storm ◇ jasper hale ◇

chapter twenty-eight ; return

Madej was laid in bed, Blackthorn River beside him.

"We going to go to the store?" he asked, stroking along his familiar's fur. "Or are we going to stay in bed and avoid the world?"

Blackthorn River whined at that.

"Fine. Store it is." Madej grunted, feeling light headed as he sat up, pausing in his movements to stop feeling like that. "Fucking hell, that's not good."

He went into the bathroom and turned on the tap, washing his face with cold water, trying to wake himself up and bring himself back to where he was. He dried his face off and felt tired. Whatever, he and his familiar were going to go to the store for some groceries. He wanted to spend time with Blackthorn River outside of his home.

The two went downstairs, and Madej put his shoes on, grabbing his wallet and keys, the reusable grocery bags he had.

"Let's go," he said, putting the leash on Blackthorn River. Though the familiar didn't like the leash, it was more for appearances; others would freak at the large wolf, especially if Madej let him roam without some form of restraint. It wasn't like his familiar would go too far from him, but people tended to be wary of Blackthorn River.

The walk to the grocery store was quiet, with Blackthorn River panting alongside Madej, matching his pace. Madej didn't even walk at the same speed he used to. He was too exhausted to walk that fast.

They got to the store, and Madej tied his end of the leash around a pole. He knelt down in front of his familiar. "I know you'd rather not have this, but others will be scared of you. I'll not be long, and I'll get you some treats. OK?"

Blackthorn River panted excitedly, then licked the side of Madej's face. Madej smiled, patting the familiar's head, before he grabbed a trolley and made his way inside.

He got the basics they needed, as well as some animal food for Blackthorn River. He got some other snacks, getting other food he thought his mom and brother would like. He found some frozen food, and noodles that he and Benedict could eat on nights where neither of them would be cooking and their mom would be working late.

Once everything was paid for and bagged up, Madej put the trolley back and took Blackthorn River's leash once more.

There was something that was making Madej uncomfortable, like something was pressing in on his space, which was ridiculous, because it was only him and Blackthorn River in the streets.

Suddenly, Blackthorn River came to a stop, hackles raised as he started to growl.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, nudging his familiar with his shoe. "C'mon, I have frozen food -"

"Madej."

His blood ran cold. He exhaled slowly, then looked at Jasper Hale.

Madej was right; his memory hadn't done him justice. He could almost feel himself drowning in Jasper's gaze, but Blackthorn River's unrelenting growling and snarling kept him aware of their surroundings.

"Quiet," he directed at Blackthorn River. He watched as his familiar reluctantly do as was asked, sitting in his spot. "What do you want?" he asked, looking at the vampire across from him.

"You've ... bought a wolf?"

Madej rolled his eyes, ignoring how the action made him dizzy. "He's my familiar, dumbass."

Jasper nodded, eyebrows coming together, like he hadn't realised familiars were a real thing with witches, despite everything Madej had told him. "You're looking well," Jasper said, words spoken carefully, like he didn't know what else to say.