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Asra, if you try to climb in my window ever again I will push you right back out of it!
I smirked. I was on the second floor and he had decided to surprise me one night, but his attempt at trying to sneak in through the window went horribly wrong since he’d made the mistake of not bringing a ladder. Said he ‘forgot’.
- Chapter 3 of The End, The Beginning, And The Little Things In Between
She was there, with them. Back at home, back when things were different. When the house was standing, when they were breathing. As she looked up from the book in her hands she saw them. Kyler, her younger brother, was running through the tall grass with Aaden, her youngest sister, chasing after him. Their voices rang so clearly in her ears as they laughed and squealed, and she smiled.
“Aisling!” Kyler called, turning towards her and waving. “Come look!”
“Ya Aslin!” Aaden hopped up and waved too.
“Coming!” Aisling laughed and set her book aside before jogging over to them.
Kylar pointed out to the lake, where a group of ducks were swimming. “Look there!”
“Duckies!” Aaden squealed and bounced on her toes.
“Lookie there!” Aisling bent to put her hands on her knees as she peered out at them. “Cute, aren’t they? How about we give them a snack?”
“What kinda snack?” Kyler looked over at Aisling and patted her back.
“We got any bread?” Aisling looked at him and smiled, then reached over to ruffle his hair.
“I got bread!” Aaden shouted before turning on her heel and running to where they’d brought their lunch.
“Good idea!” Kyler shook out his deep auburn hair and grinned.
Aisling straightened up and rested a hand on her hip as she watched her sister run back with the small bread slices she’d brought, holding her hand out.
“Thank you,” Aisling said with a smile as Aaden put the bread into her hand. “Let’s be quiet now, okay? Slow steps, you don’t want to startle them.” She tucked one of Aaden’s blonde curls behind her ear.
Kyler looked at Aaden and put a finger to his lips, and she giggled, and Aisling’s smile grew as she tiptoed with them towards the lake. They stopped at the very edge, and Aisling ripped a few pieces of bread and handed the bits to each of them.
“Alright, then. Just throw them over. They’ll come over, I bet.”
“Let’s do it together, okay?” Kyler elbowed Aisling. “Okay Ade?”
“Okay!” Aaden nodded.
“Ready?” Aisling ripped up her bread piece into bits. “One...two…throw!”
They all threw bread out to the lake, the pieces hitting the water with a-
Clink
Aisling blinked. That wasn’t the sound it should have made. Aaden squealed as the ducks swam towards them, and she threw another piece.
Clink
A look of confusion crossed Aisling’s face as she then looked to Kyler. Another couple pieces of bread hit the water.
Tap tap
Aisling’s eyes opened to a dark room. She blinked a few times, trying to focus on anything as she started to glance around. They were gone. She brushed her hair out of her face and looked around for a moment, taking in a deep breath. There was nothing but silence. Then;
Tap tap
She turned over towards the window, where something was dangling over it. Aisling squinted, seeing a snake shape. Then it wiggled. She slowly got herself out of bed and tiptoed over to the window, where the snake came into better view. It was Faust.
“Faust!” Aisling gasped, opening up the window. “What are you…”
“Hey!”
She poked her head out the window and glanced down, where Asra was clinging onto the small stone edges of the shop wall.
“Asra?! ” Aisling reached down and grabbed a hold of him.
He snickered as she pulled him up, and he was having a hard time keeping his footing on the wall and slipping, then frantically grabbing the window sill as Aisling lost her grip on one hand, and she let out a panicked gasp before leaning halfway out the window to catch him by his shirt.
“You got it?!”
“I got it, I got it, let my shirt go-”
“No! I’m not letting you go-”
“Grab my arm-”
Aisling stretched out on her toes to better reach him, gripping onto his forearm.
“I can’t pull you up-”
“I’m helping-”
Asra grabbed onto the window sill with one hand and her wrist with the other, and Aisling sucked in a breath and used as much strength as she could muster to pull Asra up through the window. She stumbled backwards and he came tumbling in, sending both of them crashing onto the floor.
Asra burst out into laughter, but Aisling wasn’t nearly as amused.
“What are you doing ?!” She said, sitting up enough to look at him. “What’s wrong with you! You could have hurt yourself!!”
Asra sat up, grinning at her. “I ah-!” He was cut off as Aisling shoved him back down, and he snickered.
“Seriously! Ugh!” Aisling got onto her knees and shuffled over closer to Asra, glaring down at him and crossing her arms. “Asra, if you ever try to climb in my window again I will push you right back out of it!”
