich to me and smiled warmly when I took it. "Well, let's see, the castle probably has a really huge artifact at the base. Traditionally you keep them in the center and bottom of your house so that it can easily surround your house from the ground up with its spell. I was very fascinated with it when I was little, and my dad explained it to me." He explained as if it needed an excuse for him to know.

He then took a bite of his sandwich and shared a moment of silent eye contact with me. We were very close, with me leaning on him and us looking at each other to talk. If we were any closer he'd have accidentally fed the both of us. "Hey um... what if we have to sleep here?" I asked and he swallowed his mouth-full food before speaking. "Ah, it's okay Hunter. We can just use the spare bedroom here, I saw it on my way to the basement earlier. It looks pretty comfortable." He explained and I nodded, taking a bite of my delicious sandwich. "How do you keep the food in your bag so fresh?" I asked curiously and he held up the food container in his hands. He showed me a small design on the bottom. "There's a seal that comes on these containers, it keeps the food very fresh for weeks until it's opened. They're very handy, I learned about them in my cooking class I started last week. Before that I just got food from the kitchen whenever I needed to go somewhere." He explained and allowed me to trace the pattern with my fingers. It was very complex but simple looking, and intrigued me greatly.

"I wish I had time to learn so many cool things. I always have to go on missions and I don't have time to do personal stuff.." I sighed and Edric set down the container. He gently rubbed my shoulder and lightly squeezed it as a way of comforting me. I smiled slightly and took a big bite of my delicious sandwich. "Well maybe while we're back at my house I can teach you a few things about cooking hm? I'm no expert, but my class has been really fun and educational. It's an extra course at school so I take it every day." He suggested and I took a moment to chew and swallow before replying. "That sounds nice.. you sound like a nerd, if I'm honest. Studying so many things at once. You didn't seem like that at first, but you kinda.. Bloomed like a flower and showed off your nerdish ways. It's not an insult by the way- I wish I had time to do everything you do. I actually find it at- admirable, it's growing on me." I quickly changed my sentence and smiled nervously.

Edric seemed very smug about my sudden change in words. "You can admit I'm absolutely hot, I know." He teased and flexed his tiny nerd muscles. I laughed and smiled brightly, poking at his weak arms. "Sure, I'll admit you're hot in a geeky dweeb kind of way." I played and Edric chuckled, still grinning proudly. "That's good enough for me." He hummed and finished his sandwich. I rolled my eyes at his egotistical manner and ate more of my sandwich. Ruru yipped and tried to snatch my sandwich, jumping around in my lap and biting at the air. I finished my sandwich and put my hand on her face, making her both confused and agitated. She stopped her hungry actions once Edric offered her a small treat. She curled up close to the fireplace with her treat and happily munched on it. I started munching on the small celery sticks almost like a rabbit and noticed that Ed was watching me. "Why do you have purple eyes?" He asked and I stopped mid-celery stick.