Eddie builds the spell in his heart, letting the knowledge guide the flow of mana. Jackson extends a hand, tendrils of shadow slowly emerging and wrapping around the injured raccoon. They are gentle and precise. Jackson holds on to Eddie’s hand tighter. Eddie squeezes back. Lights trail down the tendrils, engulfing the raccoon’s in a gentle aura of forest green and ocean blue.
As fast as the knowledge had entered their minds, they felt it leave. The spell dwindles as the tendrils place the raccoon’s body at their feet. Eddie and Jackson looked down in astonishment. The raccoon’s breathing had evened out, the cuts mostly healed, though not entirely. It’s holding on to life much more strongly but still needs medical attention from a veterinarian.
“Oh my gods.” Eddie and Jackson startle at the sound of Hakeem behind them. They turn to see the man’s eyes wide and mouth dropped.
“How did you two- Is it okay?” Hakeem steps towards them, regarding them both with amazement. “I thought neither of you knew healing magic, especially for wounds so severe. How is this possible?” Of course Hakeem has questions, ones neither Eddie or Jackson have any idea how to answer.
Eddie just shrugs, “We just really wished we could help.”
Hakeem feels the tingle in his hands, not from the cold, but the tell tale sign he had granted a wish. But how? No one said anything out loud. He didn’t say “As you wish”, or use any sort of gesture to activate the spell. But he knows the feel of his own magic, he just didn’t realize he had granted a wish. “So you did.”
Hakeem removes his puffy jacket, wrapping it carefully around the raccoon, like a newborn baby. “Is there anything else we can do? The poor thing still looks hurt.” While Eddie and Jackson have somehow managed to bring the raccoon back from the brink of death, it still needs medical attention. It would be cruel to have saved it from death’s door, only to leave it to die from lack of care.
Eddie pulls out his phone, his sister Sarah is a recent veterinary school graduate and works at a clinic at the other side of town, where she had previously done her internship. She hadn’t had time to stop by the apartment but they met up a couple times over the months to catch up. It was early so she might not be at work yet, but she would know the next best step.
“Hellooo? This is Sarah.”
“Hey, noona, It’s Eddie.”
“Yes, caller I.D. is a marvelous innovation isn’t it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, haha.”
Eddie closes his eyes and rubs the bridge of his nose, pinching his brows. “All jokes aside, noona, I need your help.”
His sister goes silent, when she answers, her tone is serious. “Okay you never ask for help or use Korean honorifics with me, what’s wrong? What do you need?”
As the group walk back to the apartment, a small raccoon still bundled gently in Hakeem’s jacket, Eddie explains the scenario to his sister, leaving out how they healed the raccoon. “Okaaaaaaay, that is….I have questions that I will save for later. What were you planning to do with the raccoon in a jacket if I didn’t answer?”
“I thought you were saving questions for later?”
Sarah’s tone is pointed, like scolding a child, “Eddie.”
“Sarah.”
“Edmund.”
“We acted on emotion not logic okay? So, what do we do next? If we drive over there can Dr. Faunis help?”
Sarah lets out a long, exasperated sigh. It is far too early for this. “Of course Dr. Faunis can help. She lives for animal rescue stories, especially if they involve miracles.” Eddie can feel her stare through the phone, a gift inherited from their mother. “I’m on my way now, the doctor will be in by the time you drive by. You’re lucky we don’t have any appointments for this morning.”
“I love you, noona. Thank you.”
“Yeah yeah, get your asses and the baby raccoon here.”
Eddie turns back as they walk with a smile and a thumbs up, the relief on Jackson and Hakeem’s faces instantaneous. Hakeem clings to the jacket holding the small animal, his hold firm but he’s careful not to hurt it any further. He’s shivering, the cold drilling deep into his bones. Jackson notices and says not a word, instead wrapping a tendril of shadows gently across Hakeem’s shoulder as they walk in pace.
“Dafii.”
The spell warms Hakeem slowly and gently, shielding him from the cold winds of March. He turns to Jackson, that damned smile reaching his eyes. Jackson looks away unable to match his gaze, lest his burning cheeks and rosy ears betray him. He just wants to get to the car and get the little raccoon the help it needs. He doesn’t notice Eddie watching them as he walks backwards, the scene stirring a chuckle out of him.
The drive to the clinic goes by without a hitch, the raccoon safe in Hakeem’s puffy coat. He refuses to let go of it till they reach the vet. The clinic resides in a humble white stone building, sandwiched between a florist and a bar on NewMoon Street. ‘Faunis Clinic’ is on a sign above the door.
Sarah is behind the counter, working on inputting client information into the computer in front of her. She looks up the moment three men enter, carrying a raccoon in a puffy jacket. “Hey guys, you must be Hakeem and Jackson. I’m Sarah, Eddie’s prettier big sister,” she says with a flip of her hair over her shoulder.
“Amelia will get you for that,” Eddie says with a smirk.