“I wanted to come see you,” Asra said with a soft smile. “It didn’t go as planned.”
“What was the plan?” Seeing the innocent curve of Asra’s lips made Aisling smile a bit too and softened her eyes.
“To open your window and come inside without needing your help,” His eyes narrowed playfully.
“Why didn’t you bring a ladder or something?” She sighed.
“I uh…forgot.”
“Forgot, huh?” Aisling smiled a bit more. “It’s the middle of the night, you know.”
“Oh, is it? Is that why the moon is out?” Asra’s smile lifted into a smirk.
“I was having a good dream before you so rudely interrupted.” A hint of sadness swirled in Aisling’s eyes.
Asra noticed and his smirk fell. “You want to come out with me?” He decided to change the subject.
“Come out where?” Aisling sat down beside him. She was still for a moment before leaning over and pressing her shoulder against his.
“Anywhere. How about a roof?”
Aisling glanced at him, seeing that familiar playful look in his eyes as he glanced back. “A roof? How are we going to get on a roof? You couldn’t even get in through my window.”
Asra laughed. “We’ll find an easy way.”
“Where?”
He shrugged. “We’ll find a good one. Flat, not slanted. Wouldn’t want you to slip off.”
“I’ve never been on a roof.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
She smiled. “Well…I don’t know, I might get in trouble if my aunt finds out.”
“I don’t think so. You’re safe with me.”
“Am I? You’re breaking into my window and trying to take me away. Sounds like a kidnapper to me.”
“But you’re not a kid, are you?”
She laughed and lightly smacked his chest. “No, I’m not.”
“A proper, dignified teenager. And a very skilled magician.”
“Are you trying to lure me out with compliments?” Her voice was playful, but an embarrassed blush rose to her cheeks.
“Is it working?” He replied with a chuckle. “I mean every word, though. Truly.”
“Well thank you. So are you.”
“You’re better.”
“Shut up, whatever.” Aisling giggled.
For a moment they sat in silence. Then,
“Alright, I’ll get dressed, I guess.” Aisling said, then got to her feet.
“Not looking,” Asra said, turning around to face the wall.
“Mkay,” she smirked and went over to her closet, staring at her clothes for a moment and squinting in the darkness to try to pick out something. “Are you going to laugh at me if I put on something silly?”
“What does that mean?” Asra laughed.
“Ah…nevermind.” Aisling created a ball of dim light and let it float next to her. “I can see now.”
“Oh, I see now. No, I wouldn’t have laughed at you. Even if you put your shirt on backwards.”
“Why do you keep bringing that up,” she sighed and grabbed a shirt, taking a glance at Asra to see him still facing the wall before taking off what she had on and putting that shirt on instead. Then she reached for her skirt, but figured if they were climbing on a roof pants would be better. So she grabbed a pair that cut off at the knees and hopped into them.
“Because you’re silly.”
She smiled and tied her hair up into a bun. “Alright, I’m done now.”
Asra looked over his shoulder, giving her a smile before standing up and fully turning towards her. “Cute.”
Aisling’s blush grew. “Ah…thanks.”
“Out the window, then?” He gestured to the window, where Faust was curled up on the sill.
“How about we go out the back door instead. We just have to be really quiet…”
“You don’t want to be daring and adventurous?” He smirked.
She crossed her arms. “I don’t want you to fall and hurt yourself.”
“What about you?”
“I don’t want to fall and hurt myself either.”
“I’d go down first and catch you.”
“What if you can’t catch me?”
“Why wouldn’t I be able to?”
“Let’s just go downstairs.”
He sighed. “Alright, next time, then.”
“No next time! Use the door.”
He chuckled and grabbed Faust before he walked over to her. “Maybe.”
Aisling creaked the door of her small room open, peeking out into the hall before tiptoeing out. The floor was a little squeaky as she stepped past her aunt’s room and to the stairs, Asra following behind her as she started down the steps. A sound came from behind them and they both paused and looked over their shoulders to the bedroom, waiting a few minutes. When no other sound came, they continued down the steps and into the shop front.
“Hey, want some tea?” Asra whispered.
“What?” Aisling whispered back, giving him a really? look. “We’d have to go back upstairs .”
Asra shrugged.
Aisling stood for a moment. “Okay.”
