Hi there! Name's Squiggers, pleasure to meet you I'm sure. Haha, what? You want to know what I am and why I'm here today? Well, I'm a Samr and I'm here to tell a story. Not much help, huh? All you need to know is, I'm what you might call a fairy or nymph and since the author is tired he left me in charge of telling the story of our fate bound hero, Edwin. So, without further ado, let's get started!
Well, there I was minding my own business, snacking on some flower petals, when out of no where WOOSH! Some kid rushes by running full gait and nearly flattening my poor soul. "What in the name of Alkie was that?" I exclaimed, then as if in response a huge man comes running yelling "Give that back!!!" Yeah, you guessed it, that man would turn out to be our lovable Edwin...but I'm getting ahead of myself. He thundered by panting like an old dog after a rabbit. I of course decided to follow him and see what had happened.
The scene that followed was almost pathetically comic. The speedy one seemed to be just a kid, early teens maybe? He was holding a book or journal of some sort, apparently the object of interest in this pursuit. He would slow down and let the large one catch up and nearly catch him, then put on an extra burst of speed. A couple times Edwin took flying dives at the boy but all he accomplished was to put more grass stains on his already soiled shirt.
"What on earth could be in that bit of bound parchment that makes them run so..." I wondered. Maybe it was a valuable book the kid had stolen. Oooh, or maybe it was Edwin's journal and he had many pages about a lover! Or maybe it's more dastardly and it's a spell book of some forbidden nature. Haha, I just HAD to find out!
Just my luck! The boy had managed to climb up a tree out of reach of the giant and it appeared the big guy wasn't keen on climbing up after him. The boy taunted Edwin with the book, then opened to start looking at his prize. Apparently he had the same or similar thoughts to mine. I peered over his shoulder at the pages as he flipped through them and with equal appointment we looked away. All that was in it were incomprehensible scribbles and mathematical formulae. He had pinched Edwin's magitec notes for one of the many classes he was taking.
The boy's mean streak seemed to reappear with this let down and he ripped the pages apart and threw the mess down in Edwin's face. I was shocked, but when I saw the face on the giant I was stunned. You could see in his eyes that some small part of him had just died. Briefly there flashed a rage so terrifying I could feel my soul trying to escape my body. This kid was dead for sure I thought, but as soon as it came it passed. Edwin leaned over and picked up the bits of his notes and straightened them up a bit.
I think the kid saw that same flash, for at some point he had leaped from the tree and was running off just as fast as his legs would take him.
The big guy slumped down onto the ground and leaned back against the tree, heaving a great sigh. I flew down and settled on his shoulder. He was looking through the pages putting it back together as best he could. He muttered to himself, "just great... exam next week and my notes are scrap." He sat there for a while continuing to rebuild his notebook, then he stared off into space. I'm not sure what came over me, but I wanted to know what was going through his mind. So I jumped down, scampered behind the tree, materialized, then cam back around.
The big guy looked down at me strangely... or rather, it was strange in that his expression never changed. He just gave a faint smile and turned his gaze back to the clouds. Something about his manner said, "you can sit on my shoulder if you like." So, of course I did. Then to assuage my curiosity I asked him, "what'cha thinkin 'bout, sir?"
He laughed at me, but such a cheery sort of laugh. "Oh, I don't know.... stuff." There must have been something of my disappointment on my face cause after glancing at me he continued. "Meh, I've got another exam at the university and my notes are torn.... but... well, I'm not even sure I want to be an apprenticed structural magitechnician. It's interesting, but there's nothing romantic about it. Oh to be a poet or musician, I'm actually not too bad as an artist, here..." He proceeded to rummage around in his pockets and pull out a little notebook. He flipped it open and showed me some interesting sketches. He really wasn't all that bad, bit of practice and he'd be positively amazing, he seemed to think so too for he sighed at that instant.
Daring to inquire further I asked him why he didn't change to some other venue of study. Edwin seemed hesitant to continue what must have been a familiar conversation, but continue he did. It was an intriguing tale of conflicting obligations. He never said it, but you could tell the first and main reason he chose the path he did was he wanted his parents to be proud of him. I wanted to tell him they would be proud no matter what, but I think he knew that too. There were other reasons though. He had always wanted to have a family one day, and the job of a magitechnician pays very well. He actually did like the material, the blend of natural sciences with mathematics used to create impossible feats of nature has a certain appeal to minds like Edwin's. Then there was the matter of the various patrons who were helping to pay for Edwin's education, it is hard to reject a thing when people give you money just so one can continue to study. All things considering, I was not sure why he wanted to get out anymore, seemed a good fit for him. He seemed to simply feel that something of it didn't quite click, but at the same time he had no idea what else he would or should pursue. He found it frustrating that the majority of his close friends were of the romantic mindset to some degree or another, and so many were driven passionately into a career, like they were made to do only that with no talent elsewhere.
He continued to talk for a while, I was so absorbed in learning about this gentle giant that I lost track of time. I wasn't sure what it was but I felt an unconscious bond forming and after a time, when he was getting ready to leave, I blurted out, "may I become your familiar?" I was so embarrassed! This was so improper, I wanted to die, but Edwin just sort of looked at me and asked, "are you sure you want to?" I blushed and nodded, still not quite sure what had become of me to act this way. We then proceeded with the pact and I was practically giddy when the symbol of the pact appeared on his arm. It was a large glowing flower quite unlike any I've ever seen (it looked delicious). I went briefly over how our pact worked and a few of the new powers he would have. He was, somewhat surprisingly, very familiar with contracting spirits. I might add too, I'm a powerful one if handled well, hehehe. Anyway, he took off home and I flew off to a nice patch of flowers I had spotted moments ago.
Mhmmm, that was a good story, right? I am can't wait to show up more in this story, haha! Oh, I am probably breaking so many rules talking to you, the reader... Hehehe, is there a fourth wall in prose? Well, us Samr are just special like that, muahahahahahahahahahahahahaha... EEP! Gotta run, author's back!!! BYE ALL.
~Ariel "Squiggers" Nocturn III
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