A Strange Quartet

As David moved behind the minute form of Angela, his nose picked up a strong bitter smell of herbs, making him wrinkling it in distaste, but he was far too interested by the enigmatic character in front of him to complain.

Once his eye had adjusted to the faint greenish light that filtered through the windows, he eyed cautiously a colourful bird with wide tail feathers and a sharp, powerful beak, which returned the Rider's inquisitive gaze with one of its own from a cage near the window. The walls were covered with plants; vines clung to the ceiling, obscuring all but an old chandelier, and on the floor was a large pot with a yellow flower.

A collection of mortars, pestles, metal bowls, and a clear crystal ball the size of a human's head rested on a long counter. He walked to the counter eyeing the retreating for of the herbalist while carefully stepping around complex machines, crates of rocks, piles of scrolls, and an assortment of knick-knacks that could have made Dumbledore envious were they displaying any obvious magic. The wall behind the counter was covered with drawers of every size. Some of them were no larger than his smallest finger, while others were big enough for a barrel. There was a foot-wide gap in the shelves far above.

A pair of red eyes suddenly flashed from the dark space, and a large, fierce cat leapt onto the counter. It had a lean body with powerful shoulders and oversized paws. A shaggy mane surrounded its angular face; its ears were tipped with black tufts. White fangs curved down over its jaw. Altogether, it was more like a bobcat or a lynx than any feline one expected to see in a domestic environment had ever seen.

Angela whirled on him once she had put the counter between them: "So! Now that you've ruined my research, what can I do for you?" despite the annoyance born from an intruder quickly showcasing that she was somewhat wasting time, there was no other sign of resentment in her expression, and that stole a wiry smile from the one-eyed man.

"I've never quite developed the skill to properly navigate the realm of potion-making, and taking care of plants has never been one of my main interests I fear, so..." David shrugged, unsure as to how to begin an earnest conversation with the enigmatic woman in front of him, for all of his somewhat dim life, magic had been the linchpin of his interactions with the rest of the world, people included, and while he remembered Angela being among the enemies of the King, he was still unsure as what was worth saying and what was better kept quiet.

With a soft thrumming of long nights under the clear sky and a flutter of leaves in the underbrush, a velvety voice made itself known on the edge of the Rider's consciousness: Not often I see a Rider so far from his Dragon.

Instinctively, David's eye was dragged to the wild-looking cat, an eyebrow rising sarcastically: "I haven't seen a sentient cat since my teacher of transfiguration." as he spoke with both mind and voice, the Rider projected the image of McGonagall changing shapes before brusquely returning to her lesson, both to the strange cat and to Angela.

"Oh!" the herbalist not-quite gasped with a delighted smile on her features, while her familiar's tail twitched in barely contained interest, "That didn't look like a werecat!"

David tilted his head sideways briefly considering if revealing himself to be a fox would be opportune. On one hand, Arya knew, which meant that the elven race knew, on the other, it had been a long time since he simply indulged something as simple and genuine as the shared marvel for magic.

With a blur of movement, the One-eyed Rider turned into a fox, leveraging the hands he had on the counter in order to end up sitting there: That would be because she wasn't, in fact, a werecat.

Angela's jaw dropped a bit while the cat on the counter warily sniffed at the Rider's changed form.

I don't know if you can learn, since I used a combination of meditation and potions in order to enter the right mental state in order to achieve this change for the first time... David projected to the slowly unfurling mind of Angela, But would you care to try you luck in learning it? I can explain the function of the potions and you can try to replicate them with the ingredients that you know from this land.

The gob-smacked herbalist eyed briefly her feline companion before answering: "A Rider away from his dragon, magic I've never seen before, and Solebum talked to you... you could say that I'm interested." she grinned, thinking about the man's comment about the ingredients of the land, like he wasn't local.

The one-eyed fox turned his attention expectantly towards the door of the herbalist's shop, which the woman hastened to lock in order to delve in the new mystery that life had thrown on her path.

In less than two minutes, David had opened his trunk in a room in the back of the shop, climbing inside to be immediately followed by the unusual duo, only to be immediately welcomed by Raven, eager for another neverending sequence of riddles:

"I have seas, but no water,

I have rivers, but they stay still,

I have forests,

that even dead remain green."

"A map." Angela squealed delighted by the challenge, even as her eyes were focused on the vast space that David had available in his trunk.

"I feel like you'll need to up your game with these two Raven." David quipped, eyeing curiously Solebum, which was quickly darting across the lush grass.

"If you hunt my chickens, we're sharing them for dinner!" the Rider hollered behind the retreating form of the feline.

"Upping your game... such a strange saying... Did you make this?" Angela asked in badly concealed awe to the One-eyed man as she started to walk on the lush green grass.

"Yeah, I did, back home magic worked differently." David smiled unashamedly proud of his accomplishment.

Angela turned her attention to the One-eyed Rider after having relinquished a quite complex riddle to the white-feathered Raved: "So you're not from this continent?"

"My home is a bit further than that." David scratched the back of his head almost sheepishly: "What would you say if I told you that almost every star is a sun in its own right?"

Angela blinked a couple of times, shock clearly depicted on her features as she eyed him with renewed curiosity: "I'd say that I have many questions."

"I'll eventually answer them."

They walked leisurely through the grass stopping only when David plucked a couple of apples from a tree and offered one to the herbalist, his satisfied smile still in place.

"So... why does Solebum say that you and your dragon got separated?" Angela asked after a while.

"I can go very far with my mind so separated is not exactly the correct term, and each of us is simply doing what we believed best."

