Our home for the night looked cozy and big enough to fit two people in it. I secretly hoped it wouldn't be a home for insects too, I hated them so much. I looked inside with my wand and signaled Pyr to come and leave his things once everything seemed ok. He kneeled in the center of the cave and took Flow out of his satchel. He did that every time we found a temporary place to stay for the night, a cleansing for good sleep, that's what he called it.
Weirdly enough, I felt safe and protected when he did that. I always thought two magical shields are better than one and to be fair his deck was leveled recently. My wand was a bit behind since I couldn't continue my practice. The urge to use the grimoire and search for a spell to level Jinx too was becoming unbearable whenever I saw how beautiful Pyr's deck looked.
I would always forget how difficult this book was to even open let alone read and recreate any spell that may be laying in there. I had to remind myself I needed to first unearth the Crystal to release this book's powers and hidden knowledge.
But even if I could use the grimoire, it would automatically mean I would bring those people who looked for it straight to me. I was always hesitant to even take it out of my bag in case anyone was watching. Let alone use it. This thought went away as quickly as it came into my mind and I turned my attention to making a small broom out of branches to tidy up the sleeping grounds a bit.
Pyr was already outside gathering wood for us to light a small fire in the center of the cave. At first, I thought to myself that lighting a fire would make us a target but the climate here was so cold and we wouldn't be able to stay warm any other way. Even though this was the case I wanted to use a spell for protection in case something happened during the night but I would have to wait for Pyr to come back first.
"Oof, these trees were so stubborn! I never had to make such small talk with the wood nymphs to get some branches for the fire!" Pyr said after entering the cave.
"Small talk? Excuse me but why would you talk to the trees? You could just get the wood that lays on the ground?!" I answered.
"True. But all the wood that was on the ground looked small and frozen. Not enough to make a big hearth for this cave. I had to ask them." He said and he placed the pieces of wood near the place I was resting. "Cassi, can you cut these with your wand? I don't want to create more sound by chopping wood during the night." He continued.
He was very right about that, I did not want to make any unnecessary sound either. I had no idea who would be following us or living around these parts so it was best for us to be as quiet as possible.
"Yes, I will make sure to cut them but first I would like you to help me with a protection spell. If you are up for it." I informed Pyr who was placing his bag on the ground as a pillow.
"Of course, I don't mind helping you but... You are a witch, why are you suddenly asking me for help? You would do this yourself before..." He scratched his head and looked at me kind of confused.
It is a fact that I would never ask him for help when it came to protection spells or anything of the sort. But this place was unfamiliar to me, the air felt very different and I was on edge from the moment we got settled in the cave. I had to ask for help, especially when he had a powerful deck in his possession.
"Well, I am a witch, yes. And I am very well trained but you were the one who said you know these parts of the world better, didn't you? So helping me shows your knowledge and your worth. Don't you think?" I said, smirking at him.
"Yes, that is very smart of you to say. Are you worried, perhaps?" He somehow managed to mumble the last part about me being worried. This kid! I wanted to be angry at him but he made me laugh.
I looked at him and pointed my finger, moving it after a moment up and down, to make my point as understandable as possible.
"Listen here Mr. KnowItAll, I am a bit worried, yes. We stay in a cave, with a very ominous forest at our backs, in a part of the world I know little about. So...Are you gonna help, or not?" I asked while trying to hold back my laugh.
He smiled softly at me and took his deck out of his small pouch. I thought the pouch had been black before, but this time it looked like it had an emerald hue to it, a shade similar to Pyr's eyes, similar to his deck of cards. I guess that's what happens when a tarot reader gets to level their deck under a rain of stars...
The deck was so pretty, but since I did not have the time or energy to pay attention to the details before, I missed its beauty altogether. This was the moment I could get a closer look so I illuminated Jinx's tip and traveled the light on top of all the cards as Pyr was spreading them on a silver piece of cloth.