So they turned around and quietly stepped back up the stairs, tiptoeing to the kitchen. Aisling grabbed hold of the kettle and poured her magic into it like water, then heated it up until it was steaming, but not enough to make the kettle whistle.
“You’re so good at that,” Asra said, getting her tea leaves out of the cabinet. “May I?”
“Mhm, go ahead.” Aisling got two mugs out and set them on the counter, then handed her teapot to Asra.
He put the leaves into the infuser and dropped it into the pot, and Aisling poured the water over it. When she put the kettle back and looked away, Asra took hold of the teapot and swirled a bit of his magic into it, making it just a bit sweeter, and just a bit more flavorful, and just how she liked it.
“You don’t want any of the mint?” She asked, leaning against the counter.
“No, yours is fine.”
“How much did you put in there?”
He smirked. “I’m not giving away my tea secrets.”
She softly giggled. “Fine, I won’t ask again.”
After a few minutes Asra poured them each a cup, and they took a seat at the table. Aisling took a sip, closing her eyes and letting out a content sigh.
“It’s always different when you make it,” she murmured.
“Is it?” He smiled.
“Mhm. I like it better.” She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “Too bad you can’t make it for me all the time.”
“Would if I could.”
She looked down into her cup. “So why are you here so late, Asra?” She looked over to the clock, seeing it was well past midnight. Almost two.
“I told you, I wanted to see you.” He murmured, taking a sip.
“Just…at nearly two in the morning?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” He looked up at her.
“Oh, okay.” She met his eyes, then dropped hers to her tea again and took another sip. “That’s okay. I don’t mind you coming by, you know.”
“I know. That’s why I came.”
Her smile grew just a bit more and she glanced up at him again. “Let’s get out of here.”
His eyes widened slightly. “And take the tea?”
She shrugged. “Why not?”
He shrugged too and grabbed his mug as he stood up. “Okay, let’s go.”
They snuck back down the stairs and to the back door, quietly opening it and closing it again, and Aisling let out a relieved breath she didn’t realize she was holding.
“You’re free! Which direction should we go?” Asra smiled and took another sip from his mug.
Aisling giggled and looked left, and then right. After two more sips of tea, she finally responded. “Left.”
So they did, casually strolling down the middle of the street, unhurried.
“It’s peaceful out here,” Aisling said after a while. “Quiet.”
“It was until you started talking,” Asra smirked.
Aisling squinted her eyes at him, not so much as a glare, but more so in playful annoyance. But she didn’t say anything else.
“I’m just kidding. It is nice out here, isn’t it?” Asra’s smirk turned into a smile, and he lightly brushed his hand against hers.
Aisling glanced down at their hands for a moment, her chest fluttering. “Maybe a bit nicer if it wasn’t so dark.”
“Oh yeah, you can’t see that well.” Asra reached over and brushed her bangs from her eye, tucking them behind her ear. “What about now?”
“Well that certainly helps,” she giggled. “Thanks.”
Aisling kept her eyes down at the road, but Asra had his eyes on her. His gaze was questioning, still unknowing as to why she was blind to begin with. He was curious, but always hesitated on asking. As she turned her head towards him, she caught his gaze and gave him a half smile.
“I’ll tell you about it,” she said quietly.
“You don’t have to,” he replied.
Once more he brushed his fingers against hers, and his pinky slowly hooked around hers. She curled her pinky to hold his there, and their hands slowly swung between them. She took another sip of tea.
“I know you’ve been wondering. I don’t mind telling you. I used to not be able to see out of both eyes, you know. They were both grey.”
“Really? But I bet they were both blue before they were both grey, weren’t they?”
“Yeah, they were.”
“Either way, they’re pretty.” Asra glanced to the side, a light blush dusting his cheeks.
Aisling glanced away as well, blushing just the same. Once more, her chest fluttered. His did too.
“Maybe before. The grey one is-”
“Beautiful,” he interrupted, still avoiding looking at her.
“Yours are more so.” she murmured.
He glanced at her, seeing her still looking away, and took another slow sip of tea. “If you could pick a color for your grey eye, what color would you pick? Blue again?”
“Well…maybe…” Violet , she thought. “Green. I do love green.”
“Green? Not…purple?”
She glanced over to him. “Like yours?” Like yours.
“You did just tell me my eyes were more beautiful than yours.”
“It’s like you can read my mind,” she whispered, looking away again. “Yes, well. Green or…p-purple.”
“Any particular shade?”
“Maybe a light mossy green.”
There was a moment of silence as Asra waited for another answer.
