2. Growth
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It didn’t take long for Julian to emerge from the bathroom, much cleaner than before. His hair was still a little damp from the shower he’d taken, and he was now wearing the clothes Philomena had lent him. Just as she’d predicted, they were too big for him, hanging loosely on his frame. Still, it would do until he could get new clothes.

“Feeling better?” she asked from the couch, putting down the books she’d been absentmindedly skimming through.

“A lot, thank you. For everything, I mean. You didn’t have to help me so much…” he answered, staring at the clothes he was wearing.

“It was my pleasure, hun,” she smiled. “You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need. I’ll go into town tomorrow, ask a friend to take a look at that pond. He’s much better at magic than I am. If anyone can help, it’s him.”

Julian distractedly nodded before pausing and blurting out. “Wait, you can do magic?”

His eyes had gained in focus, no longer seeming like he was gazing into space, which Philomena instantly picked up on. It seemed the subject had piqued his interest.

“Well, yes, I am a dryad after all,” she replied with a kind smile. “Magic is very useful to help grow plants and make potions.”

“Make potions?” he echoed, making his way towards the couch and sitting down.

“Yes,” she answered, confusedly. “Have you never met a dryad before?”

Julian shook his head. “I’m not sure they even exist where I come from.”

That tidbit of information surprised Philomena. She’d never heard of a place where dryads and druids didn’t exist. Maybe Julian came from further than they believed ? Could that pond have transported him to a world different from his own ? When she voiced her thoughts, Julian nodded thoughtfully.

“I guess that’s possible. I’ve never seen the kind of plants that grows around your house, and the forest looked really different from what I’m used to,” he said, briefly looking away. “What kind of potions do dryads make?”

“I could show you, if you want,” Philomena suggested, the corners of her mouth lifting up. She knew Julian was trying to change the subject, but decided he probably needed the distraction anyway. Plus, she was always happy to share her passion with others, even if she didn’t often get the opportunity.

Julian enthusiastically nodded, making his host chuckle, before she guided him outside. There, she showed him a wide variety of plants that wildly grew nearby, describing their properties and usages. Julian was captivated, she was happy to note, drinking in the information she sent his way like he’d been parched his whole life.

Philomena found his enthusiasm to be contagious, and she happily showed him her small workspace, a place in which she treated and mixed the ingredients she cultivated to then brew into potions. Having someone so interested in her craft was a new experience for her, and she couldn’t help but go on and on about every single aspect of her work while answering Julian’s questions.

Time passed without them noticing, and soon enough they had to take a break, as they were both getting pretty hungry, and it was getting late anyway. Philomena quickly made two simple salads, which they ate in the living room.

“So,” Philomena started, breaking the silence. “We’ve talked a lot about what I do, but you’ve barely told me about yourself.”

“I don’t know, I’m doing okay at school, I guess,” Julian answered hesitantly, picking at his salad.

Philomena laughed softly. “I meant more things like your hobbies, dear,” she said, smiling.

“Oh.”

Julian paused, losing himself in his thoughts. He didn’t really have anything that he was truly passionate about, did he? Still, he didn’t want to say that to Philomena; he had a feeling she would find it disappointing.

“I like reading, sometimes,” he said, after a few seconds of consideration.

“That’s nice,” Philomena answered, a small smile on her face.

She had picked up on Julian’s hesitation, and felt a pang of compassion in her heart. The more she talked to him, the more she saw him as a lost child, who didn’t know what to do with his life. She quickly changed the subject of the conversation, as he was visibly uncomfortable talking about himself.

They made small talk while finishing their light meal, until they finally noticed the sun was about to set, at which point they decided now would be a good time to go to bed.

“Here,” Philomena said, opening a door. “You can sleep in this bedroom. If you need anything, I’ll be in this one,” she finished, pointing at yet another door further away.

“Thank you again. I know I’ve already said it, but I don’t know what I’d be doing if I’d been dropped so far from home without anyone to help me,” Julian said, somewhat bashfully.

“You’re very welcome,” she replied with one of her warm smiles. “Though anyone would have done the same. Now, shoo! You need your rest,” she admonished playfully, lightly pushing him towards the bedroom.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Julian mumbled too quietly for Philomena to hear, before looking back at his host and giving her a small smile.

With that done, both Philomena and Julian wished each other a good night and prepared to sleep, knowing tomorrow would be an important day.

- - -

The next morning saw Philomena making the aforementioned trip to the nearest village, Leenora. She’d wanted to bring Julian with her, but his original clothes were still dirty, while the ones she’d given him would make him look comical, and were also not the best to cross a forest with. Plus, the path to the village wasn’t exactly the easiest to follow, especially the first time.

Philomena also told Julian she would buy him a few sets of clothes, as he would most likely have to stay here at the very least a few days. He’d tried to protest, stating that she had already been generous enough and didn’t need to spend money on his behalf, but she’d just winked and told him she was far from hurting for money. Defeated, Julian had begrudgingly accepted Philomena’s offer.

She’d thus left him alone at her cottage, stating that he was free to look through her considerable collection of books and even recommending a few that covered basic principles of alchemy and botany. He’d tried to hide it, but Philomena had seen his eyes light up with interest. She was sure he wouldn’t be bored, at least.

