Name: Caleb

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: "Faithful," "whole-hearted," "bold," or "brave." Some people also think that it might mean "devotion to God." The name was brought into popular culture through the Bible. Caleb was one of twelve spies sent by Moses to the borders of Canaan, a fruitful promised land, flowing with milk and honey, but inhabited by mighty descendants of Anak, who possessed terrifying power.

No one wanted to enter the land of Canaan more than Caleb.


Chapter 6

Cardinals Fan


Gwendolyn hummed to herself as she sat at the kitchen table and scrolled through the pictures on Penstagram. Her hawk palisman, the ever-loyal Hawksley, sat on the table and looked at the pictures with her.

"Ah, kids these days," Gwendolyn said. "They get so excited about the strangest things. Of course, Lily and Eda were hardly any different. Ooo, Hexside's sports teams are doing well. That's nice."

The front door opened and a moment later, Gwendolyn's husband entered the kitchen. Dell's palisman, the small, yellow bird he had named Fritter as a boy, sat on his shoulder. The scar on Fritter's beak seemed to go well with the scar on Dell's closed eye.

"Hello, my dear," Dell said. "You look absolutely beautiful today."

"Hmmmmm, either you want something, did something, or you're just in a really good mood," Gwen smirked at her husband. "Which is it this time?"

"I'm in a really good mood." Dell sat down at the table. "The Bat Queen and I found a clearing deep in the forest, perfect soil for planting palistrom trees. I put a few seeds in the ground in the hope of starting a grove."

"How wonderful! Cursed Emperor. It's one thing to disagree with having a palisman, but what does he need all that palistrom wood for?" Gwendolyn shook her and grumbled as she scrolled through more pictures. "Oh, look at that. The Park girl started a Flyer Derby team at Hexside."

Gwendolyn frowned. "...That boy."

"Oh, don't be nosy, dear," Dell said. "So she has a boyfriend, no need to pry."

"No, no, take a look at the boy in this photo." Gwendolyn showed Dell the picture she had found on Penstagram. It was a selfie featuring five kids–a Flyer Derby team celebrating their first win.

Dell squinted at the picture. "Isn't that Porter's son?"

"No, not him. The other boy," said Gwen. "The blonde one."

Dell's working eye widened. "That palisman."

"That face," said Gwendolyn. "Aside from the hair and the teeth, he looks just like you back when we were children."

"Hmmmmm." Dell leaned closer to the picture and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "He kind of does, doesn't he? It's that palisman I'm mostly curious about."

"The red bird? Yes, he looks an awful lot like Fritter," said Gwen. "Hexside had a palisman adoption day the other week, hosted by the Bat Queen. You think he's an older Clawthorne-made palisman that got adopted?"

"His design though," said Dell.

"What about it?"

"I never told you about that?" Dell asked. "I designed Fritter after my father's palisman, who designed his palisman after his father's palisman, and so on. It's a sort of father-son tradition dating back to I'm not sure how far."

"Really?" Gwendolyn looked at Fritter, who blinked curiously at the red palisman in the photo. She then looked back at the blonde boy in the photo. "Who is that boy?"

Dell shrugged. "I have no idea."


"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." Caleb read from the Bible.

The children gathered in front of him all stared and listened in fascination as Caleb read to them.

"Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day."

Caleb looked around at the eager children before continuing. "Then God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day."

Watching from afar, leaning against a wall, Maggie listened to the story as well, becoming more fascinated with each word.

"Then God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear'; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth'; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day."

Caleb smiled at the children before going on. "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth'; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day."

"Then God said, 'Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.' So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.' So the evening and the morning were the fifth day."

"Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind'; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

Caleb grinned. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth'."

"And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food'; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

The children all leaned forward, given the feeling that the story was about to end.

"Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

Caleb closed his book. "The day God rested became known as the Sabbath day. And on that day, after six days of labor, the people of my faith take a well-deserved day off. My favorite day of the week, actually, when it is literally commanded by my God to be lazy."

The children laughed at this. Caleb laughed as well and put the book back into his coat. "Any questions?"

Maggie walked up behind the group of kids and raised her hand.

"Yes? The lovely lady in the back."

"Has anyone ever told you how adorable you are when you act all professorial?" Maggie asked.

The children all laughed at Caleb as he blushed in front of everyone.