“And…the other?”
When Aisling looked at him again, his smile was playful, his eyes teasing.
“Purple,” she replied simply. “No shade in particular.” She smirked and took another sip of tea.
“Oh, well. All shades of purple are nice.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
“Well I like them just the way they are.”
Another bit of silence passed as they enjoyed the quiet sounds of the night. After a while, Asra stopped.
“There?” Asra gestured to a building with his mug, keeping the pinky of his other hand hooked around hers.
Aisling looked up, seeing a flat roof at the top of a tall building. “How are we going to get up there?” She asked.
“It’s connected to that other building, the shorter one. We just get up there, and then we can get to it.”
“How are we going to get on the shorter one?”
“I’ll show you.”
Asra turned and walked around to the back of the shorter building. There were several stacked crates and wide window sill ledges. From a quick glance, Aisling could see it being much easier to get to the roof of this building than her shop.
“Okay, yeah, sure.” Aisling peeked in her cup and finished the rest of her tea, then set her mug down, finally letting Asra’s hand go.
“Yeah?” Asra chuckled and did the same, setting his mug beside hers.
“Yeah! Easy.” Aisling cracked her knuckles and started climbing up the crates, getting to where the upper deck was and reaching for it, but even on her toes she was too short.
“Easy, huh?” Asra said, climbing up after her. “Let me help. If you want.”
“I…” Aisling her out a nervous giggle. “I can’t reach it otherwise…”
Asra let out a breath and crouched a bit, then wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up. When she was able to grab a hold of the deck he lifted her a bit higher.
“You can use my shoulder,” he said.
Aisling pressed her foot against his shoulder to get herself higher as she pulled herself up, and then she squeaked when Asra put his hands on her backside and pushed her up until she was able to fully stand on the deck with both feet.
“You okay?” He asked, grinning up at her.
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine! Uh…how do I…”
“See the window there? Just use that ledge. You think you can reach the roof? Step to the left a bit.”
Aisling shimmied over, and Asra used available stone edges of the wall to climb up onto the deck until he was standing beside her.
“I don’t think I can reach it. And my hands are getting sweaty, I’m nervous,” she said softly. “I’m afraid of slipping.”
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t let you fall.” Asra looked at her for a moment, and when she nodded at him he pulled himself up to stand on the deck railing.
“Asra!” Aisling gasped. “ You’re going to fall!”
Asra chuckled and reached his hand out towards her. “Come on.”
Aisling paused, then looked at the railing and jumped up until her stomach was pressed against the top and she was hanging over both sides.
Asra laughed and dropped down onto the deck, helping her get the rest of the way over. “That’s one way to do it.” Then he got back up onto the railing, and used the window sill as leverage to get himself up onto the roof, which was slanted, but not steep enough for him to slide. Then he knelt down and reached out to her.
Aisling looked up at him. “Asra…” Her fingers fidgeted for a moment, and she wiped her palms on her pants. Then she glanced at the railing. She’d always been clumsy, and having balance wasn’t really one of her strong suits.
“I’m not going to let you fall. You can do this. Easy, remember?”
She looked at Asra again, and his smile grew. He looked at her with fondness, his violet gaze telling her you’re strong.
“Alright. Here I go.”
She let out a deep breath and jumped up onto the railing, fighting the shaking of her arms as she got her knees up.
“I’ve got you. Take my hand.”
Aisling reached up and grabbed Asra’s hand, and he held tight to let her know he wouldn’t let her fall.
“See, you’re doing just fine. You’ve just got to stand up, now.” He slowly started to pull her up.
“Do you do this a lot?” She asked, grabbing his wrist with her other hand as she slowly stood, her legs faintly trembling.
“Actually, yeah.” He chuckled and scooted over a bit to the right, and Aisling whined as she started to lean. “It’s okay. See the ledge? Step over there. Grab the roof with one hand.”
She took in a deep breath and one of her hands let him go, and she reached for the roof.
“I can’t,” she said, glancing up at him.
“You’ll have to jump, but you can make it. I know you can.” He smiled at her. “I’ve got you.”
“What if I pull you down?”
“You won’t. I’m steady up here, promise. Jump.”
Aisling took one long breath, then another, then she leapt to the window and grabbed a hold of the roof with her other hand, one of her feet swinging back before she was able to get it on the ledge.
“Jump again!”
Without hesitation this time she jumped up, and Asra grabbed her with his other hand and pulled her up beside him. She starfished onto her back and stared up at the sky, letting out a relieved laugh.
