Caleb and Vex, backdated to 4/5/19

[ax_spellbinder]

Vex bumps into Caleb outside and convinces him to join her for a picnic.



Vex wandered across the lawn, Trinket trailing at her heels. She spotted a nice patch of shade near a tree and wandered over to set down her basket. As she got closer Vex noticed a familiar form leaning against the opposite side of the tree.

“Hello, Caleb,” Vex greeted. “Do you wish to be left alone?”

Caleb looked up from his book and glanced around like he’d forgotten he was outside. “No. It’s fine.” It was a public space. If he wanted to be alone, he should be the one to leave.

A prrp came from above in the tree’s branches and a moment later Frumpkin came scrambling down the trunk. Tail held high, he padded over to Trinket like he hadn’t just made a complete fool of himself and touched noses with the bear in greeting.

Vex smiled at the pair. She settled the picnic basket she was carrying down and then reached into her bag of holding and pulled out a blanket. Vex shook it out across the grass. “If that’s the case, I have some treats to spoil your cat with.”

Caleb watched over his shoulder as Vex laid out the blanket while Frumpkin wound around her legs in a figure-eight, meowing plaintively. After a minute, he closed his book, stood up, and went over, hovering at the edge of the blanket. “Stop being so dramatic,” he told his cat.

Vex sat down and ran her hand over Frumpkin’s back. “Yes, yes, you’re starving because Caleb clearly doesn’t spoil you constantly and you can in no way smell that there’s salmon in that basket.”

Undeterred, Frumpkin meowed again. “It’s very hard being him,” Caleb said, then, because this was obviously a losing battle, sat down on the blanket too.

Vex opened the basket and reached in for the salmon. She divided a large portion out for Trinket and then placed a smaller portion on the opposite side for Frumpkin. Vex then slid out containers of sliced fruit, cheese, and a few odds and ends. She set them between her and Caleb. “Treats for you too if you want,” she said with a smile. “How’s my favorite wizard doing?”

Caleb made a scoffing sound, but he looked amused. “Do you even know any other wizards?”

“I know some magical weirdos? Myself included? But you’re the most self embracing wizard.” Vex picked up an Apple slice and extended it toward him.

“So, that’s a no.” Caleb took the offered slice of apple, and took a bite, the tart, but sweet flavor of green apple filling his mouth.

“Okay, you’re unique and special.” Vex grinned and plucked up another apple slice to crunch into.

Vex was the kind of person who tended to get things her way, wasn’t she? Molly was like that too. Caleb had no idea how a trait that would be annoying on anyone else was so charming on them.

“Why a picnic?” Caleb popped the remainder of the apple slice into his mouth.

“Because today is beautiful, and I want to enjoy it.” She picked up a cube of cheese.

“Ah.” Not sure what else to say, Caleb sat there in silence for a minute before finally taking his book back out. He opened it to the page he’d left off on and started reading.

Vex smiled. Sometimes Caleb reminded her so much of Percy when they’d first plucked him up. She picked up a treat and leaned down to offer it to Trinket. Stretching out on the blanket, she offered the next nibble to Frumpkin.

Frumpkin sniffed at the morsel, then ate it, licking his lips after and looking at Vex expectantly as if waiting for more.

Nose still buried in his book, Caleb blindly reached into one of the containers, pulling out a slice of cheese. He took a bite and made a face at the taste, then looked up from the page to his hand. That wasn’t an apple.

Vex couldn’t suppress her grin. She reached into bag and pulled out a worn out paperback she was slowly working through. The cover had a chiseled, shirtless man and a woman in a sundress in a torrid embrace on the image. 

It was practically ingrained in Caleb’s DNA to look at any book in his vicinity, so, when Vex’ahlia pulled one from her bag, it was no surprise that his eyes instinctively went to it. It was obviously a romance novel, but not one he recognized. “What are you reading?”

Vex tipped it so he had a better view of the cover. “Summer’s Wild. Never heard of the author, but it’s about what you’d expect.” 

The author wasn’t one Caleb recognized either. With how dated the cover looked, it was possible it was pretty old. Maybe the author wasn’t even writing anymore. “What is it about?”

Vex's lips quirked. "Well. It starts with a summer picnic by a lake, and eventually devolves into a spirited camping trip. There are some references to hiking. And references to things two individuals can get up to while naked in a lake.”

