The first day with Ragnor was absolutely tiring for Magnus. Seeing as he had fled without any of his belongings, Ragnor had insisted that they go out to replace the things that he had lost. "Stop your protestation," he'd said. "I've been alive for about four hundred years now, the money is not an issue." Magnus finally stopped telling him that he didn't need to buy him anything, realizing that his efforts were in vain.

He spent most of the day following Ragnor around and listening to him instead of speaking for himself. It wasn't that he disliked Ragnor, quite the opposite really, but he was feeling a bit uncomfortable at how kind Ragnor was being. Up until his parents had realized what he was, they had shown plenty of love for him. But he had never encountered a stranger as kind as Ragnor.

When they had finally gotten to Ragnor's house, he had shown Magnus to his new room and told him that he could do whatever he like with it. Ragnor had made so many things so explicitly his that Magnus was quickly becoming overwhelmed with it all. He had simply sat down on his new bed and stared at the wall, unable to figure out what to do until Ragnor had come back in to check on him. Seeing Magnus just sitting there, he gently sat on the bed beside of him.

"Why don't I help you get your things put away?" He very simply avoided talking to Magnus about what he was feeling, something Magnus was thankful for. "We can do whatever you like with it all." Magnus nodded and finally hopped down from the bed, allowing Ragnor to help him, remaining silent still yet.

When they were done, Ragnor sat down with him once more. "I understand you've been through a lot, so I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to speak to me or anyone else until you're ready." It was then that Magnus realized he hadn't actually spoken a single word all day. He simply looked up at Ragnor and tried to give him a smile, knowing it was most likely a terribly weak one.


Magnus didn't speak for the next nine days. It wasn't that he made the conscious choice to do so, he just didn't have anything to say. His mind had been running at such high speeds for so long that he didn't have room to process anything else. Ragnor never seemed to push him to speak, he would just talk to Magnus as though everything was normal, but it never felt as though he was expecting Magnus to answer him.

He was relatively fine until he woke up screaming from a nightmare. To his surprise, he heard Ragnor running toward his room, something he hadn't really expected Ragnor to care enough to do. He cautiously opened the door saying, "Magnus, I'm coming in," somehow knowing that Magnus wouldn't have responded if he had asked for permission. He quickly moved to kneel beside of the bed, also somehow knowing that Magnus didn't want to be touched at the moment. "I'm here, Magnus," he said, keeping his voice low. "You're safe now, I promise."

Had it been any other day, Magnus would have been almost offended at the pity in Ragnor's voice, but he knew that Ragnor didn't mean anything by it, that he was just being gentle. "Ragnor?" he asked, getting through the first word he had said in over a week. Ragnor simply nodded, showing that Magnus could ask him anything. "It was a really bad nightmare."

Ragnor gave a soft smile, his voice just as soft when he responded. "I know, Magnus. But it was just a dream. You're here with me, and you're safe." Magnus thought this would have made plenty of sense if his nightmare had been something that Ragnor could protect him from.

He slowly sat up in bed, wanting to explain things for the first time since he'd come to stay with Ragnor. "It was my fault," he began, his voice barely above a whisper. "They were scared of me, and in the end, I hurt them both." He paused for a moment, trying to steady his breath, trying to keep calm. "The last thing my dad said was that I was a monster." He was going to say more, but he suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe.

For a moment, Ragnor simply looked at him seeming as though he couldn't figure out what to say. He got up for a moment and pulled up a seat beside the bed. "Magnus, I want you to listen to me very carefully. Just hear me out and then you can speak if you wish." His voice was very even, and Magnus could sense that he was trying to keep it that way on purpose.

"You are not, in any way, a monster." He finally reached over to take one of Magnus's hands, giving it a gentle squeeze before continuing. "Your parents were scared because they didn't understand who you are. I know what it feels like, trust me I do; I've had to hide my skin since I was old enough to know how to do so. But the only reason I hide it is because humans don't understand, and it would scare them to know what I am."

Ragnor reached up to swipe the hair out of Magnus's eyes, a gesture that even Magnus knew was filled with kindness. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, either. It doesn't make you a monster just because other people can't understand what you are. You lashed out because you were scared. That's what your parents were doing, too. Would you ever call your parents monsters?"

Magnus considered this for a very long moment, seeing what Ragnor was trying to do, what Ragnor was trying to get him to understand. He slowly shook his head no, earning another weak smile from Ragnor. "Would you ever call me a monster, Magnus? Even in the little time you've known me, would you say that I'm a monster?" This time, Magnus shook his head immediately, Ragnor chuckling as he did so. "You're the same thing I am. So why would you be a monster?'

For a moment, Magnus thought this point was considerably valid. Then he realized that what he was wasn't exactly the problem, it was what he had done that made him the monster in his mind. "It's not that I'm a warlock, Ragnor." His voice was softer than he wanted it to be. "It's what I've done that makes me a monster." Ragnor looked at him for a moment, his expression unreadable to Magnus.

"I've done bad things, too. Terrible things. But the difference between us and demons is that we have the ability to do good things as well. We also feel guilty for the bad that we do. If you didn't feel bad about what happened, Magnus, that's when I would say that something was wrong with you. You have to remember that you're part human, these feelings are perfectly normal."

When Magnus didn't speak again, Ragnor continued, a light smile playing across his lips once more. "There are good warlocks, and there are bad warlocks. Just like there are good humans and bad humans, good vampires and bad vampires. It's not what we are that makes us or breaks us, it's what we do with who we are." He gave Magnus's hand another squeeze before getting up to place the chair back against the wall.

"If you need me," he said, heading toward the door. "You know where my room is." For a moment, Magnus sat and simply stared at the door that closed behind Ragnor. Then he got up and quickly followed, only slightly ashamed that he was going to spend the night in Ragnor's room. I'm a kid, he thought. This is acceptable for kids, isn't it? Ragnor only knowingly smiled as Magnus entered his room, Magnus stuck his tongue out at him before climbing into bed, only earning a hearty chuckle.


I know that some of you are going to say this is out of character for Ragnor, but please just wait until I get further into this story. My own thought is that he's terribly kind to children, especially abused warlock children. I'm going to get into Magnus being older (like teenage Magnus) in the next one, so hold on for Ragnor "I hate the world" Fell!