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He pointed to himself. “I’m Oliver.” He pointed to the bird. “Who are you?”
The magpie didn’t speak, but he had a clear picture pop into his mind of a stream tumbling over rocks. “Brook?” he asked.
He had the strong sense he was wrong. He tried again, “Water?”
No.
“River?”
No.
“Stream?”
No.
After that he picked up his phone and googled synonyms for river. He slowly ran through them until he saw a golden glow around the image and felt a positive sense from his new familiar.
“Rill. Got it.” He approached the bird slowly. “Are you hungry, Rill?”
The bird squawked, and he took that as a positive. However, he had no idea what magpies ate. He knew bread was bad for birds, he’d heard that somewhere. Birds were supposed to eat seeds or something.
He quickly checked on his phone. “Magpies are omnivores. They eat insects, small rodents, seeds, and fruits.”
Oliver didn’t have any of that. He’d have to shop tomorrow. He had a partially eaten rotisserie chicken in his fridge. Was feeding a bird chicken cannibalistic? He looked at the bird. They weren’t the same species. He shrugged and pulled off a piece of chicken. He broke it up into small pieces and set it on a plate. He set it down on the table and invited the bird over.
It inhaled the food.
Huh.
“So, Rill, are you going to enjoy apartment living, or do you have a nest?” The bird blinked at him, and he had the distinct feeling that it wanted to stay.
“I’ll get you some supplies tomorrow. I don’t think the pet shop is open today.”
The bird didn’t reply.
“We’re going to do magic together, Rill. Both of our luck is changing.”
It was true. He felt like luck was building up around him. He rubbed his hands together. Now that he had a familiar, he’d finally get a chance to learn how to be a real wizard. Better late than never.
Chapter Two
Oliver fed Rill some more chicken in the morning before he needed to leave for work. Since he couldn’t get a writ to practice magic and earn his living that way, he had to work at a mundane, human job.
His grandfather had left him the apartment building, and he had income from it, but the building was so rundown, that the upkeep sucked every penny of profit he made. So, he’d taken a real job so he could keep the lights on and food on the table. He was an assistant manager at the Walmart in Midtown Anchorage, Alaska.
His Walmart had a small pet department, but probably not enough stuff for a larger bird to live comfortably. Plus, he was hoping to talk to an expert that would know how to care for a magpie. He’d wait until after his shift, and then hit up the pet store.
With a plan formed, he made sure the window was open for Rill, walked out of his apartment, and down the stairs. He then folded his six-foot three-inch frame into his ancient Corolla and headed to work.
He was aware that residents referred to his store as the ghetto Walmart, but that was because of its location, rather than the store itself. Frankly, it was a nice store—neat, clean, and well managed—a place to be proud to work in, if that was the work you wanted to do. He wanted to work for the Guild, so it was always a struggle to turn off that part of his thinking and keep focused on customer service.
Now that he had Rill, he could apply for night classes, and finally get the training he needed so he could eventually qualify for the Guild. That kept a smile on his face and made his work easier. Tonight, he’d take care of Rill, and fill out the paperwork. Finally. Even a screaming customer couldn’t get him down today! When the lady kept coming at him to demand a discount on something that was already discounted, he whispered a spell he’d read in the same book as the familiar spell, and she immediately calmed and left smiling. Even his magic was better since Rill showed up. You couldn’t beat that.
He was whistling when he walked to his car in the parking lot. It was high summer, so the sun would be out almost all night as well. And having the sun fill his metaphorical batteries, added another layer of happiness to his mood.
He found the pet store. It was in South Town, not that far from work or home. Anchorage, for all it was the largest city in Alaska, was still not that large. The pet store didn’t have an expert on magpies, but they looked up information and he got proper food, a perch, some pet pads for under the perch, and some toys for Rill.
The ride home was exciting. He’d take care of his familiar and apply to wizard school. He was on top of the world. Too bad that being on top meant you had further to fall.
