Before she knew it, the chatter stopped, and the witch looked up to see that the little creatures were all floating around them like bubbles, their tiny beedy eyes blinking at the two of them in confusion. The man recovered quickly, though he looked rather disheveled as he turned to thank her for dispatching the bow truckles. Phie stared back at him in confusion, looking right and left to see what in the world had made the bow truckles’ assault come to an end. She thought she saw a woman walking away, but it might have been a figment of her imagination after having hit her head.

Reaching up to press her palm to her temple, Philomena tried to stand upright. Her hand found something furry and she realized that her fox had come to an abrupt halt, sitting at her knees and staring up at her with an innocent look on his face. “That….er —” She stammered as she reached out with her other hand to steady herself. “That wasn’t me.”

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