"Well, children, it's been a joy, but I best be getting on my way." Caleb stood up from his chair. "Thank you for your audience."

"And what do you say to Mr. Wittebane, children?" Maggie asked.

"Thank you for reading to us, Mr. Wittebane." the children all said.

"You're welcome, children. You all have a great day." Caleb replied before following Maggie out of the library and onto the street.

"Did you really have to embarrass me like that in front of all those kids?" Caleb asked once they were out of the library.

"What? You were adorable back there." Maggie replied innocently. "I simply thought it necessary to point it out."

Caleb chuckled and shook his head. "I must admit, I was surprised when you asked me to read to the children about the way of my people. Would their parents be okay with me reading them the book of my religion?"

"I doubt they'd care," Maggie said. "I was supposed to read to the children myself, but I thought you'd get a kick out of reading to them instead."

"I continue to forget just how open-minded and tolerant your religion is," said Caleb. "Especially compared to mine."

"Eh, to call Wicca a religion wouldn't be very accurate," Maggie said. "It's…more of a creed. A rule of thumb that we all know and follow. It's just how we are. We don't necessarily take it seriously, but we don't necessarily take breathing or walking seriously either. We just do it."

"Well...it's much simpler than Christianity, I'll give it that," Caleb said.

"Do you have to go to work later today?" Maggie asked.

"Your sister gave me the entire day off, actually, when I told her I'd be reading to a bunch of children today." Caleb smiled smugly. "You know, business had been quite successful ever since I started brewing potions at Thea's shop. I guess I really am a natural at the potion profession. My, that's fun to say. Potion profession. It has such a nice ring to it."

"Remember when instead of coming back to work, you and your friend River went to the tavern and passed out drunk?" Maggie asked.

"Hey, I never did that again," Caleb argued. "River and I only go out and get drunk after work hours now. Have you ever listened to his music, by the way? He's incredible at it."

"Is he simply your drinking buddy?" Maggie asked.

"Actually, he's teaching me a little bard music." Caleb pulled a recorder out of his coat. "Watch this. Or listen to this, rather."

Caleb played a melody on the wooden recorder and he and Maggie were magically lifted up off the ground by a couple of feet.

"Wow," Maggie commented. "How are you doing this?"

"River enchanted this recorder for me," Caleb said, ending the melody and floating back down to the ground. "I'm still learning. It's way harder than River makes it look."

"Neat," said Maggie. "It's pretty impressive for a human to learn as much magic as you have."

"I want to learn more, though." Caleb put the recorder back in his coat. "But what else can I do? Is plant magic possible for me to do? I was thinking about getting into gardening."

"I'm not sure what else you could do," Maggie admitted. "Your human handicap is difficult to work around."

"Well, what if we found something that could help with that handicap?"

Caleb's attention suddenly focused on Woodrow, sitting on Maggie's shoulder.

"What if…what if I got a palisman?"

"A palisman?" Maggie rubbed her chin. "Huh. Getting you a palisman staff would definitely help you out, yeah."

"Terrific!" Caleb cheered. "Now, how do I get one?"

"Simple. We just find you a hunk of palistrom wood from a palistrom tree, then you carve it into whatever you want it to be." Maggie explained. "Not too complicated. My family are palisman carvers. I can ask my father to carve you one. Or perhaps I could carve you one myself."

"Oh, no. If I'm going to get a palisman, I want to truly earn it." Caleb stated. "I want to take the whole nine yards with this. I wanna go into the woods and find the best palistrom wood you witches have ever seen. I wanna carve it myself and make sure every cut is perfect. I'll paint it with my blood, sweat, and tears if I have to, my palisman is going to bring all other palismans to shame, by God! No offense, Woodrow."

"Uh, okay, first off, spending so much time with that bard friend of yours seems to have made you a bit dramatic," said Maggie. "Second, I'm all in for that, let's get going."

"Splendid!" said Caleb. "Uh…where to?"

"If it's quality palistrom wood you want, I know where to get top-notch material," said Maggie. "There's an old palistrom tree deep within the western forest. The tree is ancient. One of the oldest known to witch-kind. Carving a palisman out of its wood would give you one hex of a palisman. The problem is, the ancient tree is guarded by a powerful demon."

"So we must defeat this demon to get to the tree?" Caleb asked. "Like how Herakles had to defeat the dragon Ladon in order to obtain the Apples of the Hesperides?"

