Luna was still coughing with it only getting worse with time. Every cough was met with her ears flinching. Eventually, the spit turned red with blood, staining the snow below. Oliver watched in horror.

“Here, drink this!” Oliver handed Luna a different flask he kept around his waist. Luna quickly drank it without any questions. The liquid caresses their throat, soothing the ache. The gentle sweetness of honey and the mellowness of green tea filled their mouths. Her coughing subsided somewhat and her breathing steadied. It was minutes before Luna spoke up.

“Does all magic hurt you?” Luna asks while periodically drinking from the flask. Her voice is quiet and slightly raspy.

“If you do it wrong, yes. You should refrain from casting for the time being. You are still inexperienced.” Oliver's words stung like a dagger.

“Awww. What? No! I can handle it…just…let me have another go.” Luna's face turns to a frown, crossing her arms, her ears drooping down. She noticeably clenched. Her look lives up to the name of puppy-dog eyes. Oliver paced back and forth, the only thing keeping him grounded being the sting of the cold winter air in his nostrils. Of course he wanted to keep Luna safe but how was she going to learn magic if she couldn’t cast anything. Luna noticed Oliver’s internal conflict and capitalized on it. “You promised to teach me.I promise I’ll do good. I’ll listen. I promise.” Oliver couldn’t tear his eyes away as Luna continued to put the pressure up.

“Oh fine.” Oliver finally gave into the machinations of the 10 year old.

“YAY” Luna jumped up and down in the snow, a flurry kicking up around her as she giggled.

Oliver couldn’t help but crack a small smile. He sighed, attributing his softness towards the years alone finally getting to him. He readjusted himself and crouched down to Luna’s level. “Little witchlet, please follow me closely.” Luna nods, her eyes still bright even after her accident. “Good. Now, breathe in and out. Magic is no easy feat. To even cast one spell is impressive. What you need is practice and time. Magic is based on the words of your cast. These words we use to communicate to the world around us. And through diligent study, scholars have found the meaning of some words.” Oliver puts his full magic knowledge on display. He couldn’t remember the last time he could talk about magic with someone and Luna’s excited face made it all the more fulfilling. “Now casting has three parts, the initializer, the modifiers, and the closer.”

“The initializer, the modifiers, and the closer, I got it.”

“Good. Now the initializers are how you define the element you want. Earth is pétra, Water is neró ,Wind is thýella, and so on and so forth. These allow you to call on that specific element. Like a postal code. The closer is simple. It is one word, páfsi, and acts like the period to your spell. But the modifiers are interesting, they add onto the spell, shaping and morphing it into virtually anything. Now while the number of initializers is finite, the number of modifiers is ever growing.”

“What if you cast a spell without any modifiers?”

Oliver looks at his bright eyed pupil and grinned. “Well, it simply will appear with how it would in the world and it will only obey the laws of nature. For example Now, you can’t just go adding as many modifiers as you want. You cannot go past your word count.”

“Word count?”

“Yes, that is your upper limit of words your spell can have. And those words include the beginning and closer.”

“Whoa really? Is that why my throat seemed to close up?”

“Yes and you casted it incorrectly.” Oliver goes to take back his words but it’s all too late. He waits with faded breath for Luna’s reaction.

“So what IS correct?” Luna continued to look up, her smile not quite as wide but her eyes still locked onto Oliver as he continued to speak.

Oliver had to continue but mentally noted to be more careful. “See, the tempo at which you say your words should be even. Each word should take up the same amount of space and should be evenly spaced apart. And when you paused, your communication with the world got fuzzy and your throat closed as a result. It is the body’s natural reaction to uncontrolled Leximageía.”

“Oh…I see. Sorry Mr. Oliver, I should have waited for your instruction. I didn’t know how much went into magic.” Luna’s tail went in between her legs as she gripped onto it slightly. She looked up at Oliver, her face slightly downturned as she apologized and her eyes faced towards the pure white snow below. Oliver once again turned to consolation again, he waved his hands in front of himself frantically

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‘

Oliver looked and what looked back was himself. He always got so mad when he couldn’t quite get a spell right or his throat closed up prematurely. Luna is even younger than he was when he started learning, but he figured that he could use a line that his mentor once said to him. “Raise your head, it is quite alright. All I ask is that you follow my instructions next time.”

“Who taught you magic Oliver?” Luna attempted to perk up again.

“Oh, nobody” Oliver could have said he was self taught but no, he had to say “nobody.” His mind was still racing with the nostalgia triggered only a few seconds prior. He facepalmed grimacing at the inevitable follow up question.

“Nobody? Were you born knowing magic?” Oliver very much knew the answer was no. No one is born knowing magic, it’s a skill and not a talent. And to add further fuel to the fire, if he said magic was a talent, how would that affect young Luna. He already hurt her confidence enough. Too many thoughts were swirling in his mind. He was too exposed. There were too many options to consider and he didn’t want ANYONE to pry deeper. So he did what he always did.

“It’s complicated.” A deflection that signaled to everyone to back off.

“But you could explain it!” Luna rebuked. Her tail stuck straight up and she approached Oliver. Her every step closer gave Oliver more and more of a fright. Oliver was caught off guard. Everyone always takes that sign and leaves him alone. But he wasn’t going to give up. His secrets were his.

