We kept at it for a bit before Ivy landed on my hat and looked over the rim and at me. “Hey, Morgana, aren’t you forgetting something?” I looked up at her. “The story you mean? I will continue, no need to worry. Now then, where was I…”

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  Jaira was sitting on the couch, staring at the egg as it lay on the pillow. Every once in a while, the egg would rotate so that another side of it was pointing up, similar to how a bird would go about it to ensure proper warmth on all sides and to prevent the embryo inside from sticking to the shell. I looked up from the book about herbs I was reading. “It will not hatch any faster just because you stare at it, you know.”

  Jaira looked away from the egg. “I know, but it’s been about a week now, so you know how long it will take to hatch?” I glanced at the egg. “Depending on how recently it was laid, it could take up to a month.” Jaira let out a long yawn, then got to her feet. She stretched before sinking back into the couch. “Blugh, I just don’t have any energy.” I put the bookmark into the book and put it on the table. “Well, you have absorbed no life force in a while. So you might be running on empty. That would also explain why you look pale.” Jaira hesitated for a moment before she walked over and hopped into my lap as I pulled her into a hug.

  The sensation of having my life force absorbed was… weird. It didn’t help that I could see small motes of purplish-pink energy seep from my body and into Jaira. It wasn’t unpleasant, but left me feeling lightheaded in a way I didn’t like at all. A few minutes later, Jaira stopped absorbing and extracted herself from my grip. Not that I could really stop her, as the drain left me feeling as strong as a wet noodle. “Soot, mind fetching a minor healing potion, so I’m not useless for the rest of the day?” Soot took off from his roost and flew into the potion room.

  Meanwhile, Jaira stretched again. “Phew, I feel so much better now!” She turned around and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks, mom, I really needed that.” In response, I waved her off. “I just wish you’d do it more often, so you didn’t need to drain so much at a time.” Soot returned with the potion and Jaira helped me down it. “I… suppose I should do that, shouldn’t I?” She blushed slightly. I snatched her up again and gave her a peck on the cheek. “No need to be bashful about it, it's better for both of us if you do so, alright pumpkin?” She seemed to consider it for a bit, before she slowly nodded.

  “Now then, I have a little surprise for you all, and no Ivy, it’s not pancakes, but you will like it, no doubt. You just wait here while I prep it.” I disappeared into the kitchen and looked at the sheets of cast iron that were lying on the table. “Well then, let’s see if we can get that thing made with this… Hmm…” I tried for a few minutes to come up with a rhyme to make it easier, as transfiguration was finicky. Transformations were much easier, just envision the animal in question, but turning something into something else required at least some knowledge of how that something worked.

  However, after mulling over it, I couldn’t come up with a proper word that rhymed with Iron that would fit with what I tried to do. I shook my head. This was getting me nowhere. “Well, here goes nothing…” I reached out with my magic and the sheets of iron lifted from the table and began to twist and change. The magic was not cooperating on this one, it was like grasping a melting icicle. But even so, slowly but surely, it took the shape of a waffle iron.

  Once it was finished, I fired up the stove and slapped it on top to let it heat while I mixed the batter. The magic would make it perfectly heated to make waffles. About half an hour later, I walked back into the living room with a plate full of waffles with two jars, and two spoons floating in my wake. “I figured we could use some waffles to test the blueberry jam, and some strawberry jam if anyone prefers that.” There was an intrigued tingle from Ivy as she landed next to her plate. “Waffles? Hmm, smells kinda like pancakes.”

  I couldn’t contain a small smirk. “They are made with similar batters, but not quite the same. Try it.” I showed how to make them by preparing one for Ivy. “There you go, enjoy yourself. Want me to make yours as well, Midnight, Soot?” They were both quick to nod. As I was mixing blueberry and strawberry jam for Midnight, as she was asking for that, there was a strange trilling sound from Ivy. I glanced over and saw her sniffle as she ate. “That tasty, huh?” she nodded, as she kept eating in silence. I sat down with my waffle and took a taste myself. Not bad, not bad at all.

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  “Jam’s tasty, but better on pancakes!” I glanced up at Ivy. “Well there’s a surprise for no one that you’d think that. I am honestly surprised you didn’t have a similar reaction to the waffles, as with the pancakes, given how similar they are.” Ivy paused her swinging for a moment. “I dunno. It just doesn’t taste as great. Don’t get me wrong, the waffles are awesome, but pancakes are just better.”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Meleri looked up from where she was scratching Winter and Irenji still. “Say sis, think you could skip ahead to the egg hatching unless there is something super important happening in between. It’s not that It’s not entertaining, but… you know.” I glanced over at her. “That’s a fair request, alright, then it was…”

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  Almost two more weeks before the egg began to hatch. I was on my way into the kitchen to make breakfast when I heard the noises from the egg. Jaira was still asleep and Ivy was back in Nettledale, as Nettle wanted her help with something. I moved the pillow over to the living room table, breakfast now forgotten as I hurried to grab the small box that was to function as a substitute nest, with all the warmth spells needed to keep a chick perfectly warm and also the same materials a snow owl's nest would contain.

