Abracadabra, Howls, and the Furry Guardians

Furry Guardian

Walking into his house is like a breath of fresh air. Although I am a nervous wreck emotionally, it's physically very soothing.

"You never did tell me why you don't have even one magical item or at least one of those magico-technological hybrids," Marika said after she finished splashing some fresh water on her face as soon as she entered his house.

"I guess you could say I have kind of a phobia when it comes to magic," Tate said, shifting uncomfortably, pouring Marika a glass of her favorite pineapple juice to help her recuperate. "Do you think you'll be okay now? Do you need anything else?"

"I'm fine," Marika said impatiently. "More importantly, don't you dare change the subject. Why do you have a phobia of magic? After all, you grew up here. Magic must have been all around you all the time."

"Exactly," Tate said through gritted teeth. "And that's not always a good thing."

"I can feel a story hiding somewhere behind your stern facade," Marika said, pointing a finger at him accusingly. "A story you are trying to hide from me."

"I'm not trying to hide anything. It's just a painful part of my past I don't like bringing up," Tate said defensively, turning his back to her under the excuse of making them some coffee.

"Oh," Marika said stupidly. "I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

It was yet another emotional landmine she had so carelessly stepped on, and she wished she could bang her head on the wall for being unable to keep her mouth shut.

"It's okay. It might be best for you to know because our quest will probably involve some magic." Tate said after sighing deeply. "I was once cursed by a witch because I refused to date her."

It felt like he was ripping off a very painful bandaid, making Marika unsure if she should have felt happy about him sharing about his painful past or sad because it felt like she was forcing him to tell her something he clearly didn't want to talk about.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Marika said, looking into her juice so intensely, as if it would reveal all the secrets of the universe, or at least why she so often ended up putting her foot in her mouth lately.

"No, no, no, it's okay," Tate said hurriedly, turning to her with the weirdest look. "I was planning on telling you eventually. I guess this is as good a time as any."

"You really don't have to," Marika said as he sat on the sofa across from her, deep sadness evident in his beautiful eyes that always had to hide so much of their emotion to stay the level-headed leader. "I was just curious because everyone I've met since I turned seems to use magic and technology equally. You are the only exception to that rule."

"I want to. After all, it concerns you, too." Tate said as he settled down more comfortably, ready to spill his guts.

His words didn't make much sense to Marika, but she was ready to hear him out. After all, he listened to her complaining and grumbling for far too long. It was time for her to stop focusing on her own pain and be there for him for a change, listen to what he had to say.

"She put a curse on me that no one has been able to remove yet, no matter how hard they tried," Tate said with a lost look in his eyes that spoke of indescribable sadness. "She cursed me to always end up hurting the person I love the most."

It was such an unnecessarily cruel curse that, for the time being, Marika just sat there with her mouth wide open, her juice glass pausing next to her mouth as she froze in shock. She never expected the large lump of a guy to be so sensitive and to have such a heavy emotional burden on his shoulders. It made her feel sorry for him because he was probably suppressing all that pain to help others, to help the packs live their best lives.