“See! You did just fine.” Asra gave her an affectionate smile before he pulled one knee up and rested his elbow on it. “Ready to go higher?”
She looked over at him. “One moment please.”
“Only because you asked nicely.”
Asra laid down next to her and rested his hands on his stomach, and for a moment they both just looked up at the sky. When Aisling’s racing heart slowed down she sat back up and looked over at Asra.
“Alright, I’m good now.”
Asra smiled and got to his feet, then helped Aisling up. “Okay, let’s keep going.”
“This is fun,” she grinned at him. “Let’s do it again.”
“We’re not even done yet,” he laughed and led her over to the wall of the second building. “See the ledge up there?”
She looked up and put her hands on her waist. “The one way up there?”
“That’s the one! I’m gonna give you a lift.”
She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Way up there?”
Asra chuckled and crouched down beside the wall. “Get on my shoulders.”
“You want me to sit-”
“No no, stand. Use the wall to hold you up.”
“Uh…”
“Trust me?”
Aisling sighed, but gave him a sweet smile. “Yeah, I trust you.”
He held his hand out to her and she took it, and he helped her up to stand on his thigh. She braced herself against the wall with her other hand and carefully stepped up onto his shoulders, then put her other hand on the wall to keep her steady. He held onto her thighs and slowly stood, and she walked her hands up the side of the wall until she was fully upright. The ledge was still above her, and when she reached up, she was still too short.
“Asra, I can’t reach it,” she said, stretching her arms as much as she could without raising up onto her toes.
“What about if you jump?”
“I’m not jumping off your shoulders!”
“What if I jump?”
“Wh-”
Asra jumped up, and let Aisling’s legs go as her fingers gripped onto the ledge. He quickly reached up so her feet could rest in his palms, and he jumped again to push her up.
“Asra!” Aisling laughed as she pulled herself up with Asra’s help, then somersaulted onto the roof. “I did it!”
“Good job!” He called from below, laughing before backing up away from the wall. “See you in a second!”
Aisling peeked over the edge, meeting Asra’s violet gaze. He winked at her before running back towards the wall and jumping at it, stepping up the side and hitting a ledge that he used as leverage to reach the top edge, and he pulled himself up and over effortlessly.
“You’re impressive,” Aisling said, blushing as Asra looked at her.
“Easy, remember?” He smiled at her and dropped down onto his back.
“Yeah, easy.” She laid down beside him.
Above them the moon was shrouded in the sun’s shadow, hardly a sliver in the night sky. But the stars shone brightly, some brighter than others as they formed familiar shapes. While Aisling’s eyes traced the stars, Asra’s were on her, watching the parting of her lips as she let out a breath, the twinkling of the star's reflections in her crystalline blue eye. In the darkness he could barely see the freckles on her skin, but they were there nonetheless, like stars of their own. Maybe he would be tracing shapes in them instead if he could see them, but he couldn’t. A small smile tugged the corners of his lips and he looked up to the sky, then slowly moved his hand to rest beside him. Aisling moved her hand to rest beside her, swallowing nervously. She stole a glance at him, seeing his attention was elsewhere, then moved her hand just a bit closer. His smile turned up knowingly, and he barely moved his hand closer to her. She looked back up at the sky, her own smile growing. Her hand moved just a bit more, His did too. Finally, their pinkies touched, and they stopped there.
“I dreamed about my siblings,” Aisling finally spoke.
“You have siblings?” Asra glanced at her.
“I do. Two. A brother and a sister.”
“Older?”
“Younger. Kyler is my younger brother, and Aaden is my youngest sister.”
“What were you doing in your dream?” Asra asked softly, noticing a change in her voice. A slight crack, and a faint waver, and he knew now why she’d never mentioned them before.
“Feeding ducks.” Aisling smiled, but it was strained. “At the lake close to our house.”
“How old are they?”
“Kyler is four years younger than me. Aaden is three younger than him.”
Asra took in a slow breath, knowing full well why she didn’t give numbers, and he slowly hooked his pinky around hers. She held it back. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he decided nothing was best, to keep from upsetting her. After a few moments, she continued on her own.
“They died when I was twelve.”
“Just a few years ago, then. I’m sorry.”
“Me too. I couldn’t save them.”
Asra turned onto his side to face Aisling. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“It was, actually.” She closed her eyes. “I was supposed to be watching them. I was reading a book.”
“What happened?” He decided to ask.