Caleb suspected Vex was trying to embarrass him. “That’s not much of a plot. Mine,” he held up his book, “is about a fey king who left the mortal plane thousands of years ago after the murderer of his beloved. A bard’s song pulls him back, and they become embroiled in a conflict between the fey who rose up to take the king’s place and those who are still loyal to the king.”

“That is much more plot,” Vex agreed. “You’ve caught me at a time of limited concentration.  Getting into summer classes has killed my brain. Anything too complex and my brain is mush.”

Caleb made a sound of understanding, nodding. “I can never get into them unless they have at least a little bit of a story to them.”

“Understandable." Vex settled down more comfortably across the blanket. "I can't really say what pulls me into a book. Sometimes if they are too detailed I get itchy to put them down and get some air.”

Brow knit, Caleb opened his mouth, then closed it again as he decided that he was probably better off not asking what she meant by that. He put out a hand to give Frumpkin, who had wandered over, a pat down the length of his lanky body. “Do you read a lot?”

“Not so much,” Vex admitted. “It was always more of Percy and Keyleth’s thing. It was nice while were in London though, the library was a great place to spend time.” On a hot day, or when they were trying to stay out of trouble.

Caleb smiled some. He’d always loved spending time in the library. The quiet, the warmth of being surrounded by all those books… It was one of his favorite places. “I’ve, ah, seen Percy around the library.” He was there nearly as often as Caleb himself was. Occasionally, with Vax as his shadow, though he vaguely remembered a red-haired girl who’d been there with him a few times.

“Hyper focused on his book pile, no doubt,” Vex said fondly. “I do love the quiet, and the smell of wooden shelves, and crisp paper. It reminds me of the woods honestly. It’s a similar stillness. Only you read very different things.”

“Ah,” Caleb replied because he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Why was carrying a conversation always so hard? He could get through the beginning easy enough. There was a script for that. Hi, how’re you? I’m alright. How’re you? But, too much further past that and he was at a loss.

Caleb looked over at Frumpkin who was stretched out on the grass in the sun and happily enjoying the sun. “What do you read in the woods?”

“How much light is left in the day. Tracks of what passes through. Safe paths to take, safe things to eat.” Vex smiled. “Sounds and sights, less words.”

Caleb wouldn’t even know how to begin doing something like that. That thought was followed by another that he said out-loud, “I wonder if there are spells for that.”

Vex plucked up a grape and rolled it between her fingers thoughtfully. “If there isn’t I’m sure we can make one, Mr. Wizard.”

“Maybe.” Caleb had a whole list of spells he wanted to figure out. That brought up another thought that had him asking, “Did you ever figure out something that would let you talk to Trinket?”

“Oh, no,” she admitted. “I kind of took a pause on new solo projects for a little bit after that last hiccup…”

Caleb made a dismissive noise that said swapping bodies with your brother, or anyone for that matter, was nothing. “Mistakes happen. That’s how we learn. Did Illyana ever tell you about the time she made it rain frogs?”

Vex laughed softly. "She did. I'm glad we all have inept moments.  Although I'm very grateful you've managed to untangle the worse of mine.”

Shrugging, Caleb said, “You would have figured it out eventually.”

"Sometimes time is of the essence." Vex reached over, carefully brushing her fingertips against Caleb's. "If you ever need help and it's within my power, consider me yours by request." 

Something like a frown wrinkled Caleb’s expression. He moved his hand to pluck a grape from its container and, after a pause, said, “You should be careful how you give your word, and who you give it to.” There were people who’d take advantage of that kind of thing. He would know; he was one of them.

Vex’s smile deepened. She shook her head. “I know exactly what I’ve said. And I would not offer this to  anyone. Maybe I should know you better, but what I know now is enough for this. What possibility are you cautioning me against?”

“A favor is an expensive thing to owe,” Caleb answered, rolling the grape between his fingers. “Someone could ask you for anything.”

“Yes, someone could.” This certainly solidified Vex’s suspicion that Caleb wasn’t quiet simply because he was shy. 

“So, you should be careful.” Caleb bit the grape in half.

Vex snuck another treat to Frumpkin. "Your concerns are duly noted."  

Caleb popped the other half of the grape into his mouth. “Good. Then, you don’t owe me a favor.”

Vex shook her head. "Yes, Caleb. But you still have someone you can ask for help if you ever need it."