Every card, even though it looked similar to the regular decks we saw in divination class, had a personalized sigil on it. I guess this was Pyr's handwriting, he personalized his deck just like I did with my wand. Carving or writing a small sigil on something personal that holds magical power is a practice passed down from generation to generation. Maybe our families are not that different after all.
What made me gasp though, was the mesmerizing silver-colored lines that started to appear in the corners of the cards. Emerald and silver go so well together, that was nothing new to me, but these two colors were a spitting image of Pyr's eyes and of the hue, his tattoo turned into when it hit the moonlight.
"Are we enjoying ourselves, Princess?" Here he goes again, calling me princess. I decided to let it slide just this once so we could move on with the spell.
"Yes, kind sir, yes we are! Such a pretty deck but so sad, it has to travel with a silly boy such as yourself!" I said and flicked his forehead lightly. "Let us begin before I turn you into a frog, Pyr!"
"Why a frog? Make me a bird at least, I would like to fly and see the world from above!"
"You don't deserve to have fun, maybe if you quit calling me princess, maybe then I will grant you your wish!"
"Why are you so salty, other girls would be so happy to hear a lad like me calling them a princess!"
"Hi. I am not - like - other - girls! I am Cassandra and if you keep this up I will turn myself into a hawk and claw your eyes out! " I laughed loudly and looked at him with a fake angry look.
"Haha, your answers are so funny I think it's gonna be hard for me to stop teasing."
After this small bander came to an end, Pyr pulled the necessary cards for him to work on his side of the spell. He asked me to prepare my wand and the words I had to utter when his deck was at the right stage. We practice a few times so no stamina was lost through the original spell and we created a barrier for almost a mile around us.
I was feeling my wand pushing itself but I was glad Pyr was there with his cards. It helped a lot and in the end, all the worries I had were minimized if not all gone.
"So, since we are done with all the work-related issues, would you like to go out and watch the moon? It looks exceptionally bright from up here, don't you think?" Pyr said reluctantly.
I was so taken aback because I was thinking the same thing too while we were hiking up this hill. I don't think I would ask him to watch the moon with me though. It sounded so silly in my mind, but on the other hand, it was nothing weird. It's not as if we had other things to do and at the same time, I was so hyper I couldn't sleep at all, so moon-watching would be the perfect way to pass the time.
"If it takes you so much time to think about an answer I guess we should sleep instead?..."
"Uh, no no, we can watch the moon, why not. I was just thinking about some personal things and got lost in my thoughts... You know?"
"Oh! I see, yes. I can understand that. Now let's go, we're gonna miss the full illumination!"
He grabbed my wrist lightly and pulled me out of the cave. He was smiling the whole time like a kid receiving the most expensive present in the world. I guess he liked the moon way too much, he couldn't wait a minute longer to watch it.
After looking around for a while, we found a rock and we sat next to each other with our legs crossed. The spell had worked amazingly and the entire location around the cave was emanating only calmness and warmth, despite the freezing temperatures that were raging around here.
"You know, we should restore the temperature when we leave tomorrow. I don't want to disturb the elements more than is needed. Would you be able to help me one more time, Pyr?"
'Yes, I don't mind reversing the spell. Now stop thinking about tomorrow and our responsibility to mother nature and enjoy the moon, please."
He had this way of deflecting anything that he did not see fitting the situation he was in. Granted, I did not know him enough to make assumptions but I have the ability to judge a person if I spend enough time with them. And all this time Pyr and I were traveling I would pick up on things such as this one.
Pyr was a man of nature, appreciating her at every chance he got. The love he had for the stars and the night sky was also enough to make him stop in his tracks to enjoy a related phenomenon. All these quirks he had would make me follow along even though sometimes I wanted to scold him for cutting me off or for changing the subject.
As I looked at the moon I made a realisation about him. He was more right than he was wrong and that was something I would need to remember. I promise myself I won't nag you too much, Pyr. I promise I will try at least.