“You would find it boring.” By hitting at the sense of fun, he could direct Luna away from talking about him and back towards magic. Magic was comfortable. Magic didn’t make him feel like this.

“But finding more about you is fun.” Luna pressed on. Such surprising persistence from someone so young. “Would finding out about me help? I used to have friends but mama separated me from them because she was scared. She’s always scared of something. I can’t understand why.” Oliver paused at the sudden display of vulnerability. He was at a loss at what to do next. “Well, mama always said not to tell anybody anything, but I think that’s how friends are made.” This child was incredible. Her eyes shone so bright. Oliver crouched down and took a deep breath.

“I think your mom was right. Luna, in the world, people are always looking for something. Whether it be money, fame, power, it’s good not to share too much too early. Trust is not a light thing to be given about. It is something you should only share with those you really connect with and cherish.”

“But, I can cherish everyone.”

“Luna, you really shouldn’t, I mean wi-”

“But I can and I will.”Luna cut him off, her feet planted firmly in the ground.

“Another time.” Oliver attempted to quell her curiosity

“WHy can’t you say it now?” Luna’s voice dragged at the last syllable, stressing it for a bit. Her face turned into a pout as she grappled his leg.

“Hey! Let go of me!” Oliver gently shook his leg but Luna held firm.

“Not until you tell me something about yourself!” Luna's eyes were filled with a fire as her claws dug into the fabric of Oliver’s pants. Oliver tried to get them off and yet Luna would not let go. Oliver’s eyes looked a tad more sunken in. Instead of pleas for Luna to listen he just let out a large sigh.

“You need to worry more. You need to have more scrutiny behind those eyes. You need to not hold your head so high. Sometimes keeping your head down is how you survive.” Oliver didn’t mince his words. He used the same voice he used when he told the villagers to leave him alone. Luna looked up, still gripping tightly on his leg, and just restated her opinion.

“I CAN cherish everyone.”

“I hope you can, for your sake. We should go home.”

“Aw, WHAT? I didn’t even get to do anything!”

“I gave you the basics. Remember them well.” Luna’s face was still downturned as her cheeks puffed out. She gave a sour expression. Oliver sighed, he looked around as if the forest could give him the solution. He put his hands into his pocket. He muttered to himself, low enough so the only one who could hear him was himself, “They’re bound to leave now.” Oliver walked home in silence no matter how much Luna attempted to get him to talk. He looked towards the ground, examining the snow below. He and Luna walked in the cabin. When Oliver walked in, he saw his house slightly off. He had been living in it for most of his life and everything was slightly out of place. A table slightly shifted, a book not opened to the correct page on the floor, and patches of floor lighter than the others all made the place feel off. Charianne walked in from another room, her face pleasant but her smile didn’t crack as wide as when she ate. Her eyes didn’t smile with her. Oliver could tell that she was snooping.

Oliver knew that was rational, they only just met after all. Oliver knew that it was for protecting her daughter. Oliver knew that he shouldn’t be offended. And yet, he still felt a tad hurt. Oliver knew that was stupid. Oliver knew that one meal can only do so much. And yet all the same he still felt a solid sting in his heart. Undoubtedly, this is how Luna felt. This is what he does with his words. It’s a sting he often gave out but didn’t take. And it hurts. Oliver looked again at Charianne’s face. Was it always like that? Was it always forced? Oliver exhaled shakily.

Oliver spoke up, “What have you been up to?” He was more confirming than asking.

“Oh, just lounging around.” Charianne straightened her posture and yet was unable to look Oliver directly in the eye. Luna ran up to her mom and hygge her without a second thought.

“Momma!” Luna’s arms wrapped tightly around her mom. “Momma momma! Oliver is a great teacher. He said all of the things about magic, and modifiers, and starters, and-” Luna abruptly cut herself off. ”Did you know there was so much going into magic momma? There’s so much you need to know and keep track of. Like your breathing!” Luna then does exaggerated breathing in and out. Oliver’s eyes were still locked onto Charianne. By now, her half hearted smile transformed into a full smile at the sight of her daughter. Charianne gently scratched the top of her daughter’s head as she engaged with Luna’s tomfoolery. Charianne idly nodded along as Luna continued. “We didn’t do a whole lot today, but Oliver did cast magic for me. It was amazing! All of the wind went like whoosh and the area was all cleared in an instant.” Chariane nodded along. “Oliver was a little harsh, but I did mess up today. But it’s ok! He wasn’t mad!” Charianne twitched slightly at the mention of harsh words but let her daughter continue. “Magic is powerful. I tried to cast it myself and I coughed blood.” CHarianne looked up from her daughter towards Oliver as her face turned stoic. Her eyes narrowed and her ears stood up Oliver cowered under the gaze of Charianne. Maybe he was the rude one. Perhaps the oak tree had their reasons for being so rude. Oliver physically backed off and put his hands up in mock surrender.

“Sorry about that.” Oliver’s apology was short and curt. His neck craned down as his hands stayed beside him. He sighed and continued to keep his distance. He decided a nap would be best. To leave them alone and give them an opportunity to leave without issue. He liked having them around. He would miss the company. “I’ll take a quick nap. Goodbye.” Oliver knew they would leave, he could just feel it. No one wanted to stay for long. He never gave them any reason to. Oliver went to his bedroom and closed his eyes, expecting to be greeted with an empty house in the morning.