"Looks like it." Edith bent over, her little pointer finger ready to poke the motionless and mangled insect corpse at her feet until Narrita sprang forward and pulled her away by the shoulders.

"Haven't you learned your lesson yet, kid? Don't go around messing with weird dead animals!"

"But all of Mister Cuddles’ friends saved us!" Edith protested.

"Be thankful that we're still in one piece. No point in pressing our luck any further than we have to!" Narrita pointed to Mister Cuddles. "Now, I'm proud of what you and your pet did. But I'm the adult, so that means I'm still in charge. We're going to leave that weird bug thing on the ground and we're heading straight home before we catch the attention of another crazed griffinhawk. Is that understood?"

The girl's head and arms drooped to her side. "Yes Rita." Reluctantly, she extended her open arms and Mister Cuddles eagerly hopped into them. With undead pet in tow, she stood by Narrita's side.

"Ready to go now?"

"Yes."

The thief smiled. "Thank you." She took her hand and rummaged through Edith's hair again. "You hate it when I do this?"

"Kinda." The girl took one hand and straightened the disarrayed strands of hair as best as she could.

"I'll only do that when you don't listen to me. Does that sound fair?"

"No."

Narrita chuckled. She began to walk away from the pile of animal bodies; the scent of rot filled the air, making her nose scrunch up. Edith trotted by the thief's side, managing to keep pace with small skips in her steps. "Don't think that I'm not proud of you because of my tone."

"What do you mean?"

"What you did back there? That was incredible! You're probably more powerful than half the mages that pass through Farrowport!"

"You really think so?" Edith looked up at Narrita with eager eyes.

"Kid. I've spent most of my life on this island. I've seen some strong magic during my days. But I've never seen a necromancer, let alone one that can turn cuddly creatures like rabbits into a personal killing battalion!"

"What's a... bat-lion?"

"Never mind that part of what I said. But I am being honest when I say that your power is exceptional."

"Mother doesn't like me using it. She says it'll get me in trouble."

Narrita stroked the bottom of her chin with her thumb as she pushed away some low-hanging branches out of her way. "I get what your mother is saying. Someone that doesn't know what they're doing could get into a lot of trouble messing with the circle of life. But you can't get better if you don't practice, either. Maybe she wants you to wait when you get older..." The thief paused, her eyes growing at the realization of her previous statement. The girl beside her seemed unphased as she continued her merry jaunt. “Err… scratch that last part.”

"I practice whenever I can," Edith happily replied. "But Mother hates it. She only lets me keep Mister Cuddles."

"Having a pet should be something you cherish, kid. More animals in the house means more responsibility. You really should focus on making Mister Cuddles as happy as possible."

The girl hugged her rabbit tighter and stroked the back of his ear with her hand. "I do treat Mister Cuddles well. I give him everything he wants."

"I believe you. But think of how much effort you have to put in to make sure he stays safe and... as healthy as he can possibly be. It's a lot of work, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Now multiply that by each pet you add. And then add a few more. You know how much rabbits like duplicate."

Edith curled her lips as she turned her rabbit to face her. "That is a lot of work now that you say it..."

"Exactly. Just because you can have more pets doesn't mean you should. Pierce was the only one I ever had. We had been through a lot. We were able to form a lot of strong memories because it was just the two of us. Not to mention getting by has been tough for our entire lives. Some days we could barely get enough food for ourselves. I couldn't imagine everyone surviving if there had been more mouths to feed."

"Sorry Mister Cuddles," Edith said to her rabbit as she hoisted him above her head. She gave him a gentle shake. "Looks like you'll have to be lonely for a bit longer."

"He's got you, right? You've been a great owner. I don't think he's really lonely. Mister Cuddles seems happy to me. Just as long as you don't wake him up. Or try to attack his owner."

"Or when he gets wet. He hates that too."

"Just like Pierce!"

"Really? Snakes don't like being wet?"

The thief laughed. She stretched her arms behind her back before finishing her chuckle. "Not sure about snakes, but Pierce hated getting soaked more than anything else. You wanna hear a funny story?"

A grinning Edith hopped up and down. "Yeah!"

"All right. This happened a long time ago. I was going to say before you were born, but I think that'd be wrong. Anyway, me and the rest of the Cutthroats were locked up in our hideout..."