"More like, what was the other story you told me, how Oepidus answered the Sphinx with the correct answer," said Maggie. "The demon guards the tree because it wants to make one hundred percent sure that whoever wishes to carve a palisman will treat the palisman with care and respect. She's like…a palisman deity, sort of."

"Phew, what a relief," said Caleb. "Alright, let's go."

Woodrow extended into a staff and Maggie mounted it. Caleb came up and got on the staff behind her.

"Before we go, I must ask," said Maggie. "Do you carry all of your stuff in your coat pockets? I always see you taking different things in and out of your coat."

"Would it make more sense to stuff all of my belongings into my large head of hair, as you do?" Caleb asked back.

"That's fair." With that said, Maggie and Caleb flew into the air westbound.


"By the Titan, you should have seen her." Maggie was saying as they flew over the forest. "Thea put on this dark black robe and dyed her hair silver. She was going for the whole 'wicked witch' look trying to impress Morgan. It was hilarious. We all made fun of her until she finally got rid of the look."

"Was Morgan impressed at least?" Caleb asked.

"She thought it was downright adorable, so she went on a pity date with Thea that started their relationship." Maggie flew them down through to the forest floor.

"Are we there?" Caleb asked excitedly.

"No, the tree's up ahead," said Maggie. "It's better if we walk up to the tree instead of flying down from above. It'll make us look less like a threat to the demon guarding it."

"Very well then," Caleb said. "Onward!"

Caleb and Maggie walked through the forest to find the ancient palistrom tree. They eventually came to a small clearing in the forest. Looming over the clearing in the back was a tall tree with pale bark and shiny, green leaves.

"Wow," said Caleb. "That must be the most beautiful tree I have ever seen."

Caleb wasn't wrong. The ancient palistrom tree stood proud and tall, almost appearing to literally glow with life. It radiated pure magic, standing among the other trees like a forest queen.

Maggie looked around nervously. "So sign of the demon. Let's hurry up and find you a good piece of wood to carve."

"Right." Caleb and Maggie made their way toward the tree.

Then the demon came. Out of nowhere she descended from the air and landed in front of Caleb and Maggie, shaking the ground. The demon was a giant woman's head with black, oily hair and pale, lilac skin. Her short legs extended from the bottom of her head and her arms were large bat wings. Her red eyes focused on the witch and human and her fangs did not make her look any more friendly.

"Oh, no," said Maggie. "The Bat Queen."

"Good name for her," Caleb commented.

"Who dares attempt to take the wood from my favorite tree?" the Bat Queen demanded. Her intimidating voice was smooth and rich, with a slight accent.

"Peace, Bat Queen." Maggie raised her hands peacefully. "I am Margaret Clawthorne."

"Clawthorne?" the Bat Queen's expression softened. "Ah, yes. Palisman carver family. I have always respected the work of Clawthornes."

The Bat Queen narrowed her eyes at Caleb. "You, I do not know. Speak your name."

Caleb gulped and said a silent prayer. "My name is Caleb. Caleb Wittebane," he said. "I seek to make a palisman for myself."

The Bat Queen sniffed the air. "...You are neither witch nor demon. And yet, you want a palisman?"

Caleb nodded.

"Palisman are not pets." The Bat Queen said sternly. "What would you do with a palisman?"

"I would learn magic," Caleb replied.

"Why?" demanded the Bat Queen.

"Because…because…because…"

Caleb sighed and drooped in defeat. "You want the truth? I'm bored and tired with my life. I'm from colonial America in the 17th century, do you have any idea how awful it is? For crying out loud, we all die from slow, painful diarrhea by the time we're thirty or maybe forty if you're lucky! Life is awful! And I'm a White man, I have it better than most! Being in this world has made me feel more alive and happy to live than any other point in my life. And learning magic has been so much fun! I'm learning to be more than I ever was."

Caleb clasped his hands together. "I'm begging you, Bat Queen, please allow me to continue to learn how to be more. Let me carve a palisman from the wood of that tree so that I can keep learning how to be all that I am capable of being. I can't go back to having no friends except for the birds I leave food out for. I can't go back to being a lawyer with eight out of ten of his clients ending up burning or drowning to death. I can't go back to being that man nobody likes because I don't agree with everyone else. I want to be more. And with a palisman, I can do that."

