Theo (need a title any suggestions?)

Chapter Four

Chapter Four
“I did you knuckle brain.” Comes the voice from my feet. I look down and there in the thin light of the moon there is what looks to be an owl sitting on my bag. I lean closer for a better look. It is a heavy bird as he is squishing my bag. His tail feathers aren’t too long as they don't touch the ground but he has large curved claws and large eyes. Except unlike an owl, this bird has fathers sticking out the side of is face, it makes him look comical. “Don’t tell me your stupid as well as clumsy.”
“I am not stupid!” I protest. “You shouldn’t have scared me like that, it is do dare that I can hardly see you.”
Scare you, scare you,” cries the bird, “you are the one who knocked me out of the air!”
“I was only trying to protect my face from whatever was flying at me.” I look at the bird. “All I could see was something flying at me. By the way what are you and how come you can talk?”
“You are dense. Haven’t you ever seen a kakapo?” he quips.
“I know you look like an owl but owls can’t talk.” I defend myself.
“So you say,” huffs the kakapo. “I suppose you know all there is to know about magic.”
I sit down and put my head in my hands. “I wish I did but the wizard who was to teach me hasn’t and won’t because I’m a girl. According to him, magic is wasted on girls.” I begin to cry softly.
“Don’t start blubbering all over everything. I am an owl parrot, by some oversight of the creator; we are unable to fly. The wizard I am with gave me the ability to speak so I could keep him company. Every so often he casts a spell so that I can fly. Now which wizard would say he was going to teach you magic and then not do it?”
I sniffle and wipe my nose on the back of my hand. “I’m suppose to be Alfred T Nebel’s apprentice, at least that is what the elves told me after the big test but Alfred hasn’t taught me anything.”
The kakapo looks at me with his big eyes whirling. “You are the boy that was with Alfred in the Council Hall?”
“Now whose stupid?” I ask, “didn’t I just say he wouldn’t teach me because I was a girl?”
The kakapo hops of my back and stretches out his wings, which aren’t very big, which is probably the reason he can’t fly. “You’re not in a robe now are you miss smarty pants.”
“No, its dark out and I have no idea where I am going plus I’m hungry.” I grab my bag and dig out some bread and cheese.
“Would you like some?” I hold out the cheese.
“I most certainly would not. I don’t eat human food.” Sniffs the kakapo.
“So who are you and what do you eat?” I ask
“My name is Charmaine and I am a familiar to a great wizard.” He spreads his wing towards me like I’m suppose to shake hands with it. Instead I run my finger down the wing.
“Right, they all say they are great wizards,” I put my snack away. “If you don’t eat human food what do you eat?”
Charmaine cleans his feathers. “I like leaves, seeds, mosses the most. I will eat fruit and berries if there isn’t anything else.”
I make a face. “That sounds nasty. Leaves and mosses don’t sound very good. I’ll stick to my bread and cheese.”
“It might be nasty to you,” Charmaine cleans his feathers on the other side, “but I think moldy cheese and stale bread doesn’t sound good.”
“You’re right,” I agree as I stand up, “but it is good traveling food.”
Charmaine bring his head with his big whirling eyes closer to me. “So Alfred has you on an errand? Gathering components for a new spell. No wait, I bet is a secret mission for one of the kingdoms. No I don’t think he’d have an apprentice do that.” Charmaine paces back and forth.
I pick up my bag and sling it over my shoulder as I walk away. “It is none of your business what I am doing.”
Charmaine hops after me. “Nincompoop, wait up, I want to hear this story.”
“Why should I tell you?” though I do slow down so he can catch up.
“I might be slightly rude but I am excellent company and it will help pass the time. And I really do want to hear this story. But if you want me to leave you alone I will.” He begins to hop away.
“Wait!” I look around the shadows, “your company would be nice. You said earlier that you are a familiar, what is that? A type of owl? And what type of spell is used to make you fly?
“Are you dense or just not paying attention to your lessons?” gripes Charmaine.
“I’m not the dense one you are. I’ve been telling you that Alfred hasn’t taught me anything about magic except how to chant.” I shake my head.
“A familiar is an animal that is magically bonded to someone who is learning or practices magic.” Charmaine sounds like he is talking through his nose.
“Oh, that must be what Impi is to Alfred.” I understand now.
“The light has turned on,” Charmaine dips his head towards me, “you wouldn’t believe the uproar that caused.”
I question Charmaine, “Why would that cause a problem? I know that Impi is annoying.”
“I’ll make a bargain with you, I if I may catch a ride on your bag, I will narrate you the story.”
I set my bag on the ground. “Please tell me the story,” I shiver a bit, it’s darker out here then I thought.”
Charmaine hops to the bag and climbs on. “After I tell you the story of Alfred and Impi we find a spot to stop and rest and you tell me your story.”
I pick the back up and shift it around till I find a comfortable position. “Deal.”
“We all know that Alfred thinks very highly of himself. Being the advisor to the king sometimes gives a person and ego and Alfred has a big one.”
“Tell me about it, he thinks he’s a god.” I mutter.
“Stop interrupting, blabber mouth,” Charmaine scolds, “that is very rude.”
“Sorry”
“No problem, anyway, one day Alfred decided that he has been practicing magic long enough and wants to tray again for a familiar.” Charmaine continues.
“Is there a spell you use to call a familiar?” I can’t help myself.
“Sometimes we find you but normally we answer the call of a spell. We are pretty selective on answering because we don’t want to be ordered and unwillingly bound to a person.” Charmaine explains.
I rub a hand over my face. “Alfred might have a big ego but he would never unwillingly bind something. Wait, you said try again?”
