What Happens Next?

"Zartolomhew Brendan Rhenderghast Plim" I turned the tag over in my fingers, It was hastily made of bark and tied with sinew around the sleeping little boys wrist with care. He rested at the base of an elm tree, the light from the late midday sun streaming through the trees leaves onto his small unconscious form.

I turned my head this way and that attempting to size him up, I had no idea by looking at him what his circumstances were or how he came to be in this forest.

Truthfully my only way to tell that he was, in fact, a he was by the scent coming from him which was pungent meaning he had been a few days without a wash. I had no idea what human children looked like, nor had I really had any interest in either humans or their offspring.

Their lives were short and seemed to consist of fighting, breeding, and more fighting.

Some of my brethren said that they were wonderful, but I preferred my solitude.

I stared at the small boy, I think that was the term Gideon had used. He was the grand magus of our age and he was quite fond of humans, some even say that Gideon used some old forbidden magic to shape-shift and walk among humankind, judging by the tear stains on his cheeks and tunic I knew he had cried himself to sleep.

This did not bode well at all.

His condition coupled with the tag on his tiny pudgy wrist

Told me that he had more than likely been left here for someone or something to find.

That name told me that his parents didn't like him much, good gods who names their child Zartolomhew!

I sized him up. The boy's reddish brown hair was straight and was grown to the nape of his neck...it looked soft, much like the boy.

His face was dotted with freckles across his chubby cheeks and upturned nose. Long fans of dark brown lashes swept from his closed eyes to his cheeks and there was a soft almost purring sound that rumbled from his chest up his throat and out through his tiny peach-colored lips.

His small hands were smeared in dirt and grass, upon further inspection, his brown trousers, and cream-colored tunic were chock with mud and plant life as well. His boots were so encrusted with mud that I almost didn't see his little toes starting to poke out the shoe seams.

So, he was not from a wealthy family...he had a long and horrid name.....and it looked like he was abandoned in Atelior forest.

I wondered if his parents were hoping that he would get eaten by one of my kind. That thought irritated me.

It was a vicious and horrifying stereotype.

I stretched my spine and my shoulders to relieve some of the tension that entertaining that thought brought to my bones.

I sighed and rolled my eyes heavenward.

What to do? I couldn’t just leave the child here; it would surely die all alone out here. I was the only one who came to this forest, which was why I came here- the silence or rather the absence of other voices, and it was becoming clearer that the boy wouldn’t likely be welcomed back to wherever he came from. So again, what to do?

I pulled my arms atop my head to think, which spread my wings and allowing the sunlight to stream through the thinner skin stretched between my wing bones, the filtered light painted the child in the hues of my skin. Cerulean blue, light green, bright yellow, deep purple, and a few under notes of dark pink. I tilted my head and blew out a breath which due to my agitation came out as a spout of warm steam....which inconveniently hit the boy square in the face!

The tyke sat up, rubbed at his eyes which went as wide as moons, pointed a stubby little finger at me and bellowed "DRAGON!"

To which I narrowed my eyes, cleared my throat, and mildly said "Yes" I leeched all emotion from my tone "I’m a dragon."

He blinked at me; he looked a bit shocked that I could speak.

"And you are a boy, in a dragon’s forest. Would you care to tell me how a human boy came to be here?" I stood with my arms crossed and my neck bent down to look him in the eye. I had to give him credit, he didn't run and he didn't scream again, he just looked me all over from his spot under the tree.

"Mother always said to be polite....I’m Zip" he extended his hand to me.

The kid had guts

"My name is Amalia, you may call me Mia" I took his small hand in my large slender blue claw and marveled at how soft and smooth the child was. No scales, no leathery skin, no horns......hunh no wonder they fought all of the time; they were born with no protection or defenses. What an insecure position to be placed in, hmmmm.

"Now that introductions are passed, what pray tell are you doing in this forest?" I leveled my gaze at him and saw my large green eyes reflected in his big blue ones- blue, I noted, that matched my main scale coloring perfectly- which were now looking quite glassy.

I heard the quaver in his voice "Mother said to stay here, to hide here, that she would be back for Me.” he was on the verge of tears. Poor kid!

"Hide here from what?"

"The men who always chase us. They find us no matter where we go. Mother said that we should be safe in the village by this forest, that’s why she moved us here" Zip rubbed his eyes in an effort not to cry

"When did you move to the village?" I was nervous to follow my instinct to touch his head in comfort, so I ran my claws through the tree leaves instead. They were turning from green to yellows and reds.

He thought for a moment and held up his fingers in a counting gesture "13 Suns ago, Mama wanted to be here before the leaves changed colors"

More than likely the woman had wanted to winter in the village across the river from this forest as once the river froze it would make travel to the village impossible. If someone were being chased, it would be an ideal place to be until spring. This was bad, very bad.

"When did these men start chasing you and your mother?"

Zip looked at me incredulously "Always. At least since I can remember"

"How old are you Zip?" I could feel my brow scales furrowing and the muscles around my gilded horns tightening up.

He held up his thumb and 2 fingers on his right hand “3 summers old" he looked quite proud of himself and smiled.

I found myself smiling back. Now for the tough question " Zip, how long have you been in this forest?" I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but it would help me make some decisions.