The Bat Queen stared at Caleb for a while, her face appearing curious about the stranger before her.

"...You do not seem like one who craves power." the Bat Queen said. "You simply wish to become more."

"That is correct," said Caleb.

"A palisman friend would indeed help you with that." The Bat Queen smiled. "You wait here."

Then the demon flew up into the great tree behind her. She flew around the large branches, appearing to be looking for something. She landed on different branches, testing their weight, tapping them with her talons, or even licking them to test their taste.

Eventually, she seemed to find a branch that she liked. The Bat Queen opened her maw and chomped the branch before flying back down to Caleb. She chewed a couple of times before she opened her mouth and let a round log of wood the size of a pail slide off of her tongue and into Caleb's hands.

"Ew, gross," said Caleb. "I mean, thank you, Bat Queen."

"You make good palisman with this," said the Bat Queen. "And when you two make babies, I hope they will come here as well and bring to life a friend."

Maggie snickered as Caleb blushed severely.

"Farewell, Clawthorne friend. Farewell, Wittebane. Treat your palisman well or I will come and tear out your eyes." The Bat Queen flapped her wings and took off into the air.

"...She seems nice," said Caleb. "Scary, but nice." He looked down at the pale white, saliva-covered wood in his hands. "So…now we whittle it?"

"Yes. But we're gonna need the right tools for the job." Woodrow flew off of Maggie's shoulder and extended into a staff once more. "Let's ride."


Maggie opened the door and looked around inside. "Alright, come on in."

Caleb, with his palistrom wood tucked under his arm, followed Maggie inside. He looked around at the dark interior. "What is this place?"

Maggie clapped her hands and the lights illuminated the room, revealing it to be a small shop, filled with what looked like wood carving materials.

"This is one of my family's palisman carving shops," Maggie explained. "It's an older shop. My parents hardly ever use it anymore. I figured they wouldn't care if you and I used it."

"Very well then," said Caleb. "Now, how do get started?"

"Well, that depends on what you had in mind for a design." Maggie walked up to one of the work benches. She examined the carving utensils lining the wall. "Were you thinking maybe a cat or a squirrel? Personally, I think a chipmunk would look adorable on you."

"I want a bird," said Caleb. "A cardinal."

"You mean the red birds?" Maggie asked. "Like the one you told me about? The one you always talked to?"

Caleb nodded.

"Okay, then." Maggie chose a carving knife from the selection and pulled up a pair of chairs. She sat down in one of them and patted the other. "Sit. Put your palistrom wood on the bench and we can begin."

Caleb sat down with Maggie as instructed. The witch offered Caleb the cutter and he took it.

"You used to whittle masks, correct?" Maggie asked.

"Yes. Never figurines of any kind, though." Caleb said.

Maggie scooted the wood closer to them. She then scooted her chair closer to Caleb and gently grabbed his hands, guiding them to the palistrom wood.

Caleb blushed. "I must admit…this makes it hard to concentrate."

Maggie smiled. "Focus on the carving. Don't rush it, take your time. I'll be guiding your hands as well, don't worry."

Caleb gulped and nodded, praying that he wouldn't mess the carving up. He took a deep breath and got to work, carving the white wood with careful strokes. From time to time, Maggie would give him instructions or guide his hands or take the cutter to make a very difficult cut. It must have taken them more than an hour and a half to finish the carving. Caleb wanted to be sure not to make any mistakes, so he took his time, as Maggie instructed. Maggie didn't care how long it was taking. And neither did Caleb, for that matter. They were both enjoying carving the palisman together. As the time went by, Maggie would press a little closer to Caleb. By the time the carving was finished, Maggie had laid her head to rest on Caleb's shoulder, a sleepy smile on her face. Caleb had a similar look on his own face as he carved. They both seemed a little disappointed when the palisman carving was complete, but mostly they looked excited.

"Wonderful," Caleb remarked as he stared at the white, wooden carving of a cardinal bird. "Looks a little pale for a cardinal, though."

"We need to color it. But we need to use the right materials to make it perfect." Maggie said. "Do you have any of your gunpowder handy?"

Caleb raised an eyebrow, but complied and brought his powder flask out of his coat. He handed it to Maggie, who stared at it thoughtfully.

"I'm gonna need some of your cider as well."

