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It’s been months since the fiasco with the witch-killers. Geoff, Otto, and Awsten have been making their regular trips to the village and, apart from some chatter about the two witch-killers who disappeared without a trace, there’s been nothing to worry about. Geoff is still concerned about how the witch-killers found out about him and Otto in the first place, but for now, it looks like they’ll be fine.
It took a week or so for Otto to recover from the rapid tree growth ritual. Geoff still can’t believe he had such a dangerous thing on him all the time. If it wasn’t for the magic in Awsten’s gift, Otto might have well and truly drained himself.
What an idiot. Geoff is in love with two absolute idiots.
At least things have returned to normal now. Geoff working with his flower magic, Otto with his tree magic, and Awsten splitting his time between buzzing curiously around them and disappearing for days on end.
Today is a nice slow day. Otto is away from the cottage, collecting things he needs from around the forest. Awsten had gone with him at first, but several hours later and he’s flying through the workshop window in his will-o’-wisp form.
Geoff looks up from where he’s been pruning his rose bush. He sets down his shears.
“What are you doing back so early?” he asks. “I thought Otto said you guys would be out all day.”
Awsten dances back and forth in front of him, still in his tiny glowing form.
Geoff rolls his eyes and picks up his shears again. “I’m not playing a guessing game, Awsten. Is anything bad?”
Awsten flies around Geoff’s head in a slow, lazy circle. Geoff swats out at him, but Awsten soars just out of reach.
“Don’t bug me if it’s not important,” Geoff says. He returns his attention to the rose bush. Each flower is a different color, iridescent in the afternoon light. He’s got white, red, pink, orange, yellow, even black and purple… but no blue or green. Not yet. He’s doing his best.
Awsten floats down into the bush and holds very still. Geoff sighs and lowers his shears again. “Get out of there.”
Awsten doesn’t move. Geoff reaches towards him and, to his great surprise, actually plucks him out of the bush.
Awsten in his human form feels like a human. If Geoff is touching him for more than a few seconds, he can feel a distinct magical buzz under his skin--his disguise. Touching Awsten in his will-o’-wisp form is like that, only magnified by a thousand. Holding Awsten in his hand feels like he’s holding unlimited magical power, like Geoff imagines it would be like holding a lightning bolt or a star.
Geoff gently sets Awsten down on the ground beside him. Then he goes back to the rose bush. Awsten flies back and sits in the bush again.
Geoff groans. “Come on, Awsten, it might look like I’m not doing much, but I’ve got work to do.”
Awsten holds still for a second longer, and then disappears past the leaves of the bush.
“Awsten!” Geoff says. He carefully pushes the thorny branches and leaves aside, seeking out Awsten’s telltale blue-green glow. “You’re going to get stuck in there!”
Awsten flies out on his own and changes back into his human form in midair. “I wouldn’t get stuck in a bush, Geoff, come on!” he says.
“Stay out of my flowers,” Geoff says. He gets up, done with the roses for now, and moves on to his daffodils.
“I was being a flower for you!” Awsten says. “You don’t have a rose my color.”
“Not yet,” Geoff says. “I’m working on it.”
“It’s gotta be exactly my color,” Awsten insists. He drops down to the ground beside Geoff. “Call them Awsten Roses.”
“Maybe,” Geoff says. “By the way, what’s going on with Otto?”
“He was just staring at tree bark for like an hour, so I left him,” Awsten says. He lies down on his back on the worn dirt floor of the workshop. Geoff leaves him alone as he works on his potted flowers. Awsten surprises him for the second time that day by remaining quiet and still where he is. Geoff finishes up quickly and then sits down next to Awsten. Awsten’s eyes are closed and the late afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window catches on shimmering sparks of his blue-green magic. He might actually be sleeping,
Hesitantly, Geoff reaches out to touch Awsten’s face. Before his fingers come in contact with Awsten’s skin, however, his eyes fly open and he jumps up.
“Otto’s back!” he says. He changes back into a glowing will-o’-wisp and shoots out the window like an arrow.
Geoff laughs a little to himself and gets to his feet again. He follows after Awsten, leaving his flowers behind him. If he looked back, he would have noticed that a tiny blue-green rosebud had appeared right in the place where Awsten was sitting before.