Charmaine ruffles his feather. “Are you going to let me tell the story.”
I shrug my shoulders and he almost falls off the bag. “Get on with it then.”
“You are right, you aren’t deaf, I did say again. This was going to be his second attempt. He had tried once at the beginning of his wizard school days but nothing answered his call.”
“Why?”
“Because we are wise creatures we know when someone is ready for the responsibility or in need of our help. He was neither ready or in need.” My mouth falls open at the thought of Alfred not being ready for responsibility but close it quickly when bugs fly in. “Alfred cast the spell and waited. The first time he waited three weeks with only bread and water to keep him going. This time he was prepared to wait it out.”
“How long?” I had to interrupt again.
“Not long, not long at all,” Charmaine chuckles if you can call it that coming from a bird. “Impi made him wait three hours as a test of his patience.”
“Alfred has not patience.” I butt in.
“No kidding,” agrees Charmaine. He was pacing like a caged animal when Impi showed up.”
I shake my head. “I have one problem with this, I can’t see Alfred with a bird. His ego he would be more of the big animal type of a guy. Something that would show off how great he thinks he is.”
“Not as dumb as you look,” informs Charmaine, “he did ask for a tiger but he got Impi instead.”
“How did he take it?”
“You’re the apprentice, how do you think?”
“Not good?” is my guess.
“You could say that, in fact he refused t believe that Impi was to be his familiar,” continues Charmaine.
“What happened?” I ask a little breathlessly.
Charmaine lets out a loud hoot. “Alfred refused to believe that Impi was to be his familiar so Impi just sat and watched as Alfred did the spell over and over again. The big lug knew from his studies that it wouldn’t change anything. He ranted for three days trying to get a different familiar to answer his call but Impi was his destiny.”
“Couldn’t Alfred have refused Impi?” I scratch my head.
“At least you are not afraid to show your ignorance. Yes, he could have refused but no other familiar would answer his call and he would get no magical help from anyone, he would be an outcast. How can you not know these things? Part of the spell is a promise to honor and protect that which answers that call.” Charmaine’s head Elis back and forth. “It is one of the most basic concepts in magic. All that power and no idea how to use it properly, tsk, tsk.”
“I can’t see Alfred being happy not getting the familiar of his choice.” I don’t understand this familiar choosing stuff but I am not going to ask any more questions because he already thinks I’m a stupid child.
“In a rare instance, two familiars might answer the call and then the caller has a choice,” explains Charmaine, “but no one else came. It was well known that Impi was who he was meant to have, it was his destiny.”
“What does destiny or fate or whatever you call it have to do with Alfred and his familiar.” My legs are getting tired; I start looking for a place to sit down for a while.
“Alfred’s ego and his idea of what a wizards is suppose to be are not correct or the beliefs of everyone who does magic. Impi is suppose to help him see the error of his ways, how narrow minded he is.” Charmaine hops down and flies a little ways ahead.
I shift my bag to a more comfortable position; I think I can walk farther now that Charmaine isn’t riding. “You don’t think Impi has been able to help Alfred?”
Charmaine waits for me to catch up and then keeps pace with me. “Has he been teaching you magic?”
“There is no way that Impi knew I would be coming to Alfred. How could he prepare Alfred to teach me?” I’m beginning to think that Charmaine is pulling my leg.
“Not to necessarily prepare Alfred for you, silly child. But to teach him that it does not take tiger to be a great wizard. That sometimes it is the little things that make the biggest impact. Magic comes from places and things and people we least expect it to. Magic does not have to flashy and showy to be good magic.” Charmaine sounds like a teacher getting bored with his student.
“Alfred must have realized this if he is bonded to Impi.” I move my bag to the other shoulder it is getting very heavy.
“No, Alfred cast the bonding spell to prove that it was no Impi he was to be bonded to. Imagine his surprise when the bond held and Impi was upset for being thought of as a liar.”
I sit down in the grass to rest. “I can’t imagine Impi being upset. He is annoying just the way he is.”
“He is that way because of Alfred’s disbelief.” Charmaine rest on the ground next to me. “He repeats everything twice just to annoy Alfred. I know the two of them work great together just from the quality of new spells they have produced but he has not done a good job of changing Alfred’s views and opinions.”
I start walking again. “The forest isn’t that much farther lets keep going. They do magic together.”
“That is one of the jobs of a familiar is to boost your own magical ability, to teach you new things, give you a different perspective on magic. Being a wizard can also be a lonely life so a familiar usually falls into the category of best friend and confidante. Impi seems to have failed in giving Alfred a different outlook on magic. You are the proof of that.” Charmaine explains.
I shrug my shoulders, I don’t know if Charmaine can see that or not. “That’s not Impi’s fault, he just has his heart set on an apprentice from the Wizard School and Hulda refuses to let him spend the money.”
“Refuses to let him spend the money or refuses to boost his ego. This is perfect example of what I’m talking about. Not all apprentices come from the Wizard School. Alfred just thinks that because he is so much better than everyone else he must have an apprentice from the Wizard School to show his status.”
“Oh,” I cover my mouth to hid a yawn and don’t see the tree root; I trip and fall flat on my face. I didn’t realize that we were in the forest yet. I walk in a little farther.
“Theo,” Charmaine is sitting on a tree branch. “It’s about four hours till morning, how about you find a place to get some sleep and you can tell me your story when you get up.”
“Sounds good to me.” I look around and find a hollowed out log. I fill it with leaves put my cloak over the leaves and lay down. I vaguely hear Charmaine giving the forest animals orders to watch over me.