Caleb was must less inclined to comply this time, but still, he brought out his flask of cider and handed it to Maggie, but pouted while doing so.

Maggie then grabbed a nearby cloth and doused a little bit of the cider on it. Then she put down the cider flask and picked up the powder flask. She opened the top and sprinkled some gunpowder onto the small, wet area of the cloth. Then she smeared the powder into the wet spot on the cloth until her fingers were blackened. After cleaning off her fingers, she grabbed the palisman carving and began using the wet powder to paint the unfinished palisman. She decorated the palisman with a black mask and blackened the bird's legs and feet as well.

"There we go," Maggie said.

"Why did you have to use my gunpowder?" Caleb asked. "More importantly, why did you have to use my cider?"

"Both are your belongings, both are important to you, and both are from the same world as you," said Maggie. "Now for the next step, well, you may not like it."

"How so?"

Maggie put down the cloth and the unfinished palisman before grabbing Caleb's hand and hovering the cutter over Caleb's index finger.

Caleb's eyes widened. "Oh…well…okay, fine. Make it quick."

Caleb shut his eyes and looked away as Maggie used the top of the cutter to poke the tip of Caleb's finger. She watched as a bead of blood rose out of the prick she had made. Maggie then took Caleb's finger and gently pressed it on the top of the unfinished palisman's head. Caleb turned his head to look in wonder as the color red seemed to flow onto the body of the palisman, coming from the cut that Maggie had made. Once enough red had oozed onto the palisman, Maggie pulled Caleb's finger away and closed the cut with a quick healing spell. Although he felt a little woozy from the blood loss, he stared in wonder at his palisman.

The carving now resembled a live, red cardinal. As well-crafted as it looked, the palisman remained motionless and inanimate. Its lifeless eyes held no gaze nor any hint of life.

"Now what?" Caleb asked excitedly. "Do I command it to come to life or something?"

"Now, you must name it," said Maggie. "And create the bond that the two of you shall share."

"In that case, I know exactly what to name him." Caleb leaned down and stared intently at the carving.

"I name you…Flapjack."

Something passed over the palisman, like a kind of mirage. The carving suddenly looked less like a carving and more like an actual living creature. The now alive palisman opened his warm, brown eyes and blinked up at Caleb.

"Chirp-Chirp-Tweet. Chirp-Chirp-Tweet."

Caleb brought his hands to his mouth and gasped, eyes wide with amazement. "It worked! It worked!"

"Chirp-Chirp-Tweet. Chirp-Chirp-Tweet."

"Cute little palisman, isn't he?" Maggie said.

"Right?" Caleb lowered his hand and let Flapjack hop on. He raised the palisman up and examined him proudly. "Look at you. You're amazing! And you really are a cute little bird." Caleb rubbed the cardinal's belly with his finger. "Who's a cute little palisman?"

Flapjack chirped happily and flapped his wings.

Caleb laughed delightfully as he continued to rub the bird's belly and earn happy chirps in return.

Maggie beamed at the brand-new palisman. "I'm a Clawthorne, no doubt about it," she said proudly to herself. "Can you hear his voice yet?"

"What do you mean? All he does is chirp." Caleb looked back at Flapjack.

"Chirp-Chirp-Tweet. Chirp-Chirp-Tweet."-'Hello!'

"What the-" Caleb blinked. "How…how did I hear that?"

"Chirp-Chirp-Tweet. Chirp-Chirp-Tweet."-'I'm your palisman. Of course you can understand me."

"Huh. How about that?" Caleb grinned. "Nice to meet you, Flapjack. My name is Caleb."

'Nice to meet you too, Caleb!" Flapjack chirped. 'Please rub my belly again. It felt good when you did.'

"With pleasure, my little friend." Caleb rubbed the bird's belly and got another happy chirp and wing-flap out of it. "Maggie…I can't thank you enough for this." Caleb turned his head and looked into Maggie's eyes. "Thank you so much for this."

"Well, it's not free, mind you."

"Wait, what?!" Flapjack flew off of Caleb's hand and onto the workbench. "You're making me pay you for this?"

Maggie nodded. "Mmm-hmm."

"Oh, you greedy, evil witch." Caleb sighed. "Alright, fine. What's it gonna cost me?"

"One of these."

