A Million Roads to Nowhere

Oodles of Potential

Patrick leads Lena to the dungeon. Aodhan smiles when he walks in which makes Patrick feel somewhat fluttery in a decently pleasant way.

"Good morning, Paddy," Aodhan greets. "Or is it afternoon now?"

Patrick swears he hears Lena mutter something about how she's the only one that calls him that to herself. Before Patrick can say anything, Aodhan's attention is turned to Lena.

"You must be Miss Lena. It's good to meet you."

Lena has the decency to curtsy, which Patrick is thankful for. She lets him guide her to sit down in front of the cell like he's done the past times he's visited.

"Could you fix her hand if you don't mind? I think a hobgoblin bit her when we were picking berries," Patrick tells Aodhan.

"Of course." Aodhan smiles and reaches his hands through the bars, gently grabbing Lena's hand and unwrapping it.

"It definitely looks like a goblin bite, I'll say that. I guess he wasn't in the sharing mood, hm?" Aodhan runs his fingers over the bite, causing Lena to wince.

Slowly, the wounds start to fade until they're completely gone as if they were never there. The soft green glow vanishes from Aodhan's fingers and he pulls his hand back, smiling as Lena inspects her hand in awe.

"Wow..." Lena breathes. "That's just as magical as the dragon and the unicorn I didn't get to see."

Patrick snorts at the bitterness in her voice and Aodhan laughs softly.

"Did Alistair take you two out?" Aodhan asks.

Patrick nods. "The dragon is probably eating that unicorn right now."

Aodhan laughs sweetly. "Well, that must have been a sight."

"Oh, definitely," says Lena and Patrick whacks her arm.

"He's abusive," Lena tells Aodhan.

"I see that." Aodhan smiles, amused.

Aodhan's eyes flick to Patrick's feet and he nods toward there. "You have a shadow."

Patrick looks down, seeing the small black blur from earlier in the day. The white eyes stare up at him as it shifts into a cat, and then back into a shadowy mess before dissipating into the air.

"It just appeared this morning."

"What did?" Lena asks.

Patrick shrugs. "This little shadow thing. It turns into a cat."

"Ah, all right," Lena says. "Not the most odd thing that's happened so far."

"Not really," Patrick agrees.

He's glad they're getting sort of desensitised to everything. Maybe now the things to come will be less painful and confusing.

"That's a familiar," Aodhan tells him. "Your familiar to be specific. It must have come after you ate that angel's trumpet."

"What does it do?"

"It guides you, protects you and helps with magic. You don't need a familiar for magic, but it will help."

"That's really neat," Lena says. "Wait, angel's trumpet? Aren't those poisonous? You didn't tell me you ate one, idiot."

"I'll tell you later," Patrick says, sating Lena's curiosity for now.