Hilda and the Magic Feather

Chapter 4: Wings of the Thunderbird

In the days that followed Aevana's lecture, Hilda's thoughts drifted toward her friends. If she were to use their companionship as a means of grounding herself, then she would need to somehow broach the topic of the magic feather. She wanted to tell them, of that there was no doubt, but certain... details... made it unfavourable for public discussion. School, for example, was out of the question. If her friends were to join her on future adventures, they would need to know everything, and school was an environment prone to eavesdropping.

She supposed she had been neglecting them since getting her new magic. She had so much to explore and learn, introducing her friends too early would've been asking for trouble. Now, however? Now she knew what she was doing, and what she was capable of.

Glancing at her calendar, a red circle around the day's date caught her attention. Today was the last Friday of the school term, and after that, her summer holidays could begin. Without the constraints of school life, now would be as good a time as any to usher her friends into a new era of adventures. Yet the question remained: where was secure enough to start the discussion?

No sooner had she left her flat to begin her walk to school, fate intervened.

"Hilda, over here!" Frida called, waving to her. "Just the person I wanted to see!"

"Oh, um, morning, Frida." Hilda smiled, but didn't make eye contact. "It's funny you should say that. I've wanted to see you, too."

"To be honest, I was worried you'd forgotten about us," David sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Though I must admit, it is a nice change of pace to not be in life-threatening peril."

Frida shot David a harsh glare. "What he means to say, is that we've both missed you. Has everything been okay? You're not in trouble, are you?"

"Oh, no, not at all!" Hilda waved away her worry frantically. "It's just... Well, I've been busy with magic-related stuff. Stuff I can't exactly talk about at school."

"Sounds pretty serious," Frida crossed her arms, cocking an eyebrow. "If that's the case, why didn't you come to the Witches about it? You are my familiar, after all."

"Let's just say it's a bit outside the Coven's usual boundaries," Hilda bit her lip. How much did Frida know about the Ulfhednar? To suggest the coven was ignorant of magical activities was a big accusation. Though she wasn't a member, as Frida was, she'd experienced enough to know that keeping track of rogue magic was a big deal for them. Perhaps she had said too much already? "Look, it's better if I show you. If you meet me at the Clocktower tomorrow morning, I promise I'll explain everything. Today, I just need you to trust me."

"That's never a good sign," David grimaced, earning him a swift elbow to the ribs from Frida. "I-I-I mean, of course I trust you. After all, what are friends for?" he tried to smile through the pained wince.

"Agreed," Frida said. "Anyway, we'd better get a move on. If we're late, we'll have extra homework, guaranteed."

"I've had that before. I'd rather go adventuring than have to do..." David shuddered. "..maths, any day."

"So, it's settled," Hilda concluded. "Believe me, this will be something special."

With their next adventure agreed upon, David couldn't resist muttering one last little groan under his breath. "Goodbye quiet evenings."

The next day, Hilda and Twig arrived at the meeting point an hour early. She'd hoped to use the time as mental preparation for her magical grand reveal, but to her surprise, her friends were already there waiting for her. Predictably, Frida was wearing her bright green backpack, no doubt filled with magical tools to pick about whatever Hilda was to show them.