Maggie grabbed Caleb by his coat and pulled him in for a kiss. Caleb's face lit up with shock and joy for only a second before he melted into the kiss.

Woodrow flew off of Maggie's shoulder and landed next to Flapjack on the workbench. The two palismans watched as Maggie got out of her chair and sat down on Caleb's lap, wrapping her arms around him and continuing to attack his lips with her own. Caleb returned the affection in full, feeling a sensation similar to getting drunk as he placed his hands on the witch's top and lower back and pulled her toward him.

The cardinal looked over at the woodpecker. 'Guess we're palisman-in-laws, huh?' Flapjack chirped.

'Seems like it.' Woodrow cackled back. 'I'm Woodrow, by the way.'

'Flapjack. Nice to meet you. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other.'

The two palismans looked back up at their partners to see both of them finally come up for air. Caleb and Maggie stared lovingly into each other's eyes. Maggie grinned as she twirled Caleb's loose lock of hair with her finger.

"You know…It's just you and me here. We have this place all to ourselves." Maggie trailed a line of soft kisses along Caleb's jawline. "I think I see a couple of blankets and pillows over there," she purred into his ear. "What say we spend the night together?"

Caleb gulped and managed to regain control of his thoughts. "I…I-I can't do that with a woman until I've married her. I may only take to bed my wife. That is the Christian way."

"You're a long way from home," Maggie nuzzled Caleb's neck. "Come on. I don't bite…very hard."

'God help me. God help me. God help me. God help me. God help me.' Caleb took a deep breath. "Maggie… I would very much like to, believe me. But…" Caleb grabbed Maggie's shoulders and met her gaze. "I am a man of God. I hold strong to my faith in the belief that it makes me a better person."

Maggie raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Wasn't it 'men of faith' that wanted to torture and kill me?"

"No," Caleb stated sternly. "Those were control-obsessed men using our religion as an excuse to do whatever they wanted."

"Then why should you could keep it up?" Maggie asked.

"Because my religion isn't about power or control. It's about being a good person. It's about humility, forgiveness, generosity, and…self-restraint." Caleb smiled. "You are the most incredible and beautiful woman I have ever met, and I would very much like to take you to bed, as you are suggesting."

"Then why don't you?" Maggie whined as she cuddled against Caleb.

"Buh-buh-buh-b-because, I'm already in a world of demons learning witchcraft. I want to stay devoted to my religion. I believe that my devotion to God makes me a good person."

"You don't need a handbook on how to be a good person," said Maggie. "You're a good person because that's just who you are."

"My religion is a part of who I am," said Caleb. "I will always keep an open mind, but I will always stay true to my beliefs as well. I'm asking you to respect that…before I completely lose all cognitive control."

Maggie sighed and pouted in disappointment. "Oh, why'd you have to stop being fun now, of all times?" she whined. "Couldn't you have waited until after we made love?"

"Rules are rules," said Caleb. "Thank you for respecting that."

"Oh, I'll respect that." Maggie kissed Caleb's forehead and cuddled up against him shamelessly. "For now, anyway. I'll just have to wait you out, I suppose. Self-control or not, you're still a man."

"...May I be released from your hold, wicked temptress?" Caleb asked.

"Oh, alright. I release you." Maggie got off of Caleb's lap. Caleb rose out of his chair and took Maggie's hand in his own. The two of them smiled lovingly at each other, staring into each other's eyes, livid and magenta. Woodrow flew onto Maggie's shoulder and Flapjack flew up to perch on Caleb's shoulder.

"Would you like me to show you how to use a magic staff?" Maggie asked.

Caleb nodded eagerly.

"Keep in mind, that won't be free either." Woodrow extended into a staff for Maggie to wield.

Caleb looked at Flapjack sitting on his shoulder. Flapjack chirped and flapped his wings, flying off of Caleb's shoulder and extending into a black staff. Caleb grabbed the staff in his hands and stared at it in amazement.

Maggie grinned. "Let's begin, shall we?"


I originally named Gwendolyn's palisman Henry like Henry Hawk from Looney Tunes, but was then informed of his canonical name. And I named Dell's palisman Fritter because...you know. Flapjack? Fritter?

Ah, whatever. And personally, I like Henry better than Hawksley. I was actually about to say he was a buzzard, but I thought that would be offensive to old people.

Waka waka!

'Till next time!