Page 35 of Found in Obscurity
“Ah.” A voice came from down one of the passages, steps echoing along the wooden floor. “Young Lorin. Long time no see.”
A figure emerged from the shadows—tall, thin, dressed in a white shirt, black vest, coat, and pants. A tall top hat was perched on his head and he thumped a cane on the floor with each step.
“You remember me?” Lorin asked, wondering how it was possible that the man looked as frozen in time as the shop. Like he’d been pulled out of the last memory Lorin had of him.
“Certain things are hard to forget,” The Owner said with an eerie smile, walking closer. “You have bonded recently, I see.”
“Yes.” Lorin shifted closer to Kit without quite knowing why.
The Owner looked down at Kit with his fathomless eyes and hummed. “An arctic fox familiar. You certainly march to the beat of your own drum, don’t you?”
Before Lorin could even think to respond, The Owner walked behind the counter at the front of the shop, drumming his fingers on the wooden surface.
“Looking for your calling, I assume?” he asked.
The way he already knew sent a small shiver down Lorin’s spine. “Yes, I… My grandma suggested I need to dive in and explore until I can find what fits.”
The Owner swept his gaze over Lorin and tilted his head, the top hat staying put like it was glued to his hair.
“I’m guessing neither her nor your mother’s calling suits you. You don’t seem to be the type.”
“I don’t?” Lorin asked, feeling like it was an insult despite the fact that it was the truth.
“No. I don’t know where you’ll find yourself, but I do believe it’ll be very far from the rest of your family. Come this way.”
He walked out from behind the counter and disappeared down an aisle. Lorin followed without having to be told to, allowing himself to be led through the maze until they reached a shelf filled with books.
The Owner plucked a thick leather-bound book from the middle of it. He pushed it into Lorin’s chest and then let go, making Lorin scramble to get a hold of it before it tumbled to the floor.
“Start here,” he said. “It’s my favorite one.”
And then he walked back toward the counter.
“Wait, I had a few more questions!” Lorin called after him.
“I find that the best way to solve mysteries is one at a time,” The Owner called back before disappearing from sight, leaving Lorin to stand in the middle of a dusty passage with a gigantic book in his arms.
“Right,” Lorin said, looking down to find Kit pawing at another book at the bottom shelf. “You like that one?”
Kit huffed.
“I guess I’ll grab that one too,” Lorin said, pulling Kit’s choice off the shelf. “Not like I have any sort of direction here.”
The book Kit had chosen was some sort of a thick tome on familiars and their benefits for witches, the history of them and the traditions surrounding bonding ceremonies. Based on the title, it appeared to be just a collection of very basic, rudimentary information. Coincidentally, Lorin really felt like he was starting from scratch with both the witch and the familiar thing, so maybe it wasn’t a bad choice.
He hauled the two large books over to a small table in the back corner of the shop and settled into a creaky chair to read. At least this he could do. Reading was familiar.
Kit hopped up onto the table after him, weaving around the books before planting himself directly under Lorin’s chin. The curve of his back was pressed against Lorin’s chest and his amber eyes were focused on the books as if he was getting ready to read them too.
Lorin smiled, lifting a hand to scratch him behind his ear instead of moving him aside. He rested his chin on Kit’s fluffyhead and sighed. He was trying to figure out both their life paths here, so maybe Kit could sense that? A familiar was built to help its witch. Lorin didn’t practice magic, so maybe the familiar was reacting in other ways?
Lorin had never heard of such a thing, but twelve years avoiding any mention of magic was a long time for things to change.
If Lorin could just work out what he was supposed to do, maybe Kit wouldn’t be acting so weirdly. It made him wonder if Kit’s form had anything to do with what it would end up being. Foxes were known for their cunning, their mischief. They were quick and they could be smart, but Lorin had no idea how that applied to anything Lorin was good at.
He sighed again, opening both books up and looking between them with a grimace, rubbing at the tingling marks on his fingers as he tried to figure out what to start with. Witch paths weren’t always clearly set, but they usually lay in similar veins to one another. They could have the same medium—for example, water—but work with it in completely opposite ways, so there wasn’t a guide to pick from that he could easily access.
Lorin’s problem was that he wasn’t good at anything.