Ryn of Avonside

“By the Ring Maidens, what was that?” Eilian demanded, wide-eyed and terrified. “I know you're a warlock of Ollinfer, Grace, but to just summon her like that?”

As much as I wanted to defend my girlfriend, purely by reflex, I couldn't blame the golden mage for her reaction. I mean, wow, that pulse of power had really put things into perspective. One thought from that sentient bundle of vegetation and we would've all been toast.

“I called on my patron, I guess,” Grace said, eyeing Eilian. “It worked out okay.”

“Could we, perhaps, get an explanation for what just happened?” Dr. Ross asked as he and the others closed the distance.

I looked at Grace, but she was still locked in an incomprehensible staring contest with Eilian. Whether they were going to make out or yell at each other, I wasn't sure. If they decided on the former, I hoped I'd be invited.

To Dr. Ross, I said, “You know the Greek gods? It's like that, but real. Ollinfer, that plant woman, is the obrec goddess of new growth forest, spring, and trickery.”

I decided not to complicate things by mentioning the fact that Ollinfer didn't actually claim the title of goddess for herself — at least, not fully.

“Wow, okay,” he said, staring at the point where the goddess had been standing. He was quiet for like, five seconds, then he shook his head wearily. “This world is… I think I need to get a proper report in to the rest of the council. They need to know that they are playing petty politics while the world outside is poised to crush us like a bug, if it chooses.”

I laughed. “Yeah. That's kinda why I was so… flippant, or disrespectful, with them — they need to learn what they're up against.”

“The attack by Fennimore and the steel ones began that process,” Dr. Ross said with a sigh. “It is not moving fast enough.”

“Yeah…” I said, before a gentle drop of rain landed in my hair. Frowning, I looked up at the sky, which was showing the barest hint of a storm on the horizon. “Time to get moving, folks. Let's get some steps in before the rain really starts.”

We called it quits when the rain really began, and swapped over to my grove. Dr. Ross and his assistant immediately hustled off to write a report, and Jenna awkwardly headed for Vurburch, the current name for the Order’s town down in the lower caldera. Apparently Troy had agreed to give her training.

I began to move towards Stormpine with Grace, Adam, and Duncan, when something caught my eye. A little lop-eared bunny, a normal one, was staring at me from under a rose bush.

My friends came to a stop when I did, but I smiled and waved them on. “I'll catch up.”@@novelbin@@

Turning back to the bun, which was white with black blotches, I murmured, “Hey, are you Cookies?”

The bun turned its head so it could focus a big black eye on me. It was surrounded with a big black spot of fur, making it look like she had mega-mascara on. As I took another step, she suddenly thumped at the dirt with her hind legs and rushed off a couple of feet into the roses. With her back turned, she gave me a look over her shoulder.

A quiet snort of amusement caught my attention, and I saw Kelsey approaching. She was flanked by two bunny mages, one of whom immediately broke off in the direction of Cookies.

“That bun is so suspicious of anything and everything,” said my friend as she arrived beside me. “Nobody can figure out where she came from either. She was definitely someone's beloved pet before, though.”

“I hope whoever cared for her previously knows that we have taken up the mantle of care,” said the bun mage who was still beside us. With a start, I recognised him as Hopper, Grace's old emotional support bun. His fur used to be a light brown colour, but now it was a desaturated dark blue colour — shining metallic like my hair.

“Wow, you're eloquent,” I said, surprised.

His little bunny eyes crinkled into a smile. “Yes. I spent a lot of time learning English when I was still one of your tenders. One of us had to interpret what you were all saying, after all. Now, I have a voice box and I can actually speak properly.”

“He's been very helpful when I want to interact with the hill dens,” Kelsey said, smiling down at the short bunny boy.

As they were mentioned, I looked over at the village where many of the buns were living. Little paths curved around and between small hills, leading to various rustic wooden doors set into the hillsides. It was very reminiscent of the Shire from the Lord of the Rings, but without the craftsmanship that the hobbits possessed.

“Are the buns stealing too much? Why do you need to talk to them?” I asked curiously.

Hopper, who’d been eyeing Cookies, left to go and pet the much smaller bunny. The very suspicious black and white bun seemed to appreciate the gesture.

Kelsey laughed softly, and her caramel eyes danced. “Oh, they've been stealing alright, but I've been one step ahead of them. With the help of a few informants I've been keeping tabs on bunny resource consumption. With that information, I can make sure there's always enough in the storehouses to cover everything.”