He Held up 2 fingers "2 suns. Mama has never been gone this long." Zip was looking very pale

He and I both knew that the odds for a happy ending to this situation were slimming down by the minute. Well, first things first, all creatures need to eat and until I could either find his mother or a human well suited to care for him, Zip would need to be looked after......first food, then everything else.

I didn't know what kind of trouble these two were in, and it most certainly was not my problem, but I was not about to let a child die in the woods alone waiting for a mother who may not be coming back for him.

I needed to find her, perhaps I could get help for them, and a Will o wisp would do the trick nicely.

"Let's see if we can find your Mother, what is her name?”

"Mama...or Mother when she is upset" he looked so solemn I almost laughed.

"Ok, what does she look like?" I was hoping for a better answer

"Red hair, it was long and curly until she cut it all off. Mama's eyes are blue like mine, and she is this much bigger than me" he held his hand up as high as he could over his head, jumping a little bit.

So a combo of a willow wisp and a pixie. I snapped my fingers and concentrated on the small spark that it made in the air until I saw a small purple flicker.

I heard Zip exclaim ......if he could see the flicker then he had mage blood and Mage sight.

Interesting, Human magic workers keep to themselves and their offspring are rare and closely guarded. They are not known for being particularly interested or affectionate parents.....they are more involved with their magic and their single-minded goal of prolonging their lives rather than producing new lives. An icky bunch to be sure. But this was an interesting development.

Once the flicker turned to a flame, I worked the flame with my talons until it took shape then blew some of my mana over it, the wisp pixie would last until its job was completed, and then it would return to the aether from whence it came.

I sent it to catch the boy's scent, in lieu of a name or detailed description; it would find the closest scent to that of the boy.

Zip watched the little purple winged wispy dance around him with wide eyes, once done the creature bobbed once in my direction and set off to fulfill its mission.

“What was that?” Zip asked, awe shining in his little eyes

“How we are going to find your Mother” I stated and began walking back through the trees that I had just come through, I had originally come here to indulge myself in the fruit trees in these sprawling groves and then go for a swim in the river before it got too cold to do so- it was my seasonal ritual to ring in Autumn, arguably my favorite season with winter a close second, Seeing if the boy trusted me enough to follow me. It was important to know where his mind was at, he was frightened yes, but what lay behind that fear.

He hesitated “But Mother might come looking for me and not be able to find me if I leave”

“The Willow wisp will find her and bring her to us no matter where we are. You should try not to starve before she returns”

He looked back towards where his last glimpse of his mother must have been, I had seen him look at that spot a few times while we chatted, and then at me indecision filling his gaze.

“Child, you need food. Come on, before the sun sets- it will be harder to find the fruit once it gets darker.” Truth be told my night vision was good, but I wanted him to move around a bit. It would also help to distract him until we knew more about his Mom.

I set myself to wind through the trees when Zip’s hesitation broke and he came up behind me in a rush. “What was that light thingy, Willawisp? That you made?”

“Ahhh, The Willow Wisp that I conjured from the Aether? “

Zip nodded

“It is a ….almost like a doll of sorts made active by my Mana....I imbued it with a purpose through my Mana or energy and sent it to fulfill its task. I borrowed necessary elements for its purpose from the different beings in this world and modeled it after them. Once its purpose is fulfilled it will have expended all of the energy that I gave it upon creation and will cease.” I felt a tad lectury but there was no help for it.

“You mean it will die?” he asked a small amount of shake in his voice

“No. It is not alive and therefore cannot die. You could say it is an extension of my own energy…just reshaped to be more useful.”

“Oh, ok.” Zip brightened quite a bit with that news.

We walked for a while more in silence and then Zip’s curiosity must have finally overcome his agitation as he had a bevy of questions for me. Which I answered in the same direct, matter-of-fact way that my teachers had answered me. By the time we reached the closest grove of fruit trees, I realized that I had explained a sizeable chunk of magical theory to this little boy and that he had understood me. He was exceptionally gifted. And that was dangerous for him.

Intelligent and gifted children rarely met a good fate in this world unless they were well protected. Even the human mages with their ugly reputations knew this.

Zip needed protection more intensely than I had thought. I had to wonder if his mother was just as talented. I was curious about her; so many pieces in this situation did not fit together in a seamless fashion. I hoped that she was alive and able to tell me what their situation was.

I had not told Zip that I had set the Will o wisp to notify me first when it found Zip’s Mother. It was a precaution.

“Child, how did you see the flame when I was making the Will o wisp?”

“The purple light sparky thing?”

I nodded

“I don’t know” he shrugged

It was as I suspected , as we came to the first fruit tree- a scrumptious apple tree with its branches heavy with ripe soft apples in many hues, I eyed this boy and said something that I would later be very thankful that I mentioned “ Zip, Never tell anyone that you can see those things. Don’t mention it; don’t draw attention to yourself in that way.”

“Mama said the same thing” he said it casually as if he heard it a thousand times.

I plucked an apple for him, bright red, and handed it to him.

He had it eaten in a few bites. This boy would bring so much trouble, but I realized as we sat in the fading sunlight that I had already come to enjoy his presence and might even miss him