Page 16 of The Lone Wolf Café
“Okay, little air elemental,” I said as I crawled back into the cabinet. The mouse was still waiting for me, standing up on two paws with its gossamer body moving and swirling. I set the three bits of food down in front of it. “Let’s see if you like any of these.”
The elemental dropped back down on all fours and approached the offerings. It took a big sniff of the rosemary and let out a loud squeak, backing away as it made a noise somewhere between a choke and a cough.
“Oh, oops. Okay, you don’t like rosemary.” I grabbed the tiny sprig and tossed it outside the cabinet. “How about the other two?”
The mouse was more intrigued by the apple piece, grabbing it in its paws and holding it up to its mouth. I giggled as it took tiny nibbles out of the fruit, moving it left and right as if it were a corn cob. But the apple piece was very small, and once the mouse made it down to the outer skin, it set the fruit aside.
The mouse had eaten almost the entire apple piece, but its reaction to the piece of fruit paled in comparison to when it noticed the peanut. The elemental squealed with joy, making quick work of chewing away the outer shell and happily chowing down on the nuts inside.
“Okay, little elemental,” I instructed as it finished off the last of the peanut. It was gone in less than half the time it took the mouse to eat the apple. “Now that you’re nice and full, I have a task for you.”
It tossed away the empty peanut shell and looked at me, its ears perked up and nose held high. I smiled. It was eagerly awaiting my instructions.
“Can you go through these–” I crawled partway out and gestured toward the rest of the cabinets. “–and blow away the rest of the dust?”
I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping it wasn’t too big of an ask for such a tiny elemental. To my relief, the mouse squeaked enthusiastically and bounded out of the cabinet, leaving a faint breeze in its wake.
I opened all the cabinets below the countertop, and the mouse stood in front of them. It reared back, took a deep breath, and unleashed a cone-shaped wave of air that swept across the hardwood into the cabinets.
But it was no ordinary gust of air. As soon as the breeze reached the inside of the cabinets, it scurried around as if it had a life of its own, scouring every corner and leaping up the tall stacks of haphazard cooking supplies. Within thirty seconds, the wind scoured every corner, sweeping all the grime and dirt into a thick line on the floor.
The elemental looked proud of itself. I gave the little creature a warm smile, but internally I was scolding myself for not waiting to sweep the floors untilafterI did this.
“Thank you little–” I froze. “–guy?”
The air elemental shook its head.
“Girl?”
She nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay, you’re a female elemental. I’ll call you… Windy? Breezy?”
The elemental cocked its head.
I grimaced. “Too on the nose?”
She nodded.
“Okay… I may have to think about this one.” I knelt down, avoiding the dust piles, and offered a finger to the little mouse. “Thank you for your help today.”
The elemental nodded enthusiastically, placing her tiny paw against my finger. Then, the gusts that made up her little body grew stronger and faster, coming apart like frayed thread, until she burst into a puff of air.
She was gone. But I knew for elementals, physical existence was relative. She’d be back later.
I sighed, smiling warmly at my encounter with the little elemental. On Hollenboro, we had plenty of elementals, though our relationship with them was different. They were elusive, wild beings that lived separately from us werewolves. The only time we saw them was when we were out on hunts. There were mossy plant elementals shaped like squirrels, chunky rock elementals shaped like frogs, and playful water elementals shaped like otters. Once, as a child, I even saw an enormous earth elemental shaped like a bear, its paws dripping mud as it walked.
They were always a beautiful, ethereal sight. But werewolves were a stubborn, self-reliant bunch, and they frowned upon the symbiotic relationship witches had with the elementals. According to my father, witches took advantage of the majestic creatures, treating them like servants or pets. Now that I was immersed in a witch village, I noticed the relationship was far more complex. When I’d asked for help from Fritzi, Mavro, and my new unnamed mouse friend, they were more than happy to provide it. When they helped me, they were truly in their element.
I scoffed.Now that’s a terrible pun.
Just as I finished sweeping up the dust from the cabinets, I heard a loud wooden groan, and I turned around to see Rowena walking through the kitchen door. I immediately snapped to attention, grateful my little mouse friend was gone. I didn’t know if I was allowed to be fraternizing with strange elementals.
Rowena was quiet at first, her eyes drifting across the floors and flicking up to the ceiling. Heat prickled the back of my neck as I realized she was inspecting my cleaning job.
“Looks good in here,” she commented, in that same flat, reserved tone. It was difficult to tell if she truly was happy with my work.
“Thanks.” I nodded, forcing a wide smile. Rowena didn’t return it, but I swore I saw the tiniest spark of admiration in her eyes.