  That meant small twigs, numerous feathers and down, and just for some added comfort, a bit of wool along the bottom. I carefully used magic to levitate the egg into the nest itself. There was a noise from the hallway as Jaira left her bedroom, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. “Hey mom, what’s for? Oh!” She hurried over as well, as cracks began to form on the egg itself. A cracking noise and a small beak pushed out of the cracked egg. I could see the egg tooth on the little thing, as it pecked its way out.

  As it emerged from the egg, I carefully removed the eggshells. Since the little owlet was now out, I hurried to the larder and grabbed some raw rabbit meat. “Jaira help me tear this into pieces small enough to feed the little thing, would you?” As I spoke, I showed her how to rip a small piece of meat from the rabbit meat and offered it to the owlet. It didn’t take it.

  “Something softer maybe?” Jaira’s suggestion was as good as anything I could come up with. I returned to the larder. I didn’t really keep the offal from my hunts and snares, since the only one who’d have an interest in it was Soot, but there were a few rabbits that weren’t prepped yet. A few moments later, the little owlet was happily gobbling up the ripped pieces of a rabbit’s heart and other innards that I deemed edible by an owlet.

  As we kept feeding it through the day, most of the meals were quick and easy ones I could magic up. “Jaira, do me a favor and keep the little one fed. I need to make a quick trip to Nekkal and see if I can pick up a book that actually discusses rearing an owlet. The book I have gives lots of general information about the adults, but nothing on what they actually eat and growth periods or the like. Soot mind helping as well?” Soot looked up from his roost. “Consider it done, Mistress.” Midnight looked up from where she was sitting. “What about me, Meowstress?” I looked at her. “You can come with me, if you like.”

  The trip to Nekkal didn’t take long, but was also a total waste of time. While there was a book on avians for sale, it was even less detailed than the one I owned, and didn’t even feature birds living outside the Midlands. This wasn’t too surprising in hindsight, given the source of my own books. Still, that meant I was going in blind. When I returned, I saw the owlet sleeping in the box, with Jaira and Soot watching over it. Soot looked up at me as we entered. “Did you find anything?” I shook my head. “Nothing useful. I guess I’ll continue feeding the little one rabbit innards for now, then move up to meat later on.”

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  Winter took off from where she was sitting on the porch and landed in my lap. I stopped petting winter and Soot to give her some scratches as well. “Well, I remember little from those earliest days, but seeing as I’m still here, it must have gone as you hoped.” I hit her favorite spot, earning me a delighted series of chirps. “To begin with, sure, but there was one mistake I did later on, as I mentioned before…”

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  Winter, as I was calling her, wasn’t looking too well. I must’ve been doing something wrong. She looked thin and malnourished. Her newly grown feathers didn’t have the sheen of a healthy bird at all. The worst part was, she was too weak to even speak properly. Jaira was beside herself with worry, and I wasn’t much better. She recovered a bit when she was fed some mice that Midnight caught, but Midnight didn’t have a high enough success rate hunting them to keep it up forever, since only a trickle of them stuck around long enough to adapt to the wards around the house.

  Ivy was looking at her weakened form with worry. “You know, Morgana, it might be worth using the familiar ritual. If nothing else, it will restore her physical strength. Even better, there is a blood moon the day after tomorrow.” I looked at winter, barely finished her first down shedding, so small and weak. “Would she even survive that?” Ivy silently shook her head. “I dunno, but it’s either that or… yeah.”

  I took a deep breath. Ivy was right, it was that or bust. “Soot, would you mind gathering the few herbs missing for the ritual? I would do it myself, but…” Leaving Winter’s side right now was not tenable, as I was using magic to strengthen her regularly at this point. Jaira looked up from where she was sitting. “I’ll help too!” I looked over at her and ruffled her hair. “Thanks, kiddo.” There was a weak chirp from Winter as the small owlet weakly nudged against my hand. I stroked her head, calming her down. I didn’t know what to do here, but hopefully the ritual would help.

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  Meleri grimaced. “Yikes, it must have been rough.” I nodded as Winter hopped off my lap again and stretched her wings. “What little I remember of it all was that mother was very kind and supportive. I don’t remember the ritual itself, though, at all.” I looked down at her. "Well, there is a simple reason for that… And it will be explained…. After dinner." There was a collective groan from everyone present, as I rose and entered the hut, along with Meleri.