About an hour later, Philomena emerged into the small village of Leenora, gazing at the houses with their thatched roofs. A few people were milling about in the cobblestone main street, running errands or just talking to others. The village had this warm atmosphere, where everyone knew everyone, forming a very tight-knit community. Even Philomena herself, even though she didn’t live in the village proper, was a respected member of Leenora.

Smiling lightly to herself, she made her way towards the other end of the village, greeting people in passing as she did so. She soon found herself in front of a rather peculiar house, completely made of stone, chimney emerging out of the roof here and there. It looked unusual without being tacky, which was commendable in her opinion.

Philomena knocked on the door and pushed it open, making her way inside. Soon enough, she found herself in a laboratory, filled with many instruments, receptacles full of liquids of various colors, artifacts visibly emanating magic.

In the center of it all stood a man, quite visibly getting on in years. He was wearing plain white clothes, a pair of glasses and greying short hair framing his gruff face.

The moment he spotted Philomena, however, his scowl turned into a radiant smile, all traces of his previous expression gone. He quickly made his way towards his guest and embraced her into a warm hug.

“Philomena!” he said, pulling away. “I haven’t seen you in weeks ! How have you been ?”

“Hello, Eldrin,” she greeted him, laughing lightly at his enthusiasm. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited in a while, you know how it is when you’re busy.”

“I know, I know, but you really overwork yourself sometimes, and that’s coming from me,” he grumbled good-naturedly. “What is it you’re here for? Or did you just come to say hello?”

“I do need your help, but I’d love to sit down and chat for a while, too. It’s been too long,” Philomena replied, feeling a bit guilty she was only visiting because she needed something.

Wordlessly, Eldrin led Philomena to a small living room so they could talk more comfortably. Once they were seated and the tea was brewing, Philomena decided to get to the reason for her visit.

She told him everything, how she had been relaxing near the pond close to her home, when it had suddenly flashed, and she’d seen something in the water. How she’d pulled out a young teenager out of it, coughing up water, and how he’d been pulled out of his world to land in theirs.

Throughout the conversation, Eldrin kept a respectful silence, his face going through a variety of emotions, fascination being one of the most prominent. The only moment he interrupted Philomena’s tale was to serve the tea.

Once his guest was done with her tale, Eldrin gained a thoughtful expression, joining his hand together, silently ruminating over everything he’d been told. Philomena waited patiently, carefully sipping at her tea.

“I’m going to be honest, Philomena, this is not looking very good for the young boy,” he said, after a moment of consideration. “Transporting people through magic can certainly be done, as has been demonstrated by your guest, but it’s an extremely complex field of magic, one very few are well versed in. That’s not even considering transporting someone to another world,” he added, looking up sadly. “I will definitely look into this, but depending on the complexity of the spell, I may not be able to reopen the portal.”

“I understand,” Philomena sighed. “He doesn’t seem to be too distressed to be away from home, at the very least. He’s taken a liking to my craft, actually.”

“Oh, could it be that you have found yourself an apprentice, Philomena?” he asked, smiling cheekily.

“Perhaps,” she answered with a smile of her own. “It would be nice to have someone to teach. I’ll have to think about it.”

“Well, in any case, I’ll take a look at this pond, and keep you updated on what I find. Now, how have you been?”

- - -

With the serious part of their discussion over, Eldrin and Philomena spent the next hour enjoying each other’s company and catching up. Looking at the sun in the sky, Philomena then decided it was time for her to go back to her errands, leaving Eldrin with a promise of visiting again in the next few days.

It didn’t take her long to buy a set of clothes from the village’s tailor, deciding she’d come back with Julian another day so that he could get measured and have some more clothes that would fit better. She also took advantage of her trip to buy some food as well as some ingredients she would need later.

Once she had everything she needed, Philomena made her way back home, wondering how she was going to tell Julian his chances of going home were slim. Even if he hadn’t seemed very worried, he might just have convinced himself everything was going to be fine.

- - -

When Philomena entered her cottage, she was met with the sight of Julian practically buried beneath piles of books, avidly reading one in the living room.

“I take it you found something you liked?” she asked, clearly amused.

Julian flinched, only now realizing his host was back, slowly looking up. “Uh, yes?” he answered, a bit bashfully.

“I’m glad you did, though please make sure to put everything back in its place once you’re done,” she said, still smiling.

“Of course,” he replied, as Philomena made her way towards the couch before sitting down next to him, her expression turning more serious. “Is everything alright?” he asked.

“I talked to that friend I mentioned,” she started, gently putting a hand on Julian’s shoulder. “He said he was going to look into that pond, but that he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to send you back.”

“Oh,” he said, and went silent, gazing into space.

“I’m so sorry, hon. Like I said before, you can stay here as long as you need,” she said, gently rubbing his arm. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, I think I’ll be okay,” he replied, looking back at her. “There isn’t a lot that I’ll miss from home, it’s just I hadn’t even thought about what I’d do if I became stuck here.” He paused. “Actually, could you teach me potion-making and stuff like that? I’d really like to try it.”

Philomena smiled radiantly at that. “Of course, hon, I’d love to.” It was pretty obvious he wasn’t really fine, even if he said otherwise, but she was sure she could help him, given the opportunity.

In the end, she was certain everything would be alright.

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