After the intense battle, Jillian was still processing the night out in the field and the end of the ant fight she had witnessed. It was amazing seeing all the people working together. It was simply amazing to see all the magical spells going off. She wondered who was doing all the illusion magic. It was very flashy and spectacular. It was the illusions that initially warned them something was wrong on their way back.

Gavrin had been pacing alongside Jillian as they moved through the woods. It was unsettling how Gavrin and Thor disappeared into the shadows. Only Loki stayed beside her, constantly staying by her side.

She thought Gavrin had ditched her when she suddenly heard Loki whimper and let out a little bark. Jillian turned to look and saw Loki pointing to the left. She saw a group of delicate, ethereal creatures resembling oversized butterflies with wings that shimmer in moonlight. Their wings produced a soft, melodic hum that was soothing and hypnotic. Loki gave an encouraging yip and shot an icicle at one. It burst into a ball of light.

Jillian had spots in her eyes from the flash of light. “Loki.” She yelled in surprise. “Why did you do that?” she practically yelled. Jillian was heartbroken to see such beautiful creatures destroyed.

Loki turned her head to look at Jillian. She cocked her head to the side and the question in her eyes almost seemed to be communicating with Jillian.

“They are for target practice?” Jillian said the words that bubbled to her mind.

Loki nodded in agreement.

Jillian sighed. That did seem like something Gavrin would do. She took out her crossbow and loaded one of the arrows Gavrin had grown for her.

She began picking off the butterflies one by one. She missed the first few times. The erratic flapping of the wings of the butterflies sent them careening through the air in unpredictable directions.

She quickly got used to it and focused her attention on her accuracy. She could have sworn the arrows began to track the butterflies as they moved through the air. She shook her head and hoped she wasn’t imagining things.

Gavrin popped out of the air beside her. Jillian gave a little shriek of surprise when he melted out of the shadows in existence.

Gavrin gave a silly grin. “Sorry about that. I just thought as we are making our way back we could continue to power level you a bit.”

“That would have been nice to know beforehand.” Jillian frowned. “That scared the shit out of me. And why something so cute?” She demanded. “I don’t like killing cute things.”

“Oh, they look pretty but they ain’t act pretty.” Gavrin responded. “I’ve been looking for pollinators to add to the shard and I saw these guys and thought they might do the trick. I saw them resting on a dead something and tried to catch a few. I didn’t think anything of it because I know some species of butterflies do drink blood when they can get it. Though, now that I think about it, none around here. Anyways, that’s not important. Those little bastards hunt in packs. They use their sound of the wings to hypnotize you then they drop spores from their wings on you. That thing they were eating was mostly sucked dry even though it was still weakly struggling.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Gavrin went on to explain. Jillian’s face gradually took on an expression of dawning horror. These things sounded awful.

“Yarp.” Gavrin said as he saw the look on her face. “I still caught some, I got a system prompt that I can change small animals like these butterflies. Or as the system said, “whisperwings.’

“Whisperwings.” Jillian repeated.

“Yep.” Gavrin answered. “Sometimes when I run across something low level enough, I can see some information about it. I guess these whisperwinds counted. Do you want me to keep sending things your way?”

Jillian shrugged. “Why, not? Who am I to turn down free experience.”

Gavrin nodded. He disappeared slowly fading back into shadow. His grin was the last part to slowly fade away.

“That is so creepy.” Jillian shivered.

Loki barked.

“I know.” Jillian said. “Still a little creepy, but I am certain he is a kind gentleman.”

Loki yipped in agreement.

Jillian’s thoughts slowly moved back to the present. The entire afternoon became a blur of low level monsters, then the fear she felt when she large creatures wheeling over the camp.

Gavrin appeared in front of her and told her something was up. “I’m going ahead. Something is happening. Thor and Loki will guide you in and protect you. I can move faster than and they should be able to keep you safe. Don’t dawdle.”

Before Jillian could respond he was gone again and Thor came bounding up with a concerned look on his face.

Jillian got the school just in time to she Gavrin cast waves of spikes that washed over the gigantic ants like a wave breaking over the beach.

Carlos suddenly brought her back to the present. “Jillian, where were you last night? I was worried when I couldn’t find you after the ants attacked.”

Jillian hesitated, knowing she couldn’t disclose her experience in the dimensional realm. “I was out in the field, Carlos. It was safer to stay there than to try and make it back in the dark. I set up some protective enchantments to keep safe.”

Jillian winced as she saw Carlos misread her hesitation. Carlos said suspiciously. “All night? And with Gavrin, I heard. What’s going on with you two?”

Jillian felt the weight of her oath press down on her as seemed to have a physical presence. “Carlos, Gavrin was helping me with some advanced enchantment techniques. He was helping me level, and his knowledge of magic is valuable for my artificer skills.”

Carlos’ tone became more accusatory. “I don’t like it, Jillian. You’re my girlfriend, and I don’t want you spending nights out with him, whatever the reason.”

Jillian felt a flash of irritation at his possessiveness but tried to keep her voice calm. “Carlos, we’re trying to survive in a changed world. I need to learn from those who can teach me, and Gavrin is one of those people. It’s not about us; it’s about contributing to everyone’s safety.”

Carlos whined. “But I should be the one protecting you. I don’t trust him, Jillian.”

Jillian saw the complexity in Carlos’ emotions but also recognized the problematic nature of his possessiveness. “Carlos, I am capable of taking care of myself. And we need to trust each other, especially now. My learning from Gavrin is about protection us all, including you.”

Carlos stormed from the room. The conversation ended with a tense air. Jillian was left to ponder the delicate balance she needed to maintain – her commitment to Carlos, her dedication to honing her artificer skills and the importance of the oath she had taken. The experience with Gavrin had opened her eyes to the vast potential of her abilities, and she knew that she couldn’t let Carlos ruin a good thing for her and the group.