" Lily," The stranger softly calling my name dragged me back to the earthly realm from my slumber. I knew why he woke me up. It was time for food.
Once more he helped me sit up, arranging the pillows to prop me up against the wall. I had wondered how he knew my name but decided not to ask. For now.
A bowl of the same soup I had earlier appeared in front of me, and I took it without question.
The stranger was kind enough to share the little he had with me. And once again I felt grateful.
" Are you feeling any better? I know, I know," He lightly chuckled, " It's a stupid question to ask given your state, but I'm in dire need of some conversation. I haven't spoken with anyone in a while," He carried on chattering while I distinctly remember that I had heard a different voice while I was unconscious. Perhaps it was my dulled sense who filled in the gaps, or my brain misfired given the condition I was in.
It could have been anything while I tethered between life and death. I considered it a miracle that I had managed to survive.
" - anyway. It would be nice to have someone to speak to for a change," He finished with a heavy sigh and put his spoon back in the empty bowl.
" I hear you," I rasped but my voice was so weak that it barely came out a whisper. Luckily aside from the wind whistling outside, there was no other background noise, and the stranger heard me.
" I'm sorry. I'm getting a little impatient...," He trailed off and stared at the floor, " He was meant to call weeks ago...," He trailed off once more and I stared at him confused. He wasn't making any sense. We were in the heart of a mountain, inside a cave. There was no phone line, nor any sign of technology. I was transported from the Middle Ages to the Stone Age.
I didn't know what to say, and yet I felt for him. He seemed anguished and worried. I wondered who had left him in the middle of nowhere and how had he found me in the first place.
The plot thickened and more mysteries were piling on an already long list of them.
" He will," I tried to comfort him, but that was all I was able to say before my scratchy throat warned me not to push it anymore.
The stranger nodded and looked at the ball of fur on the floor.
" He has been hyberbernatic since we got here. He is not used to the cold, " He was speaking of the creature, which I was still unsure what it was. It was too small to be a dog and too big to be a cat.
" I think he is more miserable than I am," The stranger sighed, and gave me one of his toothy smiles, " But you have it worse out of the three of us. So, you win," I tried to smile, but I felt the skin on my lips pull, and crack and quickly gave up on that thought.
" Give it time. You'll feel better soon enough," He sighed once more and stood up, picked up my bowl and disappeared out of sight.
I was left once more staring at the smokeless fire, which didn't seem to extinguish or need wood to burn.
And it occurred to me that it might not be just a good old-fashioned fire. The stranger. My stranger wielded magic.
When he returned to the room my eyes went to him and subsequently to the fire.
He nodded," You figured it out, " He rubbed his hands together when a breeze blew some snow inside the cave.
" No, I'm not the one wielding the magic," He pointed at the creature on the floor and tipped his head," Shay is the all-powerful one," I numbly blinked at the notion. I couldn't grasp the idea.
" I'm merely his companion. He is not big on being alone. Although, he spends most of his time lazing around. He likes to have someone to keep him company," All of that went over my head. I was still reeling from the news that Shay wasn't a person. It was a creature and I had called for it. They knew Mason.
" Mason?" I croaked and held my breath.
" We don't know. He dumped me in the mountains over four months ago and told me to wait, " He shrugged, " I haven't heard from him since. Shay can find anyone, no matter where they are but with one condition they have to call for him. And since he'd found you...," The stranger trailed off, " I was kind of hoping that he'd call for Shay again, but he hasn't and I'm afraid that we are stuck here until someone calls for Shay so we can tag along into the civilised world, " I stared at him dumbly while he began to pace in front of the bed.
" How?" I kept my questions short, even though my throat protested each time I spoke.
" Shay can teleport, but his powers are limited when it comes to locations. He is an animal, so you'd have to call his name so he can home in on the location and from there it's a breeze," I was glad that he'd filled in the gaps. I assumed that he'd answered these questions more than once.
A magical creature. I was stumped.
My gaze trailed back to the ball of fur on the floor and I felt the need to go to him and stroke his velvety fur. It looked soft even from a distance.
I nodded, my brain hadn't even begun to process the new information and it was already showing signs that it had its reached quota for the day.
" Rest. Will talk some more when you're feeling...," He waved a hand in the air trying to find the right word," Better," I guess he came up short.
I nodded lowered myself on the bed, and turned to face the fire and fur ball on the floor.
I stared at it, trying to wrap my head around the fact it, was more than a fur ball. It was a magical fur ball, capable of things I hadn't even dared to imagine. And Mason knew about it.