In the pre-dawn light, Arsenic shook himself awake and made an effort to be as still and quiet as possible. Crispin awoke and stretched, his white fur a stark contrast to the multi-colored dragons sleeping all around him. Crispin, unused to being awake before the sun resisted the temptation to roar is displeasure. After all, it would be impossible to sneak out of the house if he awoke Zovah and the other dragons.
Flinn had being wake most of the night, excitement had prevented sleep from coming. As the pale lavender light streaked across the sky, Flinn quickly sprang from his bed and threw on clothes. He fully expected his brother and Mom to still be sound asleep, snug in their respective beds. To his surprise, he ran into his mother as he tiptoed from his room.
"And just where do you think you are off to at this hour?". His mother's question catching him off-guard.
"Um," he stammered unable to quickly come up with a practical reason for being up so early.
"Don't bother, just come help me before my company arrives in an hour or so. I need you to light the stove and put the kettle on to boil. And while the water is boiling, go pick me a bundle of rosemary and a bundle of lilies."
"Yes, ma'am," came Flinn's immediate reply. And he slowly made his way to the kitchen, grumbling under his breath all the way about his bad luck running into his mother this morning of all mornings.
His mother, Elsbeth, stared after him and shook her head in dismay. "That child is my last and I can't wait until he is old enough to kick out of the house. He isn't Brock and he is hopeless with herbs and potions.". Her long black hair extended past her knees and had yet to be tied back for the day. Elsbeth was vain about her hair and she spent the first part of every morning plaiting her hair. As she shook her head, she headed back into her bedroom. She sat in front of her mirror, her most prized possession, and assessed herself.
"The wrinkles are becoming more pronounced, I must discover a cream that will make them fade. The village can't see me age and grow old and feeble. I am the great and mysterious Elsbeth, never shall I be seen as old."
Little did she know, that Brock had woken up when he heard voices in the hallway. "What she doesn't realize is that soon the village will fear her no longer and will come to me for all their potion needs." His voice cracked mid-sentence, that curious mix of husky and childlike that most teenage boys experience. Brock was large for his age, fifteen last winter, and had a complexion that matched his personality. He wasn't liked by others and spent most of his days with his mother as his only company. He paid no attention to Flinn, ignoring him entirely unless it was to mock him or trip him up.
Flinn slipped into the small kitchen and quickly lit the stove and set the kettle to boil. He didn't know any other life and didn't expect any kindness from his own family. Shivering slightly as he went to collect the requested items for his mother, Flinn paused to watch the sun peak over the horizon and light up the morning sky in a brilliant array of colors. The sublet pinks and pale oranges of the morning sky promised warmer days to come, this realization made Flinn smile.
Flinn quickly gathered the rosemary, the woody stems and strong fragrance reminding him of Crispin, strong and stalwart, unshakable. The lilies reminded him of Arsenic, delicate and strong. Requested items gathered, Flinn picked up a rock and attempted to skim it across the stream. The rock sunk quickly and Flinn laughed muttering, "Someday I will figure out how to make rocks skip like Zovah does."
Flinn walked toward the house slowly, thinking about the day ahead. His face screwed up in thought, his brow wrinkled as he tried to figure out how to disappear before his mother came up with some awful chore designed to keep him hidden away from her visitors.
"I know, while she drinks her tea I will grab my fishing gear and head out. So long as I come home with fish for dinner, I will hopefully avoid getting in too much trouble." He thought to himself and a slow smile flitted across his face momentarily.
Placing the rosemary and lilies in the herb room, Flinn made sure to be as quiet as he could possibly be. He grabbed his fishing gear without being seen or heard and left the house. He knew that neither his mother or brother would give him a second thought until much later in the afternoon, and by then he would have met-up with Crispin and Arsenic and finally been introduced to Hermonia.
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