Wizards: Tales Of Arcadia

You're Familiar To Me

(The timing is a bit off, but I'm going with it since I can't turn back now.)

"I know what you're gonna say, Jim," Claire said into the phone. At least Angel wasn't lying about feeling better so she could help while she asked Jim to cover for her. "I promise I'll be there in time to help with the Gruesome."

"Isn't this usually the other way around?" Jim joked, but his tone revealed that he knew this was serious. A tone she was still very glad to have back. "What's this about anyway? Do you need help?"

"Um... not at the moment." A whine cut through the air and she had to cover her free ear. "Just- just cover for me and Angel! I gotta go!"

"Claire-" but she hung up the phone and threw it away as the heat became too much.

"Arch!" Douxie yelled and Claire came in to see him running to his bed and putting a blue shield over himself and whoever was there. A small person, by the looks of it. Claire had her Shadow Staff out and stood defensively next to Angel.

As the fireball cried, little bits of flame spread out. A guitar, blanket, and a couple records got hit and caught aflame. Douxie got upset, as he should at the loss of his things, but didn't move from Arch's side. Angel quickly put walls of magic over the flames to keep them from spreading.

"Claire, we need water," Angel ordered and she nodded. It was small, but Claire didn't need the portal to be big. She had it go to the kitchen sink and reached through. It was hard, feeling around for the faucet, but eventually she got it. Pulling back her wet hand, she closed the portal next to her and opened a new one above the fire on the bed first.

The fire fizzled out, so she moved on to the other ones. It seemed like futile effort as the fireball kept whining and setting more fires. Until-

"The sky is dark and the hills are white
As the storm-king speeds from the north to-night," Angel sang softly against the rhythm of running water. It stopped Claire cold for a moment as the fireball stopped whining and made the same noises Enrique did when he was entranced by something.

"And this is the song the storm-king sings,
As over the world his cloak he flings:" As the fireball slowly dimmed and floated towards Angel gently, she brought a blanket over and began wrapping it around him. The boy seemed to realize what she was doing and went back to a human form as she swaddled him. "'Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;' He rustles his wings and gruffly sings: 'Sleep, little one, sleep.'"

The baby she had called Mason was falling asleep as Angel gently rocked him back and forth and hummed. It put Claire's baby skills to shame. She dared a glance at Douxie who lowered his shield and had a soft and thoughtful expression.

"Please tell me you didn't grab the little heetling and that is your new adopted child I hear," a new voice said, the same accent that Douxie had, but a deeper voice. One look to the side of him revealed it to be a black cat.

"A talking cat," Claire stated simply. "Honestly, not the weirdest thing I've seen."

"I'm not a cat. Well, not always." The cat was squinting at her, like he was trying to determine who she was.

"Who are you? And what are you? If you don't mind my asking, anyway. Uh, is that a rude question?" All three around her chuckled slightly with small smiles.

"He's a familiar, Claire," Douxie offered, petting the cat- familiar, fondly. He lost his smile and gave an apologetic look to the little animal. "My familiar. And someone who we both owe an apology. I'm so sorry, Arch." Arch turned to his voice, giving him a long look before sighing deeply.