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-BunnyWithEvilIntention
No1 is a warlock, he is helpful, powerful and kind, a successful combination. So when he got a call from Holly he accepted, Holly was one of his closest friends.
"Hi Holly. How are you and Artemis?"
A delay of a few seconds ensured, then an uneasy voice followed, "No1, can you please come to my flat? There's something... troubling Artemis and I."
The demon on the other end frowned, "Are you two okay?"
"Uh. Yes, No1, please come soon."
No1 walked over to Qwan, who was just writing a sequel to his bestselling book, 'My time is now.' It was titled, '101 ways to avoid quantum zombies.'
"Qwan, do you mind if I leave now and come back tomorrow?"
The older demon waved his hand, "Go, go! You deserve a break No1."
No1 saluted to Qwan and walks out the door, wondering all the while why Holly had sounded so concerned. Maybe it was Atlantis Complex striking again, No1 reasoned. But why not contact Argon? Then, She said Artemis and I. What would concern them both? He was so absorbed in thought that the little demon very nearly got lost twice on the way to his friend's home.
When he arrived, Holly and Artemis were sitting down at the table, talking in low voices. No1 approached them. "Hi!" He said, fully expecting Holly to stand up and hug him. She didn't, she just looked sick. "No1, what do you know of... feeling someone else's pain?" The demon just frowned, so Artemis decided to elaborate. "No1, when someone punched me, Holly felt the blow. When-"
"Someone punched you? Now that's just-"
Holly reached up and took the demon's hand. "No1"" she said gently, "This is rather serious, Artemis and I would appreciate if you would just listen for a minute."
The warlock demon just nodded mutely. Artemis started again,
"When Trouble Kelp punched me," He paused for breath so that it could sink in, "Holly felt the blow. When I ate," Artemis winced and so did Holly, "something... putrid, Holly tasted it too."
No1 was stunned, he was trying to process what he had just heard. There was nothing he could think of, so he pulled out his communicator and called Qwan. When the demon answered, No1 quickly explained what he had heard in rapid gnomish, Qwan asked him to turn the volume up and sit the phone on the table. Holly took Artemis' hand. A familiar gesture that Artemis was comforted by, but didn't feel he deserved, but for once, he didn't cause this crisis, or maybe he did, he just didn't know it yet.
Qwan cleared his throat, "Many years ago, before the battle that separated our kinds, humans and fairies lived in peace. Since warlocks and the like were so powerful, many different magics were possible, many more than the present day. So, one of those 'higher' magics was something called a bond. It made the humans prosper, and is the reason why they have advanced so much since that time." Artemis and Holly shared an uneasy glance, No1 just sat there, absorbing it in.
Qwan continued, "Now, here is the interesting part, a bond made a human and a fairy, most likely an elf or pixie, because they are most like humans in shape and stature, well it joined them magically, the human got magic and longevity, and the fairy got a companion and someone who understood them."
"How was the bond started?" Holly injected, Qwan paused and said,
"Let me continue. I will get to that. Others anomalies that the bond ensured were shared feelings of pain or the like. Intended to inform the other that their... their friend was in danger."
Artemis felt Holly's hand tighten throughout the explanation, he could no longer feel his fingers. Artemis had the same question as Holly, he could see it in her eyes,
"And why do they get these 'alerts'?"
Qwan drew a ragged breath. "Well, if they feel each others pain, imagine if one died. The magic is so intricate that the bonded pair depend on one another, and if one died,"
"The other would die." Holly finished for him.
"Well, I was going to say 'go mad' but yes, they would die soon anyway."
That was enough information, but Holly and Artemis had one more question, they both touched their new eye gingerly and Artemis said, "How is this bond started exactly?"
Qwan scratched his head,
"I think that a warlock had to initiate it, but, if they were to swap magic, and maybe a body part, and of course be close, and be healed by each other, and be in the time warp together a few times, and maybe, not usually, but maybe have deep feelings for each other, it would be bound to happen eventually."
Holly and Artemis had been mentally counting off each item on Qwan's list and then paused on the last one, was it true? He had said maybe. As Artemis wanted to think,
It hasn't happened yet. Yet.