Chapter 25
Trewoofe
Trewoofe awoke to the clear absence of Avice in his arms. He ran his hand over the pallet, searching for her amongst the tousled blankets. Concern gripped him as he opened his eyes and found her gone.
He licked his parched lips. “Avice?” he asked into the cottage.
The Wisp floated up from somewhere and landed besides him.
“She had to attend an emergency with a villager,” Ashling explained. “She asked me to look after you while she was gone.”
“When will she return home?” Trewoofe asked, forcing himself up into a sitting position, holding his aching middle.
“I do not know. Though, I am sure she will be back before dark.”
He patted his stomach and knitted his brow at the hardness under his many layers of bandages. “What is this?”
“Avice went into your well to find something that may help you; she brought back the water and those crystals. She put them under your bandages while you slept.”
Silver tears stung his eyes. “She did that for me?” He wiped his face. “But she fears being underground.”
“She cares for you more then she is scared of being underground.” Ashling wafted over and landed on Trewoofe’s knee.
He jolted at that. “She cares for me?”
The Wisp flared his flames, before cooling them again. “Of course she does. She said that she ‘thinks you’re lovely’.”
Trewoofe’s chest fluttered. “Really?”
“Really,” Ashling reassured. “Now, do you think you can get up?”
He leant forward, sending Ashling wafting away, and rubbed his numb legs through the blankets. “I think so.”
“Good, then I think you should—”
Trewoofe bolted to his stockinged feet and stepped down from the wooden pallet.
“Lord! Mind your horns!”
He ducked just before he caught himself in the tangle of dried plants hanging from the ceiling. He fixed his gaze to his feet. His lip curled in disgust as he wriggled his clawed toes against the suffocating fabric.
Growling softly, he stooped to yank them off.
“Better,” he sighed, tossing them aside.
“Uh, Lord?”
“Yes?”
“I would suggest tying something around your waist.”
If Wisps could blush, Ashling would.
The torn mantle and cloak that Avice had tied around him when they first travelled to the cottage must have come loose as he slept. Trewoofe flushed and bent to retrieve the fabric, tying it tightly around his slender hips.
“I am sorry,” he blurted. “I am not usually so exposed. In my Knucker body I have a seam and—”
He snapped his mouth shut when he noticed the Wisp had stilled.
“Would you like something to eat?” Ashling darted around the copper cauldron bubbling over the hearth.
Trewoofe sniffed appreciatively at the meaty scent that wafted from the broth. “How do I…?”
Ashling flitted past, landing on the table at the opposite side of the cottage. “Come and fetch a bowl, dip it in, and then you can drink it up.”
Trewoofe ducked his head and moved carefully through the cottage.
He grabbed the bowl and returned to the hearth, following the Wisp’s sparking trail through the air.
His appetite had returned with a vengeance, and his stomach was roaring by the time he had collected a brimming serving of the hearty broth.
He blew on the steam and took a sip. Trewoofe let out a moan, closing his eyes at the taste.
It was thick, salted, and well flavoured with herbs.
“Nature’s blessing! Avice can cook.”
He helped himself to a second and third helping, gulping it back with gusto. As he was about to finish his fourth, Ashling flitted in front of his face.
“Lord, there are three things I would like to say.”
Trewoofe paused with the bowl pressed to his lips.
The Wisp floated over to the plate of ash cakes by the pallet side. “Eat some of these, if there is any iron left in your belly, it will help absorb it.”
Trewoofe padded over to where Ashling hovered, he stooped and grabbed two of the cakes. He sniffed at them, wrinkling his nose at the blandness of their smell.
“You can dip it in the broth. The second thing I would like to say is, please leave some for Avice. She will be starving by the time she returns from the village.”
Trewoofe blushed at the gentle admonishment. In his hunger, he had not even thought of leaving some for her. He dashed to the hearth, mindful of his horns, and was relieved to see the cauldron was still half full.
“Now the third.” Ashling flitted around his fingers. “Over here.”
The Wisp flew over to the wooden shelves nailed into the wall. He landed on a jar and bounced on it several times as Trewoofe made his way over.
“Put some of this into it.”
Trewoofe cocked his head. “What is it?”
“Willow bark powder; it will help with any pain.”
He scrunched his nose. “I do not feel too bad at the moment.”
Ashling flared. “Avice has always said it is better to treat pain before it gets too severe. The worse the ache, the harder it is to regulate.”
Trewoofe huffed before stuffing the two ash cakes into his mouth to free up a hand.
He reached and popped the cork off the jar.
He carefully tipped some powder into his broth before placing it back on the shelf.
He swirled the bowl, dissolving the powder, and gulped at the mixture, using it to wash the ash cakes down.
He let out a sigh, his belly pleasantly full. “Much better.”
“That is good!” Ashling exclaimed.
Trewoofe tidied up after himself, sealing the jar and placing the bowl on table. “What now?”
“You should probably rest more. You have been through a lot, after all.”
He pouted. “I do not want to rest yet. I would like to do something.”
Ashling bobbed in the air. “What would you like to do?”
Trewoofe considered the question, casting his gaze around the cosy cottage.
“I would like to help Avice; she has done much for me these past…” He frowned. “How long was I sleeping for?”
“Three full days.”
“Nature’s blessing!” he cursed, scrubbing his face with his hand. He paused for a moment, before scratching his claw tips against the stubble growing there. “That is new.” He glanced down at the rest of his body and wiggled his toes. “All of it is new…”
“Lord, are you alright?” Ashling asked.
Trewoofe tapped his claw to his chin. “Yes, I am. I think that I need to be educated on being human, and I would also like to help my little witch.”
Ashling floated for a moment, his flames swirling. Trewoofe watched as his light flickered from blue to purple and back again.
“I have an idea!” He flitted to the basket by the door and landed neatly on the handle. “You can clean her clothes from yesterday. Avice does not like the chore. Last time, she bullied the Pillywiggins into doing it.”
Trewoofe snorted. “I am surprised she could get them to do anything.”
“She is very scary when she wants to be!” The Wisp bounced up and down. “Come, come!”
He moved carefully through the room and peered into the basket. He picked out the cloak within and held it up. He recoiled at the sight and smell. The front of the garment had been shredded, and it reeked of Tall Ones.
Trewoofe’s heart caught in his throat. “What happened to her?”
“She did not mention it, but it looks like she was attacked in the Underneath.”
He seethed, pulling his lips back in a snarl. “Attacked? How dare they! I will rip them limb from limb.”
“Lord…?”
Trewoofe stayed rooted to the spot, trying to swallow down the rage he felt. It took every scrap of his self-control to not burst out of the cottage, shift back into his Knucker body, and reap his fury onto them.
Ashling floated over to his extended hand and landed on his knuckle. “Lord, would you still like to have human lessons? I have had another idea.”
He blinked down at the Wisp. “Yes, I apologise. Please, tell me your plan.”
“Avice does not want you wandering around without clothing. Perhaps, seeing as this cloak is ruined, you could clean it, and make it into a tunic for yourself to wear?”
Trewoofe glanced down at himself, he knew he was a mess, more linen than skin and running around with a scrap of material around his hips.
“You can teach me this?” he asked. “And it would help Avice?”
“Yes, and yes,” Ashling chimed. “Follow me, I can show you how!”