Page 33 of Forgotten Arcane

I grin, “That’s great.”

She nods and then disappears without even saying goodbye.

“She’s a bit more blunt than the others, isn’t she?” Van asks with a smile.

I nod, “Yep. She did at least help me though, and it was her magic that brought me out here, so I wouldn’t burn the house down.”

“Erm, guys, should I know that this kelpie is called Drabek?” Coen suddenly asks as he strokes the nose of the dark red kelpie.

I grin, “Yep. That means he’s yours.”

“Mine?” Coen asks with his eyes wide.

Raiden nods, “Yeah, you know that we said that the kelpies are bonded to us, and what that all means?”

Coen nods, “Vaguely. There was a lot of information thrown at me, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around most of it.”

River chuckles, “That’s understandable. I think most of us are still trying to wrap our heads around some things.”

“True,” Raiden agrees. “Anyway, the fact that you know his name means that he is your bonded kelpie.”

“Congrats, man,” Evander says, with a broad grin.

Raiden quickly explains about the whistles and calling him, and Coen’s smile gets wider.

Before anyone can suggest it, Coen swings up onto his kelpie's back with ease and takes off. My smile is huge as I hear him whooping with joy as he races through the woods. River jumps up onto Reath and takes off after him, and soon I can hear both of them yelling and laughing.

“Well, Coen didn’t take long to get used to the idea of his kelpie,” Van chuckles.

“Nope, but the kelpies all liked him when we were in the Choosing on our last task,” Griff points out.

“That’s a good point,” Ransom agrees.

I yawn, “I’m going to go back to the house. I didn’t get nearly enough sleep, and now I need a shower too since I landed in the lake.”

Raiden nods, “Yeah, let’s all head back. River and Coen will come back when they’re ready.”

We all say goodbye to our kelpies, and I thank Mael for rescuing me again, and then we head back to the house.

∞∞∞

I have no idea what time River and Coen came back last night, but I woke up with them both wrapped around me this morning, and after having an argument with my bladder, I lost and had to very slowly extract myself from in between them so I could pee.

“Morning, Nene,” Van greets me as I walk into the kitchen, having also lost a fight with my stomach.

I’m not doing very well this morning.

“Hey,” I smile.

Reed hands me a coffee, made exactly how I like it, and Ransom points to a plate already on the table filled with my favorite breakfast foods.

“You guys are so awesome,” I grin, as I take a seat and immediately start eating.

“We know,” Doc replies with a smile as he sips his own coffee..

“We’re going to be practicing flying today,” Raiden says excitedly. “You’re going to need as much energy as you can get.”

“He’s right,” Griff adds. “When you’re first learning to fly, you burn through a lot of energy.”

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