The herbalist studied him carefully for a few seconds before replying: "I'm guessing that you're too stubborn and proud in order to listen to your dragon? How is he..?"

"Her name is Saphira." David said with a wistful smile, "She's a few months old, and her ancestral instincts are forged upon less than properly effective methods of warfare." his smile turned brittle as he turned towards the herbalist, his lone eye boring into hers: "She wanted me to face a Shade, neither of us is remotely ready, me not being with her will force the other companions in upping their game." David sighed, carefully sidestepping the huge lacune that he felt should have been filled with the constant reassurance of understanding-companionship that Saphira had quickly grown to occupy.

"So you plan to act against the king?" Angel arched an eyebrow at him, who snorted.

"Yes." he simply retorted. It's not like there is a viable alternative.

"Good!" she beamed, moving forward to pinch his cheek only for him to swat away her hand as they made their way deeper into the orchard, where a white fire rolled constantly in what seemed to be a distressing pattern, "I despise cowards!"

Angela stopped when she spotted the fire, as her attention was immediately drawn to the unfamiliar life-form in front of her.

"Angela, this is Fleur, she's... a friend... stuck as a white and blue flame." he completed with a sigh, grimacing a bit as the memories of their last interactions together came to the fore, "you seem quite brilliant, and I'd like your help..." the man stopped talking as he felt a flux of thoughts that he hadn't been made privy to move between the two females, and seeing the expression on Angela's face, he quickly chose that retreat was the better part of valour and walked back into the lower floor, where he dedicated himself to preparing something worthy of being called dinner.

As he slowly worked, distractedly, almost unwillingly, he forced himself to finally recognize the great absence that haunted his mind, before stretching himself north with the skill he had quickly honed since Saphira had hatched for him.

From spider to owl to deer, his mind soared across the land, feeling himself stretching thin and almost overwhelmed by the multitude of senses that pictured the world in colours that were off just enough to result jarring to him until he felt the larger-than-life existence that slotted perfectly into the lacune of his mind.

Saphira sang in his thoughts with a warmth that managed to convey the regret over their last hurtful interaction, accompanied by an undercurrent of determination that couldn't be denied symbolizing the dragon's determination towards following the path she had deemed best.

Hello little one. he greeted her, only to elicit an affectionate snort that he knew had unleashed a dark plume of smoke from her nostrils while his mind started to see an approximation of what Saphira was seeing, along with a brief image of a map, where she pointed out her most likely location.

I haven't been little for some time, now.

David nodded to himself, his hands pouring the vegetables he had finely cut inside of a gently sizzling pan. Maybe, I wish you the best with your endeavour, how soon are you going to attack the enemy?

We are in sight of Gil-ead, Brom Arya and Brom already infiltrated it, when the sun drops below the horizon, I'll strike.

A wave of dread covered briefly David's consciousness, and maybe for the first time, he realized that danger was real even when not directed against himself. Already? I thought...

You thought that the old Rider and Arya would have dragged me away safely. Saphira snorted among the thick woods that managed to hide her form, managing to convey her exasperation at her Rider's overprotectiveness and stubbornness.

I thought that you three would be honest enough with yourself to realize that you're not able to face a Shade with the impairment of having to save two prisoners!

Arya has contacted her people, we only need to save her companions from the prison before bringing them north, where we'll meet an elven force for support. Saphira replied smugly, before her attention turned back towards the horizon, where the sun was about to set.

The One-eyed Rider growled in frustration from the safe confines of his magical trunk, quickly compartmentalizing his instinctive reaction and shoving it deep down, where it wouldn't bother him in the oncoming conflict.

There are a couple of peregrine falcons near you. The Rider declared as his mind picked on the two birds, I'll use them o divebomb the Shade, and I'll try to take over an enemy archer, it will distract them if nothing else.

My wings and eyes are protected against arrows, and my scales too strong for mere humans to wound, fear not, Arya wove her magic carefully around me with Brom's help, we'll triumph!

AN

Nobody is saying that David and Saphira are enemies or 'not-together', what does distance mean when you can travel it with your mind? Simply David wasn't willing to go against the Shade, and his absence would have forced anyone remotely reasonable to desist.

Despite David's newfound wish to somewhat protect the innocents (it's not fulltime, and he still prefers to learn magic or play with Angela), he isn't suddenly a bleeding heart, change is gradual, so, if going off doing what he wants could stop Saphira from going against the Shade, why wouldn't he? Sadly, Saphira proves herself to be less than predictable and reasonable.

In any case, David and Saphira will remain separate identities, a companionship built on reciprocity and trust instead than an invasive mind-link.

David's Mind Arts are somewhat 'maxed out' already, and I feel like it's appropriate, what he will actually do is still in the works (I never quite understood why a 'wizards' duel' sees the two attack each other with their minds before throwing fireballs around), and Angela is quite the company compared to his previous ones, witty, dangerous (he suspects but he doesn't know), beautiful in her own way, with strange abilities, interesting... Yeah, I can imagine why the MC would be captivated by her.

(In the fourth book, Angela is showed as the biggest badass around that can basically make use of the 'Speed Force', has a diamond sword, and magical daggers) As for Angela, she clearly like living her life, enjoying to be 'in the thick of things', and a Rider that can turn into a fox, with Fleur and Raven as companions, with a magical trunk like that... you see why it would interest her? And given her skills, she doesn't need to be quite as circumspect and wary as other characters, so we can avoid the whole posturing that has gone into making relatable the first exchange between Arya and David.

Thank you very much for the reviews, both those that agreed with the separation and those that didn't, for both of you brought forward arguments that I can use in order to develop the story further, thank you very much!