“They were meddling with magic they didn’t know how to do. If I had known, I could have stopped them. They’d gotten a hold of one of the books I’d gotten from aunt Sloan. And they were so young…eight, and five.”
“Did they practice magic, too?”
“No…they knew very little. Tricks, mainly. Nothing like what I do. They liked to play pretend, though, and pretended to be great witches and wizards. I think that’s what they were doing then. But…of course, they didn’t know what they were doing, and it went terribly wrong. I couldn’t get to them in time. Whatever they had done, it blew up the house, it took their lives, and it took my sight.”
“All of it?”
“All of it.”
“Where were your parents?”
“Gone. They weren’t there when I lost everything.” Aisling opened her eyes again, now glistening with unshed tears. “I was alone for a little while after that, until someone could find them and tell them what happened.”
Asra was quiet for a moment. He decided not to ask about her parents. Then, “how did you get your sight back?”
“Magic and medicine. I didn’t want it all back, though. I wouldn’t be able to live with being in pristine condition again, while my siblings lost their lives. When I could have stopped them. So I’m fine with only having one working eye.” She turned her head towards Asra and smiled. “As long as I can read, I don’t care.”
Asra chuckled. “Of course. That’s the important thing.”
Aisling looked back up at the stars. Asra watched her a few moments more before rolling onto his back again and doing the same.
“When’s your birthday?” He asked suddenly.
“December. You?”
“June.”
Aisling looked over at him. “Of course you’re born during spring.”
Asra looked back at her. “What does that mean?”
“‘Cause you’re so…” she smirked and looked away again. “Nothing, never mind.”
He raised an eyebrow at her before chuckling and looking up again. “Well you’re born in the cold winter. What’s that say about you?”
“That I’m incredibly dreadful.”
They both laughed, and Asra shook his head.
“Farthest thing from it, probably. Too excitable and clumsy to be dreadful. Winter doesn’t have to be a dreadful season, you know. It’s nice and cool, allows for soft sweaters and hot chocolate, snow is pretty…”
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s a wonderful season, too.”
Just like you . Asra thought, glancing at her once more.
For an hour or two they stayed on the roof, tracing shapes in the stars and making their own constellations with their own names and stories, until Aisling couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. Asra wasn’t going to let her sleep on the roof, though, so he woke her up, and together they climbed down and made their way back to the shop. As quietly as they could they snuck back in through the back door and up the stairs, dropping their mugs off in the kitchen before going into Aisling’s room and shutting the door.
“That was fun,” Aisling murmured, yawning softly. “I’m tired now, though. I’m going back to sleep, I think.” She took a couple steps towards Asra and put her arms around him, giving him a sleepy hug.
Asra smiled and hugged her back, resting his chin on her head. “I’m tired too.”
“You can sleep here if you want,” Aisling gave him a light squeeze before pulling away. “Don’t look.”
Asra turned around as Aisling began stripping out of her clothes, and she pulled on the shirt she had on before, one that was much too big for her and rested at her thighs, then pulled on her shorts and went over to the bed. Asra looked over his shoulder to see her flop down onto the mattress. She didn’t move or say anything after that.
“Aisling?” He smirked and turned around.
“Mmm.”
He chuckled and stepped over to her, rolling her over and getting her under the blankets before tucking her in. “Goodnight.”
“‘Night, Asra.”
Sleep?
Asra glanced at Faust, then to the bed. Then to the window, then to the floor, then to the extra pillow next to Aisling.
“I shouldn’t sleep here. I should go home,” he whispered to his familiar.
Sleep!
Asra sighed and sat down on the floor. Then after a moment he laid down. “I guess…”
He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, curling up into a crescent shape as he rested his head on his arm. A few minutes passed, and then something dropped on his face.
Pillow!
Asra moved the pillow off his face, seeing Aisling’s hand dangling off the bed, and he smiled. “Thanks,” he murmured, putting the pillow under his head.
“Night night, friend.” Aisling murmured before turning over.
Asra chuckled before settling down, breathing in the lingering scent of her shampoo on her pillow as he drifted off to sleep. Aisling moved to one side of the bed, just in case Asra wanted to lay with her instead of the floor. Whether he did or not, she wasn’t sure, but when she awoke again he was gone. But her pillow was back on the bed beside her, that side of the blankets were made, and a steaming cup of tea sat on the table next to the bed. She smiled. Whenever she saw her elusive friend again, she’d have to thank him.
~