Wizards: Tales Of Arcadia

You're Familiar To Me

"I'm really sorry too, Archie," Angel said, giving him the same apologetic look. "I really shouldn't have-"

"Yes, yes. Just don't make a habit of it." Douxie, in a rush of gratitude, bent down to hug him. Claire let her Shadow Staff close and glanced sidelong to Angel.

"What did you two do?" She asked. Angel flushed and tensed, the way she always did when she didn't want to say something. Douxie noticed and took over.

"We were arguing about, well, something stupid," he said as he looked at Angel with his signature kind expression. But there was a hidden emotion behind it, one that was strained and hard to place. Angel seemed to be as clueless as Claire when it came to reading him in this moment. "It's over now."

Claire couldn't help but think he was lying.

. . .

"Angel? What about Angel?" Steve asked the creep who was making it's home on Eli's chair. "I get Jim being the leader of the creeps, but she's-"

"Always been quiet," Eli said from beside him. "And she's been missing school on almost the exact same days as Jim. I knew there was something off about her! No one would be that nice to me." Steve internally winced as he knew who was responsible for his low self esteem.

And he was daring to ask for his help.

"Well, it makes perfect sense for Jim." Steve pulled Eli close. "My nemesis wants to destroy the world and has brainwashed Angel into becoming one."

"You're sticking with that theory?"

"Come on, Pepperjack!" Steve yelled as he spotted a cat carrier and motioned for the creep to get in. He surprisingly obliged. "We're getting to the bottom of this."

And with a quick trip to Jim's in Eli's mom's borrowed car, crashing because of mustache, they found out the best time to attack. They were going to the rock show the next night, Claire getting on the phone close enough to the window they were spying from to call Angel and ask her to come too.

"You owe me," her muffled and whispered voice said. "Especially if you want me to keep your secret from Jim of all people." A beat of silence followed from an unheard reply. "No. No, I just think having a little extra backup is a good idea." Another beat and Claire chuckled a bit. "Don't tell him that. Blinky likely wouldn't let me go after that.

"By the way, how did it go with that heetling?" That beat was longer, and they almost thought that she had hung up and Claire had left. "Huh. Do you trust them?" Beat. Beat. "I don't know. I've heard it a few times. I'll definitely ask around." Beat. "Ok, see you tomorrow night. And take care."

And so, the two had their plan. Steve and Eli would take out two creeps with one stone.

. . .

The events and information from the morning was still playing through her head at the rock show. Thankfully, being a trollhunter for a few months had already made her good at hiding things.

Angel was thirty, turning thirty-one in a few days. Douxie was over 900 years old and had a talking cat as a familiar. She really didn't want to think about how heetlings were made, or what they meant by 'getting their dues once night was eternal'.

Angel and Douxie had returned the baby, apologizing for the mix-up in thinking it was a human baby. But really, after learning that heetlings took that which is most precious from a person only to consume it later for strength, it was no wonder they fought tooth and nail to keep the baby safe.