****

With some guidance from Mister Cuddles, the trip back to the shack was uneventful. Once the outline of the home became visible among the trees, Edith dashed through the last section of dense forest. An exhausted Narrita struggled to keep pace, stepping over the foliage to catch up with the small girl. When out of the densest area, the path back home was clear with Gertrude standing in front of the house's entrance with her arms crossed her shoulder.

"Where have you two been?" the old witch called out. Edith picked up the pace, jumping into her mother's open arms. "I was starting to get worried that something might have happened to you three!"

"Sorry, Gertrude," Narrita panted as she caught up. She hunched over with her hands on her knees. Mud and leaves covered her skin and clothing as the witch stared at the exhausted thief. "We ran into a small problem back in the forest."

"Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine, Mother!" Edith said with a smile. "Mister Cuddles too!"

"Looks like you ran into that problem headfirst," Gertrude commented as she scanned Narrita from the top down.

"That's one way to put it. But I think the most important thing is that everyone is back safe and sound." Narrita put on a wide grin before patting Edith on the back. "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah. I killed a griffinhawk!" the girl said as she eagerly bounced up and down in front of her mother.

"You did what?" Gertrude took a step, unable to conceal her shock. "What did you do to upset such a peaceful creature?"

"We didn't do anything lady, honest!" Narrita stated. "It just attacked us out of nowhere."

"That is not something that usually happens, Miss Narrita," the witch said sternly. "You must have done something to upset it!" She shifted her attention to Edith. "This is why I don't want you going out! You always manage to get in trouble when no one is watching you!" Gertrude bent over and wagged a pointer finger in front of her daughter's embarrassed face. "We'll discuss this later! You or Narrita could have gotten seriously hurt if things went any differently!"

"Gertrude, please," Narrita stepped in between the two, looking at the witch with worry in her eyes. "I can explain everything. Your daughter here... she's powerful. Without her, we wouldn't be standing in front of you."

"Oh, I am quite familiar with what she's capable of. She is my daughter after all. Takes after me. But if she didn't put you two in danger in the first place, she wouldn't have had to use her powers!”

"Your kid's innocent." Narrita stared into the beady eyes of the witch. Confident, she kept her eyes locked as she steadied her breath. Gertrude then turned to face a still-embarrassed Edith who had her arms behind her back.

"What happened then?" Gertrude said sternly. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared straight into Narrita’s eyes. The thief took in a deep breath without breaking eye contact.

"Something was off about that griffinhawk. The way it moved like it had too many pints. Those crazed eyes. That deafening shriek. It was not a normal griffinhawk."

"And the bug!" Edith chimed in.

"Oh yeah! Mister Cuddles dug out some weird looking creature out of the animal's neck." Narrita mimicked the motion of the rabbit tugging on the bird's neck, her hand acting in the role of Mister Cuddles. "Nasty little thing."

"Fine." Gertrude relaxed, evident by her calmed breathing and slacked posture. "For a thief, you have been surprisingly honest."

"Thanks. That's the only way you can form a loyal gang. If they can't believe you, then how are you supposed to lead them?"

Gertrude pursed her lips and tilted her head back, scrutinizing the Cutthroat's statement in her mind. "Hmm... I suppose there is somewhat of a lesson in what you just said. But I think it's more important to avoid thievery altogether."

"Oh, of course!" Narrita said with a nervous chuckle. "Just focus on what I said about being honest, kid. That will get you very far in life."

"If you say so, Rita," Edith replied.

"Now that we've gotten our little lesson in morality out of the way, did you manage to get the flower?" Gertrude extended one hand with her palm out. Narrita felt around her jacket and pulled out the crushed and tattered remains of the Ivory Asters that she had stashed away in her pockets.

"Are these... good enough...?" Crushed petals and crooked stems jutted out of her hands. Bits of leaves slipped through her fingers and drifted towards the ground.

"For the sake of your fallen friend, I'd suggest we use fresh ingredients."

Narrita looked down at the small girl beside her. "You got any on you, kid?"

Edith reached into the small pocket in the side of her skirt. Slowly, she took out a crisp Ivory Aster with its petals fully intact. "Here you go, Mother."

"Perfect!" Gertrude carefully lifted the flower by the stem and held it inches in front of her face. "Now we can finally get started with the spell!"