Page 27 of Monster's Past

“Yes. I mean, they must be, right? Why else would I be having them?”

“I don’t know,” he admits. “It’s not something I know much about. Although...”

I perk up. “You know something?”

“I know of a potion that might help you communicate with your dream.”

“Is that even possible?” I try to keep my hope at bay, but it’s impossible to.

He shrugs and runs his thumb over the back of my hand in a surprisingly soothing gesture. “Only if your dream wants to be communicated with.”

“I want answers.”

“Okay, then let’s go.” He gets to his feet.

“Where?”

“The Charms and Potions lab.”

“You’re so casual about breaking into classrooms.”

“You want answers, and we can’t just brew a potion there during the day, so we should do it now,” he says.

I nod. Even if we get caught and given detention, it’ll be worth it if I discover the answers to what I am. “All right.” I join him and reach out to take his hand, loving how natural it feels for us to do that.

Caw!

I jump without meaning to, causing Cethin to laugh.

“I’m guessing that answers that one,” he says. “Definitely your familiar.”

“Do you want to come with us?” I ask the raven.

It cocks its head to the side.

“I don’t have any gifts this time. I haven’t found anything perfect,” I admit.

Cethin gives me an odd look.

The raven opens its mouth to show me that it doesn’t have anything either.

“That’s okay,” I assure it, ignoring the warlock for the moment. “If neither of us have anything, it’s still an even exchange, right?”

Caw.

“So, do you want to come?” Not knowing what else to do, I hold out my arm and kind of pat it.

The raven studies me, and for one moment, I think it’s going to fly off again. Instead, it hops towards me and flaps its wings, coming to rest on my shoulder and completely ignoring the arm I offered it.

“I don’t even know if you’re male or female.” Which isn’t something I ever thought would bother me, but I want the raven to know that I care about it.

“I can fix that.” Cethin clicks his fingers and some purple smoke rises from his fingers. It floats towards the raven, who doesn’t seem in the slightest bit bothered by the spell. “She’s female.”

“Okay, so I can stop thinking of her as an it, then.” I reach up and stroke the raven’s head.

He nods. “And you should give her a name.”

“What if she doesn’t like it?” She pushes her head against my fingers in what seems like an acceptance of my affection. Or maybe it’s a demand for more. I don’t speak raven very well, though it seems like it’s going to be a skill I need to learn. Hopefully, there’s still space in Familiar Training class. And time in my schedule for it.