Eldritch Sugarbaby

Aurelius woke the next morning and hurried to get ready. The sooner he consulted his teacher about Jahreszeiten's awakening, the better. He hurried through his regular higene and threw on his robes, but froze at the bottom of the stairs, eyes widening as he beheld the sight in his living room.

Rory's parents had always enjoyed a warm and cozy aesthetic, and he didn't change much when their home became his alone. Now woodland animals appeared to have invaded his home. There were birds perched on the curtains, rabbits and mice on the chairs and couches, foxes in dog piles on the rugs, and a bear curled up in front of the fireplace.

Rory slowly placed his hand over his mouth to keep from screaming and waking them all.

'Jahreszeiten!' He mentally begged for the spirit's attention.

"Good morning, Aurelius."

No no no, this was decidedly NOT a good morning!

'My living room is full of animals!' He emphasized urgently, backing one step up the stairs. His fingers twitched, ready to summon magic to defend himself but afraid to damage his home by casting offensive spells inside.

"Ah. Yes, they were cold, so I guided them here."

Rory felt like tugging on his antlers in frustration. 'This is my house! I don't want wild animals in here, Jahre! Can you send them away?'

The nature spirit's mental presence crinkled in confusion, like fallen leaves underfoot. "But why not? You have more than enough space here. Don't you sympathize with them?"

'What's to stop them from trying to kill and eat me and take my house for themselves? Not to mention the diseases they might be carrying.'

"You… are more territorial than I expected," Jahreszeiten said slowly. "But have no fear, no animal that follows my guidance would ever harm one of my Druids. And if you are worried about diseases, then you should tend to their health, not cast them out."

Some of the small birds huddled together atop the curtains woke up. When they saw Aurelius, they flapped their wings and glided down to perch on his horns, chirping pleasantly. He flinched back, but calmed down when they didn't make a go for his eyes. Reaching up a hand curiously toward a little bird, it hopped from his horn to his hand, tilting its head at him and chirping sweetly. Rory smiled in disbelief and petted the little creature on the head.

'Are… you sure they won't attack me? Even the bear?'

"Of course."

'Well then…'

Rory decided to leave the woodland creatures be for a while and go visit his teacher. They did still need to urgently talk, after all. As he made for the front door, the birds flew back to their cozy perches and Aurelius stepped out into the early morning alone. It was still dark out, and the world seemed still. He walked in his footprints from the previous night and traversed the forest paths. Bypassing the village center, he found his teacher's small cabbin on the opposite end of the outskirts from his and knocked at the door.

***

Justinian Rathomus was an old man, early to bed and early to rise. He liked to enjoy his mornings with a blanket, a fire, and a cup of hot tea to ease the cold out of his joints. When he heard knocking at his door, he groaned and stood up.

It was most likely his former apprentice, here again to tend to a lonely old man in this dark season.

'What a kind boy he is,' Justinian chuckled to himself.

When he opened the door to greet his young fellow sorcerer, he paused and blinked his tired eyes.

"Good morning teacher." Aurelius smiled as he stood out in the cold, wearing only his thin silk robes and an odd headdress made of wood.

"Rory, my boy, what are you doing out there dressed like that? Come in quickly, or you'll catch your death!"

Justinian served his former student a cup of hot tea as soon as he was inside and donated his own blanket to help warm the boy up.

"Teacher, I'm fine," Rory accepted the tea but gently pushed the blanket back into his elders arms. The handsome face the young man inherited from his mother twisted into a frown, "I hope so, anyway. But there's something important we need to talk about."

Justinian pursed his lips unhappily, but if his typically level-headed apprentice had rushed over here this early on a winter morning without so much as a scarf, he ought to at least hear what was so damn important.

"Alright then, out with it."

They each sat in opposite-facing armchairs beside the crackling fireplace. Aurelius fixed his azure eyes on the old man with the utmost seriousness, causing Justinian to tense up involuntarily, freezing with his teacup almost at his lips.

"The ancient spirit of the forest has awoken."

The old man's hand trembled and he nearly spilled tea all down his long white beard. "Wh-what do you mean, Rory? Are you certain that's true?"

Aurelius nodded. "Without a doubt."

Justinian set his cup down without taking a single sip and stood up from his chair. "Come with me," he urged, and led his apprentice upstairs toward his personal library. As they walked, he glanced back at his apprentice. The various oddities abojt him today pulled his attention more now that the topic of spirits had come up.

"That headdress…"

The boy reached up toward the wooden antlers instinctively.

"A gift from the spirit," he confirmed. "It transformed from a magical plant I found outside. I, um, can't take it off now that I've put it on."

The old man stopped walking for a moment and turned around. His young and healthy apprentice was a little taller than him now, but Justinian was one step higher. He brushed Aurelius's hair back and saw the wooden horns directly sprouting from his head, then sighed in exasperation.

"Now what possessed you to put on a magical item you found lying around in the forest? Honestly, boy, I know I taught you better than that."

"I'm sorry."

The old man didn't scold his apprentice more than that. He would suffer the results of his choice regardless. Instead, he continued leading the way upstairs.

"A few of my old books contain information about the ancient spirits. Perhaps we'll find something useful there."