“You're writing theft losses into the books as a normal expenditure or whatever?” I said, shaking my head ruefully. “Oh man, the buns are a handful.”

Kelsey laid a hand on my arm. “I love them. They make life fun.”

“They really do,” I said happily. If it weren't for my grove, my friends, and my buns, I'd be a wreck. Especially the buns, though.

My friend cleared her throat. “Can I ask you a question?”

Cocking my head curiously at her, I nodded, then held my hand up to stall her while my mind worked. With a small flexing of willpower, and a moderate amount of my internal magic, I grew a park bench for us to sit on.

“God, you're so incredible,” she said with a wistful sigh. “Just… making a bench. Crazy.”

We sat while I tried not to flush at the earnest way she complimented me. That kind of thing usually made me uncomfortable, but her tone was so… grounded. Like, she really appreciated the miracle of magic, without tipping towards worship or whatever. So, instead, I just felt warm and bubbly in my stomach.

“Uh,” I mumbled, clearing my throat. “What did you want to ask?”

She sighed and her slim shoulders slumped just a tiny bit. “How come you never really engaged with Melody and me — before the Ring? Bray was pretty friendly, but you were always…”

“Aloof?” I suggested, feeling a pang of guilt. It was true. In classes where the two girls were hanging out, I was always very quiet while Bray charmed them with his odd, blunt version of charisma.

Kelsey shook her head and laughed softly. She had a very soothing laugh. “Not aloof. Getting you to really talk and open up was hard, though. Like… okay, so my grandpa had this old truck, right, and in the winter it would take like six tries before it started. You were like that.”

Blowing out a long breath, I looked up into the face that answered the question. “I think, probably, I was nervous and preoccupied.”

Her eyebrows rose, and she grinned. “Why? Don't make me guess, now.”

A goofy snort of laughter escaped before I could contain it, and I shook my head. “No, no, I was just pausing for dramatic effect.”

When I didn't elaborate, silence stretched out between us. I could not

“Ryn!” She finally huffed.

“Okay, okay,” I said with a self satisfied, sly smile. Then, I remembered what the answer to her question was, and heat flooded my cheeks. “You and Melody are both really pretty, and I was super envious. I wanted to look like you.”

Kelsey's eyes filled with a strange mix of empathy and relief, and she sagged back into the bench. “Okay, good. Sorry for the intense question. I was just always a little anxious that we did something to hurt you back then. Accidentally, of course, but yeah…”

I sighed again and looked over to where Hopper had Cookies in his lap. The smaller, normal bun looked like she was deflating under the barrage of pats. “So… to be honest, I was kinda hurt. Seeing you and Melody being everything that I would never be… it really really messed with my head.”

“I'm sorry…” Kelsey's tone did a one eighty, and when I looked, her honey coloured eyes were immersed in regret.

Gosh damn it. That was not what I meant to happen.

Taking her hand, I frowned at her. “No, come on. Kelsey… you didn't do anything to me. You know that's silly— what's going on? Why are you asking all of these deep, sad questions?”

She grimaced and tapped an erratic rhythm into the dirt with her foot. “Ah, I just got frustrated by some stuff with the Avonside people, and I sorta… snapped at Melody. Now she's gone to hide and I feel like a dick, and now I'm questioning every time someone has seemed even remotely upset with me, because… you know.”

I gave her a knowing look and squeezed her hand. “Because you're not content with feeling shit about the thing you did today, so you're reaching for a second helping?”

“Yeah, something like that,” she said with a giggle that started out strained, but morphed into something more chill as it happened. “You're very funny, you know that? Witty.”

“Yeah, it's how I create all my problems. I'd be unstoppable otherwise,” I joked.

She laughed, giving me a grateful look as she did so. “See? There it is. Thanks, Ryn… you know, I'm not sure we've ever actually had a one-on-one chat like this.”

“Well, you and Melody are usually a packaged deal, and she's much more energetic than you, so she kinda dominates conversations regardless.”

She dragged the toe of her boot through the grass and took her hands back. “That's fine, talking lots is tough, anyway. I'm really bad at thinking of things to say in just… casual conversation, you know? Like, oh my god, we were just chilling here with two buns and I managed to steer the convo away from cute bunnies and towards my own baggage. Not really very—”

A flash of white lit our surroundings, and for a second I was confused by where it had come from and why everything was darker than when I'd last been paying attention. Then, the rolling boom of thunder hit, and we simultaneously looked up towards the horizon. A massive storm front was beginning to loom over us, like some sort of titanic ocean wave.

“Aw, shit,” I said.