Chapter Text
Wilbur was the worst witch in his coven, he was the weakest in his coven. He didn’t even have a familiar, and he was only one day away from 18.
His father Philza has a familiar, Techno. The duo were extremely powerful, Wilbur however, was not. He could barely make a magic shield. The only thing he was good at was sensing magic. So in simpler words, he was a disappointment.
By Witch rules you only had five years to bond with your familiar or they would take your magic away. They would have to perform a ritual to take his magic away, and he didn’t want that. Magic was the very bane of a Witches existence. To take away one's magic was to take aways one’s joy.
So obviously he ran away.
The woods were the first place he thought of, and was the first place he ran. The woods were dark, scary, and rumored to be cursed with dark magic, enough to one go insane. But at this point, Wilbur didn’t care, he just didn’t want his weak magic taken away.
The rules were dumb, you could bond with a familiar anytime, but no, you only have until you’re 18. Which was stupid!
And… where was he? He couldn’t see the house, or anything besides the woods really. How long had he been walking? Suppose it didn’t matter now that he was out here, he just needed to find shelter. Then he would use his weak magic to try and make a somewhat decent fire.
Luckily for him he was by a cave, though it was surprisingly small for the terrain near here. Wilbur could feel the magic radiating from the cave, the one thing he was good at. He could also feel the warmth coming from the cave.
He hesitantly walked into the cave. The moon was now above the treeline, casting its soft glow over the treetops. The brunette used the little energy that the moon gave him to make a
weak
shield, just in case.
Upon entering, there was nothing but a few embers at the entrance. There were no runes, there were no salts, there was nothing . Not even loose rocks–
Squawk!
Wilburs head shot up to see a bird defending a shabby looking nest. This wasn't any bird though, this was a phoenix . A species long thought dead.
“Oh Prime…” Wilbur breathed, his voice soft. The phoenix puffed up its chest more as Wilbur let his
weak
defenses fall. The man crouched, cocking his head,
“Can you, uh, understand me?” Wilbur asked hesitantly, his voice almost softer than before. The phoenix looked taken aback by the question, though nodded, it feathers acting like the embers at the cave entrance,
“Good, can I uh, stay here? Just-just tonight though!” Wilbur added on quickly, he didn’t want to upset the familiar. The phoenix hesitated before nodding again. Then spread its wings and flew back to the nest that it had been trying to protect earlier, embers falling off of its wings as it did.
Wilbur then tried to conjure up a small bed using his
weak
magic, only for it to end up being a hay bail with a thin sheet on top. The phoenix let out a croak that was most likely a laugh. Wilbur couldn’t help himself from smiling at the phoenix's amusement.
He tried to ignore the fondness he already felt for the creature.
Wilbur tried to get into the ‘bed’ somewhat comfortably, but ultimately couldn’t. He would have to settle for sleeping on the sheet instead of under it. He let out a soft groan as he got onto the hail bale.
The phoenix squawked before flying over to the man. The phoenix had a gift, a feather . If a phoenix feather was used correctly, it could be used for a warmth spell. Wilbur’s eyes widened such a rare sight.
“Thanks, but I’m not strong enough for this,” Wilbur replied sadly. The phoenix only squawked in response, pushing the feather towards him once again,
“You really don’t have to, and I’m too weak for—hey!” Wilbur swatted at his ear, the Phoenix had just bitten his ear. It let out what Wilbur assumed was a sigh and returned to its nest, leaving its feather by Wilbur.
Wilbur rubbed his ear before laying down and closed his eyes. Tomorrow he would be 18, unable to return home. At least his weak magic wasn't being taken.
Wilbur was already asleep when someone walked over to him and placed the feather behind his ear, saying something lightly under their breath as the coldness of the cave turned warm.