The moment they stepped inside, Ajana started screaming.
She had a good reason to do so since she didn't expect to come face to face with something flying towards them with such speed that she thought it would crash right into her face.
Fortunately for her, that didn't happen. She managed to calm down fairly quickly once she realized that it was just a book, not some kind of terrible monster that she envisioned.
A flying book wasn't a regular thing, but Ajana was comforted by the fact that at least it wasn't anything scary.
The book seemed to sense the moment Ajana started feeling comfortable once again and started nudging her hand as if it wanted to be petted. Cautiously she did so, and the book seemed very happy as it flipped its pages to the middle. It reminded Ajana of a dog exposing its belly. Not knowing what to do, she started gently stroking the pages, as she would for a dog, and there was a humming sound coming from the book.
"I apologize, I forgot to tell you about Rex. He likes you, and I can't say that for a lot of people." Wallace said as he watched them cautiously.
"It has a name?" Ajana asked.
"Name, Rex. Rex, name," came a wholly different voice that seemed like a mixture of a small child and a wise man if that was even possible.
The sound of the unfamiliar voice confused Ajana, and she started turning around, looking for the source of the strange voice.
She was more than shocked when she figured out that the voice was coming from the book. Seeing her surprise, Wallace went on to explain.
"Usually, they don't speak, but Rex is special. I have been teaching him how to speak, and he is much better than I expected. I should probably warn you that other books move around or do something unexpected. However, Rex is pretty unique because he can do more than one unusual thing." Wallace said.
While Wallace spoke, Rex kept flying around Ajana, and she had a feeling he was interested in a chasing game. He reminded her so much of an energetic dog that after Wallace nodded his approval, she started running around the house with Rex, who seemed exhilarated.
It was so fun for her to do something crazy and not worry about what happened or what might happen.
All the while, Rex produced a sound that reminded Ajana of a dog panting after running too much.
They were jumping around and over the furniture and generally having a blast.
Luckily for them, Wallace didn't mind because even if they broke something, he could always fix it using magic. It was nice for him to see his dear Rex so happy and his new friend as well.
He knew that Ajana was usually very serious for her age, worrying too much. Watching her play with a flying book made him feel a bit better. It made it clear that she would get used to all of it and even enjoy the new life ahead of her, in time.
"Come on, Rexy, catch me if you can!" Ajana kept screaming and running away from the book that kept flipping its pages faster and faster to catch up.
It had been some time since they started their game, and Wallace realized that if he didn't interrupt them, they would keep on going for who knew how long.
"Okay, you two, it's time we sit down for a bit," Wallace said.
They both stopped running and crashed next to him with a big bang. Only then did Ajana start noticing other odd things about the house. She was so mesmerized by Rex and entranced in their game that she barely noticed it before.
Mostly it looked like a regular house and not the one belonging to an owl. What was eye-catching for her were rows and rows of bookshelves filled with books that she thought were never-ending.
There were a lot of old-fashioned objects, some of which she wasn't even sure what they were. In general, she couldn't understand how Wallace could use many of those things having no opposable thumbs. She especially wondered about the books.
"I know what you are thinking, but you keep forgetting that I have magic. Besides, most of the things you see here are magical. If I want to read a book, it just politely opens up for me and changes the page when I ask her to." Wallace said as if that was completely obvious.
Ajana guessed that it had as much sense as anything she had seen before, so she decided to just accept it and move on.
"Maybe it is time you sit down and rest for a bit, and if you like, I can tell you a few stories about this world to prepare you for tomorrow. What do you think?" Wallace asked.
"Yes, that sounds good," Ajana said, as she snuggled in comfortably in the beautiful brown armchair that was much more comfortable than expected.
In fact, it felt like she was sitting on a cloud and not on a piece of made furniture. But then again, the armchair was probably not manmade. After all, she was in a magical land, the fact that she kept forgetting. It was logical to assume that it was made by magical means.
Somehow even with all the wonders, she kept forgetting that a set of different rules governed the life in the land she was in. It was hard for her to figure out all the rules, but she was learning.
The moment she managed to position herself comfortably, Rex flew over to her and nestled down on her lap, ready for Wallace's storytelling.
"Can I start?" Wallace asked.
"Yes, I am ready," Ajana said, as Wallace started telling her the stories about her new home.
Some were legends, some were stories from Wallace's life, and they were all attention-grabbing.