Green Skies

Chapter 19

"Thanks for shopping." The cashier called in a bored tone.

I walked to my house and sat on the roof, the second best view in town. I pulled the box of smokers from my pocket. I lit it with a small bit of green flame on my index finger. I inhaled and blew out green smoke. The sun's light had begun to fade. I drew in more smoke.

Raven appeared behind me at the base of the roof.
"How do you climb up here? Ugh!" He slipped but I grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

I exhaled, smoke leaving my lips. He sat next to me and faced the town below.

It was silent, only the sound of water trickling somewhere nearby and our breathing. Fry flew to Raven and bumped against him in a greeting of some sort.

I offered a smoker and he accepted. He lit a red flame atop his finger and breathed in smoke.
"What do you think?" I asked, messing with Fry's rope with one hand, dangling the smoker between my index and middle finger in the other.

"He's something else, Ryver," He replied with a slight grin. He sucked on the smoker once more and exhaled. "He's somethin' else."

I continued messing with the rope, spinning him a bit. "I don't know about all this. What if- what if I didn't go to the ritual?"

Raven choked on the smoker, struggling to breathe. When he did catch his breath he said, "Are you kidding me? Do you know what would happen if you didn't?" I shook my head.

"Your magic would slowly die out, it would blacken your soul and slowly kill you from the inside. It would become a disease and you'd die within a matter of days, longer if you're lucky, of starvation and thirst. That's why the rituals exist. So it can cleanse your soul. That's why everyone is so exhausted after them. The ritual starts it and while you're sleeping it spreads across and cleanses your soul. Ta-da, I know a lot about this stuff."

He breathed in on his smoker again. "I'm just the guy who knows things. Anyone confused about some small thing that annoys the council they come to me. 'Raven, why isn't my magic working?' Cause you're eating zipth flowers, they cut out magic. 'Raven, why can't I fly?' Cause you broke your wing. 'Well Raven-' I'm sick of it honestly. Can't people just pick up a book once in a while?"

I didn't say anything. He turned his head to me. He had tears building up in his black eyes. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't smart. You know?" He hurriedly wiped his face with his hand. "I wish I didn't have to care about some things. Like you. You don't care."

I scoffed. "That's a lie. I do worry and care. About you, my family, Otus and Wren, my kingdom, F-" I stopped. I quickly changed the subject. "It's almost night. I should go to the council for the ritual."

"Yeah,"

"You coming?"

"Nah, I'll catch up later."

"You're on my roof."